To amend title 18 of the United States Code to criminalize acts of agroterrorism, and to enhance the protection of the United States agricultural industry and food security through the increased prevention, detection, response and recovery planning.

July 28, 2005

Mr. SPECTER (for himself and Mr. GRASSLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

To amend title 18 of the United States Code to criminalize acts of agroterrorism, and to enhance the protection of the United States agricultural industry and food security through the increased prevention, detection, response and recovery planning.

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 `Agroterrorism Prevention Act of 2005'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

Congress finds that--

(1) the United States agriculture and food systems are vulnerable to biological agents that may be used in acts of terrorism;

(2) the United States agriculture and food system is an extensive, open, interconnected, diverse, and complex structure providing potential targets for terrorist attacks that could have catastrophic health and economic impacts;

(3) the intentional use of agricultural disease agents to attack United States agriculture threatens an industry that accounts for approximately 13 percent of the gross domestic product of the United States, and accounts for 8 percent of the United States export market;

(4) the economic impact of even a small-scale agroterrorist attack affecting only a few farms within a region could be measured in multi-millions of dollars, including the costs of eradication, recovery, market repercussions, production losses, and trade implications;

(5) the agricultural and food industries are vulnerable to deliberate disruption through malicious acts;

(6) risk factors affecting the spread of an agricultural disease include--

(A) concentrated and intensive use of contemporary farming practices;

(B) the use of rapid transportation systems for delivery of agricultural commodities;

(C) the lack of farm and food production security and surveillance; and

(D) the lack of ability to conduct rapid diagnostics and forensics analysis;

(7) 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 agricultural disease or health crisis;

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

(A) the intentional introduction of an agricultural disease; and

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

(9) in the event of an agricultural disease, the Department of Agriculture and the Department of State will need the support and resources of other Federal, State, and local agencies and volunteer organizations that carry out traditional emergency management and response functions;

(10) State and local partners would need assistance to implement their role in the response function;

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

(12) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, should incorporate the Incident Command System in all agricultural disaster emergency response plans.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) 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.

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

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

(A) intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

(B) influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or

(C) disrupt interstate commerce or foreign commerce of the United States agricultural industry.

(4) BIOSECURITY- The term `biosecurity'--

(A) 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; and

(B) includes the exclusion, eradication, and control of biological agents that cause agricultural disease.

(5) 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.

SEC. 4. AGROTERRORISM.

Chapter 113B of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`Sec. 2339D. Agroterrorism

`(a) Offense- Any person who knowingly develops, produces, stockpiles, transfers, acquires, possesses, or uses any biological agent, toxin, or delivery system in furtherance of or in the commission of an act causing damage or harm to, or destruction or contamination of a crop, livestock, raw agricultural commodity, food product, farm or ranch equipment, material, or any other property associated with agriculture, or a person engaged in agricultural activity, that is committed to--

`(1) intimidate or coerce a civilian population;

`(2) influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; and

`(3) disrupt interstate commerce or foreign commerce of the United States agricultural industry,

shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for any terms of years or for life.

`(b) Enhanced Penalty if Death Results- If a death results from a violation of subsection (a) and such killing constitutes a murder (as defined in section 1111(a)), the person shall be punished by death, fined under this title, or imprisoned for a term of 10 years to life.'.

SEC. 5. PREPAREDNESS.

(a) Findings- The United States should protect the agriculture and food system from terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies by--

(1) identifying and prioritizing sector-critical infrastructure and key resources for establishing protection requirements;

(2) developing awareness and early warning capabilities to recognize threats;

(3) mitigating vulnerabilities at critical production and processing nodes;

(4) enhancing screening procedures for domestic and imported products, especially seed sources and reproductive germplasm; and

(5) enhancing response and recovery procedures.

(b) Monitoring and Surveillance Enhancement- The Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the heads of other appropriate Federal departments and agencies, shall build upon and expand current monitoring and surveillance programs to--

(1) develop robust, comprehensive, and fully coordinated surveillance and monitoring systems, including international information, for animal disease, plant disease, wildlife disease, and food safety that provides early detection and awareness of disease, pest, or poisonous agents;

(2) develop systems that confidentially track specific animals, commodities, and food;

(3) develop nationwide laboratory networks for food, veterinary, and plant health that--

(A) integrate existing Federal and State laboratory resources;

(B) are interconnected;

(C) utilize standardized diagnostic protocols and procedures; and

(D) are capable of providing forensic evidence; and

(4) ensure that border inspectors and agents are adequately trained in agricultural security as a first line of defense.

(c) Intelligence Enhancement-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence, in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall develop and enhance intelligence operations and analysis capabilities focusing on the agriculture and food sectors of the United States, including the collection and analysis of information concerning threats, delivery systems, and methods that could be directed against such sectors, especially on seed production and reproductive germplasm.

(2) STUDY AND REPORT- The Secretary of Homeland Security shall--

(A) assess the ability of the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate activities to effectively address plant and animal food security of the United States agriculture industry; and

(B) submit a report to Congress describing the results of the assessment under subparagraph (A) not less than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

(d) Vulnerability Assessments-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall expand and continue vulnerability assessments of the agriculture and food sectors.

(2) REQUIREMENTS; UPDATES- The vulnerability assessments described in paragraph (1)--

(A) shall identify requirements of the National Infrastructure Protection Plan developed by the Secretary of Homeland Security; and

(B) shall be updated every 2 years.

(e) State Plans-

(1) DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION- The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall assist States and counties in developing and implementing State plans for the prevention, response, and recovery from outbreaks of agricultural diseases.

(2) MODEL- Any plans developed under paragraph (1) shall be modeled after the State Animal Response Team.

(f) Regional and National Response Plans- The Secretary of Agriculture shall assist States in developing regional and national response plans to carry out this section.

(g) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section--

(1) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and

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

SEC. 6. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN AND BIOSECURITY.

(a) Public Awareness- The Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with Cooperative State Research Education and Extension Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, shall establish 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- Not later than 240 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with associations of agricultural producers and after considering research conducted under the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), shall--

(1) develop guidelines to--

(A) improve the monitoring of vehicles and materials entering or leaving farm or ranch operations; and

(B) control human traffic entering or leaving farm or ranch operations; and

(2) disseminate such guidelines to agricultural producers through agricultural education seminars and biosecurity training sessions.

(c) Authorization of Appropriations-

(1) IN GENERAL- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section--

(A) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and

(B) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007 and each fiscal year thereafter.

(2) EDUCATION PROGRAM- Of the amounts made available pursuant to paragraph (1), 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 subsection (b)(1).

SEC. 7. RESPONSE AND RECOVERY.

(a) Development of Program-

(1) VETERINARY STOCKPILE AND PLANT DISEASE RECOVERY SYSTEM- The Secretary of Agriculture, through the Animal, Plant, Health, and Inspection Service, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, and in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall work with States, units of local government, and the private sector to develop--

(A) a National Veterinary Stockpile--

(i) containing sufficient amounts of animal vaccine, antiviral, and therapeutic products to appropriately respond to the most damaging animal diseases affecting human health and the economy;

(ii) that will be capable of deployment within 24 hours of an outbreak; and

(iii) that leverages the mechanisms and infrastructure that have been developed for the management, storage, and distribution of the Strategic National Stockpile;

(B) a National Plant Disease Recovery System--

(i) capable of responding to a high-consequence plant disease with pest control measures, and the use of resistant seed varieties within a single growing season to sustain a reasonable level of production for economically important crops;

(ii) that utilizes the genetic resources contained in the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System and the scientific capabilities of the Federal-State-industry agricultural research and extension system; and

(iii) that includes emergency planning for the use of resistant seed varieties and pesticide control measures to prevent, slow, or stop the spread of a high-consequence plant disease, such as wheat smut and soybean rust.

(2) NATIONAL BIODEFENSE LABORATORIES- The Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of the Interior and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall submit a report to Congress that--

(A) describes the feasibility and need for modernizing or replacing current federal BL3 and BL4 laboratories responsible for research, technology development, diagnostic, and forensic activities on plant and animal diseases, including zoonotic animal diseases that are a threat to United States agriculture; and

(B) contains an assessment of the capability of States to diagnose and conduct necropsy as first responders to animal diseases that threaten United States agriculture.

(b) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section--

(1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and

(2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007 and each fiscal year thereafter.

SEC. 8. ELECTION OF ARBITRATION.

(a) In General- Chapter 1 of title 9, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`SEC. 17. LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY CONTRACTS.

`(a) Definitions- In this section:

`(1) LIVESTOCK- The term `livestock' has the meaning given the term in section 2(a) of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 182(a)).

`(2) LIVESTOCK OR POULTRY CONTRACT- The term `livestock or poultry contract' means any growout contract, marketing agreement, or other arrangement under which a livestock or poultry grower raises and cares for livestock or poultry.

`(3) LIVESTOCK OR POULTRY GROWER- The term `livestock or poultry grower' means any person engaged in the business of raising and caring for livestock or poultry in accordance with a livestock or poultry contract, whether the livestock or poultry is owned by the person or by another person.

`(4) POULTRY- The term `poultry' has the meaning given the term in section 2(a) of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 182(a)).

`(b) Consent to Arbitration- If a livestock or poultry contract provides for the use of arbitration to resolve a controversy under the livestock or poultry contract, arbitration may be used to settle the controversy only if, after the controversy arises, both parties consent in writing to use arbitration to settle the controversy.

`(c) Explanation of Basis for Awards- If arbitration is elected to settle a dispute under a livestock or poultry contract, the arbitrator shall provide to the parties to the contract a written explanation of the factual and legal basis for the award.'.

(b) Technical and Conforming Amendment- The table of sections for chapter 1 of title 9, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

(c) Effective Date- The amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply to a contract entered into, amended, altered, modified, renewed, or extended after the date of enactment of this Act.

END