To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to assist States and communities in preparing for and responding to threats to the agriculture of the United States.

February 24, 2003

Mr. AKAKA introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

To amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to assist States and communities in preparing for and responding to threats to the agriculture of the United States.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Agriculture Security Assistance Act'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--

(1) some agricultural diseases pose a direct threat to human health;

(2) economic sabotage, in the form of agroterrorism, is also a concern;

(3) the United States has an $80,000,000,000 livestock industry;

(4) an outbreak of an agricultural disease, whether naturally occurring or intentionally introduced, could--

(A) have a profound impact on the infrastructure, economy, and export markets of the United States; and

(B) erode consumer confidence in the Federal Government and the safety of the food supply of the United States;

(5) as with human health and bioterrorism preparedness, enhancing current monitoring and response mechanisms to deal with a deliberate act of agricultural terrorism would strengthen the ability of the United States to diagnose and respond quickly to any animal health crisis;

(6)(A) activities to ensure the biosecurity of farms are an important tool in preventing--

(i) the intentional or accidental introduction of an agricultural disease; and

(ii) the spread of an introduced agricultural disease into an outbreak; and

(B) most surveys of producers indicate discouraging and dangerous trends in basic elements of farm security activities;

(7)(A) a national response plan, developed by the Department of Agriculture and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, would determine how interdependent agricultural health and emergency management response functions will be coordinated to ensure an orderly, immediate, and unified response to all aspects of an outbreak of an agricultural disease;

(B) the Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with State and industry partners, would implement the plan as needed; and

(C) State and local partners would need assistance to implement their shares of the plan;

(8) States and communities also require assistance to prepare and plan for agricultural disasters;

(9)(A) rapid detection of an agricultural disease is imperative in containing the spread of the agricultural disease; and

(B) potential delays and difficulty in detection may complicate decisions regarding appropriate control measures; and

(10)(A) planning for a response to an outbreak of an agricultural disease will vary from State to State, reflecting--

(i) the level of awareness;

(ii) the perception of risk;

(iii) competing time demands; and

(iv) the availability of resources; and

(B) State response capability would be significantly enhanced if State agricultural and emergency management officials were to jointly develop a comprehensive agricultural disease response plan.

SEC. 3. AGRICULTURE SECURITY ASSISTANCE.

(a) IN GENERAL- Title VIII of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296; 116 Stat. 2220) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`Subtitle J--Agriculture Security Assistance

`SEC. 899A. DEFINITIONS.

`In this subtitle:

`(1) AGRICULTURAL DISEASE- The term `agricultural disease' means an outbreak of a plant or animal disease, or a pest infestation, that requires prompt action in order to prevent injury or damage to people, plants, livestock, property, the economy, or the environment.

`(2) AGRICULTURAL DISEASE EMERGENCY- The term `agricultural disease emergency' means an outbreak of a plant or animal disease, or a pest infestation, that requires prompt action in order to prevent injury or damage to people, plants, livestock, property, the economy, or the environment, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture under--

`(A) section 415 of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7715); or

`(B) section 10407(b) of the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8306(b)).

`(3) AGRICULTURE- The term `agriculture' includes--

`(A) the science and practice of activities relating to food, feed, and fiber production, processing, marketing, distribution, use, and trade;

`(B) family and consumer science, nutrition, food science and engineering, agricultural economics, and other social sciences; and

`(C) forestry, wildlife science, fishery science, aquaculture, floraculture, veterinary medicine, and other environmental and natural resource sciences.

`(4) AGROTERRORISM- The term `agroterrorism' means the commission of an agroterrorist act.

`(5) AGROTERRORIST ACT- The term `agroterrorist act' means a criminal act consisting of causing or attempting to cause damage or harm to, or destruction or contamination of, a crop, livestock, farm or ranch equipment, a material, any other property associated with agriculture, or a person engaged in agricultural activity, that is committed with the intent--

`(A) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population; or

`(B) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion.

`(6) BIOSECURITY-

`(A) IN GENERAL- The term `biosecurity' means protection from the risks posed by biological, chemical, or radiological agents to--

`(i) plant or animal health;

`(ii) the agricultural economy;

`(iii) the environment; and

`(iv) human health.

`(B) INCLUSIONS- The term `biosecurity' includes the exclusion, eradication, and control of biological agents that cause agricultural diseases.

`SEC. 899B. RESPONSE PLANS.

`(a) IN GENERAL-

`(1) STATE PLANS- The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall assist States in developing and implementing State plans for responding to outbreaks of agricultural diseases.

`(2) REQUIRED ELEMENTS- Each State response plan shall include--

`(A) identification of available authorities and resources within the State that are needed to respond to an outbreak of an agricultural disease;

`(B) identification of--

`(i) potential risks and threats due to agricultural activity in the State; and

`(ii) the vulnerabilities to those risks and threats;

`(C) potential emergency management assistance compacts and other mutual aid agreements with neighboring States; and

`(D) identification of local and State legal statutes or precedents that may affect the implementation of a State response plan.

`(3) REGIONAL AND NATIONAL RESPONSE PLANS- The Secretary of Agriculture shall work with States in developing regional and national response plans to carry out this subsection.

`(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection such sums as are necessary for fiscal year 2004 and each fiscal year thereafter.

`(b) MODELING AND STATISTICAL ANALYSES-

`(1) IN GENERAL- In consultation with the Steering Committee of the National Animal Health Emergency Management System and other stakeholders, the Secretary of Agriculture shall conduct a study--

`(A) to determine the best use of epidemiologists, computer modelers, and statisticians as members of emergency response task forces that handle foreign or emerging agricultural disease emergencies; and

`(B) to identify the types of data that are not collected but that would be necessary for

proper modeling and analysis of agricultural disease emergencies.

`(2) REPORT- Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this subtitle, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit a report that describes the results of the study to--

`(A) the Secretary of Homeland Security; and

`(B) the heads of other appropriate governmental agencies involved in response planning for agricultural disease emergencies.

`(c) GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM GRANTS-

`(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of the Interior, shall establish a program to provide grants to States to develop capabilities to use geographic information systems and statistical models for epidemiological assessments in the event of agricultural disease emergencies.

`(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection--

`(A) $2,500,000 for fiscal year 2004; and

`(B) such sums as are necessary for each fiscal year thereafter.

`(d) GRANTS TO FACILITATE PARTICIPATION OF STATE AND LOCAL ANIMAL HEALTH CARE OFFICIALS-

`(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall establish a program to provide grants to communities to facilitate the participation of State and local animal health care officials in community emergency planning efforts.

`(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.

`SEC. 899C. BIOSECURITY AWARENESS AND PROGRAMS.

`(a) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of Agriculture shall implement a public awareness campaign for farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural producers that emphasizes--

`(1) the need for heightened biosecurity on farms; and

`(2) the reporting of agricultural disease anomalies.

`(b) ON-FARM BIOSECURITY-

`(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 240 days after the date of enactment of this subtitle, in consultation with associations of agricultural producers and taking into consideration research conducted under the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), the Secretary of Agriculture shall--

`(A) develop guidelines--

`(i) to improve monitoring of vehicles and materials entering or leaving farm or ranch operations; and

`(ii) to control human traffic entering or leaving farm or ranch operations; and

`(B) disseminate the guidelines to agricultural producers through agricultural education seminars and biosecurity training sessions.

`(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS-

`(A) IN GENERAL- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection--

`(i) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and

`(ii) such sums as are necessary for each fiscal year thereafter.

`(B) EDUCATION PROGRAM- Of the amounts made available under subparagraph (A), the Secretary of Agriculture may use such sums as are necessary to establish in each State an education program to distribute the biosecurity guidelines developed under paragraph (1).

`(c) BIOSECURITY GRANT PILOT PROGRAM-

`(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 240 days after the date of enactment of this subtitle, the Secretary of Agriculture shall develop a pilot program to provide incentives, in the forms of grants or low-interest loans, each in an amount not to exceed $10,000, for agricultural producers to restructure farm and ranch operations (based on the biosecurity guidelines developed under subsection (b)(1))--

`(A) to control access to farms or ranches by persons intending to commit an agroterrorist act;

`(B) to prevent the introduction and spread of agricultural diseases; and

`(C) to take other measures to ensure biosecurity.

`(2) REPORT- Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this subtitle, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that--

`(A) describes the implementation of the pilot program; and

`(B) makes recommendations on expansion of the pilot program.

`(3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection--

`(A) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and

`(B) such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2007.'.

(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- The table of contents in section 1(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296; 116 Stat. 2135) is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to title VIII the following:

`Subtitle J--Agriculture Security Assistance

`Sec. 899A. Definitions.

`Sec. 899B. Response plans.

`Sec. 899C. Biosecurity awareness and programs.'.

END