[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 734 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 734

  To enhance the participation of precision agriculture in the United 
                    States, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 9, 2023

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To enhance the participation of precision agriculture in the United 
                    States, 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 ``Promoting Precision Agriculture Act 
of 2023''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) 3GPP.--The term ``3GPP'' means the Third Generation 
        Partnership Project.
            (2) Advanced wireless communications technology.--The term 
        ``advanced wireless communications technology'' means advanced 
        technology that contributes to mobile (5G or beyond) networks, 
        next-generation Wi-Fi networks, or other future networks using 
        other technologies, regardless of whether the network is 
        operating on an exclusive licensed, shared licensed, or 
        unlicensed frequency band.
            (3) Artificial intelligence.--The term ``artificial 
        intelligence'' has the meaning given the term in section 238(g) 
        of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for 
        Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232; 10 U.S.C. note prec. 
        4061).
            (4) Foreign adversary.--The term ``foreign adversary'' 
        means any foreign government or foreign nongovernment person 
        engaged in a long-term pattern or serious instances of conduct 
        significantly adverse to the national security of the United 
        States, or security and safety of United States persons.
            (5) Precision agriculture.--The term ``precision 
        agriculture'' means managing, tracking, or reducing crop or 
        livestock production inputs, including seed, feed, fertilizer, 
        chemicals, water, time, and such other inputs as the Secretary 
        determines to be appropriate, at a heightened level of spatial 
        and temporal granularity to improve efficiencies, reduce waste, 
        and maintain environmental quality.
            (6) Precision agriculture equipment.--The term ``precision 
        agriculture equipment'' means any equipment or technology that 
        directly contributes to a reduction in, or improved efficiency 
        of, inputs used in crop or livestock production, including--
                    (A) global positioning system-based or geospatial 
                mapping;
                    (B) satellite or aerial imagery;
                    (C) yield monitors;
                    (D) soil mapping;
                    (E) sensors for gathering data on crop, soil, and 
                livestock conditions;
                    (F) Internet of Things and technology that relies 
                on edge and cloud computing;
                    (G) data management software and advanced 
                analytics;
                    (H) network connectivity products and solutions, 
                including public and private wireless networks;
                    (I) global positioning system guidance, auto-steer 
                systems, autonomous fleeting, and other machine-to-
                machine operations;
                    (J) variable rate technology for applying inputs, 
                such as section control; and
                    (K) any other technology that leads to a reduction 
                in, or improves efficiency of, crop and livestock 
                production inputs, which may include--
                            (i) seed;
                            (ii) feed;
                            (iii) fertilizer;
                            (iv) chemicals;
                            (v) water;
                            (vi) time;
                            (vii) fuel;
                            (viii) emissions; and
                            (ix) such other inputs as the Secretary 
                        determines to be appropriate.
            (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
            (8) Trusted.--The term ``trusted'' means, with respect to a 
        provider of advanced communications service or a supplier of 
        communications equipment or service, that the Secretary has 
        determined that the provider or supplier is not owned by, 
        controlled by, or subject to the influence of, a foreign 
        adversary.
            (9) Voluntary consensus standards development 
        organization.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``voluntary consensus 
                standards development organization'' means an 
                organization that develops standards in a process that 
                meets the principles for the development of voluntary 
                consensus standards (as defined in the document of the 
                Office of Management and Budget entitled ``Federal 
                Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary 
                Consensus Standards and in Conformity Assessment 
                Activities'' (OMB Circular A-119)).
                    (B) Inclusions.--The term ``voluntary consensus 
                standards development organization'' includes the 3GPP, 
                the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions, 
                the Agricultural Industry Electronics Foundation, and 
                the Global System for Mobile Communications 
                Association.

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to enhance the participation of precision agriculture 
        in the United States; and
            (2) to promote United States leadership in voluntary 
        consensus standards development organizations that set 
        standards for precision agriculture.

SEC. 4. INTERCONNECTIVITY STANDARDS FOR PRECISION AGRICULTURE.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology, shall--
            (1) develop voluntary, consensus-based, private sector-led 
        interconnectivity standards, guidelines, and best practices for 
        precision agriculture that will promote economies of scale and 
        ease the burden of the adoption of precision agriculture; and
            (2) in carrying out paragraph (1)--
                    (A) coordinate with relevant public and trusted 
                private sector stakeholders and other relevant industry 
                organizations, including voluntary consensus standards 
                development organizations; and
                    (B) consult with sector-specific agencies, other 
                appropriate agencies, and State and local governments.
    (b) Considerations.--The Secretary, in carrying out subsection (a), 
shall, in consultation with the Federal Communications Commission and 
the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
consider--
            (1) the evolving demands of precision agriculture;
            (2) the connectivity needs of precision agriculture 
        equipment;
            (3) the cybersecurity challenges facing precision 
        agriculture, including cybersecurity threats for agriculture 
        producers and agriculture supply chains;
            (4) the impact of advanced wireless communications 
        technology on precision agriculture; and
            (5) the impact of artificial intelligence on precision 
        agriculture.

SEC. 5. GAO ASSESSMENT OF PRECISION AGRICULTURE STANDARDS.

    (a) Study.--Not later than 1 year after the Secretary develops 
standards under section 4, and every 2 years thereafter for the 
following 8 years, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 
conduct a study that assesses those standards, including the extent to 
which those standards, as applicable--
            (1) are voluntary;
            (2) were developed in coordination with relevant industry 
        organizations, including voluntary consensus standards 
        development organizations; and
            (3) have successfully encouraged the adoption of precision 
        agriculture.
    (b) Report.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 
Senate and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House 
of Representatives a report that summarizes the findings of each study 
conducted under subsection (a).
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