H.R. 9394: Civil Preparedness for Agroterrorism Exercise Act of 2026

This bill would require the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to organize and carry out a preparedness exercise focused on agroterrorism, meaning a terrorist act that targets the U.S. agriculture and food critical infrastructure sector.

What DHS would have to do

Within four years of enactment, DHS would have to conduct an exercise, either as a stand-alone event or as part of an existing DHS exercise program, to test how the federal government and other partners would:

• prevent an agroterrorist attack,
• respond to it,
• recover from it, and
• reduce its effects.

What the exercise must cover

The exercise would need to include scenarios involving:

• someone trying to bring a biological agent into the United States that could disrupt agriculture or food systems;
• someone releasing a biological agent within the United States that could disrupt agriculture or food systems; and
• coordinated response efforts to manage widespread disruption to agriculture, food systems, or related economic sectors.

The exercise would also need to examine:

• how incident command would be deployed,
• what resources would be needed to respond and recover,
• how those resources should be allocated, and
• where there are gaps in government capabilities or capacity.

Who would be involved

DHS would have to coordinate the exercise with appropriate participants, including:

• federal departments and agencies,
• state, local, tribal, and territorial agencies,
• private-sector owners and operators of food and agricultural facilities and related infrastructure,
• emergency preparedness and response professionals, and
• other experts and stakeholders involved in protecting agriculture and food systems from agroterrorism.

Reporting requirement

Within 180 days after the exercise is completed, DHS would have to send an after-action report to the House Committee on Homeland Security and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. The report would include:

• the exercise findings,
• a plan and timeline for using lessons learned in future DHS operations, and
• recommended legislative changes to improve preparedness and deterrence against agroterrorism.

Definitions

The bill defines key terms such as:

• agroterrorism — a terrorist act targeting the agriculture and food critical infrastructure sector;
• agroterrorist — someone who commits agroterrorism;
• biological agent — as defined in federal criminal law; and
• critical infrastructure — as defined in existing federal law.

Relevant Companies

None found