Pentagon gets power to ban foreign retailers from military bases
H.R. 2551 — Military Installation Retail Security Act of 2025 · Filed by Pat Harrigan (R-NC) · 22 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 1, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill prevents foreign retailers controlled by adversarial nations from operating stores on U.S. military bases. It requires the Secretary of Defense to review existing retail contracts, terminate agreements with foreign-controlled retailers unless approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., and establish annual disclosure requirements. Military personnel and their families benefit by ensuring retail operations on bases are not controlled by hostile foreign governments.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to establish a national-security screening mechanism for foreign-controlled retailers on military installations, with enforcement authority vested in the Secretary of Defense and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.
What the text implies
- The 20% foreign ownership threshold may be circumvented through indirect ownership structures (shell companies, trusts), creating enforcement gaps.
- The 180-day review period for existing agreements may force rapid terminations of long-standing retail operations, potentially disrupting morale and services on bases with limited alternatives.
The full analysis lists 5 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
U.S.-based retail chains operating on military bases; Domestic retailers competing for military base contracts