[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 104 (Tuesday, August 1, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Page S8534]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             REFORMING THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN INVESTMENT

 Mr. BUNNING. Mr. President, today I express my interest in 
continuing to work on reform of the Committee on Foreign Investment in 
the United States.
  National security is our priority, but it is vital that we not let 
overreaction from the Dubai Ports World controversy result in hasty 
legislation that will choke off foreign direct investment, or ``in-
sourcing,'' which is a key contributor to the U.S. economy. In my own 
State, 87,000 people, or 6 percent of the entire State workforce, are 
employed by in-sourcing companies. These are good jobs, most frequently 
in manufacturing, paying 34 percent higher wages on average.
  It is understandable that everyone involved with the CFIUS process 
today is very cautious. Consequently, there are more CFIUS filings. 
CFIUS is taking extra measures to ensure that every transaction is 
strenuously scrutinized. Moreover, CFIUS is frequently requiring 
security commitments from parties with regard to transactions that they 
would not have given a second thought before.
  Without a doubt, some of this is good--the CFIUS process needs to be 
thorough. But extreme caution, when mixed with amendments to the Exon-
Florio statute proposed by S. 3549, may result in substantial 
bureaucratic friction and delay for the foreign investments that pose 
no national security risk.
  I am concerned that, in the post-Dubai Ports World environment, 
overburdened CFIUS agencies could be tempted to regularly seek to 
extend the initial 30-day review to a 60-day period for reasons 
unrelated to any issues presented by the transaction under review. This 
temptation could be even greater given the case-by-case, detailed 
notifications to Congress that the bill would require CFIUS personnel 
to provide at every stage of regulatory proceedings. Ultimately, these 
delays could clog up the CFIUS process, penalize foreign investors, and 
chill foreign investment, without actually contributing to improved 
national security.
  I also raised this issue during Banking Committee hearings on S. 
3549, which passed the Senate last week. Chairman Shelby pledged to 
work to address these concerns during markup of the legislation. I look 
forward to working with him to do so as the bill proceeds to 
conference.

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