House Members Urge Subcommittee to Fully Fund CFIUS

A Republican and a Democratic representative are urging the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services to fully fund the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in the wake of the president's 2019 budget request. Reps. Denny Heck, D-Wash., and Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., were planning to send a letter to the subcommittee about the critical role played by CFIUS, which was reformed in 2018 when Congress passed the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA). FIRRMA expanded the jurisdiction of CFIUS when the committee reviews transactions by foreign entities in the U.S. to determine their effect on national security, according to the Treasury Department. Among many changes, FIRRMA expanded which transactions CFIUS can review and allowed it to undertake lengthier investigations. In their letter, the representatives stressed the importance of granting “dedicated funds” to CFIUS, as the Treasury recommended in its budget request. “Lack of resources would impair how effectively CFIUS can enforce mitigation agreements and its ability to maintain awareness of relevant non-notified transactions,” the letter says.