Published by Breitbart News | January 11, 2022
A bill being co-led by Reps. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Mary Miller (R-IL) would place a five-year moratorium on foreign land purchases to protect “American sovereignty” from being “eroded.”
Breitbart News exclusively obtained the bill’s text before its official introduction on Wednesday. The legislation, named the “National Security Moratorium on Foreign Purchases of U.S. Land” would give the president power to prohibit the purchase of public or private real estate in the U.S. “by any foreign person” for the five-year period after the enactment of the law.
The bill defines a “foreign person” as “any foreign national, foreign government, or foreign entity; or any entity over which control is exercised or exercisable by a foreign national, foreign government, or foreign entity.” The ban would also extend to any corporation, partnership, or other association created under the laws of a foreign country.
Subsequently, the Comptroller General of the U.S. would be required to submit a report to Congress six months after the enactment of the bill detailing the history of foreign public and private real estate purchases located in the U.S. The Comptroller General would also be required to make recommendations as to how “to make it easier for United States citizens and harder for foreign persons to purchase real estate located in the United States, including farm land,” and to provide a percentage of real estate located in the U.S. that is owned by foreign persons.
The bill lists several concerning findings as reasons for the creation of the legislation, including several statistics on how foreign ownership is increasing housing costs for American citizens.
According to the text, foreign investors now account for almost one-third of institutional investments in single-family rental homes in the U.S. Breitbart News previously reported how global investors are “gobbling up” middle-class suburban homes, “enriching wealthy investors and turning would-be homeowners into lifetime, no-equity renters.”
The legislation states that increased foreign investment in urban areas has led to a rise in gentrification.
