[Senate Report 115-29]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 38
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-29
_______________________________________________________________________
SECURING OUR AGRICULTURE AND
FOOD ACT
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 500
TO AMEND THE HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002 TO MAKE
THE ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY FOR
HEALTH AFFAIRS RESPONSIBLE FOR COORDINATING THE
EFFORTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
RELATED TO FOOD, AGRICULTURE, AND VETERINARY DEFENSE AGAINST TERRORISM,
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
April 24, 2017.--Ordered to be printed
______
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
69-010 WASHINGTON : 2017
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin, Chairman
JOHN McCAIN, Arizona CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri
ROB PORTMAN, Ohio THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware
RAND PAUL, Kentucky JON TESTER, Montana
JAMES LANKFORD, Oklahoma HEIDI HEITKAMP, North Dakota
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming GARY C. PETERS, Michigan
JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota MAGGIE HASSAN, New Hampshire
STEVE DAINES, Montana KAMALA D. HARRIS, California
Christopher R. Hixon, Staff Director
Gabrielle D'Adamo Singer, Chief Counsel
Christopher S. Boness, Professional Staff Member
Margaret E. Daum, Minority Staff Director
Stacia M. Cardille, Minority Chief Counsel
Subhasri Ramanathan, Minority Counsel
Laura W. Kilbride, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 38
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-29
======================================================================
SECURING OUR AGRICULTURE AND FOOD ACT
_______
April 24, 2017.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Johnson, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
REPORT
[To accompany S. 500]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 500) to amend the
Homeland Security Act of 2002 to make the Assistant Secretary
of Homeland Security for Health Affairs responsible for
coordinating the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security
related to food, agriculture, and veterinary defense against
terrorism, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that
the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................4
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis......................................5
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................5
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................5
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............6
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 500, Securing our Agriculture and Food Act, amends the
Homeland Security Act of 2002 to require the Assistant
Secretary for the Office of Health Affairs (OHA) within the
Department of Homeland Security (DHS or Department) to lead the
coordination of agriculture, food and veterinary defense
against terrorism. The bill authorizes the creation of a
program focused in the agriculture, food and veterinary sector
to provide oversight and management of the Department's
responsibilities and activities, lead policy initiatives
related to domestic preparedness and incident response, and
coordinate within the Department and with appropriate federal
agencies and departments.
II. Background and the Need for Legislation
The United States agricultural system is critical to our
nation's security and economic prosperity. Our nation's farms
not only produce the food that Americans eat, but also play a
significant role in the domestic and global economy. For
example, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports
that the United States agricultural system supports one twelfth
of the American workforce.\1\ Additionally, according to the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the United States
agricultural industry contributes $300 billion annually to our
economy.\2\ The United States also exports hundreds of billions
of dollars in agricultural products to countries around the
world, such as Canada, China, and Latin America.\3\
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\1\Agro-Defense: Responding to Threats Against America's
Agriculture and Food System: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Oversight
of Gov't Mgmt., the Fed. Workforce, and the Dist. of Columbia of the S.
Comm. on Homeland Sec. & Governmental Affairs, 112th Cong. 1 (2011)
[hereinafter Agro-Defense Hearing], available at https://www.gpo.gov/
fdsys/pkg/CHRG-112shrg72478/pdf/CHRG-112shrg72478.pdf.
\2\Econ. Research Serv., U.S. Dep't Of Agric., Effects Of Trade On
The U.S. Economy--2015, available at https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-
products/agricultural-trade-multipliers/effects-of-trade-on-the-us-
economy-2015.
\3\Id.
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The potential threat of a terrorist attack against the
United States' food and agricultural system, referred to as
agro-terrorism, would have significant consequences for United
States farmers and consumers. This underscores the need for
clarity in Federal agencies' roles and responsibilities to
secure the agricultural sector. In testimony before the Senate
Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management, the Federal
Workforce, and the District of Columbia, John Hoffman of the
National Center for Food Protection and Defense at the
University of Minnesota identified four possible consequences
of an agro-terrorism attack: detrimental impact on human health
throughout the country, damage to the food supply chain and to
global trade, severe economic devastation, and harm to the
United States' standing in the world.\4\ An agro-terrorism
incident represents a high-risk event with the potential to
cause severe harm to human health and the economy.
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\4\Agro-Defense Hearing, supra note 1, at 41 (statement of Col.
John T. Hoffman (Ret.), Senior Research Fellow, National Center for
Food Protection and Defense, University of Minnesota).
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Prior administrations have issued directives to elevate and
coordinate the security of the agricultural sector. On December
17, 2003, President George W. Bush released Homeland Security
Presidential Directive-7 (HSPD-7).\5\ This directive designates
the food and agriculture system as one of 16 critical
infrastructure sectors.\6\ Critical infrastructure sectors
provide resources and services to the American people and
support the United States economy. The elevation of the food
and agriculture system to that of a critical infrastructure
sector is an important first step in recognizing the important
role it plays within the United States, as well as underscoring
the crippling and dangerous impacts that an attack on this
system could have. An attack from terrorists on a critical
infrastructure sector could potentially cause massive
casualties, damage the economy, and weaken the confidence of
the American public.\7\
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\5\Office of the President, HSPD-7, Subject: Critical
Infrastructure Identification, Prioritization, and Protection, Dec. 17,
2003 [hereinafter HSPD-7], available at https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/
nspd/hspd-7.html.
\6\Id.; U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., NIPP 2013 Partnering for
Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience, at 9 (2013), available
at https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/publications/ NIPP %20
2013_Partnering %20 for %20 Critical %20 Infrastructure %20 Security
%20 and %20 Resilience _508_0.pdf/.
\7\HSPD-7, supra note 5.
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On January 30, 2005, President Bush released Homeland
Security Presidential Directive--9 (HSPD-9), which established
a national security policy to defend the agriculture and food
sector against terrorist attacks and other major
catastrophes.\8\ The policy called for improved early warning
systems, prioritization of key areas for protection,
vulnerability mitigation, and preparedness and recovery
measures.\9\ As established in HSPD-7 and reaffirmed in HSPD-9,
the Secretary of Homeland Security is responsible for
coordinating food and agriculture security across the Federal
Government acting through the Department's Food, Agriculture
and Veterinary Defense Division (FAVD) under the OHA. The
directives also assign responsibilities to the Secretaries of
Agriculture, Health and Human Services, and the Administrator
of the Environmental Protection Agency in the protection of
sector-specific efforts.\10\
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\8\Office of the President, HSPD-9, Subject: Defense of United
States Agriculture and Food, Jan. 30, 2004 [hereinafter HSPD-9],
available at https://fas.org/irp/offdocs/nspd/hspd-9.html.
\9\Id.
\10\HSPD-7, supra note 5; HSPD-9, supra note 8.
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Additionally, President Obama signed the FDA Food Safety
Modernization Act in January 2011.\11\ The law requires a
National Agriculture and Food Defense Strategy prepared by the
Secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services in
coordination with DHS.\12\ The report details plans to protect
the nation's food supply and agriculture system, as well as
plans for preparedness, detection, response, and recovery from
an attack.\13\ The strategy contains goals, objectives, and key
initiatives such as: improving agriculture and food system
detection abilities, guaranteeing a sufficient response to
emergencies, and long-term response recovery plans.\14\
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\11\FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, Pub. L. No. 111-353, 124
Stat. 3910-3911 (2011).
\12\Id.
\13\U.S. Dep't of Health and Human Services & U.S. Dep't of
Agriculture, Report to Congress on the National Agriculture and Food
Defense Strategy, at 7, 10-11, 14 (2015), available at https://
www.fda.gov/downloads/ Food/ Guidance Regulation/ FSMA/ UCM444464.pdf.
\14\Id.
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DHS has also recognized that the security of the
agricultural system is vital to the nation's homeland security.
Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act enacted
in 2007 requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to conduct
a comprehensive review every four years of the nation's
security and recommend strategy and priorities for the upcoming
years in terms of budgets, programs, and policies.\15\ The
first such report was the 2010 Quadrennial Homeland Security
Review (QHSR). In this report, the Secretary identified
agriculture as one of the emergency and support functions of
the Homeland Security Enterprise.\16\ The 2014 QHSR took a more
in-depth look at national security and specifically looked at
preparedness and mitigation of biological threats. Within
biological threats, the 2014 QHSR outlined the importance of an
effective response and recovery to an attack on agriculture. It
specifically discussed the need for Federal, state, local,
tribal, and territorial governments to ``[s]tabilize food,
agriculture, and other critical sector functions.''\17\
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\15\Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of
2007, Pub. L. No. 110-53, 121 Stat. 544 (2007).
\16\U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., Quadrennial Homeland Security
Review Report: A Strategic Framework for a Secure Homeland, at A-9
(2010), available at https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/
publications/2010-qhsr-report.pdf.
\17\U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., The 2014 Quadrennial Homeland
Security Review, at 53 (2010), available at https://www.dhs.gov/ sites/
default/ files/ publications/ 2010-qhsr-report.pdf.
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Past congressional hearings have also identified the
importance of securing the agricultural system. In 2011, the
Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight of Government Management,
the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia held a
hearing entitled ``Agro-Defense: Responding to Threats Against
America's Agriculture and Food System.''\18\ The GAO testified
during the hearing about the challenges the Federal Government
faces in securing and responding to an attack on the food and
agriculture sector.\19\ Lisa Shames, the GAO Director for
Natural Resources and Environment, stated that there is no
coordinated effort in food and agriculture security policy.\20\
Ms. Shames testified that the White House Homeland Security
Council (HSC), supplemented by DHS, used to coordinate on food
and agriculture security; however, when the HSC merged with the
National Security Council in 2009 interest in the sector waned
and coordination ceased.\21\
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\18\Agro-Defense Hearing, supra note 1.
\19\Id. at 16-18 (statement of Lisa Shames, Natural Resources and
Environment Director, Government Accountability Office).
\20\Id. at 16.
\21\Id. at 24.
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Additionally, the Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness,
Response, and Communications of the House Homeland Security
Committee held a hearing in February 2016, entitled, Food for
Thought: Efforts to Defend the Nation's Agriculture and
Food.\22\ In the hearing, Bobby Acord, the former administrator
for the USDA Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, testified,
``[t]here seems to be a growing consensus that there are
serious flaws in the country's preparedness to deal with
threats to the U.S. agriculture and the U.S. food supply.''\23\
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\22\Food for Thought: Efforts to Defend the Nation's Agriculture
and Food: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Emergency Preparedness,
Response, and Commc'ns of the H. Comm. On Homeland Sec., 114th Cong.
(2016), available at https://www.gpo.gov/ fdsys/pkg/ CHRG-114hhrg21528/
pdf/CHRG-114hhrg21528.pdf.
\23\Id. at 28 (statement of Bobby Acord, former Animal Plant Health
Inspection Service Administrator, U.S. Department of Agriculture).
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S. 500 codifies an existing program within DHS and requires
the Department to coordinate with other federal agencies and
its own components on food and agriculture security. The bill
also tasks DHS with management and oversight of HSPD-9 and
integrating security policy and initiatives. Lastly, the bill
designates DHS as the lead agency in the response and recovery
of an attack on the food or agricultural system.
III. Legislative History
On March 2, 2017, Senator Pat Roberts and Senator Claire
McCaskill, introduced S. 500, which was referred to the Senate
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
The Committee considered S. 500 at a business meeting on
March 15, 2017. The bill was ordered reported favorably en bloc
by voice vote. Senators Johnson, Portman, Lankford, Daines,
McCaskill, Carper, Tester, Heitkamp, Peters, Hassan, and Harris
were present for the vote.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Act, as Reported
Section 1. Short title
This section names the bill, ``Securing Our Agriculture and
Food Act''.
Section 2. Coordination of food, agriculture, and veterinary defense
against terrorism
This section codifies a program under the Assistant
Secretary of Health Affairs to coordinate efforts across the
Federal Government regarding the defense of food, agriculture,
and veterinary systems. The bill requires the program to, at a
minimum, provide oversight of the food and agriculture critical
infrastructure sector. It also designates the Department as the
lead for creating policy on security and preparedness for an
attack on the food and agriculture system, but clarifies that
this in no way alters the authority of the Secretary of
Agriculture. This legislation also authorizes FAVD for the
first time.
V. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill and determined
that the bill will have no regulatory impact within the meaning
of the rules. The Committee agrees with the Congressional
Budget Office's statement that the bill contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs
on state, local, or tribal governments.
VI. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
March 24, 2017.
Hon. Ron Johnson,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 500, the Securing
our Agriculture and Food Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Robert Reese.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall.
Enclosure.
S. 500--Securing Our Agriculture and Food Act
S. 500 would amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to
authorize a program within the Department of Homeland
Security's Office of Health Affairs to coordinate efforts to
defend U.S. food, agriculture, and veterinary systems against
terrorism.
CBO estimates that implementing S. 500 would cost about
$500,000 a year; such spending would be subject to the
availability of appropriated funds. In 2016, the department
allocated $475,000 for this activity. A full year appropriation
for the department has not yet been enacted for 2017.
Enacting S. 500 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO
estimates that enacting S. 500 would not increase net direct
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
S. 500 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
On March 13, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.
1238, the Securing our Agriculture and Food Act, as ordered
reported by the House Committee on Homeland Security on March
8, 2017. The two pieces of legislation are similar and CBO's
estimates of their budgetary effects are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Robert Reese.
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill as reported are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in brackets, new matter is
printed in italic, and existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002
* * * * * * *
TITLE V--EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE
* * * * * * *
SEC. 528. COORDINATION OF DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY EFFORTS
RELATED TO FOOD, AGRICULTURE, AND VETERINARY
DEFENSE AGAINST TERRORISM
(a) Program Required.--The Secretary, acting through the
Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs, shall carry out a
program to coordinate the efforts of the Department relating to
defending the food, agriculture, and veterinary systems of the
United States against terrorism and other high-consequence
events that pose a high risk to homeland security.
(b) Program Elements.--The coordination program required by
subsection (a) shall include, at a minimum, the following:
(1) Providing oversight and management of the
responsibilities of the Department under Homeland
Security Presidential Directive 9--Defense of United
States Agriculture and Food.
(2) Providing oversight and integration of the
activities of the Department relating to veterinary
public health, food defense, and agricultural security.
(3) Leading the policy initiatives of the Department
relating to food, animal, and agricultural incidents,
and the impact of such incidents on animal and public
health.
(4) Leading the policy initiatives of the Department
relating to overall domestic preparedness for and
collective response to agricultural terrorism.
(5) Coordinating with other components of the
Department, including U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, as appropriate, on activities relating to
food and agriculture security and screening procedures
for domestic and imported products.
(6) Coordinating with appropriate Federal departments
and agencies.
(7) Other activities as determined necessary by the
Secretary.
(c) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be
construed to alter or supersede the authority of the Secretary
of Agriculture relating to food and agriculture.
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