House approves port security bill after Dubai uproar

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives on
Thursday approved a bill bolstering security at U.S. ports,
spurred to action by the recent uproar over a failed plan to
transfer some port operations to a Dubai company.

The bill authorizes $5.5 billion for port security and
requires the government to finish installing radiation
screening equipment at major U.S. ports by the end of 2007. It
would let the United States deny entry to cargo from countries
that refuse to cooperate with any beefed-up security checks
abroad.

A Senate committee has approved a bill that would take the
additional step of requiring all U.S.-bound cargo to be
screened overseas or be turned away from American ports, but
left unclear when the measure would start being enforced. Both
chambers must reconcile differences and pass the same bill for
it to become law.