Jim Inhofe: “this is an important issue, one I have raised many times over the years. I have testified before the Banking Committee…”

“this is an important issue, one I have raised many times over the years. I have testified before the Banking Committee, and introduced numerous bills. It is not a new issue. There have been at least four high-profile times in the last 12 years where proposed foreign acquisitions in the U.S. have threatened our security. In 1998, President Clinton tried to turn over management of a 144-acre terminal at the former U.S. Naval Station in Long Beach to the Chinese Ocean Shipping Company, COSCO--a subsidiary of the People's Liberation Army. I am going to quote from an LA Times article from that time: The embattled COSCO deal came to an end Thursday night, when congressional conferees submitted to Congress the 1998-99 Defense Authorization Bill . . . Leading the effort to block COSCO from the facility were Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) and Rep. Duncan Hunter [of the] San Diego area. That was one battle that we won. Since working in 1995 to prevent Los Angeles ports from being controlled by Chinese interests, I have continued my pressure on the issue. For example, I expressed my concern with the CFIUS process over 2 years ago in the spring of 2005 when I delivered four speeches on China. While examining this issue I came across a disturbing example of China buying the U.S. company, Magnequench Inc., and moving it piecemeal back to mainland China.”