(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Congressman Chip Cravaack (MN-8) sent a letter to Treasury Department Secretary Timothy Geithner regarding the proposed purchase of Cirrus Industries Incorporated by the China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Company.

“In the letter I sent today, I urged Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner – who serves as the head of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States – to use extreme caution when dealing with the China Aviation Industry General Aircraft Company’s bid to purchase Cirrus Industries Incorporated,” Cravaack said. “My main goal is to ensure the high-skilled jobs at Cirrus stay in Minnesota, instead of being shipped overseas to one of our main competitors in the global market. On top of that, I have serious concerns with the transfer of advanced aircraft technology from Cirrus to a company that is essentially owned and operated by a Chinese government-run defense contractor.”

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is an inter-agency committee authorized to review transactions that could result in the control of a U.S. business by a foreign entity, in order to determine the effect of such transactions on national security. If CFIUS finds that a transaction would present a risk to national security, the Committee may enter into an agreement with, or impose conditions on, the parties involved to mitigate such risk. It may also refer the case to the President of the United States for action.

Congressman Cravaack serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee – where he is Vice Chair of the Aviation Subcommittee – the Homeland Security Committee, and the Science, Space and Technology Committee. The 8th Congressional District covers 18 counties in Northeast Minnesota.