Title: To direct the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with other appropriate entities, to develop and carry out a national science-based education campaign to increase public awareness regarding the use of technology in food and agriculture production, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to:
USDA may use publicly available social media platforms in supplementing the national science-based education campaign and as an extension of such website.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6386 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6386

  To direct the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with other 
appropriate entities, to develop and carry out a national science-based 
 education campaign to increase public awareness regarding the use of 
 technology in food and agriculture production, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 16, 2018

    Mr. Dunn (for himself and Mr. Lawson of Florida) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with other 
appropriate entities, to develop and carry out a national science-based 
 education campaign to increase public awareness regarding the use of 
 technology in food and agriculture production, 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. PUBLIC EDUCATION ON BIOTECHNOLOGY IN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE 
              SECTORS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with 
the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Education, 
and such other persons and organizations as the Secretary of 
Agriculture determines to be appropriate, shall develop and carry out a 
national science-based education campaign to increase public awareness 
regarding the use of technology in food and agriculture production, 
including--
            (1) the science of biotechnology as applied to the 
        development of products in the food and agricultural sectors, 
        including information about which products of biotechnology in 
        the food and agricultural sectors have been approved for use in 
        the United States;
            (2) the Federal science-based regulatory review process for 
        products made using biotechnology in the food and agricultural 
        sectors conducted under the Coordinated Framework for 
        Regulation of Biotechnology published by the Office of Science 
        and Technology Policy in the Federal Register on June 26, 1986 
        (51 Fed. Reg. 23302), including the studies performed and 
        analyses conducted to ensure that such products are as safe to 
        produce and as safe to eat as products that are not produced 
        using biotechnology;
            (3) developments in the science of plant and animal 
        breeding over time and the impacts of such developments on 
        farmers, consumers, the environment, and the rural economy; and
            (4) the effects of the use of biotechnology on food 
        security, nutrition, and the environment.
    (b) Consumer Friendly Informational Website.--The Secretary of 
Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the 
Office of Science and Technology Policy, and such other persons and 
organizations as the Secretary of Agriculture determines to be 
appropriate, shall develop, establish, and update as necessary, a 
single Federal Government-sponsored public Internet website through 
which the public may obtain, in an easy to understand and user-friendly 
format, information about biotechnology used in the food and 
agricultural sectors, including--
            (1) scientific findings and other data on biotechnology 
        used in the food and agricultural sectors;
            (2) Federal agencies' decisions regarding specific products 
        made using biotechnology in the food and agricultural sectors;
            (3) a list of frequently asked questions pertaining to the 
        use of biotechnology in the food and agricultural sectors;
            (4) an easy-to-understand description of the role of 
        Federal agencies in overseeing the use of biotechnology in the 
        food and agricultural sectors;
            (5) information about novel, emerging technologies within 
        the broader field of biotechnology; and
            (6) a glossary of terms with respect to biotechnology used 
        in the food and agricultural sectors.
    (c) Social Media Resources.--The Secretary of Agriculture may, as 
appropriate, utilize publicly available social media platforms to 
supplement the campaign established under subsection (a), and as an 
extension of the website established under subsection (b).
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