Central South Dakota News

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1713, known as the Agricultural Risk Review Act of 2025. The bill, introduced by Representative Frank Lucas (R-Okla.), incorporates provisions from the Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security (PASS) Act, originally introduced by U.S. Senator Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). The legislation mandates that the Secretary of Agriculture review all agricultural transactions scrutinized by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS). Additionally, it empowers the U.S. Department of Agriculture to refer cases to CFIUS if there is a potential national security concern related to an agricultural land transaction.

The PASS Act includes measures to prohibit individuals and entities controlled by China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from purchasing agricultural land and businesses near U.S. military installations or sensitive sites.

Senator Rounds expressed his satisfaction with the House's decision: “I am pleased to see that the House has passed legislation that would give the Secretary of Agriculture more oversight on foreign activity in America’s agriculture industry,” said Rounds. He emphasized that this would help identify any suspicious activities by foreign adversaries that might threaten national security. Rounds also mentioned his intention to collaborate with Senate colleagues to pass similar provisions in their chamber.

Rounds has been actively working against foreign ownership of American land by adversarial nations such as China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. He first presented the PASS Act in August 2022 during the 117th Congress with support from Representative Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) who led similar efforts in the House. The PASS Act has garnered support from several organizations including South Dakota Corn Growers Association (SDCGA), South Dakota Farmers Union (SDFU), South Dakota Farm Bureau Federation (SDFBF), among others.

In February 2023, Rounds reintroduced the PASS Act in the 118th Congress where an amendment was passed by the Senate Armed Services Committee as part of their National Defense Authorization Act version which aimed at banning entities from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea from acquiring farmland or agriculture businesses.

In October 2023, Rounds proposed another piece of legislation called Protect Our Bases Act which intended for CFIUS to review foreign land purchases near sensitive military or intelligence sites. This act was reintroduced in June 2025.