Animal Disease Surveillance and Detection Act of 2019
This bill directs the Department of Agriculture and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to establish an interagency task force to make recommendations regarding inspection requirements and detection protocols for preventing the transmission of animal diseases. The bill also requires the CPB to hire additional agriculture specialists, support staff, agriculture technicians, and canine teams for ports of entry.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5064 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5064
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Homeland
Security to establish an interagency task force to examine animal
disease transmission, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 13, 2019
Mr. Hagedorn introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on
Agriculture, 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 direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Homeland
Security to establish an interagency task force to examine animal
disease transmission, and for other purposes.
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 ``Animal Disease Surveillance and
Detection Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) It is in the national security interest of the United
States to prevent foreign animal diseases, such as the deadly
African swine fever, from entering our borders, devastating the
agricultural economy, and impacting the animal protein and
grain producers, which may occur through contaminated meat
products and livestock feeds entering United States ports of
entry.
(2) To prevent foreign animal diseases from entering United
States borders, the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary
of Homeland Security need to maximize interagency coordination
to inspect all international shipments and travel via airplane
and/or ship from countries identified by the World Organisation
for Animal Health (OIE) and/or Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO).
(3) Adequate resources should be provided by the Secretary
of Agriculture and the Secretary of Homeland Security to
conduct inspections at the ports of entry for incoming raw food
products, raw processed, and finished meat products, or goods
used in agriculture, including livestock feeds and feed
ingredients.
SEC. 3. INCREASING SURVEILLANCE OF AND INSPECTIONS FOR ANIMAL DISEASE
TRANSMISSION.
(a) Establishment of Interagency Task Force To Increase
Surveillance of and Inspections for Animal Disease Transmission.--The
Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Under Secretary of
Marketing and Regulatory Programs (in this Act referred to as the
``Under Secretary''), and the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting
through the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (in this
Act referred to as the ``Commissioner''), shall establish an
interagency task force to provide recommendations--
(1) for inspection requirements for flights and shipments
arriving in the United States from affected countries for
contaminated processed or raw food products, raw processed, and
finished meat products, or goods used in agriculture, including
livestock feeds and feed ingredients;
(2) to enhance detection protocols of African swine fever
in case of outbreak; and
(3) to report quarterly on the number of stopped shipments,
what was contained in the shipment, intended use of products in
the shipments, and what was the origin and end location of
stopped shipments.
(b) Additional U.S. Customs and Border Protection Personnel at
Ports of Entry.--
(1) Agriculture specialists.--The Commissioner shall, each
fiscal year, hire, train, and assign not fewer than 240 new
agriculture specialists above the attrition level for the
immediately preceding fiscal year until the total number of
agriculture specialists equals and sustains the requirements
identified each year in the Agriculture Resource Allocation
Model.
(2) Mission and operational support staff.--
(A) In general.--The Commissioner shall hire,
train, and assign support staff to support agriculture
specialists.
(B) Agriculture technicians.--The Commissioner
shall, each fiscal year, hire, train, and assign not
fewer than 200 new agriculture technicians until the
total number of agriculture technicians equals and
sustains the requirements identified each year in the
Mission and Operational Support Resource Allocation
Model.
(3) Agriculture canine teams.--The Commissioner shall hire,
train, and assign not fewer than 20 new agriculture canine
teams for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2022.
(4) Traffic forecasts.--In calculating the number of
agriculture specialists needed at each port of entry, the
Commissioner shall--
(A) rely on data collected by U.S. Customs and
Border Protection personnel at each such port of entry
with respect to inspections and other related
activities, including data with respect to African
swine fever;
(B) rely on data collected by U.S. Department of
Agriculture office of Smuggling Interdiction and Trade
Compliance; and
(C) consider volume from seasonal surges, other
projected changes in commercial and passenger volumes,
the most current commercial forecasts, and other
relevant information.
(c) Report.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the
Under Secretary and the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through
the Commissioner, shall jointly submit to Congress a report on the
following:
(1) The efforts of the interagency task force established
under subsection (a) to increase detection and prevention
activities with respect to African swine fever, including the
number of flights and shipments inspected.
(2) The enhancement of detection capabilities described
under subsection (a)(1).
(3) The number of new U.S. Customs and Border Protection
personnel hired pursuant to subsection (b).
(4) Educational plans to inform the public on affected
countries, current testing protocols, and food safety issues of
the disease.
(5) Current regulatory overlaps that help or deter
detection and prevention of the disease.
(6) Overview of importing/exporting countries sanitary and
phytosanitary measures that pose a high risk of transmitting
this disease.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--
(1) U.S. customs and border protection agriculture
specialists.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out subsection (b)(1)--
(A) $36,100,000 for fiscal year 2021; and
(B) $40,500,000 for fiscal year 2022.
(2) U.S. customs and border protection agriculture
technician.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry
out subsection (b)(2)--
(A) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; and
(B) $38,000,000 for fiscal year 2022.
(3) U.S. customs and border protection agriculture canine
teams.--There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out
subsection (b)(3)--
(A) $7,400,000 for fiscal year 2021; and
(B) $12,200,000 for fiscal year 2022.
(4) Training.--There is authorized to be appropriated for
training costs associated with new personnel and canine teams
hired pursuant to paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection
(b) $6,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2021, 2022, and
2023.
(e) Affected Country Defined.--In this section, the term ``affected
country'' means a country identified by the World Organisation for
Animal Health (OIE) and/or Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as
having an outbreak of African swine fever.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 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 Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, 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 Security, Facilitation, and Operations.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture.
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