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Treasury's Snow: U.S. to Bolster Security Reviews NewsMax.com Wires WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration, reeling from a recent ruckus over ports security, will work with Congress to bolster national security reviews of foreign companies and others that want to invest in the United States, Treasury Secretary John Snow said Tuesday. Snow emphasized the importance of maintaining a climate that still encourages foreign investment in this country but suggested that security procedures warranted closer scrutiny in a post 9-11 world. "As we enter into the debate over its reform one point must stand clear: National security is our top priority," Snow said. Congress is considering various measures to revamp the way the federal government reviews foreign proposals to do business in the United States, like the DP World's proposal to oversee significant operations at six major U.S. ports. The ports deal had been approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, a panel headed by the Treasury Department. But the Dubai-owned company later pulled out of the deal in the face of massive political protests over the transaction, and said it would transfer the port operations to a U.S. company. Story Continues Below
The administration will work to "strengthen scrutiny of CFIUS cases involving state-owned companies" and "strengthen the president's authority to enforce CFIUS actions," Snow said. The Treasury chief also said that the administration would make sure that lawmakers in Congress are in the loop. "We will work to ... expand notifications of decisions to Congress so that it can fulfill its important oversight responsibilities," Snow said. Snow said it is of utmost importance that policy-makers - concerned about national security - not take action that would stifle foreigners from investing in the United States. "It is vital that we avoid taking steps in the name of national security that instead are isolationist, having the effect of choking off vital investments in America," he said. "For example, some have called for automatic investigation of any investment that could affect 'economic security' - that's a very vague concept and would create uncertainty, which would chill investment."
© 2006 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Editor's note: Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics:
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