H.R. 8700

119 HR 8700 IH: Protecting U.S. Farmland and Sensitive Sites From Foreign Adversaries Act
 U.S. House of Representatives
 2026-05-07
 text/xml
 EN
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 I  119th CONGRESS  2d Session  H. R. 8700  IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES   May 7, 2026   Mr. Moolenaar  (for himself,  Mr. Thompson of California ,  Mrs. Hinson ,  Ms. Brownley ,  Mr. Dunn of Florida ,  Mr. Bilirakis ,  Mr. Johnson of South Dakota ,  Mr. Nunn of Iowa ,  Mr. Moran ,  Mr. Newhouse ,  Mr. Gottheimer ,  Mr. Harrigan ,  Mr. Panetta , and  Mr. Feenstra ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the  Committee on Financial Services , and in addition to the Committees on  Foreign Affairs , and  Energy and Commerce , for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned   A BILL
To protect U.S. food security, provide the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States greater jurisdiction over land purchases, impose special guards against foreign adversary purchases of land in the United States near sensitive sites, expand the definition of sensitive sites, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Protecting U.S. Farmland and Sensitive Sites From Foreign Adversaries Act  .
2.
Additional definitions
Section 721(a) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 ( 50 U.S.C. 4565(a) ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(14)
Elevated risk real estate transaction
The term  elevated risk real estate transaction  means a real estate transaction described under paragraph (4)(B)(ii), in which the real estate—
(A)
is, is located within, or will function as a part of, an air or maritime port;
(B)
is in close proximity to a sensitive site;
(C)
could reasonably provide the foreign adversary person the ability to collect intelligence on activities being conducted at a sensitive site;
(D)
could otherwise expose national security activities at a sensitive site; or
(E)
is agricultural land that is covered by the reporting requirements under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978, as implemented by part 781 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations.
(15)
Foreign adversary
The term  foreign adversary  means—
(A)
the People’s Republic of China, including all Special Administrative Regions;
(B)
the Republic of Cuba;
(C)
the Islamic Republic of Iran;
(D)
the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea;
(E)
the Russian Federation; and
(F)
the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
(16)
Foreign adversary person
The term  foreign adversary person  means—
(A)
a foreign adversary;
(B)
a foreign person subject to the jurisdiction of, or organized under the laws of, a foreign adversary; and
(C)
a foreign person owned, directed, or controlled by an entity described in subparagraph (A) or (B).
(17)
Sensitive site
The term  sensitive site  means—
(A)
military installations;
(B)
a military training route, as defined in section 183a(h) of title 10, United States Code;
(C)
airspace designated as special use airspace under part 73 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation) and managed by the Department of Defense;
(D)
a controlled firing area, as defined in section 1.1 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation) under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense;
(E)
a military operations area, as defined in section 1.1 of title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation);
(F)
facilities with respect to which the Secretary of Defense has granted a security clearance;
(G)
facilities openly owned or operated by the U.S. intelligence community;
(H)
facilities owned or operated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
(I)
federally funded research and development centers;
(J)
university-affiliated research centers of the Department of Defense;
(K)
science and technology reinvention laboratories, as designated by the Secretary of Defense under section 4121 of title 10, United States Code;
(L)
airports, as listed on the website of the Federal Aviation Administration;
(M)
maritime ports, as determined by the Secretary of Transportation;
(N)
any electronic or telecommunications facility used to process, store, or transmit information (including fiber-optic nodes, data centers, cloud-computing facilities, satellite ground stations, and wireless transmission equipment) if—
(i)
the facility is part of a backbone or core network that serves a significant portion of the United States telecommunications network;
(ii)
the facility is located in close proximity to another sensitive site;
(iii)
the facility is a submarine cable landing station (as defined in section 60401(a) of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act ( 47 U.S.C. 1741(a) ));
(iv)
the facility is used to process or store a large volume of sensitive information (such as classified or encrypted communications) or other data critical to national security, public safety, or economic security; or
(v)
the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission determines the facility to be critical communications infrastructure;
(O)
electric powerplants, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security; and
(P)
any other site, as determined by the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of Homeland Security.
 .
3.
Protecting U.S. food security
Section 721(f) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 ( 50 U.S.C. 4565(f) ) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (10), by striking  and  at the end;
(2)
by redesignating paragraph (11) as paragraph (12); and
(3)
by inserting after paragraph (10) the following:
(11)
the current and long-term projection of the requirements for sources of food, water, and other agricultural products in the United States in the aggregate, as well as locally and regionally, and the effects a covered transaction may have on United States food security, including through foreign adversary acquisition of biotechnology related to agriculture; and
 .
4.
Expanding the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States over real estate transactions
(a)
In general
Section 721(a)(4) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 ( 50 U.S.C. 4565(a)(4) ) is amended—
(1)
in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking  clauses (ii) through (v)  and inserting  clauses (ii) through (vi) ;
(2)
in subparagraph (B)—
(A)
by redesignating clauses (ii) through (v) as clauses (iii) through (vi), respectively;
(B)
by inserting after clause (i) the following:
(ii)
Subject to subparagraphs (C) and (E), the purchase or lease by, or a concession to, a person who is a foreign adversary person of private or public real estate located in the United States.
 ;
(C)
in clause (iii), as so redesignated—
(i)
by striking  foreign person of private or public real estate  and inserting  foreign person who is not a foreign adversary person of private or public real estate ; and
(ii)
in subclause (II)—
(I)
in item (aa), by inserting  that is a sensitive site  before the semicolon; and
(II)
in item (bb)—
(aa)
in subitem (AA), by striking  a United States military installation or another facility or property of the United States Government that is sensitive for reasons relating to national security  and inserting  a sensitive site ;
(bb)
in subitem (BB), by striking  such an installation, facility, or property  and inserting  a sensitive site ; and
(cc)
in subitem (CC), by striking  such an installation, facility, or property  and inserting  a sensitive site ; and
(D)
in clause (v), as so redesignated, in subclause (II), by striking  clause (iii)  and inserting  clause (iv) ;
(3)
in subparagraph (C)—
(A)
in clause (i), by striking  subparagraph (B)(ii)  and inserting  clause (ii) or (iii) of subparagraph (B) ;
(B)
in clause (ii)—
(i)
by striking  subparagraph (B)(ii)(II)(bb)(AA)  and inserting  subparagraph (B)(iii)(II)(bb)(AA) ; and
(ii)
by striking  a United States military installation or another facility or property of the United States Government described in that subparagraph  and inserting  a sensitive site ; and
(C)
in clause (iii)—
(i)
in subclause (I), by striking  subparagraph (B)(ii)(II)(bb)  and inserting  subparagraph (B)(iii)(II)(bb) ; and
(ii)
in subclause (II)(bb)(BB), by striking  subparagraph (B)(ii)(II)(bb)  and inserting  subparagraph (B)(iii)(II)(bb) ;
(4)
in subparagraph (D)—
(A)
in clause (i), by striking  subparagraph (B)(iii)  and inserting  subparagraph (B)(iv) ;
(B)
in clause (iii)—
(i)
in subclause (I), by striking  subparagraph (B)(iii)  and inserting  subparagraph (B)(iv) ; and
(ii)
in subclause (II), by striking  subparagraph (B)(iii)(I)  and inserting  subparagraph (B)(iv)(I) ;
(C)
in clause (iv), by striking  subparagraph (B)(iii)  each place such term appears and inserting  subparagraph (B)(iv) ; and
(D)
in clause (v), by striking  subparagraph (B)(iii)  and inserting  subparagraph (B)(iv) ; and
(5)
in subparagraph (E), by striking  clauses (ii) and (iii) of subparagraph (B)  and inserting  clauses (iii) and (iv) of subparagraph (B) .
(b)
Mandatory declarations
Section 721(b)(1)(C)(v)(IV) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 ( 50 U.S.C. 4565(b)(1)(C)(v)(IV) ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(hh)
Required declarations for elevated risk real estate transaction
Notwithstanding item (dd), the parties to an elevated risk real estate transaction shall submit a declaration described in subclause (I) with respect to the transaction.
  .
5.
Presumption of unresolvability of elevated risk real estate transactions
(a)
Requirement for national security investigation
Section 721(b)(2)(B) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 ( 50 U.S.C. 4565(b)(2)(B) ) is amended—
(1)
in clause (i), by striking  or  at the end;
(2)
in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting  ; or ; and
(3)
by adding at the end the following:
(iii)
a covered transaction is an elevated risk real estate transaction, unless the Committee—
(I)
determines, by clear and convincing evidence, that the covered transaction is not a risk to national security; and
(II)
submits a notification to the Committees on Agriculture and Financial Services of the House of Representatives, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, the Committees on Agriculture and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate containing such determination and the reasons therefore.
 .
(b)
Consideration of elevated risk real estate transactions
Section 721(b) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 ( 50 U.S.C. 4565(b) ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(9)
Consideration of elevated risk real estate transactions
For purposes of a review or investigation of an elevated risk real estate transaction under this subsection, the transaction is presumed to present an unresolvable risk to national security, unless the Committee—
(A)
determines, by clear and convincing evidence, that the risk to national security of the transaction can be resolved in a manner other than by suspending or prohibiting the transaction; and
(B)
submits a notification to the Committees on Agriculture and Financial Services of the House of Representatives, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, the Committees on Agriculture and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate containing such determination and the reasons therefore.
 .
(c)
Presumption that the risks of elevated risk real estate transactions cannot be mitigated or resolved
Section 721(l)(3) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 ( 50 U.S.C. 4565(l)(3) ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(E)
Application to elevated risk real estate transactions
Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), an elevated risk real estate transaction shall be presumed to present a risk to national security that cannot be resolved through any agreement or condition, unless the Committee—
(i)
determines, by clear and convincing evidence, that the risk to national security of the transaction can be so resolved through such an agreement or condition; and
(ii)
submits a notification to the Committees on Agriculture and Financial Services of the House of Representatives, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives, the Committees on Agriculture and Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate, and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate containing such determination and the reasons therefore.
 .
6.
Agriculture representative
Section 721(k)(2) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 ( 50 U.S.C. 4565(k)(2) ) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating subparagraphs (H), (I), and (J) as subparagraphs (I), (J), and (K), respectively; and
(2)
by inserting after subparagraph (G) the following:
(H)
The Secretary of Agriculture, on all transactions related to the purchase of agriculture land, agriculture biotechnology, and any other transaction related to the agriculture industry in the United States, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture.
 .
7.
Preservation of State authority
Section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 ( 50 U.S.C. 4565 ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(r)
Preservation of State authority
(1)
In general
Nothing in this section may be construed to preempt or supersede any law of a State that—
(A)
restricts or prohibits the purchase, lease, or acquisition of real estate or agricultural land by a foreign adversary person; and
(B)
is of general applicability within that State and does not purport to apply to any specific transaction or party.
(2)
State defined
In this subsection, the term  State  means each of the several States, the District of Columbia, and each territory of the United States.
 .
8.
Rulemaking
Not later than the end of the 120-day period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States shall issue rules to carry out the amendments made by this Act.