PASS Act of 2022
Bill: S.4786 | Sponsor: Sen. Rounds, Mike (R-SD)
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security Act of 2022 or the PASS Act of 2022
This bill establishes requirements to address the national security risk to the agricultural sector of the United States.
Specifically, the bill prohibits persons who are acting on behalf of China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea from purchasing or investing in U.S. agricultural land and companies. The President may waive this prohibition, on a case-by-case basis, if the President determines that the waiver is vital to U.S. national security interests.
The bill also places the Secretary of Agriculture on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and requires CFIUS to review certain transactions involving investments by foreign persons in the U.S. agricultural sector.
Additionally, the Department of Agriculture must report on the risks that foreign purchases of U.S. businesses engaged in agriculture pose to the agricultural sector of the United States.


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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and 
Security Act of 2022'' or the ``PASS Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. REVIEW OF AGRICULTURE-RELATED TRANSACTIONS BY CFIUS.

    (a) In General.--Section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 
(50 U.S.C. 4565) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (4)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)--
                                    (I) in clause (i), by striking ``; 
                                and'' and inserting a semicolon;
                                    (II) in clause (ii), by striking 
                                the period at the end and inserting ``; 
                                and''; and
                                    (III) by adding at the end the 
                                following:
                            ``(iii) any transaction described in clause 
                        (vi) or (vii) of subparagraph (B) proposed or 
                        pending on or after the date of the enactment 
                        of this clause.'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by adding at the 
                        end the following:
                            ``(vi) Any other investment, subject to 
                        regulations prescribed under subparagraphs (D) 
                        and (E), by a foreign person in any 
                        unaffiliated United States business that is 
                        engaged in agriculture or biotechnology related 
                        to agriculture.
                            ``(vii) Subject to subparagraphs (C) and 
                        (E), the purchase or lease by, or a concession 
                        to, a foreign person of private real estate 
                        that is--
                                    ``(I) located in the United States; 
                                and
                                    ``(II) used in agriculture.'';
                            (iii) in subparagraph (C)(i), by striking 
                        ``subparagraph (B)(ii)'' and inserting ``clause 
                        (ii) or (vii) of subparagraph (B)'';
                            (iv) in subparagraph (D)--
                                    (I) in clause (i), by striking 
                                ``subparagraph (B)(iii)'' and inserting 
                                ``clauses (iii) and (vi) of 
                                subparagraph (B)'';
                                    (II) in clause (iii)(I), by 
                                striking ``subparagraph (B)(iii)'' and 
                                inserting ``clauses (iii) and (vi) of 
                                subparagraph (B)'';
                                    (III) in clause (iv)(I), by 
                                striking ``subparagraph (B)(iii)'' each 
                                place it appears and inserting 
                                ``clauses (iii) and (vi) of 
                                subparagraph (B)''; and
                                    (IV) in clause (v), by striking 
                                ``subparagraph (B)(iii)'' and inserting 
                                ``clauses (iii) and (vi) of 
                                subparagraph (B)''; and
                            (v) in subparagraph (E), by striking 
                        ``clauses (ii) and (iii)'' and inserting 
                        ``clauses (ii), (iii), (iv), and (vii)''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(14) Agriculture.--The term `agriculture' has the meaning 
        given such term in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 
        1938 (29 U.S.C. 203).'';
            (2) in subsection (k)(2)--
                    (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (H), (I), and 
                (J), as subparagraphs (I), (J), and (K), respectively; 
                and
                    (B) inserting after subparagraph (G) the following 
                new subparagraph:
                    ``(H) The Secretary of Agriculture.''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(r) Prohibition With Respect to Agricultural Companies and Real 
Estate.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        this section, if the Committee, in conducting a review and 
        investigation under this section, determines that a transaction 
        described in clause (i), (vi), or (vii) of subsection (a)(4)(B) 
        would result in control by a covered foreign person of or 
        investment by a covered foreign person in a United States 
        business engaged in agriculture or private real estate used in 
        agriculture, the President shall prohibit such transaction.
            ``(2) Waiver.--The President may waive, on a case-by-case 
        basis, the requirement to prohibit a transaction under 
        paragraph (1), not less than 30 days after the President 
        determines and reports to the relevant committees of 
        jurisdiction that it is vital to the national security 
        interests of the United States to waive such prohibition.
            ``(3) Defined terms.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Covered foreign person.--The term `covered 
                foreign person' means a person that is--
                            ``(i) acting on behalf of or otherwise 
                        directed by the government of a prohibited 
                        country;
                            ``(ii) a citizen of a prohibited country;
                            ``(iii) an entity that--
                                    ``(I) is registered or organized in 
                                a prohibited country; or
                                    ``(II) has a principal place of 
                                business in a prohibited country; or
                            ``(iv) a subsidiary of an entity described 
                        in clause (iii).
                    ``(B) Prohibited country.--The term `prohibited 
                country' means any of the following:
                            ``(i) The People's Republic of China.
                            ``(ii) The Russian Federation.
                            ``(iii) The Islamic Republic of Iran.
                            ``(iv) The Democratic People's Republic of 
                        Korea.''.
    (b) Report Required.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry of the Senate a report on the risks that foreign purchases of 
United States businesses engaged in agriculture (as such term is 
defined in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 
203)) pose to the agricultural sector of the United States.
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