S. 4420Senate118th Congress (2023-2025)In Committee

Agriculture and National Security Act of 2024

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Updated January 20, 2026 at 4:59 PM UTC

The Agriculture and National Security Act of 2024 directs the Department of Agriculture to treat national security as a core priority alongside homeland security. It creates a new Senior Advisor for National Security to coordinate USDA’s work with the National Security Council and other federal agencies, and it requires regular reporting on food‑and‑agriculture security risks. The bill affects USDA staff, other federal security agencies, and stakeholders in the food and agriculture sector.

Key Provisions

Establishes a Senior Advisor for National Security within the USDA Office of the Secretary, to be appointed within 180 days and serve as the primary liaison with the National Security Council and other agencies.
Mandates the USDA to increase staff with security clearances and access to classified systems to support national security work.
Amends the USDA Reorganization Act to allow the department to detail personnel to and receive personnel from defense, security, law‑enforcement, and intelligence agencies for better information sharing and risk mitigation.
Requires the Secretary to submit biennial reports to Congress and the National Security Council assessing gaps in food and agriculture security, actions taken, policy recommendations, and resource needs.

Legislative Activity

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1 earlier action

SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee

May 23, 2024

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

May 23, 2024

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee

May 23, 2024

Floor Debate

2 members

What members said about S. 4420 on the floor

2 Democrats

Sen. Alex PadillaD-CA · May 23, 2024

Madam President, I rise to introduce the Agriculture and National Security Act and the Agricultural Biotechnology Coordination Act. These bills aim to bolster the global competitiveness of the United States agricultural sector in emerging biotechnology and to address security vulnerabilities across the food and agriculture sector.

Through the work of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology, we have developed these proposals aimed at improving coordination between Agencies to accelerate agricultural biotechnology products and to include the U.S. Department of Agriculture, USDA, in important national security discussions to enhance our capabilities on disease surveillance, food security, agriculture data

security, and many other critical issues.

Agricultural biotechnology is a rapidly evolving field consisting of traditional breeding techniques and genetic engineering, among other methods, to alter living organisms into new or modified agricultural products for a variety of uses. Advances in agricultural biotechnology provide farmers with tools that can make production more efficient and manageable, which is critical for keeping pace with demands for food and our national security.

In 1986, the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology was established to provide for the regulatory oversight of organisms derived through genetic engineering. The approach taken in the Coordinated Framework is grounded in the judgment of the National Academy of Sciences that the potential risks associated with these organisms fall into the same general categories as those created by traditionally bred organisms.

The Agricultural Biotechnology Coordination Act would establish an Office of Biotechnology Policy at the USDA to support internal and interagency coordination, development of biotechnology policies, activities, and regulations, and to consult with biotechnology stakeholders and leaders.

The Agriculture and National Security Act would create the position of Senior Advisor for National Security within the USDA Office of the Secretary, appoint a detailee at USDA to liaison with national security Agencies, and direct the USDA to publish a report on national security food chain vulnerabilities.

Importantly, this legislation is supported by the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology, which was chartered by Congress to conduct a review of how advancement in emerging biotechnology will shape current and future activities of the Department of Defense.

Strengthening America's longstanding leadership in biotechnology through promoting interagency coordination and appointing high-level officials to promote emerging biotechnology issues in agriculture is critical for maintaining national security, trade security, food security, and assessing any vulnerabilities throughout the food and agriculture sector.

Moreover, developments in agricultural biotechnology hold immense potential to revolutionize the agricultural sector and enhance food, trade, and economic security, particularly in the face of historic heat waves and rising temperatures caused by the climate crisis.

Agricultural biotechnology has allowed scientists to, for example, identify climate-resilient plant genes and species able to withstand weather extremes. Drought, flooding, and wildfires not only pose significant threat to farmers' livelihoods but also reliability in our food systems and consumers. In addition, genetically engineered plants have been bred to tolerate specific herbicides, protect against pests and diseases, and enhance nutritional capacity.

I would like to thank Senator Todd Young for introducing these bills with me, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass the Agricultural Biotechnology Coordination Act and the Agriculture and National Security Act as quickly as possible.

Sen. Richard J. DurbinD-IL · May 23, 2024

Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued May 23, 2024

118th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. 4420

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

May 23, 2024

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

A BILL

To improve connections between the Department of Agriculture and national and homeland security agencies, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Agriculture and National Security Act of 2024.

Sense of Congress relating to agriculture and national security

It is the sense of Congress that there are increasingly robust Federal activities to address homeland security vulnerabilities across the food and agriculture sector, including with regard to agriculture and food defense, critical infrastructure, emergency management, and catastrophic events, but additional efforts are needed to identify national security vulnerabilities related to food and agriculture, particularly with regard to emerging technologies.

National security

(a)

In general

In recognition that food and agriculture are critical to the national security of the United States, the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this Act as the Secretary) shall prioritize national security in addition to homeland security in the Department of Agriculture (referred to in this Act as the Department), including by increasing the number of staff at the Department with security clearances and access to classified systems and networks.

(b)

Senior Advisor for National Security

(1)

Appointment

Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall—

(A)

establish within the Office of the Secretary the position of Senior Advisor for National Security (referred to in this Act as the Senior Advisor); and

(B)

appoint an individual to the position of Senior Advisor.

(2)

Duties

The Senior Advisor shall, in coordination with and complementary to the duties of the Office of Homeland Security of the Department—

(A)

serve as the principal advisor to the Secretary on national security;

(B)

act 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;

(C)

coordinate national security activities across the Department, including to ensure that national security concerns are integrated into the homeland security activities of the Department wherever appropriate; and

(D)

communicate with stakeholders to identify national security vulnerabilities and risk mitigation strategies relevant to food and agriculture.

(c)

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.

(d)

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 Act, 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.