Bill Summary
The Securing American Agriculture Act is a bill that was introduced in the United States Congress. Its purpose is to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to publish an annual assessment of the United States' dependency on critical agricultural products or inputs from China, and to make recommendations for reducing this dependency. This bill is also known as the "Securing American Agriculture Act." The assessment will include information on the current domestic production capacity of critical inputs and potential bottlenecks in their supply chain that could be exploited by China. The bill also requires the Secretary to recommend ways to mitigate potential threats and reduce barriers to producing these critical inputs domestically. The critical inputs include farm management, agronomic, and field-applied production inputs such as agricultural equipment, fuel, fertilizers, feed, veterinary drugs, and crop protection chemicals. The bill also includes measures to protect the confidentiality of information provided for the assessment. Overall, this legislation aims to decrease the United States' reliance on China for critical agricultural products and inputs and improve the security of the American agricultural industry.
Possible Impacts
1. Increased costs for consumers: If the Secretary of Agriculture determines that the United States is heavily dependent on agricultural products or inputs from China, the recommendations for reducing this dependency could lead to increased costs for consumers. This could be due to the need for new regulations or the increased cost of producing these products domestically.
2. Job loss in the agricultural industry: The recommendations to reduce the United States' dependency on Chinese agricultural products could also lead to job loss in the agricultural industry. This could be due to a decrease in demand for these products or the need for more domestic production, which may require fewer workers.
3. Limiting access to critical inputs: If the Secretary of Agriculture determines that certain agricultural inputs are critical and could be exploited by China, this could lead to limited access to these inputs. This could affect farmers and their ability to effectively manage their farms and produce crops, potentially leading to lower yields and financial losses.
[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1995 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1995
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
March 10, 2025
Mrs. Hinson (for herself, Mr. Krishnamoorthi, Mr. Moolenaar, Ms.
Tokuda, Mr. Scott Franklin of Florida, Ms. Davids of Kansas, Mr.
Newhouse, Mr. Carson, Mr. Alford, Mr. Cline, Mr. Finstad, Mrs. Miller-
Meeks, and Mr. Moore of North Carolina) 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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