| S 427 IS
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 427
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.
IN THE SENATE 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
A BILL
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.
(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.
`(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.
`(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
`(B) INCLUSIONS- The term
`biosecurity' includes the exclusion, eradication, and control of biological
agents that cause agricultural diseases.
`SEC. 899B. RESPONSE PLANS.
`(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;
`(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. 899B. Response plans.
`Sec. 899C. Biosecurity
awareness and programs.'.
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