I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8522 

To amend the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 to 

increase oversight and enforcement with respect to foreign investment 

in agricultural lands within the United States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 2, 2020 

Mr. POCAN (for himself and Mr. SAN NICOLAS) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To amend the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure 

Act of 1978 to increase oversight and enforcement with 

respect to foreign investment in agricultural lands within 

the United States, 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 ‘‘Agricultural Foreign 

5 Investment Disclosure Reform Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ANNUAL REPORTS TO THE SECRETARY. 

7 Section 2(b) of the Agricultural Foreign Investment 

8 Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3501(b)) is amended, 


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1 in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘agri2 cultural land’’ and all that follows through ‘‘effective 

3 date.’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘agricultural land on 

4 the day before the date of the enactment of the Agricul5 tural Foreign Investment Disclosure Reform Act shall, be6 ginning 180 days after such date of enactment, and annu7 ally thereafter, submit to the Secretary a report.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

9 The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act 

10 of 1978 is amended by inserting after section 4 (7 U.S.C. 

11 3503) the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 5. REPORTS TO CONGRESS. 

13 ‘‘(a) Beginning 180 days after the date of the enact14 ment of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure 

15 Reform Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall, 

16 using information obtained under section 2, submit to the 

17 Congress a report on foreign investment in agricultural 

18 land in the United States. 

19 ‘‘(b) Beginning 90 days after the date of the enact20 ment of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure 

21 Reform Act, the Secretary shall, using information ob22 tained under section 2, publish on the internet website of 

23 the Department of Agriculture, and update every 90 days 

24 thereafter, a database listing the agricultural lands owned 

25 by foreign persons. Such listing shall be limited to the inVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:31 Oct 30, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8522.IH H8522

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1 formation described in paragraphs (1), (3), (4), (5), and 

2 (7) of section 2(b). 

3 ‘‘(c)(1) Not later than 90 days after the end of each 

4 covered period, the Secretary shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) analyze information obtained by the 

6 Secretary under section 2 and determine the ef7 fects of foreign persons acquiring, transferring, 

8 and holding agricultural land, particularly the 

9 effects of such acquisitions, transfers, and hold10 ings on family farms and rural communities; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(B) transmit to the President and each 

13 House of the Congress a report on the Sec14 retary’s findings and conclusions regarding— 

15 ‘‘(i) each analysis and determination 

16 made under paragraph (1); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the effectiveness and efficiency of 

18 the reporting requirements contained in 

19 section 2 in providing the information re20 quired to be reported by such section. 

21 ‘‘(2) In this subsection, the term ‘covered period’ 

22 means each of the following periods: 

23 ‘‘(A) The 10-year period beginning on the date 

24 of the enactment of Agricultural Foreign Investment 

25 Disclosure Reform Act. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Each 10-year period thereafter.’’. 

2 SEC. 4. CIVIL PENALTY FOR FAILURE TO REPORT OR MIS3 REPORTING. 

4 Section 3(b) of the Agricultural Foreign Investment 

5 Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3502(b)) is amended 

6 by striking ‘‘, except that such amount shall not exceed 

7 25 percent of the fair market value, on the date of the 

8 assessment of such penalty, of the interest in agricultural 

9 land with respect to which such violation occurred’’. 

10 SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION OF FOREIGN PERSON DEFINITION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9(3)(C)(ii) of the Agricul12 tural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 

13 U.S.C. 3508(3)(C)(ii)) is amended, in the matter pre14 ceding subclause (I), by striking ‘‘a significant interest or 

15 substantial control’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than 25-per16 cent interest or not less than 25-percent control’’. 

17 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

18 subsection (a) shall apply beginning with the first report 

19 submitted under section 2 of the Agricultural Foreign In20 vestment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3501) after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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