118 HR 6580 IH: Land And National Defense Act U.S. House of Representatives 2023-12-04 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I118th CONGRESS1st SessionH. R. 6580IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESDecember 4, 2023Mr. Rosendale (for himself, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. Good of Virginia, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, and Mrs. Luna) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on AgricultureA BILLTo require that a foreign purchaser of agricultural land be subject to the same restrictions as are applicable to United States citizens and nationals in the home country of such foreign purchaser.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Land And National Defense Act or the LAND Act.

2.

Restrictions on foreign purchasers

(a)

In general

In the case of a sale of agricultural land, a foreign purchaser of such land shall be subject to the same restrictions and limitations as a United States citizen or national would be subject to with respect to the purchase of agricultural land in the home country of such purchaser. (b)

Determination of home countries of foreign purchasers

(1)

United States citizens

(A)

Dual citizen

For purposes of applying subsection (a), in the case of a foreign purchaser who is a citizen of the United States and 1 other country, the other country shall be treated as the home country of such purchaser. (B)

Multiple citizenship

For purposes of applying subsection (a), in the case of a foreign purchaser who is a citizen of the United States and more than 1 other country, the other country (other than the United States) with the most restrictive laws with respect to the purchasing of agricultural land, as determined by the Task Force, shall be treated as the home country of such purchaser. (2)

Non-United States citizens

(A)

In general

For purposes of applying subsection (a), in the case of a foreign purchaser who is a not a United States citizen and is a citizen of 1 country, the country in which such purchaser is a citizen shall be treated as the home country of such purchaser. (B)

Multiple citizenship

For purposes of applying subsection (a), in the case of a foreign purchaser who is a not a United States citizen and is a citizen of more than 1 country, the country with the most restrictive laws with respect to the purchasing of agricultural land, as determined by the Task Force, shall be treated as the home country of such purchaser. (3)

Companies

For purposes of applying subsection (a), in the case of a foreign purchaser that is a company, the country with the most restrictive laws with respect to the purchasing of agricultural land, as determined by the Task Force, and of which the citizens of such country hold at least 5 percent of such company shall be treated as the home country of such purchaser. (4)

Foreign governments

For purposes of applying subsection (a), in the case of a foreign purchaser that is a foreign government, the country such government represents shall be treated as the home country of such purchaser. (c)

Notification

(1)

In general

In the case of a sale of agricultural land to a foreign purchaser, the seller of such agricultural land shall report such sale to the Secretary of Agriculture. (2)

Congressional notification

With respect to each notification of a sale of agricultural land to a foreign purchaser under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Agriculture shall notify— (A)the members of the Senate from the State in which the agricultural land is located; and (B)the member from the Congressional District in which such agricultural land is located. (d)

Task Force

(1)

In general

There is established a Task Force (to be known as U.S. Land Protection Task Force) to identify violations of subsection (a). (2)

Membership

The Task Force shall be composed of the following: (A)The Secretary of Agriculture, who shall serve as Chair of the Task Force. (B)The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. (C)The National Security Division of the Department of Justice. (D)The Secretary of State. (3)

Reports

Not later than 1 after the date of the enactment of this Act and every 6 months thereafter, the Task Force shall submit to Congress a report that includes with respect to the 6-month period preceding the report— (A)the percentage of agricultural land (disaggregated by land type) that was sold to foreign purchasers; (B)the States in which such land was sold; (C)the average purchase cost of such land; (D)with respect to each such purchase of agricultural land, the title history with respect to the agricultural land purchased; and (E)whether any of the purchased agricultural land is located within 100 miles of a military installation. (e)

Severability

If any provision of this Act (or the application of that provision to particular persons or circumstances) is held invalid or found to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act (or the application of that provision to other persons or circumstances) shall not be affected. (f)

Definitions

In this section: (1)

Agricultural land

The term agricultural land has the meaning given the term in section 9 of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3508). (2)

Foreign purchaser

The term foreign purchaser means— (A)a foreign person (as defined in section 9 of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3508)); and (B)a United citizen who is a citizen of another country.