Protect American Prosperity
States should enact laws prioritizing American energy independence, countering detrimental "ESG" policies, and safeguarding U.S. land and critical infrastructure from foreign adversaries.
Ensure American Energy Independence
The Left’s push to mandate economically unviable green energy is propelled by virtue signaling and only serves to enrich China at the expense of the United States. Despite possessing abundant coal, oil, and natural gas reservoirs, America’s potential for energy independence remains unrealized due to misguided environmental regulations. At the same time, China’s state-subsidized dominance in manufacturing solar panels, batteries, electric vehicles, and other “green” products means that these short-sighted measures will strengthen China’s economy while weakening our own. Pressure to adhere to decarbonization efforts as part of "environmental, social, and governance" (ESG) agendas exacerbates this issue, making the nation more reliant on China—a nation with an abysmal environmental and human rights track record.
What States Can Do:
States should enact legislation prohibiting state agencies from enforcing regulations that further entrench supply chains with dependencies on China. This includes combatting ESG agendas and prohibiting participation in supply chains fueled by China’s unfair trade practices, abysmal environmental standards, and use of forced labor.
Protect U.S. Agriculture and Land
Despite the critical importance of the U.S. agriculture industry, states have witnessed concerning trends in increased foreign ownership of agricultural land, particularly from adversarial nations such as China. The U.S. government has no idea how much U.S. real estate is owned by Chinese entities, and the USDA has understated the amount of Chinese-owned agricultural land in the United States by at least 50 percent.
At the federal level, there has been a notable lack of oversight, with the federal government unable to track land ownership effectively and failing to address property acquisitions that pose risks to our supply chain, jobs, and national security. It falls upon the states to take proactive measures to safeguard against foreign purchases of U.S. land that present security threats, namely from foreign adversaries like China.
The agriculture industry also faces internal threats from ESG initiatives. Not only do burdensome ESG-reporting standards impose costly compliance requirements on American farmers, but the technologies advocated by ESG proponents benefit China, the world's leading manufacturer of ESG-aligned energy technology. The CCP strategically employs ESG to undermine the energy infrastructure of other nations and increase their dependence on renewable energy products manufactured in China.
What States Can Do:
State lawmakers should support legislation aimed at safeguarding American agriculture and land ownership. This includes measures to curtail the proliferation of ESG-aligned investments and prohibit land acquisitions from entities tied to the CCP, particularly in proximity to military installations and sensitive infrastructure.
- Model Legislation: An Act to Scrutinize Foreign Adversary Real Estate Purchases
- Resource: Why China Owning US Land Is Bigger Deal Than You Might Think
- Resource: Chinese Hackers Infiltrating America’s Critical Infrastructure
- Resource: A Plan for Decisive Action Against the Threat of CCP Land Use in the U.S.
- Resource: ESG and the Threat to Agriculture in America
Protect America’s Critical Infrastructure
The extensive and sophisticated physical and cyber threats posed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) should concern Americans.
The prevalence of Chinese cyberespionage targeting diverse American sectors—ranging from intellectual property theft to accessing local infrastructure such as power grids—underscores the vulnerability faced by states to such security breaches. The hacking group known as Volt Typhoon, backed by the PRC, has been targeting critical infrastructure across various sectors by exploiting compromised network appliances, sensors, routers, and other internet-connected devices.
What States Can Do:
State lawmakers should equip businesses and government entities to counter these cyber and security threats effectively. Legislation should address the various tactics employed by PRC-sponsored cyber actors, with a focus on enhancing the resilience of critical services against intrusions, incidents, and potential disruptions.