Jeb Hensarling

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hultgren), who is the vice-chairman of our Capital Markets, Securities, and Investment Subcommittee. Mr. Hultgren is the lead sponsor of two provisions of the bill, H.R. 5749, the Options Market Stability Act, and H.R. 6319, the Expanding Investment in Small Businesses Act.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Duffy), who is the chairman of our Housing and Insurance Subcommittee. Mr. Duffy is the sponsor of a provision of this bill, H.R. 4537, the International Insurance Standards Act.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Pittenger), who is the vice-chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Terrorism and Illicit Finance.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus), the vice chairman of our Financial Institutions Subcommittee, who is also the lead Republican sponsor of one of the bills in the package, H.R. 6069, the Fight Illicit Networks and Detect Trafficking Act.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Sherman), a senior Democrat on the committee and the lead sponsor of the bill.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams), the vice chairman of the Financial Services Subcommittee on Monetary Policy and Trade.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Hill), the majority whip of the committee and also the lead sponsor of H.R. 5783, the Cooperate with Law Enforcement Agencies and Watch Act, and who worked, also, extensively on H.R. 1585, the Fair Investment Opportunities for Professional Experts Act.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Emmer), who is the lead sponsor of a very important provision in the package, H.R. 5877, the Main Street Growth Act.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Loudermilk), who is the lead sponsor of two provisions in the package: H.R. 3555, the Exchange Regulatory Improvement Act, and H.R. 5953, the earlier referenced BUILD Act.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Budd), the lead sponsor of one of the provisions in the bill, H.R. 3903, the Encouraging Public Offerings Act.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from California an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Indeed, Mr. Speaker, some would say the ranking member and I can't agree even on the time of day. I was told when this debate started that thunderstorms came over Washington, D.C., it was that monumental of an achievement. But in seriousness, I do want to offer my thanks and my gratitude to the ranking member. She and her staff worked very constructively with us on this bill and the preceding important bill, the CFIUS reform, which we are still trying to work out our differences on with the Senate. But, long story short, we came together. This is going to be an important day for small business. It is an important day for 3 percent economic growth, which is so important to American families. I, too, want to echo how important the work of our staffs is. Particularly on the majority side, I wish to thank Kevin Edgar and Fritz Vaughan and their staff for their contribution. This is going to make a difference, ultimately, because small businesses one day become big businesses. This will make a difference in economic growth for all Americans. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the JOBS and Investor Confidence Act of 2018, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 770) to require the Secretary of the Treasury to mint coins in recognition of American innovation and significant innovation and pioneering efforts of individuals or groups from each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, and the United States territories, to promote the importance of innovation in the United States, the District of Columbia, and the United States territories, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, and to concur in the Senate amendment.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 4 minutes. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 5841, the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act, which the Financial Services Committee approved last month by a unanimous vote of 53-0. I want to thank both Republican and Democrat Members for their effort, but I especially want to thank the bill's sponsor, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Pittenger), who has worked tirelessly to develop this legislation and bring it to the House floor. Mr. Speaker, we would not be here but for his expertise and leadership. I also want to thank Chairman Royce for the cooperation of the Foreign Affairs Committee working with us on this very important piece of legislation. Finally, I want to thank the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr), who chairs our Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee, as well as his ranking member, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin. I also happen to see the gentleman from Washington, Mr. Heck, and I want to thank him for his contributions as well. The subcommittee held no fewer than four hearings prior to marking up this legislation, and the thoughtfulness that they brought to the issue is something we should all emulate. The bill is a comprehensive reform of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, as it is known; the first update of its kind in over a decade. CFIUS is authorized to review foreign investment transactions that may threaten our national security. And although these authorities have been wielded carefully, Congress must remain vigilant when delegating additional powers that may have far-reaching effects. The reason, Mr. Speaker, is simple. According to a Department of Commerce study from 2016, 12 million American workers have jobs resulting from foreign investment; 3\1/2\ million in the manufacturing sector alone. On top of that, the vast majority of foreign investments' value added comes from deals with U.S. allies. We need to protect our national security while also ensuring that America stays open for business. This is exactly what the House version of FIRRMA does. It closes real gaps in CFIUS' jurisdiction that could otherwise be exploited by bad actors, but it doesn't give the government a foothold to go after deals or entire sectors on a whim. We target those transactions in countries, including China and Russia, that truly present a national security risk, but without strangling the investment and innovation that makes our country strong to begin with. We also focus on particular assets that are sensitive, assets like sensitive personal data of U.S. citizens or technical information on critical technologies and critical infrastructure rather than walling off entire categories of U.S. companies and industries. It is also important to know what that bill doesn't do, Mr. Speaker. We don't change due process under CFIUS, and we don't weaken confidentiality requirements that CFIUS is subject to. H.R. 5841 keeps CFIUS accountable. Finally, this legislation recognizes that CFIUS and export controls are complementary. As two sides of the same coin, reforms to both clearly belong in the same bill. We are pleased to see this legislation include such reforms to the export control regime, again, reforms that passed the Foreign Affairs Committee by voice vote in April. They make the House version of FIRRMA even stronger. Again, Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank Members on both sides of the aisle, especially Mr. Pittenger, but all Members on both sides of the aisle who contributed so thoughtfully to this legislation, including the cooperation of the ranking member. I urge all of my colleagues to support it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Pittenger), the vice chairman of the Terrorism and Illicit Finance Subcommittee and the author of the FIRRMA bill before us.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from North Carolina.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr), the chairman of the Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee, and the subcommittee chairman who helped craft the bill and helped shepherd it to the markup process.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Davidson), who is a hardworking member of the Financial Services Committee and a member of the Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee that dealt with this FIRRMA legislation.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr), who is the chairman of our Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, again, I think this is a very important piece of legislation that has come before the body. I also want to acknowledge that, yes, it is very challenging for this body to engage in bipartisan legislation. But we have clearly achieved it today. I think we have achieved it because we know that as Americans we must rally around when it comes to issues of national security. So, again, I want to thank the ranking member. I want to thank the gentleman from Washington and all other Members on the other side of the aisle for coming together. And as the gentleman from Washington said, perhaps not getting exactly the bill that they wanted--I assure the gentleman from Washington I didn't get exactly the bill I wanted-- but we have a very strong bill that I think balances our critical need to safeguard our technology and at the same time recognizes how important foreign direct investment is in growing our economy and being able to afford the type of defense structures that we need so that our national security is never second to none. Again, Mr. Speaker, we could not have done this first without the leadership, the expertise, and the drive of the gentleman from North Carolina. I believe that some form of this bill will soon end up on the President's desk and we will all thank the gentleman from North Carolina for his leadership in getting America to this point. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to vote for this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous materials on the bill, H.R. 5735.