GOP Senator Sounds Alarm on Chinese Purchases of US Farmland

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) speaks at a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Dec. 15, 2022, in a still from video released by NTD. NTD

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) says Democrats shot down her attempt to stop the Chinese from gobbling up more U.S. farmland, especially at strategic sites.

In a Feb. 15 tweet that drew more than 1.6 million views, Blackburn wrote: “China should not be allowed to purchase farmland next to military installations. I introduced legislation banning just that. Can you guess who voted against it? All my Democrat colleagues.”

Blackburn’s frustration with the political divide came shortly after some of her Republican colleagues announced they were moving forward with similar proposed bans and were attempting to line up support from Democrats.

The debate over Chinese acquisitions of U.S. land also is gearing up while China’s threat to America has been in the spotlight.

After a Chinese spy balloon floated across the nation, both chambers of Congress condemned the balloon’s incursion into U.S. territory. That vote indicates bipartisan support for that sentiment. The U.S. Senate is Democrat-controlled, while the House of Representatives is Republican-dominant.

However, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) criticized Republicans for faulting Democrat President Joe Biden for waiting until Feb. 4 to shoot down the balloon on the East Coast. By that time, the balloon, which was believed to have entered Alaskan airspace a week earlier, had already traveled cross-country.

Many people from all sides of the political spectrum expressed concern over the large white balloon’s surveillance of the United States, and about several smaller “objects” that the American government has shot out of the sky in recent days. Those, too, are said to have been surveillance balloons.

A jet flies by a Chinese surveillance balloon as it floats off the coast in Surfside Beach, S.C., on Feb. 4, 2023. Randall Hill/Reuters

‘What Would You Think?’

Blackburn, in a video attached to her tweet about the Chinese land-ban attempt, asked viewers, “What would you think?” if they learned that a China-owned parcel was situated next to a military installation.

“Would you be worrying about your privacy? Would you worry about the sovereignty of our nation? Would you worry about the surveillance that’s taking place on that military installation?” she asked. “I think you would.”

Although many of Blackburn’s followers thanked her for her stance, some blamed her for failing to act sooner. Critics noted that China’s purchases of U.S. land accelerated while Republican President Donald Trump was in office.

Blackburn’s website shows she has been on a years-long crusade to clamp down on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). However, a timeline on that page didn’t make it clear when she specifically began working on land-purchase restrictions.

GOP Seeks Dem Supporters

In the past, legislative attempts to halt Chinese land deals gained little ground. Some Democrats opposed past proposed bills, saying such actions would damage U.S.-China relations and might fuel anti-Asian sentiment. Many Americans blamed China for spreading the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

But one similar Chinese land-purchase bill, announced Feb. 1, was said to have more bipartisan support. That proposal would prohibit China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from owning or leasing U.S. farmland. Its main sponsors are Sens. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and John Tester (D-Mont.)

On Feb. 10, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said he reintroduced legislation that would “stop adversaries from acquiring land near military bases.” His efforts on similar measures date to at least June 2020, a news release says.

“The espionage threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party is acute, persistent, and has repeatedly endangered the safety and security of Texans and indeed all Americans,“ he said when the bill was introduced. ”The CCP cannot be allowed to expand those efforts  by purchasing land near installations that are integral to our national security.”

In the House of Representatives, at least one proposal seeks to curtail the Chinese from buying U.S. property.

Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) gives remarks after receiving an endorsement during a Save America Rally with former President Donald Trump at the Adams County Fairgrounds in Mendon, Ill., on June 25, 2022. Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images

Rep. Mary Miller (R-Ill.) made it a top priority for the new legislative session.

“I just introduced my first bill of the 118th Congress to ban China and our adversaries from purchasing U.S. farmland. It’s time to put America First!” she wrote Feb. 6 on Twitter.

As The Epoch Times previously reported, China has very little useable farmland. That’s why it’s seeking to purchase foreign land to boost its food supply.

By the end of 2020, China owned about 326,000 acres of U.S. farmland, making up only a small percentage of the foreign-owned agricultural land. But a decade earlier, China owned only about 14,000 acres here.

Terri Wu contributed to this story.