Transparency Lacking on Foreign Farmland Ownership

I recently joined Senator Mike Braun (R-Ind.) and a bipartisan group of senators to introduce a bill that would improve the collection of information regarding foreign ownership of agricultural land in the United States. This bill was prompted by a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released on January 18.

Under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) of 1978, foreign persons who acquire, dispose of, or hold an interest in U.S. agricultural land are required to disclose those transactions to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The GAO report found that the USDA process for complying with AFIDA is ill-equipped to fully combat nefarious foreign ownership of American agricultural land by foreign adversaries.

This is an important national security issue on the minds of many Hoosiers, particularly in our Indiana agriculture community. As we seek to counter the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts to manipulate markets, this legislation will provide critical information and transparency to better protect our homeland.

Our bill is supported by the Agribusiness Council of Indiana, the Indiana Corn Growers Association, and the Indiana Soybean Alliance. Read more about this effort here.

Economic Forecast Luncheon

Last Friday, I joined Ball State University economist Michael Hicks at the annual economic forecast luncheon in Muncie to talk about the economic threats and opportunities on the horizon. Thank you to all who attended, especially the students.

Following Attacks in Jordan, Congress Should Act

The recent attack in Jordan that killed three U.S. servicemembers are the latest in a long series of provocations against the United States and our partners by the terrorist regime in Iran. While we mourn the three servicemembers whose lives were lost in this latest attack, we cannot stand idly by and permit Iran to set an agenda that undermines our security and interests in the region.

As Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Middle East, in addition to an all senators briefing, the Committee must swiftly hold public hearings with senior members of the Biden Administration at the earliest possible date. Hearings are necessary to ensure the best interests of the American people are being represented in our diplomacy and actions in the Middle East and that the Biden Administration has a strategy for restoring deterrence and stopping Iran’s campaign of terror and chaos.

In addition, Congress has a responsibility to act. Both the Committee and the Senate should quickly take up measures that would restrict Iran’s access to capital, impose costs on Iran’s enablers in China, and directly target the groups responsible for this series of attacks against U.S. servicemembers and diplomats across Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and in the Red Sea.

These measures are even more necessary after the waiving or ignoring of sanctions by the Biden Administration while pursuing a return to the Iran nuclear agreement, a gross error that has delivered billions into Tehran’s coffers. Many of us warned that these actions would embolden the Iranian regime, but our calls to action were rejected by the Administration time and again.

CSIS Event on Global Technology Competition

Last week, I joined Senator Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) at an event focused on global technology competition hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). I discussed strategic competition in advanced technologies, such as semiconductors, quantum computing, and artificial intelligence, and ways to strengthen American leadership.

In 2023, Senator Bennet and I introduced the Global Technology Leadership Act. The legislation would establish an Office of Global Competition Analysis to assess how the United States fares in key emerging technologies relative to other countries.

Full video of the event is available here.

BARCODE Act Could Improve IRS Efficiency and Accelerate the Processing of Tax Returns

Millions of Americans are forced to wait months – and sometimes years – for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to process their tax returns.

Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) and I recently introduced the Barcode Automation for Revenue Collection to Organize Disbursement and Enhance (BARCODE) Efficiency Act, legislation that would greatly improve the processing of IRS paper tax returns. While the use of e-filing has grown exponentially since its inception, millions of taxpayers choose to file their returns each year on paper. By implementing technology such as 2-D barcodes, the IRS will be able to conserve resources, minimize processing errors, and reduce delays in the distribution of refunds to taxpayers.

Our bipartisan bill would better serve taxpayers by improving the processing of paper returns, reducing errors, and requiring the IRS to operate more efficiently. Read more here.

Local News

Hoosier Ag Today:  Braun, Young Introduce Bill to Collect More Info on Foreign Ag Land Ownership

WIBC: Sen. Young Talks U.S. Investment in A.I., Staying Ahead of China

Ripon Advance: Young's Bill Would Stabilize American Transformer Manufacturing

Hamilton County Reporter: Senators Young and Braun Introduce Bill to Collect More Information on Foreign Ag Land Ownership

AM 1050: Young, Carper Introduce Legislation to Improve IRS Efficiency and Accelerate the Processing of Tax Returns

Thank you for the continued privilege to serve you in the U.S. Senate. My mission is to fight on behalf of Hoosiers and the interests that are unique to our state. I look forward to working with you, and sharing our progress, in the days ahead. 

In Service,