U.S. Senators Katie Britt, Mike Braun, Tommy Tuberville Protect American Farmland from Adversaries

Call for Sec. of Agriculture to Hold Permanent Seat on CFIUS

WASHINGTON, D.C., September 10, 2024 – U.S. Senators Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) today led a group of colleagues in introducing the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024 to add the Secretary of Agriculture as a permanent member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). The Secretary’s inclusion to the Committee adds another layer of scrutiny on foreign acquisitions of U.S. farmland and agricultural industries. The bipartisan legislation would also specifically flag farmland purchases by foreign adversaries like China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran for CFIUS. According to the USDA, over 43.4 million acres of U.S. agricultural land is foreign-owned. 

“Food security is national security and that requires America’s farmland be protected from foreign adversaries, like China. I believe one acre of American farmland owned by the Chinese Communist Party is one acre too many,” said Senator Britt. “To protect Alabama and America’s farmland from being purchased by malign actors, the Secretary of Agriculture must have a seat at the table. This commonsense legislation ensures the Secretary of Agriculture is made a permanent member of CFIUS in order to weigh in on the needs of America’s agriculture industry when reviewing foreign investment and ownership.”

“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 Senator Braun. 

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have bowed to China every chance that they get—even when it comes to our agriculture industry. In the last decade alone, we have seen a surge of over 35% in foreign land purchases—including in my home state of Alabama. We can’t give our adversaries like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran room to negatively influence our agricultural supply chains and food production. Food security is national security, which is why I’m proud to introduce this legislation with Senator Braun that ensures the Secretary of Agriculture has a seat at the table on CFIUS and the opportunity to push back on proposed foreign ag investments,” said Senator Tuberville. 

Sens. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Roger Marshall (R-Kans.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) are also cosponsors of the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024.

Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) introduced the legislation in the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives is expected to move on this legislation this week.

The Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024 would:

• Permanently include the Secretary of Agriculture as a member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) with respect to covered transactions involving agricultural land, agricultural biotech, or the transportation, storage, and processing of agricultural products; and
• Authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to report both agricultural land transactions that involve foreign persons of China, North Korea, Russia, or Iran, and transactions that require AFIDA reporting to CFIUS. 

This bill is sponsored by the American Farm Bureau.

The full text of the legislation can be viewed here.

BACKGROUND:

Since taking office, Senator Britt has supported several pieces of legislation holding foreign adversaries accountable and standing up for hardworking Americans. The first piece of cosponsored legislation is the Foreign Adversary Risk Management (FARM) Act, which was introduced by Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.). Senator Britt also introduced the Not One More Inch or Acre Act with Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), which prevents any Chinese national or entity from owning American land.

More recently, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024 included an amendment sponsored by Senator Britt that would provide funding to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish a streamlined and uniform process for the tracking and disclosure of all foreign investment in American farmland.

This summer, Senator Britt reiterated the need to pass the Protect Our Bases Act, legislation she introduced with Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), to protect America’s military, intelligence, and national laboratory sites.

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