Land And National Defense Act

Summary#

This bill would require a foreign purchaser of agricultural land in the United States to follow the same restrictions and limits that a U.S. citizen would face when buying land in the purchaser's home country. It also requires the purchaser to follow any State laws that apply to agricultural land purchases. Sellers must report sales of agricultural land to the Secretary of Agriculture. The bill creates a U.S. Land Protection Task Force chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture and including the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, the Department of Justice National Security Division, and the Secretary of State. The Task Force would identify violations, decide which country counts as a purchaser's home country in cases of multiple citizenship or complex companies, and submit reports to Congress every 6 months with information on sales, locations, average costs, title history, and whether land is within 100 miles of a military installation. The bill uses the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act definition of "agricultural land" and defines "foreign purchaser" to include foreign persons and U.S. citizens who are also citizens of another country.

What it means for you#

  • Foreign buyers: They would be subject to the same land‑purchase rules that a U.S. buyer would face in the foreign buyer's home country, as determined under the bill. For people with more than one citizenship, the Task Force would pick the most restrictive home country rule. For companies, the home country is the one with the most restrictive rules where citizens holding at least 5% of the company come from.
  • Sellers of agricultural land: Sellers must report sales to the Secretary of Agriculture.
  • State officials: State laws that apply to agricultural land purchases still apply under this bill.
  • Federal officials and Congress: The Task Force must collect data and report to Congress every 6 months about foreign purchases of agricultural land.

Expenses#

No publicly available information on estimated costs or budget effects is provided in the bill text or metadata.

Proponents' View#

No publicly available information.

Opponents' View#

No publicly available information.