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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8522 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8522
To improve connections between the Department of Agriculture and
national and homeland security agencies, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 23, 2024
Mrs. Bice (for herself and Mr. Khanna) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve connections between the Department of Agriculture and
national and homeland security agencies, 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 ``Agriculture and National Security
Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO AGRICULTURE AND NATIONAL
SECURITY.
It is the sense of Congress that there are increasingly robust
Federal activities to address homeland security vulnerabilities across
the food and agriculture sector, including with regard to agriculture
and food defense, critical infrastructure, emergency management, and
catastrophic events, but additional efforts are needed to identify
national security vulnerabilities related to food and agriculture,
particularly with regard to emerging technologies.
SEC. 3. NATIONAL SECURITY.
(a) In General.--In recognition that food and agriculture are
critical to the national security of the United States, the Secretary
of Agriculture (referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall
prioritize national security in addition to homeland security in the
Department of Agriculture (referred to in this Act as the
``Department''), including by increasing the number of staff at the
Department with security clearances and access to classified systems
and networks.
(b) Senior Advisor for National Security.--
(1) Appointment.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall--
(A) establish within the Office of the Secretary
the position of Senior Advisor for National Security
(referred to in this Act as the ``Senior Advisor'');
and
(B) appoint an individual to the position of Senior
Advisor.
(2) Duties.--The Senior Advisor shall, in coordination with
and complementary to the duties of the Office of Homeland
Security of the Department--
(A) serve as the principal advisor to the Secretary
on national security;
(B) act as the primary liaison on behalf of the
Department with the National Security Council and other
Federal departments and agencies in activities relating
to national security;
(C) coordinate national security activities across
the Department, including to ensure that national
security concerns are integrated into the homeland
security activities of the Department wherever
appropriate; and
(D) communicate with stakeholders to identify
national security vulnerabilities and risk mitigation
strategies relevant to food and agriculture.
(c) Interagency Coordination.--Section 221(e) of the Department of
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6922(e)) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(3) Detailees authorized.--The Secretary may provide
detailees to, and accept and employ personnel detailed from,
defense, national and homeland security, law enforcement, and
intelligence agencies, with or without reimbursement, to
improve information sharing, vulnerability identification, and
risk mitigation related to food and agriculture.''.
(d) Biennial Reports.--Section 221 of the Department of Agriculture
Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6922) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
``(f) Biennial Reports.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, and not less frequently than once every 2 years
thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress and the National
Security Council a report that includes--
``(1) from the perspective of the Department, an assessment
of any gaps or limitations in national security efforts related
to food and agriculture in the United States, including--
``(A) influence of foreign state-owned enterprise;
``(B) control of and access to agricultural data;
``(C) foreign acquisition of intellectual property,
agricultural assets, and land;
``(D) agricultural input shortages and dependence
on foreign-sourced inputs;
``(E) supply chain and trade disruptions;
``(F) science and technology cooperation;
``(G) cybersecurity and artificial intelligence;
``(H) unequal investments in research, development,
and scale-up;
``(I) incongruent regulatory policies; and
``(J) other vulnerabilities throughout the food and
agriculture sector, particularly with regard to
emerging technologies;
``(2) the actions taken by the Secretary to address any
gaps or limitations identified under paragraph (1), including
through interagency coordination, threat information sharing,
and stakeholder outreach;
``(3) policy recommendations, including recommendations for
executive actions and legislative proposals--
``(A) to reduce any gaps or limitations identified
under paragraph (1); and
``(B) to address any identified vulnerabilities
with respect to the gaps or limitations identified
under paragraph (1); and
``(4) resources the Department requires to address current
and future national security vulnerabilities related to food
and agriculture.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
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