I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3242

To ensure an abundant and affordable supply of highly nutritious fruits, 

vegetables, and other specialty crops for American consumers and international markets by enhancing the competitiveness of United Statesgrown specialty crops, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 2, 2003

Mr. OSE (for himself, Mr. DOOLEY of California, Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA ́, Mr. 

ENGLISH, Mr. FILNER, Mrs. KELLY, Mr. KOLBE, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. NUNES, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. SCOTT of 

Georgia, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. GALLEGLY, Mr. CARDOZA, 

Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. WU, Mr. HINOJOSA, and Mr. FARR) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a 

period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL

To ensure an abundant and affordable supply of highly nutritious fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops for 

American consumers and international markets by enhancing the competitiveness of United States-grown specialty crops, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2003’’. 

4 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

5 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings and purpose. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—SPECIALTY CROP GRANTS AND LOANS 

Sec. 101. Grants to States to enhance competitiveness of specialty crops. 

Sec. 102. Department of Agriculture operating loans. 

TITLE II—MARKETING 

Sec. 201. Implementation of food safety programs under marketing orders. 

Sec. 202. School garden grant pilot program. 

Sec. 203. Increase in maximum amount of assistance authorized under tree assistance program. 

Sec. 204. Hunts Point Terminal Market, Bronx, New York. 

Sec. 205. Maintenance of Fredericksburg Inspection Training Center. 

TITLE III—INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

Sec. 301. Position in Office of the United States Trade Representative for specialty crops. 

Sec. 302. Foreign market access study and strategy plan. 

Sec. 303. Technical assistance for specialty crops. 

Sec. 304. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. 

Sec. 305. Supplier credit guarantee program. 

Sec. 306. Foreign development assistance. 

Sec. 307. Protection of intellectual property rights in plants and plant-derived 

material. 

TITLE IV—SPECIALTY CROP RESEARCH 

Sec. 401. Transfer of administration and funding of Office of Pest Management Policy. 

Sec. 402. Additional research initiatives. 

Sec. 403. National specialty crops development initiative grant program. 

TITLE V—INVASIVE PEST AND DISEASE RESPONSE 

Sec. 501. Emergency response fund. 

Sec. 502. Independent scientific advice for Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service. 

Sec. 503. Food safety initiatives. 

TITLE VI—CONSERVATION 
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Sec. 601. Elimination of limitation on adjusted gross income from eligibility requirements for environmental quality incentives program. 

Sec. 602. Sustainability practices.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

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

3 (1) A secure domestic food supply is a national 

4 security imperative for the United States. 

5 (2) A competitive specialty crop industry in the 

6 United States is necessary for the production of an 

7 abundant, affordable supply of highly nutritious 

8 fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops, which 

9 are vital to the health and well-being of all Ameri10 cans. 

11 (3) Increased consumption of specialty crops 

12 will provide tremendous health and economic bene13 fits to both consumers and specialty crop growers. 

14 (4) Specialty crop growers believe that there are 

15 numerous areas of Federal agriculture policy that 

16 could be improved to promote increased consumption 

17 of specialty crops and increase the competitiveness 

18 of producers in the efficient production of affordable 

19 specialty crops in the United States. 

20 (5) As the globalization of markets continues, it 

21 is becoming increasingly difficult for United States 

22 producers to compete against heavily subsidized for23 eign producers in both the domestic and foreign 

24 markets. 
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1 (6) United States specialty crop producers also 

2 continue to face serious tariff and non-tariff trade 

3 barriers in many export markets. 

4 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to make 

5 necessary changes in Federal agriculture policy to accom6 plish the goals of increasing fruit, vegetable, and nut con7 sumption and improving the competitiveness of United 

8 States specialty crop producers.

9 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this Act: 

11 (1) The term ‘‘specialty crop’’ means all agri12 cultural crops, except wheat, feed grains, oilseeds, 

13 cotton, rice, peanuts, sugar, and tobacco. 

14 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

15 of Agriculture. 

16 (3) The term ‘‘State’’ means the several States, 

17 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 

18 Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

19 Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Vir20 gin Islands, and any other territory or possession of 

21 the United States. 

22 (4) The term ‘‘State department of agriculture’’ 

23 means the agency, commission, or department of a 

24 State government responsible for protecting and pro25 moting agriculture within the State.
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1 TITLE I—SPECIALTY CROP 

2 GRANTS AND LOANS 

3 SEC. 101. GRANTS TO STATES TO ENHANCE COMPETITIVE4 NESS OF SPECIALTY CROPS. 

5 (a) AVAILABILITY AND PURPOSE OF GRANTS.—For 

6 each of the Federal fiscal years 2004 through 2008, the 

7 Secretary of Agriculture shall make a grant under this 

8 section to each State that submits an annual application, 

9 at such time and in such form as the Secretary prescribes, 

10 requesting the grant for that fiscal year. The grant funds 

11 shall be used by the State department of agriculture solely 

12 to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. Grant 

13 funds provided under this section shall supplement the ex14 penditure of State funds in support of specialty crops and 

15 specialty crop producers, and shall not replace State 

16 funds. 

17 (b) GRANTS BASED ON VALUE OF PRODUCTION.—

18 Subject to subsection (c), the amount of the grant for a 

19 fiscal year to a State under this section shall bear the 

20 same ratio to the total amount made available under sub21 section (f) for that year as the value of specialty crop pro22 duction in the State during the preceding calendar year 

23 bears to the value of specialty crop production during that 

24 calendar year in all those States submitting applications 

25 for a grant for that fiscal year.
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1 (c) MINIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—At a minimum, each 

2 eligible State shall receive $2,000,000 per year as a grant 

3 under this section. 

4 (d) GRANT EXPENDITURE PRIORITIES.—As a condi5 tion on the receipt of a grant under this section, the State 

6 department of agriculture shall conduct at least one public 

7 hearing, or provide some other method for public com8 ment, to obtain the advice and opinion of specialty crop 

9 producers in the State regarding the disposition of the 

10 grant funds. The Secretary shall ensure that State agri11 culture authorities take such advice and opinions into ac12 count in making their decisions on the expenditure of the 

13 grant funds. 

14 (e) USE OF COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION.—

15 The Secretary shall use $470,000,000 of funds of the 

16 Commodity Credit Corporation during each of the fiscal 

17 years 2004 through 2008. 

18 SEC. 102. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE OPERATING 

19 LOANS. 

20 (a) INCREASE IN LIMITS ON OPERATING LOANS FOR

21 PRODUCERS OF FRUITS OR VEGETABLES.—Section 

22 313(a)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop23 ment Act (7 U.S.C. 1943(a)(1)) is amended—
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1 (1) by inserting ‘‘or, if the borrower is a pro2 ducer of a specialty crop, $500,000’’ after 

3 ‘‘$200,000’’; and 

4 (2) by inserting ‘‘or, if the borrower is a pro5 ducer of a specialty crop, $1,500,000’’ after 

6 ‘‘$700,000’’.

7 TITLE II—MARKETING 

8 SEC. 201. IMPLEMENTATION OF FOOD SAFETY PROGRAMS 

9 UNDER MARKETING ORDERS. 

10 Section 8c(7) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 

11 U.S.C. 608c(7)), reenacted with amendments by the Agri12 cultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, is amended—

13 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and 

14 (D) as subparagraph (D) and (E), respectively; and 

15 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol16 lowing new subparagraph (C): 

17 ‘‘(C) In the case of an order relating to a specialty 

18 crop, authorizing the implementation of food safety pro19 grams, such as good agricultural and manufacturing prac20 tices, ISO 9000 standards, and Hazard Analysis of Crit21 ical Control Points programs, designed to enhance the 

22 safety of the specialty crop and products derived from spe23 cialty crops.’’. 
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1 SEC. 202. SCHOOL GARDEN GRANT PILOT PROGRAM. 

2 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Agri3 culture may make grants to State or local educational 

4 agencies and nonprofit organizations for the purpose of 

5 supporting school garden programs that allow children to 

6 learn about the importance of specialty crops to a healthy 

7 diet. The Secretary shall initially target the grants to sub8 stantial urban centers. 

9 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall develop 

10 and carry out the grant program in consultation with the 

11 State department of agriculture of each State and other 

12 appropriate institutions in which the grant program is 

13 conducted. 

14 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

15 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

16 $15,000,000 to make grants under this section. 

17 SEC. 203. INCREASE IN MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE 

18 AUTHORIZED UNDER TREE ASSISTANCE PRO19 GRAM. 

20 Section 10204(a) of the Farm Security and Rural In21 vestment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8204(a)) is amended by 

22 striking ‘‘$75,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$150,000’’. 

23 SEC. 204. HUNTS POINT TERMINAL MARKET, BRONX, NEW 

24 YORK. 

25 The Secretary of Agriculture shall use up to 

26 $20,000,000 of the funds of the Commodity Credit Cor-
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1 poration to provide restitution to licensed specialty crop 

2 shippers for economic losses incurred as a result of the 

3 preparation of false inspection certificates by graders of 

4 the Department of Agriculture at Hunts Point Terminal 

5 Market, Bronx, New York. 

6 SEC. 205. MAINTENANCE OF FREDERICKSBURG INSPEC7 TION TRAINING CENTER. 

8 There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec9 retary of Agriculture each fiscal year $1,500,000 specifi10 cally for the maintenance of the Agricultural Marketing 

11 Service inspection training center in Fredericksburg, Vir12 ginia.

13 TITLE III—INTERNATIONAL 

14 TRADE 

15 SEC. 301. POSITION IN OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES 

16 TRADE REPRESENTATIVE FOR SPECIALTY 

17 CROPS. 

18 The United States Trade Representative shall estab19 lish at least one position in the Office of the United States 

20 Trade Representative that is responsible solely for trade 

21 matters related to specialty crops. 

22 SEC. 302. FOREIGN MARKET ACCESS STUDY AND STRATEGY 

23 PLAN. 

24 (a) STUDY.—The General Accounting Office shall 

25 study—
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1 (1) the extent to which United States specialty 

2 crops have or have not benefited from any reduc3 tions of foreign trade barriers, as provided for in the 

4 Uruguay Round Agreements; and 

5 (2) the reasons why United States specialty 

6 crops have or have not benefited from such trade7 barrier reductions. 

8 (b) STRATEGY PLAN.—The Secretary shall prepare 

9 a foreign market access strategy plan, on the basis of the 

10 foreign market access study, to increase exports of spe11 cialty crops, including an assessment of the foreign trade 

12 barriers that are incompatible with the Uruguay Round 

13 Agreements and a strategy for removing those barriers. 

14 (c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

15 of the enactment of this Act, the General Accounting Of16 fice shall submit to Congress a report that contains the 

17 results of the study and the Secretary shall submit to Con18 gress the plan. 

19 (d) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, 

20 ‘‘Uruguay Round Agreements’’ includes any agreement re21 ferred to in section 101(d) of the Uruguay Round Agree22 ments Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)).
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1 SEC. 303. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR SPECIALTY CROPS. 

2 Section 3205(d) of the Farm Security and Rural In3 vestment Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–171; 7 U.S.C. 

4 5680(d)) is amended—

5 (1) by striking ‘‘$2,000,000’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘$10,000,000’’; and 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘2002’’ and inserting ‘‘2004’’. 

8 SEC. 304. ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERV9 ICE. 

10 The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish, in the 

11 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the De12 partment of Agriculture, the Sanitary and Phytosanitary 

13 Export Petition Division for the sole purpose of processing 

14 petitions that are submitted to that service for reducing 

15 sanitary and phytosanitary trade barriers in export mar16 kets. Each division shall be adequately staffed and sup17 ported by resources necessary and appropriate to manage 

18 the work associated with export petitions. The Secretary 

19 is directed to eliminate the existing backlog of petitions 

20 within five years of enactment. 

21 SEC. 305. SUPPLIER CREDIT GUARANTEE PROGRAM. 

22 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall di23 rect the Foreign Agricultural Service of the Department 

24 of Agriculture, in consultation with the Agricultural Tech25 nical Advisory Committee for Trade in Fruits and Vegeta26 bles and the Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee 
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1 for Processed Foods, to study how the Supplier Credit 

2 Guarantee Program, as provided in section 202 of the Ag3 ricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5622), can be 

4 modified to increase exports of specialty crops. The study 

5 shall include an examination of how other countries that 

6 are members of the World Trade Organization facilitate 

7 exports of specialty crops from these countries. 

8 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

10 to Congress a report that contains the results of the study. 

11 SEC. 306. FOREIGN DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE. 

12 (a) STUDY.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall di13 rect the Foreign Agricultural Service of the Department 

14 of Agriculture, in consultation with the Economic Re15 search Service of that Department and the Agency for 

16 International Development, to evaluate how the United 

17 States Government can best assist the economic develop18 ment of developing countries without causing harm to the 

19 United States specialty crop industry. 

20 (b) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

22 to Congress a report that contains the results of the eval23 uation.
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1 SEC. 307. PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 

2 RIGHTS IN PLANTS AND PLANT-DERIVED MA3 TERIAL. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

5 shall establish an office in the Department of Agriculture 

6 for the sole purpose of encouraging the development and 

7 protection of intellectual property rights in plants and ma8 terial derived from plants. 

9 (b) DUTIES.—The office shall be an advocate for the 

10 interests of United States producers of specialty crops—

11 (1) before the Office of Patents, Trademarks, 

12 and Copyrights of the United States Department of 

13 Commerce and other Federal agencies; and 

14 (2) in international governmental and non15 governmental organizations dealing with intellectual 

16 property rights. 

17 TITLE IV—SPECIALTY CROP 

18 RESEARCH AND GRANTS

19 SEC. 401. TRANSFER OF ADMINISTRATION AND FUNDING 

20 OF OFFICE OF PEST MANAGEMENT POLICY. 

21 (a) TRANSFER.—The Secretary shall transfer the Of22 fice of Pest Management Policy of the Department of Ag23 riculture from the Agricultural Research Service to the Of24 fice of the Secretary of Agriculture for administrative and 

25 funding purposes. 
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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $5,000,000 

3 each fiscal year for the activities of the Office of Pest 

4 Management Policy. 

5 SEC. 402. ADDITIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIVES. 

6 (a) METHYL BROMIDE ALTERNATIVES.—

7 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall ele8 vate the priority of current methyl bromide alter9 native research and extension activities and reexam10 ine the risks and benefits of extending the phase-out 

11 deadline in effect on the date of the enactment of 

12 this title. Any alternative pesticide to methyl bro13 mide shall include—

14 (A) the estimated cost to the grower or 

15 processor associated with the alternative pes16 ticide; and 

17 (B) how that cost is likely to relate to 

18 international trade, especially in competition 

19 with countries not prohibited from using methyl 

20 bromide. 

21 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

22 There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 

23 to carry out this subsection. 

24 (b) QUANTIFICATION OF CLEAN AIR BENEFITS.—
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1 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary, acting 

2 through the Economic Research Service, shall quan3 tify the clean air benefits of the specialty crop indus4 try in relation to urban sprawl. 

5 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

6 There is authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 

7 to carry out this subsection. 

8 (c) ENHANCING QUALITY OF FRESH PRODUCE.— 

9 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary, action 

10 through the Agriculture Research Service and Coop11 erative State Research, Education, and Extension 

12 Service, shall conduct preharvest and post harvest 

13 research specifically targeted to maintain and en14 hance the quality of fresh produce, including taste 

15 and appearance. 

16 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

17 There is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 

18 to carry out this subsection. 

19 (d) NEW CROP PROTECTION TOOLS.—

20 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall con21 duct research to develop cost effective and effica22 cious new crop protection tools and integrated pest 

23 management systems to address the loss of key pes24 ticides through the implementation of the Food 
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1 Quality Protection Act of 1996 and related meas2 ures.

3 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

4 There is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 

5 to carry out this subsection. 

6 (e) FOREIGN INVASIVE PESTS AND DISEASES.—

7 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary may con8 duct specific research—

9 (A) to identify and prioritize the harmful 

10 economic and health impact of foreign invasive 

11 pests and diseases threatening the United 

12 States; and 

13 (B) to develop corresponding eradication 

14 and control programs. 

15 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

16 There is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 

17 to carry out this subsection. 

18 SEC. 403. NATIONAL SPECIALTY CROPS DEVELOPMENT INI19 TIATIVE GRANT PROGRAM. 

20 The Secretary, through integrated competitive grant 

21 programs administered by the Cooperative Research, Edu22 cation, and Extension Service, shall use $30,000,000 from 

23 the Commodity Credit Corporation for each of fiscal years 

24 2005 through 2009 to support the National Specialty 

25 Crop Development Initiative, a long-term program to im-
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1 prove efficiency and competitiveness of specialty crop pro2 ducers in the world marketplace. The Secretary, through 

3 the Agricultural Research Service and the Cooperative Re4 search, Education, and Extension Service, working jointly 

5 with industry, shall use an appropriate amount of such 

6 funds to organize workshops to develop a comprehensive 

7 strategic plan to address short-term, intermediate-term, 

8 and long-term needs in production technology, marketing, 

9 product development, and food safety issues essential to 

10 maintain a competitive specialty crop industry.

11 TITLE V—INVASIVE PEST AND 

12 DISEASE RESPONSE

13 SEC. 501. EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established on the 

15 books of the Treasury an account to be known as the 

16 ‘‘Invasive Pest and Disease Response Fund’’. There shall 

17 be deposited into the Fund—

18 (1) such amounts as may be authorized for and 

19 appropriated to the Fund; and 

20 (B) any proceeds received by the Secretary of 

21 Agriculture as reimbursement for services provided 

22 by the Secretary using amounts in the Fund. 

23 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts in the Fund shall re24 main available until expended. 
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1 (c) USE OF FUND.—In such amounts as provided in 

2 appropriation Acts, the Secretary may use amounts in the 

3 Fund to support emergency eradication and research ac4 tivities of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

5 in response to economic and health threats posed by 

6 invasive pests and disease to agricultural commodities. 

7 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 are authorized to be appropriated to the Fund such 

9 amounts as may be necessary to achieve a balance in the 

10 Fund of $75,000,000 at the start of each fiscal year. 

11 SEC. 502. INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC ADVICE FOR ANIMAL 

12 AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE. 

13 (a) FINDING.—Congress finds that the decisional 

14 process at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 

15 with respect to requests to import specialty crops into the 

16 United States or export specialty crops from the United 

17 States would have greater credibility if the scientific anal18 ysis underlying such requests were to undergo independent 

19 scientific peer review. 

20 (b) PEER REVIEW PROCESS.—The Administrator of 

21 the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service shall es22 tablish a process to obtain independent advice and peer 

23 review on the scientific and technical aspects of requests 

24 to import specialty crops into the United States or export 

25 specialty crops from the United States, including the prep-
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1 aration of risk assessments and the design of mitigation 

2 measures. The independent review process shall be initi3 ated at the request of the Administrator. 

4 (c) QUALIFICATIONS.—Each person who participates 

5 in an independent scientific review panel under this sec6 tion shall be qualified by education, training, and experi7 ence to evaluate scientific and technical information on 

8 matters subject to review. 

9 (d) REVIEW REQUIRED.—The Administrator shall 

10 request an independent review of the scientific and tech11 nical work products data that are used in connection with 

12 policy guidance on or in support of a decision on any of 

13 the following: 

14 (1) Any situation where there has been a re15 quest to export a United States-grown specialty crop 

16 to another country. 

17 (2) Establishment of the ‘‘appropriate level of 

18 protection’’ or ‘‘level of negligible risk’’ which will be 

19 applicable to the consideration of a request for ap20 proval to import a specialty crop from another coun21 try. 

22 (3) Consideration of the type (qualitative or 

23 quantitative) of risk assessment to conduct with re24 spect to a request for approval for the importation 

25 of a specialty crop into the United States. 
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1 (4) The sufficiency, type, and quality of data 

2 that should be submitted to the Administrator in 

3 conjunction with a request to import a specialty crop

4 into the United States and to merit preparation of 

5 a risk assessment. 

6 (5) Following preparation of a risk assessment, 

7 a review of—

8 (A) the risk assessment, including the as9 sumptions and interpretation of the data used; 

10 and 

11 (B) the mitigation measures designed to 

12 address the plant pest and disease issues rel13 evant to the request. 

14 (6) Situations in which the Animal and Plant 

15 Health Inspection Service is considering permitting 

16 an import from a country where—

17 (A) multiple plant pests are present in the 

18 growing regions; 

19 (B) both plant pests and plant diseases are 

20 present in the growing regions; or 

21 (C) new information or developments have 

22 become known which cast doubt on the sci23 entific underpinning of previous decisions. 

24 (e) REVIEW PROCESS.—To facilitate review under 

25 this section, the Administrator shall make available to the 
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1 review panel all of the scientific and technical information 

2 in the possession of the Animal and Plant Health Inspec3 tion Service that is relevant to the matter to be reviewed. 

4 The panel shall make available to the Administrator, with5 in the time specified by the Administrator, advice and 

6 comments on the adequacy of the scientific and technical 

7 basis of the proposed action, together with any pertinent 

8 information in the possession of the panel. 

9 (f) UTILIZATION OF TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC CA10 PABILITIES OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.—In preparing such 

11 advice and comments, a review panel may avail itself of 

12 the technical and scientific capabilities of any Federal 

13 agency having relevant expertise. 

14 (g) COMMITTEES AND INVESTIGATIVE PANELS.—

15 The Administrator may establish such committees and 

16 panels as are necessary to carry out this section. 

17 (h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated such funds as are nec19 essary to carry out this section. 

20 SEC. 503. FOOD SAFETY INITIATIVES. 

21 (a) INITIATIVE AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Ag22 riculture may carry out a food safety education program 

23 to educate the public and persons in the fresh produce 

24 industry about—
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1 (1) scientifically proven practices for reducing 

2 microbial pathogens on fresh produce; and 

3 (2) methods of reducing the threat of cross-con4 tamination of fresh produce through unsanitary han5 dling practices. 

6 (b) COOPERATION.—The Secretary may carry out the 

7 education program in cooperation with public and private 

8 partners. 

9 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

10 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

11 $1,000,000 to carry out this section.

12 TITLE VI—CONSERVATION

13 SEC. 601. ELIMINATION OF LIMITATION ON ADJUSTED 

14 GROSS INCOME FROM ELIGIBILITY REQUIRE15 MENTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IN16 CENTIVES PROGRAM. 

17 Section 1001D(b)(2)(C) of the Food Security Act of 

18 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308–3a(b)(2)(C)) is amended by insert19 ing ‘‘(other than the program under chapter 4 of subtitle 

20 D of such title)’’ after ‘‘of this Act’’. 

21 SEC. 602. SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES. 

22 (a) ENCOURAGEMENT OF VOLUNTARY SUSTAIN23 ABILITY PRACTICES GUIDELINES.—In administering this 

24 Act and the amendments made by this Act, the Secretary 

25 of Agriculture shall encourage the development of vol-
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1 untary sustainable practices guidelines for producers and 

2 processors of specialty crops, including provisions that—

3 (1) enhance producer-to-producer and proc4 essor-to-processor education about the importance of 

5 sustainable practices, and how self-governance will 

6 enhance the economic viability and future of the spe7 cialty crop community; and 

8 (2) demonstrate that working closely with 

9 neighbors, communities, and other stakeholders to 

10 maintain an open dialogue can address concerns, en11 hance mutual respect, and accelerate results. 

12 (b) PRIORITY IN ELIGIBILITY FOR CONSERVATION

13 PROGRAMS.—In establishing eligibility for participation in 

14 conservation programs administered by the Department of 

15 Agriculture, the Secretary of Agriculture may give priority 

16 to specialty crop producers who follow such sustainability 

17 guidelines.

Æ