[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 44 (Wednesday, March 14, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3141-S3143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself and Mr. Durbin):
  S. 887. A bill to restore import and entry agricultural inspection 
functions to the Department of Agriculture; to the Committee on 
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to offer a bill with 
Senator Durbin to restore our Nation's agricultural inspection 
functions to the Department of Agriculture.
  This bill would transfer the Agricultural Quarantine Inspection 
Program--AQI--from the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and 
Border Protection back to the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
Service--(APHIS).
  In 2003, as part of the Homeland Security Act, agricultural 
inspections at all points of entry in the United States were 
transferred from the USDA to DHS. Four years later, it is clear that 
fewer agricultural inspections are being conducted at our borders and 
ports.
  I have heard this message loud and clear from: California Secretary 
of Agriculture A.G. Kawamura, California Farm Bureau, the American 
Landscape and Nursery Association, the California Agriculture 
Commissioners and Sealers Association, the Nisei Farmers League, the 
Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense, National Wildlife 
Federation, Union of Concerned Scientists, Defenders of Wildlife, and 
the San Diego County Agriculture Commissioner, the Contra Costa County 
Agriculture Commissioner, and many California farmers.
  These groups have observed not only the decrease in the number of 
inspections since the Agricultural Quarantine Inspection Program was 
transferred to the Department of Homeland Security--DHS--but also 
decreased communication between the program and State agricultural 
organizations.
  Last year, the Government Accountability Office produced a report 
that highlighted the problems associated with the transfer of the 
program from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the Department of 
Homeland Security, entitled ``Homeland Security: Management and 
Coordination Problems Increase the Vulnerability of U.S. Agriculture to 
Foreign Pests and Disease.''
  The GAO study found:
  The inspection rate at several key American points of entry has 
significantly decreased. Inspections decreased in Miami by 12.7 
percent, in Boston by 17.9 percent, and San Francisco by 21.4 percent.
  Sixty percent of agricultural inspection specialists believed they 
were doing either ``somewhat'' or ``many fewer'' inspections since the 
transfer.
  Sixty-three percent of survey respondents did not believe that their 
port had enough agriculture specialists to carry out agriculture 
duties.
  Lastly, 64 percent of the agriculture specialists reported that their 
work was not respected by Customs and Border Patrol.
  These statistics are deplorable.
  The failure to protect our borders from the invasion of agricultural 
pests

[[Page S3142]]

places our farmlands and forests at great risk of infestation.
  USDA estimates nationally that agricultural pests cost the American 
agricultural industry an annual loss of about $41 billion.
  In California alone, pest infestations cost my State's farmers about 
$3 billion. This amount includes crops lost in the quarantine, and the 
cost of measures taken to control and eradicate pest outbreaks.
  The farmers in my State continue to battle against serious 
agricultural pests, such as the glassy-winged sharpshooter, the Asian 
long-horned beetle, the Mediterranean fruit fly, and many others.
  During the time that DHS has been in charge of agriculture 
inspections, Fresno County experienced its first fruit fly outbreak, 
quarantine, and eradication.
  According to the Fresno County Department of Agriculture, a 105-
square-mile area had to be quarantined due to an outbreak of the peach 
fruit fly. The pest is indigenous to Asia, and is believed to have 
entered the country on smuggled fruit carried by an airline passenger. 
The eradication effort cost approximately $1 million.
  The interception of pests at inspection points, coupled with the 
elimination and eradication of pest outbreaks, is a top priority for 
California agriculture organizations. And these groups have asked for 
help in improving the agricultural inspection process.
  But this is not just a California problem. Farmers and foresters from 
every corner of our country have faced the imposing threat of a foreign 
agriculture pest invasion.
  Here are just a few examples of the pests that threaten our Nation:
  The glassy-winged sharpshooter is a devastating new pest for 
California. Since its migration into California in 1990 from the 
southeastern United States, the glassy-winged sharpshooter population 
there has ballooned throughout southern California. This pest transmits 
Pierce's disease, which threatens 450,000-plus acres of winegrapes, 
more than 330,000 acres of raisin and table grapevines, a crop 
production of $4 billion and associated economic activity of $45 
billion. There is no known cure for Pierce's disease. The glassy-winged 
sharpshooter also threatens crops such as almonds, citrus, and peaches 
as well as native plants, shrubs, and trees.
  Citrus canker is believed to have originated in Southeast Asia and 
was discovered in Florida in 1995. It causes lesions on the leaves, 
stems, and fruit of citrus trees, causes leaves and fruit to drop 
prematurely, and makes fruit too unsightly to be sold. The Federal 
Government has spent $378 million for eradication, with little results.
  The Asian long-horned beetle was introduced to the United States in 
August 1996 inside solid wood packing material from China. The beetle 
is a serious threat to hardwood trees and has no known natural predator 
in the United States. The beetle has the potential to destroy millions 
of acres of America's hardwood forests and industries such as lumber, 
maple syrup, nursery, and tourism accumulating over $41 billion in 
losses. The beetle has spread to New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and 
California.
  In the summer of 2002, scientists detected a new exotic insect in 
Michigan, the emerald ash borer. This insect is an invasive species 
originally from Asia. To date, it has killed or damaged millions of ash 
trees in Michigan. It has been detected in Ohio, Indiana, Maryland, 
Ohio, Illinois, and in Ontario, Canada.
  The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture--NASDA--
recognizes the impending danger and has first-hand experience of how 
inspections have changed since the DHS takeover.
  NASDA recently announced that one of its key recommendations is to 
reassign cargo inspection from DHS to USDA's Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service--APHIS.
  NASDA explains: APHIS has ``the expertise and communication system to 
carry out a focused and effective agricultural safeguarding effort at 
our borders.''
  Our Nation's agriculture is too important to leave open to the risk 
of invasion of agricultural pests. I urge my colleagues to join me in 
supporting this bill.
  Let us reprioritize the plant and animal border inspections and 
strengthen the anti-terrorism mission of DHS by returning the 
Agricultural Quarantine Inspections to its logical place, the United 
States Department of Agriculture.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the legislation be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 887

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. RESTORATION OF IMPORT AND ENTRY AGRICULTURAL 
                   INSPECTION FUNCTIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF 
                   AGRICULTURE.

       (a) Repeal of Transfer of Functions.--Section 421 of the 
     Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231) is repealed.
       (b) Conforming Amendment to Function of Secretary of 
     Homeland Security.--Section 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) Transfer Agreement.--
       (1) In general.--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) Use of certain employees.--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 Employees.--
     Not 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) Authority of APHIS.--
       (1) Establishment of program.--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 inspections.--In 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) Inspection alerts.--The Administrator may issue 
     inspection alerts, including by indicating cargo to be held 
     for immediate inspection.
       (4) Inspection user fees.--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) Career track program.--
       (A) In general.--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 training.--In 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) Duties of Secretary.--
       (1) In general.--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

[[Page S3143]]

       (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) Communication system.--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) Advisory committee.--
       (i) Establishment.--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) Model.--In establishing the committee, the Secretary 
     shall use as a model the Agricultural Trade Advisory 
     Committee.
       (iii) Membership.--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) Report.--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) Funding.--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) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     take effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act.

                          ____________________