The DARE Act of 2023 is designed to protect American farmland and renewable energy infrastructure from foreign government control. Here's what it does: it requires a special government committee called CFIUS to carefully review any time a foreign government (or a company acting on its behalf) tries to buy or gain control of American agricultural land used to grow corn and soybeans for renewable energy, or land used for wind turbines and other wind energy production.

The bill goes further by completely banning four specific countries—China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea—along with anyone acting on their behalf, from acquiring any interest in these types of land at all. This means these countries cannot buy, lease, or gain any ownership stake in American farmland dedicated to renewable energy or wind energy production.

In practical terms, this affects foreign investors and foreign governments who might want to invest in American renewable energy infrastructure or agricultural land. It also affects American landowners who might want to sell their renewable energy land to foreign entities, since those sales would now face government scrutiny or outright prohibition depending on which country is involved. The goal is to keep control of America's energy production and agricultural resources in American hands, particularly regarding renewable energy development.

DARE Act of 2023

Feenstra, Randy

Defend America's Rural Energy Act of 2023 or the DARE Act of 2023 This bill requires the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review certain real estate transactions by foreign governments. (CFIUS is an interagency committee that oversees the national security risk of certain foreign direct investments in the U.S. economy. It may recommend that the President suspend or prohibit certain transactions.) Under the bill, CFIUS must review the acquisition by a foreign government or an entity acting on its behalf of (1) agricultural land used to grow corn and soybeans for the purpose of renewable energy, or (2) land used for wind turbines or other wind energy production. The transfer of an interest in such land to a foreign government or an entity acting on its behalf is likewise subject to CFIUS review. The bill also prohibits China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, as well as persons acting on their behalf, from acquiring any interest in these types of land.