Congress Tightens Exon-Florio 'National Security' Reviews of Foreign Investment in the United States,"

On Wednesday, Congress passed the "Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007" to formalize and tighten the process for reviews of foreign acquisitions of businesses in the US that raise potential national security concerns. The new Act amends the "Exon-Florio Amendment to the Defense Production Act" and codifies - as well as extends - recent trends toward more stringent review of foreign acquisitions by the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS), which is an interagency committee chaired by the Treasury Secretary and composed of various representatives of the executive branch. There are also enhanced Congressional reporting requirements.
The new Act cleans up many of the provisions of earlier proposals considered problematic by the business community.