Who Is Ron DeSantis?

My VIP for this week is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. According to Samantha Aschieris, the Republican governor signed three bills into law today meant to combat “the malign influence of the Chinese Communist Party” in Florida. DeSantis stated: “Florida is taking action to stand against the United States’ greatest geopolitical threat – the Chinese Communist Party.” He continued: 

I’m proud to sign this legislation to stop the purchase of our farmland and land near our military bases and critical infrastructure by Chinese agents, to stop sensitive digital data from being stored in China, and to stop CCP influence in our education system from grade school to grad school…. We are following through on our commitment to crack down on Communist China.

Aschieris’ article in The Daily Signal explained what is in the three new laws. The first bill SB 846 was made into law to prohibit “state colleges and universities and their employees and representatives from soliciting or accepting any gift in their official capacities from a college or university based in a foreign country of concern.”

The second bill, SB 264, “restricts governmental entities from contracting with foreign countries and entities of concern and restricts conveyances of agricultural lands and other interests in real property to foreign principals, the People’s Republic of China, and other entities and persons that are affiliated with them.”

The third bill, SB 258, “requires the Department of Management Services to create a list of prohibited applications owned by a foreign principal or foreign countries of concern, including China, which present a cybersecurity and data privacy risk.”

The problem seems to be that China and Chinese people are buying America’s agricultural land – which endangers America’s food security. Aschieris quoted Wilton Simpson, Florida’s commissioner of agriculture, as saying:

Food security is national security, and we have a responsibility to ensure Floridians have access to a safe, affordable, and abundant food supply…. China and other hostile foreign nations control hundreds of thousands of acres of critical agricultural lands in the U.S., leaving our food supply and our national security interests at risk.

Restricting China and other hostile foreign nations from controlling Florida’s agricultural land and lands near critical infrastructure facilities protects our state, provides long-term stability, and preserves our economic freedom.

America and Americans are fortunate to have DeSantis as governor of Florida and taking steps to protect agricultural. I agree with Jessica Anderson, executive director of Heritage Action for America, who told The Daily Signal: “Other states should look to Florid as a policy road map for protecting their interests from foreign threats.”