June 17, 2024
Dear Members of Congress,
On behalf of Independent Women’s Voice, which fights to enhance people’s freedom, opportunities, and well-being, we strongly applaud the introduction of the No American Land for the Chinese Communist Party Act, by Chairman John Moolenaar.
This critical legislation will play a vital role in safeguarding our nation’s security and sovereignty.
By prohibiting any agent or business owned by the CCP from purchasing land adjacent to federal land in the U.S., this legislation provides a crucial layer of protection for our military installations, national laboratories, and lands rich in critical natural resources. The strategic importance of these areas cannot be overstated, and we must take decisive action to prevent our adversaries from gaining a foothold near them.
A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Foreign Holdings of U.S. Agricultural Land report found that the CCP controls a total of 349,442 U.S. acres, under one percent of foreign-held acres, through direct holdings and holdings with U.S. investors. While this number seems small, the CCP’s ownership of land increased 20-fold across the last decade. This is an alarming trend that should worry all Americans.
Such action is necessary as in 2023, there were over 100 reported incidents of Chinese nationals attempting to infiltrate U.S. military bases. Posing as tourists, they tried to gain unauthorized access to sensitive sites, including missile ranges and intelligence centers. This followed the January 2023 incident during which a Chinese spy balloon “capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations,” crossed the United States, gathering intelligence on multiple highly sensitive military sites.
Moreover, investors tied to the CCP have purchased land to construct energy projects to undermine domestic production here at home. Several years ago, a Chinese billionaire with deep ties to the CCP acquired 140,000 acres in Texas to construct a wind project. The project not only posed an environmental threat to a local river but would have given the billionaire’s energy company, GH America Energy, unfettered access to our electric grid. Recently, a proposed solar plant near Columbus, Ohio, has come under scrutiny for receiving Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits while maintaining close ties to China’s largest solar company, LONGi.
Taking highly productive agricultural land out of production to usher in clean energy projects could also lead to food insecurity, environmental destruction, and deforestation. The American Farmland Trust warned that “displacing farming from productive land could put more marginal farmland in production, leading to decreased productivity, farm viability, and food security, as well as increased environmental impact.”
This is one more effort by the CCP to undermine our institutions through espionage and strategic land acquisitions that pose a direct threat to our national security. This bill will strengthen our domestic defenses and ensure that critical public and private lands remain out of reach of foreign actors intent on expanding their influence and compromising our security.
Thank you, Chairman Moolenaar, for prioritizing Americans and safeguarding our homeland. We urge the U.S. House and Senate to pass this bill immediately and continue to work towards countering the Chinese Community Party and its malign influence in America.
Respectfully,
Meaghan Mobbs
Director, Center for American Safety and Security (CASS)
Independent Women’s Voice
Gabriella Hoffman
Director, Center for Energy and Conservation
Independent Women’s Voice