I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 840 

To prohibit the purchase of public or private real estate located in the 

United States by foreign persons, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 6, 2023 

Mrs. MILLER of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

To prohibit the purchase of public or private real estate 

located in the United States by foreign persons, 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 ‘‘Saving American 

5 Farms from Adversaries Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Foreign investment in United States farm9 land has tripled during the past 10 years. 


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1 (2) Foreign companies and individuals have 

2 purchased 853,813 acres of agricultural land in Illi3 nois. The purchases are worth approximately $6.3 

4 billion. 

5 (3) Roughly 47 percent of rural renters pay a 

6 third or more of their income in rent each month. 

7 The Federal Government has done nothing to help 

8 rural Americans deal with the rising costs in hous9 ing. 

10 (4) Chinese nationals have led foreign invest11 ments in homes in the United States for the past 

12 seven years. The Chinese Communist Party is at13 tempting to buy land in the United States, with an 

14 emphasis on farmland to gain strategic leverage over 

15 the United States. 

16 (5) Foreign investors now account for almost 

17 one-third of institutional investment in single-family 

18 rental homes in the United States. This increases 

19 the price and makes it more difficult for Americans 

20 to purchase a home. 

21 (6) Increased foreign investment in Wash22 ington, DC, and other urban areas has led to a rise 

23 in gentrification, pushing many long-time residents 

24 out of their homes, including some of our most vul25 nerable and poor communities. 


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1 (7) Foreigners have been abusing the EB–5 

2 visa system, which allows foreign nationals to obtain 

3 green cards if they invest in specific business ven4 tures. The rules to acquire an EB–5 visa should be 

5 made more stringent. 

6 (8) Current United States laws are designed in 

7 a way that makes it more profitable for foreign in8 vestors to invest in property in the United States 

9 than their country of origin. 

10 (9) The Foreign Investment Risk Act of 2018 

11 strengthened the Committee on Foreign Investment 

12 in the United States (CFIUS) by among other meas13 ures giving it more jurisdiction over real estate 

14 transactions. Specifically, CFIUS now has jurisdic15 tion to review purchases and leases of real estate by 

16 foreign nationals regardless of whether the trans17 actions involve United States businesses. More ac18 tion is still needed to make the rules of CFIUS more 

19 strict. 

20 (10) With each additional land purchase made 

21 by a foreign national or foreign entity, American 

22 sovereignty is further eroded. 


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1 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON PURCHASE OF PUBLIC OR PRI2 VATE REAL ESTATE LOCATED IN THE UNITED 

3 STATES BY FOREIGN PERSONS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi5 sion of law, for the 5-year period beginning on the date 

6 of the enactment of this Act, the President shall take such 

7 actions as may be necessary to prohibit the purchase of 

8 public or private real estate located in the United States 

9 by any foreign person. 

10 (b) GAO REPORT.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

13 Comptroller General of the United States shall sub14 mit to Congress a report that— 

15 (A) details the history of purchases of pub16 lic and private real estate located in the United 

17 States by foreign persons; 

18 (B) provides more information on the per19 centage of real estate located in the United 

20 States that is owned by foreign persons; and 

21 (C) offers recommendations to make it 

22 easier for United States citizens and harder for 

23 foreign persons to purchase real estate located 

24 in the United States, including farmland. 


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1 (2) FORM.—The report required by paragraph 

2 (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may 

3 contain a classified annex if necessary. 

4 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per7 son’’— 

8 (A) means— 

9 (i) any foreign national, foreign gov10 ernment, or foreign entity; or 

11 (ii) any entity over which control is 

12 exercised or exercisable by a foreign na13 tional, foreign government, or foreign enti14 ty; and 

15 (B) includes a corporation, partnership, or 

16 other association— 

17 (i) created under the laws of a foreign 

18 country; and 

19 (ii) substantially beneficially owned by 

20 nationals of that foreign country or any 

21 other foreign country. 

22 (2) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

23 States’’ means the several States, the District of Co24 lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Com25 monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, AmerVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:13 Mar 02, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H840.IH H840

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1 ican Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Is2 lands, and any other territory or possession of the 

3 United States. 

Æ 


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