[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 859 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 859

To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to provide 
   for the conducts of activities to detect, and respond in a timely 
                  manner to, threats to animal health.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 6, 2013

  Mr. Bennet introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to provide 
   for the conducts of activities to detect, and respond in a timely 
                  manner to, threats to animal health.

    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 ``Animal and Public Health Protection 
Act''.

SEC. 2. NATIONAL ANIMAL HEALTH LABORATORY NETWORK.

    Subtitle E of title X of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act 
of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 
10409 the following:

``SEC. 10409A. NATIONAL ANIMAL HEALTH LABORATORY NETWORK.

    ``(a) Definition of Eligible Laboratory.--In this section, the term 
`eligible laboratory' means a diagnostic laboratory that meets specific 
criteria developed by the Secretary, in consultation with State animal 
health officials, State veterinary diagnostic laboratories, and 
veterinary diagnostic laboratories at institutions of higher education.
    ``(b) Contracts.--The Secretary shall offer to enter into 
contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, or other legal instruments 
with eligible laboratories--
            ``(1) to enhance the capability of the Secretary--
                    ``(A) to detect, and respond in a timely manner to, 
                emerging or existing threats to animal health; and
                    ``(B) to support the protection of public health, 
                the environment, and the agricultural economy of the 
                United States;
            ``(2) to provide the capacity and capability for 
        standardized--
                    ``(A) test procedures, reference materials, and 
                equipment;
                    ``(B) laboratory biosafety and biosecurity levels;
                    ``(C) quality management system requirements;
                    ``(D) interconnected electronic reporting and 
                transmission of data; and
                    ``(E) evaluation for emergency preparedness; and
            ``(3) to coordinate the development, implementation, and 
        enhancement of national veterinary diagnostic laboratory 
        capabilities, with special emphasis on surveillance planning 
        and vulnerability analysis, technology development and 
        validation, training, and outreach.
    ``(c) Priority.--To the extent practicable and to the extent 
capacity and specialized expertise may be necessary, the Secretary 
shall give priority to eligible laboratories at existing Federal 
facilities, State facilities, and facilities at institutions of higher 
education.
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2014 through 2018.''.
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