,,ii  #aahth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #ddbj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #bc1      
#bjbd,mr4 ,padilla 7for himself and ,mr4
 ,young7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1
 and ,forestry  ,a ,,bill  ,to improve  
connections between the ,department of  
,agriculture and national and homeland  
security agencies1 and for other        
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,agriculture and    
,national ,security ,act of #bjbd4  #b4 
,sense of ,congress relating to         
agriculture and national security ,it is
 the sense of ,congress that there are  
increasingly robust ,federal activities 
to address homeland security            
vulnerabilities across the food and     
agriculture sector1 including with      
regard to agriculture and food defense1 
critical infrastructure1 emergency      
management1 and catastrophic events1 but
 additional efforts are needed to       

identify national security              
vulnerabilities related to food and     
agriculture1 particularly with regard to
 emerging technologies4  #c4 ,national  
security  7a7 ,in general ,in           
recognition that food and agriculture   
are critical to the national security of
 the ,united ,states1 the ,secretary of 
,agriculture 7referred to in this ,act  
as the ,secretary7 shall prioritize     
national security in addition to        
homeland security in the ,department of 
,agriculture 7referred to in this ,act  
as the ,department71 including by       
increasing the number of staff at the   
,department with security clearances and
 access to classified systems and       
networks4  7b7 ,senior ,advisor for     
,national ,security  7#a7 ,appointment  
,not later than #ahj days after the date
 of enactment of this ,act1 the         
,secretary shall-- 7,a7 establish within
 the ,office of the ,secretary the      
position of ,senior ,advisor for        
,national ,security 7referred to in this

 ,act as the ,senior ,advisor72 and     
7,b7 appoint an individual to the       
position of ,senior ,advisor4  7#b7     
,duties ,the ,senior ,advisor shall1 in 
coordination with and complementary to  
the duties of the ,office of ,homeland  
,security of the ,department-- 7,a7     
serve as the principal advisor to the   
,secretary on national security2  7,b7  
act as the primary liaison on behalf of 
the ,department with the ,national      
,security ,council and other ,federal   
departments and agencies in activities  
relating to national security2  7,c7    
coordinate national security activities 
across the ,department1 including to    
ensure that national security concerns  
are integrated into the homeland        
security activities of the ,department  
wherever appropriate2 and  7,d7         
communicate with stakeholders to        
identify national security              
vulnerabilities and risk mitigation     
strategies relevant to food and         
agriculture4  7c7 ,interagency          

coordination ,section #bba7;e7 of the   
,department of ,agriculture             
,reorganization ,act of #aiid 7#g       
,u4,s4,c4 #fibb7;e77 is amended by      
adding at the end the following3  7#c7  
,detailees authorized ,the ,secretary   
may provide detailees to1 and accept and
 employ personnel detailed from1        
defense1 national and homeland security1
 law enforcement1 and intelligence      
agencies1 with or without reimbursement1
 to improve information sharing1        
vulnerability identification1 and risk  
mitigation related to food and          
agriculture4  4  7d7 ,biennial reports  
,section #bba of the ,department of     
,agriculture ,reorganization ,act of    
#aiid 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #fibb7 is amended by
 adding at the end the following3  7f7  
,biennial reports ,not later than #ahj  
days after the date of enactment of this
 ,act1 and not less frequently than once
 every #b years thereafter1 the         
,secretary shall submit to ,congress and
 the ,national ,security ,council a     

report that includes-- 7#a7 from the    
perspective of the ,department1 an      
assessment of any gaps or limitations in
 national security efforts related to   
food and agriculture in the ,united     
,states1 including-- 7,a7 influence of  
foreign state-owned enterprise2  7,b7   
control of and access to agricultural   
data2  7,c7 foreign acquisition of      
intellectual property1 agricultural     
assets1 and land2  7,d7 agricultural    
input shortages and dependence on       
foreign-sourced inputs2  7,e7 supply    
chain and trade disruptions2  7,f7      
science and technology cooperation2     
7,g7 cybersecurity and artificial       
intelligence2  7,h7 unequal investments 
in research1 development1 and scale-up2 
7,i7 incongruent regulatory policies2   
and  7,j7 other vulnerabilities         
throughout the food and agriculture     
sector1 particularly with regard to     
emerging technologies2  7#b7 the actions
 taken by the ,secretary to address any 
gaps or limitations identified under    

paragraph 7#a71 including through       
interagency coordination1 threat        
information sharing1 and stakeholder    
outreach2  7#c7 policy recommendations1 
including recommendations for executive 
actions and legislative proposals-- 7,a7
 to reduce any gaps or limitations      
identified under paragraph 7#a72 and    
7,b7 to address any identified          
vulnerabilities with respect to the gaps
 or limitations identified under        
paragraph 7#a72 and  7#d7 resources the 
,department requires to address current 
and future national security            
vulnerabilities related to food and     
agriculture4  4