Washington, D.C. -- Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) today joined Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Senator Joe Lieberman (D-CT), and Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) in introducing legislation to improve the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) review process. Specifically, the bill will transfer the authority of reviewing foreign investments in the United States to the Department of Homeland Security and impose additional structure and increase congressional oversight on the review process.

"Given the national and homeland security implications of foreign ownership of U.S. critical infrastructure, I believe it is absolutely necessary for Congress to ensure that the Executive Branch performs a rigorous review of such transactions. Our bill requires that Congress is informed of pending investigations that may impact security prior to the President making a decision whether or not to disapprove the transaction," stated Senator Akaka.

"I was disturbed that two of the CFIUS reviewing Departments -- the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security - do not currently have internal written instructions on their review processes. How do we know that adequate reviews are conducted if a systematic and documented process that is subject to audit does not exist? Our legislation closes this procedural gap."

"I am pleased that Dubai Ports World is attempting to address the concerns of the American public. However, this problem is bigger than just a single transaction. As members of the Homeland Security Committee, it is our responsibility to repair the CFIUS process to ensure future transactions are handled appropriately," remarked Senator Akaka.

Senator Akaka is a senior member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.