Sen. Roberts introduces bill to protect the nation’s food supply from agro-terrorism

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, introduced legislation last week to ensure the safety of the nation’s food supply by addressing various threats posed by acts of agro-terrorism.

The bill was cosponsored by U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), who serves as the ranking Democratic member of the Homeland Security Committee.

The bill would require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to coordinate its efforts related to defending the food, agriculture, and veterinary systems of the country against high-consequence events that pose a risk to homeland security. To achieve this, the act requires oversight and integration by the assistant secretary for Health Affairs over the department’s activities related to veterinary public health, food defense, and agricultural security.

The bill calls for the assistant secretary to lead the department’s policy initiatives related to overall domestic preparedness for and response to agricultural terrorism. It also requires DHS to coordinate with other departments, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, on activities related to food and agriculture security and screening procedures for domestic and imported products.

“As DHS continues to build the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas, now is the exact time to shore up authorities regarding coordination and mitigation should the worst occur and the nation is hit by a biological attack on our food and agriculture,” Roberts said. “As the backbone of the U.S. economy, the spread of any deadly pathogen among our livestock and plant population would cause irreparable damage.”

The Congressional Budget Office estimated that it would cost approximately $500,000 per year to fully implement all of the bill’s provisions. In 2016, DHS allocated $475,000 for related agro-terrorism prevention activities.

The bill is set to be considered by the House Homeland Security Committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee, and the Agriculture Committee.