Legislation that seeks to increase Congressional oversight of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this week.
Specifically, the Foreign Investment Transparency and Accountability Act, sponsored by U.S. Reps. John Moolenaar (R-MI), Zach Nunn (R-IA), and Bill Huizenga (R-MI), would help identify loopholes that fall outside the jurisdiction of CFIUS.
Under current law, no justification is given to Congress if a transaction is initially flagged by a CFIUS official as a threat to national security, and then ultimately not reviewed.
This bill would require the committee to notify Congress in such a case and provide reasoning why the transaction was not reviewed.
“CFIUS was created with the intent of protecting America and stopping transactions that pose a risk to our national security. A lot has changed since CFIUS was created and unfortunately, it has been left behind. My legislation will increase Congressional oversight so the problems at CFIUS will be fixed, and the committee can once again protect the American people from foreign investments that pose a national security risk,” Moolenaar said.
CFIUS, established under the Defense Production Act of 1950, consists of 16 federal agencies including the Departments of Defense, State, Treasury, and Commerce. CFIUS is responsible to review national security considerations of investments of American land and businesses by foreign entities.
“It is clear the CFIUS review process needs continued modernization as foreign entities with ties to the Chinese Communist Party and other hostile actors seek to expand their footprint in America,” Huizenga said. “This legislation increases our national security by enhancing congressional oversight and requiring greater transparency and accountability from CFIUS.”
Nunn added that this is a commonsense solution to root out foreign adversaries and address growing concerns over foreign purchases.