Rounds, Ernst, Fetterman and Colleagues Urge USDA to Modernize Process for Disclosing Foreign-Owned Land

WASHINGTON – Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) this week sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) urging the agency to streamline its process for electronic submission and retention of Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) disclosures. In the letter, the senators note alleged inaccuracies in information publicly posted by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) and the problems that arise when this information is inaccurate.

Currently, these disclosures are completed by hand on physical paper. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 mandated the establishment of a streamlined process for electronic submission and retention of AFIDA disclosures, including an internet database.

“The current practice of manual data entry, including the re-typing of paper-filed reports into FSA systems, can lead to the publication of problematic and inaccurate information,” wrote the senators. “We’re told there have been instances where energy developers have been incorrectly identified as having ownership interests from sanctioned nations, when in reality the investment originates from U.S. allies. If true, such errors not only create confusion but also undermine the credibility of the data published by the FSA.”

Rounds, Ernst and Fetterman were joined on the letter by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), James Risch (R-Idaho) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).

Read the full letter here. 

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