U.S. needs restraints on China-owned farmland

China constitutes a serious threat to American prosperity and our national security. In their attempts to diminish our strength on the world stage, the Chinese Communist Party has deployed spy balloons in our sovereign airspace to surveil our military bases, unleashed the COVID-19 virus on the world, and continuously flouted international security norms. China has even set their sights on rural America and our most vital, yet finite resource – our farmland. Serving on the House Agriculture Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, I have rolled out a comprehensive legislative strategy to push back against the Chinese Communist Party and ban China from buying American farmland. This mission is a top priority for me.

In March, the U.S. House of Representatives passed my Defend America’s Rural Energy Act ­– which would ban China from buying American farmland suitable for ethanol and biodiesel production – by a vote of 407 to 26. Given the polarized nature of our politics, this major bipartisan victory speaks volumes about the importance of keeping China far away from our farmland and our rural communities. Moreover, this legislation – which I’ve dubbed the DARE Act – secures our biofuels production in Iowa and ensures that fields that grow corn and soybeans do not fall into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. We need to retain this fertile land for American energy and food security – not foreign land grabs.

In July, I teamed up with Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin – who is the Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party – to introduce the Protecting U.S. Farmland and Sensitive Sites From Foreign Adversaries Act. This legislation would give the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) greater jurisdiction over land purchases and establish guardrails against land purchases by foreign adversaries near military instillations, intelligence facilities, Department of Energy national laboratories, and other sensitive locations. This bill takes important steps to prevent our adversaries from gaining access to our national secrets and military bases.

Amid reports that a Chinese company – the Fufeng group – bought land near the Grand Forks Air Force Base in Grand Forks, North Dakota last year, this legislation would have stopped this purchase by giving CFIUS the latitude to review and end any foreign land purchase that could threaten national security. I am confident that our solution will help avoid a serious lack of oversight by the federal government for future questionable and highly unfavorable land acquisitions.

Most recently, I joined forces with Senator Joni Ernst to introduce the Foreign Agricultural Restrictions to Maintain Local Agriculture and National Defense (FARMLAND) Act, which enjoys bipartisan support and will be one of my top priorities for the upcoming Farm Bill. For far too long, our government has not administered the laws on the books to protect American farmland from acquisition by our foreign adversaries. If we fail to actively monitor foreign purchases of our farmland, we jeopardize our national, economic, energy, and food security.

Fortunately, this legislation corrects this failure of oversight by authorizing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review all purchases or leases of American farmland by foreign entities that exceeds $5,000,000 or 320 acres and requiring the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Homeland Security to publish an annual report outlining any threats or national security risks of foreign investment in American farmland. It would also direct the Secretary of Agriculture to develop a public database of all farmland owned by foreign governments and other entities to ensure that American people know exactly who owns our land.

These policy priorities will not only protect our national security interests, but also help keep Iowa farmland in the hands of Iowa farmers – especially the next generation of producers who will feed and fuel our country and the world. China and our other adversaries should not have the upper hand against our new and beginning farmers who are struggling from high input costs, crushing regulations, and record inflation. With almost 50% of farmland expected to change hands in the next two decades, it is vital that we monitor and track any foreign entity buying large amounts of our farmland. We must prioritize the next generation.

As the world’s premier economic and military superpower, we must project strength against China and implement commonsense policies that defend our producers. This ever-growing threat does not have a simple solution, nor does it have an immediate fix, but through this legislative strategy, I know that we can make much-needed progress to protect our farmland, our rural communities, and our country. 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, families, and rural communities. Our agriculture industry is counting on Congress to get it done.

This op-ed was originally published in the Northwest Iowa Review on August 7, 2023.