Key committees in the Senate and House have concluded initial hearings on the bill to reform the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2017 (FIRRMA). FIRRMA was introduced in the Senate and House by Senator Cornyn and Representative Pittenger with bipartisan cosponsors on November 9, 2017. CFIUS is the interagency US government body originally created by President Ford in 1975 to review the national security implications of foreign investment activity in the United States. CFIUS reviews foreign acquisitions, mergers, and takeovers of existing businesses in the United States for US national security concerns.

This advisory identifies key issues with the existing CFIUS process that have prompted calls for reform, the mechanisms that FIRRMA would create to address those issues, and some of the main criticisms of FIRRMA that have been registered by congressional witnesses and others thus far.

For more information, please see our advisory.