# Plain Language Summary: PASS Act of 2025

This bill creates new rules to prevent foreign companies and individuals from certain countries from buying American agricultural businesses and farmland. Specifically, it blocks investments and purchases from people or companies connected to China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. If someone from one of these countries tries to buy a farm, agricultural company, or agricultural land in the United States, the government can now stop the deal. The only exception is if the President decides it's absolutely necessary for national security and notifies Congress at least 30 days in advance.

The bill also adds the Secretary of Agriculture to a government committee that already reviews foreign investments for national security concerns. This means agriculture now gets a dedicated voice at the table when decisions are made about foreign ownership of American food and farming operations. The Secretary of Agriculture will also have to report to Congress every six months about the risks that foreign purchases pose to American farming.

The practical effect is that foreign investors from the four prohibited countries will face a complete ban on acquiring control of American agricultural businesses or buying farmland. This applies to any investment that would give them control or significant ownership stakes. The bill treats agricultural investments the same way the government treats other sensitive industries like defense and technology—as matters of national security that require government oversight and approval.

PASS Act of 2025

Stefanik, Elise M.

Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security Act of 2025 or the PASS Act of 2025This bill establishes requirements to address the national security risk to the agricultural sector of the United States.Specifically, the bill prohibits a foreign person (i.e., an individual or entity) who is a citizen of or acting on behalf of China, Russia, Iran, or North Korea from purchasing or investing in U.S. agricultural land and companies. The prohibition also applies to an entity that is registered or organized in, or has a principal place of business in, any of these countries.&nbsp;The President may waive this prohibition, on a case-by-case basis, if the President determines that the waiver is vital to U.S. national security interests.The bill also places the Secretary of Agriculture on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and requires CFIUS to review certain transactions involving investments by foreign persons in the U.S. agricultural sector.Additionally, the Department of Agriculture must report on the risks that foreign purchases of U.S. businesses engaged in agriculture pose to the U.S. agricultural sector.