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Senate Republicans Introduce Bill to Prevent Chinese Communist Party From Buying Land in U.S.

Senate Republicans Introduce Bill to Prevent Chinese Communist Party From Buying Land in U.S.

“foreign investors now hold an interest in nearly 37.6 million acres of agricultural land in the U.S.—an area larger than the state of Iowa”

One of the most underreported stories in the media right now is the efforts of the Chinese Communist Party to buy large areas of land throughout the United States.

When it is mentioned, it’s usually brought up by someone trying to raise the alarm over the issue, which is understandable.

Republican senators Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and Tom Cotton of Arkansas are introducing a bill to stop this from going further.

Sarah Arnold reports at Townhall:

Republicans Introduce Bill to Prevent CCP From Buying American Land

Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala) and Senator Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) introduced a bill that would prevent members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from buying land in the U.S.

Securing America’s Land from Foreign Interference Act, is in response to a 2020 report issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture suggesting that “foreign persons held an interest in nearly 37.6 million acres of U.S. agricultural land.”

“Approximately 14 states have some level of foreign ownership restriction, yet there are no federal restrictions on the amount of private U.S. agricultural land that can be owned,” according to the report.

The bill would also set penalties for foreign purchases that do not comply with federal reporting requirements.

The bill is only three pages long, and you can read it here.

Senator Cotton put out this press release:

Senators Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Alabama) today introduced the Securing America’s Land from Foreign Interference Act to prohibit members of the Chinese Communist Party from purchasing any land in the United States. Text of the bill may be found here.

“Chinese investments in American farmland put our food security at risk and provide opportunities for Chinese espionage against our military bases and critical infrastructure. Instead of allowing these purchases, the U.S. government must bar the Communist Party from purchasing our land,” said Cotton.

“We cannot continue giving our top adversary a foot in the door to purchase land in the United States and undermine our national security,” said Tuberville. “I hope my colleagues will recognize the importance of our bill and join the effort to prohibit Chinese Communist Party involvement in America’s agriculture industry.”

• China’s agricultural investments in countries around the globe grew more than tenfold from 2009 to 2016. China’s Ministry of Agriculture claims the country had over 1,300 agricultural, forestry, and fisheries enterprises with registered overseas investments of $26 billion, at the end of 2016.

• Chinese investments in U.S. agricultural may provide the CCP with undue leverage over U.S. supply chains and access to sensitive information critical to U.S. national security.

• While Chinese entities held slightly less than one percent of all foreign-held acres in the U.S. in 2020, the volume of their holdings increased dramatically over the last decade. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports, Chinese investors’ holdings of U.S. agricultural land surged from 13,720 acres in 2010 to 352,140 acres in 2020.

• The USDA’s most recent report on foreign landholding through December 31, 2020 shows foreign investors now hold an interest in nearly 37.6 million acres of agricultural land in the U.S.—an area larger than the state of Iowa.

Every member of the United States Senate should support this bill; if any members do not, I look forward to hearing them explain why.

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Comments

Good start but better would be to stop them from OWNING land and American companies.

    taurus the judge in reply to Pasadena Phil. | August 4, 2022 at 9:41 am

    I second that and an adder to the bill where food production is considered a high level strategic security task and protected/enforced more than it is.

    I wouldn’t be against a strategic food reserve either. (not the greatest fan of MRE’s and water pouches but its much better than starving)

Feeding the mammon while silencing those that warn of it.

Can we change the “submit” tab to “post”?
I refuse to submit to any man.

Good bill; should become law.

Cotton will have to re-introduce it when the new Congress sits in January. Democrats are the enemy of freedom as is the Chinese Communist Party.

UnCivilServant | August 4, 2022 at 9:50 am

Two land reforms I want to see – land in the US must be owned by a US citizen. The Federal government must sell off the land it holds that is not a current military base or site of an existing office building.

    +100. Then make sure the government has no say in who drills where, for ANY reason (such as alleged environmental impact). Only the owner of the land can decide.

    henrybowman in reply to UnCivilServant. | August 4, 2022 at 2:25 pm

    “land in the US must be owned by a US citizen.”
    Other countries have such restrictions (hell, I think even Hawaii has something similar), and it sure would be more enforceable than “members of the Chinese Communist Party.” What are we going to do, ask the party for its membership list?

    Milhouse in reply to UnCivilServant. | August 4, 2022 at 11:47 pm

    So a resident alien couldn’t buy a house or apartment?! That doesn’t sound very fair. Even nonresident aliens who are frequent visitors, or whose children are living or studying here ought to be entitled to buy somewhere for them to stay.

      ThePrimordialOrderedPair in reply to Milhouse. | August 5, 2022 at 2:56 am

      Aliens are not “entitled” to anything in America. And “fair” has nothing to do with it. The US has no responsibility to be “fair” with aliens. The US is only responsible to US citizens. That is where you have to start. This is a very simple truth about nations that so many in America are either ignorant of or openly disdain.

        That’s not what the constitution says. The US has to be fair to all persons who are within its borders.

        There’s also basic fairness which is a requirement that predates the constitution. Owning property is a fundamental human right. It can’t just be restricted on a whim, even if the constitution doesn’t specifically prevent it. (E.g. for alien non-residents who are not currently present in the USA, and therefore the constitution doesn’t protect their rights, that doesn’t mean they don’t have them.)

          ThePrimordialOrderedPair in reply to Milhouse. | August 5, 2022 at 11:58 am

          Funny … I don’t recall the word “fair” ever appearing in the Constitution.

          What the Constitution DOES state explicitly is:

          “… secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity …”

          Milhouse in reply to Milhouse. | August 5, 2022 at 2:42 pm

          You didn’t read very far then. “nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

          In addition you didn’t address the basic rights that all human beings have, which is the very basis of our republic’s existence. The constitution doesn’t protect people who are neither US citizens nor residents and who are not actually in the US; but their rights are still just as important.

          CommoChief in reply to Milhouse. | August 6, 2022 at 10:07 am

          Milhouse,

          Serious question. Given that the founders operated in a binary world of male and female or men /women and classified them as humans wouldn’t that limit the application of rights to those in the present day who meet that definition?

          For example someone who decides they are a cat person. No reasonable person can legitimately claim the founders wouldn’t have viewed someone claiming to be a cat person as anything but insane. The insane of the founding era and well beyond were not accorded the same rights as the non insane.

          On the subject of universal human rights is there a duty to recognize and supply the needs created by these rights as a legal matter? Isn’t it really simply a self imposed moral duty and not necessarily a requirement.

          Even then, your list and my list of human rights will differ. Which takes precedence? Isn’t that the root problem with the ‘preferred pronoun’ drama? Some hold that we must use preferred pronoun, others are willing to do so out of courtesy but not as requirement while others reject the concept entirely.

Take back the land by eminent domain. If they can do it to private AMERICAN citizens, they can sure do it to foreign communists, particularly from, and let’s face it, an enemy country (economic, political for now).

Who’s to say they won’t introduce some virulent invasive species or poisonous GMOs?

2nd Ammendment Mother | August 4, 2022 at 10:08 am

Need penalties for anyone acting as a straw purchaser on behalf of a foreign government. To be honest, I never could figure out why this wasn’t a restriction to begin with. No foreign power should control more land than is needed to host an embassy.

    Define “foreign power”? This isn’t snark, but acknowledging a real problem with this sort of thing.

    Do you define it as “any foreigner”? Then what about green card holders? They aren’t citizens.
    Do you define it as “connected to a foreign gov’t”? How deep do you define that connection? 3 times removed? 6? 1?
    What about foreign corporations? Can BMW own land here and build a factory on it (that employs Americans)? How to separate foreign corporations that are really separate businesses from ones that are wholly or partially owned – or operated by – by a semi-gov’t entity?

    I’m not saying it’s a horrible idea or shouldn’t be tried, but it’s not nearly as easy, IMO, as what some seem to think.

      joejoejoe in reply to GWB. | August 4, 2022 at 12:18 pm

      as had been said, also forfeit land currently owned. As they have been at war with us for many years whether its admitted or not. And for misery theyve inflicted on the world. Cant be done? Balls.

      henrybowman in reply to GWB. | August 4, 2022 at 2:27 pm

      Or, you could do the intelligent thing and study the laws of other countries (like Mexico) who have already been enforcing similar restrictions for years, and see how THEY solved these problems.

taurus the judge | August 4, 2022 at 10:25 am

Read the bill- its virtually worthless.

First it singles out the Chinese ONLY( we need to stop them all)

Second, it really says and does “nothing”- it mandates nothing and really is nothing. (feel good legislation)

Imminent domain really protects us in dire times as they may own a “deed” but we control the country the land resides in.

What we really need to focus on is people like Gates buying farmland and other large corporate farms because they may “band together” and choke the food supply that way.

What we need more is a “strategic food production” act where farming in the USA is required to produce “x” amount and provision is made for fertilizer, insecticide and fuel to do it.

Otherwise I see these people creating artificial famines by deliberately reducing output.

    CommoChief in reply to taurus the judge. | August 4, 2022 at 10:53 am

    Taurus,

    IMO, this bill won’t pass and the authors know that so they are using it as midterm vote fodder. It’s useful to begin framing the issue of national security more broadly to include agricultural production and the d/prog on record opposing that and more specifically their refusal to prevent the Chinese Communist Party membership from purchase of these properties.

      taurus the judge in reply to CommoChief. | August 4, 2022 at 11:27 am

      That’s what I was pointing out and I agree they DO know that.

      My question is:

      Is this a legitimate awareness tool framing the national security impact of food production

      OR

      A GOPe/RINO attempt to just “show” they are trying to “do something” for electioneering talking points with no intent to either accomplish or follow through?

      Right now, I believe the latter.

        CommoChief in reply to taurus the judge. | August 4, 2022 at 11:43 am

        Among the rino establishment who set the conditions for it then allowed it? They don’t care. Among the tea party MAGA populist right? They do care.

        Covid and the shortages from the disruption revealed to the public how much we are no longer independent. Pharmaceutical, semiconductor and so on. Adding in agriculture to the framework of ‘critical’ industries alongside energy isn’t a big conceptual stretch.

        A Nation needs energy, semiconductors, agriculture and pharmaceutical among others to fight a modern war or have a modern economy or society. Most people understand that and would be very willing to support polices that encourage reshore production.

        It doesn’t need to be direct subsidies either. Use the purchasing n power of the federal govt to get it. Set a series of attainable percentages in a ladder for govt purchases. 20% of pharmaceutical by X, 40% by Y, 70% by Z. Some with semiconductor. DoD domestic tomorrow. Other govt dept 10% then increase as capacity is reshored. No direct govt ‘investment’ read crony capitalism needed.

          taurus the judge in reply to CommoChief. | August 4, 2022 at 12:01 pm

          >>>>Covid and the shortages from the disruption revealed to the public how much we are no longer independent. Pharmaceutical, semiconductor and so on. Adding in agriculture to the framework of ‘critical’ industries alongside energy isn’t a big conceptual stretch.

          From you Chief

          IF THERE IS SOMETHING GOOD to come from the Bio attack and Execution of the managed Cloward-Piven decline of the USA, its the awareness of just how much our trojan Manchurian politicians (Left and GOPe) have sold our birthright for a dollar ( only to themselves at our expense).

          Their profit activities has left us extremely militarily vulnerable at the local ,national and international levels.

          However, if the SHEEPLE still snooze and do nothing, that awareness wont accomplish anything.

          CommoChief in reply to CommoChief. | August 4, 2022 at 6:57 pm

          Taurus,

          Yep. Lots of prominent people selling us down the river.

      mrtomsr in reply to CommoChief. | August 4, 2022 at 12:02 pm

      What will be of most interest to me is will this type of bill, be submitted again when there is a chance it will become law? The recent history of the Republican edge of the uniparty is to talk big and virtue signal until the cows come home while there is zero chance for the bill to pass, then forget all about it when back in the majority.

      I refer you to the leadership team of Paul Ryan, who was and probably still is a master of virtue and not the least bit concerned about the citizens of this Country.

        taurus the judge in reply to mrtomsr. | August 4, 2022 at 12:24 pm

        Without a significant RINO culling and replacement with MAGA types who possess both character and a backbone, I see little happening

          CommoChief in reply to taurus the judge. | August 4, 2022 at 7:02 pm

          Agreed, to a point. An absolute majority in the r caucus of both houses consisting of tea party, MAGA, populist right would be nice but not essential. IMO a critical mass is needed, enough to get these votes out of committees and onto the floor. If the rino / establishment vote with d/prog to block and water down…well rooting them out will be hard but not impossible.

The bill is only three pages long
Well, there’s no way it will pass, then.

    irv in reply to GWB. | August 4, 2022 at 1:25 pm

    Really. Add 2,000+ pages and a couple trillion in bribes – I mean infrastructure spending – and it will sail right through.

The Gentle Grizzly | August 4, 2022 at 12:26 pm

The Chinese will set up a series of shell corporations faster than the blink of an eye.

It’s insane we let china buy our land, or any country

America the fertile colony. There is precedent, overturned.

Good, Now do labor (e.g. [catastrophic] [anthropogenic] immigration reform, practical and actual slavery) and environmental (e.g. Green solutions, climate change Profits) arbitrage.

Sundowers bosses won’t like this, him either

Previous bills similar to this one have not, so far, passed (wonder why).

But this Adrian, MI female farmer has some good ideas (see the end of her article)!!

https://www.monroenews.com/story/opinion/columns/2020/01/05/deborah-j-comstock-selling-america/986497007/

“In 2013, the Chinese purchased Smithfield Foods, a meat processing company, and immediately gained over 146,000 acres of American farmland. The goal of China’s Communist Party authorities suggest specific strategies to invest in agriculture overseas and to gain greater control over oilseed and grain products, to create policies to support facilities, equipment and inputs for agricultural production, and to create large multinational grain-trading conglomerates. The revenues from these productions do not pass through the American commodities markets but, rather, flow through the foreign entities’ own distribution channels, directly to the home country. As these conglomerates grow, and with the purchase of more American farmlands, China may not need to negotiate a trade policy with future administrations, as it will own its own agricultural conglomerates and distribution channels. This is precisely how the Japanese car market penetrated the American automobile market in years past, buying up American distribution channels as a means of moving their vehicles through the American economy.”

    henrybowman in reply to lgstarr. | August 4, 2022 at 2:42 pm

    I’m still boggled that huge tracts of land surrounding the desert town of Wenden, AZ (near me) were bought by the nations of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and the water rights accruing used to raise vast quantities of alfalfa, which is then baled and shipped back to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

    She said this is why she is “obsessed” with doing something about out-of-state agribusiness using up Arizona’s precious resources to profit.

    “The term I heard a lot of years ago was virtual water,” said Marvin Glotfelty, a groundwater expert and consultant. “It’s not legal to export groundwater or surface water out of the state. That’s by law. But you can export virtual water.”

Boston Legal, S05E12 “Made in China” (2008). Very prescient.

The bill should have been written and passed at least 20 years ago.

livefreeorpie1791 | August 5, 2022 at 10:47 am

That’s roughly 10% of American arable land!!! No way! Not acceptable.