The United States may tighten restrictions on foreign ownership of real estate near military installations.
On Monday, the Department of the Treasury issued a notice of proposed rulemaking that would expand the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.
CFIUS has the authority to deny the purchase or lease of properties around specific sites over national security concerns.
The proposed rule would place over 50 military installations under CFIUS jurisdiction, bringing the total number of protected sites to 227.
While the department did not mention adversaries such as China and Russia, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the proposed rule is designed to mitigate external threats to U.S. national security. “President Biden and I remain committed to using our strong investment screening tool to defend America’s national security, including actions that protect military installations from external threats,” she added.
The move comes months after the U.S. blocked a cryptocurrency mining company backed by Chinese nationals from owning land near Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming.
At the time, the White House called the crypto facility’s proximity to the nuclear missile base a “national security risk.”
The proposed rule is open to public comment for 30 days.