Speaking to Fox News Digital, Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) explained why she is pushing forward legislation that will block individuals and companies connected to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from buying up American farmland. Her legislation was introduced as the House version of Sen. Josh Hawley’s “Protecting Our Farms and Homes from China Act.”
For reference, Rep. Miller’s move comes in the context of the larger GOP concern over CCP-connected entities buying up farmland in America, particularly land that is near military bases, seeing it as a major problem connected not just to national security, but land access and affordability in America.
The bills being pushed through the legislature by Sen. Hawley and Rep. Miller would ban PRC corporations and individuals who are affiliated with the CCP from buying, or even leasing, American agricultural land. They would also block those same entities and individuals from buying up American residential housing, and force those that currently own such properties to sell it within a year.
To enforce its provisions, the bills impose fines of $100 per acre, per day, for those that don’t properly divest from leases or holdings, and $1,000 a day for residential properties. Also established are criminal penalties of up to five years in prison. Lands confiscated under the bills would be sold at a public auction.
Commenting on the matter, Rep. Miller noted that Americans shouldn’t be allowed to sell off national treasures, including our highly fertile, prized farmland, to those who have clearly established themselves as our enemies. She said, in her statement to Fox News Digital, “Prized American land is not for sale to our enemies.”
She then noted that CCP attempts to buy up land and homes in America through various entities is a huge problem that has become a major attack on American sovereignty. She said, “The Chinese Communist Party is the greatest threat to our national security, and their aggressive push to buy up our farmland and homes is a direct attack on our sovereignty.”
Further, she noted that the matter is a national security issue because it gets to the matter of American food security, along with being a matter of Americans needing to be in charge of their own communities, noting, “It’s long past time we take back control and put America’s food supply and communities back in American hands — where they belong.”
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The USDA commented on the matter as well, with a spokesperson for the agency saying that it is currently working to identify foreign ownership of American land. The spokesperson told Fox News Digital: “For far too long, foreign adversaries have taken advantage of our farmland. While USDA doesn’t currently have the authority to prevent the purchase of farmland by foreign nationals, we are actively working to improve the accuracy of foreign-owned farmland reporting so that the public, Congress, and State governments have the relevant data needed to make informed policy decisions.”
Sen. Josh Hawley, who introduced the bill in the Senate that Rep. Miller’s is a companion to, spoke out about the matter as well. He said, in a statement of his own to Fox News Digital about the danger of CCP ownership of American land, “China’s ownership of U.S. farmland poses a direct threat to American interests.”
Continuing, the senator added that China is a very dangerous adversary and so shouldn’t be allowed to buy up our key assets, saying, “We should never let our nation’s greatest adversary have access to our vital resources, including our housing supply. That’s why I’m reintroducing legislation to protect American assets from the CCP once and for all.”
Posting about the matter on X, Rep. Miller said, “🚨Chinese nationals were the #1 foreign buyers of U.S. homes, buying up $13.7 BILLION worth of residential property. Meanwhile, Americans are being priced out of the market. This is a national security threat that should concern everyone.” In another post, she said, “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: American land is NOT for sale to the Chinese Communist Party.”
Watch Lee Zeldin comment on the land ownership issue here: