Ricketts Introduces PLOT Act to Combat Communist China’s Ownership of American Farmland

WASHINGTON, D.C. –Yesterday, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) introduced theProperty Location Oversight and Transparency (PLOT) Actin the Senate.  The bill strengthens U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) foreign land ownership reporting system by requiring the USDA to publish geospatial data on foreign agriculture land acquisitions and lowering the foreign ownership reporting thresholds.
“Farms and ranches are the foundation of the Good Life in Nebraska.  But Communist China threatens this,”said Senator Ricketts.“Communist China has pursued a policy of strategically buying American farmland, they have purchased land around military installations to weaken U.S. national security.  My bill would combat this by strengthening USDA’s foreign ag land reporting system.  The hardworking Americans who feed us should benefit from our farms and ranches.  Communist China should not.”
ThePLOT Actwould amend the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure
Act (AFIDA) to:
BACKGROUND
Under theAgricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act(AFIDA), foreign entities are required to disclose the transactions of American agricultural land to the USDA.  According to USDA, foreign investors own over 40 million acres of agricultural land across the United States.  That includes Communist China’s purchase of sensitive land surrounding Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota and Fort Bragg in North Carolina.
Senator Ricketts previously introduced theAFIDA Improvements Act.
See the full bill texthere.