[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1673 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1673

To establish the Office of Agriculture Inspection within the Department 
     of Homeland Security, which shall be headed by the Assistant 
    Commissioner for Agriculture Inspection, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 6, 2011

  Mr. Akaka (for himself and Mrs. Feinstein) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland 
                   Security and Governmental Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish the Office of Agriculture Inspection within the Department 
     of Homeland Security, which shall be headed by the Assistant 
    Commissioner for Agriculture Inspection, 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 ``Safeguarding American Agriculture 
Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF AGRICULTURE INSPECTION.

    Title IV of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 201 et 
seq.) is amended by inserting after section 421 the following:

``SEC. 421A. OFFICE OF AGRICULTURE INSPECTION.

    ``(a) Establishment.--There is established within U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection an Office of Agriculture Inspection, which shall be 
headed by an Assistant Commissioner.
    ``(b) Agriculture Specialist Career Track.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and in 
        consultation with the Assistant Commissioner for Agriculture 
        Inspection--
                    ``(A) shall identify appropriate career paths for 
                customs and border protection agriculture specialists, 
                including the education, training, experience, and 
                assignments necessary for career progression within 
                U.S. Customs and Border Protection;
                    ``(B) shall publish information on the career paths 
                identified under paragraph (1); and
                    ``(C) may establish criteria by which appropriately 
                qualified customs and border protection technicians may 
                be promoted to customs and border protection 
                agriculture specialists.
    ``(c) Education, Training, and Experience.--The Secretary, acting 
through the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and in 
consultation with the Assistant Commissioner for Agriculture 
Inspection, shall provide customs and border protection agriculture 
specialists the opportunity to acquire the education, training, and 
experience necessary to qualify for promotion within U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection.
    ``(d) Agriculture Specialist Recruitment and Retention.--Not later 
than 270 days after the date of the enactment of the Safeguarding 
American Agriculture Act of 2011, the Secretary, acting through the 
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and in consultation 
with the Assistant Commissioner for Agriculture Inspection, shall 
develop a plan to more effectively recruit and retain qualified customs 
and border protection agriculture specialists. The plan shall include--
            ``(1) numerical goals for recruitment and retention; and
            ``(2) the use of recruitment incentives, as appropriate and 
        permissible under existing laws and regulations.
    ``(e) Equipment Support.--Not later than 270 days after the date of 
the enactment of the Safeguarding American Agriculture Act of 2011, the 
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in consultation 
with the Assistant Commissioner for Agriculture Inspection, shall--
            ``(1) determine the minimum equipment and other resources 
        that are necessary at U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
        agriculture inspection stations and facilities to enable 
        customs and border protection agriculture specialists to fully 
        and effectively carry out their mission;
            ``(2) complete an inventory of the equipment and other 
        resources available at each U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
        agriculture inspection station and facility;
            ``(3) identify the necessary equipment and other resources 
        that are not currently available at agriculture inspection 
        stations and facilities; and
            ``(4) develop a plan to address any resource deficiencies 
        identified under paragraph (3).
    ``(f) Interagency Rotation Program.--The Secretary of Homeland 
Security and the Secretary of Agriculture are authorized to enter into 
an agreement that--
            ``(1) establishes an interagency rotation program; and
            ``(2) provides for personnel of the Animal and Plant Health 
        Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture to take 
        rotational assignments within the Office of Agriculture 
        Inspection and vice versa for the purposes of strengthening 
        working relationships between agencies and promoting 
        interagency experience.''.

SEC. 3. REPORT.

    Not later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary, acting through the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and 
Border Protection, and in consultation with the Assistant Commissioner 
for Agriculture Inspection, shall submit a report to the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and that 
Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives that 
describes--
            (1) the status of the implementation of the action plans 
        developed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-
        U.S. Customs and Border Protection Joint Task Force on Improved 
        Agriculture Inspection;
            (2) the findings of the Commissioner under paragraphs (1), 
        (2), and (3) of section 421a(e) of the Homeland Security Act of 
        2002, as added by section 2; and
            (3) the plan described in paragraph (4) of such section 
        421a(e).
            (4) the implementation of the remaining requirements under 
        such section 421a; and
            (5) any additional legal authority that the Secretary 
        determines to be necessary to effectively carry out the 
        agriculture inspection mission of the Department of Homeland 
        Security.
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