September 13, 2022
By News Director Jared Atha
A joint bill authored by Oklahoma Senators James Lankford and Jim Inhofe aims at making it illegal for foreign entities to purchase land in Oklahoma.
They announced their filing Monday of the Security and Oversight of International Landholdings (SOIL) Act in order to provide oversight and transparency of purchases of US agricultural land that threaten national security.
In a press release, Senator Lankford said, in part, that “the state’s marijuana trade has attracted transnational criminal organizations to Oklahoma that he says are trafficking drugs and people.” Lankford went on to say that “the transnational criminal organizations have partnered with Chinese nationals to buy land and businesses throughout Oklahoma. This is a national security issue and a human rights issue.” Lankford said there needs to be more transparency as to who is buying the land and how they are using it.
Following Lankford’s most recent trip to the border, he was briefed by the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) on the rise of drug trafficking and drug overdoses in Oklahoma.
OBN supports the SOIL Act.
The press release went on to say that The SOIL Act deters criminal investment in US agriculture by requiring the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review of agriculture real estate purchases by certain foreign entities. Banning federal assistance for certain foreign-held real estate holdings, and broadening disclosure requirements for land purchases made by foreign entities.
The SOIL Act is supported by Heritage Action for America and the America First Policy Institute.
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