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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5277 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 5277

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to publish, on an annual basis, 
  an assessment of United States dependency on critical agricultural 
 products or inputs from the People's Republic of China, and for other 
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 25, 2024

 Mr. Ricketts (for himself, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Braun, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. 
 Cornyn, Mrs. Capito, Mrs. Fischer, Ms. Lummis, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Risch, 
 Mr. Scott of Florida, and Mr. Schmitt) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, 
                        Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to publish, on an annual basis, 
  an assessment of United States dependency on critical agricultural 
 products or inputs from the People's Republic of China, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Securing American Agriculture Act''.

SEC. 2. CRITICAL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS OR INPUTS STUDY.

    (a) In General.--On an annual basis, the Secretary of Agriculture 
(referred to in this section as the ``Secretary'') shall submit to the 
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the 
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives an assessment 
of the dependency of the United States on critical agricultural 
products or inputs that could be exploited in the event the People's 
Republic of China weaponizes any such dependency.
    (b) Contents.--Each report under subsection (a) shall--
            (1) address, with respect to the critical inputs described 
        in subsection (c)--
                    (A) the current domestic production capacity of 
                each such critical input; and
                    (B) the current and potential bottlenecks in the 
                supply chain for each such critical input that could be 
                exploited by the People's Republic of China; and
            (2) contain the recommendations of the Secretary, in 
        consultation with the United States Trade Representative, the 
        Secretary of Commerce, and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, 
        to reduce the dependency of the United States on the People's 
        Republic of China to supply critical agricultural products or 
        inputs, including recommendations--
                    (A) to mitigate potential threats posed by the 
                People's Republic of China to the supply chains of each 
                critical input described in subsection (c); and
                    (B) for legislative and regulatory actions to 
                reduce barriers to onshore or nearshore production of 
                each such critical input.
    (c) Critical Inputs.--The critical inputs referred to in subsection 
(b) include all farm management, agronomic, and field-applied 
production inputs, including each of the following:
            (1) Agricultural equipment, machinery, and technology.
            (2) Fuel.
            (3) Fertilizers.
            (4) Feed, including its components, such as vitamins, amino 
        acids, and minerals.
            (5) Veterinary drugs and vaccines.
            (6) Crop protection chemicals.
            (7) Seed.
            (8) Any other critical agricultural inputs, as determined 
        by the Secretary.
    (d) Collection, Distribution, and Protection of Information.--
            (1) Voluntary basis.--In conducting an assessment under 
        subsection (a), the Secretary shall not require any private 
        entity to provide information to the Secretary.
            (2) Aggregate data.--In the case of information provided to 
        the Secretary to conduct an assessment under subsection (a), 
        the Secretary, any other officer or employee of the Department 
        of Agriculture or agency thereof, or any other person shall 
        not--
                    (A) use that information for a purpose other than 
                the development or reporting of aggregate data in a 
                manner such that the identity of the person that 
                supplied the information is not--
                            (i) discernible; or
                            (ii) material to the intended uses of the 
                        information; or
                    (B) disclose that information to the public, unless 
                the information has been transformed into a statistical 
                or aggregate form that does not allow the 
                identification of the person that supplied particular 
                information.
            (3) Confidentiality.--The Secretary shall ensure that the 
        assessments under subsection (a) do not include any information 
        that is a trade secret or confidential information subject to--
                    (A) section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States 
                Code; or
                    (B) section 1905 of title 18, United States Code.
            (4) Immunity from disclosure.--Information provided to the 
        Secretary as part of an assessment conducted under subsection 
        (a) shall not be used by the Secretary for any purpose other 
        than to carry out that subsection.
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