State legislators are working on bills to prevent Chinese citizens and companies from making land purchases, which some lawmakers say are national security concerns, Politico reported.
More than 2 out of every 3 states have established or are looking to create laws that would limit or prevent nationals or companies from countries with hostile relations with the U.S. from owning American land.
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, who signed a bill last month preventing China and other countries from purchasing farmland in the state, labeled China "an enemy" during a hearing last month with the state House Committee on Agriculture.
"They are buying up our entire food supply chain. And when America can't feed itself and we rely on another country to feed us, it becomes a national security issue," the Republican governor said.
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who chairs the House Select Committee on China, said, "From Chinese Communist Party-affiliated purchases of agricultural land to efforts by the party to influence state and local politics, states are on the front lines of our new cold war with the Chinese Communist Party."
Other Republican lawmakers have criticized the Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. as lacking the regulatory reach to effectively prevent purchases that pose national security risks.
"The CFIUS process today is largely a rubber stamp. ... It is broken very similar to the challenges we have with the federal government that is just not functioning," Texas Republican state Sen. Tan Parker told Politico.
"For years, U.S. intelligence has warned us about the threats our foreign adversaries — particularly China — pose by acquiring our real estate and critical technology, but the federal government has not sufficiently addressed this problem," said Arkansas GOP Attorney General Tim Griffin.
"CFIUS is committed to taking all necessary actions within its authority to safeguard U.S. national security," a Treasury spokesperson told Politico.