Bill blocks Chinese land purchases near U.S. military bases and federal lands
H.R. 1575 — No American Land for Communist China Act · Filed by Dan Newhouse (R-WA) · 60 cosponsors · Introduced Feb 25, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill directs the President to prohibit Chinese government agents and businesses that are 25% or more owned by China from purchasing real estate adjacent to U.S. federal lands (national forests, military bases, Interior Department lands, Energy Department lands, and Indian country). The stated purpose is to prevent foreign acquisition of strategically sensitive land near federal property.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a straightforward national-security restriction on foreign real estate purchases near federal lands. It does not create new agencies, subsidies, or complex regulatory schemes — it is a targeted prohibition on a defined class of foreign purchasers.
What the text implies
- The 25% Chinese ownership threshold may capture U.S. companies with significant Chinese venture capital or institutional investors, creating compliance uncertainty for legitimate American businesses seeking to purchase adjacent land.
- The bill grants the President broad discretion ('such actions as may be necessary') without specifying enforcement mechanisms, penalties, or how transactions will be screened — implementation details are left entirely to executive branch.
- Land 'adjacent to' federal lands is undefined; the scope of restricted zones could be interpreted narrowly (immediate boundary) or broadly (multi-mile buffer), creating significant uncertainty for property transactions.
- Indian country inclusion (section 1151, title 18) extends the restriction to tribal lands, potentially affecting tribal sovereignty and tribal members' ability to transact with foreign entities without clear tribal consultation or consent language.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens benefit from a national-security measure preventing foreign strategic land acquisition near military and sensitive federal sites. However, the bill may reduce property values and buyer pools for landowners adjacent to federal lands, and the vague standard (25% Chinese ownership of any business) could create uncertainty for legitimate commercial transactions and may affect U.S. businesses with Chinese investors.
Named in the bill
People's Republic of China, U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Agriculture (Forest Service), U.S. Department of Energy, Indian tribes (section 1151, title 18)
Where it stands
60 cosponsors: 60 Republicans.
- Feb 25, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Feb 25, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Foreign Affairs · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,461 characters) on Aug 24, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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