Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 9456, the Protecting American Agriculture from Foreign Adversaries Act of 2024. This important legislation would codify a new set of policies that were enacted under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024. H.R. 9456 would make those measures permanent. I would like to begin by thanking the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Newhouse) for offering this legislation. The bill is straightforward. It adds the Secretary of Agriculture as a permanent member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, CFIUS, for any transactions related to the purchase of agricultural land, agricultural biotechnology, or any other transactions related to the U.S. agricultural industry. The bill also provides a mechanism for USDA to notify CFIUS of particularly sensitive agricultural transactions. Then, the interagency process must determine whether a review is appropriate. This legislation guarantees that the Secretary of Agriculture will have a seat at the table. Agriculture Secretary Perdue under the Trump administration and Secretary Vilsack under this administration both agree that having a permanent member of CFIUS is necessary. In fact, during the House Committee on Agriculture hearing earlier this Congress, Secretary Vilsack discussed the implications of a permanent placement of the USDA Secretary on CFIUS, saying: ``Being a permanent member would allow us . . .…”