Bill Summary
The Securing American Agriculture Act is a bill that directs the Secretary of Agriculture to publish an annual assessment on the United States' dependency on critical agricultural products or inputs from China. This assessment will include information on the current domestic production capacity of these products, potential bottlenecks in the supply chain, and recommendations to reduce dependency and mitigate any threats posed by China. The critical inputs that will be included in this assessment are agricultural equipment, fuel, fertilizers, feed, veterinary drugs, crop protection chemicals, seed, and any other inputs deemed critical by the Secretary. The bill also ensures the protection of confidential information provided by private entities and prohibits the use of this information for any purpose other than the assessment.
Possible Impacts
1. The "Securing American Agriculture Act" could potentially impact farmers and agricultural businesses in the United States by requiring them to report information about their production and supply chain processes to the Secretary of Agriculture. This could be seen as an added burden and could also potentially reveal sensitive information about their operations.
2. The Act could also affect consumers by potentially increasing the costs of agricultural products, as the recommendations for reducing dependency on China may involve increased regulations or production costs for farmers.
3. The Act may also have diplomatic implications, as it specifically targets the People's Republic of China and could potentially strain relations between the two countries if China feels targeted or threatened. This could have wider impacts on trade and international relations.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8003 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8003
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to publish, on an annual basis,
an assessment on United States dependency on critical agricultural
products or inputs from the People's Republic of China, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 15, 2024
Mrs. Hinson (for herself, Ms. Slotkin, Mr. Gallagher, Mr.
Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Alford, Mr. Carson, Mr. Scott Franklin of Florida,
Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Mrs. Wagner, Ms. Davids of Kansas, Mr.
Kustoff, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Kean of New Jersey, Mr. LaHood, Mr. Finstad,
Mr. Tony Gonzales of Texas, Mrs. Miller-Meeks, Mr. Newhouse, Mr. Nunn
of Iowa, Mr. Van Orden, and Mrs. Chavez-DeRemer) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to publish, on an annual basis,
an assessment on United States dependency on critical agricultural
products or inputs from the People's Republic of China, 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 ``Securing American Agriculture Act''.
SEC. 2. CRITICAL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS OR INPUTS STUDY.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture (in this section
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall, on an annual basis, submit to
the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, an
assessment of the dependency of the United States on critical
agricultural products or inputs that could be exploited in the event
the People's Republic of China weaponizes any such critical dependency.
(b) Contents.--The assessment under subsection (a) shall--
(1) address, with respect to the critical inputs specified
in subsection (c), the following:
(A) the current domestic production capacity of
each such critical input; and
(B) the current and potential bottlenecks in the
supply chain for each such critical input that could be
exploited by the People's Republic of China; and
(2) contain the Secretary's recommendations to reduce the
dependency of the United States on the People's Republic of
China to supply critical agricultural products or inputs,
including--
(A) recommendations to mitigate potential threats
posed by the People's Republic of China to the supply
chains of each critical input specified in subsection
(c); and
(B) recommendations for legislative and regulatory
actions to reduce barriers to onshore or nearshore the
production of each such critical input.
(c) Critical Inputs.--The critical inputs specified in this
subsection shall include all farm management, agronomic, and field-
applied production inputs, including each of the following:
(1) Agricultural equipment, machinery, and technology.
(2) Fuel.
(3) Fertilizers.
(4) Feed, including its components, such as vitamins, amino
acids, and minerals.
(5) Veterinary drugs and vaccines.
(6) Crop protection chemicals.
(7) Seed.
(8) Any other critical agricultural inputs, as determined
by the Secretary.
(d) Collection, Distribution, and Protection of Information.--
(1) Voluntary basis.--In conducting an assessment under
subsection (a), the Secretary may not require any private
entity to provide information to the Secretary.
(2) Aggregate data.--In the case of information provided to
the Secretary to conduct an assessment under subsection (a),
neither the Secretary, any other officer or employee of the
Department of Agriculture or agency thereof, nor any other
person may--
(A) use such information for a purpose other than
the development or reporting of aggregate data in a
manner such that the identity of the person who
supplied such information is not discernible and is not
material to the intended uses of such information; or
(B) disclose such information to the public, unless
such information has been transformed into a
statistical or aggregate form that does not allow the
identification of the person who supplied particular
information.
(3) Confidentiality.--The Secretary shall ensure that
assessments submitted under subsection (a) do not include any
information that is a trade secret or confidential information
subject to section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code, or
section 1905 of title 18, United States Code.
(4) Immunity from disclosure.--Any information provided to
the Secretary as part of an assessment conducted under
subsection (a) may not be used by the Secretary for any purpose
other than to carry out such subsection.
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