Land And National Defense Act or the LAND Act
This bill requires that a foreign purchaser of agricultural land be subject to (1) the same restrictions and limitations as a U.S. citizen or national would be subject to when purchasing agricultural land in the foreign purchaser's home country, and (2) any restrictions and limitations that apply under state law with respect to the purchase.
The bill applies to all foreign purchasers, including U.S. citizens who are also a citizen of one or more other countries (e.g., a dual citizen).
For a foreign company purchasing agricultural land, a country is treated as the company's home country if (1) it has the most restrictive laws with respect to the purchasing of agricultural land, and (2) the citizens of the country hold at least 5% of the company.
The seller of the agricultural land to a foreign purchaser must report the sale to the Department of Agriculture (USDA). Further, USDA must notify certain Members of Congress of the sale, including (1) the Senators from the state in which the agricultural land is located, and (2) the Representative from the congressional district where the land is located.
In addition, the bill establishes the U.S. Land Protection Task Force, chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture, to identify violations of these restrictions on foreign agricultural land purchasers.
The task force must submit a report to Congress every six months, which must include specific information on the sale of agricultural land to foreign purchasers.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2124 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2124
To 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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 14, 2025
Mr. Gill of Texas (for himself, Mr. Brecheen, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana,
Ms. Greene of Georgia, and Mr. Stutzman) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To 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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Land And National Defense Act'' or
the ``LAND Act''.
SEC. 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--
(1) 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; and
(2) any restrictions and limitations under State law that
apply with respect to the purchase of agricultural land in the
State involved.
(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 year 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 States citizen who is a citizen of
another country.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture.
Llama 3.2 · runs locally in your browser
Ask anything about this bill. The AI reads the full text to answer.
Enter to send · Shift+Enter for new line