Washington D.C. – U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-AL), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, has joined Chairman Tim Scott (R-SC) and other Senate Republicans in introducing the Protect Our Bases Act, a bill designed to improve the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’ (CFIUS) ability to review foreign land purchases near sensitive U.S. national security sites.
The legislation seeks to address gaps in current security review procedures by requiring CFIUS member agencies to annually update and review lists of sensitive military, intelligence, and national laboratory sites. These updates would ensure CFIUS has the necessary information to evaluate whether foreign investments near such facilities pose a national security risk.
The bill follows a 2022 incident involving the Fufeng Group, a Chinese company with reported ties to the Chinese Communist Party, which attempted to purchase land near Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota. At the time, CFIUS determined it could not evaluate the deal because the base was not officially designated as a sensitive site, highlighting a critical shortfall in the federal review process.
Senator Britt emphasized the importance of enhancing the review framework, stating, “Allowing CFIUS to review foreign land purchases near sensitive military and government sites is just common sense, and this legislation takes a crucial first step toward achieving that.”
Chairman Scott noted the broader national implications, pointing to the need for vigilance against efforts by foreign governments to surveil or infiltrate national security infrastructure.
In addition to co-sponsoring this legislation in both the current and previous Congress, Senator Britt has supported other measures aimed at protecting U.S. assets and interests from foreign influence. These include the Not One More Inch or Acre Act, introduced with Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR), to prohibit Chinese nationals or entities from owning American land; the Foreign Adversary Risk Management (FARM) Act, which focuses on foreign control in agricultural businesses; and the Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security (PASS) Act, which was included in the FY2024 National Defense Authorization Act.
The Protect Our Bases Act represents a continued effort by lawmakers to fortify America’s economic and physical infrastructure against evolving national security threats.
