Banks: Top priority is protecting Indiana farmland from foreign buyers and taxes

By U.S. Senator-Elect Jim Banks
Republican Party

Farmland is one of Indiana’s most precious finite resources, and we must do everything we can to protect it.

In 2010, China owned just 13,000 acres of U.S. agricultural land. According to the USDA, that number has now skyrocketed to nearly 380,000 acres of American farmland.

Relaxed enforcement of existing laws has allowed land purchases that must legally be reported within 90 days to go undeclared for years.

I was a vocal supporter of State Rep. Kendell Culp’s bill to ban foreign adversaries, including the Chinese Communist Party, from buying farmland in Indiana and was very proud that our state signed this bill into law earlier this year.

There are other urgent threats to farmland right here at home.

This summer, Vice President Kamala Harris announced her support for the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act, legislation that would dramatically slash the estate tax exemption from $13.6 million to $3.5 million.

Farmers with modest income, whose families have owned land for generations, would be hit with a massive tax bill when the primary landholder passes away.

With many farmers already struggling to make ends meet, this would jeopardize the ability of many families to retain ownership of their small farms across generations.

Earlier this year, I co-sponsored the Death Tax Repeal Act to fully revoke the federal death tax, which can be as high as 40 percent of the value of the deceased’s property. When farming families lose a loved one, the last thing they need to worry about is the IRS showing up at the door.

Nor should our nation’s farmers be forced to worry about bureaucrats forcing woke priorities down their throats. It’s why I pushed to defund the Biden-Harris USDA’s so-called “Equity Commission,” as well as to zero out the salary of its Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer.

Hoosier farmers are the fifth largest producers of corn and soybean in the country and as the representative for northeast Indiana during the past eight years, it has been an honor to represent many of them in Congress.

Farmers are the backbone of our nation. Their long hours and hard work not only put food on our plates but protects America’s national security.

From leading the Indiana Republican delegation in supporting President Trump’s efforts to rescind the over-reaching Waters of the United States — commonly referred to as WOTUS — rule in 2017 to working directly with farmers at the Corn and Soybean Shop Talks about farm bill priorities, I’m proud to have been an advocate for Hoosier farmers in Congress and will always fight for them in Washington.