HR 9394: Civil Preparedness for Agroterrorism Exercise Act of 2026

HR 9394 in plain English: This bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a preparedness exercise within four years focused on responding to agroterrorism — attacks targeting agriculture and food systems. After the exercise, DHS must submit a report to Congress within 180 days covering findings, lessons learned, and recommended legislative actions.

Stated purpose

The bill requires the Department of Homeland Security to conduct a preparedness exercise focused on agroterrorism — attacks targeting U.S. agriculture and food systems — and to report findings and recommendations to Congress within 180 days after the exercise.

Key points

• Requires DHS to conduct an agroterrorism preparedness exercise within four years of enactment.
• Exercise scenario must involve a biological agent being transported and deployed to harm agriculture and food operations.
• Focuses on coordination between public and private entities to prepare for and limit disruption.
• DHS must submit an after-action report to Congress within 180 days of completing the exercise.

Arguments supporters make

• U.S. food and agriculture systems are a known vulnerability, and a realistic exercise helps identify gaps in coordination before a real attack occurs.
• Bringing together government at all levels and private industry in one exercise builds the relationships and plans needed for a fast, effective response to an actual agroterrorism event.
• The required after-action report gives Congress concrete, evidence-based recommendations for improving national security rather than relying on guesswork.

Arguments opponents make

• Requiring only one exercise over four years may be too limited and too slow to meaningfully improve readiness against a fast-moving biological threat to the food supply.
• DHS already runs exercise programs, so mandating this specific exercise in law may create redundant bureaucracy and divert resources from other preparedness priorities.
• An exercise and report do not guarantee any real-world improvements — without follow-up funding or binding requirements, the findings could simply sit on a shelf.

Tradeoffs

The bill prioritizes building a coordinated preparedness framework for an underexamined threat, but it commits government and private-sector resources to planning and reporting without guaranteeing any operational changes or new funding to fix the gaps the exercise uncovers.

Current status in Congress: In committee.

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