Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee ranking member U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warran (D-MA) is calling on the GAO to conduct a review of foreign investment safeguards.
In a letter to Gene Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States, Warren asked for a comprehensive review of two U.S. national security programs – the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CEIUS) and the Department of Defense’s Foreign Ownership, Control or Influence (FOCI) program.
Warren said the programs serve as the country’s frontline defenses against foreign efforts to gain control of U.S. companies especially in areas like critical technology, infrastructure, and defense. In her letter, Warren asked for broad examinations than the GAO has previously done to test how well the safeguards work.
“Congress would benefit from a more comprehensive study on potential redundancies or shortcomings – as well as the efficacy of the mechanisms in place to ensure compliance with agreed upon mitigations,” she wrote.
In specific, Warren asked the GAO to examine whether those responsible for compliance have national security experience or were selected for their commercial ties; whether staffing is adequate and has appropriate oversite; and whether the current FOCI and CFIUS practices have a rigorous security0first approach.
Warren said there is a need to assess whether “current ecosystem of mitigation agreements represents a truly rigorous system of oversight focused primarily on national security outcomes, or whether other considerations have come to influence the implementation of these critical safeguards.”