The President issued Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-9 in 2004 to establish a national policy to defend the food and agriculture systems of the U.S. against terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies. HSPD-9 assigns various emergency response and recovery responsibilities to the Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Health and Human Services (HHS), Homeland Security (DHS), and others. This book evaluates the extent to which there is oversight of federal agencies' overall progress in implementing HSPD-9 and the steps USDA has taken to implement the HSPD-9 responsibilities for response and recovery and challenges, if any.