[Senate Report 112-240]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress } { Report
2d Session } SENATE { 112-240
_______________________________________________________________________
Calendar No. 553
SAFEGUARDING AMERICAN AGRICULTURE ACT OF 2012
__________
R E P O R T
of the
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
UNITED STATES SENATE
to accompany
S. 1673
TO ESTABLISH THE OFFICE OF AGRICULTURE INSPECTION WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT
OF HOMELAND SECURITY, WHICH SHALL BE HEADED BY THE ASSISTANT
COMMISSIONER FOR AGRICULTURE INSPECTION, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
November 26, 2012.--Ordered to be printed
----------
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Washington, DC 20402-0001
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN, Connecticut, Chairman
CARL LEVIN, Michigan SUSAN M. COLLINS, Maine
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii TOM COBURN, Oklahoma
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware SCOTT P. BROWN, Massachusetts
MARK L. PRYOR, Arkansas JOHN McCAIN, Arizona
MARY L. LANDRIEU, Louisiana RON JOHNSON, Wisconsin
CLAIRE McCASKILL, Missouri ROB PORTMAN, Ohio
JON TESTER, Montana RAND PAUL, Kentucky
MARK BEGICH, Alaska JERRY MORAN, Kansas
Michael L. Alexander, Staff Director
Beth M. Grossman, Deputy Staff Director and Chief Counsel
Blas Nunez-Neto, Professional Staff Member
Carly A. Covieo, Professional Staff Member
Christine K. West, Staff Director, Subcommittee on Oversight of
Government
Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
Jessica K. Nagasako, Professional Staff Member, Subcommittee on
Oversight of Government
Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia
Nicholas A. Rossi, Minority Staff Director
Mark B. LeDuc, Minority General Counsel
Ryan M. Kaldahl, Minority Director of Homeland Security Policy
Christopher J. Burford, Minority CBP Detailee
Trina Driessnack Tyrer, Chief Clerk
Calendar No. 553
112th Congress } { Report
2d Session } SENATE { 112-240
=======================================================================
SAFEGUARDING AMERICAN AGRICULTURE ACT OF 2012
_______
November 26, 2012.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Lieberman, from the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1673]
The Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 1673) to establish
the Office of Agriculture Inspection within the Department of
Homeland Security, which shall be headed by the Assistant
Commissioner for Agriculture Inspection, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and recommends
that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Summary..............................................1
II. Background and Need for the Legislation..........................2
III. Legislative History..............................................6
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill..........................7
V. Estimated Cost of Legislation....................................8
VI. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact..................................9
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill.........................9
I. Purpose and Summary
S. 1673, the Safeguarding American Agriculture Act of 2012,
seeks to improve the oversight and administration of a
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) program charged with
inspecting all agricultural and biological products entering
the United States that safeguards America against the
accidental or deliberate introduction of harmful non-native
pests and disease from other countries. It does so by
strengthening the Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
agriculture specialist workforce and its capabilities, and
authorizing interagency rotations with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) to improve the program's efficiency and
effectiveness.
II. Background and Need for the Legislation
Over the past several decades, there has been increasing
integration of the world's economies and significant growth in
international commerce and travel. While these changes have
brought enormous benefits to the United States, the increased
number of travelers and goods coming to the United States have
also sometimes brought with them unwanted and harmful
stowaways--in the form of non-native animals and plants as well
as disease agents and other biological products--that can have
the potential to wreak havoc on our existing ecosystems or
spread disease. Failure to detect and intercept non-native
pests and disease agents that enter the United States can
impose serious economic and social costs on all Americans.\1\
USDA estimates that foreign pests and diseases cost the U.S.
economy tens of billions of dollars annually in lower crop
values, eradication programs, emergency payments to farmers,
and increased costs for food and natural resources.\2\ For
instance, invasive wood-boring pests, such as the Emerald Ash
Borer and the Asian Longhorned Beetle, cost homeowners an
estimated $830 million a year in lost property values and cost
local governments an estimated $1.7 billion a year as a result
of damaged trees and woodlands.\3\ Furthermore, the potential
for a disease or a biological weapon to be smuggled across the
border by a terrorist represents a serious threat to our
homeland security. These high costs highlight the importance of
ensuring that invasive species and other biological threats are
detected during agricultural import and entry inspection
operations at ports of entry.
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\1\U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border
Protection and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Report of the APHIS-CBP Joint Task
Force on Improved Agriculture Inspection, at 1 (June 2007). Available
at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/downloads/
aphis_cbp_taskforce/FinalReport.pdf.
\2\Statement of Lisa Shames, Director of Natural Resources and
Environment, U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Agricultural
Quarantine Inspection Program: Management Problems May Increase
Vulnerability of U.S. Agriculture to Foreign Pests and Diseases,
Hearing to Examine the Joint Performance of APHIS, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, and CBP, U.S. Department of Homeland Security in
Protecting U.S. Agriculture From Foreign Pests and Diseases before the
Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture, Committee on
Agriculture, U.S. House of Representatives, GAO-08-96T, at 1 (October
3, 2007). Available at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d0896t.pdf.
\3\J.E. Aukema, B. Leung, K. Kovacs, C. Chivers, K.O. Britton, et
al. Economic Impacts of Non-Native Forest Insects in the Continental
United States, PLoS One 6(9): e24587, at 1, 5 (September 9, 2011).
Available at: http://www.plosone.org/article/
info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0024587.
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Federal inspection of agriculture products at ports of
entry has a long history, dating back a century to the Plant
Quarantine Act of 1912.\4\ Currently, the Agricultural
Quarantine Inspection (AQI) program is the primary Federal
program aimed at preventing invasive species from entering the
U.S., by inspecting arriving international cargo and goods
transported by passengers. Intercepted pests and disease agents
are quarantined, identified, and the cargo is either destroyed
or returned to its country of origin.
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\4\37 Stat. 315, codified at 7 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 151-164a (1912).
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Prior to 2002, USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) had sole responsibility for inspecting
agricultural goods entering the U.S. The Homeland Security Act
of 2002, which created the Department of Homeland Security,\5\
transferred AQI import and entry agriculture inspection
responsibilities to DHS, while USDA's APHIS retained
responsibility for setting agriculture quarantine and
inspection policies and procedures. In addition to agriculture
inspection responsibilities, the Homeland Security Act also
gave responsibility to DHS for customs, immigration, and border
security functions.\6\ Previously, federal customs, immigration
and agriculture inspections responsibilities at ports of
entry--though they might all come into play with respect to an
individual traveler--were distributed among three different
departments--Treasury, Justice and Agriculture, respectively.
The reorganization mandated by the Homeland Security Act was
intended to enhance coordination and information sharing at our
ports of entry by consolidating these functions and their
associated personnel within a single new agency.\7\
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\5\Pub. L. No. 107-296, 116 Stat. 2135 (2002).
\6\Id. Section 421 of the Act transferred agricultural inspection
functions from USDA to DHS; section 403 transferred Customs functions
from the U.S. Department of Treasury's U.S. Customs Service to DHS; and
section 44 transferred the Border Patrol from the U.S. Department of
Justice's Immigration and Naturalization Service to DHS.
\7\Committee on Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate, Report of the
Committee on Governmental Affairs, United States Senate Together with
Additional Views to Accompany S. 2452, To Establish the Department of
National Homeland Security and the National Office for Combating
Terrorism, S. Report 107-175, at 9-10 (June 24, 2002). Available at:
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CRPT-107srpt175/pdf/CRPT-107srpt175.pdf.
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Nonetheless, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the consolidation
efforts brought challenges as well as benefits, as the new
Department sought to integrate previously separate workforces
and cultures. In the years immediately following the creation
of CBP, several reports identified issues with the efficiency
and effectiveness of agricultural inspection activities that
had been transferred from USDA. For example, in 2005, the USDA
Office of Inspector General (OIG) concluded that APHIS could
not effectively assess whether CBP was implementing adequate
safeguards to protect U.S. agriculture. The OIG cited several
challenges, including CBP's submission of inadequate risk
assessments to APHIS, APHIS personnel being denied adequate
access to ports, CBP failing to provide APHIS with data on the
staffing levels and deployment of agricultural inspectors, and
CBP and APHIS having differing viewpoints on the roles of each
agency in the agricultural inspection process, among others.\8\
The USDA OIG recommended that APHIS establish better ways to
coordinate with CBP.\9\
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\8\USDA Office of Inspector General (OIG), Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service: Transition and Coordination of Inspection
Activities between USDA and DHS, Report No. 33601-0005-Ch, at i-v
(March 2005). Available at: http://www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/33601-05-
CH.pdf.
\9\Id. at i.
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The following year, in May 2006, the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) observed that CBP and USDA faced
management and coordination problems that increased U.S.
vulnerability to foreign pests and diseases. GAO found that CBP
had not developed a risk-based staffing model to determine
necessary staffing levels and that it had not developed
sufficient performance measures for agricultural inspections or
used the inspection and interception data CBP did have to
evaluate the performance of the AQI program. GAO also concluded
that CBP and APHIS continued to experience information sharing
problems, including APHIS not being notified by CBP of changes
to inspections policies and urgent inspection alerts.\10\ GAO
made seven recommendations, including that the Secretaries of
Homeland Security and Agriculture adopt meaningful performance
measures, establish a process to identify and assess major
risks, develop a staffing model to determine adequate staffing
levels at ports, and improve information sharing between the
departments and to the field.\11\
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\10\GAO, Homeland Security: Management and Coordination Problems
Increase the Vulnerability of U.S. Agriculture to Foreign Pests and
Disease, GAO-06-644, at 4-5 (May 19, 2006). Available at: http://
www.gao.gov/new.items/d06644.pdf.
\11\Id. at 38-39.
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In November 2006, GAO published the results of a survey of
CBP's agriculture specialists on their work experiences before
and after the transfer to DHS. GAO's survey revealed that
approximately 60 percent of agriculture specialists who
responded said they were performing fewer inspections and
making fewer interceptions. The same number expressed the view
that CBP managers did not respect their work.\12\ In addition,
the second most frequent response to the question on what is
going well was ``nothing is going well.''\13\ GAO concluded
that the results of the survey ``suggested morale issues among
CBP agriculture specialists.''\14\
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\12\GAO, Agriculture Specialists' Views of Their Work Experiences
After Transfer to DHS, GAO-07-209R, at 2, 23-24 (November 14, 2006).
Available at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/100/94532.pdf.
\13\Id. at 2.
\14\Id.
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In February 2007, the DHS OIG and the USDA OIG released the
findings of a follow-up joint review to the 2005 USDA OIG
report. The joint review revealed that CBP still had not
developed an agriculture specialist staffing model and that CBP
did not have adequate performance measures.\15\ The report
recommended that CBP develop a staffing model and comprehensive
nationwide staffing plan, as well as comprehensive performance
measures.\16\
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\15\DHS OIG and USDA OIG, Review of Customs and Border Protection's
Agriculture Inspection Activities, OIG-07-32, at 5-6 (February 2007).
Available at: http://www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/OIG_07-32_Feb07.pdf.
\16\Id. at 6-7.
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To address some of these findings and recommendations,
APHIS and CBP established a Joint Task Force to examine the
state of the agriculture mission and organizations. In June
2007, a Report of the APHIS-CBP Joint Task Force on Improved
Agriculture Inspection made several recommendations to address
key issue areas, such as establishing a career ladder for
agriculture specialists, developing tools to evaluate
agriculture risk and staffing criteria, identifying and
creating training opportunities, and ensuring that those
staffing the agricultural mission have adequate equipment and
supplies to do their jobs.\17\ The Joint Task Force recognized
the importance of building and maintaining institutional
knowledge by providing opportunities for agriculture
specialists to advance their careers, as well as the need for
effective joint planning efforts.\18\ The Joint Task Force
developed implementation action plans for each key issue area
and is overseeing the implementation of these plans.
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\17\Supra note 1, at 3-4.
\18\Id. at 5.
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On October 27, 2011, the CBP Honolulu Area Port Director
testified before this Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight of
Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District
of Columbia. He reported that the agency had taken steps to
address its agriculture specialist workforce challenges and
improve coordination with APHIS. For instance, he described CBP
plans to improve recruitment and retention for agriculture
specialists. Additionally, he stated that CBP was in the
process of creating a comprehensive agriculture specialists
career track for entry-level specialists and working to
establish a formal interagency rotation program with APHIS.\19\
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\19\Safeguarding Hawaii's Ecosystem and Agriculture Against
Invasive Species before the Subcommittee on Oversight of Government
Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia,
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs (October 27,
2011) (statement of Bruce W. Murley, Area Port Director, Honolulu, CBP,
DHS), at 5.
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Most recently, in September 2012, GAO released a report
following up on the recommendations that it made in its 2006
report.\20\ In the new report, GAO concludes that DHS fully
implemented the 2006 recommendations to improve information
sharing between DHS and USDA on concerns and urgent alerts.\21\
GAO also identified training as an area of improvement since
2006.\22\ And, encouragingly, GAO found some improvement in the
morale of agriculture specialists.\23\
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\20\GAO, Homeland Security: Agriculture Inspection Program Has Made
Some Improvements, but Management Challenges Persist, GAO-12-885
(September 27, 2012). Available at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/650/
648921.pdf
\21\Id. at 8
\22\Id. at 23-25
\23\Id. at 22-23. In one small sign of improvement from the 2006
survey, ``nothing is going well'' was one of the least common responses
reported in 2012.
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At the same time, GAO notes a number of remaining
challenges. Agriculture specialists, for example, continued to
voice concerns about CBP's management of the agricultural
inspections process as well as the perceived lack of
prioritization of the agriculture mission.\24\ In addition, not
all of GAO's 2006 recommendations have been fully implemented.
GAO found, for example, that while CBP and APHIS have expanded
the use of existing performance measures, these measures are
not sufficient to assess all aspects of their performance.\25\
Further, while efforts have been undertaken to implement a
risk-based staffing model, the staffing model is not yet
complete. According to GAO, this is in part due to anticipation
that the model would call for significant staff increases, and
resources are not available for such an increase in this fiscal
environment. GAO recommended that DHS create a plan to address
resource constraints.\26\
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\24\Id. 26-29
\25\Id. at 11
\26\Id. 13-14
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The Committee believes that these continuing concerns make
legislative action appropriate. To address some of the
recommendations made by these various reports, and to reinforce
the efforts of the APHIS-CBP Joint Task Force, S. 1673 seeks to
further develop CBP's agriculture specialist workforce, to
ensure that needed equipment is provided, and to strengthen the
partnership between CBP and APHIS. To maintain a highly skilled
and motivated agriculture specialist workforce, S.1673 would
require CBP to identify appropriate career paths for CBP
agriculture specialists and to provide them the opportunity to
acquire the education, training, and experience necessary to
qualify for promotion within CBP. S. 1673 would also require
CBP to develop plans to improve agriculture specialist
recruitment and retention, and to ensure agriculture
specialists have the necessary equipment and resources to
effectively carry out their mission. Additionally, S. 1673
directs the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Agriculture to
establish an interagency rotation program for CBP and APHIS
personnel in order to strengthen critical working relationships
and to promote interagency experience. The Committee believes
that the bill, as amended, will ensure that CBP and APHIS
enhance their processes for ensuring that dangerous biological
pests and agricultural products do not enter the country.
A broad range of organizations have endorsed S. 1673. Those
supporting the bill include the National Association of State
Departments of Agriculture, National Treasury Employees Union,
Dole Fresh Fruit Company, Sunkist Growers, Western Growers,
Louisville Slugger, California Association of Nurseries and
Garden Centers, The Nature Conservancy, National Farmers Union,
Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation, California Farm Bureau
Federation, San Diego Farm Bureau, Coordinating Group on Alien
Pests Species, American Forest Foundation, American Nursery and
Landscape Association, Department of Natural Resources at
Cornell University, The Davey Institute, Greenspace-the Cambria
Land Trust, International Maple Syrup Institute, Massachusetts
Association of Campground Owners, National Association of
Exotic Pest Plant Councils, North American Maple Syrup Council,
Inc. Oregon Invasive Species Council, Society of American
Florists, Society of Municipal Arborists, Department of Plant
Science and Landscape Architecture at the University of
Maryland, Virginia Native Plant Society, and Nisei Farmers
League.\27\
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\27\These letters of endorsement are on file in the offices of the
Committee.
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III. Legislative History
Senators Akaka and Feinstein introduced S. 1673 on October
6, 2011. The bill was referred to the Committee on Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs. Senator Gillibrand joined as
a cosponsor on March 8, 2012, and Senator Carper joined as a
cosponsor on July 18, 2012.
On October 27, 2011, the Subcommittee on Oversight of
Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District
of Columbia held a hearing on the ways that government agencies
and stakeholders are collaborating to prevent invasive species
from entering the United States. Witnesses at the hearing
included the Honorable Neil Abercrombie, Governor of the State
of Hawaii; the Honorable Clifton K. Tsuji, Chairman of the
House Committee on Agriculture of the Hawaii State Legislature;
the Honorable Clarence K. Nishihara, Chairman of the Senate
Committee on Agriculture of the Hawaii State Legislature; Dr.
Lyle Wong, Plant Industry Administrator of the Hawaii
Department of Agriculture; Bruce W. Murley, Area Port Director
for Honolulu in the Office of Field Operations at CBP; Vernon
Harrington, State Plant Health Director of Plant Protection and
Quarantine at APHIS; and George Phocas, Resident-Agent-in-
Charge of the Office of Law Enforcement, Fish and Wildlife
Service, at the U.S. Department of the Interior.
On April 25, 2012, the Committee considered the measure,
and Senator Akaka offered an amendment in the nature of a
substitute and an amendment to amend the bill title. The
substitute amendment deleted a provision in the introduced
version of S. 1673 that would have created a new Office of
Agricultural Inspection within CBP. The Committee concluded
that the bill's other provisions ensured adequate emphasis on
the importance of CBP's agricultural mission. The other
amendment altered the bill title to reflect the fact that this
new office was no longer included in the bill.
The Committee adopted both amendments by voice vote on
April 25, 2012. The Committee then adopted S. 1673, as amended,
by voice vote, and ordered it reported favorably to the Senate
on April 25, 2012. Members present for the vote on the
substitute amendment were Senators Lieberman, Akaka, Carper,
McCaskill, Begich, Collins, Coburn and Johnson. Members present
for the vote on the amendment changing the bill title, and
reporting S. 1673 favorably were Senators Lieberman, Levin,
Akaka, Carper, McCaskill, Begich, Collins, Coburn, Brown, and
Johnson.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Bill
Section 1. Short title
This section provides that the short title of the bill is
the ``Safeguarding American Agriculture Act of 2012.''
Section 2. Enhanced Agricultural Inspection Functions
Section 2 adds a new section 421a (6 U.S.C. Sec. 231a) to
the Homeland Security Act of 2002. The following descriptions
refer to the subsections of the new statutory section.
Subsection (a)--Agriculture Specialist Career Track. This
subsection requires the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting
through the Commissioner of CBP, to identify appropriate career
paths for CBP agriculture specialists, including identifying
the education, training, experience, and assignments necessary
for career progression within CBP. The Secretary is to publish
information on these career paths and may establish criteria by
which appropriately qualified CBP technicians may be promoted
to agriculture specialists.
Subsection (b)--Education, Training, and Experience. This
subsection requires the Secretary, acting through the
Commissioner, to provide agriculture specialists opportunities
to gain education, training, and experience that are necessary
for promotion within CBP.
Subsection (c)--Agriculture Specialist Recruitment and
Retention. This subsection requires the Secretary, acting
through the Commissioner, to develop a plan to improve
agriculture specialist recruitment and retention. The plan must
address numerical recruitment and retention goals and the use
of recruitment incentives.
Subsection (d)--Equipment Support. This subsection requires
the Secretary, acting through the Commissioner, to determine
the minimum equipment and other resources necessary to enable
agriculture specialists to fully and effectively carry out
their mission; inventory the equipment and other resources
available; identify needed equipment and other resources that
are not available; and develop a plan to address any resource
deficiencies.
Subsection (e)--Interagency Rotation. This subsection
authorizes the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary
of Agriculture to enter into an agreement establishing
interagency rotations between APHIS and CBP to strengthen
working relationships and promote interagency experience.
Section 3. Report
This section requires the Secretary, acting through the CBP
Commissioner, within 270 days of enactment, to submit a report
to this Committee and the Committee on Homeland Security of the
House of Representatives that describes the implementation
status of the action plans developed by the APHIS-CBP Joint
Task Force; the findings and plans required under section 421a
of the Homeland Security Act (as created by section 2 of this
bill); and any additional legal authority the Secretary of
Homeland Security determines is necessary to effectively carry
out the agriculture inspection mission of DHS.
V. Estimated Cost of Legislation
June 1, 2012.
Hon. Joseph I. Lieberman,
Chairman, Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, U.S.
Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1673, the
Safeguarding American Agriculture Act of 2012.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark
Grabowicz.
Sincerely,
Douglas W. Elmendorf.
Enclosure.
S. 1673--Safeguarding American Agriculture Act of 2012
CBO estimates that implementing S. 1673 would cost about $1
million from appropriated funds in fiscal year 2013 and
negligible amounts in subsequent years. Enacting the
legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
S. 1673 would direct the Department of Homeland Security
(DHS) to provide opportunities for promotion of agriculture
specialists working for Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The bill also would require DHS to develop plans to better
recruit and retain agriculture specialists and to upgrade
equipment and other resources available to such employees. In
addition, S. 1673 would authorize DHS and the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) to rotate personnel in CBP and the Animal
and Plant Health Inspection Service (in USDA) to promote
interagency experience.
Based on information from DHS, we estimate that it would
cost about $1 million in 2013 to carry out the bill's
activities. CBO anticipates that S. 1673 would not require
implementing the plan to acquire upgraded equipment or other
resources for agriculture specialists. If DHS sought
appropriated funds to acquire additional equipment, the cost to
implement this legislation would be greater.
S. 1673 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Mark Grabowicz.
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
VI. Evaluation of Regulatory Impact
Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 11(b) of rule
XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee has
considered the regulatory impact of this bill. The Committee
concurs with the Congressional Budget Office, which states that
S. 1673, as amended, contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments. The legislation would have no other regulatory
impact.
VII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the following changes in existing
law made by the bill, as reported, are shown as follows:
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
HOMELAND SECURITY ACT OF 2002 (6 U.S.C. Sec. Sec. 101, et seq.)
TITLE IV--DIRECTORATE OF BORDER AND TRANSPORTATION SECURITY (6 U.S.C.
201, et seq.)
Subtitle C--Miscellaneous Provisions
SEC. 421. TRANSFER OF CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL INSPECTION FUNCTIONS OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. (6 U.S.C. 231)
* * * * * * *
SEC. 421A. AGRICULTURE SPECIALISTS.
(a) Agriculture Specialist Career Track.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the
Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection--
(A) shall identify appropriate career paths
for customs and border protection agriculture
specialists, including the education, training,
experience, and assignments necessary for
career progression within U.S. Customs and
Border Protection;
(B) shall publish information on the career
paths identified under subparagraph (A); and
(C) may establish criteria by which
appropriately qualified customs and border
technicians may be promoted to customs and
border protection agriculture specialists.
(b) Education, Training, and Experience.--The Secretary,
acting through the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, shall provide customs and border protection
agriculture specialists the opportunity to acquire the
education, training, and experience necessary to qualify for
promotion within U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
(c) Agriculture Specialist Recruitment and Retention.--Not
later than 270 days after the date of the enactment of the
Safeguarding American Agriculture Act of 2012, the Secretary,
acting through the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, shall develop a plan to more effectively recruit
and retain qualified customs and border protection agriculture
specialists. The plan shall include--
(1) numerical goals for recruitment and retention;
and
(2) the use of recruitment incentives, as appropriate
and permissible under existing laws and regulations.
(d) Equipment Support.--Not later than 270 days after the
date of the enactment of the Safeguarding American Agriculture
Act of 2012, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border
Protection shall--
(1) determine the minimum equipment and other
resources that are necessary at U.S. Customs and Border
Protection agriculture inspection stations and
facilities to enable customs and border protection
agriculture specialists to fully and effectively carry
out their mission;
(2) complete an inventory of the equipment and other
resources available at each U.S. Customs and Border
Protection agriculture inspection station and facility;
(3) identify the necessary equipment and other
resources that are not currently available at
agriculture inspection stations and facilities; and
(4) develop a plan to address any resource
deficiencies identified under paragraph (3).
(e) Interagency Rotations.--The Secretary of Homeland
Security and the Secretary of Agriculture are authorized to
enter into an agreement that--
(1) establishes an interagency rotation; and
(2) provides for personnel of the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service of the Department of
Agriculture to take rotational assignments within U.S.
Customs and Border Protection and vice versa for the
purposes of strengthening working relationships between
agencies and promoting interagency experience.''.
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