U.S. Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wisc.) and Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) have introduced a bill that would broaden the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States' (CFIUS) jurisdiction over land purchases by foreign investors. Gallagher said the Protecting U.S. Farmland and Sensitive Sites From Foreign Adversaries Act will reinforce national and food security.
"This bill gives CFIUS jurisdiction over foreign adversary real estate transactions to guard against the threat of the [Chinese Communist Party ] CCP and other adversaries purchasing land for malign purposes," Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on the CCP, said in a July 12 press release announcing the bill, "and it also encourages CFIUS to consider food security issues as it evaluates the national security risk of a given transaction."
The bipartisan bill, introduced July 12, would give CFIUS authority over any purchases of land made by entities associated with adversarial nations, according to the release. If entities seek to purchase land near sensitive sites such as military facilities, the bill would require a mandatory filing with CFIUS, the release reports.
“Protecting national security and food security go hand in hand in our region – which is why it is vital to know who owns land around national security sites,” Rep. Thompson said in the release. “The bipartisan legislation I am introducing with Chairman Gallagher will help identify foreign actors who are seeking to purchase land near military installations while maintaining food security throughout our country.”
The bill also would expand the number of sensitive sites under CFIUS' authority and would enable CFIUS to take food security into account during national security reviews, the press release states.
“The People’s Republic of China has an alarming history of leveraging foreign investment to gain access to sensitive information,” Rep. Ed Case (D-Hawaii), a co-sponsor of the bill, said in the release.
“This type of foreign espionage is a serious threat to national security," Case said in the release. "This bill will help close the gaps in our oversight of foreign purchases and their use of agricultural land, especially near our military bases and training sites."
A fact sheet released in October by the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) states that American farmland is a strategic asset that enables the U.S. to maintain food security and independence, but China's Belt and Road Initiative includes the goal of controlling global food supply chains. Citing documents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the fact sheet reports that the amount of U.S. farmland owned by Chinese entities rose from 13,720 acres in 2010 to 352,140 acres in 2020.
The bill drew bipartisan support, with co-sponsors including Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), John Garamendi (D-Calif.), Dusty Johnson (R-S.D), Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), Rep. Jim Costa (D-Calif.), Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.), Rob Wittman (R-Va.), Jason Crow (D-Colo.), Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), Jim Banks (R-Ind.), Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), Mary Peltoa (D-Alaska) and Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa), the release reports.
"The United States cannot allow foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party and its proxies to acquire real estate near sensitive sites like military bases or telecom infrastructure, potentially exploiting our critical technology and endangering our servicemembers." Gallagher said in the release.
