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Preventing Lethal Agricultural and National Threats (PLANT) Act
To amend title 18, United States Code, to establish criminal penalties for the reckless importation or handling of dangerous agricultural pathogens.
Summary
This bill establishes federal criminal penalties for the reckless or knowing importation of dangerous agricultural pathogens without required permits or authorization from the USDA or other appropriate agencies. Violators face imprisonment of up to 10 years and fines. The bill increases penalties to up to 20 years if the offense involves concealing the pathogen's origin, if the person acts on behalf of or is funded by a foreign government, or if the offense causes economic damage exceeding $1 million. The Secretary of Agriculture is directed to define which biological agents and organisms qualify as high-risk agricultural pathogens subject to these prohibitions through regulation.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Rep. Nunn, Zachary [R-IA-3] (R-IA)
3 cosponsors
Money behind the sponsor
Top reported contributors to Zachary Nunn’s campaign committee (2024 cycle) — who funds the bill’s sponsor, not a claim about this bill. Data from FEC.
- NULL $397,838
- MARQUIS MANAGEMENT INC. $16,550
- BRODIE GENERATIONAL CAPITAL PARTNERS $16,500
- STARKEY HEARING TECHNOLOGIES $13,200
- APOLLO GLOBAL MGMT $13,000
Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor’s reported employer (FEC Schedule A). Full finance for Zachary Nunn → · Outside spending →
Actions (2)
- Jun 13, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary. · house
- Jun 13, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 13, 2025
Mr. Nunn of Iowa (for himself and Mr. Riley of New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to establish criminal penalties for the reckless importation or handling of dangerous agricultural pathogens.
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 “Preventing Lethal Agricultural and National Threats (PLANT) Act”.
SEC. 2. RECKLESS IMPORTATION OF DANGEROUS AGRICULTURAL PATHOGENS.
Title 18 U.S.C. is amended by inserting after section 175b the following: “Sec. 175c. Reckless importation of dangerous agricultural pathogens.
“(a) Offense.—Whoever knowingly or recklessly imports a biological agent, toxin, or organism—
“(1) without the required permit or authorization from the U.S. Department of Agriculture or other appropriate agency; and
“(2) where such agent, toxin, or organism is designated by regulation as a high-risk agricultural pathogen capable of causing significant harm to U.S. crops, livestock, or agricultural ecosystems, Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.
“(b) Aggravating Factors.—If the offense:
“(1) involves concealment of origin;
“(2) is committed by a person acting on behalf of, or funded by, a foreign government; or
“(3) results in actual economic damage exceeding $1,000,000; Then the term of imprisonment may be up to 20 years.
“(c) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) the term ‘recklessly’ means the person consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the pathogen could cause significant harm.
“(2) the term ‘high-risk agricultural pathogen’ shall be defined by the Secretary of Agriculture and published via regulation.”. <all>
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