SE Nebraska News

U.S. Congressman Mike Flood delivered remarks today during the debate on H.R. 9456, the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024.

"Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you Mr. Newhouse for introducing this important and long-overdue piece of legislation," said Rep. Flood.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), as of 2022, foreign individuals held an interest in over 43 million acres of U.S. agricultural land. For context, 43 million acres is larger than the state of Florida and greater than the total land area of twenty-nine U.S. states.

"Between December 2021 and December 2022, privately held foreign agriculture land increased by more than 3 million acres and now accounts for 3.4 percent of all privately held agriculture lands in the United States," Flood noted.

"This is a real problem, and it is growing," he added.

Flood emphasized that the nation's land is linked to national security, food supply, and energy resources, expressing concern over the rising trend of foreign ownership.

"The USDA is responsible for collecting data and reporting to Congress on foreign-owned agricultural land, but that’s it," Flood stated. "In its own words, the USDA does not have a role in reviewing the purchase or sale of agricultural land in the United States."

Additionally, he criticized the USDA's lack of enforcement authority: "The USDA has failed to penalize improper filing of ag land transactions by foreign nationals – further emphasizing its lack of sufficient enforcement authority in this area."

"Let me be clear, foreign agricultural land ownership is a national security issue and should be treated as such," Flood asserted. He highlighted recent disruptions in food and energy supply chains as evidence supporting this stance.

"Therefore, it is simply common sense that we pass this bill to expand CFIUS and better address this ongoing threat," he concluded before yielding back his time.