The Stop CCP Land Act would condition a state's eligibility to receive a broad set of federal funds on the state having enacted a law that restricts the purchase of agricultural land by persons from designated foreign countries. Specifically, starting one year after enactment, a state cannot receive “covered program funds” unless it prohibits purchases of agricultural land by individuals or entities from “covered foreign countries” and requires foreign owners who already hold agricultural land to annually report those holdings to the state agriculture department. The bill also directs federal reporting: the Secretary of Agriculture would study how AFIDA should be updated to track foreign land ownership, and the Comptroller General would assess national security impacts and potential measures to secure U.S. real estate from foreign manipulation. Definitions rely on existing AFIDA terms and a list from the State Department’s Defense Trade Controls Country Policies List (with Russia explicitly included). The set of “covered program funds” includes a wide range of climate, energy, and rural programs funded under Public Law 117-169.
Key Points
- 1Eligibility condition for funds: Beginning one year after enactment, states must have a law restricting agricultural land purchases by covered foreign countries or entities acting on their behalf, plus a requirement for annual reporting by foreign holders. Without such a law, the state would be ineligible for the specified covered program funds.
- 2Covered foreign countries: A “covered foreign country” is any country listed on the Defense Trade Control Country Policies List (as referenced by the bill) and includes Russia.
- 3Covered program funds: The bill ties eligibility to funds across a broad suite of federal programs, including environmental/climate data programs, electric loan and efficiency rebates, support for underserved farmers, forest and urban forestry programs, hurricane forecasting assets, and several other climate resilience and energy initiatives enacted under Public Law 117-169.
- 4Reporting and oversight: The bill requires (a) the Secretary of Agriculture to propose updates to AFIDA to strengthen documentation/monitoring of foreign land ownership, and (b) a GAO assessment within 90 days of enactment on national security impacts and ways to secure real estate from foreign influence.
- 5Definitions and scope: Uses AFIDA definitions for “agricultural land” and “foreign person,” and defines “covered foreign country” and “covered program funds” to connect foreign ownership with federal funding eligibility.