http://www.ajc.com/business/content/...ongress.htmlAs UPS, DHL pursue a deal, Congress gets involvedBy RACHEL TOBIN RAMOSThe Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionA proposed deal for UPS to carry air cargo for DHL has taken the national stage. Both presidential candidates have seized on the issue because the deal could put thousands of Ohio workers and pilots out of jobs.In an August radio ad, run in Ohio, Democratic candidate Barack Obama accused Republican candidate John McCain’s campaign manager of lobbying to help Deutsch Post World Net, the German parent company of DHL, buy the Wilmington, Ohio, air hub that it now plans to close.McCain responded by meeting with two dozen Wilmington community leaders and calling for a federal probe of the pending UPS/DHL deal. Meanwhile, the White House appointed a liaison to monitor the proposed deal, and two congressmen vowed to hold hearings in September.“It is a presidential election, so you will see some efforts to make noise in the media that the political campaigns are paying attention to,” said crisis management consultant Eric Dezenhall, CEO of Dezenhall Resources in Washington and author of “Damage Control.”Currently, lawyers at Sandy Springs-based UPS are talking to lawyers for DHL in Plantation, Fla., its U.S. headquarters. DHL’s world headquarters are in Belgium.The two carriers want to strike a deal to let UPS fly DHL’s air cargo inside North America. The deal is not a merger, which would require approval from federal regulators. DHL and UPS are saying it’s a contract, similar to how UPS and FedEx fly air cargo for the United States Postal Service.But pilots who fly for DHL, and stand to lose their jobs, as well as the entire Ohio congressional delegation, are clamoring for extra scrutiny. The pilots have sued DHL, and congressional leaders are turning up the heat in Washington. The groups say that having two competitors work so closely together will violate antitrust laws.The contract would make DHL the largest customer for UPS, adding about $1 billion a year to UPS’ revenue.Dezenhall said scrutinizing the issue is a pretty safe bet for the politicians.In political science, he said, it’s called a “valance issue,” or an issue that 100 percent of the population can agree on.“By coming out and saying, ‘I’m concerned about this,’ they’ve weighed in and tipped their hat to Ohio voters, showing they’re paying attention. But they’re stopping short of getting into taking sides because they don’t know where the ball is bouncing. Nobody gets hurt that way.”U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) said he understands his congressional colleagues’ urge to look into the issue. “Any time we have a situation where the country is having economically difficult times and a presidential race going on,” he said, “and a business transaction taking place that affects jobs, obviously it gets more attention than it might otherwise get.”Said Isakson: “Congress has the ability to look into anything it wants to look into.”So far, he said, no one from UPS has lobbied him to support the deal, although he knows several UPS lobbyists. He said he frequently talks to them about energy issues. (In the last quarter, UPS’ fuel bill rose 67.4 percent to $1.17 billion, from $697 million the same period a year ago.) Isakson and U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) recently introduced an energy bill.Isakson doesn’t believe the DHL/UPS contract will require federal regulatory oversight.UPS spokesman Norman Black said the company will cooperate with any congressional inquiries. One hearing has been set for Sept. 16.“If we are asked to testify at these hearings,” he said, “we’ll be more than happy to do so. We do not fear in any way this scrutiny, because any objective look at the proposed deal — remember, it’s not done — will demonstrate that it does not raise any antitrust issues.”He expressed frustration at people who believe they can force DHL to keep its Wilmington hub open. “I’ve seen some people suggest you can somehow order DHL to keep suffering these losses and keep jobs in place.”DHL officials could not be reached for comment.In May, DHL said that by outsourcing to UPS, its U.S. operations will save about $1 billion per year.The news came about four years after DHL made a heavy push to carve into rivals FedEx and UPS’ U.S. territory. DHL is a stronger force internationally.In 2004, DHL announced it would spend $1.2 billion to build more infrastructure here, and the company secured a commitment for $422 million in incentives from the state of Ohio to improve the Wilmington air hub, which DHL owns.The air hub is the crux of the problem in Ohio. It handles only DHL flights, and the hub, which employs thousands of workers, would close under the proposed deal.The interest from Washington hasn’t slowed the deal’s progress, said UPS’ Black. UPS executives have said they are working to finalize the DHL contract this fall, or by the end of the year at the latest.Ed Wolfe, a freight analyst in New York with Wolfe Research, had a different conclusion. He wrote in a note to clients on Aug. 11, “Last week, two senators asked regulators to look into potential implications of a proposed 10-year line-haul agreement between UPS and DHL. Our sense is that federal scrutiny could delay the process further, although we still expect eventual completion.”