Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and members of the Select Committee on China have introduced the Protecting U.S. Farmland and Sensitive Sites from Foreign Adversaries Act, aimed at safeguarding American farmland, military facilities, and critical infrastructure from what lawmakers describe as malign attempts by foreign adversaries such as China to gain control of U.S. land.
“I’ve been sounding the alarm for years that China has no good intentions when they purchase U.S. farmland, ag businesses, or land near military bases,” said Johnson. “The Chinese Communist Party is focused on collecting our private data, influencing our food supply, and threatening our national security. Their goal is to make America – and the world – look more like China, not like freedom. The Protecting U.S. Farmland and Sensitive Sites from Foreign Adversaries Act will ensure none of America’s adversaries can gain a grip on critical U.S. property.”
Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) emphasized the national security implications tied to agricultural land ownership, noting the legislation seeks to address vulnerabilities in current law.
“Food security is national security, and we cannot allow foreign adversaries like China to buy up American farmland near our most sensitive military and critical infrastructure sites,” said Moolenaar. “This bipartisan legislation closes dangerous loopholes, presumptively bars foreign adversaries from purchasing land, and ensures the United States has the tools to stop these farmland deals before they threaten our security. It also implements the Trump Administration’s America First Investment Policy and USDA’s Farm Security Action Plan by giving the administration the authority needed to protect United States farmland and real estate near sensitive facilities. This a top concern of the American people and I hope Congress will act quickly to pass it into law.”
Supporters of the legislation say existing gaps in federal oversight have allowed foreign entities to acquire land near key U.S. assets, raising concerns about both food system vulnerability and national defense.
“Foreign adversaries, led by China, have exploited gaps in federal law to acquire American land near our military bases, critical infrastructure, and food supply. We must treat food security as national security, and the federal government needs the jurisdiction and the tools to stop these transactions before they happen, not to negotiate mitigation agreements after the fact. States have led on this issue for years, and federal law should reinforce their efforts. Legislation is needed to close these loopholes and protect critical American infrastructure and American communities, and the provisions of this bill do just that,” said Adam Savit, Director for China Policy at American First Policy Institute and former Senior Advisor for National Security at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Johnson has previously supported multiple efforts targeting foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural assets, including cosponsoring the Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security (PASS) Act, the Foreign Adversary Risk Management (FARM) Act, and the Prohibition of Agricultural Land for the People’s Republic of China Act.
According to lawmakers, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) currently lacks sufficient authority over many real estate transactions, limiting its ability to review and intervene in land purchases tied to national security concerns.
The proposed legislation would expand CFIUS authority by granting jurisdiction over all foreign adversary real estate purchases and broadening oversight to include critical infrastructure. It would also require mandatory filings and investigations for transactions involving farmland or sensitive sites, while preserving existing exceptions for residential and urban real estate involving non-adversary investors.
In addition, the bill directs CFIUS to incorporate food security and biosecurity risks into its national security reviews and adds the Secretary of Agriculture to the committee for matters involving agricultural and biotechnology-related transactions.
The measure also establishes a presumption that purchases of farmland or critical infrastructure by foreign adversaries would be prohibited unless a CFIUS review determines that national security risks can be adequately mitigated.
The Protecting U.S. Farmland and Sensitive Sites from Foreign Adversaries Act is cosponsored by Representatives John Moolenaar (R-MI), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Julia Brownley (D-CA), Neal Dunn (R-FL), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Zach Nunn (R-IA), Nathaniel Moran (R-TX), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Pat Harrigan (R-NC), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Randy Feenstra (R-IA), and Mike Thompson (D-CA).
View Rep. Dusty Johnson’s press release on the bill.
