At a news conference at the Nebraska National Guard Air Base, Lt. Gov. Joe Kelly presented the findings of the Committee on Pacific Conduct, a committee formed in 2024 to look at potential security risks from China. Kelly, who chairs the committee, was joined by Maj. Gen. Craig Strong, the guard's adjutant general, and Gov. Jim Pillen. Strong is also a member of the committee.
Last year, the committee met four times and included state and federal experts on agriculture security, cybersecurity, power generators, federal law enforcement and international investments and procurements to look at how armed conflict or foreign threats could interfere with state government operations and Nebraska's economy.
Agriculture security was a big focus for the committee, Kelly said.
"Here in Nebraska, our defense starts with the 44 million acres of land that are in agriculture production," said Kelly, who touched on threats like foreign nations purchasing farmland near military facilities.
Last July, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its Farm Security Action Plan, an initiative intended to boost agriculture security by protecting the food supply, farmland and rural infrastructure from foreign threats. Pillen applauded the plan, intended to ban sales of farmland to Chinese nationals and other foreign adversaries, saying it's important to "stand up and protect our land and protect our families."
“Farm security equals food security, which equals national security,” Pillen said. “Thanks to these actions taken by President Trump and his team, we can further protect the backbone of Nebraska’s economy from foreign adversaries like China.”
Additionally, Kelly said the state is "attempting to achieve 100% compliance" with Pillen's 2023 executive order that banned state agencies and contractors from using communications equipment and services created or owned by affiliates of the Chinese Communist Party to boost broadband security.
Last March, Pillen expanded that order by adding Chinese-controlled companies that were on the Federal Communications Commission's list of businesses providing equipment and services "deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons," according to the FCC website.
Pillen said it's "extraordinarily important" to protect the state's infrastructure, such as Nebraska's cattle and corn production and electricity, which Pillen called "the next frontier for democracy."
"It's really important we understand the world we're in and all of the risks and we continue to create the awareness so that we have the policy in place, so that we can protect our national security and our state security," Pillen said.
The Committee on Pacific Conduct will continue to monitor threats in Nebraska that relate to agriculture security, the economy and the well-being of Nebraskans, Kelly said.
The governor is required by law to publish the report prior to the annual State of the State address, which is expected to take place in mid-January. The Committee on Pacific Conduct and the state threat assessment were created by LB1300, which Pillen signed into law in April 2024.
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