Ricketts Discusses Financial Tools for Curbing Communist China’s Malign Influence
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last week, during a Senate Banking Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) discussed the importance of using financial tools to prevent Communist China from acquiring sensitive U.S. farmlands and to constrain Dictator Xi Jinping with stronger sanctions mechanisms.
“Communist China is the threat to America,” said Ricketts. ”They want to supplant us as the world superpower, and they’ve made it clear that they are going to use every lever of power to be able to undermine our national security. Confronting this threat requires a comprehensive strategy that strengthens the safety of our financial system, secures our critical assets, and closes loopholes for Communist China to seek and exploit.”
Ricketts underscored the importance of utilizing the Council on Foreign Investment in the United States and highlighted process improvements that would be effected by Ricketts’ AFIDA Improvements Act.
“In 2010 Communist China owned 13,720 acres of American farmland in 2023 Communist China owned 277,000 acres of that farmland, and that is a threat to our national security. A lot of that, sometimes that farmland was located by our sensitive military installations,” said Ricketts. “Under the Agricultural Foreign investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA), foreign entities are required to disclose the transactions of American agricultural land to the USDA… USDA then shares the data with CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) agencies so they can identify and review the transactions that pose national security risks. However, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a report on the AFIDA process, which flagged incomplete data reporting process errors and delays. That’s why I introduced the AFIDA Improvements Act. My bill will strengthen reporting requirements and improve data sharing coordination between USDA and CFIUS so that national security risks tied to foreign land purposes are flagged immediately.”
Ricketts also refuted false claims by Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) regarding gas prices. Ricketts cited reporting from CNN that showed gas prices over the Labor Day weekend were at their lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The ranking member was talking about inflation. I might note that on Labor Day, the average price of gas was $3.15 a gallon,” said Ricketts. “That’s the lowest it’s been since 2020. People in my state tend to drive a lot and that’s a big factor in household income and inflation. And to me, that says that the President’s policies of unleashing American energy are important.”
The Banking Committee hearing considered the nominations of Ben Hobbs, for Assistant Secretary of Public and Indian Housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development; Ronald Kurtz, for Assistant Secretary of Community Planning and Development at the Department of Housing and Urban Development; Stephen Miran, for Governor of the Federal Reserve Board; Christopher Pilkerton, for Assistant Secretary of Investment Security at the Treasury Department; and Jonathan Burke, for Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing at the Treasury Department.
BACKGROUND:
The Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure (AFIDA) Improvements Act would codify legislative oversight recommendations to update the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978. The AFIDA Improvements Act would equip the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to combat foreign adversaries’ ownership of American agricultural land by requiring foreign entities to disclose the transactions of American agricultural land to the USDA. According to USDA, foreign investors own over 40 million acres of agricultural land across the United States. Additionally, between 2010 and 2023, Chinese ownership of American agricultural land increased from 13,720 acres to 277,000 acres.