Senator Britt Announces Pushback on China purchasing U.S. Farmland

Washington D.C. –U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.) today, during a hearing on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs continued to advocate for practical solutions to counter China’s increasing aggressiveness.

Senator Britt focused her questions at Clay Lowery, the former Assistant Secretary for International Affairs in the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the former director of International Finance at the National Security Council. Lowery also served as the chairman of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) which is the government’s committee that evaluates international acquisitions and mergers which could impact national security concerns.

An audio clip from Senator Britt’s questions can be seen on this page.

A portion of the transcription of the Senator’s comments follows:

Before we get into discussing sanctions, I’d like to to speak about the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). In 2021 CFIUS reported that the US Department of Agriculture noted that foreign investors owned the equivalent of 40 million acres on our land. Since 2015, with a total of 2.2 million acres per year. I’ve heard from people in Alabama when I travel around our state, and it is a source of concern for them, specifically particularly, the Chinese Communist Party and their determination and efforts, as well as their deliberate and deliberate efforts to purchase productive U.S. farmland. I consider food security to be the national security issue. Food security is the security of our economy. I think that an acres of American agricultural land owned by China’s Chinese Communist Party is one an acre too many. In addition, I believe there’s a second layer of national security concerns that we are permitting China to purchase agricultural land near our military bases. This is absolutely unacceptable.

So I have a question for you for you, Monsieur. Lowery, for you as the former chairman of CFIUS in relation to making sure we have a voice for agriculture in the room as these decisions are made, are you of the opinion that it’s fair for to think that the secretary of Agriculture is a good candidate to be one of the members of CFIUS?

Lowery replied, “I think it is entirely acceptable.” He also said that Secretary Agriculture is likely to participate as part of CFIUS in “a methodical manner.”

Recently Senator Britt joined with colleagues in the introduction of the legislation of four sections that will hold CCP accountable. CCP accountable and advocating on behalf of hardworking Americans.

This was a part of Senator Britt co-sponsoring legislation titled this legislation, known as the Foreign Adversary Risk Management (FARM) Act, that was introduced by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.).

This bill would clamp up on CCP’s expanding control of U.S. farmland and agricultural companies by putting on the Department of Agriculture on CFIUS and The committee is required to examine any investment that may result in foreign control over all U.S. agricultural business; including supply chains and agricultural systems within the definitions of essential infrastructure and crucial technologies, for review of such investments. It also requires to government agencies such as the Department of Agriculture and the Government Accountability Office must each examine and report on the influence of foreign countries within the U.S. agricultural industry.

“The spy balloon was the most recent and evident example in the ever-growing pattern of aggressive behavior from China’s Chinese Communist Party,” Senator Britt said last week. “There there is absolutely no doubt the CCP is our biggest security and geopolitical threat and that all they do is a direct threat to our enemy. The FBI has stated that they start an investigation into counterintelligence against China approximately every two days. From theft of our intellectual property and snooping on our children via TikTok and purchasing American farms and engaging in illegal trade practices which harm Alabama seafood producers and steelmakers, we need to make China accountable. CCP accountable. This is accomplished through force not weakness and that’s why I’m committed to improving our intelligence and defense capabilities. I will continue to fight to put the hardworking Alabamans first while defending our country.”

Senator Britt is the ranking members of the Homeland Security subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Appropriations and is a participant in the National Security and International Trade and Finance Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.