[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 115 (Thursday, July 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4742-S4743]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 2418. Mr. BRAUN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 4638, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2025 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle H of title X, add the following:
SEC. 1095. AGRICULTURAL FOREIGN INVESTMENT DISCLOSURES.
(a) Reporting; Enforcement.--
[[Page S4743]]
(1) Reporting requirement.--Section 2 of the Agricultural
Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3501) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(g) Minimum Ownership.--In the case of agricultural land
in which more than 1 foreign person acquires or transfers any
interest, other than a security interest, the reporting
requirements under this section shall apply to each foreign
person that holds at least a 1-percent interest in that
land--
``(1) directly through the first tier of ownership; or
``(2) in the aggregate through an interest in other
entities at various tiers.''.
(2) Enforcement.--Section 4 of the Agricultural Foreign
Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3503) is
amended--
(A) by striking the section designation and all that
follows through ``The Secretary'' and inserting the
following:
``SEC. 4. INVESTIGATIVE ACTIONS.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary''; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Actions by FPAC-BC.--As part of the actions taken
under subsection (a), the Farm Production and Conservation
Business Center shall--
``(1) take such actions as are necessary to validate the
data collected under section 2, including revising and
validating information throughout the data collection
process;
``(2) take such actions as are necessary to ensure
compliance with section 2(g); and
``(3) in coordination with the Farm Service Agency, to the
maximum extent practicable, identify persons that have
carried out an activity subject to a civil penalty described
in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 3(a).''.
(b) Disclosure Improvements.--
(1) Memoranda of understanding.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Agriculture (referred to in this subsection as the
``Secretary'') shall enter into 1 or more memoranda of
understanding with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the
United States under which the Secretary shall provide to the
Committee all relevant information relating to reports on
foreign ownership of United States agricultural land
submitted to the Secretary under section 2 of the
Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7
U.S.C. 3501), including information relating to--
(A) each report submitted to the Secretary; and
(B) with respect to each such report--
(i) the identity of the person submitting the report; and
(ii) the date of submission.
(2) Handbook updates.--
(A) First update.--
(i) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall update the most
recent version of the Farm Service Agency handbook entitled
``Foreign Investment Disclosure'' as the Secretary determines
to be necessary for the effective implementation of the
Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
(ii) Requirement.--The update under clause (i) shall
incorporate recommendations included in the report of the
Government Accountability Office entitled ``Foreign
Investments in U.S. Agricultural Land: Enhancing Efforts to
Collect, Track, and Share Key Information Could Better
Identify National Security Risks'' and dated January 18,
2024.
(B) Subsequent updates.--After updating the handbook
described in subparagraph (A)(i) under that subparagraph, the
Secretary shall update the handbook not less frequently than
once every 10 years thereafter, including by incorporating
any relevant recommendations of the Government Accountability
Office.
(3) Analysis of streamlined process for electronic
submission and retention of reports.--
(A) Definition of covered process.--In this paragraph, the
term ``covered process'' means the streamlined process for
electronic submission and retention of disclosures under the
Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7
U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) required under section 773 of division A
of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (7 U.S.C. 3501
note; 136 Stat. 4509).
(B) Analysis.--If the covered process is not established by
the date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Farm Production and Conservation Business Center, in
coordination with the Farm Service Agency, shall, by that
date--
(i) carry out an analysis of the specific steps required to
establish the covered process and the elements of the covered
process; and
(ii) develop a timeline for specific implementation
benchmarks to be met.
(C) Report.--The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a
report describing the analysis and implementation timeline
under subparagraph (B), if applicable.
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