What This Bill Does
This bill amends the Defense Production Act of 1950 to give the Secretary of Agriculture a seat on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. It requires the committee to review certain foreign investments and purchases of agricultural businesses and farmland in America. The bill also allows the President to prohibit certain foreign transactions involving agriculture if they pose national security concerns.
Who It Affects
The Secretary of Agriculture, the President, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, foreign investors from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, companies that operate agricultural businesses in the United States, owners of farmland and agricultural real estate in the United States, and Congress (specifically the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry).
Key Provisions
* The Secretary of Agriculture must be added as a member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (Sec. 2(a)(2)(B))
* Foreign investments in U.S. agricultural businesses must be reviewed by the committee, subject to regulations the committee will create (Sec. 2(a)(1)(A)(ii))
* Foreign purchases or leases of agricultural real estate in the United States must be reviewed by the committee (Sec. 2(a)(1)(A)(ii))
* The President must prohibit transactions where a covered foreign person would gain control of a U.S. agricultural business or farmland, unless the President waives the ban with at least 30 days notice to Congress stating it serves national security (Sec. 2(a)(3))
* A "covered foreign person" includes anyone from, organized in, or controlled by China, Russia, Iran or North Korea (Sec. 2(a)(3)(A)(B))
* The Secretary of Agriculture must report every 180 days to Congress on risks from foreign purchases of U.S. agricultural businesses (Sec. 2(b))
What Changes
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States gains the Secretary of Agriculture as a voting member. The committee's authority expands to review foreign investments in agricultural companies and foreign purchases or leases of American farmland. Foreign persons from four specific countries (China, Russia, Iran and North Korea) face potential bans on acquiring control of U.S. agricultural businesses or farmland. The Secretary of Agriculture must begin submitting reports to Congress every 180 days analyzing these foreign investment risks.
Important Definitions
* "Agriculture" means the same thing as it is defined in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (Sec. 2(a)(1)(B))
* "Covered foreign person" means someone from, a citizen of, registered or organized in, or a subsidiary controlled by China, Russia, Iran or North Korea (Sec. 2(a)(3)(A))
* "Prohibited country" includes the People's Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Sec. 2(a)(3)(B))
Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 168
To amend the Defense Production Act of 1950 to include the Secretary
of Agriculture on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United
States and require review of certain agricultural transactions, and for
other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
JANUARY 31, 2023
Mr. ROUNDS (for himself, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. TESTER, Mr. CRAMER, Ms. LUM-
MIS, and Mr. THUNE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice
and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
A BILL
To amend the Defense Production Act of 1950 to include
the Secretary of Agriculture on the Committee on For-
eign Investment in the United States and require review
of certain agricultural transactions, and for other pur-
poses.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Agriculture
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Safeguards and Security Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘PASS Act
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of 2023’’.
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SEC.
2.
REVIEW
OF
AGRICULTURE-RELATED
TRANS-
1
ACTIONS BY CFIUS.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 721 of the Defense Pro-
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duction Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4565) is amended—
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(1) in subsection (a)—
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(A) in paragraph (4)—
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(i) in subparagraph (A)—
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(I) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘;
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and’’ and inserting a semicolon;
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(II) in clause (ii), by striking the
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period at the end and inserting ‘‘;
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and’’; and
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(III) by adding at the end the
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following:
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‘‘(iii) any transaction described in
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clause (vi) or (vii) of subparagraph (B)
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proposed or pending on or after the date of
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the enactment of this clause.’’;
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(ii) in subparagraph (B), by adding at
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the end the following:
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‘‘(vi) Any other investment, subject to
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regulations
prescribed
under
subpara-
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graphs (D) and (E), by a foreign person in
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any unaffiliated United States business
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that is engaged in agriculture or bio-
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technology related to agriculture.
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‘‘(vii) Subject to subparagraphs (C)
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and (E), the purchase or lease by, or a
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concession to, a foreign person of private
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real estate that is—
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‘‘(I) located in the United States;
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and
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‘‘(II) used in agriculture.’’;
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(iii) in subparagraph (C)(i), by strik-
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ing ‘‘subparagraph (B)(ii)’’ and inserting
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‘‘clause (ii) or (vii) of subparagraph (B)’’;
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(iv) in subparagraph (D)—
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(I) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘sub-
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paragraph
(B)(iii)’’
and
inserting
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‘‘clauses (iii) and (vi) of subparagraph
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(B)’’;
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(II) in clause (iii)(I), by striking
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‘‘subparagraph (B)(iii)’’ and inserting
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‘‘clauses (iii) and (vi) of subparagraph
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(B)’’;
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(III) in clause (iv)(I), by striking
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‘‘subparagraph (B)(iii)’’ each place it
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appears and inserting ‘‘clauses (iii)
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and (vi) of subparagraph (B)’’; and
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(IV) in clause (v), by striking
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‘‘subparagraph (B)(iii)’’ and inserting
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•S 168 IS
‘‘clauses (iii) and (vi) of subparagraph
1
(B)’’; and
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(v) in subparagraph (E), by striking
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‘‘clauses (ii) and (iii)’’ and inserting
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‘‘clauses (ii), (iii), (iv), and (vii)’’; and
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(B) by adding at the end the following:
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‘‘(14) AGRICULTURE.—The term ‘agriculture’
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has the meaning given such term in section 3 of the
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Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.
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203).’’;
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(2) in subsection (k)(2)—
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(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (H),
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(I), and (J), as subparagraphs (I), (J), and
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(K), respectively; and
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(B) inserting after subparagraph (G) the
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following new subparagraph:
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‘‘(H) The Secretary of Agriculture.’’; and
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(3) by adding at the end the following:
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‘‘(r) PROHIBITION WITH RESPECT
TO AGRICUL-
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TURAL COMPANIES AND REAL ESTATE.—
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‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other
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provision of this section, if the Committee, in con-
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ducting a review and investigation under this sec-
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tion, determines that a transaction described in
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clause (i), (vi), or (vii) of subsection (a)(4)(B) would
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•S 168 IS
result in control by a covered foreign person of or
1
investment by a covered foreign person in a United
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States business engaged in agriculture or private
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real estate used in agriculture, the President shall
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prohibit such transaction.
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‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The President may waive, on a
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case-by-case basis, the requirement to prohibit a
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transaction under paragraph (1), not less than 30
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days after the President determines and reports to
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the relevant committees of jurisdiction that it is vital
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to the national security interests of the United
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States to waive such prohibition.
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‘‘(3) DEFINED TERMS.—In this subsection:
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‘‘(A) COVERED
FOREIGN
PERSON.—The
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term ‘covered foreign person’ means a person
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that is—
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‘‘(i) acting on behalf of or otherwise
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directed by the government of a prohibited
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country;
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‘‘(ii) a citizen of a prohibited country;
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‘‘(iii) an entity that—
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‘‘(I) is registered or organized in
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a prohibited country; or
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‘‘(II) has a principal place of
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business in a prohibited country; or
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‘‘(iv) a subsidiary of an entity de-
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scribed in clause (iii).
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‘‘(B) PROHIBITED
COUNTRY.—The term
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‘prohibited country’ means any of the following:
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‘‘(i) The People’s Republic of China.
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‘‘(ii) The Russian Federation.
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‘‘(iii) The Islamic Republic of Iran.
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‘‘(iv) The Democratic People’s Repub-
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lic of Korea.’’.
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(b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days
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after the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180
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days thereafter, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit
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to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep-
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resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition,
14
and Forestry of the Senate a report on the risks that for-
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eign purchases of United States businesses engaged in ag-
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riculture (as such term is defined in section 3 of the Fair
17
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203)) pose to
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the agricultural sector of the United States.
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Æ
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