1.Restoration of import and entry
agricultural inspection functions to the Department of Agriculture
(a)Repeal of transfer of
functionsSection 421 of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231) is repealed.
(b)Conforming amendment to function of
secretary of homeland securitySection 402 of the Homeland Security Act of
2002 (6 U.S.C. 202) is amended—
(1)by striking paragraph (7); and
(2)by redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph
(7).
(c)
(1)Not later than the effective date described
in subsection (g), the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Homeland
Security shall enter into an agreement to effectuate the return of functions
required by the amendments made by this section.
(2)The agreement may include authority for the
Secretary of Agriculture to 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.
(d)Restoration of Department of Agriculture
employeesNot later than the
effective date described in subsection (e), all full-time equivalent positions
of the Department of Agriculture transferred to the Department of Homeland
Security under section 421(g) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C.
231(g)) (as in effect on the day before the effective date described in
subsection (g)) shall be restored to the Department of Agriculture.
(e)
(1)The Secretary of Agriculture shall
establish within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service a program, to
be known as the International Agricultural Inspection Program
,
under which the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(referred to in this subsection as the Administrator) shall carry
out import and entry agricultural inspections.
(2)Information gathering and
inspectionsIn carrying out
the program under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall have full access
to—
(A)each secure area of any terminal for
screening passengers or cargo under the control of the Department of Homeland
Security on the day before the date of enactment of this Act for purposes of
carrying out inspections and gathering information; and
(B)each database (including any database
relating to cargo manifests or employee and business records) under the control
of the Department of Homeland Security on the day before the date of enactment
of this Act for purposes of gathering information.
(3)The Administrator may issue inspection
alerts, including by indicating cargo to be held for immediate
inspection.
(4)The Administrator may, as
applicable—
(A)continue to collect any agricultural
quarantine inspection user fee; and
(B)administer any reserve account for the
fees.
(5)
(A)The Administrator shall establish a
program, to be known as the import and entry agriculture inspector
career track program
, to support the development of long-term career
professionals with expertise in import and entry agriculture inspection.
(B)Strategic plan and trainingIn carrying out the program under this
paragraph, the Administrator, in coordination with the Secretary of
Agriculture, shall—
(i)develop a strategic plan to incorporate
import and entry agricultural inspectors into the infrastructure protecting
food, fiber, forests, bioenergy, and the environment of the United States from
animal and plant pests, diseases, and noxious weeds; and
(ii)as part of the plan under clause (i),
provide training for import and entry agricultural inspectors participating in
the program not less frequently than once each year to improve inspection
skills.
(f)
(1)The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to
in this subsection as the Secretary) shall—
(A)develop standard operating procedures for
inspection, monitoring, and auditing relating to import and entry agricultural
inspections, in accordance with recommendations from the Comptroller General of
the United States and reports of interagency advisory groups, as applicable;
and
(B)ensure that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service has a national electronic system with real-time tracking
capability for monitoring, tracking, and reporting inspection activities of the
Service.
(2)Federal and State cooperation
(A)The Secretary shall develop and maintain an
integrated, real-time communication system with respect to import and entry
agricultural inspections to alert State departments of agriculture of
significant inspection findings of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service.
(B)
(i)The Secretary shall establish a committee,
to be known as the International Trade Inspection Advisory
Committee
(referred to in this subparagraph as the
committee), to advise the Secretary on policies and other issues
relating to import and entry agricultural inspection.
(ii)In establishing the committee, the
Secretary shall use as a model the Agricultural Trade Advisory
Committee.
(iii)The committee shall be composed of members
representing—
(I)State departments of agriculture;
(II)directors of ports and airports in the
United States;
(III)the transportation industry;
(IV)the public; and
(V)such other entities as the Secretary
determines to be appropriate.
(3)Not less frequently than once each year,
the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report containing an assessment
of—
(A)the resource needs for import and entry
agricultural inspection, including the number of inspectors required;
(B)the adequacy of—
(i)inspection and monitoring procedures and
facilities in the United States; and
(ii)the strategic plan developed under
subsection (e)(5)(B)(i); and
(C)new and potential technologies and
practices, including recommendations regarding the technologies and practices,
to improve import and entry agricultural inspection.
(4)The Secretary shall pay the costs of each
import and entry agricultural inspector employed by the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service—
(A)from amounts made available to the
Department of Agriculture for the applicable fiscal year; or
(B)if amounts described in subparagraph (A)
are unavailable, from amounts of the Commodity Credit Corporation.
(g)The amendments made by
this section take effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act.