Securing American Agriculture Act

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8003 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8003

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to publish, on an annual basis, 
  an assessment on United States dependency on critical agricultural 
 products or inputs from the People's Republic of China, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 15, 2024

       Mrs. Hinson (for herself, Ms. Slotkin, Mr. Gallagher, Mr. 
Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Alford, Mr. Carson, Mr. Scott Franklin of Florida, 
  Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Mrs. Wagner, Ms. Davids of Kansas, Mr. 
Kustoff, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Kean of New Jersey, Mr. LaHood, Mr. Finstad, 
 Mr. Tony Gonzales of Texas, Mrs. Miller-Meeks, Mr. Newhouse, Mr. Nunn 
    of Iowa, Mr. Van Orden, and Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to publish, on an annual basis, 
  an assessment on United States dependency on critical agricultural 
 products or inputs from the People's Republic of China, 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 ``Securing American Agriculture Act''.

SEC. 2. CRITICAL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS OR INPUTS STUDY.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture (in this section 
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall, on an annual basis, submit to 
the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, an 
assessment of the dependency of the United States on critical 
agricultural products or inputs that could be exploited in the event 
the People's Republic of China weaponizes any such critical dependency.
    (b) Contents.--The assessment under subsection (a) shall--
            (1) address, with respect to the critical inputs specified 
        in subsection (c), the following:
                    (A) the current domestic production capacity of 
                each such critical input; and
                    (B) the current and potential bottlenecks in the 
                supply chain for each such critical input that could be 
                exploited by the People's Republic of China; and
            (2) contain the Secretary's recommendations to reduce the 
        dependency of the United States on the People's Republic of 
        China to supply critical agricultural products or inputs, 
        including--
                    (A) recommendations to mitigate potential threats 
                posed by the People's Republic of China to the supply 
                chains of each critical input specified in subsection 
                (c); and
                    (B) recommendations for legislative and regulatory 
                actions to reduce barriers to onshore or nearshore the 
                production of each such critical input.
    (c) Critical Inputs.--The critical inputs specified in this 
subsection shall include all farm management, agronomic, and field-
applied production inputs, including each of the following:
            (1) Agricultural equipment, machinery, and technology.
            (2) Fuel.
            (3) Fertilizers.
            (4) Feed, including its components, such as vitamins, amino 
        acids, and minerals.
            (5) Veterinary drugs and vaccines.
            (6) Crop protection chemicals.
            (7) Seed.
            (8) Any other critical agricultural inputs, as determined 
        by the Secretary.
    (d) Collection, Distribution, and Protection of Information.--
            (1) Voluntary basis.--In conducting an assessment under 
        subsection (a), the Secretary may not require any private 
        entity to provide information to the Secretary.
            (2) Aggregate data.--In the case of information provided to 
        the Secretary to conduct an assessment under subsection (a), 
        neither the Secretary, any other officer or employee of the 
        Department of Agriculture or agency thereof, nor any other 
        person may--
                    (A) use such information for a purpose other than 
                the development or reporting of aggregate data in a 
                manner such that the identity of the person who 
                supplied such information is not discernible and is not 
                material to the intended uses of such information; or
                    (B) disclose such information to the public, unless 
                such information has been transformed into a 
                statistical or aggregate form that does not allow the 
                identification of the person who supplied particular 
                information.
            (3) Confidentiality.--The Secretary shall ensure that 
        assessments submitted under subsection (a) do not include any 
        information that is a trade secret or confidential information 
        subject to section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code, or 
        section 1905 of title 18, United States Code.
            (4) Immunity from disclosure.--Any information provided to 
        the Secretary as part of an assessment conducted under 
        subsection (a) may not be used by the Secretary for any purpose 
        other than to carry out such subsection.
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