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The American people have every right to be outraged with the administration's approval of the UAE port deal. It is time the people's House make the security of our Nation's ports a priority.

And I think people who sort of glibly say, 'Well, you know, they're not going to handle security, UAE is a great ally,' four and a half years ago, they were not an ally, they were working with the enemy, and if those same people are still there today that were there then, these are real serious issues.

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.

While it may be true that the UAE has been an ally since the September 11, 2001, attacks, the American people know it has also harbored and aided some of the al Qaeda agents who were involved in that attack.

One of the most widespread myths about the deal is that the Administration is outsourcing the security of our ports to a company from the United Arab Emirates.

I believe it is essential that we close the security gaps that put our nation at risk, and I will continue to fight for the funding that will secure high-risk targets, such as our ports and borders.

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

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

We know that the most fundamental responsibility of our Federal Government is to ensure the safety of its people and to protect and ensure our National security. And clearly port security has been left in limbo.

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.