Protecting Our Elections: A Question Of National SecurityBY
SecurityBY CONGRESSMEMBER CAROLYN MALONEY

Remember the notorious Dubai ports deal? That controversy exploded into public view last year. That's when the American people learned to their amazement that federal government agencies- through a multi-agency panel called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)- had signed off on a plan to allow a foreign company, based in the Middle East, to operate and maintain the safety and security of our nation's vital major harbors.

It came as something of a shock, especially in this age of heightened concern over terrorism, that a foreign nation that most Americans had never heard of would suddenly be controlling our major ports. Skeptical New Yorkers, in particular, sat up and took a good, hard look at just what CFIUS was up to. Since none of the planes that attacked us on 9/11 actually flew out of the Big Apple, we New Yorkers know that we have to pay careful attention to what federal, state, and local government agencies are doing, or not doing, to protect us- the No.1 terrorist target in the world.

Americans quickly came to the conclusion that CFIUS, whose lead agency was the U.S. Treasury Department, was not constituted to, or capable of, making prudent decisions about whether business deals like the Dubai ports contract posed any threat to our security. And many of us figured that if CFIUS were so lackadaisical about reviewing an arrangement governing the safety of our harbors, it probably was asleep at the switch on a lot of other dubious deals, too.

Sure enough, there was at least one other business transaction that just didn't pass the smell test.

Last year, I learned that a voting machine manufacturer, Sequoia, was owned by a holding company named Smartmatic that was in turn closely linked to the Venezuelan government of Hugo Chavez. Sequoia was selling machines around the U.S. for use in American elections, but CFIUS hadn't even bothered to perform a review of this arrangement at all. I could not for the life of me understand how, with so many questions already swirling around past elections in Florida and elsewhere, the federal government would completely take a pass on just whose machines were used to count and determine the outcome of that most sacred foundation of our democracy, free and fair elections.

After I and others, including CNN host Lou Dobbs, helped shine a spotlight on Smartmatic, CFIUS finally buckled under and launched a review. Apparently unable to overcome the cloud of uncertainty over its relationship with and possible control by a foreign government, Smartmatic recently threw in the towel and sold off Sequoia before CFIUS concluded its investigation. It was a win for the integrity of our democratic system, but pointed up the need to overhaul the federal government's shaky process of reviewing and approving foreign investments in sensitive aspects of American economic and political life.

As a member of the House Committee on Financial Services, which has jurisdiction over CFIUS, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work on legislation to bolster the panel's security review process. I knew I had to be careful, because investments in the U.S. from abroad are a critical bulwark of our economy, and I knew we had to avoid any negative unintended consequences.

This year, I reintroduced a measure that was passed by the House last year that will strengthen CFIUS' vetting of foreign investments and give officials focused primarily on security issues more of a say in the CFIUS review process. My bill will also increase Congressional notification and require more regular investigations, while at the same time striking the right balance and avoiding discouraging foreign investment in the U.S. Keeping us safe and maintaining healthy economic activity must not and cannot be mutually exclusive.

Last week, the House of Representatives unanimously passed my bill (H.R. 556) by a 423-0 vote, thanks in part to Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (DMassachusetts). It will now be taken up by the Senate, where action will be necessary, since CFIUS still hasn't been overhauled, even after the Dubai and Smartmatic controversies.

In the wake of the Dubai ports debacle, the American people deserve a swifter response on CFIUS reform than they have gotten so far. Let's hope that we're not still wrestling with dubious foreign investment deals a year from now. It's time to work together to effect meaningful change for the better- and no place stands to benefit more than New York.

Congressmember Carolyn Maloney, a Democrat, represents Astoria and the Upper East Side of Manhattan in the 14th Congressional District.