National Security Foreign Investment Reform And Strengthened Transparency Act Of 2006

NATIONAL SECURITY FOREIGN INVESTMENT REFORM AND STRENGTHENED TRANSPARENCY ACT OF 2006

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Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge all Members to support H.R. 5337, the National Security FIRST Act, which makes important reforms to the process by which the Committee on Foreign Investment of the United States scrutinizes purchases of U.S. businesses by foreign ones, to ensure that there is no threat to national security.

As we consider this legislation, we must remember that the result of foreign investment in the United States has been spectacular. U.S. subsidiaries of foreign-owned companies employ nearly 5 1/2 million Americans. The average salary for those workers is a healthy $60,000 and a third of those jobs are in manufacturing.

At a time when we are concerned about our balance of trade, it is important to note that more than 20 percent of U.S. exports are produced by U.S. subsidiaries of foreign companies. Mr. Speaker, we all know why we are here today.

Congress and the country went through a very difficult period this spring after we learned about the Dubai Ports sale.

As a response, in one of the best examples of bipartisanship I have seen in my tenure here, H.R. 5337 was introduced by Majority Whip BLUNT, Chairwoman PRYCE, Mrs. Maloney and Mr. Crowley and now has nearly 90 cosponsors. It is a very good bill that addresses what some see as flaws in the CFIUS process without creating new problems or barriers to investment.

I would particularly like to compliment Chairwoman PRYCE for her leadership on this complex issue. In three very thorough hearings, she made certain,ky018 members were well-versed in the details of the CFIUS process before any legislating was done. The result was a unanimous 64-0 vote for passage in the Financial Services Committee.

The language we are considering today is nearly identical, with a manager's amendment that makes only a few changes made to further strengthen the process. Among those changes are the addition of Commerce Secretary as a second Vice Chair of CFIUS; the addition of the Energy Secretary to CFIUS itself; clarification that CFIUS reviews are to be done to determine the effects of a transaction on national security; the requirement that the 30-day review period end with a roll call vote, with any single dissenting vote sending the transaction into the 45-day investigative period; and further clarification of the role of the Director of National Intelligence in the CFIUS process.

Mr. Speaker, what we need to accomplish is to strengthen the national security in two ways: by increasing administration accountability and by improving the ability of Congress to perform necessary oversight. This bill does both. The result will be a process that stops what should be disapproved and gives a green light to what should be approved, including, of course, any modifications needed to protect against the loss of the defense industrial base or a critical technology.

This is a strong and effective bill here that corrects exactly what was wrong with the CFIUS process without overreaching and causing further problems. It continues to give CFIUS the flexibility to exercise discretion, allowing it to focus on investments that raise national security concerns. I do not and will not support some of the other proposals that have been put forward, such as any additional time delays or directly involving Congress in the decisionmaking process. I believe we need to take great care to refrain from inserting politics into the consideration process, and that goal has been achieved here.

Mr. Speaker, we must protect our national security, but national security includes economic security. Let's remember that it is our economic security and prosperity that give us the resources to provide adequately for our internal and external defenses. We simply must not drive off those who want to make the wise investment in our great economy.

Our friends in the other body should understand that no bill would be a preferable alternative to a bad bill, and we in the House will not sacrifice American prosperity and job growth when there is no real improvement to American security.

Mr. Speaker, this is an excellent bill; and I think the CFIUS process and our national security would be improved by enacting it exactly as written.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. OXLEY. Mr. Speaker, I will be brief. I do not think anybody could have predicted, certainly not me, that a few weeks after the firestorm that came about with the announcement of the Dubai Ports deal that we would be on the floor today debating legislation that was considered by our committee and others and passed in our committee overwhelmingly with a 64-0 bipartisan vote, with cooperation on both sides of the aisle, to deal with a real problem.

Even though I personally felt there was a great deal of overreaction about the Dubai Ports deal, the fact is that it revealed some very deep concerns that people like the gentleman from California had, and others, about how the CFIUS process works. We set about with great care, working with Mr. Frank, our ranking member, Mrs. Maloney and Mr. Crowley, to craft a bill under the guidance of Chairwoman PRYCE and Mr. Blunt from Missouri, to craft a bill that met the balance, met the test of dealing with our very real concerns about national security and, at the same time, encouraging foreign investment into our country.

I have to say that of all the bills I have been involved in since I have been chairman, and, frankly, all the bills I have been involved in since I have been here in 25 years, this was one that gave me a great deal of satisfaction because it showed the legislative process at its very best, with input from people who had a great deal of knowledge, who worked very hard on the issue, from the staff to the Members, to craft this legislation and stand here today, just a few weeks after that firestorm, with a product that is going to pass overwhelmingly in this House and that really says that this House, when we want to, can deal in a bipartisan way with some very difficult issues in a very professional manner.

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