A group of 15 chief executives who head US subsidiaries of foreign companies will descend on Washington next week to encourage lawmakers to take a cautious approach to proposed legislation that will make it more difficult for foreign companies to buy US assets.

The initiative is part of a wider plan by business lobbyists to put an "American face" on an issue they say threatens the flow of investment into the US and could make it more difficult for US companies to enter foreign markets. It comes just weeks after the Senate banking committee unanimously passed a bill that would make national security reviews of foreign deals more stringent.

The CEOs who will meet leaders on Capitol Hill include the heads of the US subsidiaries of Panasonic, Eon, Experian and Mack, a division of Volvo Group.

The campaign, led by the Washington-based Organisation for International Investment, comes as the House of Representatives prepares to put forward its own bill to revamp Cfius, the Treasury-chaired inter-agency panel that vets sensitive foreign acquisitions of US assets.

The hearing is expected to include testimony from Donald Evans, former commerce secretary, who heads Financial Services Forum, a banking lobby group. Mr Evans has warned lawmakers not to support policies that would put "unwise and unnecessary new restraints on open markets". Paul Vickner, who sits on Volvo's executive committee, will also testify at the hearing.

Legislation currently being negotiated by congressmen Roy Blunt and Michael Oxley is expected to be more business-friendly than the Senate version and could be introduced in the next few weeks.

Most insiders believe both chambers of Congress will ultimately support provisions that make it tougher for foreign state-owned companies to buy US assets.