{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=E73F9FA7-1ACE-4DBB-91EE-D943C2AC6F79", "Thune: Foreign Ownership of Farmland is a Matter of National Security", "2023-09-27", "2023", "2023-09", "Republican", "Senate", "SD", "John Thune", "T000250", "www.thune.senate.gov", "thune", "https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases", "scraper", "Click here to watch the video.\n\nWASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), a longtime member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, today participated in a hearing to examine foreign ownership in U.S. agriculture. Thune discussed the importance of protecting South Dakota farmers and ranchers from foreign adversaries \u2013 like China, Russia, and Iran \u2013 that seek to purchase U.S. farmland and agriculture businesses, which threatens food security.\n\nThune\u2019s opening remarks (as prepared for delivery):\n\n\u201cThank you Chairwoman Stabenow and Ranking Member Boozman for holding today\u2019s hearing on foreign ownership of U.S. agriculture.\n\n\u201cI also want to thank our witnesses for appearing before the committee and for your input on this important issue.\n\n\u201cFood security is a critical component of national security, and we need to make sure foreign countries do not hold an undue influence over our food supply.\n\n\u201cI\u2019m pleased that this year\u2019s Senate National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes Senator Rounds\u2019 amendment to prohibit China, Iran, Russia, and North Korea from purchasing U.S. agricultural land and businesses, and I will continue to advocate for this provision\u2019s inclusion in the final NDAA.\n\n\u201cWe also need to take a close look at the U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s role in overseeing foreign ownership of U.S. agriculture, particularly as we keep working on the next farm bill.\n\n\u201cWe must safeguard U.S. farmland and food security as a critical component of national security, and I look forward to working with members of this committee on this issue in the next farm bill.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T18:35:26Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=E73F9FA7-1ACE-4DBB-91EE-D943C2AC6F79"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9174090810120106, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}