Quote

While port security remains one of our single greatest vulnerabilities, it makes little sense to give operational control of our ports to a foreign nation without first doing proper investigations.

Ports are the gaping hole in America's homeland security.

Our ports are a vital link in national security and it is extremely dangerous to be considering their sale to the United Arab Emirates government.

And let us be frank, the security threats that emanate from our ports come from foreign cargo.

Our ports are owned by local governments who are responsible for the ports. It is the Coast Guard and Customs that provide security. The federal government will never outsource our security.

Michael Chertoff and the Department of Homeland Security, they have the primary responsibility of ensuring that our ports are secure.

The security of our country is not just a top priority, it's the top priority.

Ensuring ports are dredged is essential to securing America's place in global trade.

This Congress has promised all manner of border security and port security to the tune of billions of dollars... yet we have - to date - funded our promises for port security at only $900 million. That's quite a distance between what we say and what we actually do.