From the U.S. Government Accountability Office, www.gao.gov Transcript for: Protecting America's Food and Agriculture Systems Audio interview by GAO staff with Lisa Shames, Director, Natural Resources and Environment Related GAO Work: GAO-11-652: Homeland Security: Actions Needed to Improve Response to Terrorist Attacks and Natural Disasters Affecting Food and Agriculture Released on: September 13, 2011 [ Background Music ] [ Narrator: ] Welcome to GAO's Watchdog Report, your source for news and information from the Government Accountability Office. It's September 13th, 2011. America's food and agriculture systems are some of our most vital and sensitive assets. A 2004 presidential directive sought to coordinate the government's efforts to defend these systems from terrorist attacks and other disasters. A group led by Lisa Shames, a director in GAO's Natural Resources and Environment team recently reviewed federal agencies' progress in implementing this directive. GAO's Jeremy Cluchey sat down with Lisa to learn more. [ Jeremy Cluchey: ] The nation's food and agriculture defense policy is laid out in Homeland Security Presidential Directive 9 or HSPD 9. What does this document do? [ Lisa Shames: ] Well first let me start out by saying how important agriculture is to the public health and to the nation's economy. It produces over $300 billion worth of food and generates 1 out of every 12 jobs. So HSPD 9 recognizes this importance as well as agriculture's vulnerability to natural disasters, such as floods or hurricanes, as well as a potential terrorist attack. So HSPD 9 assigns responsibilities across federal agencies and it's been in effect since January 2004. [ Jeremy Cluchey: ] Your team looked at the extent to which agencies have implemented their responsibilities under this directive. What did you find? [ Lisa Shames: ] We found that there are four key agencies that are involved. First is DHS, the Department of Homeland Security is responsible for coordinating the overall effort to protect the nation's infrastructure, including agriculture. USDA is responsible for the response to, and recovery from, any animal and plant disease. In the case of a zoonotic disease—that's a disease that can be transmitted between humans and animals like avian influenza—HHS would get involved. And lastly, EPA gets involved in case there is any need for a pesticide to mitigate any crop damage. That's one of its many responsibilities. [ Jeremy Cluchey: ] What kind of oversight did you find that exists of agencies' efforts in this regard currently? [ Lisa Shames: ] Our key finding was that there was no centralized oversight of the agencies' progress in implementing HSPD 9. In the past, the Homeland Security Council had collected some information on agencies' activities, but that is no longer happening. We did find that there were some multi-agency working groups. Nevertheless, a top-level review is important to ensure that the food and agriculture defense policy is conducted effectively and efficiently. [ Jeremy Cluchey: ] Your team also looked at USDA's coordination of a potential food and agriculture response to a disaster. Can you talk about this? [ Lisa Shames: ] Yes, USDA has coordinated responses to 28 natural disasters since 2007. Positively, state and local officials told us that they appreciated having a single point of contact from USDA. Nevertheless, we did find that there were challenges. There was some lack of clarity in terms of the agencies' roles and responsibilities—in particular, who was to dispose of the carcasses from dead animals. And also there was some question in terms of reimbursement for pets to be evacuated with their families. And we also found that USDA was not completing its after-action reports. These reports are important because they identify any lessons learned that could be applied for any future natural disaster. [ Jeremy Cluchey: ] Finally, what is GAO recommending the government do to help improve its preparedness in case of catastrophes involving our food and agriculture systems? [ Lisa Shames: ] GAO is making numerous recommendations in this report, and it's, you can figure out some of them just by the conversation that we just had. We're calling for centralized oversight of agencies' activities by the Homeland Security Council. We're calling for USDA to complete its after-action reports, and we're also calling for a clarification of the roles and responsibilities across federal agencies. I'm pleased to say that the agencies generally agreed with all of our recommendations. [ Background Music ] [ Narrator: ] To learn more, visit GAO's website at GAO.gov and be sure to tune in to the next edition of GAO's Watchdog Report for more from the congressional watchdog, the Government Accountability Office.