September 3, 2025
Mr. Padilla (for himself and Mr. Young) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
To improve connections between the Department of Agriculture and national and homeland security agencies, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Agriculture and National Security Act
.
Sec. 2. Sense of Congress
It is the sense of Congress that—
(1)
food and agriculture are critical to the national security of the United States; and
(2)
additional efforts are needed to identify national security vulnerabilities related to food and agriculture, particularly with regard to emerging technologies.
Sec. 3. Agriculture and national security
(a) Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for National Security
(1) Establishment
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this section as Secretary
) shall—
(A)
establish within the Office of the Secretary the position of Assistant Secretary for National Security; and
(B)
appoint an individual to the position of Assistant Secretary for National Security.
(2) Authorization
Section 218(a) of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6918(a)) is amended—
(A)
in paragraph (2), by striking and
;
(B)
in paragraph (3), by striking the period and inserting ; and
; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following:
(4)
Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for National Security.
(3) Duties
Section 218 of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6918) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(d) Duties of Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for National Security
The Secretary may delegate to the Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for National Security responsibility for—
(1)
serving as the principal advisor to the Secretary on national security;
(2)
acting as the primary liaison on behalf of the Department with the National Security Council and other Federal departments and agencies in activities relating to national security;
(3)
coordinating national security activities across the Department, including—
(A)
the activities of the Office of Homeland Security established under section 221;
(B)
the activities of the Intelligence Community Counterintelligence Office established under section 7318 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (50 U.S.C. 3384);
(C)
the implementation of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.); and
(D)
the implementation of section 721 of the Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4565); and
(4)
coordinating with stakeholders to identify national security vulnerabilities and risk mitigation strategies relevant to food and agriculture, particularly with regard to emerging technologies and issues, including biotechnology, artificial intelligence, drones, cybersecurity, and supply chain vulnerabilities.
(b) Interagency coordination
Section 221(e) of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6922(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(3) Detailees authorized
The Secretary may provide detailees to, and accept and employ personnel detailed from, defense, national and homeland security, law enforcement, and intelligence agencies, with or without reimbursement, to improve information sharing, vulnerability identification, and risk mitigation related to food and agriculture.
(c) Biennial reports
Section 221 of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6922) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(f) Biennial reports
Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, and not less frequently than once every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress and the National Security Council a report that includes—
(1)
from the perspective of the Department, an assessment of any gaps or limitations in national security efforts related to food and agriculture in the United States, including—
(A)
influence of foreign state-owned enterprise;
(B)
control of and access to agricultural data;
(C)
foreign acquisition of intellectual property, agricultural assets, and land;
(D)
agricultural input shortages and dependence on foreign-sourced inputs;
(E)
supply chain and trade disruptions;
(F)
science and technology cooperation;
(G)
cybersecurity and artificial intelligence;
(H)
unequal investments in research, development, and scale-up;
(I)
incongruent regulatory policies; and
(J)
other vulnerabilities throughout the food and agriculture sector, particularly with regard to emerging technologies;
(2)
the actions taken by the Secretary to address any gaps or limitations identified under paragraph (1), including through interagency coordination, threat information sharing, and stakeholder outreach;
(3)
policy recommendations, including recommendations for executive actions and legislative proposals—
(A)
to reduce any gaps or limitations identified under paragraph (1); and
(B)
to address any identified vulnerabilities with respect to the gaps or limitations identified under paragraph (1); and
(4)
resources the Department requires to address current and future national security vulnerabilities related to food and agriculture, including gaps in personnel or access to cleared systems.
(d) Conforming amendment
Section 296(b) of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(11)
The authority of the Secretary to carry out the amendments made to this title by the Agriculture and National Security Act.