Sen Lieberman calls for more US port security funds

WASHINGTON, Mar 7 (Reuters) The Bush administration's plan for securing America's ports is inadequate and funding should be nearly double the White House's budget request for next year, a key Senate Democrat said.

Sen Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, the senior Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, called for spending more than 1 billion dollars on port security in fiscal 2007.

In remarks to reporters yesterday, Lieberman noted that the Bush administration budget only calls for 551 million dollars for port security in the fiscal year starting on October 1.

''This budget fails to address the damage that terrorists can do to us with weapons of mass destruction or dirty bombs in containers shipped into this country,'' Lieberman said.

Democrats' criticism of the administration's spending priorities came amid an uproar over White House approval of a state-owned Arab company's plan to manage six American ports.

The plan for Dubai Ports World to buy British port operator P&O is under a 45-day review and some Republicans in Congress have vowed to block it.

Separately, a White House spokesman expressed confidence that lawmakers would ultimately support the .85 billion Dubai Ports World deal.

''We're confident that at the end of this review process that more members will be comfortable with this transaction moving forward,'' said spokesman Scott McClellan.

However, the Republican Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee planned to introduce a bill on Tuesday that would block the Dubai deal, his spokesman said.

The legislation being prepared by Rep Duncan Hunter of California and Republican Rep. Jim Saxton of New Jersey would also force foreign owners of US ports, electricity plants and other ''critical'' infrastructure to sell their holdings and require inspection of all cargo.

Other details of the bill were not yet available, a Hunter spokesman said.

Later this week, the Senate Budget Committee is expected to craft a budget blueprint for next year and Lieberman has urged the panel to beef up domestic security by spending billion more than President George W. Bush has proposed.

Besides port security, the added money would fund Coast Guard operations, emergency health preparedness, first responders and other Department of Homeland Security activities.

The Democrat's demand for more domestic security funds comes as the Republican-controlled Congress tries to find ways to control massive federal budget deficits. Next year's deficit is expected to come in around 355 billion dollars.

Sen Kent Conrad of North Dakota, the senior Democrat on the budget committee, said he would pay for more domestic security spending by improving tax collection. Government experts have testified that about 0 billion in taxes due are not being collected by the Internal Revenue Service each year.

''It has been more than three years since the Coast Guard estimated more than billion would be needed just to provide basic physical security at all U.S. ports'' and to implement a 2002 maritime transportation security law, Lieberman said.

He added that Congress so far has appropriated about 0 million. ''Much more clearly remains to be done,'' Lieberman told the Senate Budget Committee.

REUTERS VJ RAI0537