Trusted Foreign Auditing Act of 2025

Senate Bill

S. 2382

119th Congress

Trusted Foreign Auditing Act of 2025

In Committee

Introduced:Jul 22, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Rick Scott

Senator

Republican

FL

Cosponsors

2

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Agriculture and Food

Summary

This bill aims to increase oversight and penalties for foreign investors who fail to properly report their ownership of U.S. agricultural land. It would allow the Department of Agriculture to impose higher fines on foreign-owned 'shell companies' that own farmland without properly disclosing this information.

Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

SponsorRick Scott (R-FL)

Introduced7/22/2025

StatusRead twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

ChamberSenate

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Vote Prediction

Trusted Foreign Auditing Act of 2025

This bill aims to increase oversight and penalties for foreign investors who fail to properly report their ownership of U.S. agricultural land. It would allow the Department of Agriculture to impose higher fines on foreign-owned 'shell companies' that own farm

Community Breakdown

Pass

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This bill aims to increase oversight and penalties for foreign investors who fail to properly report their ownership of U.S. agricultural land. It would allow the Department of Agriculture to impose higher fines on foreign-owned 'shell companies' that own farmland without properly disclosing this information.

Bill Number: 2382
Sponsor: Rick Scott (R-FL)
Introduced: 7/22/2025
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Policy Area: Agriculture and Food

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: Trusted Foreign Auditing Act of 2025
Bill Number: 2382
Sponsor: Rick Scott (R-FL)
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Introduced: 7/22/2025
Summary: This bill aims to increase oversight and penalties for foreign investors who fail to properly report their ownership of U.S. agricultural land. It would allow the Department of Agriculture to impose higher fines on foreign-owned 'shell companies' that own farmland without properly disclosing this in

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill aims to increase oversight and penalties for foreign investors who fail to properly report their ownership of U.S. agricultural land. It would allow the Department of Agriculture to impose higher fines on foreign-owned 'shell companies' that own farmland without properly disclosing this information.

Last updated: 12/30/2025

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Farmland Security Act of 2023This bill authorizes increased civil penalties for violations of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA) and increases Department of Agriculture (USDA) oversight and research into foreign investment in agricultural land. (AFIDA and the regulations that implemented the act require foreign investors who acquire, transfer, or hold an interest in U.S. agricultural land to report such holdings and transactions to USDA.) In general, the bill allows USDA to determine an appropriate civil penalty amount for an AFIDA violation by removing the cap that currently prohibits the civil penalty from exceeding 25% of the fair market value of the interest in the land.The bill provides an exception for a shell corporation (i.e., a corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company, trust, or estate that has no or nominal operations). An AFIDA civil penalty for a foreign-owned shell corporation must be 100% of the fair market value of the interest in the agricultural land associated with the violation. The penalty does not apply if the shell corporation remedies a defective filing or failure to file within 60 days of USDA providing notice.  USDA must conduct annual compliance audits of at least 10% of the reports. Further, USDA must provide state and county-level personnel annual training in identifying agricultural land for which a report must be submitted.USDA must also annually conduct research and submit a report to Congress on foreign investment in agricultural land, including trends in the purchase of U.S. agricultural land by foreign-owned shell corporations.

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Removes the current 25% cap on civil penalties for violations of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA)
Imposes a 100% penalty for foreign-owned 'shell corporations' that fail to properly disclose agricultural land ownership
Requires the USDA to conduct annual audits of at least 10% of AFIDA reports and provide training to state/local officials
Mandates USDA research and reporting to Congress on trends in foreign investment in U.S. farmland

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

This bill would primarily impact foreign investors, especially those using shell corporations, who own or are looking to purchase U.S. agricultural land. It aims to increase transparency and the government's ability to monitor foreign ownership of American farmland, which could impact food security, land use, and rural economies.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Agriculture and Food

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

2382, 119th Congress (2025). "Trusted Foreign Auditing Act of 2025". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-s-2382

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