II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 926 

To prohibit the purchase or lease of agricultural land in the United States 

by persons associated with certain foreign governments, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 22, 2023 

Mr. BRAUN (for himself, Mr. TESTER, Mr. TUBERVILLE, and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To prohibit the purchase or lease of agricultural land in 

the United States by persons associated with certain 

foreign governments, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting America’s 

5 Agricultural Land from Foreign Harm Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) AGRICULTURAL LAND.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘agricultural 

2 land’’ has the meaning given the term in sec3 tion 9 of the Agricultural Foreign Investment 

4 Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3508). 

5 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘agricultural 

6 land’’ includes land described in section 9(1) of 

7 the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure 

8 Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3508(1)) that is used for 

9 ranching purposes. 

10 (2) COVERED PERSON.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered per12 son’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘person 

13 owned by, controlled by, or subject to the juris14 diction or direction of a foreign adversary’’ in 

15 section 7.2 of title 15, Code of Federal Regula16 tions (as in effect on the date of enactment of 

17 this Act), except that each reference to ‘‘foreign 

18 adversary’’ in that definition shall be deemed to 

19 be a reference to the government of— 

20 (i) Iran; 

21 (ii) North Korea; 

22 (iii) the People’s Republic of China; or 

23 (iv) the Russian Federation. 

24 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘covered per25 son’’ does not include a United States citizen or 


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1 an alien lawfully admitted for permanent resi2 dence to the United States. 

3 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

4 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

5 (4) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

6 States’’ includes any State, territory, or possession 

7 of the United States. 

8 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON PURCHASE OR LEASE OF AGRI9 CULTURAL LAND IN THE UNITED STATES BY 

10 PERSONS ASSOCIATED WITH CERTAIN FOR11 EIGN GOVERNMENTS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi13 sion of law, the President shall take such actions as may 

14 be necessary to prohibit the purchase or lease by covered 

15 persons of— 

16 (1) public agricultural land that is owned by the 

17 United States and administered by the head of any 

18 Federal department or agency, including the Sec19 retary, the Secretary of the Interior, and the Sec20 retary of Defense; or 

21 (2) private agricultural land located in the 

22 United States. 

23 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may exercise 

24 all authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the 


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1 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

2 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out subsection (a). 

3 (c) PENALTIES.—A person that knowingly violates, 

4 attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a viola5 tion of subsection (a) or any regulation, license, or order 

6 issued to carry out that subsection shall be subject to the 

7 penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 

8 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 

9 (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person that com10 mits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of that 

11 section. 

12 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec13 tion may be construed— 

14 (1) to prohibit or otherwise affect the purchase 

15 or lease of public or private agricultural land de16 scribed in subsection (a) by any person other than 

17 a covered person; 

18 (2) to prohibit or otherwise affect the use of 

19 public or private agricultural land described in sub20 section (a) that is transferred to or acquired by a 

21 person other than a covered person from a covered 

22 person; or 

23 (3) to require a covered person that owns or 

24 leases public or private agricultural land described in 


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1 subsection (a) as of the date of enactment of this 

2 Act to sell that land. 

3 SEC. 4. PROHIBITION ON PARTICIPATION IN DEPARTMENT 

4 OF AGRICULTURE PROGRAMS BY PERSONS 

5 ASSOCIATED WITH CERTAIN FOREIGN GOV6 ERNMENTS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

8 (b), notwithstanding any other provision of the law, the 

9 President shall take such actions as may be necessary to 

10 prohibit participation in Department of Agriculture pro11 grams by covered persons that have full or partial owner12 ship of agricultural land in the United States or lease agri13 cultural land in the United States. 

14 (b) EXCLUSIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 

15 participation in any program— 

16 (1) relating to— 

17 (A) food inspection or any other food safe18 ty regulatory requirements; or 

19 (B) health and labor safety of individuals; 

20 or 

21 (2) administered by the Farm Service Agency, 

22 with respect to the administration of this Act or the 

23 Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 

24 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 


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1 (c) PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP.—To participate in a De2 partment of Agriculture program described in subsection 

3 (b) (except for a program under this Act or the Agricul4 tural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 

5 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.)), a person described in subparagraph 

6 (A) of section 2(2) that is a person described in subpara7 graph (B) of that section shall submit to the Secretary 

8 proof that the person is described in subparagraph (B) 

9 of that section. 

10 SEC. 5. AGRICULTURAL FOREIGN INVESTMENT DISCLO11 SURE. 

12 (a) INCLUSION OF SECURITY INTERESTS AND

13 LEASES IN REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 9 of the Agricultural 

15 Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 

16 U.S.C. 3508) is amended— 

17 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (4) 

18 through (6) as paragraphs (5) through (7), re19 spectively; and 

20 (B) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(4) the term ‘interest’ includes— 

23 ‘‘(A) a security interest; and 

24 ‘‘(B) a lease, without regard to the dura25 tion of the lease;’’. 


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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2 of 

2 the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act 

3 of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3501) is amended by striking ‘‘, 

4 other than a security interest,’’ each place it ap5 pears. 

6 (b) CIVIL PENALTY.—Section 3 of the Agricultural 

7 Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 

8 3502) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘exceed 25 

10 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘be less than 15 percent, or 

11 exceed 30 percent,’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(c) LIENS.—On imposing a penalty under sub14 section (a), the Secretary shall ensure that a lien is placed 

15 on the agricultural land with respect to which the violation 

16 occurred, which shall be released only on payment of the 

17 penalty.’’. 

18 (c) TRANSPARENCY.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 7 of the Agricultural 

20 Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 

21 U.S.C. 3506) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 7. PUBLIC DATA SETS. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

24 date of enactment of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 

25 2023 (Public Law 117–328), the Secretary shall publish 


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1 in the internet database established under section 773 of 

2 division A of that Act human-readable and machine-read3 able data sets that— 

4 ‘‘(1) contain all data that the Secretary pos5 sesses relating to reporting under this Act from each 

6 report submitted to the Secretary under section 2; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(2) as soon as practicable, but not later than 

9 30 days, after the date of receipt of any report 

10 under section 2, shall be updated with the data from 

11 that report. 

12 ‘‘(b) INCLUDED DATA.—The data sets established 

13 under subsection (a) shall include— 

14 ‘‘(1) a description of— 

15 ‘‘(A) the purchase price paid for, or any 

16 other consideration given for, each interest in 

17 agricultural land for which a report is sub18 mitted under section 2; and 

19 ‘‘(B) updated estimated values of each in20 terest in agricultural land described in subpara21 graph (A), as that information is made avail22 able to the Secretary, based on the most re23 cently assessed value of the agricultural land or 

24 another comparable method determined by the 

25 Secretary; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) with respect to any agricultural land for 

2 which a report is submitted under section 2, updated 

3 descriptions of each foreign person who holds an in4 terest in at least 1 percent of the agricultural land, 

5 as that information is made available to the Sec6 retary, categorized as a majority owner or a minor7 ity owner that holds an interest in the agricultural 

8 land.’’. 

9 (2) DEADLINE FOR DATABASE ESTABLISH10 MENT.—Section 773 of division A of the Consoli11 dated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117– 

12 328), is amended, in the first proviso, by striking ‘‘3 

13 years’’ and inserting ‘‘2 years’’. 

14 (d) DEFINITION OF FOREIGN PERSON.—Section 9(3) 

15 of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 

16 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3508(3)) is amended— 

17 (1) in subparagraph (C)(ii)(IV), by striking 

18 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

19 (2) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘and’’ 

20 after the semicolon; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(E) any person, other than an individual 

23 or a government, that issues equity securities 

24 that are primarily traded on a foreign securities 

25 exchange within— 


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1 ‘‘(i) Iran; 

2 ‘‘(ii) North Korea; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the People’s Republic of China; 

4 or 

5 ‘‘(iv) the Russian Federation;’’. 

6 SEC. 6. REPORTS. 

7 (a) REPORT FROM THE SECRETARY ON FOREIGN

8 OWNERSHIP OF AGRICULTURAL LAND IN THE UNITED

9 STATES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

11 the date of enactment of this Act, and once every 2 

12 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Con13 gress a report describing— 

14 (A) the risks and benefits, as determined 

15 by the Secretary, that are associated with for16 eign ownership or lease of agricultural land in 

17 rural areas (as defined in section 520 of the 

18 Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490)); 

19 (B) the intended and unintended misrepre20 sentation of foreign land ownership in the an21 nual reports prepared by the Secretary describ22 ing foreign holdings of agricultural land due to 

23 inaccurate reporting of foreign holdings of agri24 cultural land; 


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1 (C) the specific work that the Secretary 

2 has undertaken to monitor erroneous reporting 

3 required by the Agricultural Foreign Invest4 ment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3501 et 

5 seq.) that would result in a violation or civil 

6 penalty; and 

7 (D) the role of State and local government 

8 authorities in tracking foreign ownership of ag9 ricultural land in the United States. 

10 (2) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—In car11 rying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall estab12 lish a plan to ensure the protection of personally 

13 identifiable information. 

14 (b) REPORT FROM THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL IN15 TELLIGENCE ON FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OF AGRICUL16 TURAL LAND IN THE UNITED STATES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, and once every 2 

19 years thereafter, the Director of National Intel20 ligence shall submit to the congressional recipients 

21 described in paragraph (2) a report describing— 

22 (A) an analysis of foreign malign influence 

23 (as defined in section 119C(e) of the National 

24 Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3059(e))) by 


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1 covered persons that have foreign ownership in 

2 the United States agriculture industry; and 

3 (B) the primary motives, as determined by 

4 the Director of National Intelligence, of foreign 

5 investors to acquire agricultural land. 

6 (2) CONGRESSIONAL RECIPIENTS DESCRIBED.— 

7 The report under paragraph (1) shall be submitted 

8 to— 

9 (A) the Committee on Banking, Housing, 

10 and Urban Affairs of the Senate; 

11 (B) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri12 tion, and Forestry of the Senate; 

13 (C) the Select Committee on Intelligence of 

14 the Senate; 

15 (D) the Committee on Foreign Relations of 

16 the Senate; 

17 (E) the Committee on Financial Services 

18 of the House of Representatives; 

19 (F) the Committee on Agriculture of the 

20 House of Representatives; 

21 (G) the Permanent Select Committee on 

22 Intelligence of the House of Representatives; 

23 (H) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of 

24 the House of Representatives; 

25 (I) the majority leader of the Senate; 


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1 (J) the minority leader of the Senate; 

2 (K) the Speaker of the House of Rep3 resentatives; and 

4 (L) the minority leader of the House of 

5 Representatives. 

6 (3) CLASSIFICATION.—The report under para7 graph (1) shall be submitted in an unclassified form, 

8 but may include a classified annex. 

9 (c) GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE RE10 PORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

11 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 

12 shall submit to Congress a report describing— 

13 (1) a review of resources, staffing, and expertise 

14 for carrying out the Agricultural Foreign Investment 

15 Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), and 

16 enforcement issues limiting the effectiveness of that 

17 Act; and 

18 (2) any recommended necessary changes to that 

19 Act. 

Æ 


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