Protecting America's Food and Agriculture Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4482 To increase the number of CBP Agriculture Specialists and support staff in the Office of Field Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES SEPTEMBER 24, 2019 Mr. VELA (for himself, Mr. PETERSON, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. COSTA, and Mrs. AXNE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Homeland Security, and in addi- tion to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently de- termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To increase the number of CBP Agriculture Specialists and support staff in the Office of Field Operations of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting America’s 4 Food and Agriculture Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDING. 6 Congress finds that— 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Sep 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4482.IH H4482 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4482 IH (1) it is in the national security interest of the 1 United States to ensure that the Nation’s food sup- 2 ply is sufficiently protected; and 3 (2) a vital part of such protection is the avail- 4 ability of adequate resources at the border to con- 5 duct inspections of incoming food and agricultural 6 goods. 7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 8 In this Act: 9 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 10 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 11 mittees’’ means— 12 (A) the Committee on Homeland Security 13 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 14 (B) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri- 15 tion, and Forestry of the Senate; 16 (C) the Committee on Homeland Security 17 of the House of Representatives; and 18 (D) the Committee on Agriculture of the 19 House of Representatives. 20 (2) CBP.—The term ‘‘CBP’’ means U.S. Cus- 21 toms and Border Protection. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Sep 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4482.IH H4482 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4482 IH SEC. 4. ADDITIONAL U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTEC- 1 TION PERSONNEL. 2 (a) CBP AGRICULTURE SPECIALISTS.—The Commis- 3 sioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection may hire, 4 train, and assign 240 new CBP Agriculture Specialists 5 above the current attrition level during every fiscal year 6 until the total number of CBP Agriculture Specialists 7 equals and sustains the requirements identified each year 8 in the Agriculture Resource Allocation Model. 9 (b) MISSION AND OPERATIONAL SUPPORT STAFF.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commissioner of U.S. 11 Customs and Border Protection may hire, train, and 12 assign support staff to support CBP Agriculture 13 Specialists. 14 (2) CBP AGRICULTURE TECHNICIANS.—The 15 Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protec- 16 tion may hire, train, and assign 200 new CBP Agri- 17 culture Technicians during each fiscal year until the 18 total number of CBP Agriculture Technicians equals 19 and sustains the requirements identified each year in 20 the Mission and Operational Support Resource Allo- 21 cation Model. 22 (c) CBP AGRICULTURE CANINE TEAMS.—The Com- 23 missioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection may 24 hire, train, and assign 20 new CBP agriculture canine 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Sep 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4482.IH H4482 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4482 IH teams during each of the first 3 fiscal years beginning 1 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 2 (d) TRAFFIC FORECASTS.—In calculating the num- 3 ber of CBP Agriculture Specialists needed at each port 4 of entry through the Agriculture Resource Allocation 5 Model, the Office of Field Operations shall— 6 (1) rely on data collected regarding the inspec- 7 tions and other activities conducted at each such 8 port of entry; and 9 (2) consider volume from seasonal surges, other 10 projected changes in commercial and passenger vol- 11 umes, the most current commercial forecasts, and 12 other relevant information. 13 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 14 (1) CBP AGRICULTURE SPECIALISTS.—There is 15 authorized to be appropriated to carry out sub- 16 section (a)— 17 (A) $29,900,000 for fiscal year 2020; 18 (B) $36,100,000 for fiscal year 2021; and 19 (C) $40,500,000 for fiscal year 2022. 20 (2) CBP AGRICULTURE TECHNICIANS.—There 21 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out sub- 22 section (b)— 23 (A) $11,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 24 (B) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Sep 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4482.IH H4482 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4482 IH (C) $38,000,000 for fiscal year 2022. 1 (3) CBP AGRICULTURE CANINE TEAMS.—There 2 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out sub- 3 section (c)— 4 (A) $3,500,000 for fiscal year 2020; 5 (B) $7,400,000 for fiscal year 2021; and 6 (C) $12,200,000 for fiscal year 2022. 7 (4) TRAINING.—There is authorized to be ap- 8 propriated for training costs associated with the new 9 CBP personnel and canine teams hired pursuant to 10 subsections (a), (b), and (c) $6,000,000 for each of 11 the fiscal years 2020, 2021, and 2022. 12 SEC. 5. GAO STUDY, BRIEFING, AND REPORT. 13 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 14 States, after consultation with the appropriate congres- 15 sional committees, shall conduct a review of the efforts 16 of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department 17 of Agriculture, and other Federal agencies to address risks 18 to the agricultural supply that analyzes— 19 (1) interagency coordination and the distribu- 20 tion of responsibilities among Federal agencies with 21 respect to the inspection of agricultural commodities 22 entering the United States; 23 (2) the effectiveness of such inspection respon- 24 sibilities among Federal agencies; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Sep 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4482.IH H4482 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4482 IH (3) the training provided to, and working condi- 1 tions of, CBP Agriculture Specialists. 2 (b) BRIEFING.—Not later than 1 year after the date 3 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 4 brief the appropriate congressional committees regarding 5 the results of the study conducted pursuant to subsection 6 (a). 7 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the brief- 8 ing required under subsection (b), the Comptroller Gen- 9 eral shall complete the study required under subsection (a) 10 and make the results of the study available to the public. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:41 Sep 28, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4482.IH H4482 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS