WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), James Lankford (R-OK), Jim Risch (R-ID), and Michael Bennet (D-CO) this week introduced the bipartisan Security and Oversight of International Landholdings (SOIL) Act, legislation to provide oversight and transparency of purchases of US agricultural land that threaten national security.
“Food security is national security, and it’s alarming how the Chinese Communist Party has been buying up American farmland as fast as they can,” said Senator Tillis. “This commonsense legislation increases transparency and oversight on these purchases so we can protect both North Carolina farmers and the world’s most abundant food supply from our adversaries.”
Background
The SOIL Act deters criminal investment in US agriculture by:
- Requiring Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review of agriculture real estate purchases by certain foreign entities
- Banning federal assistance for certain foreign-held real estate holdings
- Broadening disclosure requirements for land purchases made by foreign entities
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