[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2774 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2774

To transfer to the Secretary of Homeland Security the functions of the 
  Secretary of Agriculture relating to agricultural import and entry 
                         inspection activities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 23, 2002

 Mr. Roberts (for himself, Mr. Allard, Mr. Miller, Mr. Craig, and Mr. 
Crapo) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
        to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To transfer to the Secretary of Homeland Security the functions of the 
  Secretary of Agriculture relating to agricultural import and entry 
                         inspection activities.

    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 ``APHIS Function Transfer Act''.

SEC. 2. TRANSFER OF CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL INSPECTION FUNCTIONS OF THE 
              DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Covered law.--The term ``covered law'' means--
                    (A) the first section of the Act of August 31, 1922 
                (7 U.S.C. 281);
                    (B) title III of the Federal Seed Act (7 U.S.C. 
                1581 et seq.);
                    (C) the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et 
                seq.);
                    (D) the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 
                et seq.);
                    (E) section 11 of the Endangered Species Act of 
                1973 (16 U.S.C. 1540).
                    (F) the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 
                3371 et seq.); and
                    (G) the eighth paragraph under the heading ``BUREAU 
                OF ANIMAL INDUSTRY'' in the Act of March 4, 1913 (21 
                U.S.C. 151 et seq.) (commonly known as the ``Virus-
                Serum-Toxin Act'');
            (2) Function.--The term ``function'' does not include any 
        quarantine activity carried out under a covered law.
    (b) Transfer.--There is transferred to the Secretary of Homeland 
Security the functions of the Secretary of Agriculture relating to 
agricultural import and entry inspection activities under each covered 
law.
    (c) Effect of Transfer.--
            (1) Compliance with department of agriculture 
        regulations.--The authority transferred under subsection (b) 
        shall be exercised by the Secretary of Homeland Security in 
        accordance with the regulations, policies, and procedures 
        issued by the Secretary of Agriculture regarding the 
        administration of each applicable covered law.
            (2) Rulemaking coordination.--The Secretary of Agriculture 
        shall coordinate with the Secretary of Homeland Security in any 
        case in which the Secretary of Agriculture prescribes 
        regulations, policies, or procedures for administering a 
        covered law at--
                    (A) a port of entry to the United States; or
                    (B) any other similar location, as determined by 
                the Secretary of Agriculture.
            (3) Effective administration.--The Secretary of Homeland 
        Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, 
        may issue such directives and guidelines as are necessary to 
        ensure the effective use of personnel of the Department of 
        Homeland Security to carry out the functions transferred under 
        subsection (b).
    (d) Transfer Agreement.--
            (1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture and the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security shall enter into an agreement to 
        effectuate the transfer of functions required by subsection 
        (b).
            (2) Required terms.--The agreement required by this 
        subsection shall specifically address--
                    (A) the supervision by the Secretary of Agriculture 
                of the training of employees of the Secretary of 
                Homeland Security to carry out the functions 
                transferred under subsection (b); and
                    (B) the transfer of funds to the Secretary of 
                Homeland Security under subsection (e).
            (3) Revision.--After the date of execution of the agreement 
        described in paragraph (1), the Secretary of Agriculture and 
        the Secretary of Homeland Security may jointly revise the 
        agreement, as necessary.
            (4) Cooperation and reciprocity.--The Secretary of 
        Agriculture and the Secretary of Homeland Security may include 
        as part of the agreement--
                    (A) authority under which the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security may perform functions that--
                            (i) are delegated to the Animal and Plant 
                        Health Inspection Service of the Department of 
                        Agriculture regarding the protection of 
                        domestic livestock and plants; but
                            (ii) are not transferred to the Secretary 
                        of Homeland Security under subsection (b); and
                    (B) authority under which the Secretary of 
                Agriculture may 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.
    (e) Periodic Transfer of Funds to Department of Homeland 
Security.--
            (1) Transfer of funds.--Subject to paragraph (2), out of 
        any funds collected as fees under sections 2508 and 2509 of the 
        Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (21 
        U.S.C. 136, 136a), the Secretary of Agriculture shall 
periodically transfer to the Secretary of Homeland Security, in 
accordance with the agreement under subsection (d), funds for 
activities carried out by the Secretary of Homeland Security for which 
the fees were collected.
            (2) Limitation.--The proportion of fees collected under 
        sections 2508 and 2509 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 
        and Trade Act of 1990 (21 U.S.C. 136, 136a) that are 
        transferred to the Secretary of Homeland Security under 
        paragraph (1) may not exceed the proportion that--
                    (A) the costs incurred by the Secretary of Homeland 
                Security to carry out activities funded by those fees; 
                bears to
                    (B) the costs incurred by the Federal Government to 
                carry out activities funded by those fees.
    (f) Transfer of Department of Agriculture Employees.--In carrying 
out this section, the Secretary of Agriculture shall transfer to the 
Secretary of Homeland Security not more than 3,200 full-time equivalent 
positions of the Department of Agriculture.
    (g) Protection of Inspection Animals.--
            (1) Definition of secretary concerned.--Title V of the 
        Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 is amended--
                    (A) by redesignating sections 501 and 502 (7 U.S.C. 
                2279e, 2279f) as sections 502 and 503, respectively; 
                and
                    (B) by inserting before section 502 (as 
                redesignated by paragraph (1)) the following:

``SEC. 501. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY CONCERNED.

    ``In this title, the term `Secretary concerned' means--
            ``(1) the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to an 
        animal used for purposes of official inspections by the 
        Department of Agriculture; and
            ``(2) the Secretary of Homeland Security, with respect to 
        an animal used for purposes of official inspections by the 
        Department of Homeland Security.''.
            (2) Conforming amendments.--
                    (A) Section 502 of the Agricultural Risk Protection 
                Act of 2000 (as redesignated by paragraph (1)(A)) is 
                amended--
                            (i) in subsection (a)--
                                    (I) by inserting ``or the 
                                Department of Homeland Security'' after 
                                ``Department of Agriculture''; and
                                    (II) by inserting ``or the 
                                Secretary of Homeland Security'' after 
                                ``Secretary of Agriculture''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``Secretary'' each place 
                        it appears (other than in subsections (a) and 
                        (e)) and inserting ``Secretary concerned''.
                    (B) Section 503 of the Agricultural Risk Protection 
                Act of 2000 (as redesignated by paragraph (1)(A)) is 
                amended by striking ``501'' each place it appears and 
                inserting ``502''.

SEC. 3. TRANSFER OF PLUM ISLAND ANIMAL DISEASE CENTER, DEPARTMENT OF 
              AGRICULTURE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall transfer to the 
Secretary of Homeland Security the Plum Island Animal Disease Center of 
the Department of Agriculture, including the assets and liabilities of 
the Center.
    (b) Continued Department of Agriculture Access.--On completion of 
the transfer of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center under subsection 
(a), the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall enter into an agreement to ensure that the Secretary 
of Agriculture retains access to the Center for research, diagnostic, 
and other activities of the Department of Agriculture.
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