PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 25, 2025
Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2025
This bill makes changes to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), including by requiring CFIUS to determine whether a national security review is necessary for reportable agricultural land transactions that are referred by the Department of Agriculture (USDA). (CFIUS oversees the national security risks of certain foreign investment in the United States. CFIUS has the authority to review covered transactions, which include mergers, acquisitions, and takeovers that could result in foreign control of a U.S. business; certain investments in businesses involved in critical technologies, critical infrastructure, or sensitive personal data; and certain real estate transactions.)
Specifically, the bill directs CFIUS to, after receiving notification from USDA, determine (1) whether a reportable agricultural land transaction is a covered transaction, and (2) whether CFIUS should initiate a national security review or take another action with respect to the transaction.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Reportable agricultural land transaction means a transaction (1) that USDA has reason to believe is a covered transaction; (2) that involves the acquisition of an interest in agricultural land by a foreign person of China, North Korea, Russia, or Iran; and (3) with respect to which a foreign person is required to submit a report to USDA regarding their agricultural land transactions.
The bill also expands the membership of CFIUS to include the Secretary of Agriculture for covered transactions that involve agricultural land, agricultural biotechnology, or the agriculture industry (e.g., agricultural transportation, storage, and processing).
People & committees
Rep. Newhouse, Dan [R-WA-4] · R–WA
Legislative record
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Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Feb 17, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-25 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The bill would give the Secretary of Agriculture a seat on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States for certain transactions involving agriculture. After receiving notice from the Secretary, the committee would have to assess certain agricultural land acquisitions involving foreign persons from China, North Korea, Russia or Iran. It would determine whether the transaction falls within its legal scope and, if so, whether to review it or take another authorized action.
The Secretary of Agriculture shall be a member of the Committee with respect to a covered transaction that involves— (A) agricultural land; (B) agriculture biotechnology; or (C) the agriculture industry
After receiving notification from the Secretary of Agriculture of a reportable agricultural land transaction, the Committee shall determine— (I) whether the transaction is a covered transaction; and (II) if the Committee determines that the transaction is a covered transaction, whether the Committee should initiate a review pursuant to subparagraph (D), or take another action authorized under this section
the acquisition of an interest in agricultural land by a foreign person of the People’s Republic of China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, or the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Secretary of Agriculture’s proposed committee membership would apply to transactions covered by the existing law that involve agricultural land, agricultural biotechnology or the agriculture industry, including agricultural transportation, storage and processing.
The Secretary of Agriculture shall be a member of the Committee with respect to a covered transaction that involves— (A) agricultural land; (B) agriculture biotechnology; or (C) the agriculture industry, including agricultural— (i) transportation; (ii) storage; and (iii) processing.
After notification from the Secretary of Agriculture about a qualifying agricultural land transaction, the committee would have to decide whether the transaction is covered by the existing law. If it is, the committee would have to decide whether to initiate a review or take another authorized action. This provision requires those decisions; it does not automatically require a review of every notified transaction.
After receiving notification from the Secretary of Agriculture of a reportable agricultural land transaction, the Committee shall determine— (I) whether the transaction is a covered transaction; and (II) if the Committee determines that the transaction is a covered transaction, whether the Committee should initiate a review pursuant to subparagraph (D), or take another action authorized under this section, with respect to the reportable agricultural land transaction.
A transaction would qualify for this process only if all three conditions apply: the Secretary has reason to believe it is covered by the existing law; it involves acquiring an interest in agricultural land by a foreign person from China, North Korea, Russia or Iran; and someone must report it to the Secretary under section 2(a) of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978. An interest in land is not limited here to buying the entire property.
the term reportable agricultural land transaction means a transaction— (I) that the Secretary of Agriculture has reason to believe is a covered transaction; (II) that involves the acquisition of an interest in agricultural land by a foreign person of the People’s Republic of China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, or the Islamic Republic of Iran; and (III) with respect to which a person is required to submit a report to the Secretary of Agriculture under section 2(a) of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978.
The special agricultural land transaction requirements would end separately for foreign persons of each named country when that country is removed from the foreign-adversary list in section 791.4 of title 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations. This termination condition applies to those transaction requirements, not to the separate provision adding the Secretary of Agriculture to the committee.
(iii) Sunset The requirements under this subparagraph shall terminate, with respect to a foreign person of the respective foreign country, on the date that the People’s Republic of China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, or the Islamic Republic of Iran, as the case may be, is removed from the list of foreign adversaries in section 791.4 of title 15, Code of Federal Regulations.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated February 17, 2026, records introduction in the House on February 25, 2025, and referral that day to the Financial Services, Foreign Affairs, and Energy and Commerce committees for provisions within their respective jurisdictions.
Source snapshot updated 2026-02-17T21:53:56Z.
2025-02-25: Introduced in House
2025-02-25: Referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-25. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish the absence of riders in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; it does not establish the contents of other versions or accompanying earmark materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow preferential benefit, special exemption or carve-out warranting a finding was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish the absence of such provisions elsewhere.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Feb 17, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI