March 14, 2025
Mr. Gill of Texas (for himself, Mr. Brecheen, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana, Ms. Greene of Georgia, and Mr. Stutzman) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
To require that a foreign purchaser of agricultural land be subject to the same restrictions as are applicable to United States citizens and nationals in the home country of such foreign purchaser.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Land And National Defense Act
or the LAND Act
.
Sec. 2. Restrictions on foreign purchasers
(a) In general
In the case of a sale of agricultural land, a foreign purchaser of such land shall be subject to—
(1)
the same restrictions and limitations as a United States citizen or national would be subject to with respect to the purchase of agricultural land in the home country of such purchaser; and
(2)
any restrictions and limitations under State law that apply with respect to the purchase of agricultural land in the State involved.
(b) Determination of home countries of foreign purchasers
(1) United States citizens
(A) Dual citizen
For purposes of applying subsection (a), in the case of a foreign purchaser who is a citizen of the United States and 1 other country, the other country shall be treated as the home country of such purchaser.
(B) Multiple citizenship
For purposes of applying subsection (a), in the case of a foreign purchaser who is a citizen of the United States and more than 1 other country, the other country (other than the United States) with the most restrictive laws with respect to the purchasing of agricultural land, as determined by the Task Force, shall be treated as the home country of such purchaser.
(2) Non-United States citizens
(A) In general
For purposes of applying subsection (a), in the case of a foreign purchaser who is a not a United States citizen and is a citizen of 1 country, the country in which such purchaser is a citizen shall be treated as the home country of such purchaser.
(B) Multiple citizenship
For purposes of applying subsection (a), in the case of a foreign purchaser who is a not a United States citizen and is a citizen of more than 1 country, the country with the most restrictive laws with respect to the purchasing of agricultural land, as determined by the Task Force, shall be treated as the home country of such purchaser.
(3) Companies
For purposes of applying subsection (a), in the case of a foreign purchaser that is a company, the country with the most restrictive laws with respect to the purchasing of agricultural land, as determined by the Task Force, and of which the citizens of such country hold at least 5 percent of such company shall be treated as the home country of such purchaser.
(4) Foreign governments
For purposes of applying subsection (a), in the case of a foreign purchaser that is a foreign government, the country such government represents shall be treated as the home country of such purchaser.
(c) Notification
(1) In general
In the case of a sale of agricultural land to a foreign purchaser, the seller of such agricultural land shall report such sale to the Secretary of Agriculture.
(2) Congressional notification
With respect to each notification of a sale of agricultural land to a foreign purchaser under paragraph (1), the Secretary of Agriculture shall notify—
(A)
the members of the Senate from the State in which the agricultural land is located; and
(B)
the member from the Congressional District in which such agricultural land is located.
(d) Task Force
(1) In general
There is established a Task Force (to be known as U.S. Land Protection Task Force
) to identify violations of subsection (a).
(2) Membership
The Task Force shall be composed of the following:
(A)
The Secretary of Agriculture, who shall serve as Chair of the Task Force.
(B)
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
(C)
The National Security Division of the Department of Justice.
(D)
The Secretary of State.
(3) Reports
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act and every 6 months thereafter, the Task Force shall submit to Congress a report that includes with respect to the 6-month period preceding the report—
(A)
the percentage of agricultural land (disaggregated by land type) that was sold to foreign purchasers;
(B)
the States in which such land was sold;
(C)
the average purchase cost of such land;
(D)
with respect to each such purchase of agricultural land, the title history with respect to the agricultural land purchased; and
(E)
whether any of the purchased agricultural land is located within 100 miles of a military installation.
(e) Severability
If any provision of this Act (or the application of that provision to particular persons or circumstances) is held invalid or found to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act (or the application of that provision to other persons or circumstances) shall not be affected.
(f) Definitions
In this section:
(1) Agricultural land
The term agricultural land has the meaning given the term in section 9 of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3508).
(2) Foreign purchaser
The term foreign purchaser means—
(A)
a foreign person (as defined in section 9 of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3508)); and
(B)
a United States citizen who is a citizen of another country.