As Congress Weighs Action on China, Tester Calls for Passage of His Bipartisan Legislation to Protect American Farmland and National Security

Senator has led the effort to ban foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party from purchasing American farmland and agribusiness

As the U.S. House of Representatives this week prepares to take up legislation aimed at countering the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), U.S. Senator Jon Tester is renewing his call for Congress to pass his bipartisan legislation that would fully crack down on the ownership of American farmland and agribusiness by our foreign adversaries. 

Tester, who is the Senate’s only working dirt farmer, has led the effort to protect America’s food security and national security from Chinese aggression and has previously passed his bipartisan legislation as an amendment out of the Senate that would ban China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia from purchasing U.S. farmland and agribusinesses.

“Defending Montana and our national security is my top priority, which is why I’ve been sounding the alarm to my colleagues in Congress about the need to crack down on Chinese aggression by preventing our adversaries from owning American farmland,” said Tester. “While I’m glad to see that the House of Representatives is weighing action, the fact is that half-measures won’t be enough to protect our food security or our national security from those who want to do us harm. It’s time for Congress take decisive action to stop our foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party from owning American farmland once and for all. I’ve got a bill to get the job done – Congress should pass it.”

Tester has led the charge to combat Chinese aggression and protect America’s place as the world’s leading military and economic power.

As the Senate’s only working dirt farming, Tester has led efforts to crack down on ownership of American farmland and agribusiness by foreign adversaries. Tester has introduced two bipartisan bills — the Protecting America’s Agricultural Land from Foreign Harm Act and the Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security (PASS) Act — to prohibit China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia from purchasing or leasing U.S. farmland and agribusiness. Tester’s PASS Act would specifically empower the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to prohibit future purchases of farmland and agribusinesses by our foreign adversaries, and enable CFIUS to review all significant agriculture-related foreign investments using expert data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. His Protecting America’s Agricultural Land from Foreign Harm Act would strengthen the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) to further empower the U.S. Department of Agriculture to review foreign ownership of American land. Tester secured his bipartisan PASS Act as an amendment to the FY24 Senate-passed version of the annual national defense bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Tester’s amendment was ultimately stripped out of the final NDAA by Speaker Johnson and House Republicans.

Tester this week co-sponsored the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024, bipartisan legislation that would add the Secretary of Agriculture as a member of CFIUS to provide an additional level of oversight by reviewing potential farmland purchases by foreign adversaries.   

As Chair of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, Tester has led oversight efforts around the Chinese spy balloon that flew over Montana. Tester has worked to boost the military’s budget to ensure the Pentagon has the tools it needs to better prevent these evolving threats, and secured a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to investigate U.S. technology that is currently being used in foreign espionage programs to prevent future spy balloon incursions. Tester is committed to securing a FY25 defense budget that will ensure the Department of Defense has the tools it needs to counter Chinese aggression.

Additionally, Tester is an original co-sponsor of the Countering CCP Drones and Supporting Drones for Law Enforcement Act – bipartisan legislation to counter the CCP and protect Americans’ privacy by cracking down on Chinese-made drones operating in the United States and helping law enforcement agencies, fire departments, and other first responders acquire secure drone technology.