Cedar Rapids Today

Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA-02) has taken a stand to protect American farmland from foreign ownership. Together with Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE-02) and other lawmakers, Hinson has introduced the AFIDA Improvements Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at improving the process of tracking purchases of U.S. agricultural land by foreign entities. This legislation comes in response to a recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that highlighted the lack of oversight by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in combatting foreign ownership of agricultural land, particularly by countries like China.

In a statement, Congresswoman Ashley Hinson expressed her concerns about the potential threat posed by foreign entities acquiring American farmland. She said, "We can't sit on our hands as Communist China buys up our most valuable resource – our land – in a nefarious attempt to exert control over our food supply and undermine our national security. I am proud to lead this bipartisan effort to expose the full extent of foreign land ownership in the U.S. and ensure we can prevent our adversaries from purchasing another acre of American soil."

The current regulations, under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA), require foreign entities to disclose their transactions involving American agricultural land to the USDA. However, the recent GAO report revealed that the USDA is ill-equipped to fully enforce these regulations.

To address this issue, Hinson, along with House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, requested the GAO to conduct a thorough review of the USDA's implementation of AFIDA back in October 2022. Hinson also questioned USDA Inspector General Phyllis Fong about the agency's failure to enforce penalties for non-compliant foreign entities during a House Appropriations Committee hearing in March 2023.

The need for improved oversight is evident in the USDA's own data. As of December 2021, foreign investors own more than 40 million acres of agricultural land across the United States. Furthermore, Chinese ownership of American agricultural land has increased significantly over the past decade, rising from 13,720 acres in 2010 to 383,935 acres in 2021.

In her efforts to protect American farmland, Hinson has introduced various pieces of legislation. One notable example is the Prohibition of Agricultural Land for the People's Republic of China Act, which aims to prevent Chinese-owned entities from purchasing agricultural land in the United States.

With the introduction of the AFIDA Improvements Act, Hinson and her colleagues are taking concrete steps to address the issue of foreign ownership of American farmland. By enhancing the USDA's oversight capabilities, this bipartisan bill aims to safeguard the country's agricultural resources and protect national security. As the legislative process unfolds, it remains to be seen how effective these measures will be in preventing further foreign acquisition of American soil.