A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is expected to reintroduce legislation, perhaps as soon as this week, that would overhaul the government’s secretive program for reviewing the national-security implications of foreign investments in the U.S.

The legislation, initially written last year in the wake of the political firestorm over Dubai Ports World is designed to improve disclosure and raise accountability of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., or CFIUS. The legislation, among other things, would require CFIUS to conduct a 45-day investigation for all proposed investments involving foreign government-owned firms. Critics complained that CFIUS officials did not conduct a 45-day investigation before approving DP World’s bid to manage several ports on the Atlantic seaboard. The company, owned by the government of Dubai, decided to divest those assets amid a swell of outrage on Capitol Hill.

The House legislation is backed by several members in both parties, including New York Rep. Joseph Crowley, a Democrat, and Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt, the House Republican whip. It also is supported by a coalition of business groups, including the Organization for International Investment and the Business Roundtable. The coalition is concerned that CFIUS officials have gone too far in tightening their reviews and hopes that approval of the House bill will “safeguard national security while restoring confidence and certainty to the review process.”

It’s unclear, so far, how the Senate will proceed. But last year several senior members of the Senate debated changes to CFIUS that would have gone beyond the reforms discussed in the House. They included proposals to require disclosure to Congress of ongoing CFIUS investigations. The House bill proposed wider disclosure of CFIUS actions, but only after investigations had been concluded. –Greg Hitt