Expanding Land Sale Review Authority Near Military Bases

The Treasury Department announced Monday that it was moving to expand its review authority related to foreign purchases near U.S. military bases across the country.

A proposed Treasury rule allows the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which reviews real estate transactions near military installations or sensitive U.S. government properties, to add to its authority more than 50 facilities in 30 states.

The proposed rule would “significantly expand” CFIUS’s jurisdiction, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, at a time when U.S. lawmakers and officials are expressing deep concerns about Chinese purchases near U.S. bases.

“President Biden and I remain committed to using our strong investment screening tool to defend the national security of the United States, including actions that protect military installations from external threats.” Yellen said in a statement.

The proposed rule, in response to a recent comprehensive assessment of military bases and sites by the Department of Defense, is in a public comment period before being finalized.

The rule expands CFIUS’s jurisdiction to include transactions within a 1-mile radius of 40 U.S. bases; purchases within a 100-mile radius of 19 confidential websites; and any purchase of land within 1 and 100 miles of eight national security areas already registered for review.

Concerns have grown in recent years that Chinese purchases of land near U.S. bases or other sensitive locations pose a serious risk to national security.

Earlier this year, the White House ordered CFIUS to execute the land sale near a major U.S. Air Force base in Wyoming that houses nuclear missiles. The land was acquired by MineOne Partners Limited, a Chinese majority-owned company.

Lawmakers at the federal and state levels have increasingly pushed to restrict Chinese real estate transactions. Some have called for a total ban of foreign citizens associated with the Chinese government from purchasing public or private agricultural land.

China, however, only accounts for about 1 percent of foreign-owned land in 2021, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story