This article originally appeared on WND.com
Guest by post by Bob Unruh
And doesn’t even have plans to do so
The administration of Joe Biden is being skewered by a federal watchdog for failing to track the foreign ownership of U.S. farmlands, from which the nation’s population is fed.
In fact, a new report said Biden doesn’t even appear to have plans to monitor those developments that are significant to the nation’s security.
A report from Fox News bluntly warns Biden “doesn’t appear to have a plan to begin” monitoring that issue.
It reports that a document assembled by the Government Accountability Office revealed the Department of Agriculture has failed to share timely information about what foreigners are buying what land, even though that’s required under the 1978 Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act.
“Sharing current data could help increase visibility into potential national security risks related to foreign investments in U.S. agricultural land,” explained the GAO. “USDA implements AFIDA across field offices and headquarters, but its processes to collect, track, and report key information are flawed.”
Some details, in fact, are collected on “paper forms,” but there’s no agenda for any database.
The most recent details out are from 2021, the report said.
“This report confirms one of our worst fears: that not only is the USDA unable to answer the question of who owns what land and where, but that there is no plan by the department to internally reverse this dangerous flaw that affects our supply chain and economy,” said Rep. Dan Newshouse, R-Wash., the head of the Congressional Western Caucus.
“Food security is national security, and we cannot allow foreign adversaries to influence our food supply while we stick our heads in the sand,” he warned.
Recent purchases of American land by foreign corporations have raised alarms among Republicans because of the threat an enemy could be “establishing a stranglehold” on American food and energy resources.
Members of Congress specifically have expressed alarm at China’s purchases, some of which have been near military installations.
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