releases: https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=9816E139-7F5C-45C6-A884-DD6B28AE69C1
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news?ID=9816E139-7F5C-45C6-A884-DD6B28AE69C1 | VIDEO: Fischer Questions USDA Official on Foreign Ownership of U.S. Farmland, Need to Protect Sensitive U.S. Military Installations | 2023-09-28 | 2023 | 2023-09 | Republican | Senate | NE | Deb Fischer | F000463 | www.fischer.senate.gov | fischer | https://www.fischer.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases | scraper | WASHINGTON, D.C. – At a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing this week, U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) questioned U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Deputy Under Secretary Gloria Montaño Greene about foreign ownership in U.S. agriculture and possible threats to sensitive American military installations, including ICBM sites in Western Nebraska. In February, Senator Fischer joined legislation to protect America’s agricultural industry from improper foreign investment. The Foreign Adversary Risk Management (FARM) Act bolsters the U.S. agriculture industry’s role on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), the governmental body that oversees the vetting process for foreign investment and acquisition of American companies. Click the image above to watch video of Sen. Fischer’s questioning Click here to download audio Click here to download video Following is a transcript of Senator Fischer’s questioning: Senator Fischer: In addition to serving on the Agriculture Committee, I also serve as a senior member on the Senate Armed Services Committee. And I am the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, which is responsible for our nuclear deterrent, space systems, and our missile defense. It is no secret that many critical weapons systems are located in rural America near agricultural land. For example, in western Nebraska, that is home to the Minuteman III ICBMs, and it will soon be replaced by the Sentinel ICBMs. These weapons systems and the airmen operating them keep Americans safe every day. We cannot let military installations hosting sensitive missions like these in Nebraska become vulnerable by allowing adversaries to purchase land nearby from which they can then conduct espionage or other nefarious activities. The Chinese Communist Party will actively seek and exploit any opportunity they see to do so. And so, I believe we have to have a process in place to prevent them from doing that. Ms. Greene, while foreign investments in ag land should be reported, we also need to ensure that the information is communicated to all relevant stakeholders. Does the USDA currently have any process in place for reporting to DoD if there is foreign investment in proximity to national security assets? Deputy Under Secretary Montaño Greene: Thank you, senator, for your service on both committees. We agree with you at USDA that agriculture is part of national security and very important to that role. And we do not have the authority to be able to approve or to decline purchases by foreign or domestic lands. With regard to, I'm sorry — Senator Fischer: To reporting to DoD. Deputy Under Secretary Montaño Greene: Yes. Senator Fischer: Do you currently have the tools needed to do that? Or does this committee need to look at something? Deputy Under Secretary Montaño Greene: So, with regard to reporting, I know there's been a lot of conversation about the role within CFIUS. It is not within the purview of FPAC. It has been raised to the Secretary. The Secretary has shared his intention that it would be a good idea for us to serve there. With regards to reporting, even though we're not members of CFIUS, we serve in an ad hoc role. So, when they call upon information to share and we're able to share that information, we do provide that with them. And so, throughout the year, they look at our reports that we provide annually. And so, we do know that that report is available publicly and individuals have been leveraging it. And if there are needs, they will seek additional information. Senator Fischer: Also, you had mentioned that USDA is updating the FSA-153 form currently being used for AFIDA database. Can you expand on what questions will be added to the form? For example, currently, is there any way to know how much foreign-owned land U.S. farmers can be renting? Deputy Under Secretary Montaño Greene: So, the questions that are going to be updated in the 153 form, we've been gathering a group to be able to better understand the statute where information can be added that we're not seeking, as has been shared by my colleagues. Right, this is 45 years ago that it was passed. 44 years ago, that it was written in regulation. And so, agricultural land has been very different. Some of the information is not a requirement that we can have. If we want to be able to ask for their FSA farm records, that cannot be required to be put in there. We are going to be putting it as an optional to help us better track information. That is something that we do not have authority to be able to provide. But most of the requests and everything that we do is going to have to be an authority to better reflect leases and better reflect some of the land ownership in agriculture communities. Senator Fischer: As you know, people in agriculture are pretty individualistic, and they don't like a lot of reports. So how — I'll ask any of you. Do you have suggestions on how we can make sure — to get the information we need. I think we are all looking at foreign-owned land, foreign renters of land. And I specifically am looking in certain vulnerable areas across this country. Do you have any ideas how we can differentiate on the reporting requirements, so we're not putting undue burdens on citizens in this country? Anyone have an "a-ha" moment here? Deputy Under Secretary Montaño Greene: You know, senator, I think the issue is very complex here. It is self-reporting. It's on the books. It should also be known we've been doing a lot of robust education with the realtor associations, various individuals that are within knowledge of deeds, making sure that our county offices, our state offices would be more than willing to work with senators to be able to provide a toolkit if you want to be able to provide it to your respective communications to be able to report. I don't know if there's a system that is not self-reporting. The complication is the multiple county recorders, the clerks, the multiple state systems that don't actually have an automated flag that then reports it up for us to be able to then scoop into this. So, as we're moving forward to be able to, you know, to ad lib what the Secretary said, there's not necessarily a foolproof way to be able to go. So, we can do the work that we need to do at USDA in one part of the system, but the other systems throughout the country and the infrastructure for us to be able to pull a report, and we can rely on colleagues such as Mr. Pittman and Dr. Ortega and other entities. But we do have multiple structures and a complex system that needs to be created to be able to address this. Senator Fischer: I just don't think the government needs to interfere in people's private businesses by requiring more reporting. In Nebraska, we have 97% private ownership of land. So, I understand the challenges that we're facing here, as we do try to figure out how we can get a better handle on, have more information on, the foreign ownership, which I think is a concern for all of us. Thank you. | 1 | 2026-03-30T01:40:41Z | 2026-04-06T18:35:26Z |