---
kind: "section"
citation: "7 U.S.C. § 9202"
title: "7"
title_heading: "Agriculture"
number: "9202"
heading: "National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/7/9202"
units:
  - "Chapter 116 — National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility"
---

# §9202. National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility

- (a) **In general—** The National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility shall be a national [security](/usc/7/24.md?p=b) laboratory asset to provide integrated research, development, and test and evaluation infrastructure to improve preparedness and response capabilities to prevent, detect, respond to, or mitigate harm resulting from [animal](/usc/7/9201.md?p=1) pests or diseases and zoonotic diseases for the purpose of defending the United States against bio- and agro-threats, whether naturally occurring or intentional.
- (b) **Mission—** Pursuant to [subsection (a)](#a), the mission of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility shall be to protect the food supply, agriculture, and public health of the United States, including by—
  - (1) integrating agricultural, zoonotic disease, and other research, as appropriate;
  - (2) addressing threats from high-consequence zoonotic disease agents, emerging foreign [animal](/usc/7/9201.md?p=1) diseases, and [animal](/usc/7/9201.md?p=1) [transboundary diseases](/usc/7/9201.md?p=2);
  - (3) addressing biological threats;
  - (4) ensuring that research conducted at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility addresses gaps that fall between the ongoing [animal](/usc/7/9201.md?p=1) and zoonotic disease research efforts across the Federal Government and does not duplicate those ongoing efforts;
  - (5) facilitating, integrating, and coordinating the development and implementation of the strategic plan for research under [section 9203(a)(2) of this title](/usc/7/9203.md?p=a-2), relating to protection of the food supply, agriculture, and public health of the United States;
  - (6) providing appropriate education and training to prepare for and respond to bio- and agro-defense threats;
  - (7) sharing data and related information with appropriate Federal departments or agencies, as requested by the heads of those departments or agencies, or as necessary, to support biological material threat assessments; and
  - (8) sharing data and related information, and developing strategic partnerships, to enhance the carrying out of the duties of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility for the development of priority zoonotic [animal](/usc/7/9201.md?p=1) disease diagnostics, vaccines, drugs, and other countermeasures.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 116–260, div. P, § 3, Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 2159.)