7 U.S.C. § 6922 — Office of Homeland Security

Page 1922 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 6922 1 See References in Text note below. (iii) Vacancies Any vacancy in the Committee shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment not more than 90 days after the date on which the position becomes va- cant. (F) Meetings (i) In general The Committee shall meet in person not less than twice each year. (ii) Office of Tribal Relations representa- tive Not fewer than 1 representative from the Office of Tribal Relations of the Depart- ment shall be present at each meeting of the Committee. (iii) Department of Interior representative The Assistant Secretary for Indian Af- fairs of the Department of the Interior (or a designee) shall be present at each meet- ing of the Committee. (iv) Nonvoting representatives The individuals described in clauses (ii) and (iii) shall be nonvoting representatives at meetings of the Committee. (4) Duties of Committee The Committee shall— (A) identify evolving issues of relevance to Indian tribes relating to programs of the De- partment; (B) communicate to the Secretary the issues identified under subparagraph (A); (C) submit to the Secretary recommenda- tions for, and solutions to— (i) the issues identified under subpara- graph (A); (ii) issues raised at the Tribal, regional, or national level; and (iii) issues relating to any Tribal con- sultation carried out by the Department; (D) discuss issues and proposals for changes to the regulations, policies, and pro- cedures of the Department that impact In- dian tribes; (E) identify priorities and provide advice on appropriate strategies for Tribal con- sultation on issues at the Tribal, regional, or national level regarding the Department; (F) ensure that pertinent issues of the De- partment are brought to the attention of an Indian tribe in a timely manner so that timely feedback from an Indian tribe can be obtained; and (G) identify and propose solutions to any interdepartmental barrier between the De- partment and other Federal agencies. (5) Reports (A) In general Not less frequently than once each year, the Committee shall submit to the Sec- retary and the relevant committees of Con- gress a report that describes— (i) the activities of the Committee dur- ing the previous year; and (ii) recommendations for legislative or administrative action for the following year. (B) Response from Secretary Not more than 45 days after the date on which the Secretary receives a report under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall sub- mit a written response to that report to— (i) the Committee; and (ii) the relevant committees of Congress. (6) Compensation of members Members of the Committee shall be com- pensated at a rate equal to the daily equiva- lent of the annual rate of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 of title 5 for each day (including travel time) during which the member is en- gaged in the performance of the duties of the Committee. (7) Federal Advisory Committee Act exemption Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Com- mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) 1 shall not apply to the Committee. (Pub. L. 103–354, title III, § 309, as added Pub. L. 113–79, title XII, § 12303, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 985; amended Pub. L. 115–334, title XII, § 12303, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4962.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(7), is section 14 of Pub. L. 92–463, which was set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, and was re- pealed and restated as section 1013 of Title 5 by Pub. L. 117–286, §§ 3(a), 7, Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4204, 4361. CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Federal Crop In- surance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reorga- nization Act of 1994, and not as part of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 which in part comprises this chapter. AMENDMENTS 2018—Pub. L. 115–334 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, and added subsec. (b). § 6922. Office of Homeland Security (a) Definition of agriculture and food defense In this section, the term ‘‘agriculture and food defense’’ means any action to prevent, protect against, mitigate the effects of, respond to, or recover from a naturally occurring, uninten- tional, or intentional threat to the agriculture and food system. (b) Authorization The Secretary shall establish in the Depart- ment the Office of Homeland Security. (c) Executive Director The Office of Homeland Security shall be headed by an Executive Director, who shall be known as the Executive Director of Homeland Security. (d) Duties The Executive Director of Homeland Security shall— (1) serve as the principal advisor to the Sec- retary on homeland security, including emer- Page 1923 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 6923 1 So in original. Probably should be followed by a closing pa- renthesis. gency management and agriculture and food defense; (2) coordinate activities of the Department, including policies, processes, budget needs, and oversight relating to homeland security, including emergency management and agri- culture and food defense; (3) act as the primary liaison on behalf of the Department with other Federal depart- ments and agencies in activities relating to homeland security, including emergency man- agement and agriculture and food defense, and provide for interagency coordination and data sharing; (4)(A) coordinate in the Department the gathering of information relevant to early warning and awareness of threats and risks to the food and agriculture critical infrastruc- ture sector; and (B) share that information with, and provide assistance with interpretation and risk char- acterization of that information to, the intel- ligence community (as defined in section 3003 of title 50), law enforcement agencies, the Sec- retary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and State fusion centers (as defined in section 124h(j) of title 6 1 ; (5) liaise with the Director of National Intel- ligence to assist in the development of peri- odic assessments and intelligence estimates, or other intelligence products, that support the defense of the food and agriculture critical infrastructure sector; (6) coordinate the conduct, evaluation, and improvement of exercises to identify and eliminate gaps in preparedness and response; (7) produce a Department-wide centralized strategic coordination plan to provide a high- level perspective of the operations of the De- partment relating to homeland security, in- cluding emergency management and agri- culture and food defense; and (8) carry out other appropriate duties, as de- termined by the Secretary. (e) Agriculture and food threat awareness part- nership program (1) Interagency exchange program The Secretary, in partnership with the intel- ligence community (as defined in section 3003 of title 50) and fusion centers (as defined in section 124h(j) of title 6 1 that have analysis and intelligence capabilities relating to the defense of the food and agriculture critical in- frastructure sector, shall establish and carry out an interagency exchange program of per- sonnel and information to improve commu- nication and analysis for the defense of the food and agriculture critical infrastructure sector. (2) Collaboration with Federal, State, and local authorities To carry out the program established under paragraph (1), the Secretary may— (A) enter into 1 or more cooperative agree- ments or contracts with Federal, State, or local authorities that have analysis and in- telligence capabilities and expertise relating to the defense of the food and agriculture critical infrastructure sector; and (B) carry out any other activity under any other authority of the Secretary that is ap- propriate to engage the authorities de- scribed in subparagraph (A) for the defense of the food and agriculture critical infra- structure sector, as determined by the Sec- retary. (Pub. L. 103–354, title II, § 221, as added Pub. L. 115–334, title XII, § 12202, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4944.) § 6923. Office of Urban Agriculture and Innova- tive Production (a) Office (1) In general The Secretary shall establish in the Depart- ment an Office of Urban Agriculture and Inno- vative Production. (2) Director The Secretary shall appoint a senior official to serve as the Director of the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (re- ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Director’’). (3) Mission The mission of the Office of Urban Agri- culture and Innovative Production shall be to encourage and promote urban, indoor, and other emerging agricultural practices, includ- ing— (A) community gardens and farms located in urban areas, suburbs, and urban clusters; (B) rooftop farms, outdoor vertical produc- tion, and green walls; (C) indoor farms, greenhouses, and high- tech vertical technology farms; (D) hydroponic, aeroponic, and aquaponic farm facilities; and (E) other innovations in agricultural pro- duction, as determined by the Secretary. (4) Responsibilities The Director shall be responsible for engag- ing in activities to carry out the mission de- scribed in paragraph (3), including by— (A) managing programs, including for com- munity gardens, urban farms, rooftop agri- culture, and indoor vertical production; (B) advising the Secretary; (C) coordinating with the agencies and of- ficials of the Department to update relevant programs; (D) engaging in stakeholder relations and developing external partnerships; (E) identifying common State and munic- ipal best practices for navigating local poli- cies; (F) coordinating networks of community gardens and facilitating connections to local food banks, in partnership with the Food and Nutrition Service; and (G) collaborating with other Federal agen- cies. (b) Urban Agriculture and Innovative Produc- tion Advisory Committee (1) In general Not later than 180 days after December 20, 2018, the Secretary shall establish an Urban