On July 30, 2025, Representative Mary Miller (R-Ill.) introduced the Protecting Our Farms and Homes from China Act, a House bill mirroring Senator Josh Hawley’s Senate legislation to ban entities and individuals tied to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from buying U.S. farmland. The move, part of President Trump’s National Farm Security Action Plan, aims to safeguard national and food security amid concerns over China’s growing land ownership. USDA data shows Chinese investors hold 265,000 acres, less than 0.03% of U.S. farmland, but purchases near military bases, like a 2022 deal by Fufeng Group near a North Dakota Air Force base, have raised alarms.
The bill prohibits CCP-affiliated entities from acquiring agricultural land or homes, citing risks of espionage and control over food supply chains. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, now a member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), emphasized clawing back existing Chinese-held land. Supporters, including Senator Tom Cotton, argue the CCP’s decade-long “gobbling up” of U.S. farmland threatens economic stability. A July Rasmussen poll shows 73% of Americans back banning adversarial nations from land purchases.
Critics, like Senator Tammy Baldwin, warn the bill could fuel anti-Asian sentiment and harm legal immigrants, noting no direct Chinese government ownership exists, per USDA reports. Legal challenges, like Florida’s 2023 ban struck down for discrimination, loom as a hurdle. The bill requires near-unanimous House GOP support and Democratic votes to pass, facing a tight Senate vote.
