S.Amdt. 6195

This amendment, submitted by Ms. Baldwin, proposes to add Title XVII, known as the Foreign Investment Review Monitoring and Commitment Tracking Oversight Board Act (or the FIRM Commitment Tracking Oversight Board Act), to bill S. 4784.

The purpose of this amendment is to establish a system for monitoring and tracking foreign investment commitments made to the United States. It aims to add the following to the bill:

• Establishment of FIRA: It creates the Foreign Investment Review Authority (FIRA), a board of directors tasked with reviewing investments to determine if they are covered investments or qualified investments.

• Oversight and Ethics: It creates an Office of the Chief Ethics Officer and a Public Oversight Board to handle complaints and ensure there are no conflicts of interest regarding investment reviews.

• Investment Criteria: It defines net economic benefit (such as promoting domestic growth and creating quality jobs) and sets rules for what makes an investment qualified. It specifically prohibits certain investments, such as those linked to the UFLPA Entity List.

• Transparency and Accountability: It requires:

  • Publicly available lists of investment commitments, amounts, and beneficial owners.
  • Mandatory notices and quarterly updates from investors.
  • Disclosures from the President, Vice President, and cabinet-level officials if they or their family members benefit from a covered investment.
  • Annual reports to Congress and semiannual reports to the public.

• Enforcement Power: It grants FIRA the authority to mandate mediation, suspend, or prohibit covered investments that are not determined to be qualified. It also sets civil penalties (fines up to 10 percent of the investment value) for failing to provide required notices or disclosures.

• Tracking Commitments: It requires the tracking of investment amounts from specific countries (including the People's Republic of China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan) and mandates that the President negotiate with countries that fail to fulfill their investment commitments after four years.