Conference Report on H.R. National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of major reforms included in the National Defense Authorization Act conference report regarding the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States and export controls.

I thank the chairman of the Armed Services Committee for his excellent leadership in addressing the readiness crisis and giving our men and women in uniform the tools they need to defend our freedoms.

The House Financial Services Committee held four hearings on CFIUS reform, inviting a diverse set of witnesses that ranged from government officials who currently serve on CFIUS to members of the defense, intelligence, and business communities.

We also held numerous briefings and meetings with experts, equally diverse as those who testified before the committee, on the threat that China and other adversaries pose to the national security of the United States.

In the end, I am pleased to see we have a bipartisan, bicameral product that reflects the work and views of these experts.

Specifically, these critical reforms counteract the surge in malign foreign investment from China that threatens our national security by enhancing the review process of transactions where our enemies could steal technologies and infrastructure critical to the defense of our country.

The gaps that we have closed in security that China and other adversaries have circumvented from CFIUS review include noncontrolling investments, joint ventures, and acquisition of real estate near sensitive military sites.

At the same time, these reforms ensure that America's doors remain open to benign foreign direct investment that in 2016 added $894 billion to the value of the U.S. economy and that support 6.8 million workers today in this country.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Congressman Pittenger, Senator Cornyn, Congressman Heck, Chairman Hensarling, Chairman Thornberry, Chairman Crapo, Ranking Member Waters, and House and Senate leadership for their dedication to getting these much-needed reforms done in a bipartisan way. And I encourage my colleagues to support the underlying bill, the NDAA conference report.

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