[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 34 (Thursday, March 16, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S2335]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DURBIN:
  S. 2442. A bill to require the President or the Committee on Foreign 
Investment in the United States to submit to Congress draft 
investigation reports on national security related investigations, to 
address mandatory investigations by such committee, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce common sense 
legislation that would improve the way we review proposed purchases of 
American assets by foreign companies and governments.
  Much has already been said about the prospect of Dubai Ports World 
taking responsibility for some of the operations of our nation's ports. 
The way that the Bush Administration has handled this situation has 
made it very clear that the process we currently use to review the 
national security implications of foreign acquisitions is simply not 
working. We must do better.
  Let me be clear: I do not believe that we should automatically 
dismiss out of hand any potential foreign investments in this country. 
Vibrant trade, when conducted sensibly and fairly, is good for America.
  However, I think that for any proposed deal in which a foreign 
company would take over important responsibilities related to America's 
critical infrastructure--whether it be our ports, our railroads, our 
airports, or anything else that is fundamental to our national 
security--we should take a very close look at such a deal.
  For any proposed deal in which a foreign country would take over any 
of our nations' companies, we should take an even closer look.
  I strongly believe that we should be building our ties with friendly 
Arab nations, through diplomacy, trade, and all of the other mechanisms 
we have at our disposal. However, the process by which this Dubai Ports 
World deal was waved through by the Bush Administration without 
anything resembling a thorough review of the security risks is simply 
not good enough.
  This bill would improve the review process in five ways.
  First, my legislation would require that a more thorough 45-day 
investigation be undertaken by the Committee on Foreign Investment in 
the United States (CFIUS) when either of two situations occurs: when a 
foreign government wants to purchase any assets in the United States, 
and when a foreign-owned company wants to purchase critical 
infrastructure in the United States.
  Second, my bill would mandate that at least 7 days before the end of 
a foreign investment review, the CFIUS chair must submit a draft of its 
report to the Homeland Security committees in each chamber.
  Third, when the CFIUS review is completed, each cabinet secretary 
whose agency has been involved in the review must certify in writing 
his or her agreement or dissent.
  Fourth, under current law, the President can only block a transaction 
when the buyer ``might fail to take necessary action to prevent 
impairment of the national security,'' which is an extraordinarily high 
threshold for action. My bill would lower the threshold so that the 
President can realistically take action in more ambiguous situations 
where there is credible evidence that the buyer itself presents a 
national security threat.
  Fifth, the bill would mandate that CFIUS should be chaired by the 
Secretary of Homeland Security instead of the Secretary of the 
Treasury.
  I believe that these common sense reforms will support healthy trade 
and investment, but will at the same time ensure that foreign 
investments in American assets do not compromise our national security. 
I look forward to working with my colleagues to combine my bill with 
the many other good ideas that have been proposed in order to pass 
legislation that will make this review process stronger.
  Our national security--and our economic strength--depend on it.
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