Foreign Ownership of United States Real Estate Message to the Congress Transmitting a Report.

To the Congress of the United States:

Today, I am transmitting to the Congress a report required under Section 4 (d) of P.L. 94-472, as amended, the "International Investment Survey Act of 1976." The report, entitled "Monitoring Foreign Ownership of U.S. Real Estate—A Report to Congress", was prepared by the Secretary of Agriculture with oversight and review provided by an interdepartmental committee under the chairmanship of the Office of Federal Statistical Policy and Standards, Department of Commerce. The report addresses the feasibility of establishing a system to monitor foreign direct investment in agricultural, rural, and urban real estate property; including the feasibility of establishing a nationwide multipurpose land data system.

The study examined the feasibility of four methods of obtaining foreign ownership data:

1. A centralized compulsory Federal registration system that is exclusively devoted to reports filed by foreign owners of U.S. real estate.

2. A compilation of data on foreign holdings of U.S. real estate from Federal offices such as the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Internal Revenue Service. These agencies already require reports on foreign investment, income, or other related matters.

3. A multipurpose, all-encompassing land information system using information collected at the local level. This system would serve a wide range of local, State, and national information needs.

4. Nationwide, periodic surveys of all domestic and foreign land ownership. Foreign ownership information is presently being collected through compulsory registration and reports (Methods 1 and 2).

Although all four methods are deemed technically and legally feasible, I am not proposing the development of new or additional reporting systems. I believe that necessary information on foreign ownership of U.S. real estate can be acquired at less cost than Method 3 or 4 would entail.

JIMMY CARTER

The White House,

September 25, 1980.