§7656 Designation of Crisis Management Team Within Department

Summary

The Secretary of Agriculture must create a Crisis Management Team inside the Department of Agriculture. The team must include senior staff with subject-matter expertise from each relevant agency and be led by someone with management and communication skills. The team must write a department-wide crisis plan, make rules to carry it out, review and update the plan regularly, make sure staff know and follow the plan, gather and share information, and make sure public messages are accurate, timely, science-based, and easy to understand. The team must also work with other federal, state, and local authorities, industry, and public groups during crises. The team will help the Advisory Board set priorities for research on animal health, natural disasters, food safety, and other farm issues. The Secretary must try to make formal agreements with other federal agencies so information and responses are coordinated across the government—for example, coordinating USDA work with the CDC and FDA on food‑borne health threats.