House GOP May Look To Pass PAAFA Act This Month

House Republicans may try to attach several bills to a must-pass funding measure needed by month’s end to avert a government shutdown.  Among those is a ban on foreign adversaries owning U.S. farmland.  The ban on China and other foreign adversaries owning U.S. farmland, especially near sensitive military sites, is one of several riders that could come up on must-pass funding legislation.  A farm bill extension is another.

Central Washington’s Dan Newhouse introduced the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act.

“This is about our country’s national security in ensuring that adversaries like China, like Russia, like North Korea or Iran, do not gain a foothold on American soil.”

Newhouse said the legislation would also ensure a continued seat at the table for the Secretary Agriculture on the Treasury-led panel that oversees such land purchases.  China, Newhouse noted, is of special concern.

“The People’s Republic of China is only interested in reaping every possible benefit from U.S. land, without giving back or considering our future to sustain an independent energy and food production. The U.S. cannot become dependent on our adversaries for our domestic food supply.”

China is thought to own just a few hundred thousand acres of U.S. farmland, but its closeness to U.S. military facilities has raised concerns in recent months.

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