CFIUS Proposes Expanding List of Military Bases
July 16, 2024
Last week, Treasury announced a proposal to expand the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’ (CFIUS) scope over real estate located near sensitive government facilities.
Why it matters: Federal and state lawmakers have been increasingly concerned about foreign adversary ownership interest in real estate.
- In 2018, Congress expanded CFIUS’s authority to review certain real estate transactions near sensitive national security sites involving foreign persons.
- For the first time ever, CFIUS ordered divestment of real estate when it disapproved of a Chinese-owned bitcoin mining facility near an Air Force base in Wyoming.
- This proposed rule would add over 50 military installations across 30 states to the existing list of installations around which CFIUS has jurisdiction, including over land purchases. This latest update would vastly expand the reach of CFIUS’s real estate jurisdiction while maintaining its sharp focus on national security.
The proposed rule would enhance CFIUS’s authorities through the following key changes:
- Expand CFIUS’s jurisdiction over real estate transactions to include those within a one-mile radius around 40 additional military installations;
- Expand CFIUS’s jurisdiction over real estate transactions to include those within a 100-mile radius around 19 additional military installations;
- Expand CFIUS’s jurisdiction over real estate transactions between 1 mile and 100 miles around eight military installations already listed in the regulations;
- Update the names of 14 military installations already listed in the regulations to better assist the public in identifying the relevant sites; and
- Update the location of seven military installations already listed in the current regulations to better assist the public in identifying the relevant sites.
The bottom line: CFIUS regulations have numerous exceptions, including largely exempting mortgage lending by foreign persons from coverage.
Please contact David McCarthy (dmccarthy@crefc.org) with any questions.