Bacon-led bill targets foreign ownership of U.S. farmland

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) on Jan. 30 led a bipartisan bill that would address national concerns about foreign ownership of America’s farmland by improving reporting, data sharing, and review.

Rep. Bacon sponsored the AFIDA Improvements Act of 2024, H.R. 7131, alongside nine original cosponsors to codify recommendations published by the General Accounting Office after it conducted a study of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) of 1978.

Among the cosponsors who joined Rep. Bacon in introducing H.R. 7131 are U.S. Reps. Michael Bost (R-IL), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), and Salud Carbajal (D-CA).

“Having actual processes in place will strengthen the security of our nation in the event nefarious foreign agents, such as the Chinese Communist Party [CCP], try to purchase agricultural lands within our nation,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement. “These lands must be protected as they are essential to feeding our country and other parts of the world, feeding livestock, fueling vehicles, and other uses.”

The legislation would establish an additional reporting requirement that would enable Congress to be better able to hold the U.S. Department of Agriculture accountable and to amend AFIDA where needed to ensure better data reporting and review, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.

“We joined together to find a bipartisan path to address the national security concerns stemming from the growing purchases of farmland by the CCP,” said Rep. Bacon and his colleagues. “This legislation, among other things, will ensure that there is timely and detailed data sharing of foreign investments in agricultural land, better reviewing and validating of information, and identifying those foreign entities who do not file notification they have purchased land in the United States.”

H.R. 7131 has been referred to the U.S. House Agriculture Committee for consideration.