The Associated Press Wednesday, February 27, 2008

WASHINGTON: The Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives endorsed a resolution Wednesday that suggested the Russian government might have had a hand in the 2006 radiation poisoning death of a Russian dissident.

The resolution asks President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to press Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials to cooperate with British investigators probing the death of Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian-born former KGB agent who fled to Britain in 2000 and took British citizenship. He died in November 2006 in a British hospital from the effects of radioactive polonium-210 he had ingested.

British authorities have said they will try to prosecute Russian Andrei Lugovoi in Litvinenko's death. They expelled four Russian diplomats last year because the Kremlin refused to extradite Lugovoi.

The resolution was offered by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the Foreign Affairs Committee's top Republican. It will have no effect except as an expression of the sense of Congress and now goes to the full House for action. Passed as a concurrent resolution of both chambers, it also will go to the Senate for consideration.

Among facts the document includes to reinforce its accusations about Litvinenko's death is that 97 percent of the world's legal production of polonium-210 occurs at the Avangard nuclear facility in Russia. It says Russia is the world's leading exporter of polonium-210 for commercial purposes, and the substance is neither produced nor commercially imported in Britain.

"The fatal radiation poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko raises significant concerns about the potential involvement of elements of the Russian government in Mr. Litvinenko's death and about the security and proliferation of radioactive materials," the resolution says. "The use of such radioactive materials in such cases demonstrates a threat to the safety and security of the people of the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, the United States and other countries.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A House committee on Wednesday voted to more than triple spending for a global AIDS program that has proven to be one of the Bush administration's most successful and popular foreign policy initiatives.

The Foreign Affairs Committee's voice vote on the plan to approve spending of an average $10 billion annually over the next five years came hours after lawmakers and the White House reached a compromise on some of the policy issues, including spending on abstinence programs, that had held up action on the legislation.

The bill extends the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which authorized spending of $15 billion total for five years for prevention and care programs in sub-Saharan Africa and other regions hit by the epidemic. That act, passed in 2003, expires in September.

Every day another 6,000 people are infected by HIV, said committee chairman Howard Berman, D-Calif. 'We have a moral imperative to act decisively.'

While the program has wide bipartisan support, the White House and many Republicans objected to the original Democratic-crafted draft because it removed a provision requiring that a certain amount be spent on abstinence programs and bolstered links between AIDS treatment and family planning. Some Republicans said that would open the way for family planning groups to spend money on abortions.

The compromise worked out in late-night negotiations Tuesday does eliminate the clause requiring that one-third of all HIV prevention funds be spent on abstinence, instead directing the administration to promote 'balanced funding for prevention activities' in target countries. The administration must issue a report if programs focusing on abstinence and fidelity do not receive half of funds devoted to the prevention of sexual transmission of HIV, a smaller pot.

The agreement also allows the use of AIDS funds for HIV/AIDS testing and counseling services in those family planning programs supported by the U.S. government. Earlier drafts permitted use of funds for family planning programs including contraceptive services and commodities such as birth control pills. The final bill gives no authority beyond current law to fund family planning programs with AIDS money, although Democrats pointed out that it also does not prohibit such activities.

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., top Republican on the committee, said the compromise maintained core values important to both sides. 'Many of us in this room concluded that a collapse of the political consensus on this issue would do irreparable damage to what is arguably the most successful U.S. foreign assistance program of the last half century.'

President Bush was hailed during his recent trip to Africa for a program that has resulted in 1.4 million people receiving drugs to fight the virus and has cared for nearly 6.7 million, including 2.7 million orphans.

The bill was named after two former chairmen of the committee, Reps. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., and Tom Lantos, D-Calif., Hyde, who died last November, and Lantos, who died earlier this month, sponsored the 2003 bill. Lantos was the sponsor of the new bill.

'This historic agreement will save millions of lives,' said Dr. Paul Zeitz, executive director of the Global AIDS Alliance. He welcomed the increase in funds for tuberculosis and malaria while expressing concerns that the compromise retains limitations on AIDS funding for family planning.

The White House on Wednesday also repeated that the president's proposal to double spending to $30 billion, rather than the $50 billion in the House bill, was more appropriate. 'We believe ... that $30 billion is the right amount of money that could be effectively used by these governments to tackle the HIV-AIDS problem,' White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said. 'We don't think it's smart to send additional American taxpayer dollars that will sit there and not be used, or be used ineffectively.'

But Josh Ruxin, assistant clinical professor at Columbia University and a resident of Rwanda where he heads the Access Project, said that while the first five years of the program have been 'extraordinary... simply continuing to implement the same policies and practices over the next five years will be inadequate to address this tidal wave' that is engulfing Africa.

He noted that investing more in such areas as running water and electricity for health centers and training medical personnel increases the capacity of programs to spend more to combat the disease.

Recounting family members killed in gas chambers, aging survivors of the Holocaust went before Congress Thursday to ask for their day in court.

The survivors want to force the handful of international insurers who sold life insurance policies to Jewish families before World War II to publicly disclose their books on the hundreds of thousands of policyholders.

And they want the opportunity to take those companies to court, describing futile paper chases to collect on life insurance policies their parents had faithfully maintained before they were ordered out of their homes by Nazi troops.

''It isn't asking for very much, really,'' said Israel Arbeiter, who survived four years of German concentration camps, but whose parents and younger brother perished at Treblinka.

``There should be no legal peace for companies without moral peace for the survivors.''

The survivors have the impassioned and bipartisan backing of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a Miami Republican, and South Florida Democrats Robert Wexler, Ron Klein and Tim Mahoney. Ros-Lehtinen and Wexler have introduced legislation that would require the insurers to report the names of Holocaust-era insurance policyholders and would give heirs and survivors a legal right to sue European insurers in U.S. courts.

Though suits can now be filed, the U.S. government routinely asks that they be dismissed.

Ros-Lehtinen charged that the insurance companies have ''sought unjust enrichment at the expense of the Holocaust victims,'' as she read a letter from a Palm Beach County woman, Elizabeth Lefkovits, who said she found her late father's life insurance policy after the war, but has not been able to have her claim addressed.

TOUGH OPPOSITION

The legislation, though, faces formidable opposition in the form of the Bush administration and an array of influential Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and the World Jewish Congress, which argue that congressional intervention would sever existing international agreements that have paved the way for thousands of survivors and their heirs to be compensated.

Stuart Eizenstat, President Clinton's special representative on Holocaust-era issues, warned the House Committee on Financial Services that the legislation carries ''potentially catastrophic consequences,'' including undermining the ''good faith of the U.S. government'' and ``consigning Holocaust survivors to an endless and fruitless search for justice.''

''The U.S courts would not be so friendly a venue,'' Eizenstat said, suggesting that the committee should stick with the process created by a special Holocaust commission.

``[Survivors] would be faced with statutes of limitation, rules of evidence and burdens of proof . . . Litigation would take time. Time that survivors on the whole do not have.''

Eizenstat said the commission paid $306 million to Holocaust victims before it completed its claims process. And J. Christian Kennedy, special envoy for Holocaust issues at the State Department said the insurance companies that cooperated with the commission have voluntarily agreed to continue to process claims.

''We have found that dialogue and negotiation with companies and governments lead to faster and better results for survivors than litigation,'' Kennedy said.

COMMISSION CRITICIZED

But lawmakers criticized the commission and said the payout was only a fraction of the billions of dollars in outstanding Jewish policies.

''Six million Jews died in the Holocaust, and 13,000 have received compensation,'' Wexler said. ``That's the process we're defending here?''

Wexler acknowledged he's gotten phone calls from leaders of Jewish organizations, telling him, ``Wexler, you're upsetting the apple cart.''

A letter from B'Nai B'rith International called the commission's work ''imperfect,'' but said it helped not only arrange the payment of claims against existing companies, but paid claims filed against now-defunct companies and funded survivor assistance programs. And it ``pledged to continue fielding new claims, so an important avenue remains open to survivors.''

But members of the committee proclaimed themselves not satisfied with the scope of the payouts.

''It's not what's paid, it's what's owed,'' said Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y. ``This is about anything other than greed. This is about denial.''

Wexler estimates that 85 percent of the value of policies is still being held by the insurance companies.

'The question is `Do we let it die and it's game over?' or does this Congress allow survivors one last chance,'' he said.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen

Remembering family members who were lost to the gas chambers of Nazi Germany, aging survivors of the Holocaust are asking Congress for their day in court.

The survivors - who want to collect on preWorld War II insurance policies - have the bipartisan and impassioned congressional backing of Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Miami and Democratic South Florida Reps. Robert Wexler, Ron Klein and Tim Mahoney. Ros-Lehtinen and Wexler have introduced legislation that would require insurers to report the names of Holocaust-era insurance policyholders and would give their heirs and survivors the right to sue European insurers in U.S. courts. Though suits now can be filed, the U.S. government routinely asks that they be dismissed.

But the legislation faces formidable opposition from the Bush administration and an array of influential Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and the World Jewish Congress, which argue that congressional intervention would sever existing international agreements that have paved the way for thousands of Holocaust survivors and their heirs to be compensated.

Wexler acknowledged at a hearing Thursday that he's gotten phone calls from leaders of Jewish organizations, telling him, "Wexler, you're upsetting the apple cart."

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen

UNITED NATIONS — A Republican lawmaker is asking the Bush administration to investigate whether the energy company owned by the Venezuelan government, Citgo, benefits illegally from President Chavez's affinity for doing business with Iranian mullahs.

The probe could lead to imposing sanctions on the gas station operator's businesses in America. The ranking Republican of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, wrote Secretary of State Rice and Treasury Secretary Paulson yesterday, requesting an investigation into an agreement that was reportedly signed between Citgo's parent company, the government-owned Petróleos de Venezuela SA, and the Iranian oil company Petropars. According to reports cited in Ms. Ros-Lehtinen's letter, Iran and Venezuela last fall announced a $1 billion joint venture between the two state-owned companies, forming a new entity, the Venezuelan-Iranian Oil and Gas Co.

In her letter, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen requested that the administration investigate whether such an agreement violates "the letter or the spirit" of the Iran Sanctions Act; whether Citgo benefits from the agreement, and whether it benefits "directly or indirectly" from Venezuela's investment in Iran or Iranian investments in Venezuela.

The Iran Sanctions Act, which was amended last year, requires the president to impose at least two of a menu of several financial sanctions on any entity that invests "more than $20 million in one year in Iran's energy sector." Citgo's U.S. operation, based in Houston, operates 14,000 retail outlets in America, including gas stations and other petroleum-related products. "We're a major supplier and refining giant with a directly owned or operated refining capacity of 750,000 barrels per day," Citgo's Web site states. A company spokesman, Fernando Garay, said yesterday that the company is "reviewing" Ms. Ros-Lehtinen's letter and intends to respond at a later time.

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It is never too late to correct an injustice. The worse the injustice, the more important it is to address it. This is why Congress should approve the Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act. The bill would provide a means for Nazi-era survivors to sue insurers for restitution in federal court, even if 60 years late.

Claims denied

A decade ago the United States, in a well-intentioned move, helped to create a commission to resolve Jewish Holocaust-era insurance claims. Yet when the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) shut down last year, it had failed. Less than 5 percent of the estimated value of those policies were actually paid out to survivors or their heirs. In the process, thousands of claims were denied with little or insufficient explanation.

Jack Rubin's claim was among them. His parents died in the Auschwitz concentration camp. A Boynton Beach resident, Mr. Rubin testified last year in Congress that he submitted claims to ICHEIC under their names. He recalled the sign where his family lived and owned a general store. It said they were insured by ''Generali Moldavia.'' He even remembered the insurance-agent's name.

Four years later he received a letter saying neither the insurer nor its subsidiaries had a record of his family's policies. An ICHEIC arbitrator upheld the denial without questioning the insurer. Now Mr. Rubin, 79, is among a group of survivors suing the insurer and objecting to a settlement that they believe provides too little, too late.

Yet Mr. Rubin's chances to win his claim are slim. That's because a 2003 Supreme Court decision regarding Holocaust claims says federal foreign-policy interests favor ''nonadversarial resolutions'' in the absence of congressional action. This case involved state laws similar to the Holocaust Insurance Accountability Act (H.R. 1746) introduced by U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami. It would force insurers with U.S. operations to disclose records and allow survivors to sue for unpaid policies.

Right this wrong

Indeed, Florida had such a law, thanks to then-Insurance Commissioner Bill Nelson, until it was struck down. The House Financial Services Committee is having a hearing on the bill on Thursday.

Congress should do its part to right this wrong. The ICHEIC did not provide the deserved restitution to a majority of Holocaust survivors victimized by insurers who collaborated with the Nazis.

Mr. Rubin told Congress: 'If our society today has any decency, it would require the companies to open their records and be fully accountable for their thefts of our families' legacies. After all, isn't this why people buy insurance?''

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen

February 2, 2008

By Bill Gertz - A bipartisan group of lawmakers announced yesterday that Congress is investigating the proposed merger of 3Com Corp. and a Chinese company over concerns about China's computer-hacking activities.

"As you are well aware, there is growing apprehension in the Congress about the proposed acquisition by Huawei Technologies and its U.S. partner, Bain Capital, of 3Com Corp.," Rep. John D. Dingell and three other lawmakers stated in a letter sent Thursday to Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. Mr. Dingell, Michigan Democrat, is chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Computer network-security equipment made by 3Com is used by the Pentagon, raising "significant concerns" about the possible effects the merger could have "on the national security of the United States," the letter stated.

"We believe these concerns are more than justifiable, especially in light of recent increases in attacks on government and private networks" by Chinese military hackers, the four congressmen stated.

Reps. Bobby L. Rush, Illinois Democrat; Joe L. Barton, Texas Republican; and Edward Whitfield, Kentucky Republican, who are all members of the committee, also signed the letter.

The bipartisan probe follows passage of a resolution sponsored last year by Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Florida Republican, which called for the Bush administration to block the deal because of concerns it will boost China's military.

Mr. Dingell's investigation, however, is the first time Democrats have expressed concerns about the 3Com-Huawei merger.

The committee has started a formal investigation of the cybersecurity problems related to the proposed merger, which is currently under review by the Treasury-led Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). Mr. Paulson has recused himself from reviewing the deal because his former company, Goldman Sachs, is advising 3Com.

As part of the inquiry, the committee wants to know what CFIUS has learned about the percentage of interest Huawei will have in 3Com and whether it will have authority to appoint members of 3Com's board of directors.

The committee also is seeking information about what CFIUS has learned about the internal structure of Huawei, including who controls the company.

U.S. officials told The Washington Times in November that an intelligence assessment by the office of Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell determined that the 3Com-Huawei merger would undermine U.S. national security. The assessment was presented last year to CFIUS.

Huawei was founded by a senior Chinese military officer, and the company is known to be a major supplier of computer and network equipment to the military.

The company has been linked to violations of U.N. sanctions in Iraq and to industrial espionage against U.S. and Japanese companies.

A Bain spokesman said that the company is engaged in confidential discussions and that "the completed deal will pose no risk to national security."

The board of directors of 3Com has scheduled a shareholder vote on the $2.2 billion merger plan, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The vote, set for Feb. 29, is an indication that the company expects CFIUS to approve the merger.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen

KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) A new 2,400-gallon coral reef aquarium exhibit opened Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary of an environmental center in the Florida Keys.

As a facet of weekend events at the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center, marine scientist David Vaughan went into the tank with voice communications to interact with people attending a Friday night reception.

Developed by Mote Marine Laboratory, the reef tank contains fish and invertebrates indigenous to the Keys. It was designed to educate people about preserving the coral reef environment.

The aquarium is part of the Living Reef Exhibit, which also features tanks of hard and soft corals and information about Mote's coral nursery, where more than 22 species of corals are being grown to replenish reefs.

Saturday also marked the presentation of a Coastal America Partnership Award for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuarys coral protection and restoration program. Since 2003, the program has rescued more than 7,000 coral colonies, which are relocated to restore depleted areas, and used in education and research.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Timothy R. E. Keeney, deputy assistant secretary for oceans and atmosphere for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , were among dignitaries at anniversary events.

The center is managed by the sanctuary, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and South Florida Water Management District.

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By Mark Clothier

Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- It's midmorning in Miami Beach. The sun is shining, the waves are lapping -- and the bulldozer is roaring.

Orange netting ropes off sections of the shore as heavy equipment moves in to replenish one of the world's most famous beaches. The Atlantic Ocean lies no more than 20 feet (6 meters) away along some stretches, the result of incessant wind and water erosion, not global warming and rising seas.

Grain by grain, Miami Beach is losing the fine, bone-white sand that helps draw tourists. More than 5 million visitors a year pump $8 billion into the economy, according to the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. With domestic sources playing out, the city is asking for federal help to lift a 21- year-old ban on importing sand.

``We're the first county in Florida that's run out of sand,'' said Brian Flynn, who heads the beach restoration project for Miami-Dade County's Department of Environmental Resources Management. ``People are starting to realize sand is a finite resource.''

Miami Beach sits on a barrier island next to the city of Miami, which has a large port but not much beach. The island emerged from mangrove swamps when developers dredged Haulover Cut in 1925.

``We might as well be in Nebraska if we don't have sand and surf and beautiful beaches,'' said U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, whose district includes Miami Beach.

The beach in front of the 54-year-old Fontainebleau Hotel has been reduced to just 60 feet. Nature swept away 240 feet of its sandy beach in just a few years, said Gabriel Villaverde, who rents chaise lounges for $10 and umbrellas for $6 by the curving white structure.

Guest Dismay

The luxury hotel, undergoing a $1 billion renovation, was once a crown jewel of Florida tourism that attracted Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra and was featured in movies including ``Goldfinger.'' Now the beach's shrinkage is so dramatic that guests are taken aback, Villaverde said.

``They leave for a year, and they come back and they say, `What happened?''' he said. ``It's sad.''

Miami Beach for many years replaced sand lost to hurricanes and tides by pumping it from the ocean floor. By 2001, the county determined that supply was too depleted. Officials in nearby St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties turned down requests for help, saving their sand for their own beaches.

As a stop-gap measure, Miami Beach builds up its skinniest spots in the north with sand from the better endowed southern beaches. There isn't enough surplus sand to do so indefinitely.

Turning South

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers scrutinized the coastline of Florida and other states for more than a decade before concluding in December that the sand was exhausted. The county is asking Congress to appropriate funds in the next federal budget to help buy foreign sand and pay half of the initial $120 million cost of refilling Miami Beach.

Mexico, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, Dominican Republic, the Bahamas or other parts of the Caribbean could be sources, Flynn said. Their sand is likely to match the color and texture of Florida's, and price would be a factor, he said.

The goal is to make the 10 miles (16 kilometers) of beach at least 200 feet wide. To maintain that size for 25 years, the county would need 12 million cubic yards (9 million cubic meters) of sand, or about 600,000 dump truck loads, Flynn said.

Keeping sand on the beach is a Sisyphean task. Miami's location at the tip of a peninsula and year-round temperatures above 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 Celsius) make it prone to tropical storms that can quickly wipe out progress.

Mother Nature Rules

``We're dealing with Mother Nature here,'' said Marlo Courtney, managing director of Goldman Properties in Miami Beach and head of the Ocean Drive Association. ``She has her own set of rules.''

The main cause of beach erosion is how the land is developed and managed, said Jay Gulledge, senior scientist with the Pew Center on Global Climate Change in Arlington, Virginia. Global warming will increase erosion if it brings higher sea levels, higher waves and more tropical storms, he said.

Local boosters are worried about Miami Beach's future if no way is found to maintain its image with plenty of sand.

``Tourism is still one of the mainstays of the Florida economy,'' said Ros-Lehtinen, who helped push the Corps of Engineers to speed its assessment. Florida is the most popular U.S. destination after New York and California for foreign visitors, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

Kay Patterson of Randallstown, Maryland, came to Miami for two days before a Caribbean cruise and was disappointed to see the shrinking beach.

``Beaches are where you go to sit and relax,'' said Patterson, 55. ``If you lose that, you've lost it.''

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When Carmen Palacio stepped off the wooden boardwalk in front of her Miami Beach condo Friday, her feet landed on a stretch of sand leading to the ocean.

But that was not the case a few months ago.

''The sand had disappeared,'' said Palacio, a Triton Tower Condominium resident.

Palacio was among about 40 Triton residents who celebrated a beach restoration project Friday afternoon in front of their homes on 29th Street and Collins Avenue.

Congress, Miami-Dade's Department of Environmental Resources Management, known as DERM, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worked together to complete the $2 million renovation.

''This is what we can do, when we hold hands and don't finger-point, when we work together,'' said U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen about the collaborative effort between the Miami Beach community and government.

STARTED IN NOVEMBER

Over a three-month period, DERM pumped more than 70,000 cubic yards of sand from South Beach to the waterfront area between 26th and 29th streets in Miami Beach, DERM officials said. The project began in November and ended last week.

A mile-long pipe transported the sand, which tropical storms and natural wave patterns pushed south.

NATURAL BARRIER

But moving the tons of sand was not done to simply make a beautiful beach prettier, Ros-Lehtinen said.

For residents, the beachfront acts as a natural barrier against waves from storms.

''Six monthes ago the water was right there,'' she said, pointing to vegetation in the dunes.

``More important to us [than beautification] is the protection of the environment and lives and property. ''

One concern of residents, such as José Díaz, is how long the new beach will last.

''The work was very good,'' Díaz said. ``[But] I don't want the sand back in the ocean.''

A YEAR'S WORTH

The sand addition, which extends the beach by about 150 feet, is expected to last at least a year, DERM officials said.

''It really depends on Mother Nature,'' said Dorian Valdes, assistant director of DERM.

Over the next six monthes, DERM plans to renourish beaches near 65th Street, Bal Harbour and Sunny Isles Beach.

And in the next two year, Valdes said they will work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to restore 13 miles of Miami-Dade beachfront.

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By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER WASHINGTON

A congressional committee is investigating the purchase of 3Com Corp. by a consortium that includes a Chinese company, intensifying scrutiny of the deal.

In a letter sent Friday, Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich, said there is "growing apprehension in the Congress" about the security implications of the transaction. Dingell chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, the senior Republican on the panel, and two other members also signed the letter sent to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

Network equipment maker 3Com agreed in late September to be purchased by private equity firm Bain Capital Management and Huawei Technologies for $2.2 billion. Bain would own 83.5 percent of the company, while Huawei, a Chinese telecommunications company, would own 16.5 percent.

Huawei's alleged ties with China's military have raised security concerns on Capitol Hill and in some government agencies. Last fall, 14 senators alleged the company is the "preferred provider" of telecom equipment to China's People's Liberation Army, in a letter to a Treasury official.

The transaction is under review by a government panel charged with scrutinizing foreign investment for national security concerns. The 12-agency panel, called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States or CFIUS, is chaired by Treasury and includes the Defense, Homeland Security and Justice departments.

Bain Capital, in a statement Friday, said it is "engaged in a constructive dialogue with CFIUS regarding our proposed acquisition of 3Com Corp.," and working with U.S. officials.

"This is a confidential process to which we submitted voluntarily," Bain Capital said. "We continue to believe CFIUS will conclude that the company will remain firmly in the control of an American firm, has only a small minority foreign shareholder and that the completed deal will present no risks to national security."

Dingell's letter cited reports that China's military has tried to hack into the Pentagon's computer network and said such actions make security concerns more relevant because 3Com develops network security software.

"Given that 3Com Corporation manufactures communications network components -- some of which it supplies to the Pentagon, including firewall technology -- this transaction raises significant concerns about its potential effect on the national security of the United States," the letter said.

Paulson was asked to provide information about the government's review in a "nonpublic briefing" by Feb. 28.

Dingell and the other members also asked Paulson to describe the "extent and nature" of Huawei Technologies' ties to China's military and whether such ties "constitute a threat to U.S. national security."

Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., Thaddeus McCotter R-Mich., and several members of Congress co-sponsored a resolution last fall that said the deal "threatens the national security of the United States" and called on the government to block it.

Shares of 3Com fell 8 cents to close at $4.05 Friday.

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen, Ros-Lehtinen

By Mark Clothier

Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- It's midmorning in Miami Beach. The sun is shining, the waves are lapping -- and the bulldozer is roaring.

Orange netting ropes off sections of the shore as heavy equipment moves in to replenish one of the world's most famous beaches. The Atlantic Ocean lies no more than 20 feet (6 meters) away along some stretches, the result of incessant wind and water erosion, not global warming and rising seas.

Grain by grain, Miami Beach is losing the fine, bone-white sand that helps draw tourists. More than 5 million visitors a year pump $8 billion into the economy, according to the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. With domestic sources playing out, the city is asking for federal help to lift a 21- year-old ban on importing sand.

``We're the first county in Florida that's run out of sand,'' said Brian Flynn, who heads the beach restoration project for Miami-Dade County's Department of Environmental Resources Management. ``People are starting to realize sand is a finite resource.''

Miami Beach sits on a barrier island next to the city of Miami, which has a large port but not much beach. The island emerged from mangrove swamps when developers dredged Haulover Cut in 1925.

``We might as well be in Nebraska if we don't have sand and surf and beautiful beaches,'' said U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, whose district includes Miami Beach.

The beach in front of the 54-year-old Fontainebleau Hotel has been reduced to just 60 feet. Nature swept away 240 feet of its sandy beach in just a few years, said Gabriel Villaverde, who rents chaise lounges for $10 and umbrellas for $6 by the curving white structure.

Guest Dismay

The luxury hotel, undergoing a $1 billion renovation, was once a crown jewel of Florida tourism that attracted Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra and was featured in movies including ``Goldfinger.'' Now the beach's shrinkage is so dramatic that guests are taken aback, Villaverde said.

``They leave for a year, and they come back and they say, `What happened?''' he said. ``It's sad.''

Miami Beach for many years replaced sand lost to hurricanes and tides by pumping it from the ocean floor. By 2001, the county determined that supply was too depleted. Officials in nearby St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties turned down requests for help, saving their sand for their own beaches.

As a stop-gap measure, Miami Beach builds up its skinniest spots in the north with sand from the better endowed southern beaches. There isn't enough surplus sand to do so indefinitely.

Turning South

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers scrutinized the coastline of Florida and other states for more than a decade before concluding in December that the sand was exhausted. The county is asking Congress to appropriate funds in the next federal budget to help buy foreign sand and pay half of the initial $120 million cost of refilling Miami Beach.

Mexico, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, Dominican Republic, the Bahamas or other parts of the Caribbean could be sources, Flynn said. Their sand is likely to match the color and texture of Florida's, and price would be a factor, he said.

The goal is to make the 10 miles (16 kilometers) of beach at least 200 feet wide. To maintain that size for 25 years, the county would need 12 million cubic yards (9 million cubic meters) of sand, or about 600,000 dump truck loads, Flynn said.

Keeping sand on the beach is a Sisyphean task. Miami's location at the tip of a peninsula and year-round temperatures above 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 Celsius) make it prone to tropical storms that can quickly wipe out progress.

Mother Nature Rules

``We're dealing with Mother Nature here,'' said Marlo Courtney, managing director of Goldman Properties in Miami Beach and head of the Ocean Drive Association. ``She has her own set of rules.''

The main cause of beach erosion is how the land is developed and managed, said Jay Gulledge, senior scientist with the Pew Center on Global Climate Change in Arlington, Virginia. Global warming will increase erosion if it brings higher sea levels, higher waves and more tropical storms, he said.

Local boosters are worried about Miami Beach's future if no way is found to maintain its image with plenty of sand.

``Tourism is still one of the mainstays of the Florida economy,'' said Ros-Lehtinen, who helped push the Corps of Engineers to speed its assessment. Florida is the most popular U.S. destination after New York and California for foreign visitors, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

Kay Patterson of Randallstown, Maryland, came to Miami for two days before a Caribbean cruise and was disappointed to see the shrinking beach.

``Beaches are where you go to sit and relax,'' said Patterson, 55. ``If you lose that, you've lost it.''

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