Greenville Reporter

Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D., and Congressman John Moolenaar, Chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Community Party, have jointly sent a letter urging United States Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen to expand the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to include U.S. Coast Guard facilities and other sensitive sites. The letter also requests that CFIUS reviews be conducted retroactively when a site is newly added to its list of sensitive locations.

"Today, our adversaries are doing everything they can to undermine American sovereignty and security," said Congressman Murphy. "This includes purchasing land on our soil to use for espionage and other belligerent purposes. While CFIUS coverage includes many military bases and other sensitive areas, U.S. Coast Guard facilities, National Laboratories, some maritime ports, and critical telecommunications and energy infrastructure are not included. This leaves the United States vulnerable to hostile nations and malicious actors."

Murphy emphasized the need for action: "We cannot allow bad actors to purchase land in America to harm us. I'm grateful for the support of Chairman Moolenaar in recognizing our current security shortcomings and urge Secretary Yellen to consider these recommendations as the Department of the Treasury finalizes its proposed rule to expand CFIUS coverage."

Chairman Moolenaar highlighted concerns about foreign land purchases near sensitive sites: "Xi Jinping would never allow Americans to buy land next to sensitive Chinese bases," he stated. "Unfortunately, current U.S. policy all too often rolls out the red carpet for CCP land purchases. We must more effectively use CFIUS to stop our foremost adversary from purchasing US land, particularly CCP-aligned entities like Gotion, which wants to set up shop in my home state."

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) is an interagency committee under the Department of the Treasury authorized to review foreign investment and real estate transactions in order to protect national security.

On July 8th, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking intending to add over 50 military installations across 30 states to CFIUS's existing list of installations around which it has jurisdiction over land purchases.

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