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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Saving American 
Farms from Adversaries Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Foreign investment in United States farm-
land has tripled during the past 10 years. 
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(2) Foreign companies and individuals have 
purchased 853,813 acres of agricultural land in Illi-
nois. The purchases are worth approximately $6.3 
billion. 
(3) Roughly 47 percent of rural renters pay a 
third or more of their income in rent each month. 
The Federal Government has done nothing to help 
rural Americans deal with the rising costs in hous-
ing. 
(4) Chinese nationals have led foreign invest-
ments in homes in the United States for the past 
seven years. The Chinese Communist Party is at-
tempting to buy land in the United States, with an 
emphasis on farmland to gain strategic leverage over 
the United States. 
(5) Foreign investors now account for almost 
one-third of institutional investment in single-family 
rental homes in the United States. This increases 
the price and makes it more difficult for Americans 
to purchase a home. 
(6) Increased foreign investment in Wash-
ington, DC, and other urban areas has led to a rise 
in gentrification, pushing many long-time residents 
out of their homes, including some of our most vul-
nerable and poor communities. 
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(7) Foreigners have been abusing the EB–5 
visa system, which allows foreign nationals to obtain 
green cards if they invest in specific business ven-
tures. The rules to acquire an EB–5 visa should be 
made more stringent. 
(8) Current United States laws are designed in 
a way that makes it more profitable for foreign in-
vestors to invest in property in the United States 
than their country of origin. 
(9) The Foreign Investment Risk Act of 2018 
strengthened the Committee on Foreign Investment 
in the United States (CFIUS) by among other meas-
ures giving it more jurisdiction over real estate 
transactions. Specifically, CFIUS now has jurisdic-
tion to review purchases and leases of real estate by 
foreign nationals regardless of whether the trans-
actions involve United States businesses. More ac-
tion is still needed to make the rules of CFIUS more 
strict. 
(10) With each additional land purchase made 
by a foreign national or foreign entity, American 
sovereignty is further eroded. 
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SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON PURCHASE OF PUBLIC OR PRI-
VATE REAL ESTATE LOCATED IN THE UNITED 
STATES BY FOREIGN PERSONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, for the 5-year period beginning on the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the President shall take such 
actions as may be necessary to prohibit the purchase of 
public or private real estate located in the United States 
by any foreign person. 
(b) GAO REPORT.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Comptroller General of the United States shall sub-
mit to Congress a report that— 
(A) details the history of purchases of pub-
lic and private real estate located in the United 
States by foreign persons; 
(B) provides more information on the per-
centage of real estate located in the United 
States that is owned by foreign persons; and 
(C) offers recommendations to make it 
easier for United States citizens and harder for 
foreign persons to purchase real estate located 
in the United States, including farmland. 
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(2) FORM.—The report required by paragraph 
(1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may 
contain a classified annex if necessary. 
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per-
son’’— 
(A) means— 
(i) any foreign national, foreign gov-
ernment, or foreign entity; or 
(ii) any entity over which control is 
exercised or exercisable by a foreign na-
tional, foreign government, or foreign enti-
ty; and 
(B) includes a corporation, partnership, or 
other association— 
(i) created under the laws of a foreign 
country; and 
(ii) substantially beneficially owned by 
nationals of that foreign country or any 
other foreign country. 
(2) 
UNITED
STATES.—The 
term 
‘‘United 
States’’ means the several States, the District of Co-
lumbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Com-
monwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Amer-
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ican Samoa, Guam, the United States Virgin Is-
lands, and any other territory or possession of the 
United States. 
Æ 
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