A bipartisan tag team is leading on a measure to safeguard American food production from lingering cyber threats amid enduring global tensions. (Reuters)
"Food security is national security, and the Farm and Food Cybersecurity Act is a vital step toward safeguarding Michigan’s agriculture and food sectors," said Slotkin in her own statement.
"Cyber-attacks threaten our food supply constantly, and we must ensure both government and private industries are prepared," she added. "This bipartisan bill will require the Department of Agriculture to work closely with our national security agencies to ensure that our adversaries, like China, can’t threaten our ability to feed ourselves by ourselves."
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Specifically, the measure would require the secretaries of agriculture, homeland security and health and human services to coordinate with each other and with the director of national intelligence to go through annual crisis simulations to prepare for any cyber emergencies relating to food infrastructure.
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A tagged cow grazing in a pasture at Raw Farm in Fresno County, California. (Raw Farm)
Sens. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Katie Britt, R-Ala., and Ted Budd, R-N.C., are cosponsors of the bill. A companion bill is being introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Brad Finstad, R-Minn.
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The bill has already gotten the backing of several food industry groups, such as the North American Millers Association, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, USA Rice and the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives.
Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.
Follow Julia's reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to Julia.Johnson@fox.com.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bipartisan-duo-looks-fend-off-food-supply-cyber-threats-global-tensions-persist