,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #bcic  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #ai1     
#bjbc,mr4 ,rounds 7for himself and ,ms4 
,cortez ,masto7 introduced the following
 bill2 which was read twice and referred
 to the ,committee on ,commerce1        
,science1 and ,transportation  ,a ,,bill
  ,to establish a food and agriculture  
cybersecurity clearinghouse in the      
,national ,telecommunications and       
,information ,administration1 and for   
other purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this 
,act may be cited as the ,food and      
,agriculture ,industry ,cybersecurity   
,support ,act4  #b4 ,,ntia food and     
agriculture cybersecurity clearinghouse 
7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 
,assistant ,secretary ,the term         
,assistant ,secretary means the         
,assistant ,secretary of ,commerce for  
,communications and ,information4  7#b7 
,cybersecurity risk ,the term           
cybersecurity risk has the meaning given
 the term in section #bbjj of the       

,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb 7#f   
,u4,s4,c4 #fej74  7#c7 ,cybersecurity   
threat ,the term cybersecurity threat   
has the meaning given the term in       
section #bbjj of the ,homeland ,security
 ,act of #bjjb 7#f ,u4,s4,c4 #fej74     
7#d7 ,food and agriculture industry ,the
 term food and agriculture industry     
means-- 7,a7 equipment and systems      
utilized in the food and agriculture    
supply chain1 such as computer vision   
algorithms for precision agriculture1   
grain silos1 and related food and       
agriculture storage infrastructure2     
7,b7 food and agriculture goods         
processors1 growers1 and distributors2  
and  7,c7 information technology systems
 of businesses engaged in farming1      
ranching1 planting1 harvesting1 food and
 agriculture product storage1 food or   
animal genetic modification1 the design 
or production of agrochemicals1 or the  
design or production of food and        
agriculture tools4  7#e7 ,incident ,the 
term incident has the meaning given the 

term in section #bbjj of the ,homeland  
,security ,act of #bjjb 7#f ,u4,s4,c4   
#fej74  7#f7 ,,ntia ,the term ,,ntia    
means the ,national ,telecommunications 
and ,information ,administration4  7#g7 
,sector ,risk ,management ,agency ,the  
term ,sector ,risk ,management ,agency  
has the meaning given the term in       
section #bbjj of the ,homeland ,security
 ,act of #bjjb 7#f ,u4,s4,c4 #fej74     
7#h7 ,security vulnerability ,the term  
security vulnerability has the meaning  
given the term in section #bbjj of the  
,homeland ,security ,act of #bjjb 7#f   
,u4,s4,c4 #fej74  7#i7 ,small business  
concern ,the term small business concern
 has the meaning given the term in      
section #c of the ,small ,business ,act 
7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcb74  7#aj7 ,software  
bill of materials ,the term software    
bill of materials has the meaning given 
the term in section #aj of ,executive   
,order #adjbh 7#hf ,fed4 ,reg4 #bffcc2  
relating to improving the nation's      
cybersecurity74  7b7 ,,ntia food and    

agriculture cybersecurity clearinghouse 
7#a7 ,establishment  7,a7 ,in general   
,not later than #ahj days after the date
 of enactment of this ,act1 the         
,assistant ,secretary shall establish in
 the ,,ntia a food and agriculture      
cybersecurity clearinghouse 7in this    
section referred to as the              
clearinghouse74  7,b7 ,requirements ,the
 clearinghouse shall-- 7i7 be publicly  
available online2  7ii7 contain current1
 relevant1 and publicly available       
cybersecurity resources focused on the  
food and agriculture industry1 including
 the recommendations described in       
paragraph 7#b71 and any other           
appropriate materials for reference by  
entities that develop products with     
potential security vulnerabilities for  
the food and agriculture industry2      
7iii7 contain a mechanism for           
individuals or entities in the food and 
agriculture industry to request         
in-person or virtual support from the   
,,ntia for cybersecurity related issues2

  7iv7 contain a section1 updated not   
less frequently than annually1 with     
answers to the top #bj most frequently  
asked questions relevant to the         
cybersecurity of the food and           
agriculture industry2 and  7v7 include  
materials specifically aimed at         
assisting small business concerns and   
non-technical users in the food and     
agriculture industry with critical      
cybersecurity protections related to the
 food and agriculture industry1         
including recommendations on how to     
respond to a ransomware attack and      
resources for additional information1   
including the ,stop ,ransomware website 
hosted by the ,cybersecurity and        
,infrastructure ,security ,agency of the
 ,department of ,homeland ,security4    
7,c7 ,existing platform or website ,the 
,assistant ,secretary may establish the 
clearinghouse on an online platform or a
 website that is in existence as of the 
date of enactment of this ,act4  7#b7   
,consolidation of food and agriculture  

industry cybersecurity recommendations  
7,a7 ,in general ,the ,assistant        
,secretary1 in consultation with the    
,administrator of the ,farm ,service    
,agency of the ,department of           
,agriculture and relevant ,sector ,risk 
,management ,agencies1 shall consolidate
 public and private sector best         
practices to produce a set of voluntary 
cybersecurity recommendations relating  
to the development1 maintenance1 and    
operation of the food and agriculture   
industry4  7,b7 ,requirements ,the      
recommendations consolidated under      
subparagraph 7,a7 shall include1 to the 
greatest extent practicable1 materials  
addressing the following3 7i7           
,risk-based1 cybersecurity-informed     
engineering1 including continuous       
monitoring and resiliency4  7ii7        
,planning for retention or recovery of  
positive control of systems in the food 
and agriculture industry in the event of
 a cybersecurity incident4  7iii7       
,protection against unauthorized access 

to critical functions of the food and   
agriculture industry4  7iv7             
,cybersecurity against threats to       
products of the food and agriculture    
industry throughout the lifetimes of    
those products4  7v7 ,how businesses in 
the food and agriculture industry should
 respond to ransomware attacks1         
including details on the legal          
obligations of those businesses in the  
event of such an attack1 including      
reporting requirements and ,federal     
resources for support4  7vi7 ,any other 
recommendations to ensure the           
confidentiality1 availability1 and      
integrity of data residing on or in     
transit through systems in the food and 
agriculture industry4  7#c7             
,implementation ,in implementing this   
subsection1 the ,assistant ,secretary   
shall-- 7,a7 to the extent practicable1 
consult with the private sector2  7,b7  
consult with non-,federal entities      
developing equipment and systems        
utilized in the food and agriculture    

industry1 including private1 consensus  
organizations that develop relevant     
standards2  7,c7 consult with the       
,director of the ,cybersecurity and     
,infrastructure ,security ,agency of the
 ,department of ,homeland ,security2    
7,d7 consult with food and agriculture  
industry trade groups2  7,e7 consult    
with relevant ,sector ,risk ,management 
,agencies2  7,f7 consult with civil     
society organizations2  7,g7 consult    
with the ,administrator of the ,small   
,business ,administration2 and  7,h7    
consider the development of an advisory 
board to advise the ,assistant          
,secretary on implementing this         
subsection1 including the collection of 
data through the clearinghouse and the  
disclosure of that data4  7c7 ,study    
7#a7 ,in general ,the ,comptroller      
,general of the ,united ,states shall   
conduct a study on the actions the      
,federal ,government has taken or may   
take to improve the cybersecurity of the
 food and agriculture industry4  7#b7   

,report ,not later than #ij days after  
the date of enactment of this ,act1 the 
,comptroller ,general shall submit to   
,congress a report on the study         
conducted under paragraph 7#a71 which   
shall include information on the        
following3 7,a7 ,the effectiveness of   
efforts of the ,federal ,government to  
improve the cybersecurity of the food   
and agriculture industry4  7,b7 ,the    
resources made available to the public1 
as of the date of the submission1 by    
,federal agencies to improve the        
cybersecurity of the food and           
agriculture industry1 including to      
address cybersecurity risks and         
cybersecurity threats to the food and   
agriculture industry4  7,c7 ,the extent 
to which ,federal agencies coordinate or
 duplicate authorities and take other   
actions for the improvement of the      
cybersecurity of the food and           
agriculture industry4  7,d7 ,whether an 
appropriate plan is in place to prevent 
or adequately mitigate the risks of a   

coordinated attack on the food and      
agriculture industry4  7,e7 ,the        
benefits of the ,food and               
,agriculture--,information ,sharing and 
,analysis ,center 7commonly known as the
 ,food and ,ag-,,isac7 established by   
the ,information                        
,technology-,information ,sharing and   
,analysis ,center and any additional    
needs of the ,food and ,ag-,,isac1      
including-- 7i7 required actions by1 and
 expected costs to1 the ,federal        
,government to enhance the ,food and    
,ag-,,isac2 and  7ii7 identification of 
industry and civil society partners that
 could assist the ,food and ,ag-,,isac4 
7,f7 ,the advantages and disadvantages  
of the creation by the ,assistant       
,secretary of a database containing a   
software bill of materials for the most 
common internet-connected hardware and  
software applications used in the food  
and agriculture industry and            
recommendations for how the ,assistant  
,secretary can maintain and update such 

database4  7#c7 ,coordination ,in       
carrying out paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b71  
the ,comptroller ,general shall         
coordinate with appropriate ,federal    
agencies1 including the following3 7,a7 
,the ,department of ,health and ,human  
,services4  7,b7 ,the ,department of    
,commerce4  7,c7 ,the ,department of    
,agriculture4  7,d7 ,the ,federal       
,communications ,commission4  7,e7 ,the 
,department of ,energy4  7,f7 ,the      
,small ,business ,administration4  7#d7 
,process for studying the ,food and     
,agriculture-,information ,sharing and  
,analysis ,center ,in studying the ,food
 and ,ag-,,isac for purposes of         
including in the report required by     
paragraph 7#b7 the information required 
by subparagraph 7,e7 of that paragraph1 
the ,comptroller ,general shall convene 
stakeholders that include civil society 
organizations1 individual food and      
agriculture producers1 and the ,federal 
agencies described in paragraph 7#c74   
7#e7 ,briefing ,not later than #ij days 

after the date on which the ,comptroller
 ,general submits the report under      
paragraph 7#b71 the ,comptroller        
,general shall provide to ,congress a   
briefing regarding the report4  7#f7    
,classification ,the report under       
paragraph 7#b7 shall be unclassified but
 may include a classified annex4  7d7   
,sunset ,this section shall have no     
force or effect after the date that is  
#g years after the date of enactment of 
this ,act4