| Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Bill Shuster voted to make important reforms to the interagency Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
Last year, CFIUS failed to address the important national security implications posed by the Dubai Ports World merger, an agreement that would have led to the United Arab Emirates owning six ports in the United States. Today’s legislation, H.R. 556 puts national security first, and addresses the key failures in the CFIUS process that led to the Dubai Ports World deal.
“Protecting America from foreign and domestic threats is the government’s paramount responsibility. A balance must be struck between the need to remain open to foreign investment in order to grow our economy and the responsibly to protect our vital national infrastructure. Today’s legislation strikes that balance,” Shuster said.
When Dubai Ports World, a company owned by the United Arab Emirates, acquired a British-based firm last year, it inherited commercial operations at the ports of New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Miami and New Orleans, posing a significant security risk to our homeland security. Congressman Shuster wrote to President Bush last February urging him to closely review the approval of the deal by CFIUS.
“When I called on President Bush to thoroughly review Dubai Ports World’s intention to purchase operations at six of America’s busiest ports, I realized that CFIUS had failed in its duty to investigate every aspect of the deal, including negative impacts on our national security,” Shuster said.
“The threats we face today are not limited to the battlefield. We must be on guard against espionage by competing nations and the use of front companies to allow terrorists to undermine our security, especially where our vital infrastructure is concerned. I welcome this much needed legislation.”
H.R. 566, the “National Security Foreign Investment Reform and Strengthened Transparency Act of 2007” makes important reforms to the CFIUS process including; greater accountability to Congress; greater internal scrutiny of transactions; and most important – directly involving the intelligence community into each step of the CFIUS process. |
