To enhance agricultural biosecurity in the United States through increased prevention, preparation, and response planning.

To enhance agricultural biosecurity in the United States through increased prevention, preparation, and response planning.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) SHORT TITLE- This Act may be cited as the `Agriculture Security Preparedness Act'.

(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS- The table of contents of this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Definitions.

TITLE I--PREVENTION

Sec. 101. Inclusion of agroterrorism in terrorist acts involving weapons of mass destruction.

Sec. 102. Legal framework for agroterrorism.

Sec. 103. Study on feasibility of establishing a national agroterrorism and ecoterrorism incident clearinghouse.

Sec. 104. International agricultural disease surveillance.

Sec. 105. Agricultural inspections.

Sec. 106. On-farm and on-ranch biosecurity.

TITLE II--PREPAREDNESS AND MITIGATION

Sec. 201. Interagency coordination.

Sec. 202. Planning.

Sec. 203. Exercises and training.

Sec. 204. Communication with the public.

Sec. 205. Vaccine development and disease research.

Sec. 206. Diagnostic and laboratory capacity.

TITLE III--RESPONSE AND RECOVERY

Sec. 301. Implementation of Federal, State, and local response plans.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) ADMINISTRATOR- The term `Administrator' means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

(2) AGRICULTURAL DISEASE EMERGENCY- The term `agricultural disease emergency' means a plant or animal disease outbreak 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 pursuant to section 415 of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7715) or section 10407(b) of the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8306(b)).

(3) AGRICULTURE- The term `agriculture' includes the science and practice of activity relating to food, feed, and fiber production, processing, marketing, distribution, use, and trade, and also includes family and consumer sciences, nutrition, food science and engineering, agricultural economics and other social sciences, forestry, wildlife, fisheries, 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 to cause or attempt to cause damage to or destruction or contamination of a crop, livestock, farm or ranch equipment, material, or other property, or a person engaged in agricultural activity, committed with the intent to intimidate or coerce a civilian population or to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion.

(6) BIOSECURITY- The term `biosecurity' means protection from the risks posed by biological, chemical, or radiological agents to plant and animal health, the agricultural economy, the environment, and human health, including the exclusion, eradication, and control of biological agents that cause agricultural diseases.

(7) DEPARTMENT- The term `Department' means the Department of Agriculture.

(8) ECOTERRORISM- The term `ecoterrorism' means the use of force or violence against a person or property to intimidate or coerce all or part of a government or the civilian population, in furtherance of a social goal in the name of an environmental cause.

(9) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Agriculture.

(10) ZOONOTIC AGENT- The term `zoonotic agent' means any bacterium, virus, parasite, or other biological entity that is naturally transmissible from animals to humans.

SEC. 101. INCLUSION OF AGROTERRORISM IN TERRORIST ACTS INVOLVING WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.

It is the sense of Congress that, to formulate and encourage international consensus regarding intentional acts against agriculture and to facilitate disarmament negotiations and international sanctions against weapons of mass destruction, the United Nations Security Council should include agroterrorism in the definition of a terrorist act involving a weapon of mass destruction.

SEC. 102. LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR AGROTERRORISM.

Section 2332a(a) of title 18, United States Code, is amended--

(1) in paragraph (2), by striking `or' at the end;

(2) in paragraph (3), by striking the comma at the end and inserting `; or'; and

(3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:

`(4) against private property, including property used for agricultural or livestock operations.'.

SEC. 103. STUDY ON FEASIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL AGROTERRORISM AND ECOTERRORISM INCIDENT CLEARINGHOUSE.

Not later than 240 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in conjunction with the Secretary, shall submit to Congress a report on the feasibility and estimated cost of establishing and maintaining a national agroterrorism incident clearinghouse to gather information for use in coordinating and assisting investigations on incidents of--

(1) agroterrorism committed against or directed at--

(A) any animal or plant enterprise; or

(B) any person, because of any actual or perceived connection of the person with, or support by the person of, agriculture; and

(2) ecoterrorism.

SEC. 104. INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL DISEASE SURVEILLANCE.

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on measures taken by the Secretary to--

(1) streamline the process of notification by the Secretary to Federal agencies in the event of outbreaks of agricultural diseases in foreign countries; and

(2) cooperate with representatives of foreign countries, international organizations, and industry to devise and implement methods of sharing information on international plant and animal disease outbreaks and unusual agricultural activities.

SEC. 105. AGRICULTURAL INSPECTIONS.

The Secretary shall--

(1) cooperate with appropriate Federal intelligence officials to improve the ability of the Department to identify agricultural products, livestock, and other goods imported from suspect locations recognized by the intelligence community as having--

(A) experienced agricultural terrorist activities or unusual agricultural disease outbreaks; or

(B) harbored agroterrorists;

(2) use the information collected under paragraph (1) to establish inspection priorities;

(3) not later than 240 days after the date of enactment of this Act, develop a plan to increase the laboratory capacity of the Department and the effectiveness of the Department in detecting the presence of pathogens and disease in agricultural products; and

(4) not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that provides a description, and an estimate of the costs, of the plan developed under paragraph (3).

SEC. 106. ON-FARM AND ON-RANCH BIOSECURITY.

(a) BIOSECURITY GUIDELINES-

(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 240 days after the date of enactment of this Act, in consultation with associations of agricultural producers and taking into consideration the research conducted under subtitle N of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3351 et seq.), the Secretary shall--

(A) develop guidelines--

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

(ii) to control human traffic onto farm or ranch operations; and

(B) disseminate the guidelines to agricultural producers through agricultural educational 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 2003; 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 may use such sums as are necessary to establish in each State an education program to distribute the biosecurity guidelines developed under paragraph (1).

(b) BIOSECURITY GRANT PILOT PROGRAM-

(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 240 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop a pilot program to provide incentives, in the form of grants or low-interest loans, 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 (a)(1)) to--

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

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

(C) take other measures to ensure biosecurity.

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

(A) describes the implementation of the program; and

(B) makes recommendations on expansion of the program.

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

(A) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; and

(B) such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 2004 through 2007.

SEC. 201. INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.

(a) AGRICULTURAL DISEASE EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT LIAISON- The Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall establish a senior level position to serve, as a primary responsibility, as a liaison for agricultural disease emergency management between--

(1) the Federal Emergency Management Agency;

(2) the Department;

(3) the emergency management community; and

(4) the affected industries.

(b) TRANSPORTATION- The Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall--

(1) publish in the Federal Register proposed guidelines for restrictions on interstate transportation of an agricultural commodity or product in response to an agricultural disease emergency created by a foreign or emerging disease affecting the agricultural commodity or product;

(2) provide for a comment period for the proposed guidelines of not less than 90 days;

(3) establish the final guidelines, taking into consideration any comments received under paragraph (2); and

(4) provide the guidelines to officers and employees of--

(A) the Department;

(B) the Department of Transportation; and

(C) the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

(c) ANIMAL HEALTH CARE LIAISON- The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall establish within the Department of Health and Human Services a senior level position to serve, as a primary responsibility, as a liaison between the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, the animal health community, the emergency management community, and industry.

(d) REGIONAL, STATE, AND COUNTY PREPARATION- The Administrator, in consultation with the Secretary, shall cooperate with regional, State, and local disaster preparedness officials to include consideration of potential environmental impacts of response activities when planning responses to agricultural disease emergencies.

SEC. 202. PLANNING.

(a) FEDERAL RESPONSE PLAN- Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in consultation with the Secretary, shall examine, and revise as necessary, the Emergency Support Functions of the Federal Response Plan, to include the economic, environmental, and medical impacts of naturally-occurring agricultural disease outbreaks and agroterrorist acts in emergency response planning activities.

(b) LOCAL RESPONSE PLANNING- The Secretary shall cooperate with State agriculture officials, State and local emergency managers, representatives from State land grant colleges, research universities, agricultural producers, and agricultural trade associations to establish local response plans for foreign or emerging agricultural disease emergencies.

(c) ANIMAL CARE-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in consultation with the Secretary, shall establish a program to provide grants to small 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 2003.

(d) MODELING AND STATISTICAL ANALYSES-

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

(A) to determine the best use of epidemiologists, computer modelers, and statisticians as members of the 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 Act, the Secretary shall submit a report that describes the results of the study to--

(A) the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency; and

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

(e) GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM GRANTS-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary 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 2003; and

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

SEC. 203. EXERCISES AND TRAINING.

(a) BEST PRACTICES- The Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in consultation with the Secretary, shall--

(1) establish a task force, consisting of agricultural producers and State and local emergency response officials, to identify best practices for State regional agricultural disaster exercise programs; and

(2) distribute to States and localities a report that describes the best practices.

(b) EXERCISES- On the basis of the identified best practices, the Secretary shall design and distribute packages of exercises for training, in the form of printed materials and electronic media, for distribution to State and local emergency managers and State agriculture officials.

SEC. 204. COMMUNICATION WITH THE PUBLIC.

(a) EDUCATION- The Secretary, in consultation with agricultural producers and trade associations, shall develop a national education campaign--

(1) to demonstrate the contribution of agriculture to the well-being of people and economic prosperity of the United States;

(2) to improve the public image of agriculture in the United States;

(3) to increase public awareness about the potential for negative economic and social effects that

(4) to increase public awareness of the benefits of animal and plant health research for preventing and responding to agroterrorism.

(b) OUTREACH- The Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall establish, as part of agroterrorism preparedness efforts, a program to encourage regional emergency management planners to--

(1) develop cooperative relationships with agricultural producers, trade associations, and local groups that promote plant and animal health issues to explain to the public the nature of potential agroterrorist threats and the reasons why certain response measures need to be taken; and

(2) prepare information in the form of brochures, pamphlets, literature packets, CD ROMs, or other similar forms, for distribution to the public in the event of a foreign or emerging agricultural disease emergency.

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

SEC. 205. VACCINE DEVELOPMENT AND DISEASE RESEARCH.

(a) IN GENERAL- In carrying out the foreign or emerging diseases and pests program of the Department, the Secretary shall establish a program to provide grants to colleges and universities to identify and develop--

(1) rapid diagnostic tests to identify plant and animal diseases;

(2) improved vaccines for animal diseases;

(3) new diagnostic techniques to be used in distinguishing between animals that test positive for exposure to an infectious foreign or emerging animal disease as a result of vaccination and those that test positive as a result of having contracted the disease; and

(4) techniques to disinfect areas where outbreaks of plant or animal diseases occur.

(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section--

(1) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; and

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

SEC. 206. DIAGNOSTIC AND LABORATORY CAPACITY.

(a) RESEARCH ON DISEASE DIAGNOSTIC KITS-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, and representatives of foreign countries, shall seek collaborative agricultural research opportunities in foreign countries in which foreign or emerging agricultural diseases are endemic, to test the performance of disease diagnostic kits and disinfection techniques that, because of low or no known incidence of those agricultural diseases in the United States, have not been adequately tested.

(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated to expand overseas research collaboration activities of the Department, including research on foreign and emerging plant and animal diseases--

(A) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; and

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

(b) ANIMAL DISEASE DIAGNOSTIC LABORATORIES- The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall include animal disease diagnostic laboratories in the Laboratory Response Network of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

(c) CLINICAL SAMPLE SCREENING- Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall jointly--

(1) conduct a study to identify means of expanding laboratory capabilities to screen and handle large quantities of veterinary and human clinical samples for foreign or emerging zoonotic agents in the event of an agricultural emergency; and

(2) submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the results of the study.

(d) STUDY ON FEASIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL PLANT DISEASE LABORATORY- Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report on the feasibility of establishing a national plant disease laboratory, based on the model of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with the primary task of--

(1) integrating and coordinating a nationwide system of independent plant disease diagnostic laboratories, including existing plant clinics maintained by land grant colleges and universities; and

(2) increasing the capacity, technical infrastructure, and information sharing capabilities of laboratories described in paragraph (1).

SEC. 301. IMPLEMENTATION OF FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL RESPONSE PLANS.

(a) GRANT PROGRAM-

(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 240 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, shall establish a grant program to facilitate the establishment of regional agricultural emergency response networks.

(2) DUTIES- The regional networks established under paragraph (1) shall serve as the basis for coordination by Federal, State, and local officials and industry representatives in the event of a foreign or emerging agricultural disease emergency.

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

(A) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; and

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

(b) REVIEW OF LEGAL AUTHORITY-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Attorney General, in consultation with the Secretary, shall conduct a review of State and local laws relating to agroterrorism and biosecurity to determine--

(A) the extent to which those laws facilitate or impede the implementation of current or proposed response plans with respect to agricultural emergencies;

(B) whether an injunction issued by a State court could--

(i) delay the implementation of a Federal response plan; or

(ii) affect the extent to which an infectious plant or animal disease spreads; and

(C) the types and extent of legal evidence that may be required by State courts before a response plan may be implemented.

(2) REPORT- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report that describes the results of the review conducted under paragraph (1) (including any recommendations of the Attorney General).