S 903

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IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

March 6, 2025

Mr. Rounds (for himself, Ms. Cortez Masto, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Thune, and Mr. Hoeven) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

A BILL

To amend the Defense Production Act of 1950 to require the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to review and prohibit certain transactions relating to agriculture.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security Act” or the “PASS Act”.

SEC. 2. REVIEW AND PROHIBITIONS BY COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN THE UNITED STATES OF CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS RELATING TO AGRICULTURE.

(a) In General.—Section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4565) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:

“(14) Agriculture.—The term ‘agriculture’ has the meaning given that term in section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203).”;

(2) in subsection (b)(1), by adding at the end the following:

“(I) Consideration of certain agricultural land transactions.—

“(i) In general.—Not later than 30 days after receiving notification from the Secretary of Agriculture of a reportable agricultural land transaction, the Committee shall determine—

“(I) whether the transaction is a covered transaction; and

“(II) if the Committee determines that the transaction is a covered transaction, whether to— “(aa) request the submission of a notice under clause (i) of subparagraph (C) or a declaration under clause

(v) of such subparagraph pursuant to the process established under subparagraph

(H); or “(bb) initiate a review pursuant to subparagraph (D).

“(ii) Reportable agricultural land transaction defined.—In this subparagraph, the term ‘reportable agricultural land transaction’ means a transaction—

“(I) that the Secretary of Agriculture has reason to believe is a covered transaction;

“(II) that involves the acquisition of an interest in agricultural land by a foreign person, other than an excepted investor or an excepted real estate investor, as such terms are defined in regulations prescribed by the Committee; and

“(III) with respect to which a person is required to submit a report to the Secretary of Agriculture under section 2(a) of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3501(a)).”;

(3) in subsection (k)(2)—

(A) by redesignating subparagraphs (H), (I), and

(J) as subparagraphs (I), (J), and (K), respectively; and

(B) by inserting after subparagraph (G) the following:

“(H) The Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to any covered transaction related to the purchase of agricultural land or agricultural biotechnology or otherwise related to the agriculture industry in the United States.”; and

(4) by adding at the end the following:

“(r) Prohibitions Relating to Purchases of Agricultural Land and Agricultural Businesses.—

“(1) In general.—If the Committee, in conducting a review under this section, determines that a transaction described in clause (i), (ii), or (iv) of subsection (a)(4)(B) would result in the purchase or lease by a covered foreign person of real estate described in paragraph (2) or would result in control by a covered foreign person of a United States business engaged in agriculture, the President shall prohibit the transaction unless a party to the transaction voluntarily chooses to abandon the transaction.

“(2) Real estate described.—Subject to regulations prescribed by the Committee, real estate described in this paragraph is agricultural land (as defined in section 9 of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3508)) in the United States that is in close proximity (subject to subsection (a)(4)(C)(ii)) to a United States military installation or another facility or property of the United States Government that is—

“(A) sensitive for reasons relating to national security for purposes of subsection

(a)(4)(B)(ii)(II)(bb); and

“(B) identified in regulations prescribed by the Committee.

“(3) Waiver.—The President may waive, on a case-by-case basis, the requirement to prohibit a transaction under paragraph (1) after the President determines and reports to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives that the waiver is in the national interest of the United States.

“(4) Covered foreign person defined.—

“(A) In general.—In this subsection, subject to regulations prescribed by the Committee, the term ‘covered foreign person’—

“(i) means any foreign person (including a foreign entity) that acts as an agent, representative, or employee of, or acts at the direction or control of, the government of a covered country; and

“(ii) does not include a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States.

“(B) Covered country defined.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), the term ‘covered country’ means any of the following countries, if the country is determined to be a foreign adversary pursuant to section 791.4 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor regulation):

“(i) The People’s Republic of China.

“(ii) The Russian Federation.

“(iii) The Islamic Republic of Iran.

“(iv) The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.”.

(b) Spending Plans.—Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, each department or agency represented on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States shall submit to the chairperson of the Committee a copy of the most recent spending plan required under section 1721(b) of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 4565 note).

(c) Regulations.—

(1) In general.—The President shall direct, subject to section 553 of title 5, United States Code, the issuance of regulations to carry out the amendments made by this section.

(2) Effective date.—The regulations prescribed under paragraph (1) shall take effect not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(d) Effective Date; Applicability.—The amendments made by this section shall—

(1) take effect on the date that is 30 days after the effective date of the regulations under subsection (c)(2); and

(2) apply with respect to a covered transaction (as defined in section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4565)) that is proposed, pending, or completed on or after the date described in paragraph (1). <all>