Union Calendar No. 106

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1103

[Report No. 104–207]

A BILL

Entitled ‘‘Amendments to the Perishable

Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930’’.

JULY 26, 1995

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee

dered to be printedof the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
IB

Union Calendar No. 106

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1103

[Report No. 104–207]

Entitled ‘‘Amendments to the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act,

1930’’.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 1, 1995

Mr. POMBO (for himself, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. FOLEY, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr.

PASTOR, and Mr. FARR) introduced the following bill; which was referred

to the Committee on Agriculture

JULY 26, 1995

Additional sponsors: Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. EHLERS, Mr.

CHAMBLISS, Mr. WELDON of Florida, Mr. GORDON, Mr. UPTON, Mr.

DOOLEY, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. HERGER, Mr. HASTINGS of

Washington, Mr. JONES, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida,

Mrs. SEASTRAND, Mr. COOLEY, Mr. FOGLIETTA, Mr. EVERETT, Mr.

FAZIO of California, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. CALVERT, Mr. GEKAS, and Mr.

BOEHNER

JULY 26, 1995

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 1, 1995]

A BILL

Entitled ‘‘Amendments to the Perishable Agricultural

Commodities Act, 1930’’.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act Amendments of

6 1995’’.

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of this

8 Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Addition of definitions of retailer and grocery wholesaler.

Sec. 3. Gradual elimination of annual license fee for retailers and grocery wholesalers that are dealers.

Sec. 4. Establishment and alteration of license fees for commission merchants,

dealers (other than retailers and grocery wholesalers), and brokers.

Sec. 5. Increase in penalties for operating without a license and increase in late

renewal fee.

Sec. 6. Statutory trust on commodities and sale proceeds.

Sec. 7. Authority of Department of Agriculture regarding possible violations.

Sec. 8. Filing and handling fees for reparation complaints.

Sec. 9. Consideration of collateral fees and expenses.

Sec. 10. Clarification of misbranding prohibition.

Sec. 11. Imposition of civil penalty in lieu of license suspension or revocation.

Sec. 12. Extension of sanctions to persons responsibly connected to a commission

merchant, dealer, or broker.

9 SEC. 2. ADDITION OF DEFINITIONS OF RETAILER AND GRO10 CERY WHOLESALER.

11 Section 1(b) of the Perishable Agricultural Commod12 ities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C. 499a(b)), is amended by adding

13 at the end the following new paragraphs:

14 ‘‘(11) The term ‘retailer’ means a person that is a deal15 er engaged in the business of selling any perishable agricul16 tural commodity at retail.
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1 ‘‘(12) The term ‘grocery wholesaler’ means a person

2 that is a dealer primarily engaged in the full-line wholesale

3 distribution and resale of grocery and related nonfood items

4 (such as perishable agricultural commodities, dry groceries,

5 general merchandise, meat, poultry, and seafood, and health

6 and beauty care items) to retailers. However, such term does

7 not include a person described in the preceding sentence if

8 the person is primarily engaged in the wholesale distribu9 tion and resale of perishable agricultural commodities rath10 er than other grocery and related nonfood items.’’.

11 SEC. 3. GRADUAL ELIMINATION OF ANNUAL LICENSE FEE

12 FOR RETAILERS AND GROCERY WHOLE13 SALERS THAT ARE DEALERS.

14 (a) ELIMINATION OF ANNUAL FEES OVER THREE15 YEAR PERIOD.—Subsection (b) of section 3 of the Perish16 able Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C. 499c),

17 is amended—

18 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1) APPLICATION FOR LI19 CENSE.—’’ before the start of the first sentence and

20 adjusting the margin to conform to paragraph (3);

21 (2) by striking the third and fourth sentences;

22 (3) by inserting ‘‘(5) PERISHABLE AGRICUL23 TURAL COMMODITIES ACT FUND.—’’ before the start of

24 the fifth sentence and adjusting the margin to con25 form to paragraph (3);
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1 (4) by striking the last sentence; and

2 (5) by inserting before paragraph (5) (as so des3 ignated) the following new paragraphs:

4 ‘‘(3) ONE-TIME FEE FOR RETAILERS AND GRO5 CERY WHOLESALERS THAT ARE DEALERS.—During

6 the three-year period beginning on the date of the en7 actment of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities

8 Act Amendments of 1995, a retailer or grocery whole9 saler making an initial application for a license

10 under this section shall pay the license fee required

11 under subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (4)

12 for license renewals in the year in which the initial

13 application is made. After the end of such period, a

14 retailer or grocery wholesaler making an initial ap15 plication for a license under this section shall pay an

16 administrative fee equal to $100. In either case, a re17 tailer or grocery wholesaler paying a fee under this

18 paragraph shall not be required to pay any fee for re19 newal of the license for subsequent years.

20 ‘‘(4) GRADUAL ELIMINATION OF ANNUAL FEES

21 FOR RETAILERS AND GROCERY WHOLESALERS THAT

22 ARE DEALERS.—In the case of a retailer or grocery

23 wholesaler that holds a license under this section as

24 of the date of the enactment of the Perishable Agricul25 tural Commodities Act Amendments of 1995, pay-
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1 ments for the renewal of the license shall be made

2 pursuant to the following schedule:

3 ‘‘(A) For anniversary dates occurring dur4 ing the one-year period beginning on the date of

5 the enactment of the Perishable Agricultural

6 Commodities Act Amendments of 1995, the li7 censee shall pay a renewal fee in an amount

8 equal to 100 percent of the applicable renewal fee

9 (subject to the $4,000 aggregate limit on such

10 payments) in effect under this subsection on the

11 day before such enactment date.

12 ‘‘(B) For anniversary dates occurring dur13 ing the one-year period beginning at the end of

14 the period in subparagraph (A), the licensee shall

15 pay a renewal fee in an amount equal to 75 per16 cent of the amount paid by the licensee under

17 subparagraph (A).

18 ‘‘(C) For anniversary dates occurring dur19 ing the one-year period beginning at the end of

20 the period in subparagraph (B), the licensee

21 shall pay a renewal fee in an amount equal to

22 50 percent of the amount paid by the licensee

23 under subparagraph (A).

24 ‘‘(D) After the end of the three-year period

25 beginning on the date of the enactment of the
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1 Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act

2 Amendments of 1995, the licensee shall not be re3 quired to pay any fee if the licensee seeks re4 newal of the license.’’.

5 (b) STYLISTIC AMENDMENTS.—Such section is further

6 amended—

7 (1) by striking the section heading and ‘‘SEC. 3.

8 (a)’’ and inserting the following:

9 ‘‘SEC. 3. LICENSES.

10 ‘‘(a) LICENSE REQUIRED; PENALTIES FOR VIOLA11 TIONS.—’’;

12 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘APPLICATION

13 AND FEES FOR LICENSES.—’’ after ‘‘(b)’’; and

14 (3) in subsection (c), by inserting ‘‘USE OF

15 TRADE NAMES.—’’ after ‘‘(c)’’.

16 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT AND ALTERATION OF LICENSE

17 FEES FOR COMMISSION MERCHANTS, DEAL18 ERS (OTHER THAN RETAILERS AND GROCERY

19 WHOLESALERS), AND BROKERS.

20 (a) DISCRETION OF SECRETARY TO ESTABLISH AND

21 ALTER FEES.—Section 3(b) of the Perishable Agricultural

22 Commodities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C. 499c(b)), is amended by

23 inserting after paragraph (1), as designated by section

24 3(a)(1), the following new paragraph:
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1 ‘‘(2) LICENSE FEES.—Upon the filing of an ap2 plication under paragraph (1), the applicant shall

3 pay such license fees, both individually and in the ag4 gregate, as the Secretary determines necessary to meet

5 the reasonably anticipated expenses for administering

6 this Act and the Act to prevent the destruction or

7 dumping of farm produce, approved March 3, 1927 (7

8 U.S.C. 491–497). Thereafter, the licensee shall pay

9 such license fees annually or at such longer interval

10 as the Secretary may prescribe. The Secretary shall

11 take due account of savings to the program when de12 termining an appropriate interval for renewal of li13 censes. The Secretary shall establish and alter license

14 fees only by rulemaking under section 553 of title 5,

15 United States Code, except that the Secretary may

16 not alter the fees required under paragraph (3) or (4)

17 for retailers and grocery wholesalers that are dealers.

18 Effective on the date of the enactment of the Perish19 able Agricultural Commodities Act Amendments of

20 1995 and until such time as the Secretary alters such

21 fees by rule, an individual license fee shall equal $550

22 per year, plus $200 for each branch or additional

23 business facility operated by the applicant in excess

24 of nine such facilities, as determined by the Secretary,

25 subject to an annual aggregate limit of $4,000 per li-
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1 censee. Any increase in license fees prescribed by the

2 Secretary under this paragraph shall not take effect

3 unless the Secretary determines that, without such in4 crease, the funds on hand as of the end of the fiscal

5 year in which the increase takes effect will be less

6 than 25 percent of the projected budget to administer

7 such Acts for the next fiscal year. In no case may a

8 license fee increase by the Secretary take effect before

9 the end of the three-year period beginning on the date

10 of the enactment of the Perishable Agricultural Com11 modities Act Amendments of 1995.’’.

12 (b) REPEAL OF CURRENT CAP ON RESERVE FUNDS.—

13 Paragraph (5) of such section, as designated by section

14 3(a)(3), is amended by striking the sentence that begins

15 with ‘‘The amount of money’’.

16 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS REGARDING THIS

17 SECTION AND SECTION 3.—Section 4(a) of such Act (7

18 U.S.C. 499d(a)) is amended—

19 (1) in the matter preceding the provisos, by

20 striking ‘‘any anniversary date thereof unless the an21 nual fee has been paid’’ and inserting ‘‘the anniver22 sary date of the license at the end of the annual or

23 multiyear period covered by the license fee unless the

24 licensee submits the required renewal application and
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1 pays the applicable renewal fee (if such fee is re2 quired)’’;

3 (2) in the first proviso, by striking ‘‘the necessity

4 of paying the annual fee’’ and inserting ‘‘the necessity

5 of renewing the license and of paying the renewal fee

6 (if such fee is required)’’; and

7 (3) in the second proviso, by striking ‘‘annual

8 fee’’ and inserting ‘‘renewal fee (if required)’’.

9 SEC. 5. INCREASE IN PENALTIES FOR OPERATING WITHOUT

10 A LICENSE AND INCREASE IN LATE RENEWAL

11 FEE.

12 (a) LICENSE PENALTIES.—Section 3(a) of the Perish13 able Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C.

14 499c(a)), as amended by section 3(b)(1), is further amend15 ed—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘$500’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000’’;

17 and

18 (2) by striking ‘‘$25’’ both places it appears and

19 inserting ‘‘$250’’.

20 (b) LATE FILING FEES.—Section 4(a) of the Perish21 able Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C.

22 499d(a)), as amended by section 4(c), is further amended

23 in the second proviso by striking ‘‘plus $5’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘plus $50’’.
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1 SEC. 6. STATUTORY TRUST ON COMMODITIES AND SALE

2 PROCEEDS.

3 (a) REPEAL OF SECRETARIAL NOTIFICATION RE4 QUIREMENT.—Paragraph (3) of section 5(c) of the Perish5 able Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C.

6 499e(c)), is amended in the first sentence by striking ‘‘and

7 has filed such notice with the Secretary’’.

8 (b) CLARIFICATION OF CONTENT OF NOTIFICATION.—

9 Such paragraph is further amended by inserting after the

10 first sentence the following new sentence: ‘‘The written no11 tice to the commission merchant, dealer, or broker shall set

12 forth information in sufficient detail to identify the trans13 action subject to the trust.’’.

14 (c) ADDITIONAL METHOD OF NOTIFICATION FOR LI15 CENSEES.—Such section is further amended—

16 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para17 graph (5); and

18 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the follow19 ing new paragraph:

20 ‘‘(4) In addition to the method of preserving the bene21 fits of the trust specified in paragraph (3), a licensee may

22 use ordinary and usual billing or invoice statements to pro23 vide notice of the licensee’s intent to preserve the trust. The

24 bill or invoice statement must include the information re25 quired by the last sentence of paragraph (3) and contain

26 on the face of the statement the following: ‘The perishable
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1 agricultural commodities listed on this invoice are sold sub2 ject to the statutory trust authorized by section 5(c) of the

3 Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C.

4 499e(c)). The seller of these commodities retains a trust

5 claim over these commodities, all inventories of food or other

6 products derived from these commodities, and any receiv7 ables or proceeds from the sale of these commodities until

8 full payment is received.’.’’.

9 SEC. 7. AUTHORITY OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE RE10 GARDING POSSIBLE VIOLATIONS.

11 (a) DISCIPLINARY VIOLATIONS.—Subsection (b) of sec12 tion 6 of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930

13 (7 U.S.C. 499f), is amended to read as follows:

14 ‘‘(b) DISCIPLINARY VIOLATIONS.—Any officer or agen15 cy of any State or Territory having jurisdiction over com16 mission merchants, dealers, or brokers in such State or Ter17 ritory and any other interested person (other than an em18 ployee of an agency of the Department of Agriculture ad19 ministering this Act) may file, in accordance with rules

20 prescribed by the Secretary, a written notification of any

21 alleged violation of this Act by any commission merchant,

22 dealer, or broker. In addition, any official certificates of

23 the United States Government or States or Territories of

24 the United States and trust notices filed pursuant to section

25 5 shall constitute written notification for the purposes of
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1 conducting an investigation under subsection (c). The iden2 tity of any person filing a written notification under this

3 subsection shall be considered to be confidential informa4 tion. The identity of such person, and any portion of the

5 notification to the extent that it would indicate the identity

6 of such person, are specifically exempt from disclosure

7 under section 552 of title 5, United States Code (commonly

8 known as the Freedom of Information Act), as provided in

9 subsection (b)(3) of such section.’’.

10 (b) GROUNDS AND PROCESS OF INVESTIGATIONS.—

11 Subsection (c) of such section is amended to read as follows:

12 ‘‘(c) INVESTIGATION OF COMPLAINTS AND NOTIFICA13 TIONS.—

14 ‘‘(1) COMMENCING OR EXPANDING AN INVESTIGA15 TION.—If there appears to be, in the opinion of the

16 Secretary, reasonable grounds for investigating a

17 complaint made under subsection (a) or a written no18 tification made under subsection (b), the Secretary

19 shall investigate such complaint or notification. In

20 the course of the investigation, if the Secretary deter21 mines that violations of this Act are indicated other

22 than the alleged violations specified in the complaint

23 or notification that served as the basis for the inves24 tigation, the Secretary may expand the investigation

25 to include such additional violations.
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1 ‘‘(2) ISSUANCE OF COMPLAINT BY SECRETARY;

2 PROCESS.—In the opinion of the Secretary, if an in3 vestigation under this subsection substantiates the ex4 istence of violations of this Act, the Secretary may

5 cause a complaint to be issued. The Secretary shall

6 have the complaint served by registered mail or cer7 tified mail or otherwise on the person concerned and

8 afford such person an opportunity for a hearing

9 thereon before a duly authorized examiner of the Sec10 retary in any place in which the subject of the com11 plaint is engaged in business. However, in complaints

12 wherein the amount claimed as damages does not ex13 ceed $30,000, a hearing need not be held and proof

14 in support of the complaint and in support of re15 spondent’s answer may be supplied in the form of

16 depositions or verified statements of fact.

17 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR

18 CERTAIN INVESTIGATIONS.—Whenever the Secretary

19 initiates an investigation on the basis of a written

20 notification made under subsection (b) or expands

21 such an investigation, the Secretary shall promptly

22 notify the subject of the investigation of the existence

23 of the investigation and the nature of the alleged vio24 lations of this Act to be investigated. Not later than

25 180 days after providing the initial notification, the
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1 Secretary shall provide the subject of the investigation

2 with notice of the status of the investigation, includ3 ing whether the Secretary intends to issue a com4 plaint under paragraph (2), terminate the investiga5 tion, or continue or expand the investigation. The

6 Secretary shall provide additional status reports at

7 the request of the subject of the investigation and shall

8 promptly notify the subject of the investigation when9 ever the Secretary terminates the investigation.’’.

10 (c) INCREASE IN THRESHOLD FOR SHORTENED PRO11 CEDURE CASES.—Subsection (d) of such section is amended

12 by striking ‘‘$15,000’’ both places it appears and inserting

13 ‘‘$30,000’’.

14 (d) STYLISTIC AMENDMENTS.—Such section is further

15 amended—

16 (1) by striking the section heading and ‘‘SEC. 6.’’

17 and inserting the following:

18 ‘‘SEC. 6. COMPLAINTS, WRITTEN NOTIFICATIONS, AND IN19 VESTIGATIONS.’’;

20 (2) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘DECISIONS

21 ON COMPLAINTS.—’’ after ‘‘(d)’’; and

22 (3) in subsection (e), by inserting ‘‘BOND RE23 QUIRED FOR CERTAIN COMPLAINTS.—’’ after ‘‘(e)’’.
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1 SEC. 8. FILING AND HANDLING FEES FOR REPARATION

2 COMPLAINTS.

3 (a) PERMANENT FILING AND HANDLING FEES.—Sec4 tion 6(a) of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act,

5 1930 (7 U.S.C. 499f(a)), is amended—

6 (1) by striking ‘‘(a)’’ and inserting the following:

7 ‘‘(a) REPARATION COMPLAINTS.—

8 ‘‘(1) PETITION; PROCESS.—’’; and

9 (2) by adding at the end the following new para10 graph:

11 ‘‘(2) FILING AND HANDLING FEES.—A person

12 submitting a petition to the Secretary under para13 graph (1) shall include a filing fee of $60 per peti14 tion. If the Secretary determines under paragraph (1)

15 that the facts contained in the petition warrant fur16 ther action, the person or persons submitting the peti17 tion shall submit to the Secretary a handling fee of

18 $300. The Secretary may not forward a copy of the

19 complaint to the commission merchant, dealer, or

20 broker involved until after the Secretary receives the

21 required handling fee. The Secretary shall deposit fees

22 submitted under this paragraph into the Perishable

23 Agricultural Commodities Act Fund provided for by

24 section 3(b). The Secretary may alter the fees speci25 fied in this paragraph by rulemaking under section

26 553 of title 5, United States Code.’’.
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1 (b) INCLUSION OF HANDLING FEE IN CALCULATION OF

2 DAMAGES.—Section 5(a) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 499e(a)) is

3 amended by inserting after ‘‘damages’’ the following: ‘‘(in4 cluding any handling fee paid by the injured person or per5 sons under section 6(a)(2))’’.

6 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO TEMPORARY FEE

7 AUTHORITY.—Public Law 103–276 (7 U.S.C. 499f note) is

8 repealed.

9 SEC. 9. CONSIDERATION OF COLLATERAL FEES AND EX10 PENSES.

11 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 1(b) of the Perishable Agri12 cultural Commodities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C. 499a(b)), is

13 amended by inserting after paragraph (12), as added by

14 section 2, the following new paragraph:

15 ‘‘(13) The term ‘collateral fees and expenses’ means

16 any promotional allowances, rebates, service or materials

17 fees paid or provided, directly or indirectly, in connection

18 with the distribution or marketing of any perishable agri19 cultural commodity.’’.

20 (b) USE OF DEFINITION.—Section 2 of such Act (7

21 U.S.C. 499b) is amended—

22 (1) by striking ‘‘commerce—’’ in the matter be23 fore paragraph (1) and inserting ‘‘commerce:’’;

24 (2) by striking the semicolon at the end of each

25 paragraph and inserting a period; and
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1 (3) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end the

2 following new sentence: ‘‘However, this paragraph

3 shall not be considered to make the good faith offer,

4 solicitation, payment, or receipt of collateral fees and

5 expenses, in and of itself, unlawful under this Act.’’.

6 SEC. 10. CLARIFICATION OF MISBRANDING PROHIBITION.

7 Section 2(5) of the Perishable Agricultural Commod8 ities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C. 499b(5)), is amended—

9 (1) by striking ‘‘commerce: Provided, That’’ and

10 inserting ‘‘commerce. However,’’; and

11 (2) by adding at the end the following new sen12 tence: ‘‘A person other than the first licensee handling

13 misbranded perishable agricultural commodities shall

14 not be held liable for a violation of this paragraph by

15 reason of the conduct of another if the person did not

16 have knowledge of the violation or lacked the ability

17 to correct the violation.’’.

18 SEC. 11. IMPOSITION OF CIVIL PENALTY IN LIEU OF LI19 CENSE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION.

20 Section 8 of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities

21 Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C. 499h), is amended by adding at the

22 end the following new subsection:

23 ‘‘(e) ALTERNATIVE CIVIL PENALTIES.—In lieu of sus24 pending or revoking a license under this section when the

25 Secretary determines, as provided by section 6, that a com-
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1 mission merchant, dealer, or broker has violated section 2

2 or subsection (b) of this section, the Secretary may assess

3 a civil penalty not to exceed $2,000 for each violative trans4 action or each day the violation continues. In assessing the

5 amount of a penalty under this subsection, the Secretary

6 shall give due consideration to the size of the business, the

7 number of employees, and the seriousness, nature, and

8 amount of the violation. Amounts collected under this sub9 section shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United

10 States as miscellaneous receipts.’’.

11 SEC. 12. EXTENSION OF SANCTIONS TO PERSONS RESPON12 SIBLY CONNECTED TO A COMMISSION MER13 CHANT, DEALER, OR BROKER.

14 (a) EXCEPTION TO DEFINITION.—Section 1(b)(9) of

15 the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930 (7

16 U.S.C. 499a(b)(9)), is amended by adding at the end the

17 following new sentence: ‘‘A person shall not be deemed to

18 be responsibly connected if the person demonstrates by a

19 preponderance of the evidence that the person was not ac20 tively involved in the activities resulting in a violation of

21 this Act and that the person either was only nominally a

22 partner, officer, director, or shareholder of a violating li23 censee or entity subject to license or was not an owner of

24 a violating licensee or entity subject to license which was

25 the alter ego of its owners.’’.
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1 (b) EXTENSION OF EMPLOYMENT SANCTION.—Section

2 8(b) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 499h(b)) is amended by adding

3 at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘The Secretary may

4 extend the period of employment sanction as to a respon5 sibly connected person for an additional one-year period

6 upon the determination that the person has been unlawfully

7 employed as provided in this subsection.’’.

8 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT REGARDING LICENSING

9 SANCTION.—Section 4 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 499d) is

10 amended—

11 (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘is prohibited

12 from employment with a licensee under section 8(b)

13 or’’ after ‘‘with the applicant,’’ in the matter preced14 ing subparagraph (A); and

15 (2) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the

16 following new sentence: ‘‘The Secretary may not issue

17 a license to an applicant under this subsection if the

18 applicant or any person responsibly connected with

19 the applicant is prohibited from employment with a

20 licensee under section 8(b).’’.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to amend the

Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930, to modernize, streamline, and strengthen the operation of the

Act.’’.

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