Three U.S. senators have introduced legislation to give the government greater control over China and other adversarial nations from buying land and setting up shop in America.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., posted the proposed legislation will directly impact American security. "Keeping sensitive American land out of the hands of our adversaries like China, Iran and North Korea is critical."
Slotkin is joined by Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, and Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., as the initial co-sponsors. The bill would give greater power to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a government office that reviews security risks within U.S. borders, to investigate and block potentially dangerous land purchases and nefarious foreign government activities inside the U.S.
Slotkin said the office needs more teeth "to examine a broader set of transactions," explaining, "That means we can stop land purchases that pose an actual risk to our national security."
The legislation spells out industrialized areas referenced as "brownfield" and "greenfield" sites as areas needing more oversight.
The Chinese taking advantage of a lack of attention to set up in the U.S. has been getting more attention over the past year. Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., told Newsmax on Friday that he had discovered stores inside U.S. military bases that are owned and operated by the Chinese government. Something he said is an "outrageous breach of national security."
Slotkin said her legislation is aligned with another bill she helped introduce in March to allow greater government oversight into Chinese infiltration of artificial intelligence programming.