Agricultural Border Safeguard Protection Act - Amends the Homeland Security Act to repeal the transfer of agricultural import and entry inspection functions from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) develop agricultural import and entry procedures for inspections, monitoring, and auditing; (2) ensure that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has an electronic system with real-time tracking capability for monitoring, tracking, and reporting inspection activities; (3) develop and maintain an integrated, real-time communication system with respect to import and entry agricultural inspections to alert state agriculture departments about significant Service findings; and (4) establish the International Trade Inspection Advisory Committee.
[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2629 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2629
To restore import and entry agricultural inspection functions to the
Department of Agriculture.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 7, 2007
Mr. Putnam introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland
Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the
jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To restore import and entry agricultural inspection functions to the
Department of Agriculture.
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 ``Agricultural Border Safeguard
Protection Act''.
SEC. 2. RESTORATION OF IMPORT AND ENTRY AGRICULTURAL INSPECTION
FUNCTIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
(a) Repeal of Transfer of Functions.--Section 421 of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231) is repealed.
(b) Conforming Amendment to Function of Secretary of Homeland
Security.--Section 402 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C.
202) is amended--
(1) by striking paragraph (7); and
(2) by redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (7).
(c) Transfer Agreement.--
(1) In general.--Not later than the effective date
described in subsection (g), the Secretary of Agriculture and
the Secretary of Homeland Security shall enter into an
agreement to effectuate the return of functions required by the
amendments made by this section.
(2) Use of certain employees.--The agreement may include
authority for the Secretary of Agriculture to use employees of
the Department of Homeland Security to carry out authorities
delegated to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
regarding the protection of domestic livestock and plants.
(d) Restoration of Department of Agriculture Employees.--Not later
than the effective date described in subsection (g) of this section,
all full-time equivalent positions of the Department of Agriculture
transferred to the Department of Homeland Security under section 421(g)
of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231(g)) shall be
restored to the Department of Agriculture.
(e) Authority of Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Regarding Inspection User Fees.--The Administrator of the Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service may, as applicable--
(1) continue to collect any agricultural quarantine
inspection user fee; and
(2) administer any reserve account for the fees.
(f) Duties of Secretary of Agriculture.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to
in this subsection as the ``Secretary'') shall--
(A) develop standard operating procedures for
inspection, monitoring, and auditing relating to import
and entry agricultural inspections, in accordance with
recommendations from the Comptroller General of the
United States and reports of interagency advisory
groups, as applicable; and
(B) ensure that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service has a national electronic system
with real-time tracking capability for monitoring,
tracking, and reporting inspection activities of the
Service.
(2) Federal and state cooperation.--
(A) Communication system.--The Secretary shall
develop and maintain an integrated, real-time
communication system with respect to import and entry
agricultural inspections to alert State departments of
agriculture of significant inspection findings of the
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
(B) Advisory committee.--
(i) Establishment.--The Secretary shall
establish a committee, to be known as the
``International Trade Inspection Advisory
Committee'' (referred to in this subparagraph
as the ``committee''), to advise the Secretary
on policies and other issues relating to import
and entry agricultural inspection.
(ii) Model.--In establishing the committee,
the Secretary shall use as a model the
Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee.
(iii) Membership.--The committee shall be
composed of members representing--
(I) State departments of
agriculture;
(II) directors of ports and
airports in the United States;
(III) the transportation industry;
(IV) the public; and
(V) such other entities as the
Secretary determines to be appropriate.
(3) Report.--Not less frequently than once each year, the
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report containing an
assessment of--
(A) the resource needs for import and entry
agricultural inspection, including the number of
inspectors required;
(B) the adequacy of inspection and monitoring
procedures and facilities in the United States; and
(C) new and potential technologies and practices,
including recommendations regarding the technologies
and practices, to improve import and entry agricultural
inspection.
(4) Funding.--The Secretary shall pay the costs of each
import and entry agricultural inspector employed by the Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service--
(A) from amounts made available to the Department
of Agriculture for the applicable fiscal year; or
(B) if amounts described in subparagraph (A) are
unavailable, from amounts of the Commodity Credit
Cooperation.
(g) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section take
effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this
Act.
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Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Homeland Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Border, Maritime, and Global Counterterrorism.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry.
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