After the events of September 11, 2001, the concern about national security and the call for protecting this country has become one of the top priorities of the government. Some critics of PPPs have raised concerns about the foreign origin of concessionaires and the possibility that this may be a threat to national security. During the Indiana Toll Road deal, opposition to the lease was fueled after public disclosure that the U.S. ports were operated by a company owned by the government of Dubai (Buxbaum and Ortiz 2007). Although there was no direct relation between these two deals, the latter served to strengthen and raise additional concerns about leasing the toll road to foreign investors. It should be noted that foreign investments in highways that could affect national security are subject to review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., under the Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007.
The "non-DOT" survey brought up the national security concern as well by one respondent, specifically in defining what entity will have final oversight and decision making on PPPs, whether it is the public sector or the private concessionaire. The GAO (2000b) found that the federal government's involvement with PPPs has been limited to projects that have used or will use federal funding; however, some of these deals may have implications of national interest, such as interstate commerce or national security. The GAO recommended a reexamination of federal programs that will include a definition of national interests on PPP and how these interests can be protected.