US lawmakers urge Treasury Dept to add Coast Guard bases to 'Sensitive Areas' amid looming threats

Washington [US], September 18 (ANI): US lawmakers John Moolenaar and Greg Murphy in a statement addressed to the Secretary of the US Treasury Department, Janet Yellen urged she must include US Coast Guard bases in the list of entities titled 'Sensitive Areas' restricting any land purchases around US-owned military installations.
According to the statement released on Monday, "Treasury Department must continue to update its regulations in light of evolving threats, there remain significant gaps in our national security screening regime for land purchases near national security sites. Coast Guard facilities, and Department of Energy National Labs, among other locations, remain off CFIUS's list of sensitive sites and thereby vulnerable to foreign adversary exploitation. These loopholes must be closed and closed quickly".

BREAKING: @RepMoolenaar & @RepGregMurphy request that @SecYellen include US Coast Guard bases in her decisions to restrict new foreign land purchases.

“Xi Jinping would never allow Americans to buy land next to sensitive Chinese bases.” — Chairman Moolenaar pic.twitter.com/HXEnAE4fQA

— Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (@committeeonccp) September 17, 2024

In a post on X, the SCCCP (Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party) chairperson John Moolenaar said "Xi Jinping would never allow Americans to buy land next to sensitive Chinese bases".
Highlighting the urgent need to add these sites to the CFIUS's (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) list of sensitive sites, the statement highlighted two major incidents. In June, we saw several Russian ships located just 30 miles off the coast of Florida and the entry of Chinese military ships to the US Exclusive Economic Zone off the coast of Alaska.
The statement claimed that in both cases, the US saw a response by the Coast Guard to monitor these activities, which highlights the important national security mission of our Coast Guard. In addition, it's important we also recognize the need to safeguard critical infrastructure that may be vulnerable to our adversaries. This includes our National Laboratories, maritime ports, and critical telecommunications and energy infrastructure.
The statement further demanded that "Allowing our adversaries to have potential access to these sites poses risks to both our economic and national security, especially as we see companies with ties to hostile nations continue to increase their investments in the US".
In July this year, the CFIUS headed by the Secretary of the US Treasury Department issued a notice for expanding CFIUS's jurisdiction over certain transactions by foreign persons involving real estate in the United States. The rule was aimed at vastly expanding the reach of CFIUS's real estate jurisdiction while maintaining its sharp focus on national security.
The list includes crucial US assets like Anniston Army Depot, located in Alabama, Letterkenny Army Depot, located in Pennsylvania, Altus Air Force Base, located in Oklahoma and Moody Air Force Base, located in Valdosta, Georgia.
At that time, Yellen had said, "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. CFIUS plays an integral role in US national security by thoroughly reviewing real estate transactions near sensitive military installations, and this proposed rule will significantly expand its jurisdiction and ability to accomplish this vital mission". (ANI)