Sponsors (13)
Official title: To improve connections between the Department of Agriculture and national and homeland security agencies, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 20, 2026 by Stephanie I. Bice · Last progress January 20, 2026
The bill strengthens USDA's capacity to identify and coordinate responses to food and agriculture security threats through dedicated staff and reporting, but it may impose new costs, raise privacy and transparency concerns, and—because it creates limited binding authority or funding—might not ensure timely, concrete remediation.
Farmers, agricultural workers, and state and federal agricultural officials will gain an on‑site Senior Advisor at USDA plus cleared staff and detailees from defense, intelligence, and law enforcement, improving detection, information‑sharing, and coordinated responses to national‑security threats to the food and agriculture sector.
Taxpayers, Congress, and state governments will receive biennial reports to Congress and the National Security Council with assessments of vulnerabilities and resource needs and with actionable policy and resourcing recommendations to address supply‑chain, data, and foreign‑ownership risks.
The bill signals federal focus on food and agriculture security and highlights emerging technology risks, prompting targeted assessments and coordination that could help prevent disruptions to food production and distribution.
Because much of the bill is a non‑binding statement of priority rather than new authorities or guaranteed funding, stakeholders may not see timely, concrete action and could be left with unmet expectations.
Establishing cleared staff, detailees, and new advisor positions will increase USDA staffing and security costs that may require new appropriations or divert existing resources, imposing fiscal costs on taxpayers and operational tradeoffs for USDA programs.
Collecting and sharing sensitive agricultural data with security agencies raises privacy and commercial confidentiality concerns for producers, agribusinesses, and financial partners.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Directs USDA to prioritize national security by adding cleared staff, creating a senior advisor, enabling detailees with security agencies, and delivering biennial vulnerability assessments.
Requires the Department of Agriculture to treat national security as a formal priority for the food and agriculture sector by adding cleared staff, creating a senior advisor position, enabling detailees with defense and intelligence agencies, and producing a recurring federal assessment of national-security-related gaps and vulnerabilities in food and agriculture. Also expresses Congress's view that federal work on agriculture and food-sector homeland security has grown but more attention is needed, especially around emerging technologies.