Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis announced the introduction of the bipartisan Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024. The bill aims to enhance oversight and identify foreign adversaries' purchases of agricultural land.

According to a press release by Lummis, she, along with Senator Mike Braun and 15 other colleagues, introduced the bill seeking to improve monitoring of U.S. farmland purchases by foreign adversaries including China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran.

"The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has invaded the west through farmland acquisition threatening the livelihood and safety of Wyoming residents. Food security is national security, and our country must prioritize keeping American farmland out of the hands of our enemies," said Lummis.

The bill proposes to permanently include the Secretary of Agriculture on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) for transactions involving agricultural land and related sectors. It also authorizes the secretary to report such transactions to CFIUS. According to Lummis, a companion bill introduced by Rep. Dan Newhouse recently passed the House.

"Chinese ownership of American farmland increased more than 20-fold in the past decade. The amount of American soil in the hands of our foreign adversaries will only go up if we do not implement restrictions and oversight, especially on nations that compromise our national security and agricultural supply chains. I’m proud to lead this effort to protect American farms and food security," said Braun.

Lummis was sworn into the U.S. Senate on Jan. 3, 2021, as the first female Senator from Wyoming. Previously, she served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2008 to 2016, where she was a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus and worked on fiscal issues and Western policies. Before Congress, Lummis held various roles in Wyoming’s state government and legal sector, according to her Senate.gov webpage.