Forging an unexpected alliance, Senators Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and John Fetterman (D-PA) have introduced the bipartisan Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure (AFIDA) Improvements Act to strengthen oversight of foreign purchases of U.S. farmland, with an eye towards China, amid rising national security concerns.
For context, the farsighted bill is based on Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommendations, empowering USDA monitoring and information-sharing with the Committee on Foreign Investment. In recent weeks, critics have noted a rise in Chinese ownership near military bases, like Grand Forks and Fort Liberty, and incidents like smuggling crop-destroying fungi underscore the urgency.
Explaining the urgency of the bill, the Nebraska Republican said, “Communist China is our greatest geopolitical threat… This is a way for us to improve the disclosure that’s going on with regard to the purchase of this agricultural land, so we can take other action if necessary to make sure we’re not giving Communist China the opportunity to buy agricultural land.”
Building on this point, Ricketts described a pattern of Chinese espionage, saying, “That could potentially be very damaging to agriculture… We also know that Chinese nationals have been trying to steal our biotechnology with regard to agriculture.”
Describing his concerns, Senator Ricketts stated, “It’s not just about the number of acres that they own, but the fact that they own it around Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota or Fort Liberty in North Carolina. They’re buying it around sensitive military installations,” adding, “We are at the most dangerous point in our history right now since World War II… Communist China is one of them.”
Concluding ghsi remarks, Ricketts declared, “What Ukraine was able to do against Russia… We could be vulnerable to the same thing if China did that here. They’ve owned farmland close enough to our air bases to be able to launch a drone strike. That should be very concerning to us.”
Addressing the same issue, Tricia McLaughlin, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary, said, “Protecting America’s food supply and national security remains a top priority. Last week’s smuggling attempt by Chinese nationals of Fusarium graminearum, a dangerous crop-destroying fungus, posing a significant bioterrorism threat, only highlights this imperative to combat this threat.” –
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Relating this bill to a recent news story, Jerome Gorgon, interim U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan explained, “Smuggling a fungus that has been described as a ‘potential agroterrorism weapon’ into the heartland of America, where they apparently intended to use a University of Michigan laboratory to further their scheme.”
This is far from the first time Sen. Fetterman has crossed the aisle, as we reported, Fetterman slammed his own party after Democrats protested Donald Trump’s historic address to Congress. Slamming his party, he described their reaction as, “A sad cavalcade of self-owns and unhinged petulance. It only makes Trump look more presidential and restrained. We’re becoming the metaphorical car alarms that nobody pays attention to—and it may not be the winning message.”