Senators Reintroduce Bill to Restrict China’s Purchases of US Farmland

Sens. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., reintroduced a bill March 6 that would bar individuals and entities controlled by China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from buying agricultural land and businesses near U.S. military bases or other sensitive sites. The Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security (PASS) Act would also add USDA to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. for agricultural transactions. The bill, whose co-sponsors include Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., was referred to the Senate Banking Committee.