The Securing Our Agriculture and Food Act recently passed through both the Senate and House of Representatives in a bipartisan fashion. It now awaits the final approval of President Trump. The language in the bill helps to clarify what the role of the Department of Homeland Security is as it works with other federal agencies to prevent agricultural terrorism. The DHS Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs is the official charged with collaborating between agencies to keep America’s food supply safe. However, the act does not supersede the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture when it comes to food and agriculture. Iowa Republican Representative David Young first authored the bill in 2016 and again this year. It was largely in response to the avian influenza outbreak of 2015, the costliest animal outbreak in U.S. history.
An analysis from the Congressional Budget Office says the bill would cost less than $500,000 a year to implement and would not affect direct spending or revenues.
Source: NAFB News Service