WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today,Representative Mike Collins(R-Ga.)delivered a speechon the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to sound the alarm onChina buying up U.S. agricultural land.
Key Excerpts
"Xi Jinping has clearly statedthat by 2049 he wants China to be the world leader—diplomatically, economically, militarily, even in space."
"China owns $870 billion in U.S. Treasuriesthat finance our debt.And they either own or have a huge portion of the Chicago Stock Exchange, AMC movie theaters, General Electric’s appliance division, General Motors, and Smithfield Foods just to name a few."
"On another alarming note, folks. Chinaowns 384,000 acres of American agricultural land. That's a 30% increase just since 2019.And on top of that, they own land near an air force base in North Dakota. That'sa clear threat to our national securityand that's what the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill is going to address."
Background
According to a2021 reportby the Department of Agriculture,China owns 384,000 acres of American agricultural land; ownership which jumped by 30% from 2019 to 2020.
H.R. 4368, the FY2024 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill:
Supports our rural communities and strengthens our national security and food supply by:
- Continuing critical investments in agriculture research, rural broadband, and animal and plant health programs;
- Providing sufficient funds to ensure the safety of food, drugs, and medical devices;
- Ensuring that low-income Americans have access to nutrition programs;
- Reining in harmful regulations that dictate how poultry and livestock producers raise and market their animals;
- Preventing the purchase of agricultural land by foreign adversaries; and
- Providing a $39 million increase for the Food Safety and Inspection Service to fully fund frontline meat and poultry inspectors.
Reins in wasteful Washington spending and bureaucracy by:
- Redirecting billions in the partisan bills that contained Democrats’ priorities (Inflation Reduction Act) to help America’s producers and rural communities;
- Including a $32 billion decrease in mandatory SNAP spending from FY23 levels due to the end of increased pandemic-era benefits and a decrease in participation rates;
- Restricting the USDA Secretary’s discretionary spending authority on unauthorized, non-emergency programs; and
- Directing USDA to focus hiring efforts in state and county offices to assist producers and rural communities, rather than continuing to bloat the DC bureaucracy.
Cuts to Wasteful Spending:
- Returns WIC benefits provided during COVID to a normal level, with the end of the public health emergency. Benefits will be maintained above pre-pandemic levels to account for food price inflation caused by the Biden economy.
- Rejects President Biden’s proposal for 4,700 new full-time equivalents (FTE) at USDA headquarters in Washington, D.C., saving taxpayers $296 million.
- Saves $1 billion by restricting the discretionary use of the Commodity Credit Corporation.
- Eliminates funding for climate hubs and climate change research.
- Eliminates funding for conservation equity agreements.
###
FAQs
According to a 2021 report by the Department of Agriculture, China owns 384,000 acres of American agricultural land; ownership which jumped by 30% from 2019 to 2020.
Who is buying up all the U.S. farmland? ›
Outside ownership of US cropland is drawing attention from Washington as concern rises about possible threats to food supply chains and other national security risks.
Who owns the most farmland in the United States? ›
The Land Report 100 research team analyzes transactions and scours records to determine America's leading landowners. That's how we broke the news in 2020 that Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates was America's largest farmland owner with more than 260,000 acres.
How much farmland does Jeff Bezos own? ›
Ted Turner, the media mogul, also owns 2 million acres of farmland, while Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns over 420,000 acres. Surgeon and author Dr.
Is China buying farmland in the U.S. near military bases? ›
For example, a Chinese company bought farmland in 2021 for acorn-milling facility near an Air Force base in Grand Forks, N.D. Another piece of land in Michigan purchased in 2023 by a Chinese company is situated near the nation's largest National Guard training facility in Grayling.
Why are billionaires buying U.S. farmland? ›
Hedge against inflation. As inflation climbs, many investments can plummet in value. Farmland, on the other hand, has seen its value increase during inflationary periods, making it an effective hedge against rising prices. This cushion can be particularly valuable to those with an ultra-high net worth.
Why is Bill Gates buying all the farmland in America? ›
He responded, “I own less than 1/4000 of the farmland in the US. I have invested in these farms to make them more productive and create more jobs. There isn't some grand scheme involved - in fact, all these decisions are made by a professional investment team.”
Why is Bill Gates buying so much farm land? ›
Gates himself recently publicly reinforced the idea that his farmland purchases are investments. "The decision to buy this land was made by people who help manage my money so that we get a good return, so that the Foundation can buy more vaccines," Gates said on a November episode of Trevor Noah's podcast.
What foreign country owns the most property in the United States? ›
It's actually Canada, which accounts for 32%, or 14.2 million acres. Rounding out the top five are the Netherlands at 12%, Italy at 6%, the United Kingdom at 6% and Germany at 5%.
How much farmland does the Mormon Church own? ›
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has bought nearly 370,000 acres of Nebraska agricultural land in recent years, and John Hansen tells Brownfield it's creating some challenges for the state's farmers and ranchers.
Stewart Allen Resnick (born December 24, 1936) is an American billionaire businessman. In 2018, Resnick was the wealthiest farmer in the United States.
Who is the biggest farmer in America? ›
In the Central Valley, the sunshine is plentiful but the moisture is not. Stewart Resnick is the biggest farmer in the United States and the overwhelming majority of his crops are rooted in the fertile lands of California, where the sunshine is plentiful, but the moisture is not.
How much land does Saudi Arabia own in the United States? ›
China currently holds 384,000 acres of land in the U.S., which is around 1% of all foreign-held acres. The total holdings for Saudi Arabian investors is about 36,000 acres.
Who is the largest private landowner in the world? ›
The largest landowner in the world currently is King Charles III of England. How much land does the Royal Family own? He and the British Royal Family own more than 6,600,000,000 acres of land around the world. They technically own many territories around the globe, amounting to 1/6 of the surface of the planet.
How much of U.S. farmland is foreign owned? ›
All told, 43.4 million acres of forest and farmland in the U.S., or 3.4% of all ag land, is foreign owned as of Dec. 31, 2022. Roughly 30 million of those acres are reported as foreign-owned, with the remainder primarily under a 10-year-or-longer lease.
How much land does China own in Michigan? ›
China held 349,442 acres in 2022, which is slightly less than 1% of foreign-held acres. Forest land accounted for over 48% of all reported foreign held acreage, cropland for over 28%, and pasture and other agricultural land for over 21%.
How many countries own farmland in the United States? ›
As demonstrated in Table 1, the top 10 foreign owners of U.S. agricultural land by acres were Canada, the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal, France, Denmark, Luxembourg, and Ireland. Individuals from these countries own three-quarters of the acres owned by foreigners.
