Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN) is among 14 U.S. Senators who have written a bipartisan letter pushing the USDA to improve its process for foreign-owned farmland disclosures.
The letter, signed by ten Republicans and four Democrats, follows alleged inaccuracies posted online by the Farm Service Agency under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act.
“It’s essential for the USDA to ensure that the information published on its website is accurate and reliable,” the senators say. “Inaccurate information can have significant implications for various stakeholders and erodes public trust in the integrity of the reporting process.”
USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack says the current practice of manual entry, including the re-typing of paper-filed reports into FSA systems, can lead to the publication of problematic and inaccurate information.
“We’re told there have been instances where energy developers have been incorrectly identified as having ownership interest from sanctioned nations when, in reality, the investment behind the company originates from U.S. allies,” says Vilsack.
Additional cosigners of the letter include Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), as well as Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.).
CLICK HERE to read the full letter.