The Treasury Department announced a proposed rule on Monday that would greatly expand the government’s review of real estate transactions located near military installations.
The proposal would expand the authority of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States to review certain real estate transactions involving foreign investment near specified military installations. The new authority would mean that transactions near dozens more military installations would come under review, a response to concerns about national security.
During a call with reporters, a senior Treasury Department official said that the proposal would increase the number of covered military installations from 163 by adding 56 new installations across 30 states, the most significant expansion since CFIUS was first given the review authority.
There are concerns that foreign actors could purchase land near these sensitive bases in order to conduct espionage. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday that the move would help “protect military installations from external threats.”
“CFIUS plays an integral role in U.S. national security by thoroughly reviewing real estate transactions near sensitive military installations, and this proposed rule will significantly expand its jurisdiction and ability to accomplish this vital mission,” Yellen said in a statement.
CFIUS was first provided jurisdiction over such transactions in 2018 as part of the bipartisan Congress in the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act. It provides the committee the authority to review both purchases or leases of real estate that is in close proximity to installations sensitive to national security, including agricultural land.
There are different subsets of coverage based on the military installation and the national security implications involved. The new proposal would extend coverage within a one-mile radius to 40 additional military installations and would expand CFIUS’s jurisdiction within a 100-mile radius to 19 more military installations. It would also increase existing authority of installations to a 100-mile radius for eight installations already listed.
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Public comment on the new rule will be solicited for 30 days from the time that the notice is published in the Federal Register.
“Today’s proposed rule is another example of CFIUS’s continuing commitment to hone our tools to protect U.S. national security, and is a significant milestone in safeguarding critical U.S. military installations,” Assistant Secretary for Investment Security Paul Rosen said.