PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Jul 17, 2007
National Agriculture and Food Defense Act of 2007 - States that: (1) the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) shall lead federal, state, local, tribal, and private efforts to enhance the protection of critical U.S. infrastructure and key resources, including the agriculture and food system; (2) the Secretary of Agriculture shall lead federal efforts relating to agriculture, meat, poultry, and egg food products; (3) the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) shall lead federal efforts relating to other food products; and (4) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shall lead federal efforts relating to drinking water and waste water.
Establishes in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS): (1) a Chief Medical Officer who shall serve as the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs; and (2) the agriculture and food defense rotational expertise program.
Establishes in the Department of Agriculture the position of Under Secretary for Protection, Preparedness, and Response.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
Directs the Secretary of HHS to coordinate the public health surveillance of zoonotic diseases.
Directs the Secretary to: (1) prepare and submit to the appropriate congressional committees the national agriculture and food defense strategy; (2) carry out vulnerability assessments of the agriculture and food system; (3) implement mitigation strategies to protect critical production and processing nodes from diseases, pests, and poisonous agents; (3) ensure that combined federal, state, and local capabilities are adequate to respond to a terrorist attack, disease outbreak, or other disaster affecting the U.S. agriculture and food system; (4) assist the states with food and agriculture protection activities; and (5) establish the Food and Agriculture Government Coordinating Council.
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) develop a national veterinary stockpile; (2) develop a national plant disease recovery system; (3) establish a National Veterinary Stockpile Advisory Committee; (4) carry out a program (Agricultural Biosecurity Corps) to develop veterinary leaders with epidemiological expertise to respond to animal agriculture threats; (5) develop a national plant diagnostic network; (6) develop a national food emergency response network; (7) develop a national animal health laboratory network; (8) identify an increased production capacity goal for the rendering industry to meet animal disposal needs following a catastrophic animal disease outbreak; and (9) conduct a study of irradiation technology use to enhance food defense capabilities.
Directs the Secretaries concerned to submit an integrated food system defense budget.
Directs the Administrator to provide assistance to state, local, and tribal governments in assessing, decontaminating, and recovering from an agriculture or food emergency.
People & committees
Sen. Burr, Richard [R-NC] · R–NC
Legislative record
A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR 7/18/2007 S9475-9476)
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Aug 14, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
AI Conversation Starters
Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.
Analyze S.1804 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.
Examine S.1804 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.
Examine S.1804 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.
Examine S.1804 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.