The head of Lucent Technologies Inc. is scheduled to testify at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday examining the national security implications of its proposed acquisition by Paris-based Alcatel, the panel said on Monday, according to Reuters. In addition to Lucent Chief Executive Officer Patricia Russo, also slated to testify are Alcatel Chief Operating Officer Mike Quigley and Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England, the committee said in a statement. Rep. Duncan Hunter, chairman of the committee and a California Republican, has expressed doubts that sensitive, classified work done for the U.S. government by Lucent's Bell Laboratories facility could be protected as part of the acquisition. To ease concerns about national security, Lucent has already agreed to create a separate U.S. unit that would be run by Americans and handle sensitive government contracts. The Lucent-Alcatel acquisition has been under review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), an inter-agency panel charged with evaluating national security risks of foreign acquisitions of U.S. assets. Experts have said they expect CFIUS to approve the combination of the two telephone equipment makers. Shareholders have already backed it, as have U.S. and EU antitrust officials. CFIUS conducted an initial 30-day review of the deal then extended it by 45 days, which Hunter said he expected to be completed on Nov. 6. The panel then forwards a recommendation to President George W. Bush, who has 15 days to decide whether to allow the transaction to go forward. If approved, Russo will serve as CEO of the combined telecommunications equipment maker which will be headquartered in Paris.
