[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 912 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 912
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to publish, on an annual basis,
an assessment of United States dependency on critical agricultural
products or inputs from the People's Republic of China, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 10, 2025
Mr. Ricketts (for himself, Mr. Risch, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Schmitt, Mr.
Crapo, Ms. Lummis, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. Barrasso, Mr. Scott of Florida,
and Ms. Slotkin) introduced the following bill; which was read twice
and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to publish, on an annual basis,
an assessment of United States dependency on critical agricultural
products or inputs from the People's Republic of China, 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Securing American Agriculture Act''.
SEC. 2. CRITICAL AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS OR INPUTS ASSESSMENT.
(a) In General.--On an annual basis, the Secretary of Agriculture
(referred to in this section as the ``Secretary'') shall submit to the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives an assessment
of the dependency of the United States on critical agricultural
products or inputs that could be exploited in the event the People's
Republic of China weaponizes any such dependency.
(b) Contents.--Each report under subsection (a) shall--
(1) address, with respect to the critical inputs described
in subsection (c)--
(A) the current domestic production capacity of
each critical input; and
(B) the current and potential bottlenecks in the
supply chain for each critical input that could be
exploited by the People's Republic of China; and
(2) contain recommendations of the Secretary, in
consultation with the United States Trade Representative, the
Secretary of Commerce, and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs,
to reduce the dependency of the United States on the People's
Republic of China to supply critical agricultural products or
inputs, including recommendations--
(A) to mitigate potential threats posed by the
People's Republic of China to the supply chains of each
critical input described in subsection (c); and
(B) for legislative and regulatory actions to
reduce barriers to onshore or nearshore production of
each such critical input.
(c) Description of Critical Inputs.--The critical inputs referred
to in subsection (b) include all farm management, agronomic, and field-
applied production inputs, including each of the following:
(1) Agricultural equipment, machinery, and technology.
(2) Fuel.
(3) Fertilizers.
(4) Feed, including its components, such as vitamins, amino
acids, and minerals.
(5) Veterinary drugs and vaccines.
(6) Crop protection chemicals.
(7) Seed.
(8) Any other critical agricultural inputs, as determined
by the Secretary.
(d) Collection, Distribution, and Protection of Information.--
(1) Voluntary basis.--In conducting an assessment under
subsection (a), the Secretary shall not require any private
entity to provide information to the Secretary.
(2) Aggregate data.--In the case of information provided to
the Secretary to conduct an assessment under subsection (a),
the Secretary, any other officer or employee of the Department
of Agriculture or agency thereof, or any other person shall
not--
(A) use that information for a purpose other than
the development or reporting of aggregate data in a
manner such that the identity of the person that
supplied the information is not--
(i) discernible; or
(ii) material to the intended uses of the
information; or
(B) disclose that information to the public, unless
the information has been transformed into a statistical
or aggregate form that does not allow the
identification of the person that supplied particular
information.
(3) Confidentiality.--The Secretary shall ensure that the
assessments under subsection (a) do not include any information
that is a trade secret or confidential information subject to--
(A) section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States
Code; or
(B) section 1905 of title 18, United States Code.
(4) Immunity from disclosure.--Information provided to the
Secretary as part of an assessment conducted under subsection
(a) shall not be used by the Secretary for any purpose other
than to carry out that subsection.
<all>