Congress moves to block China, Russia from buying U.S. farmland

What it does

This bill prohibits citizens and entities controlled by Iran, North Korea, China, or Russia from buying or leasing agricultural land in the U.S. (both public and private), and bars them from participating in USDA programs. It also expands foreign-investment disclosure requirements to include security interests and leases, increases civil penalties for non-disclosure, and requires the Secretary of Agriculture and Director of National Intelligence to report to Congress on foreign agricultural ownership and potential national security risks.

Why we flagged it

The bill's core function is to restrict foreign adversary acquisition of U.S. agricultural land and participation in USDA programs as a national security measure, with secondary transparency and enforcement enhancements to the existing Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act.

What the text implies

• The bill grants the President broad authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to implement prohibitions, potentially allowing executive action without further congressional approval or detailed regulatory process.
• Existing foreign ownership as of enactment is grandfathered—current foreign-held agricultural land is not required to be divested, creating a potential loophole for entities that acquired land before passage.
• The definition of 'covered person' includes entities with equity securities 'primarily traded' on foreign exchanges in the four named countries, which may capture some U.S.-incorporated companies with foreign listing or dual-listing structures.
• Reporting requirements and public data publication may expose sensitive information about U.S. agricultural ownership patterns and foreign investment strategies, though the bill includes a PII protection clause.
• The bill does not define 'control' or 'subject to the jurisdiction or direction' with precision, potentially creating ambiguity in enforcement against shell companies or indirect ownership structures.

Who it affects

Ordinary citizens benefit from preventing hostile foreign governments from acquiring control over U.S. agricultural land and food supply chains, which poses genuine national security and economic risks. The transparency provisions (public data on foreign ownership, expanded reporting) increase accountability and public knowledge. The bill does not restrict U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.

Named in the bill

Iran, North Korea, People's Republic of China, Russian Federation, Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of Defense, Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, Director of National Intelligence, International Emergency Economic Powers Act, Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 — and 1 more

Where it stands

2 cosponsors: 2 Republicans.

• Feb 18, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Feb 18, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

3 lobbying clients named this bill on 5 disclosure filings across 3 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $486,356 in lobbying spend. A filing names 8 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 61% of bills with at least one filing.

Tommy Tuberville, the sponsor, reported $-1,614 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Philanthropy Roundtable — $280,000 on 2 filings
• Conservation International Foundation — $166,356 on 1 filing
• Afida Modernization Committee (informal Coalition) — $40,000 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.