In light of the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, however, some Members have questioned this open-door policy and have argued for greater consideration of the long-term impact of foreign direct investment on the structure and the industrial capacity of the economy, and on the ability of the economy to meet the needs of U.S. defense and security interests. The Committee is an interagency organization that serves the President in overseeing the national security implications of foreign investment in the economy. After considering the two conditions listed above (other laws are inadequate or inappropriate, and he has credible evidence that a foreign transaction will impair national security), the President is granted almost unlimited authority to take " such action for such time as the President considers appropriate to suspend or prohibit any covered transaction that threatens to impair the national security of the United States ." Through the Exon-Florio provision, Congress attempted to strengthen the President's hand in conducting foreign investment policy, while limiting its own role as a means of emphasizing that, as much as possible, the commercial nature of investment transactions should be free from political considerations. 110-49 , the Foreign Investment and National security Act of 2007. P.L. Conclusions

The broad sweep of industrial sectors in the economy that fall within the terms "critical infrastructure," "homeland security," and "key resources" reflects a fundamental change in the way some in Congress view national economic security. As a result, Congress and the Bush Administration sparred at times over transactions that CFIUS had approved over the objections of various Members of Congress. The Dubai Ports World case, in particular, demonstrated that there was a difference between the post-September 11, 2001, expectations held by many in Congress about the role of foreign investment in the economy and of economic infrastructure issues as a component of national security. These and other concerns about foreign investment underscore the significant differences that remained between Congress and the Bush Administration over the operations of CFIUS and over the economic and security objectives the Committee should be pursuing. Instead, Huawei discontinued its efforts to acquire the U.S. firm.
The President is generally seen as exercising broad discretionary authority over developing and implementing U.S. direct investment policy, including the authority to suspend or block investments that "threaten to impair the national security." Congress is also directly involved in formulating the scope and direction of U.S. foreign investment policy. At times, some Members have urged the President to be more aggressive in blocking certain types of foreign investments. Such confrontations reflect vastly different philosophical and political views between Members of Congress and between Congress and the Administration over the role foreign investment plays in the economy and the role that economic activities should play in the context of U.S. national security policy. In July 2007, Congress asserted its own role in making and conducting foreign investment policy when it adopted and the President signed P.L. 110-49, the Foreign Investment and National Security Act of 2007. This law broadens Congress's oversight role, and it explicitly includes the areas of homeland security and critical infrastructure as separately identifiable components of national security that the President must consider when evaluating the national security implications of a foreign investment transaction. At times, the act has drawn Congress into a greater dialogue over the role of foreign investment in the economy, and conflicts with the Administration over efforts to define the limits of the broad rubric of national economic security.