Bipartisan lawmakers on Wednesday introduced a bill to ramp up national security reviews of real estate deals involving companies with ties to China and other adversaries — a direct response to an escalating fight over an electric vehicle battery plant in rural Michigan.
The legislation from Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan and Rep. Blake Moore of Utah, a Republican, would require the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, to conduct national security reviews of certain real estate purchases by foreign entities of concern, including China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.
Under the bill, the committee’s jurisdiction would be expanded and any real estate deals covering more than 100 acres or exceeding $1 million in value would have to be reviewed before being approved.
CFIUS, an interagency body made up of federal officials and chaired by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, already reviews corporate acquisitions and some real estate deals.
