This covers US power plants, ports and facilities that could be vulnerable to terror attacks.

Jun 30, 2007
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government would gain broader powers to review foreign investment in U.S. power plants, ports and other facilities that could be vulnerable to terror attacks under a bill approved by the Senate.

The legislation, passed by voice vote Friday, would give legal muscle to a once-obscure federal office that gained notoriety last year after approving plans by a Dubai-owned company to manage six of the nation's largest ports.

The deal fell through after lawmakers from both parties said the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, ignored serious national security concerns in signing off on the transaction by Dubai-based DP World.

But efforts to overhaul how the government reviews such deals foundered in Congress last year.

Both the House and Senate have revived such efforts this year, however, and Friday's development indicates the legislation may soon land on President George W. Bush's desk.

The bill, which must be reconciled with a similar version passed by the House in February, would expand the definition of transactions that require CFIUS review to include those involving homeland security and critical infrastructures.

It also takes steps to ensure that high-level officials, including the director of national intelligence, will be involved in decisions by the multi-agency group.

The bill requires that Congress be notified at the end of initial reviews by the CFIUS panel and also receive reports on potentially riskier deals that require a second review.

The Bush administration supports the legislation with some reservations, cautioning that too-long investigations "may discourage foreign investment by generating uncertainty and delay."

» Have your say on this and other issues in our forum pages