Resources
Agriculture

Lucas Legislation on Foreign Land Ownership Signed into Law

Mar 11, 2024
Agriculture
National Security
Press
Washington, DC – Over the weekend, President Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes Congressman Lucas’s bill, the Agricultural Security Risk Review Act (H.R. 3378).

H.R. 3378 adds the Secretary of Agriculture as a permanent member on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
“With an increasing amount of potentially hostile foreign investment in U.S. farmland, protecting America’s agriculture industry becomes more and more paramount to our national security. That’s why including the Secretary of Agriculture as a member of CFIUS is long overdue.” said Congressman Frank Lucas.  “As a fifth-generation farmer and rancher, who’s seen this issue grow in concern, I’ve spent years to have this legislation see the light of day. So I applaud my colleagues in the House and Senate for bringing this longstanding priority of mine to President Biden’s desk.” 

“The Agricultural Security Risk Review Act is an important reform that the gentleman from Oklahoma has long championed… While CFIUS is indeed a committee, it benefits from the expertise of particular Member Agencies with relevant expertise. Agriculture is too important to go neglected. Mr. Lucas has long understood this, and I applaud his hard work in championing the Agriculture Secretary’s contributions to CFIUS.”-Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer, Chairman, House Financial Services Subcommittee on National Security, Illicit Finance, and International Financial Institutions

Background:
The Agricultural Security Risk Review Act would add the Secretary of Agriculture as a permanent member to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) for any transactions related to the purchase of agriculture land, agricultural biotechnology, or any other transaction related to the U.S. agriculture industry, as determined by the USDA Secretary.

CFIUS is chaired by the Secretary of the Treasury, and Members of the Committee include the heads of the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security, Commerce, Defense, State, Energy, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and the Office of Science & Technology Policy.

While the Secretary of Treasury can designate the Secretary of Agriculture as a lead agency for transactions on a case-by-case basis, the Ag Secretary is not a permanent Member.

During a House Agriculture Committee hearing earlier this year, USDA Secretary Vilsack discussed the implications of a permanent placement of the USDA Secretary on CFIUS, saying, “Being a permanent member would allow us to educate the other members of CFIUS what to look for and what to be sensitive to when it comes to agriculture and agricultural production.”

###

Recent Posts

Sep 24, 2024
Economy

Gensler and Peirce Disagree on Treasury Clearing Implementation

Washington, DC – Today, at a Financial Services hearing entitled Oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Congressman Lucas, SEC Chair Gary Gensler, and SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce discussed the need to extend Treasury clearing timelines. While Chair Gensler did not say, Commissioner Peirce agreed with Congressman Lucas that there is a need to extend these […]

Sep 23, 2024
Press

Lucas, Mullin Welcome $5.5 Million Investment to OSU to Enhance Weather Prediction

Cheyenne, OK – The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) awarded Oklahoma State University (OSU) $5.5 million as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024. The purpose of these funds is to increase knowledge about local weather systems in the lower atmosphere, enabling the safe integration of small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Advanced […]

Sep 18, 2024
Press

Lucas Honors NASA’s Hidden Figures at Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony

Washington, DC – Today, House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Frank Lucas attended a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony, where he had the opportunity to honor the Hidden Figures, a group of women crucial to the space race. These women helped calculate the Apollo 11 mission to land the first astronaut on the moon. Medals […]