I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7062 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to periodically assess cybersecurity 

threats to, and vulnerabilities in, the agriculture and food critical infrastructure sector and to provide recommendations to enhance their security and resilience, to require the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct 

an annual cross-sector simulation exercise relating to a food-related emergency or disruption, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 22, 2024 

Mr. FINSTAD (for himself, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, Ms. 

TOKUDA, Mr. BACON, Ms. CARAVEO, Mrs. HINSON, Mr. SOTO, Mr. 

MOOLENAAR, Mr. JACKSON of Texas, Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. 

NUNN of Iowa, Mr. ALFORD, and Mr. SMUCKER) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to periodically assess 

cybersecurity threats to, and vulnerabilities in, the agriculture and food critical infrastructure sector and to 

provide recommendations to enhance their security and 

resilience, to require the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct an annual cross-sector simulation exercise relating 

to a food-related emergency or disruption, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Farm and Food Cyber3 security Act of 2024’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) AGRICULTURE AND FOOD CRITICAL INFRA7 STRUCTURE SECTOR.—The term ‘‘agriculture and 

8 food critical infrastructure sector’’ means— 

9 (A) any activity relating to the production, 

10 processing, distribution, storage, transportation, 

11 consumption, or disposal of agricultural or food 

12 products; and 

13 (B) any entity involved in an activity de14 scribed in subparagraph (A), including a farm15 er, rancher, processor, manufacturer, dis16 tributor, retailer, consumer, and regulator. 

17 (2) CYBERSECURITY THREAT; DEFENSIVE

18 MEASURE; INCIDENT; SECURITY VULNERABILITY.— 

19 The terms ‘‘cybersecurity threat’’, ‘‘defensive meas20 ure’’, ‘‘incident’’, and ‘‘security vulnerability’’ have 

21 the meanings given those terms in section 2200 of 

22 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 650). 

23 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of Agriculture. 


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1 SEC. 3. ASSESSMENT OF CYBERSECURITY THREATS AND 

2 SECURITY VULNERABILITIES IN THE AGRI3 CULTURE AND FOOD CRITICAL INFRASTRUC4 TURE SECTOR. 

5 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary shall conduct a study, on 

6 a biennial basis, on the cybersecurity threats to, and secu7 rity vulnerabilities in, the agriculture and food critical in8 frastructure sector, including— 

9 (1) the nature and extent of cyberattacks and 

10 incidents that affect the agriculture and food critical 

11 infrastructure sector; 

12 (2) the potential impacts of a cyberattack or in13 cident on the safety, security, and availability of 

14 food products, as well as on the economy, public 

15 health, and national security of the United States; 

16 (3) the current capability and readiness of the 

17 Federal Government, State and local governments, 

18 and private sector entities to prevent, detect, re19 spond to, and recover from cyberattacks and inci20 dents described in paragraph (2); 

21 (4) the existing policies, standards, guidelines, 

22 best practices, and initiatives applicable to the agri23 culture and food critical infrastructure sector to en24 hance defensive measures in that sector; 


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1 (5) the gaps, challenges, barriers, or opportuni2 ties for improving defensive measures in the agri3 culture and food critical infrastructure sector; and 

4 (6) any recommendations for Federal legislative 

5 or administrative actions to address the cybersecu6 rity threats to, and security vulnerabilities in, the 

7 agriculture and food critical infrastructure sector. 

8 (b) BIENNIAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

9 the date of enactment of this Act, and every 2 years there10 after, the Secretary shall submit a report on each study 

11 conducted under subsection (a) to— 

12 (1) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

13 and Forestry of the Senate; 

14 (2) the Committee on Homeland Security and 

15 Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 

16 (3) the Committee on Agriculture of the House 

17 of Representatives; and 

18 (4) the Committee on Homeland Security of the 

19 House of Representatives. 

20 SEC. 4. FOOD SECURITY AND CYBER RESILIENCE SIMULA21 TION EXERCISE. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in coordina23 tion with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Sec24 retary of Health and Human Services, the Director of Na25 tional Intelligence, and the heads of other relevant Federal 


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1 agencies, shall conduct, over a 5-year period, an annual 

2 cross-sector crisis simulation exercise relating to a food3 related emergency or disruption (referred to in this section 

4 as an ‘‘exercise’’). 

5 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of each exercise are— 

6 (1) to assess the preparedness and response ca7 pabilities of Federal, State, Tribal, local, and terri8 torial governments and private sector entities in the 

9 event of a food-related emergency or disruption; 

10 (2) to identify and address gaps and 

11 vulnerabilities in the food supply chain and critical 

12 infrastructure; 

13 (3) to enhance coordination and information 

14 sharing among stakeholders involved in food produc15 tion, processing, distribution, and consumption; 

16 (4) to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency 

17 of existing policies, programs, and resources relating 

18 to food security and resilience; 

19 (5) to develop and disseminate best practices 

20 and recommendations for improving food security 

21 and resilience; and 

22 (6) to identify key stakeholders and categories 

23 that were missing from the exercise to ensure the in24 clusion of those stakeholders and categories in fu25 ture exercises. 


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1 (c) DESIGN.—Each exercise shall— 

2 (1) involve a realistic and plausible scenario 

3 that simulates a food-related emergency or disrup4 tion affecting multiple sectors and jurisdictions; 

5 (2) incorporate input from experts and stake6 holders from various disciplines and sectors, includ7 ing agriculture, public health, nutrition, emergency 

8 management, transportation, energy, water, commu9 nications, related equipment suppliers and manufac10 turers, and cybersecurity, including related academia 

11 and private sector information security researchers 

12 and practitioners; 

13 (3) use a variety of methods and tools, such as 

14 tabletop exercises, workshops, seminars, games, 

15 drills, or full-scale exercises; and 

16 (4) include participants from Federal, State, 

17 Tribal, local, and territorial governments and private 

18 sector entities that have roles and responsibilities re19 lating to food security and resilience. 

20 (d) FEEDBACK; REPORT.—After each exercise, the 

21 Secretary, in consultation with the heads of the Federal 

22 agencies described in subsection (a), shall— 

23 (1) provide feedback to, and an evaluation of, 

24 the participants in that exercise on their perform25 ance and outcomes; and 


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1 (2) produce, and submit to Congress, a report 

2 that summarizes, with respect to that exercise, the 

3 findings of that exercise, lessons learned from that 

4 exercise, and recommendations to enhance the cyber5 security and resilience of the agriculture and food 

6 critical infrastructure sector. 

7 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

8 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

9 $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 

Æ 


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