A bill designed to prioritize the protection of American farmland against threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party has received backing from a group of conservative figures, who have sent a letter endorsing the bill to the House-Senate Conference Committee Conferees.
"In July, the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, led by Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher, announced that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) will now possess jurisdiction over all land acquisitions made by foreign entities near 'sensitive' sites within the United States," said a press release. This legislation is geared towards national security and designates certain sites such as those owned by U.S. military, agricultural land, and telecom networks as protected areas.
The bill was jointly introduced by Reps. Mike Gallagher and Mike Thompson of California along with several other representatives including Rep. Dan Newhouse, Rep. Dusty Johnson, Rep. Ashley Hinson, Rep. Jim Banks and more under H.R. 4577 titled "Protecting U.S. Farmland and Sensitive Sites From Foreign Adversaries Act". According to a press release, this proposed law would bring about significant amendments to CFIUS for the first time in five years.
Several provisions are included in this bill such as expanding what is considered as sensitive sites in terms of national security concerns and mandating foreign entities to seek approval from CFIUS before purchasing land near these sites. It also proposes that transactions related to farmland should be reviewed with voting rights granted to the Secretary of Agriculture in CFIUS reviews among other measures aimed at enhancing oversight and protection.
On Oct 25th dozens of individuals and organizations including Former Speaker Newt Gingrich endorsed H.R 4577 through a letter calling on House-Senate Conference Committee Conferees for action saying: "incorporate the vital provisions of H.R 4577 into text of NDAA to fix this vulnerability and protect our national security."
The letter further emphasized the need to strengthen existing laws as a protection measure against foreign adversaries. "We must strengthen existing laws to protect our country from foreign adversaries who want to buy land near our most sensitive installations. This vulnerability has unfortunately been exploited in recent years as our foreign adversaries try to acquire land near our most sensitive civilian and military facilities, including military bases, intelligence sites, Department of Energy labs, vital nodes for telecommunications, and more," stated the undersigned members.
