New Bipartisan Bill Aims To Protect U.S. Farmland Security

In a bipartisan effort to bolster the nation's food and national security, U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and John Fetterman (D-PA) in introducing the Agricultural Risk Review Act.

The legislation seeks to permanently add the Secretary of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a move aimed at strengthening the federal government’s oversight of foreign investments in American farmland and agricultural businesses.

CFIUS is an interagency panel responsible for reviewing transactions involving foreign investment to assess potential threats to national security.

While the committee already includes members from departments such as Defense, Homeland Security, and Treasury, the Secretary of Agriculture currently only participates at the President’s discretion.

This bill would make that participation permanent, giving agriculture a guaranteed voice in decisions about foreign access to U.S. farmland and related assets.

The legislation has already gained traction in the House of Representatives, where a companion bill passed the House Financial Services Committee and was approved unanimously by the full chamber.

Senator Cramer emphasized the bill's importance in the wake of a high-profile land purchase by Chinese-owned Fufeng Group near Grand Forks Air Force Base. “Foreign land purchases, especially near sensitive sites, are a threat to both our national and food security,” Cramer said. “After Grand Forks’ experience with Fufeng, we now know how essential it is to add the Secretary of Agriculture to CFIUS. Republicans and Democrats both understand the importance of protecting food supply chains.”

In 2021, Fufeng Group acquired 370 acres of land just 12 miles from the Air Force base, drawing scrutiny due to the company’s reported ties to the Chinese Communist Party and the sensitive military operations conducted nearby.

While Cramer called for a CFIUS review of the purchase, the committee ultimately concluded it did not have jurisdiction under existing law. However, the U.S. Air Force later stated in a January 2023 letter that the project posed “a significant threat to national security.”

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Following the Fufeng controversy, CFIUS expanded its jurisdiction to include Grand Forks Air Force Base and seven other military installations. Language included in the Fiscal Year 2024 appropriations package, which Cramer supported, laid the groundwork for the Secretary of Agriculture’s involvement in reviews of foreign agricultural and biotech investments.