Hinson supports Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act

WASHINGTON — The United States House on Wednesday passed the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act on a 269-to-149 vote. The bill adds the US Secretary of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States for transactions, including land, biotechnology, transportation, storage, and processing. It also requires the secretary to report any transaction that can be considered a threat to national security.

North-central Iowa congresswoman Ashley Hinson says she’s proud to have helped introduce what she says is an important piece of bipartisan legislation to protect our food supply from foreign adversaries like Communist China.   “China continues to buy up American farmland at an alarming rate. They’re aiming to gain control over our food and fuel supply chains, stealing American intellectual property and strategically purchasing land next to sensitive sites. China doesn’t even allow its citizens to own land, but we’ve allowed China to purchase nearly 350,000 acres of our ag land.”

Hinson says our adversaries will stop at nothing to disrupt critical industries like agriculture and the bill would help the US block transactions that are a threat to national security.  “By ensuring that the Secretary of Agriculture has a seat at the table at CFIUS, foreign transactions involving agricultural assets will receive proper oversight so we can prevent our adversaries from undermining our food supply and security. In Iowa, our land is sacred. Iowa farmers feed and fuel the world. We cannot allow the CCP to continue buying up our most valuable resource.”

214 Republicans as well as 55 Democrats backed the bill. The bill now heads to the Senate.