Ernst Protects American Farms and Agricultural Production from Foreign Adversaries
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), members of the Senate Agriculture and Armed Services Committees, are leading the bipartisan overhaul of the current flawed oversight system that has allowed China’s malign influence to threaten American food security and national security by buying up agricultural land in the United States. U.S. Reps. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) and Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-Mich.) are leading the legislation in the House.
Foreign land ownership of U.S. land has increased by 85% since 2010, and although Iowa has laws on the books to guard against foreign investment, the federal level lacks updated measures and procedures to effectively protect all of America’s farmland.
“For far too long, an outdated system has allowed China’s malign influence to threaten our security by buying up our nation’s land,” said Senator Ernst. “Through the FARMLAND Act, I’m drawing a line in the sand to overhaul this flawed way of doing things, increase reporting and transparency, strengthen oversight of the influence of our foreign adversaries, and force the sale of foreign-owned land. It’s time to show the world we will do what it takes to protect our agriculture industry, our national security, and our food security.”
“It is in the interest of the United States to review purchases of American farmland by foreign entities to protect our farms and agricultural production from our foreign adversaries, especially China. But for far too long, our government has repeatedly failed to enforce the laws on the books, monitor foreign purchases of our farmland, or assess financial penalties on those who break our laws,” said Rep. Feenstra. “That’s why I introduced the FARMLAND Act to develop new oversight measures for foreign farmland purchases, bolster the USDA’s ability to report the threats of foreign acquisition of American farmland, and close security gaps that allow foreign adversaries to evade disclosing farmland purchases. Born and raised in rural Iowa, I firmly believe that American farmland belongs to American farmers, and I will continue to lead the fight to protect our farmers and ensure that our farms are passed onto the next generation, not our foreign enemies.”
“Food Security is national security, so ownership of our farmland is a fundamental issue. We can’t let countries like China gain control over the land that sustains us,” said Senator Slotkin. “This legislation ensures oversight of foreign purchases of farmland, safeguarding it from falling into the hands of malicious actors. When we protect our farmers, we protect the backbone of America.”
“Food supply chains are a matter of national security, which is why the U.S. must thoroughly scrutinize foreign investment in our domestic farmland and the U.S. agriculture industry,” said Senator Budd. “This legislation will ensure our adversaries cannot take advantage of our farmers and their industry. I’d like to thank Senator Ernst for leading this important effort.”
“Pennsylvania has nearly 50,000 farms, and our farmers shouldn’t have to compete with foreign adversaries for American farmland. This bill strengthens and protects American agriculture by including the Secretary of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Commissioner in our foreign investment review process, creating a public database of foreign-owned farmland, and shifting to an easier online reporting system,” said Senator Fetterman. “Farms feed our families and drive our economy, so we can’t let foreign enemies own them. I’ll keep fighting for our farmland—this bill makes that clear.”
Ernst introduced the Foreign Agricultural Restrictions to Maintain Local Agriculture and National Defense (FARMLAND) Act to amend the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) of 1978, which was established to develop a nationwide system for collecting information on foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land. This legislation would also expand the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’ (CFIUS) authority to include a new focus on food and agriculture to better safeguard U.S. national security interests.
Specifically, it will increase reporting and transparency and strengthen oversight over the influence of our foreign adversaries by:
- Modernizing the AFIDA reporting process to better track foreign land ownership, which includes:
- An online submission process for reporting land ownership, which would replace the outdated paper-based system.
- Increased civil penalties for non-compliance against individuals or entities that fail to comply with AFIDA reporting requirements.
- The development of a publicly accessible database of agricultural land owned by foreign persons.
- Prohibiting foreign-owned or operated land from being eligible for Farm Service Agency programs at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
- Giving Congress more oversight of the national security risks of foreign purchase and management of U.S. agricultural land.
- Updating the authority of CFIUS to better consider agriculture needs and adding both the Secretary of Agriculture and Commissioner of Food and Drugs as permanent members.
- Requiring CFIUS to review a purchase or lease by a foreign entity that exceeds $5 million or 320 acres of land over the last three years and consider retroactive divestment of real estate when necessary.
Read the full bill text here.
Background:
Ernst is a staunch believer that food security is national security and has long worked to counter Chinese acquisition of U.S. agricultural land.
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