The Senate is debating whether to accept a Democratic amendment to the lobbying reform bill which block the Dubai deal. Chairman of the Armed Services Committee, Senator Warner, just read a press release from DP World in which the state-owned company says it had agreed to divest itself of all American interests in the interests of the U.A.E.-American relationship. Senator Schumer says it is a positive development, but "the devil is in the details." Schumer's concern is that if "ultimate control" is still exercised by DP World, that would not satisfy the goals of the amendment. Consequently, Schumer is refusing to withdraw his amendment, and is urging Senators to vote against cloture. The vote for cloture will take place at 2 p.m.
Today, Republicans met with the President to essentially tell him the deal was dead in both the House and Senate. The President and DP World have realized that, unless they present a huge carrot in front of the Congress, both the President and DP World would suffer an embrassing defeat. Is this carrot big enough to avoid a veto showdown? Does it even offer anything substantial in its terms? We should know within a couple hours the Senate's determination on those issues.
Update: From CNN's main page:
Dubai Ports World has agreed to turn over all of its operations at U.S. ports to a United States entity, said Sen. John Warner, reading a statement from DP World. He said the reason is "to preserve" the strong relationship between the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
Update [2006-3-9 14:40:40 by georgia10]:: Full story
here. The Senate voted 51-47 against cloture. Frist switched his vote for procedural reasons to bring it up for reconsideration, and says he will bring it up within the next few days. When pressed for a time frame by Senator Dodd, Senator Frist said "I'd bring it back if I had the votes." Priceless!