Exclusive: GOP Bill Would Ban Foreign Land Purchases for 5 Years

Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Mary Miller (R-IL) would place a five-year moratorium on foreign land purchases to protect “American sovereignty” from being “eroded.” Breitbart News exclusively obtained the bill’s text before its official introduction on Wednesday.

The legislation, named the “Moratorium on Foreign Land Purchases Act,” would give the president power to prohibit the purchase of public or private real estate in the U.S. “by any foreign person” for the five-year period after the enactment of the law.

The bill defines a “foreign person” as “any foreign national, foreign government, or foreign entity; or any entity over which control is exercised or exercisable by a foreign national, foreign government, or foreign entity.” The ban would also extend to any corporation, partnership, or other association created under the laws of a foreign country. Subsequently, the Comptroller General of the U.S. would be required to submit a report to Congress six months after the enactment of the bill detailing the history of foreign public and private real estate purchases located in the U.S.

The Comptroller General would also be required to make recommendations as to how “to make it easier for United States citizens and harder for foreign persons to purchase real estate located in the United States, including farm land,” and to provide a percentage of real estate located in the U.S. that is owned by foreign persons. The bill lists several concerning findings as reasons for the creation of the legislation, including several statistics on how foreign ownership is increasing housing costs for American citizens. According to the text, foreign investors now account for almost one-third of institutional investments in single-family rental homes in the U.S. Breitbart News previously reported how global investors are “gobbling up” middle-class suburban homes, “enriching wealthy investors and turning would-be homeowners into lifetime, no-equity renters.” The legislation states that increased foreign investment in urban areas has led to a rise in gentrification. This is “pushing many long-time residents out of their homes, including some of our most vulnerable and poor communities,” according to the bill. Additionally, “roughly 47 percent of rural renters pay a third or more of their income in rent each month.

The Federal government has done nothing to help rural Americans deal with the rising costs in housing.” The bill also calls for the EB-5 visa system, which allows foreign nationals to obtain green cards if they invest in specific business ventures, to be made “more stringent.” The proposed moratorium hammers the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and notes that Chinese Nationals have reportedly led foreign investments in U.S. homes “for the past seven years.” “The Chinese Communist Party is attempting to buy land in the United States, with an emphasis on farmland to gain strategic leverage over the United States,” the bill continues. “Foreign companies and individuals have purchased 1.7 million acres of agricultural land in Texas over the past decade, which is more than in any other State.

The purchases are worth approximately $3.3 billion.” A particularly noteworthy example is Chinese billionaire and CCP member Sun Guangxin, who planned to build a wind farm on the 140,000 acres he purchased on the border of Mexico near Laughlin Air Force Base.

The operation would have likely tapped into the state’s electricity grid, and Texas lawmakers blocked the project over hacking fears. The legislation is similar — though much broader — to another bill that Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) introduced in June 2021.

The bill, named “Securing America’s Land from Foreign Interference Act,” would give the president power to prohibit Chinese Communist Party members from purchasing public or private real estate in the U.S. Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on Twitter.

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References:

• https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/12/22/report-global-investors-gobbling-up-single-family-homes-u-s-pushing-out-first-time-buyers-driving-up-housing-costs/
• https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2021/08/10/report-chinese-communist-buys-large-swath-of-land-in-texas-alarming-lawmakers/
• https://nypost.com/2021/08/12/texas-reportedly-blocks-chinese-billionaires-wind-farm-plans/
• https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/3847/text?r=88&s=1