Protecting America’s Agricultural Land from Foreign Harm Act of 2025
Latest action · Feb 18, 2025 Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence (Permanent Select), 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.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 18, 2025
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Protecting America's Agricultural Land from Foreign Harm Act of 2025
This bill prohibits persons associated with the governments of Iran, North Korea, China, or Russia from purchasing or leasing agricultural land in the United States.
Specifically, the President must prohibit any person (individual or entity) owned by, controlled by, or subject to the jurisdiction or direction of these foreign governments from purchasing or leasing (1) public agricultural land that is owned by the United States and administered by a federal department or agency, or (2) private agricultural land that is located in the United States.
A person that violates or attempts to violate this prohibition is subject to civil and criminal penalties. This prohibition does not require a person that owns or leases agricultural land as of the date of this bill's enactment to sell that land.
Further, the President must prohibit a person associated with these foreign governments and who leases, or who has full or partial ownership of, agricultural land in the United States from participating in Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs. Exceptions are included to allow for participation in USDA programs related to food safety, the health and labor safety of individuals, or certain reporting and disclosure requirements.
The bill excludes U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents from these restrictions.
The bill also amends the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA) to require reporting on security interests and leases.
Finally, the Government Accountability Office must submit a report to Congress on AFIDA.
Cosponsors 17
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 18, 2025 to Oct 21, 2025; 12 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-AL | Barry Moore | Original | Feb 18, 2025 |
| R-FL | Byron Donalds | Original | Feb 18, 2025 |
| R-LA | Clay Higgins | Original | Feb 18, 2025 |
| R-TX | Jodey C. Arrington | Original | Feb 18, 2025 |
| R-VA | John J. McGuire III | Original | Feb 18, 2025 |
| R-MI | John R. Moolenaar | Original | Feb 18, 2025 |
| R-NY | Michael Lawler | Original | Feb 18, 2025 |
| R-AL | Mike Rogers | Original | Feb 18, 2025 |
| D-CA | Mike Thompson | Original | Feb 18, 2025 |
| R-AL | Robert B. Aderholt | Original | Feb 18, 2025 |
| R-FL | Scott Franklin | Original | Feb 18, 2025 |
| R-IA | Zachary Nunn | Original | Feb 18, 2025 |
| R-FL | Anna Paulina Luna | Apr 7, 2025 | |
| D-NH | Maggie Goodlander | Aug 8, 2025 | |
| R-NJ | Thomas H. Kean, Jr. | Sep 2, 2025 | |
| R-TN | Diana Harshbarger | Oct 17, 2025 | |
| D-VA | Eugene Simon Vindman | Oct 21, 2025 |
Committees 3
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Agriculture Committee | Referred Feb 18, 2025 |
| House | Foreign Affairs Committee | Referred Feb 18, 2025 |
| House | Intelligence (Permanent Select) Committee | Referred Feb 18, 2025 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 18, 2025Introduced in House
- Feb 18, 2025Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence (Permanent Select), 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.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 171, no. 32, February 18, 2025, page H724.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R49515 | Foreign Ownership of U.S. Agricultural Land and AFIDA: Overview and Issues | Report | Nov 10, 2026 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 618 | Protecting America’s Agricultural Land from Foreign Harm Act of 2025 | Identical bill | Feb 18, 2025 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To prohibit the purchase or lease of agricultural land in the United States by persons associated with certain foreign governments, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Protecting America’s Agricultural Land from Foreign Harm Act of 2025
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Agriculture and Food.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 18, 2025Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
