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# NEWS RELEASE

**CONGRESSMAN ADAM PUTNAM (FL-12)**

For Immediate Release Contact: George Rasley

October 31, 2001 202-225-1252

941-269-6826

## PUTNAM INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO FIGHT AG TERRORISM 

### Congressman Says U.S. Must Rethink How It Protects Food Supply

**WASHINGTON** -- Congressman Adam Putnam (FL-12), Vice Chairman of the
Government Reform Committee's Subcommittee on National Security,
Veterans' Affairs and International Relations today introduced
legislation to reform the federal government's fragmented system for
fighting terrorist attacks against America's agricultural infrastructure
and food supply. In a prepared statement released upon formally
introducing the bill Putnam pointed out that, "The Administration has
made it clear that we can expect further attacks on our homeland. Our
subcommittee hearings established that one of the most likely targets
for a terrorist attack is our food supply. We must move quickly to
protect Americans from the health and economic consequences of such an
attack."

Putnam, who advocated improving federal agricultural inspections and
border protection long before the September 11 terrorist attacks on New
York and Washington, said "Earlier this year our subcommittee held a
number of hearings on strategies for strengthening and improving our
response to a terrorist, particularly a bio-terrorist, attack. Merging
the information we developed during those hearings with some of the new
policy proposals discussed in the Agriculture Committee during the
European hoof-and-mouth disease outbreak last spring is the starting
point of my bill."

"It is important for us to remember that many bio-terror agents are
primarily animal diseases," said Putnam. "It may be much more difficult
to thwart a terrorist attack on a major agricultural commodity growing
or processing area than to fight a human disease outbreak. The
government must improve its system for detecting and limiting the spread
of agricultural diseases in anticipation of terrorists using one to
attack our agricultural infrastructure and food supply."

Putnam said he expected amendments to the bill and that he is working
closely with other Members of Congress and the Administration in
crafting a final bill to bring quickly to the House floor, "My approach
to this is to make preventing agro-terrorism an important part of our
Homeland Security effort by breaking down the barriers to cooperation
between agencies and remaking the way we think about protecting our
borders and detecting and fighting agricultural diseases," concluded
Putnam

A brief summary of *The Food Safety and Agricultural Terrorism
Prevention and Response Act of 2001* is attached; the introduced copy of
the bill should be available later today, October 31, 2001.

-30-

*The Food Safety and Agricultural Terrorism Prevention and Response Act
of 2001*

**Introduced by Rep. Adam H. Putnam, October 31, 2001**

**[Findings]{.underline}**

The size and value of the U.S. food and agricultural system make it a
vulnerable terrorist target. The agricultural sector accounts for some
13% of the U.S. gross domestic product. By virtue of its significance to
the American economy, U.S. agriculture may be vulnerable to a
bio-terrorism incident specifically targeted at key animal or plant
commodities. U.S. agriculture must focus on preparedness and protection
of American agriculture's infrastructure and the nation's food supply.

Targeted terrorists activities could include the deliberate
introduction, through the processing or food supply system, of chemical
or biological agents that could be harmful or infectious to crops,
livestock, or humans. U.S. agriculture is particularly susceptible to
foreign disease, to which domestic animals and plants have not built up
a natural resistance. With crops and animals concentrated in fewer
production facilities, and with the frequency of transport among these
facilities, introduction of a single pathogen could cause widespread
infection.

An awareness of this threat has increased within the intelligence and
counterterrorism communities, and efforts must be undertaken to position
agriculture to anticipate and deal with such a threat. The U.S.
Department of Agriculture's internal and external agency structures must
be improved to enable to the U.S. agricultural industry to fully
identify its strengths and vulnerabilities in the face of an
agricultural bioterrorism threat, and position key agencies such as USDA
as a critical component of America's collaborative Homeland Security
infrastructure to deal with agricultural bio-terrorist threats to our
nation's food supply.

**[Section 1]{.underline}**

**Proposed measures to ensure the security of American agricultural
production:**

**A.** [Strengthen Interagency Coordination]{.underline} - Greater
coordination between enforcing government agencies is necessary to
effectively address potential agricultural bioterrorism threats. Primary
agencies of concentration include:

-   U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal Health Inspection
    Service (APHIS)

-   U.S. Customs Service

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-   State Departments of Agriculture

-   Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

B.  [Increased Surveillance, Detection and Interdiction]{.underline} -
    Greater financial and staff resources should be dedicated to state
    and federal government agencies for the detection and interdiction
    of agricultural bioterrorism threats. Critical among these
    priorities are increasing the number of inspectors and detection
    devices at ports of entry for the interception of prohibited and
    damaging agricultural products or agriculturally related products.

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B.  [Agricultural Terrorism Representation on Homeland Security Task
    Force]{.underline} -- An agricultural liaison on bioterrorism shall
    be appointed to report to the Homeland Security Office and serve as
    a liaison on all matters involving agricultural security and
    agricultural bioterrorism threats.

C.  [Treatment of Agricultural Bioterrorism]{.underline} --Threats of
    agricultural bio-terrorism should be receive the same level of
    priority as those of other terrorism threats, and should be treated
    in a highly coordinated and integrated manner.

D.  [Diagnostic Facilities]{.underline} - Increased financial resources
    are needed by federal diagnostic facilities to more accurately and
    efficiently identify hazardous diseases and substances. (The Plum
    Island Research Laboratory and Ames Research facilities.) A
    Biosaftey Level 4 facility shall be established within USDA at the
    Plum Island Diagnostic Laboratory, to create the diagnostic tests
    and vaccines needed to protect the U.S. meat industry from acts of
    biological terrorism and disease, such as the Nipah virus. The
    Biosaftey Level 4 facility shall be designed to prevent contact
    between microorganisms and personnel as well as escape into the
    environment. A database shall be established to link animal and
    human disease information systems

## [Section 2]{.underline} 

Addressing vulnerabilities of the U.S. agricultural and food supply
system to bio-terrorism

A. (1) [Interagency Agricultural Bioterrorism Committee]{.underline} -
An Interagency Agricultural Bioterrorism Committee shall be established
to coordinate a federal agricultural counter terrorism effort for the
protection of America's food supply. The Committee shall prepare a plan
defining each agency's role in safeguarding our nation's agricultural
production, processing and marketing systems. The responsibilities of
the Interagency Agricultural Bioterrorism Committee should include:
improved domestic crisis planning and management criteria; the
safeguarding of critical infrastructures in agriculture and the nation's
food supply system: and conducting research to enhance Counterterrorism
capabilities.

> \(2\) [Interagency Coordination]{.underline} -- The USDA shall
> continue and strengthen cooperation with the National Security Council
> (NSC), the Department of Justice and other departments and agencies
> with responsibilities under Presidential Decision Directive (PDD) 62
> concerning USDA's role in the Administration's counter terrorism
> programs. USDA shall engage in active partnership in the NSC's Weapons
> of Mass Destruction Preparedness Group focusing on USDA's role
> regarding food and agricultural protection issues.

B. [USDA Intra Agency Systems]{.underline} -- USDA Counterterrorism
Policy Council, established in 1999 and chaired by the Deputy Secretary,
shall continue to serve as the USDA's senior policy forum for
coordinating and leveraging departmental-wide support for bio-terrorism
issues.

C . [Agricultural Industry Involvement]{.underline} - USDA shall
establish an Industry Working Group on Agricultural Bioterrorism
comprised of producer, processing, distribution and retail organizations
that shall serve in a consultative manner with the Department to develop
measures to counteract terrorists' threats on America's food supply.
USDA shall also establish a Biosecurity Training Programs for
agricultural producers to counter the threat of pests and disease at the
farm level, and convey critical information to agricultural producers.