IV

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. RES. 632

Providing for the concurrence by the House with an amendment in the

Senate amendment to H.R. 4788, the Grain Standards and Warehouse

Improvement Act of 2000.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 17, 2000

Mr. BARRETT of Nebraska submitted the following resolution; which was

considered and agreed to

RESOLUTION

Providing for the concurrence by the House with an amendment in the Senate amendment to H.R. 4788, the Grain

Standards and Warehouse Improvement Act of 2000.

1 Resolved, That upon the adoption of this resolution

2 the House shall be considered to have taken from the

3 Speaker’s table the bill H.R. 4788, with the amendment

4 of the Senate thereto, and to have concurred in the Senate

5 amendment with the following amendment:

6 At the end of the matter proposed to be inserted by

7 the Senate amendment, add the following new sections:
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1 SEC. 311. COTTON FUTURES.

2 Subsection (d)(2) of the United States Cotton Fu3 tures Act (7 U.S.C. 15b(d)(2)) is amended by adding at

4 the end the following: ‘‘A person complying with the pre5 ceding sentence shall not be liable for any loss or damage

6 arising or resulting from such compliance.’’.

7 SEC. 312. IMPROVED INVESTIGATIVE AND ENFORCEMENT

8 ACTIVITIES UNDER THE PACKERS AND

9 STOCKYARDS ACT, 1921.

10 (a) IMPLEMENTATION OF GENERAL ACCOUNTING

11 OFFICE RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after

12 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of

13 Agriculture shall implement the recommendations con14 tained in the report issued by the General Accounting Of15 fice entitled ‘‘Packers and Stockyards Programs: Actions

16 Needed to Improve Investigations of Competitive Prac17 tices’’, GAO/RCED–00–242, dated September 21, 2000.

18 (b) CONSULTATION.—During the implementation pe19 riod referred to in subsection (a), and for such an addi20 tional time period as needed to assure effective implemen21 tation of the recommendations contained in the report re22 ferred to in such subsection, the Secretary of Agriculture

23 shall consult and work with the Department of Justice and

24 the Federal Trade Commission in order to—
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1 (1) implement the recommendations in the re2 port regarding investigation management, oper3 ations, and case methods development processes; and

4 (2) effectively identify and investigate com5 plaints of unfair and anti-competitive practices in

6 violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921

7 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), and enforce the Act.

8 (c) TRAINING.—Not later than 1 year after the date

9 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture

10 shall develop and implement a training program for staff

11 of the Department of Agriculture engaged in the investiga12 tion of complaints of unfair and anti-competitive activity

13 in violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921. In

14 developing the training program, the Secretary of Agri15 culture shall draw on existing training materials and pro16 grams available at the Department of Justice and the Fed17 eral Trade Commission, to the extent practicable.

18 (d) IMPLEMENTATION REPORT.—Not later than 1

19 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec20 retary of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a report

21 describing the actions taken to comply with this section.

22 (e) ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF CATTLE AND HOG IN23 DUSTRIES.—Title IV of the Packers and Stockyards Act,

24 1921, is amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating section 415 (7 U.S.C. 229)

2 as section 416; and

3 (2) by inserting after section 414 the following:

4 ‘‘SEC. 415. ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF CATTLE AND HOG IN5 DUSTRIES.

6 ‘‘Not later than March 1 of each year, the Secretary

7 shall submit to Congress and make publicly available a

8 report that—

9 ‘‘(1) assesses the general economic state of the

10 cattle and hog industries;

11 ‘‘(2) describes changing business practices in

12 those industries; and

13 ‘‘(3) identifies market operations or activities in

14 those industries that appear to raise concerns under

15 this Act.’’.

16 SEC. 313. REHABILITATION OF WATER RESOURCE STRUC17 TURAL MEASURES CONSTRUCTED UNDER

18 CERTAIN DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

19 PROGRAMS.

20 The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act

21 (16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

22 the following new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 14. REHABILITATION OF STRUCTURAL MEASURES

2 NEAR, AT, OR PAST THEIR EVALUATED LIFE

3 EXPECTANCY.

4 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

5 ‘‘(1) REHABILITATION.—The term ‘rehabilita6 tion’, with respect to a structural measure con7 structed as part of a covered water resource project,

8 means the completion of all work necessary to ex9 tend the service life of the structural measure and

10 meet applicable safety and performance standards.

11 This may include: (A) protecting the integrity of the

12 structural measure or prolonging the useful life of

13 the structural measure beyond the original evaluated

14 life expectancy; (B) correcting damage to the struc15 tural measure from a catastrophic event; (C) cor16 recting the deterioration of structural components

17 that are deteriorating at an abnormal rate; (D) up18 grading the structural measure to meet changed

19 land use conditions in the watershed served by the

20 structural measure or changed safety criteria appli21 cable to the structural measure; or (E) decommis22 sioning the structure, if requested by the local orga23 nization.

24 ‘‘(2) COVERED WATER RESOURCE PROJECT.—

25 The term ‘covered water resource project’ means a
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1 work of improvement carried out under any of the

2 following:

3 ‘‘(A) This Act.

4 ‘‘(B) Section 13 of the Act of December

5 22, 1944 (Public Law 78–534; 58 Stat. 905).

6 ‘‘(C) The pilot watershed program author7 ized under the heading ‘FLOOD PREVENTION’

8 of the Department of Agriculture Appropriation

9 Act, 1954 (Public Law 156; 67 Stat. 214).

10 ‘‘(D) Subtitle H of title XV of the Agri11 culture and Food Act of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3451

12 et seq.; commonly known as the Resource Con13 servation and Development Program).

14 ‘‘(3) STRUCTURAL MEASURE.—The term ‘struc15 tural measure’ means a physical improvement that

16 impounds water, commonly known as a dam, which

17 was constructed as part of a covered water resource

18 project, including the impoundment area and flood

19 pool.

20 ‘‘(b) COST SHARE ASSISTANCE FOR REHABILITA21 TION.—

22 ‘‘(1) ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary

23 may provide financial assistance to a local organiza24 tion to cover a portion of the total costs incurred for

25 the rehabilitation of structural measures originally
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1 constructed as part of a covered water resource

2 project. The total costs of rehabilitation include the

3 costs associated with all components of the rehabili4 tation project, including acquisition of land, ease5 ments, and rights-of-ways, rehabilitation project ad6 ministration, the provision of technical assistance,

7 contracting, and construction costs, except that the

8 local organization shall be responsible for securing

9 all land, easements, or rights-of-ways necessary for

10 the project.

11 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE; LIMITATIONS.—

12 The amount of Federal funds that may be made

13 available under this subsection to a local organiza14 tion for construction of a particular rehabilitation

15 project shall be equal to 65 percent of the total re16 habilitation costs, but not to exceed 100 percent of

17 actual construction costs incurred in the rehabilita18 tion. However, the local organization shall be respon19 sible for the costs of water, mineral, and other re20 source rights and all Federal, State, and local per21 mits.

22 ‘‘(3) RELATION TO LAND USE AND DEVELOP23 MENT REGULATIONS.—As a condition on entering

24 into an agreement to provide financial assistance

25 under this subsection, the Secretary, working in con-
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1 cert with the affected unit or units of general pur2 pose local government, may require that proper zon3 ing or other developmental regulations are in place

4 in the watershed in which the structural measures to

5 be rehabilitated under the agreement are located so

6 that—

7 ‘‘(A) the completed rehabilitation project is

8 not quickly rendered inadequate by additional

9 development; and

10 ‘‘(B) society can realize the full benefits of

11 the rehabilitation investment.

12 ‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR WATERSHED

13 PROJECT REHABILITATION.—The Secretary, acting

14 through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, may

15 provide technical assistance in planning, designing, and

16 implementing rehabilitation projects should a local organi17 zation request such assistance. Such assistance may con18 sist of specialists in such fields as engineering, geology,

19 soils, agronomy, biology, hydraulics, hydrology, economics,

20 water quality, and contract administration.

21 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITED USE.—

22 ‘‘(1) PERFORMANCE OF OPERATION AND MAIN23 TENANCE.—Rehabilitation assistance provided under

24 this section may not be used to perform operation

25 and maintenance activities specified in the agree-
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1 ment for the covered water resource project entered

2 into between the Secretary and the local organiza3 tion responsible for the works of improvement. Such

4 operation and maintenance activities shall remain

5 the responsibility of the local organization, as pro6 vided in the project work plan.

7 ‘‘(2) RENEGOTIATION.—Notwithstanding para8 graph (1), as part of the provision of financial as9 sistance under subsection (b), the Secretary may re10 negotiate the original agreement for the covered

11 water resource project entered into between the Sec12 retary and the local organization regarding responsi13 bility for the operation and maintenance of the

14 project when the rehabilitation is finished.

15 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION FOR REHABILITATION ASSIST16 ANCE.—A local organization may apply to the Secretary

17 for technical and financial assistance under this section

18 if the application has also been submitted to and approved

19 by the State agency having supervisory responsibility over

20 the covered water resource project at issue or, if there is

21 no State agency having such responsibility, by the Gov22 ernor of the State. The Secretary shall request the State

23 dam safety officer (or equivalent State official) to be in24 volved in the application process if State permits or ap25 provals are required. The rehabilitation of structural
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1 measures shall meet standards established by the Sec2 retary and address other dam safety issues. At the request

3 of the local organization, personnel of the Natural Re4 sources Conservation Service of the Department of Agri5 culture may assist in preparing applications for assistance.

6 ‘‘(f) RANKING OF REQUESTS FOR REHABILITATION

7 ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall establish such system

8 of approving rehabilitation requests, recognizing that such

9 requests will be received throughout the fiscal year and

10 subject to the availability of funds to carry out this sec11 tion, as is necessary for proper administration by the De12 partment of Agriculture and equitable for all local organi13 zations. The approval process shall be in writing, and

14 made known to all local organizations and appropriate

15 State agencies.

16 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN REHABILITATION

17 ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may not approve a rehabili18 tation request if the need for rehabilitation of the struc19 ture is the result of a lack of adequate maintenance by

20 the party responsible for the maintenance.

21 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

22 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to pro23 vide financial and technical assistance under this

24 section—

25 ‘‘(1) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;
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1 ‘‘(2) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;

2 ‘‘(3) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;

3 ‘‘(4) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and

4 ‘‘(5) $35,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.

5 ‘‘(i) ASSESSMENT OF REHABILITATION NEEDS.—

6 The Secretary, in concert with the responsible State agen7 cies, shall conduct an assessment of the rehabilitation

8 needs of covered water resource projects in all States in

9 which such projects are located.

10 ‘‘(j) RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTS.—

11 ‘‘(1) SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall main12 tain a data base to track the benefits derived from

13 rehabilitation projects supported under this section

14 and the expenditures made under this section. On

15 the basis of such data and the reports submitted

16 under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall prepare

17 and submit to Congress an annual report providing

18 the status of activities conducted under this section.

19 ‘‘(2) GRANT RECIPIENTS.—Not later than 90

20 days after the completion of a specific rehabilitation

21 project for which assistance is provided under this

22 section, the local organization that received the as23 sistance shall make a report to the Secretary giving

24 the status of any rehabilitation effort undertaken
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1 using financial assistance provided under this sec2 tion.’’.

3 SEC. 314. RELEASE OF REVERSIONARY INTEREST AND CON4 VEYANCE OF MINERAL RIGHTS IN FORMER

5 FEDERAL LAND IN SUMTER COUNTY, SOUTH

6 CAROLINA.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

8 (1) The hiking trail known as the Palmetto

9 Trail traverses the Manchester State Forest in Sum10 ter County, South Carolina, which is owned by the

11 South Carolina State Commission of Forestry on be12 half of the State of South Carolina.

13 (2) The Commission seeks to widen the Pal14 metto Trail by acquiring a corridor of land along the

15 northeastern border of the trail from the Anne

16 Marie Carton Boardman Trust in exchange for a

17 tract of former Federal land now owned by the Com18 mission.

19 (3) At the time of the conveyance of the former

20 Federal land to the Commission in 1955, the United

21 States retained a reversionary interest in the land,

22 which now prevents the land exchange from being

23 completed.

24 (b) RELEASE OF REVERSIONARY INTEREST.—
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1 (1) RELEASE REQUIRED.—In the case of the

2 tract of land identified as Tract 3 on the map num3 bered 161–DI and further described in paragraph

4 (2), the Secretary of Agriculture shall release the re5 versionary interest of the United States in the land

6 that—

7 (A) requires that the land be used for pub8 lic purposes; and

9 (B) is contained in the deed conveying the

10 land from the United States to the South Caro11 lina State Commission of Forestry, dated June

12 28, 1955, and recorded in Deed Drawer No. 6

13 of the Clerk of Court for Sumter County, South

14 Carolina.

15 (2) MAP OF TRACT 3.—Tract 3 is generally de16 picted on the map numbered 161–DI, entitled

17 ‘‘Boundary Survey for South Carolina Forestry

18 Commission’’, dated August 1998, and filed, to19 gether with a legal description of the tract, with the

20 South Carolina State Commission of Forestry.

21 (3) CONSIDERATION.—As consideration for the

22 release of the revisionary interest under paragraph

23 (1), the State of South Carolina shall transfer to the

24 United States a vested future interest, similar to the

25 restriction described in paragraph (1)(A), in the
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1 tract of land identified as Parcel G on the map num2 bered 225–HI, entitled ‘‘South Carolina Forestry

3 Commission Boardman Land Exchange’’, dated

4 June 9, 1999, and filed, together with a legal de5 scription of the tract, with the South Carolina State

6 Commission of Forestry.

7 (c) EXCHANGE OF MINERAL RIGHTS.—

8 (1) EXCHANGE REQUIRED.—Subject to any

9 valid existing rights of third parties, the Secretary of

10 the Interior shall convey to the South Carolina State

11 Commission of Forestry on behalf of the State of

12 South Carolina all of the undivided mineral rights of

13 the United States in the Tract 3 identified in sub14 section (b)(1) in exchange for mineral rights of

15 equal value held by the State of South Carolina in

16 the Parcel G identified in subsection (b)(3) as well

17 as in Parcels E and F owned by the State and also

18 depicted on the map referred to in subsection (b)(3).

19 (2) DETERMINATION OF MINERAL CHAR20 ACTER.—Not later than 90 days after the date of

21 the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Inte22 rior shall determine—

23 (A) the mineral character of Tract 3 and

24 Parcels E, F, and G; and
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1 (B) the fair market value of the mineral

2 interests.

3 SEC. 315. TECHNICAL CORRECTION REGARDING RESTORA4 TION OF ELIGIBILITY FOR CROP LOSS AS5 SISTANCE.

6 Section 259 of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act

7 of 2000 (Public Law 106–224; 114 Stat. 426; 7 U.S.C.

8 1421 note) is amended by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(c) COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION.—The Sec10 retary shall use the funds, facilities, and authorities of the

11 Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out this section.’’.

12 SEC. 316. PORK CHECKOFF REFERENDUM.

13 Notwithstanding section 1620(c)(3)(B)(iv) of the

14 Pork Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information

15 Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 4809(c)(3)(B)(iv)), the Secretary

16 shall use funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to

17 pay for all expenses associated with the pork checkoff ref18 erendum ordered by the Secretary on February 25, 2000.

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