I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 683 

To amend the Defense Production Act of 1950 to include the Secretary 

of Agriculture on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United 

States and require review of certain agricultural transactions, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 31, 2023 

Ms. STEFANIK (for herself, Mr. CRAWFORD, Mr. COSTA, Mr. FITZPATRICK, 

Mr. JOHNSON of Louisiana, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mrs. MILLER-MEEKS, Mr. MOORE of Alabama, Mr. RUTHERFORD, 

Mr. BAIRD, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. MOLINARO, Mr. 

NEWHOUSE, Mr. NORMAN, Mr. MILLER of Ohio, Mr. DESJARLAIS, Mr. 

LAMALFA, Mr. COLE, and Ms. TENNEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Energy and Commerce, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend the Defense Production Act of 1950 to include 

the Secretary of Agriculture on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and require review 

of certain agricultural transactions, 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, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 683 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Agriculture 

3 Safeguards and Security Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘PASS Act 

4 of 2023’’. 

5 SEC. 2. REVIEW OF AGRICULTURE-RELATED TRANS6 ACTIONS BY CFIUS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 721 of the Defense Pro8 duction Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4565) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (4)— 

11 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

12 (I) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘; 

13 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

14 (II) in clause (ii), by striking the 

15 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

16 and’’; and 

17 (III) by adding at the end the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(iii) any transaction described in 

20 clause (vi) or (vii) of subparagraph (B) 

21 proposed or pending on or after the date of 

22 the enactment of this clause.’’; 

23 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by adding at 

24 the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(vi) Any other investment, subject to 

26 regulations prescribed under subparaVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:41 Feb 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H683.IH H683

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 683 IH

1 graphs (D) and (E), by a foreign person in 

2 any unaffiliated United States business 

3 that is engaged in agriculture or bio4 technology related to agriculture. 

5 ‘‘(vii) Subject to subparagraphs (C) 

6 and (E), the purchase or lease by, or a 

7 concession to, a foreign person of private 

8 real estate that is— 

9 ‘‘(I) located in the United States; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(II) used in agriculture.’’; 

12 (iii) in subparagraph (C)(i), by strik13 ing ‘‘subparagraph (B)(ii)’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘clause (ii) or (vii) of subparagraph (B)’’; 

15 (iv) in subparagraph (D)— 

16 (I) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘sub17 paragraph (B)(iii)’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘clauses (iii) and (vi) of subparagraph 

19 (B)’’; 

20 (II) in clause (iii)(I), by striking 

21 ‘‘subparagraph (B)(iii)’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘clauses (iii) and (vi) of subparagraph 

23 (B)’’; 

24 (III) in clause (iv)(I), by striking 

25 ‘‘subparagraph (B)(iii)’’ each place it 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 683 IH

1 appears and inserting ‘‘clauses (iii) 

2 and (vi) of subparagraph (B)’’; and 

3 (IV) in clause (v), by striking 

4 ‘‘subparagraph (B)(iii)’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘clauses (iii) and (vi) of subparagraph 

6 (B)’’; and 

7 (v) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

8 ‘‘clauses (ii) and (iii)’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘clauses (ii), (iii), (iv), and (vii)’’; and 

10 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(14) AGRICULTURE.—The term ‘agriculture’ 

12 has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the 

13 Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 

14 203).’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (k)(2)— 

16 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (H), 

17 (I), and (J), as subparagraphs (I), (J), and 

18 (K), respectively; and 

19 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (G) 

20 the following new subparagraph: 

21 ‘‘(H) The Secretary of Agriculture.’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘(r) PROHIBITION WITH RESPECT TO AGRICUL24 TURAL COMPANIES AND REAL ESTATE.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 683 IH

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

2 provision of this section, if the Committee, in con3 ducting a review and investigation under this sec4 tion, determines that a transaction described in 

5 clause (i), (vi), or (vii) of subsection (a)(4)(B) would 

6 result in control by a covered foreign person of or 

7 investment by a covered foreign person in a United 

8 States business engaged in agriculture or private 

9 real estate used in agriculture, the President shall 

10 prohibit such transaction. 

11 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The President may waive, on a 

12 case-by-case basis, the requirement to prohibit a 

13 transaction under paragraph (1), not less than 30 

14 days after the President determines and reports to 

15 the relevant committees of jurisdiction that it is vital 

16 to the national security interests of the United 

17 States to waive such prohibition. 

18 ‘‘(3) DEFINED TERMS.—In this subsection: 

19 ‘‘(A) COVERED FOREIGN PERSON.—The 

20 term ‘covered foreign person’ means a person 

21 that is— 

22 ‘‘(i) acting on behalf of or otherwise 

23 directed by the government of a prohibited 

24 country; 

25 ‘‘(ii) a citizen of a prohibited country; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 683 IH

1 ‘‘(iii) an entity that— 

2 ‘‘(I) is registered or organized in 

3 a prohibited country; or 

4 ‘‘(II) has a principal place of 

5 business in a prohibited country; or 

6 ‘‘(iv) a subsidiary of an entity de7 scribed in clause (iii). 

8 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITED COUNTRY.—The term 

9 ‘prohibited country’ means any of the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) The People’s Republic of China. 

11 ‘‘(ii) The Russian Federation. 

12 ‘‘(iii) The Islamic Republic of Iran. 

13 ‘‘(iv) The Democratic People’s Repub14 lic of Korea.’’. 

15 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 

16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 

17 days thereafter, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit 

18 to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep19 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

20 and Forestry of the Senate a report on the risks that for21 eign purchases of United States businesses engaged in ag22 riculture (as such term is defined in section 3 of the Fair 

23 Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203)) pose to 

24 the agricultural sector of the United States. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS