Not One More Inch or Acre Act
The Not One More Inch or Acre Act would authorize the President to block all purchases of public or private real estate in the United States by citizens of the People’s Republic of China, by “covered foreign entities” (as defined in the bill), or by foreign persons acting for or on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party or the PRC. If the President determines existing ownership as of enactment poses a national security risk, those properties must be sold within one year. The bill provides limited exceptions for certain refugees and for real estate owned for personal use by U.S. nationals. It also amends the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) to adjust the ownership threshold for agricultural land disclosure. The bill is introduced in the Senate (S. 176) with sponsors listed as Senators Cotton, Cramer, and Britt. In short, the bill aims to broadly restrict PRC-related access to U.S. real estate, with a fast-track path to force divestment where national security concerns exist, while carving out narrow exemptions and tweaking agricultural land disclosure rules.
Key Points
- 1Prohibition on real estate purchases: The President must prohibit purchases of public or private real estate located in the United States by PRC citizens, “covered foreign entities,” or foreign persons acting for/on behalf of the CCP/PRC, effective on enactment.
- 2Mandatory divestment if risk is found: If ownership as of enactment date poses a national security risk, the President can require sale of the property within one year.
- 3Exceptions:
- 4- Refugees: The prohibition does not apply to PRC citizens who entered as refugees or who were granted asylum or withholding of removal.
- 5- Personal use by U.S. nationals: Property owned for personal use by a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident is exempt from the sale requirement.
- 6Definitions:
- 7- Covered foreign entity: An entity acting for/under directing of the PRC Government or CCP, organized under PRC law, with principal place of business in the PRC, or owned/controlled by the PRC/CCP (including subsidiaries).
- 8- Foreign person: Any individual or entity not a U.S. person.
- 9- United States and United States person: Specific scope includes all U.S. states/territories and defines who qualifies as a U.S. person (U.S. citizen, LPR, or entity organized under U.S. law).
- 10Enforcement authority: The President is empowered to take actions necessary to implement the prohibition and enforce divestment when applicable.
- 11AFIDA threshold change: Section 3 changes the reporting/disclosure threshold in the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act by replacing “exceed 25 percent of” with “be less than 10 percent, or exceed 25 percent, of” certain ownership interests, effectively creating a new bifurcated threshold for agricultural land disclosure.