China Ban on U.S. Farmland Purchases Pt 1
I’m Bob Larson. Not all farm land in the United States is owned by American farmers. Some of our farmland is bought by foreign interests including, in recent years, at what some say is an alarming rate, China.
That’s one of the reasons, last week, that U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse brought a proposal to the House of Representatives …
NEWHOUSE … “We had our markup in the appropriations committee this week on the agricultural appropriations bill and I offered an amendment to prohibit the purchase of agricultural land by the People’s Republic of China.”
The answer to the why question, Newhouse says is simple …
NEWHOUSE … “They’re not our allies. They have been purchasing large amounts of agricultural land in the United States, as well as all over the world. And, the risk of the United States becoming vulnerable to an agricultural monopoly would impose an immediate threat to our, I believe, our national security and our food security.”
Newhouse says in addition to that …
NEWHOUSE … “Any lands that are currently owned by the People’s Republic of China in the United States would also be ineligible for any of the benefits of receiving money from the federal government through farm programs.”
Newhouse says we cannot become dependent to China for our domestic agricultural food supply.
Tune in tomorrow for more.
