[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1697 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1697
To enhance the participation of precision agriculture in the United
States, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 22, 2023
Mr. Davis of North Carolina (for himself and Mr. Mann) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To enhance the participation of precision agriculture in the United
States, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Promoting Precision Agriculture Act
of 2023''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Advanced wireless communications technology.--The term
``advanced wireless communications technology'' means advanced
technology that contributes to mobile (5G or beyond) networks,
next-generation Wi-Fi networks, or other future networks using
other technologies, regardless of whether the network is
operating on an exclusive licensed, shared licensed, or
unlicensed frequency band.
(2) Artificial intelligence.--The term ``artificial
intelligence'' has the meaning given the term in section 238(g)
of the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2019 (Public Law 115-232; 10 U.S.C. note prec.
4061).
(3) Foreign adversary.--The term ``foreign adversary''
means any foreign government or foreign nongovernment person
engaged in a long-term pattern or serious instances of conduct
significantly adverse to the national security of the United
States, or security and safety of United States persons.
(4) Precision agriculture.--The term ``precision
agriculture'' means managing, tracking, or reducing crop or
livestock production inputs, including seed, feed, fertilizer,
chemicals, water, time, and such other inputs as the Secretary
determines to be appropriate, at a heightened level of spatial
and temporal granularity to improve efficiencies, reduce waste,
and maintain environmental quality.
(5) Precision agriculture equipment.--The term ``precision
agriculture equipment'' means any equipment or technology that
directly contributes to a reduction in, or improved efficiency
of, inputs used in crop or livestock production, including--
(A) global positioning system-based or geospatial
mapping;
(B) satellite or aerial imagery;
(C) yield monitors;
(D) soil mapping;
(E) sensors for gathering data on crop, soil, and
livestock conditions;
(F) Internet of Things and technology that relies
on edge and cloud computing;
(G) data management software and advanced
analytics;
(H) network connectivity products and solutions,
including public and private wireless networks;
(I) global positioning system guidance, auto-steer
systems, autonomous fleeting, and other machine-to-
machine operations;
(J) variable rate technology for applying inputs,
such as section control; and
(K) any other technology that leads to a reduction
in, or improves efficiency of, crop and livestock
production inputs, which may include--
(i) seed;
(ii) feed;
(iii) fertilizer;
(iv) chemicals;
(v) water;
(vi) time;
(vii) fuel; and
(viii) such other inputs as the Secretary
determines to be appropriate.
(6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
(7) Trusted.--The term ``trusted'' means, with respect to a
provider of advanced communications service or a supplier of
communications equipment or service, that the Secretary has
determined that the provider or supplier is not owned by,
controlled by, or subject to the influence of, a foreign
adversary.
(8) Voluntary consensus standards development
organization.--The term ``voluntary consensus standards
development organization'' means an organization that develops
standards in a process that meets the principles for the
development of voluntary consensus standards (as defined in the
document of the Office of Management and Budget entitled
``Federal Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary
Consensus Standards and in Conformity Assessment Activities''
(OMB Circular A-119)).
SEC. 3. PURPOSES.
The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to enhance the participation of precision agriculture
in the United States; and
(2) to promote United States leadership in voluntary
consensus standards development organizations that set
standards for precision agriculture.
SEC. 4. INTERCONNECTIVITY STANDARDS FOR PRECISION AGRICULTURE.
(a) In General.--Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the
National Institute of Standards and Technology and the Federal
Communications Commission, shall--
(1) develop voluntary, consensus-based, private sector-led
interconnectivity standards, guidelines, and best practices for
precision agriculture that will promote economies of scale and
ease the burden of the adoption of precision agriculture; and
(2) in carrying out paragraph (1)--
(A) coordinate with relevant public and trusted
private sector stakeholders and other relevant industry
organizations, including voluntary consensus standards
development organizations; and
(B) consult with sector-specific agencies, other
appropriate agencies, and State and local governments.
(b) Considerations.--The Secretary, in carrying out subsection (a),
shall, in consultation with the Federal Communications Commission and
the Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology,
consider--
(1) the evolving demands of precision agriculture;
(2) the connectivity needs of precision agriculture
equipment;
(3) the cybersecurity challenges facing precision
agriculture, including cybersecurity threats for agriculture
producers and agriculture supply chains;
(4) the impact of advanced wireless communications
technology on precision agriculture; and
(5) the impact of artificial intelligence on precision
agriculture.
SEC. 5. GAO ASSESSMENT OF PRECISION AGRICULTURE STANDARDS.
(a) Study.--Not later than 1 year after the Secretary develops
standards under section 4, and every 2 years thereafter for the
following 8 years, the Comptroller General of the United States shall
conduct a study that assesses those standards, including the extent to
which those standards, as applicable--
(1) are voluntary;
(2) were developed in coordination with relevant industry
organizations, including voluntary consensus standards
development organizations; and
(3) have successfully encouraged the adoption of precision
agriculture.
(b) Report.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall
submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the
Senate, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of
Representatives, the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives, and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry of the Senate a report that summarizes the findings of each
study conducted under subsection (a).
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