Senate votes to keep China from buying US farmland
by Samantha-Jo Roth, Congressional Reporter |
July 25, 2023 08:41 PM
The Senate voted overwhelmingly to include an amendment to prevent future purchases of American agricultural land by foreign adversaries to the must-pass annual national defense bill on Tuesday.
The vote passed with bipartisan support 91-7. The only senators to vote against the measure were Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Rand Paul (R-KY), Peter Welch (D-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Mike Lee (R-UT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT).
The amendment was offered by Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT) and Mike Rounds (R-SD) in an effort to prevent countries like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran from purchasing American farmland. The Senators said there were concerns after reports of China posing an even greater national security risk by acquiring U.S. farmland near military installations.
"In recent years, our country has seen firsthand attempts by our near-peer competitors to acquire land adjacent to our military bases," Rounds said ahead of the vote on Tuesday on the Senate floor, mentioning an effort in 2022 by a Chinese government-linked company to buy a large plot of land miles from a crucial military drone base in North Dakota.
"This demonstrates the need for my amendment," Rounds added.
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