[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1532 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1532

  To amend title 18 of the United States Code to criminalize acts of 
   agroterrorism, and to enhance the protection of the United States 
     agricultural industry and food security through the increased 
         prevention, detection, response and recovery planning.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 28, 2005

  Mr. Specter (for himself and Mr. Grassley) introduced the following 
      bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 18 of the United States Code to criminalize acts of 
   agroterrorism, and to enhance the protection of the United States 
     agricultural industry and food security through the increased 
         prevention, detection, response and recovery planning.

    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 ``Agroterrorism Prevention Act of 
2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the United States agriculture and food systems are 
        vulnerable to biological agents that may be used in acts of 
        terrorism;
            (2) the United States agriculture and food system is an 
        extensive, open, interconnected, diverse, and complex structure 
        providing potential targets for terrorist attacks that could 
        have catastrophic health and economic impacts;
            (3) the intentional use of agricultural disease agents to 
        attack United States agriculture threatens an industry that 
        accounts for approximately 13 percent of the gross domestic 
        product of the United States, and accounts for 8 percent of the 
        United States export market;
            (4) the economic impact of even a small-scale agroterrorist 
        attack affecting only a few farms within a region could be 
        measured in multi-millions of dollars, including the costs of 
        eradication, recovery, market repercussions, production losses, 
        and trade implications;
            (5) the agricultural and food industries are vulnerable to 
        deliberate disruption through malicious acts;
            (6) risk factors affecting the spread of an agricultural 
        disease include--
                    (A) concentrated and intensive use of contemporary 
                farming practices;
                    (B) the use of rapid transportation systems for 
                delivery of agricultural commodities;
                    (C) the lack of farm and food production security 
                and surveillance; and
                    (D) the lack of ability to conduct rapid 
                diagnostics and forensics analysis;
            (7) as with human health and bioterrorism preparedness, 
        enhancing current monitoring and response mechanisms to deal 
        with a deliberate act of agricultural terrorism would 
        strengthen the ability of the United States to diagnose and 
        respond quickly to any agricultural disease or health crisis;
            (8) activities to ensure the biosecurity of farms are an 
        important tool in preventing--
                    (A) the intentional introduction of an agricultural 
                disease; and
                    (B) the spread of an introduced agricultural 
                disease into an outbreak;
            (9) in the event of an agricultural disease, the Department 
        of Agriculture and the Department of State will need the 
        support and resources of other Federal, State, and local 
        agencies and volunteer organizations that carry out traditional 
        emergency management and response functions;
            (10) State and local partners would need assistance to 
        implement their role in the response function;
            (11) States and communities also require assistance to 
        prepare and plan for agricultural disasters; and
            (12) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 
        Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, should incorporate 
        the Incident Command System in all agricultural disaster 
        emergency response plans.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Agriculture.--The term ``agriculture'' includes--
                    (A) the science and practice of activities relating 
                to food, feed, and fiber production, processing, 
                marketing, distribution, use, and trade;
                    (B) family and consumer science, nutrition, food 
                science and engineering, agricultural economics, and 
                other social sciences; and
                    (C) forestry, wildlife science, fishery science, 
                aquaculture, floraculture, veterinary medicine, and 
                other environmental and natural resource sciences.
            (2) Agroterrorism.--The term ``agroterrorism'' means the 
        commission of an agroterrorist act.
            (3) Agroterrorist act.--The term ``agroterrorist act'' 
        means a criminal act consisting of causing, financing, or 
        attempting to cause damage or harm to, or destruction or 
        contamination of, a crop, livestock, raw agricultural 
        commodity, food product, farm or ranch equipment, a material, 
        any other property associated with agriculture, or a person 
        engaged in agricultural activity, that is committed to--
                    (A) intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
                    (B) influence the policy of a government by 
                intimidation or coercion; or
                    (C) disrupt interstate commerce or foreign commerce 
                of the United States agricultural industry.
            (4) Biosecurity.--The term ``biosecurity''--
                    (A) means protection from the risks posed by 
                biological, chemical, or radiological agents to--
                            (i) plant or animal health;
                            (ii) the agricultural economy;
                            (iii) the environment; and
                            (iv) human health; and
                    (B) includes the exclusion, eradication, and 
                control of biological agents that cause agricultural 
                disease.
            (5) Agricultural disease.--The term ``agricultural 
        disease'' means an outbreak of a plant or animal disease, or a 
        pest infestation, that requires prompt action in order to 
        prevent injury or damage to people, plants, livestock, 
        property, the economy, or the environment.

SEC. 4. AGROTERRORISM.

    Chapter 113B of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
``Sec. 2339D. Agroterrorism
    ``(a) Offense.--Any person who knowingly develops, produces, 
stockpiles, transfers, acquires, possesses, or uses any biological 
agent, toxin, or delivery system in furtherance of or in the commission 
of an act causing damage or harm to, or destruction or contamination of 
a crop, livestock, raw agricultural commodity, food product, farm or 
ranch equipment, material, or any other property associated with 
agriculture, or a person engaged in agricultural activity, that is 
committed to--
            ``(1) intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
            ``(2) influence the policy of a government by intimidation 
        or coercion; and
            ``(3) disrupt interstate commerce or foreign commerce of 
        the United States agricultural industry,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for any terms of years or 
for life.
    ``(b) Enhanced Penalty if Death Results.--If a death results from a 
violation of subsection (a) and such killing constitutes a murder (as 
defined in section 1111(a)), the person shall be punished by death, 
fined under this title, or imprisoned for a term of 10 years to 
life.''.

SEC. 5. PREPAREDNESS.

    (a) Findings.--The United States should protect the agriculture and 
food system from terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other 
emergencies by--
            (1) identifying and prioritizing sector-critical 
        infrastructure and key resources for establishing protection 
        requirements;
            (2) developing awareness and early warning capabilities to 
        recognize threats;
            (3) mitigating vulnerabilities at critical production and 
        processing nodes;
            (4) enhancing screening procedures for domestic and 
        imported products, especially seed sources and reproductive 
        germplasm; and
            (5) enhancing response and recovery procedures.
    (b) Monitoring and Surveillance Enhancement.--The Secretary of 
Homeland Security, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 
Agriculture, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the 
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the heads of 
other appropriate Federal departments and agencies, shall build upon 
and expand current monitoring and surveillance programs to--
            (1) develop robust, comprehensive, and fully coordinated 
        surveillance and monitoring systems, including international 
        information, for animal disease, plant disease, wildlife 
        disease, and food safety that provides early detection and 
        awareness of disease, pest, or poisonous agents;
            (2) develop systems that confidentially track specific 
        animals, commodities, and food;
            (3) develop nationwide laboratory networks for food, 
        veterinary, and plant health that--
                    (A) integrate existing Federal and State laboratory 
                resources;
                    (B) are interconnected;
                    (C) utilize standardized diagnostic protocols and 
                procedures; and
                    (D) are capable of providing forensic evidence; and
            (4) ensure that border inspectors and agents are adequately 
        trained in agricultural security as a first line of defense.
    (c) Intelligence Enhancement.--
            (1) In general.--The Attorney General, the Secretary of 
        Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence, 
        in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture, the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Administrator 
        of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall develop and 
        enhance intelligence operations and analysis capabilities 
        focusing on the agriculture and food sectors of the United 
        States, including the collection and analysis of information 
        concerning threats, delivery systems, and methods that could be 
        directed against such sectors, especially on seed production 
        and reproductive germplasm.
            (2) Study and report.--The Secretary of Homeland Security 
        shall--
                    (A) assess the ability of the Department of 
                Homeland Security to coordinate activities to 
                effectively address plant and animal food security of 
                the United States agriculture industry; and
                    (B) submit a report to Congress describing the 
                results of the assessment under subparagraph (A) not 
                less than 120 days after the date of enactment of this 
                Act.
    (d) Vulnerability Assessments.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture, the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of 
        Homeland Security shall expand and continue vulnerability 
        assessments of the agriculture and food sectors.
            (2) Requirements; updates.--The vulnerability assessments 
        described in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) shall identify requirements of the National 
                Infrastructure Protection Plan developed by the 
                Secretary of Homeland Security; and
                    (B) shall be updated every 2 years.
    (e) State Plans.--
            (1) Development and implementation.--The Secretary of 
        Agriculture, in consultation with the Director of the Federal 
        Emergency Management Agency, shall assist States and counties 
        in developing and implementing State plans for the prevention, 
        response, and recovery from outbreaks of agricultural diseases.
            (2) Model.--Any plans developed under paragraph (1) shall 
        be modeled after the State Animal Response Team.
    (f) Regional and National Response Plans.--The Secretary of 
Agriculture shall assist States in developing regional and national 
response plans to carry out this section.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section--
            (1) $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and
            (2) such sums as are necessary for each fiscal year 
        thereafter.

SEC. 6. PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN AND BIOSECURITY.

    (a) Public Awareness.--The Secretary of Agriculture, in 
coordination with Cooperative State Research Education and Extension 
Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, shall establish 
a public awareness campaign for farmers, ranchers, and other 
agricultural producers that emphasizes--
            (1) the need for heightened biosecurity on farms; and
            (2) the reporting of agricultural disease anomalies.
    (b) On-Farm Biosecurity.--Not later than 240 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation 
with associations of agricultural producers and after considering 
research conducted under the National Agricultural Research, Extension, 
and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.), shall--
            (1) develop guidelines to--
                    (A) improve the monitoring of vehicles and 
                materials entering or leaving farm or ranch operations; 
                and
                    (B) control human traffic entering or leaving farm 
                or ranch operations; and
            (2) disseminate such guidelines to agricultural producers 
        through agricultural education seminars and biosecurity 
        training sessions.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
        carry out this section--
                    (A) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and
                    (B) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 
                2007 and each fiscal year thereafter.
            (2) Education program.--Of the amounts made available 
        pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary of Agriculture may use 
        such sums as are necessary to establish in each State an 
        education program to distribute the biosecurity guidelines 
        developed under subsection (b)(1).

SEC. 7. RESPONSE AND RECOVERY.

    (a) Development of Program.--
            (1) Veterinary stockpile and plant disease recovery 
        system.--The Secretary of Agriculture, through the Animal, 
        Plant, Health, and Inspection Service, in coordination with the 
        Secretary of Homeland Security, and in consultation with the 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Administrator of 
        the Environmental Protection Agency, shall work with States, 
        units of local government, and the private sector to develop--
                    (A) a National Veterinary Stockpile--
                            (i) containing sufficient amounts of animal 
                        vaccine, antiviral, and therapeutic products to 
                        appropriately respond to the most damaging 
                        animal diseases affecting human health and the 
                        economy;
                            (ii) that will be capable of deployment 
                        within 24 hours of an outbreak; and
                            (iii) that leverages the mechanisms and 
                        infrastructure that have been developed for the 
                        management, storage, and distribution of the 
                        Strategic National Stockpile;
                    (B) a National Plant Disease Recovery System--
                            (i) capable of responding to a high-
                        consequence plant disease with pest control 
                        measures, and the use of resistant seed 
                        varieties within a single growing season to 
                        sustain a reasonable level of production for 
                        economically important crops;
                            (ii) that utilizes the genetic resources 
                        contained in the U.S. National Plant Germplasm 
                        System and the scientific capabilities of the 
                        Federal-State-industry agricultural research 
                        and extension system; and
                            (iii) that includes emergency planning for 
                        the use of resistant seed varieties and 
                        pesticide control measures to prevent, slow, or 
                        stop the spread of a high-consequence plant 
                        disease, such as wheat smut and soybean rust.
            (2) National biodefense laboratories.--The Secretary of 
        Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of 
        Agriculture, the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services, the Secretary of the Interior and the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall 
        submit a report to Congress that--
                    (A) describes the feasibility and need for 
                modernizing or replacing current federal BL3 and BL4 
                laboratories responsible for research, technology 
                development, diagnostic, and forensic activities on 
                plant and animal diseases, including zoonotic animal 
                diseases that are a threat to United States 
                agriculture; and
                    (B) contains an assessment of the capability of 
                States to diagnose and conduct necropsy as first 
                responders to animal diseases that threaten United 
                States agriculture.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section--
            (1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and
            (2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2007 and 
        each fiscal year thereafter.

SEC. 8. ELECTION OF ARBITRATION.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 9, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 17. LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY CONTRACTS.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Livestock.--The term `livestock' has the meaning 
        given the term in section 2(a) of the Packers and Stockyards 
        Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 182(a)).
            ``(2) Livestock or poultry contract.--The term `livestock 
        or poultry contract' means any growout contract, marketing 
        agreement, or other arrangement under which a livestock or 
        poultry grower raises and cares for livestock or poultry.
            ``(3) Livestock or poultry grower.--The term `livestock or 
        poultry grower' means any person engaged in the business of 
        raising and caring for livestock or poultry in accordance with 
        a livestock or poultry contract, whether the livestock or 
        poultry is owned by the person or by another person.
            ``(4) Poultry.--The term `poultry' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 2(a) of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 
        1921 (7 U.S.C. 182(a)).
    ``(b) Consent to Arbitration.--If a livestock or poultry contract 
provides for the use of arbitration to resolve a controversy under the 
livestock or poultry contract, arbitration may be used to settle the 
controversy only if, after the controversy arises, both parties consent 
in writing to use arbitration to settle the controversy.
    ``(c) Explanation of Basis for Awards.--If arbitration is elected 
to settle a dispute under a livestock or poultry contract, the 
arbitrator shall provide to the parties to the contract a written 
explanation of the factual and legal basis for the award.''.
    (b) Technical and Conforming Amendment.--The table of sections for 
chapter 1 of title 9, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following:

        ``Sec. 17. Livestock and poultry contracts.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) shall 
apply to a contract entered into, amended, altered, modified, renewed, 
or extended after the date of enactment of this Act.
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