Nearly 200 Dems join Republicans in blocking China from buying rural land

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A bipartisan House majority overwhelmingly approved a measure Thursday to protect rural land critical for renewable energy production from Chinese investors.

The measure — an amendment sponsored by Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa — was approved in a 407-26 vote with 223 Republicans and 184 Democrats voting in favor. Just 26 Democrats voted against the bill while eight lawmakers didn't vote. The bill is an amendment to the Lower Energy Costs Act which the House passed later Thursday.

"I’m proud that my amendment — which is derived from my Defend America’s Rural Energy Act — to the Lower Energy Costs Act passed the House of Representatives with wide support. China must be banned from buying American farmland suitable for ethanol and biodiesel production, which is vital to our rural economy in Iowa," Feenstra told Fox News Digital.

"Simply put, my amendment keeps China far away from our farmland because American farmland belongs to American farmers," he added.

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Rep. Randy Feenstra speaks during a House hearing on March 29, 2022. (Rod Lamkey/Pool/Getty Images)

The Defend America’s Rural Energy Act, which Feenstra introduced earlier this month, proposed to modify the Defense Production Act of 1950 to prohibit foreign adversaries from purchasing any real estate suitable for renewable energy or renewable fuels production. The lawmaker's home state of Iowa is a major wind energy producer and the nation's top producer of biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel, according to federal data.

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In recent months, Republican lawmakers and local leaders nationwide have increased scrutiny on land purchases by foreign investors. The increasing number of land purchases has sparked concern that foreign companies and investors, particularly those from China, may be establishing a stranglehold of key U.S. food and energy supplies.

According to Department of Agriculture data, Chinese agricultural investment increased tenfold between 2009 and 2016 alone.

A farmer inspects corn in an Iowa field. (iStock)

Overall, as Western nations, including the U.S., continue their aggressive push to transition from fossil fuel dependence, the global biofuels industry is projected to grow nearly 30% over the next four years, according to the International Energy Agency. Iowa and other rural U.S. states are poised to play a large role in the industry's growth.

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Iowa accounts for about 25% of American ethanol production capacity and its ethanol plants are able to produce 4.7 billion gallons per year, or 30 times the state's annual consumption levels, Energy Information Administration data showed. The state's biodiesel production is five times the state's consumption of the energy resource.

And 58% of Iowa's electricity is generated by wind turbines. That represents the largest share of any state in the U.S. and is a result of its windy conditions.