Agricultural Security Assistance Act of 2005

Bill: 109-s-573
Sponsor: Sen. Akaka, Daniel K. [D-HI]
Introduced: 2005-03-09 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Administrative procedure
Agricultural education
Agricultural machinery
Agricultural research
Agriculture in foreign trade
Animal diseases
Animals
Armed Forces and National Security
Biological warfare
Commerce
Congress
Congressional reporting requirements
Crime and Law Enforcement
Department of Health and Human Services
Department of Homeland Security
Department of Transportation
Disaster relief
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Emergency Management
Emergency medicine
Employee training
Environmental Protection
Epidemiology
Evidence (Law)
Executive reorganization
Federal-Indian relations
Federal-local relations
Federal-state relations
Food safety
Food supply
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government publicity
Governmental investigations
Grants-in-aid
Health
Higher education
Imports
Injunctions
International Affairs
International cooperation
Interstate commerce
Labor and Employment
Law
Livestock
Local laws
Medical education
Minorities
Pest control
Pharmaceutical research
Plant diseases
Plant protection
Preventive medicine
Research and development facilities
Science, Technology, Communications
State courts
State laws
Terrorism
Transportation and Public Works
Transportation safety
Treaties
Vaccines
Veterinary medicine

Summary:
action_date: 2005-03-09
text: 
Agricultural Security Assistance Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) determine the best use of epidemiologists, computer modelers, and statisticians as members of emergency response task forces that handle foreign or emerging agricultural disease emergencies, and identify necessary data for proper modeling and analysis of such emergencies; (2) provide grants to States to use a geographic information system or statistical model for an epidemiological assessment in the event of such an emergency; (3) implement an on-farm biosecurity awareness campaign, and a biosecurity grant pilot program; (4) require that Department of Agriculture-accredited veterinarians be trained to recognize foreign animal diseases; and (5) prepare studies on foreign plant disease vaccines and the establishment of a national plant disease laboratory.
 
Provides for regional, State, local, and international agricultural preparedness and information sharing. Sets forth responsibilities of the Departments of Agriculture, State, Transportation, and Homeland Security, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
 
Directs the Attorney General to review State and local laws relating to agroterrorism and biosecurity to determine: (1) the extent to which the laws facilitate or impede implementation of a Federal agricultural disease response plan; (2) whether a State injunction could delay implementation of such a plan, or affect an agricultural disease's spread; and (3) the legal evidence that may be required by a State court before a response plan may be implemented. 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2005-07-29
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S9433-9434)
action_date: 2005-03-09
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. (text of measure as introduced: CR S2389-2391)
action_date: 2005-03-09
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S2387-2388)
action_date: 2005-03-09
text: Introduced in Senate