HR4706-119

What This Bill Does

The Protecting Our Farms and Homes from China Act creates two property-ownership restrictions for covered foreign entities linked to the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau, the Chinese Communist Party, entities acting for those actors, and senior officials or directors of those entities. For agricultural land, it defines covered land to include farming, ranching, timber, food-processing, and recently idle land in states and territories. Covered foreign entities may not acquire or lease U.S. agricultural land, must divest existing ownership or lease interests within one year, and must sign a letter of intent to divest within 180 days. USDA must fine noncompliant covered entities $100 per acre per day, criminal penalties can include fines and up to five years imprisonment, and the Attorney General can seek forfeiture with public auction of land owned in violation. Any noncompete agreement between a covered foreign entity that owns or leases agricultural land and an employee has no force or effect. USDA and DOJ must issue implementing guidance within 180 days, and USDA must establish a compliance office. For residential real estate, the bill bars covered foreign entities from buying single-family homes, condominium or cooperative units, townhouses, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and locally zoned residential land during a two-year covered period that the President can extend every two years. Covered entities must divest residential units within one year, Commerce must fine violations $1,000 per unit per day, DOJ can seize assets or seek injunctions, Commerce must create a monitoring office, and Commerce must report to Congress within 540 days on market and housing-affordability effects.

Who Benefits and How

U.S. farmers and ranchers benefit from limits on covered Chinese-affiliated acquisition or leasing of agricultural land. Rural communities benefit if divestment and forfeiture rules reduce foreign state-linked control of nearby farmland or food-processing land. Homebuyers benefit if the temporary residential purchase ban reduces covered foreign-entity demand for homes in constrained markets. Agricultural workers employed by covered foreign entities benefit because agricultural noncompete agreements with those entities become unenforceable.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Covered Chinese-affiliated entities must stop acquiring or leasing agricultural land, divest holdings, sign divestment letters, and pay daily fines for violations. USDA Secretary must issue rules, establish a compliance office, monitor agricultural-land ownership, and impose acreage-based fines. Commerce Secretary must run the residential-real-estate compliance program, issue guidance, impose per-unit daily fines, and report housing impacts. Attorney General must enforce forfeiture, asset seizure, injunctions, and criminal penalties for covered violations.

Key Provisions

• Prohibits covered Chinese-affiliated entities from acquiring or leasing U.S. agricultural land.
• Requires divestment of existing agricultural interests within one year and letters of intent within 180 days.
• Voids agricultural noncompete agreements between covered foreign entities and their employees.
• Creates daily fines, criminal penalties, forfeiture, and public-auction sale authority for agricultural-land violations.
• Bars covered entities from purchasing residential real estate during a renewable two-year period and requires Commerce monitoring.