Bill > HR8722

This bill requires the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a formal agreement, known as a memorandum of understanding (MOU), with the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which is a government body that reviews certain foreign investments for national security implications. This MOU will ensure that the Secretary shares all relevant information from reports submitted under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) with CFIUS, including details about each report, the foreign individuals or entities involved, and the submission dates. AFIDA is a law that requires foreign investors to report their ownership of U.S. agricultural land. Additionally, the bill mandates that the Secretary of Agriculture update the Farm Service Agency's handbook on foreign investment disclosure within two years, incorporating recommendations from a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that highlighted ways to improve the collection and tracking of information on foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land to better identify national security risks. Following this initial update, the handbook will be updated every ten years, also including any new GAO recommendations.