{"id":2044682,"date":"2023-09-26T05:05:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-26T09:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-bill-to-strengthen-agricultural-security-against-china-advances\/"},"modified":"2023-09-26T05:08:19","modified_gmt":"2023-09-26T09:08:19","slug":"house-bill-to-strengthen-agricultural-security-against-china-advances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-bill-to-strengthen-agricultural-security-against-china-advances\/","title":{"rendered":"House Bill Boosting Agricultural Security Against China Moves Forward"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhouse-bill-to-strengthen-agricultural-security-against-china-advances%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2044682&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><blockquote>\n<h2>Agricultural \u200cSecurity Bill Passes Committee, \u2063Strengthens National Security<\/h2>\n<div class=\"my-5\">A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/118th-congress\/house-bill\/3378\/text\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bill<\/a> \u2064 aimed at bolstering U.S. national security by assessing the\u200d risk of agricultural transactions has cleared the House Financial\u2063 Services Committee with bipartisan support. \u200bThis \u2063significant step paves the way for a floor vote \u200bin the House.<\/div>\n<p>The bill, known as the &#8220;Agricultural Security Risk Review Act,&#8221; proposes granting the U.S.\u2064 secretary of\u2063 agriculture a permanent seat on the federal national security review panel, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the \u200cUnited States \u200b(CFIUS). This inclusion would cover agricultural transactions, \u2063including the acquisition of farmland and agricultural biotechnology.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Safeguarding\u200c America&#8217;s agricultural security is crucial for our national well-being,&#8221; emphasized\u200c Rep. Frank \u200cLucas (R-Okla.)\u200c in a \u200cstatement released\u2063 on Sept. 21. &#8220;Given the increasing foreign\u2064 investment in U.S. agriculture, it is long overdue to\u2062 have the \u2063Secretary of Agriculture as a member\u2062 of CFIUS.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode\">\n<div class=\"border-comp-divider mb-4 mr-4 w-full max-w-[500px] border px-5 py-4 text-[16px] leading-[20px] text-[#262626] md:float-left\" id=\"in_article_related_stories\">\n<h2 class=\"mb-3 font-sans text-[16px] font-semibold uppercase leading-[19px] text-[#2F2F2F]\">Related Stories<\/h2>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/ford-halts-construction-of-china-linked-3-5-billion-battery-plant-in-michigan-5498221?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/p>\n<h3>Ford Halts Construction of China-Linked $3.5 Billion Battery\u2063 Plant\u200d In Michigan<\/h3>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">9\/25\/2023<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/article\/ford-halts-construction-of-china-linked-3-5-billion-battery-plant-in-michigan-5498221?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-4 flex gap-2\">\n<div class=\"grow\">\n<div class=\"mb-1 line-clamp-2\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/us-china-establish-channel-for-regular-economic-talks-5496971?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/p>\n<h3>US, China to Launch Regular \u200dTalks on Economy<\/h3>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text-comp-caption text-[14px] leading-[18px]\">9\/22\/2023<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"shrink-0 basis-[120px]\">\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/china\/us-china-establish-channel-for-regular-economic-talks-5496971?ea_src=author_manual&#038;ea_med=related_stories\"><\/a>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;Having\u2062 witnessed \u2062firsthand the\u2064 importance of securing our\u200d agricultural industry, I commend \u200dmy colleagues on the House Financial Services Committee for taking this crucial step towards enshrining my long-standing \u200dpriority into law,&#8221; added \u200bRep. Lucas.<\/p>\n<p>During a White House press briefing, U.S.\u2063 Agriculture Secretary Tom \u200dVilsack echoed \u200cthe necessity\u200d of having his department represented on \u200cCFIUS\u2062 to ensure a foolproof\u200c system\u200b that leaves no room for \u2062oversight.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Legitimate concerns exist in\u200b this domain,&#8221; stated Secretary Vilsack when asked \u200babout potential \u200dexaggeration of Chinese farmland purchases&#8217; impact on national security.<\/p>\n<div class=\"shortcode post-related-videos\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"lazyload-placeholder\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Secretary Vilsack cited a \u200dcase in \u2063North Dakota \u200bwhere a Chinese \u200dfirm acquired farmland near a military installation as one of the reasons his department advocates\u2064 for increased\u200d involvement in the CFIUS process.<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, a Chinese company, \u200dthrough \u2064its subsidiary Fufeng USA, purchased 370 acres of farmland in\u2064 Grand Forks, North Dakota, to establish a corn-milling\u200d plant. This land \u2062lies within 15 \u2063miles of Grand \u2062Forks Air Force\u2064 Base, which houses sensitive drone, satellite, and \u200dsurveillance \u2063technology. In December 2022, CFIUS determined that the land sale for the Fufeng project did \u2062not\u200c fall under \u2063its jurisdiction.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">However, at the end of January, the Department of the Air Force (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/623090728\/Airforce-Fu-Feng-Letter\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>) expressed an &#8220;unambiguous&#8221; view that the proposed project poses a\u200b significant threat to national security, with both immediate and long-term\u200b risks to operations in the area.<\/div>\n<p>Rep.\u200b Lucas&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-bill-to-strengthen-agricultural-security-against-china-advances\/\" title=\"House Bill Boosting Agricultural Security Against China Moves Forward\">bill complements existing measures aimed<\/a> at \u2062restricting \u200dthe Chinese \u2062Communist Party&#8217;s access to \u200dU.S.\u2064 farmland and agricultural enterprises.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">On July 25, the U.S. Senate passed \u200ban amendment proposed by Sen. \u2062Mike \u2064Rounds (R-S.D.) that prohibits\u200d China and other foreign \u2062adversaries from acquiring \u200cU.S. farmland and agricultural businesses. This amendment is\u2064 included in\u2064 the Senate \u200cversion of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/118th-congress\/senate-bill\/2226\/text\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) \u200dfor \u200cfiscal 2024<\/a>, \u200cwhich passed at the end of July.<\/div>\n<p>Sen. Rounds&#8217;s amendment, approved by a 91\u20137 vote, also adds the secretary of agriculture as a nonvoting member of CFIUS. Rep. Lucas&#8217;s bill \u2063goes further\u200c by offering \u2064the secretary permanent \u2064membership. The 2024 NDAA is currently under review by the conference committee\u2064 before it reaches the \u2062president&#8217;s desk for signature.<\/p>\n<p>CFIUS, led\u2062 by the Department of\u2063 Treasury, is an interagency commission comprising \u2064members \u200cfrom \u200dvarious\u200c government \u200bdepartments. Its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/united-nations-council-a-joke-and-a-disgrace-to-human-rights-u-s-call-to-remove-russia-celebrated\/\" title=\"United Nations Council \u2018A Joke And A Disgrace To Human Rights\u2019: U.S. Call To Remove Russia Celebrated\">current members include<\/a> the secretaries of Homeland Security,\u2064 Commerce, \u2062Defense, State, Energy, \u200dand Labor, as \u2062well \u2063as the attorney\u2063 general and the director of national intelligence.\u200b Currently, the agriculture secretary&#8217;s involvement\u2063 is determined on a case-by-case\u200c basis by the U.S. president.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-figure\" style=\"margin-left:0;margin-right:0;max-width:1200px\">\n<figure style=\"width:640px;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack\u200d speaks during the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-makes-history-first-president-in-40-years-to-punt-on-contacting-israel\/\" title=\"Biden Makes History: First President in 40 Years to Punt on Contacting Israel\">daily press briefing<\/a> at the White House \u200bin Washington on Sept. 25, 2023.\u200c (Madalina \u200bVasiliu\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Secretary Vilsack also\u200d emphasized the need to enhance information collection regarding\u2064 Chinese farmland\u200d purchasers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We must equip\u2062 ourselves with \u2062the necessary tools\u2062 to better\u2063 track these\u2063 transactions,&#8221; he \u2063added.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-5\">The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) of \u20631978 mandates that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ecfr.gov\/current\/title-7\/subtitle-B\/chapter-VII\/subchapter-D\/part-781\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">foreign individuals<\/a> disclose any acquisition or disposal of U.S.\u200c agricultural \u2063land. Within 90 days of the transaction, the foreign\u200b individual must \u2064submit filings to the Farm Service\u2063 Agency. Failure to report \u2062incurs\u2062 a civil penalty \u2062of 0.1 percent of the land&#8217;s fair market value per\u200c week, up to 25 percent for late filings.<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">However,\u200d the\u200d USDA often significantly\u200b reduces penalty amounts (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/chinese-billionaire-who-purchased-texas-land-failed-to-report-foreign-land-ownership-received-lowered-fine_4902210.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">source<\/a>) to avoid \u200ddiscouraging reporting. For instance, in April 2021,\u2062 the department reduced the fine for a Chinese \u200cbillionaire who failed to report the purchase of 140,000 acres of agricultural land in Texas in\u200b 2016 from $21 \u2063million to $120,000.<\/div>\n<div class=\"my-5\">As of Dec. \u206431, 2021, China owned 383,935 acres of\u2063 U.S. agricultural land, according to\u2062 a USDA report (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fsa.usda.gov\/Assets\/USDA-FSA-Public\/usdafiles\/EPAS\/PDF\/2021_afida_annual_report_through_12_31_2021.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>). Although this acreage \u2062represents\u2062 less than 1 percent of all foreign-held agricultural \u200dland, it marks a nearly 30-fold increase \u200cfrom 13,720 acres in\u200d 2010.<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2>Possible questions related to the topic:<\/h2>\n<p><span>  \u200b Agricultural Security Bill Passes Committee, Strengthens National Security<\/p>\n<p>A bill aimed at bolstering U.S. national security by assessing the \u200crisk\u200d of agricultural transactions has cleared the\u2064 House Financial Services Committee\u2064 with bipartisan support. This\u200c significant step paves \u2062the way for\u2064 a floor\u200b vote in the\u200c House.<\/p>\n<p>The bill, known as the &#8220;Agricultural Security Risk Review Act,&#8221; proposes granting the<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A bipartisan bill, known as the &#8220;Agricultural Security Risk Review Act,&#8221; passed the House Financial Services Committee on Sept. 20. This bill aims to enhance U.S. national security by conducting risk assessments on agricultural transactions. It grants the U.S. secretary of agriculture a permanent position and is now set for a House floor vote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":238,"featured_media":2044683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2044682","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2044682","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/238"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2044682"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2044682\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2044683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2044682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2044682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2044682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}