HR7074-119

What This Bill Does

The Keeping Public Lands Out of Adversarial Hands Act expands national-security review of land and resource transactions near public lands. It adds the Secretary of the Interior as a CFIUS member for covered transactions involving land, natural resources, sites, facilities, buildings, or other infrastructure controlled by the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, National Park Service, or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. When Interior believes a reportable transaction involves acquisition of a land or resource interest by a foreign person of China, North Korea, Russia, or Iran, the Secretary must notify CFIUS. CFIUS then determines whether the transaction is covered and may review or act on it. The special treatment sunsets for a country once it is removed from the Commerce Department foreign-adversaries list in 15 C.F.R. 791.4.

Who Benefits and How

Interior land managers, CFIUS national-security officials, tribal communities near affected Interior resources, public lands communities, and national-security reviewers benefit because potentially sensitive purchases near federal lands and resources receive a clearer review trigger. The Secretary of the Interior benefits from a formal seat in CFIUS deliberations when the transaction implicates Interior-controlled land, water, wildlife, park, or offshore resources.

Who Bears the Burden and How

Foreign adversary land buyers, companies owned or controlled by persons from China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea, and transaction parties near Interior-managed resources face additional review risk, reporting scrutiny, delay, and possible mitigation or blocking. Interior staff must identify reportable transactions, notify CFIUS, supply site and resource information, and coordinate with Treasury-led CFIUS processes. CFIUS member agencies must evaluate additional land and resource cases.

Key Provisions

• Adds the Secretary of the Interior to CFIUS for transactions involving Interior-controlled land, resources, sites, facilities, buildings, or infrastructure.
• Requires Interior notification to CFIUS for suspected covered land or resource acquisitions by foreign persons of China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea.
• Requires CFIUS to decide whether a notified transaction is covered and review or act on covered transactions.
• Covers resources managed by BLM, Reclamation, BIA, BOEM, National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service.
• Sunsets the country-specific trigger when a country is removed from the Commerce foreign-adversaries list.