WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- While former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole is consulting for Dubai Ports World, his wife, Sen. Elizabeth Dole, says she is "deeply concerned" about the company.
"Sen. Elizabeth Dole's decisions are made independent of Bob Dole," Lindsay Taylor Mabry, a spokeswoman for the current Senator Dole, R-N.C., told the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer. "And her top priority always is the constituents she represents."
The possibility that the company, which is owned by the United Arab Emirates, would be in charge of operations at major U.S. ports has sparked a congressional backlash on both sides of the aisle. Dole, in a letter to Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said she did not think the deal should get final approval until its security aspects have been thoroughly examined.
Bob Dole, R-Kan., a lawyer and registered lobbyist, works at Alston & Bird, the Washington law firm retained by Ports World Dubai.
