[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1536 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1536

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 12, 2013

   Ms. Hahn introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Homeland Security, and in addition to the Committee on 
Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 
 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 Commerce and 
Agriculture Act of 2013''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE OFFICE OF AGRICULTURAL 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 AGRICULTURAL 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.--The Secretary--
            ``(1) 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;
            ``(2) shall publish information on the career paths 
        identified under paragraph (1); and
            ``(3) 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 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 this section, the 
Secretary 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 this section, the Secretary 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 U.S. Customs and Border 
        Protection and vice versa for the purposes of strengthening 
        working relationships between agencies and promoting 
        interagency experience.
    ``(g) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the 
enactment of this section, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall 
submit a report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental 
Affairs of the Senate and the 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 Secretary under paragraphs (1), 
        (2), and (3) of subsection (e);
            ``(3) the plan described in paragraph (e)(4);
            ``(4) the implementation of the remaining requirements 
        under such subsection (e); 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.
    ``(h) Administration.--The Secretary shall carry out this section 
acting through the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
in consultation with the Assistant Commissioner for Agricultural 
Inspection.''.
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