In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

October 3, 1994.

Resolved, That the House agree to the amendment of

the Senate to the bill (H.R. 4217) entitled ‘‘An Act to reform

the Federal crop insurance program, and for other purposes’’,

with the following

AMENDMENT:

Strike out all after the enacting clause, and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

3 ‘‘Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agri4 culture Reorganization Act of 1994’’.

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

6 Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—FEDERAL CROP INSURANCE REFORM

Sec. 101. Short title; references.

Sec. 102. Definitions.

Sec. 103. Members of Board of Directors of Corporation.

Sec. 104. General powers.

Sec. 105. Personnel.

Sec. 106. Crop insurance.

Sec. 107. Crop insurance yield coverage.

Sec. 108. Preemption.

Sec. 109. Advisory Committee.

Sec. 110. Funding.

Sec. 111. Noninsured crop disaster assistance.

Sec. 112. Payment and income limitations.

Sec. 113. Producer eligibility.

Sec. 114. Ineligibility for catastrophic risk and noninsured assistance payments.

Sec. 115. Elimination of gender references.

Sec. 116. Prevented planting.

Sec. 117. Report on improving dissemination of crop insurance information.
2

•HR 4217 EAH

Sec. 118. Crop insurance provider evaluation.

Sec. 119. Conforming amendments.

Sec. 120. Effective date.

TITLE II—DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

REORGANIZATION

Sec. 201. Short title.

Sec. 202. Purpose.

Sec. 203. Definitions.

Subtitle A—General Reorganization Authorities

Sec. 211. Transfer of Department functions to Secretary of Agriculture.

Sec. 212. Authority of Secretary to delegate transferred functions.

Sec. 213. Reductions in number of department personnel.

Sec. 214. Consolidation of headquarters offices.

Sec. 215. Combination of field offices.

Sec. 216. Improvement of information sharing.

Sec. 217. Reports by the Secretary.

Sec. 218. Assistant Secretaries of Agriculture.

Sec. 219. Pay increases prohibited.

Subtitle B—Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services

Sec. 225. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural

Services.

Sec. 226. Consolidated Farm Service Agency.

Sec. 227. State, county, and area committees.

Subtitle C—Rural Economic and Community Development

Sec. 231. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Economic and Community

Development.

Sec. 232. Rural Utilities Service.

Sec. 233. Rural Housing and Community Development Service.

Sec. 234. Rural Business and Cooperative Development Service.

Sec. 235. Conforming amendments regarding Rural Electrification Administration.

Subtitle D—Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services

Sec. 241. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer

Services.

Subtitle E—Natural Resources and Environment

Sec. 245. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment.

Sec. 246. Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Sec. 247. Reorganization of Forest Service.

Subtitle F—Research, Education, and Economics

Sec. 251. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics.

Sec. 252. Program staff.
3

•HR 4217 EAH

Subtitle G—Food Safety

Sec. 261. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safety.

Sec. 262. Conditions for implementation of alterations in the level of additives allowed in animal diets.

Subtitle H—National Appeals Division

Sec. 271. Definitions.

Sec. 272. National Appeals Division and Director.

Sec. 273. Transfer of functions.

Sec. 274. Notice and opportunity for hearing.

Sec. 275. Informal hearings.

Sec. 276. Right of participants to Division hearing.

Sec. 277. Division hearings.

Sec. 278. Director review of determinations of hearing officers.

Sec. 279. Judicial review.

Sec. 280. Implementation of final determinations of Division.

Sec. 281. Conforming amendments relating to National Appeals Division.

Sec. 282. Expansion of issues covered by State mediation programs.

Sec. 283. Authorization of appropriations.

Subtitle I—Miscellaneous Reorganization Provisions

Sec. 291. Successorship provisions relating to bargaining units and exclusive representatives.

Sec. 292. Purchase of American-made equipment and products.

Sec. 293. Miscellaneous conforming amendments.

Sec. 294. Removal of obsolete administrative provisions.

Sec. 295. Proposed conforming amendments.

Sec. 296. Termination of authority.

TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 301. Poultry labeling.

Sec. 302. First Amendment rights of employees of the United States Department

of Agriculture.

Sec. 303. Adjusted cost of thrifty food plan.

Sec. 304. Office of Risk Assessment and Cost-Benefit Analysis.

Sec. 305. Fair and equitable treatment of socially disadvantaged producers.

Sec. 306. Aviation inspections.

1 TITLE I—FEDERAL CROP

2 INSURANCE REFORM

3 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES.

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

5 ‘‘Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of 1994’’.

6 (b) REFERENCES TO FEDERAL CROP INSURANCE

7 ACT.—Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in
4

•HR 4217 EAH

1 this title an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of

2 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision,

3 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or

4 other provision of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C.

5 1501 et seq.).

6 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 502 (7 U.S.C. 1502) is

8 amended—

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

10 502.’’ and inserting the following:

11 ‘‘SEC. 502. PURPOSE AND DEFINITIONS.

12 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—’’; and

13 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub14 section:

15 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this title:

16 ‘‘(1) ADDITIONAL COVERAGE.—The term ‘addi17 tional coverage’ means a plan of crop insurance cov18 erage providing a level of coverage greater than the

19 level available under catastrophic risk protection.

20 ‘‘(2) APPROVED INSURANCE PROVIDER.—The

21 term ‘approved insurance provider’ means a private

22 insurance provider that has been approved by the

23 Corporation to provide insurance coverage to produc24 ers participating in the Federal crop insurance pro25 gram established under this title.
5

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(3) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the

2 Board of Directors of the Corporation established

3 under section 505(a).

4 ‘‘(4) CORPORATION.—The term ‘Corporation’

5 means the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation estab6 lished under section 503.

7 ‘‘(5) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘Department’

8 means the United States Department of Agriculture.

9 ‘‘(6) LOSS RATIO.—The term ‘loss ratio’ means

10 the ratio of all sums paid by the Corporation as in11 demnities under any eligible crop insurance policy to

12 that portion of the premium designated for antici13 pated losses and a reasonable reserve, other than that

14 portion of the premium designated for operating and

15 administrative expenses.

16 ‘‘(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means

17 the Secretary of Agriculture.

18 ‘‘(8) TRANSITIONAL YIELD.—The term ‘transi19 tional yield’ means the maximum average production

20 per acre or equivalent measure that is assigned to

21 acreage for a crop year by the Corporation in accord22 ance with the regulations of the Corporation whenever

23 the producer fails—
6

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(A) to certify that acceptable documenta2 tion of production and acreage for the crop year

3 is in the possession of the producer; or

4 ‘‘(B) to present the acceptable documenta5 tion on the demand of the Corporation or an in6 surance company reinsured by the Corpora7 tion.’’.

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

9 (1) The first sentence of section 503 (7 U.S.C.

10 1503) is amended by striking ‘‘(herein called the Cor11 poration)’’.

12 (2) Section 504 (7 U.S.C. 1504) is amended—

13 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Board of

14 Directors of the Corporation’’ and inserting

15 ‘‘Board’’; and

16 (B) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘Federal

17 Crop Insurance Corporation’’ and inserting

18 ‘‘Corporation’’.

19 (3) The first sentence of section 505(a) (7 U.S.C.

20 1505(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘(hereinafter called

21 the ‘Board’)’’.

22 (4) Except in section 502, the Act is amended—

23 (A) by striking ‘‘Board of Directors’’ each

24 place it appears and inserting ‘‘Board’’;
7

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (B) by striking ‘‘Department of Agri2 culture’’ each place it appears and inserting

3 ‘‘Department’’; and

4 (C) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Agriculture’’

5 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’.

6 SEC. 103. MEMBERS OF BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF COR7 PORATION.

8 The second sentence of section 505(a) (7 U.S.C.

9 1505(a)) is amended—

10 (1) by striking ‘‘or Assistant Secretary’’ the first

11 place it appears; and

12 (2) by striking ‘‘the Under Secretary or Assist13 ant Secretary of Agriculture responsible for the farm

14 credit programs of the Department of Agriculture’’

15 and inserting ‘‘one additional Under Secretary of Ag16 riculture (as designated by the Secretary of Agri17 culture)’’.

18 SEC. 104. GENERAL POWERS.

19 Section 506 (7 U.S.C. 1506) is amended—

20 (1) by redesignating subsections (j) through (n)

21 as subsections (k) through (o), respectively;

22 (2) by inserting after subsection (i) the following

23 new subsection:

24 ‘‘(j) SETTLING CLAIMS.—The Corporation shall have

25 the authority to make final and conclusive settlement and
8

•HR 4217 EAH

1 adjustment of any claim by or against the Corporation or

2 a fiscal officer of the Corporation.’’;

3 (3) in subsection (l) (as so redesignated)—

4 (A) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘, and

5 issue regulations,’’ after ‘‘agreements’’; and

6 (B) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘con7 tracts or agreements’’ each place it appears and

8 inserting ‘‘contracts, agreements, or regulations’’;

9 (4) in subsection (n)(1) (as so redesignated), by

10 striking subparagraph (B) and inserting the following

11 new subparagraph:

12 ‘‘(B) disqualify the person from purchasing

13 catastrophic risk protection or receiving

14 noninsured assistance for a period of not to ex15 ceed 2 years, or from receiving any other benefit

16 under this title for a period of not to exceed 10

17 years.’’;

18 (5) in subsection (o) (as so redesignated)—

19 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1)

20 through (4) as subparagraphs (A) through (D)

21 and aligning the margins of each subparagraph

22 with the margins of subparagraph (A) of sub23 section (n)(1) (as redesignated by paragraph

24 (1));
9

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (B) by striking ‘‘(o) ACTUARIAL SOUND2 NESS.—The Corporation’’ and inserting the fol3 lowing:

4 ‘‘(o) ACTUARIAL SOUNDNESS.—

5 ‘‘(1) PROJECTED LOSS RATIO AS OF OCTOBER 1,

6 1995.—The Corporation’’;

7 (C) in subparagraph (A) (as redesignated

8 by subparagraph (A)), by striking ‘‘from obtain9 ing adequate Federal crop insurance, as deter10 mined by the Corporation’’ and inserting ‘‘(as

11 defined by the Secretary) from obtaining Federal

12 crop insurance’’;

13 (D) in subparagraph (C) (as so redesig14 nated)—

15 (i) by inserting ‘‘, agents, and loss ad16 justers’’ after ‘‘participating producers’’;

17 and

18 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, agents, and loss ad19 justers’’ after ‘‘identify insured producers’’;

20 and

21 (E) by adding at the end the following new

22 paragraphs:

23 ‘‘(2) PROJECTED LOSS RATIO AS OF OCTOBER 1,

24 1998.—The Corporation shall take such actions, in25 cluding the establishment of adequate premiums, as
10

•HR 4217 EAH

1 are necessary to improve the actuarial soundness of

2 Federal multiperil crop insurance made available

3 under this title to achieve, on and after October 1,

4 1998, an overall projected loss ratio of not greater

5 than 1.075.

6 ‘‘(3) NONSTANDARD CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM.—

7 To the extent that the Corporation uses the non8 standard classification system, the Corporation shall

9 apply the system to all insured producers in a fair

10 and consistent manner.’’; and

11 (6) by adding at the end the following new sub12 sections:

13 ‘‘(p) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary and the Corpora14 tion are each authorized to issue such regulations as are

15 necessary to carry out this title.

16 ‘‘(q) PROGRAM COMPLIANCE.—

17 ‘‘(1) TIMELINESS.—The Corporation shall work

18 actively with approved insurance providers to address

19 program compliance and integrity issues as the issues

20 develop.

21 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE PROB22 LEMS.—The Corporation shall notify in writing any

23 approved insurance provider with whom the Corpora24 tion has an agreement under this title of any error,

25 omission, or failure to follow Corporation regulations
11

•HR 4217 EAH

1 or procedures for which the approved insurance pro2 vider may be responsible and which may result in a

3 debt owed the Corporation. The notice shall be given

4 within 3 years of the end of the insurance period dur5 ing which the error, omission, or failure is alleged to

6 have occurred, except that this time limit shall not

7 apply with respect to errors, omissions, or procedural

8 violations that are willful or intentional. The failure

9 to timely provide the notice required under this sub10 section shall relieve the approved insurance provider

11 from the debt owed the Corporation.

12 ‘‘(r) PURCHASE OF AMERICAN-MADE EQUIPMENT AND

13 PRODUCTS.—

14 ‘‘(1) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of

15 Congress that, to the greatest extent practicable, all

16 equipment and products purchased by the Corpora17 tion using funds made available to the Corporation

18 should be American-made.

19 ‘‘(2) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—In providing fi20 nancial assistance to, or entering into any contract

21 with, any entity for the purchase of equipment and

22 products to carry out this title, the Corporation, to

23 the greatest extent practicable, shall provide to the en24 tity a notice describing the statement made in para25 graph (1).’’.
12

•HR 4217 EAH

1 SEC. 105. PERSONNEL.

2 Section 507 (7 U.S.C. 1507) is amended—

3 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘, and county

4 crop insurance committeemen’’;

5 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘of this Act,’’

6 and all that follows through ‘‘agency’’; and

7 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub8 section:

9 ‘‘(g)(1) The Corporation shall establish a management10 level position to be known as the Specialty Crops Coordina11 tor.

12 ‘‘(2) The Specialty Crops Coordinator shall have pri13 mary responsibility for addressing the needs of specialty

14 crop producers, and for providing information and advice,

15 in connection with the activities of the Corporation to im16 prove and expand the insurance program for specialty

17 crops. In carrying out this paragraph, the Specialty Crops

18 Coordinator shall act as the liaison of the Corporation with

19 representatives of specialty crop producers and assist the

20 Corporation with the knowledge, expertise, and familiarity

21 of the producers with risk management and production is22 sues pertaining to specialty crops.

23 ‘‘(3) The Specialty Crops Coordinator shall use infor24 mation collected from Corporation field office directors in

25 States in which specialty crops have a significant economic
13

•HR 4217 EAH

1 effect and from other sources, including the extension service

2 and colleges and universities.’’.

3 SEC. 106. CROP INSURANCE.

4 Section 508 (7 U.S.C. 1508) is amended to read as

5 follows:

6 ‘‘SEC. 508. CROP INSURANCE.

7 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO OFFER INSURANCE.—

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If sufficient actuarial data

9 are available (as determined by the Corporation), the

10 Corporation may insure, or provide reinsurance for

11 insurers of, producers of agricultural commodities

12 grown in the United States under 1 or more plans of

13 insurance determined by the Corporation to be adapt14 ed to the agricultural commodity concerned. To qual15 ify for coverage under a plan of insurance, the losses

16 of the insured commodity must be due to drought,

17 flood, or other natural disaster (as determined by the

18 Secretary).

19 ‘‘(2) PERIOD.—Except in the cases of tobacco

20 and potatoes, insurance shall not extend beyond the

21 period during which the insured commodity is in the

22 field. As used in the preceding sentence, in the case

23 of an aquacultural species, the term ‘field’ means the

24 environment in which the commodity is produced.
14

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(3) EXCLUSIONS.—Insurance provided under

2 this subsection shall not cover losses due to—

3 ‘‘(A) the neglect or malfeasance of the pro4 ducer;

5 ‘‘(B) the failure of the producer to reseed to

6 the same crop in such areas and under such cir7 cumstances as it is customary to reseed; or

8 ‘‘(C) the failure of the producer to follow

9 good farming practices (as determined by the

10 Secretary).

11 ‘‘(4) EXPANSION TO OTHER AREAS OR SINGLE

12 PRODUCERS.—

13 ‘‘(A) AREA EXPANSION.—The Corporation

14 may offer plans of insurance or reinsurance for

15 production of agricultural commodities in the

16 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Is17 lands, Guam, American Samoa, the Common18 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Re19 public of the Marshall Islands, the Federated

20 States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau

21 in the same manner as provided in this section

22 for production of agricultural commodities in the

23 United States.

24 ‘‘(B) PRODUCER EXPANSION.—In an area

25 in the United States or specified in subpara-
15

•HR 4217 EAH

1 graph (A) where crop insurance is not available

2 for a particular agricultural commodity, the

3 Corporation may offer to enter into a written

4 agreement with an individual producer operat5 ing in the area for insurance coverage under this

6 title if the producer has actuarially sound data

7 relating to the production by the producer of the

8 commodity and the data is acceptable to the Cor9 poration.

10 ‘‘(5) DISSEMINATION OF CROP INSURANCE IN11 FORMATION.—The Corporation shall make available

12 to producers through local offices of the Department—

13 ‘‘(A) current and complete information on

14 all aspects of Federal crop insurance; and

15 ‘‘(B) a listing of insurance agents and com16 panies offering to sell crop insurance in the area

17 of the producers.

18 ‘‘(6) ADDITION OF NEW AND SPECIALTY

19 CROPS.—

20 ‘‘(A) DATA COLLECTION.—Not later than

21 180 days after the date of enactment of this

22 paragraph, the Secretary shall issue guidelines

23 for publication in the Federal Register for data

24 collection to assist the Corporation in formulat-
16

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ing crop insurance policies for new and specialty

2 crops.

3 ‘‘(B) ADDITION OF NEW CROPS.—Not later

4 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this

5 paragraph, and annually thereafter, the Cor6 poration shall report to Congress on the progress

7 and expected timetable for expanding crop insur8 ance coverage under this title to new and spe9 cialty crops.

10 ‘‘(C) ADDITION OF DIRECT SALE PERISH11 ABLE CROPS.—Not later than 1 year after the

12 date of enactment of this paragraph, the Cor13 poration shall report to Congress on the feasibil14 ity of offering a crop insurance program de15 signed to meet the needs of specialized producers

16 of vegetables and other perishable crops who

17 market through direct marketing channels.

18 ‘‘(b) CATASTROPHIC RISK PROTECTION.—

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall offer a

20 catastrophic risk protection plan to indemnify pro21 ducers for crop loss due to loss of yield or prevented

22 planting, if provided by the Corporation, when the

23 producer is unable, because of drought, flood, or other

24 natural disaster (as determined by the Secretary), to
17

•HR 4217 EAH

1 plant other crops for harvest on the acreage for the

2 crop year.

3 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF COVERAGE.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara5 graph (B)—

6 ‘‘(i) in the case of each of the 1995

7 through 1998 crop years, catastrophic risk

8 protection shall offer a producer coverage

9 for a 50 percent loss in yield, on an indi10 vidual yield or area yield basis, indem11 nified at 60 percent of the expected market

12 price, or a comparable coverage (as deter13 mined by the Corporation); and

14 ‘‘(ii) in the case of each of the 1999

15 and subsequent crop years, catastrophic risk

16 protection shall offer a producer coverage

17 for a 50 percent loss in yield, on an indi18 vidual yield or area yield basis, indem19 nified at 55 percent of the expected market

20 price, or a comparable coverage (as deter21 mined by the Corporation).

22 ‘‘(B) REDUCTION IN ACTUAL PAYMENT.—

23 The amount paid to a producer on a claim

24 under catastrophic risk protection may reflect a

25 reduction that is proportional to the out-of-pock-
18

•HR 4217 EAH

1 et expenses that are not incurred by the producer

2 as a result of not planting, growing, or harvest3 ing the crop for which the claim is made, as de4 termined by the Corporation.

5 ‘‘(3) YIELD AND LOSS BASIS.—A producer shall

6 have the option of basing the catastrophic coverage of

7 the producer on an individual yield and loss basis or

8 on an area yield and loss basis, if both options are

9 offered by the Corporation.

10 ‘‘(4) SALE OF CATASTROPHIC RISK COVERAGE.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Catastrophic risk cov12 erage may be offered by—

13 ‘‘(i) approved insurance providers, if

14 available in an area; and

15 ‘‘(ii) at the option of the Secretary that

16 is based on considerations of need, local of17 fices of the Department.

18 ‘‘(B) NEED.—For purposes of considering

19 need under subparagraph (A)(ii), the Secretary

20 may take into account the most efficient and

21 cost-effective use of resources, the availability of

22 personnel, fairness to local producers, the needs

23 and convenience of local producers, and the

24 availability of private insurance carriers.

25 ‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATIVE FEE.—
19

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(A) FEE REQUIRED.—Producers shall pay

2 an administrative fee for catastrophic risk pro3 tection. The administrative fee for each producer

4 shall be $50 per crop per county, but not to ex5 ceed $200 per producer per county up to a maxi6 mum of $600 per producer for all counties in

7 which a producer has insured crops. The admin8 istrative fee shall be paid by the producer at the

9 time the producer applies for catastrophic risk

10 protection.

11 ‘‘(B) USE OF FEES.—

12 ‘‘(i) FEES UP TO $100.—

13 ‘‘(I) FEES COLLECTED BY USDA

14 OFFICES.—Not more than $100 of the

15 administrative fees paid by a producer

16 for catastrophic risk coverage that are

17 collected by an office of the Department

18 shall be credited to the appropriations

19 account providing funds for the pay20 ment of operating and administrative

21 expenses incurred for the delivery of

22 catastrophic risk protection under this

23 section. The fees shall be collected in

24 accordance with appropriation Acts

25 and shall be available until expended
20

•HR 4217 EAH

1 without fiscal year limitation for the

2 payment of the expenses.

3 ‘‘(II) FEES COLLECTED BY AP4 PROVED INSURANCE PROVIDERS.—Not

5 more than $100 of the administrative

6 fees paid by a producer for cata7 strophic risk coverage that are collected

8 by an approved insurance provider

9 shall be retained by the provider as

10 payment for operating and adminis11 trative expenses incurred for the deliv12 ery of catastrophic risk protection.

13 ‘‘(ii) FEES IN EXCESS OF $100.—Not14 withstanding the authority granted to the

15 Secretary under the Federal Crop Insurance

16 Corporation account provisions of the Agri17 cultural, Rural Development, Food and

18 Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

19 Appropriations Act, 1995, all fees collected

20 under this subsection in excess of $100 per

21 producer per county shall be deposited in

22 the crop insurance fund established under

23 section 516(c), to be available for the pro24 grams and activities of the Corporation.
21

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(C) WAIVER OF FEE.—The Corporation

2 shall waive the administrative fee for limited re3 source farmers, as defined by the Corporation.

4 ‘‘(6) PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENT.—A pro5 ducer may obtain catastrophic risk coverage for a

6 crop of the producer on land in the county only if the

7 producer obtains the coverage for the crop on all in8 surable land of the producer in the county.

9 ‘‘(7) ELIGIBILITY FOR DEPARTMENT PRO10 GRAMS.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for any

12 price support or production adjustment pro13 gram, the conservation reserve program, or any

14 benefit described in section 371 of the Consoli15 dated Farm and Rural Development Act, the

16 producer must obtain at least the catastrophic

17 level of insurance for each crop of economic sig18 nificance grown on each farm in the county in

19 which the producer has an interest, if insurance

20 is available in the county for the crop.

21 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION OF CROP OF ECONOMIC

22 SIGNIFICANCE.—As used in this paragraph, the

23 term ‘crop of economic significance’ means a

24 crop that has contributed, or is expected to con-
22

•HR 4217 EAH

1 tribute, 10 percent or more of the total expected

2 value of all crops grown by the producer.

3 ‘‘(8) LIMITATION DUE TO RISK.—The Corpora4 tion may limit catastrophic risk coverage in any

5 county or area, or on any farm, on the basis of the

6 insurance risk concerned.

7 ‘‘(9) TRANSITIONAL COVERAGE FOR 1995

8 CROPS.—Effective only for a 1995 crop planted or for

9 which insurance attached prior to January 1, 1995,

10 the Corporation shall allow producers of the crops

11 until not later than the end of the 180-day period be12 ginning on the date of enactment of the Federal Crop

13 Insurance Reform Act of 1994 to obtain catastrophic

14 risk protection for the crop. On enactment of such

15 Act, a producer who made timely purchases of a crop

16 insurance policy before the date of enactment of such

17 Act, under the provisions of this title then in effect,

18 shall be eligible for the same benefits to which a pro19 ducer would be entitled under comparable additional

20 coverage under subsection (c).

21 ‘‘(10) SIMPLIFICATION.—

22 ‘‘(A) CATASTROPHIC RISK PROTECTION

23 PLANS.—In developing and carrying out the

24 policies and procedures for a catastrophic risk

25 protection plan under this title, the Corporation
23

•HR 4217 EAH

1 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, mini2 mize the paperwork required and the complexity

3 and costs of procedures governing applications

4 for, processing, and servicing of the plan for all

5 parties involved.

6 ‘‘(B) OTHER PLANS.—To the extent that the

7 policies and procedures developed under subpara8 graph (A) may be applied to other plans of in9 surance offered under this title without jeopard10 izing the actuarial soundness or integrity of the

11 crop insurance program, the Corporation shall

12 apply the policies and procedures to the other

13 plans of insurance within a reasonable period of

14 time (as determined by the Corporation) after

15 the effective date of this paragraph.

16 ‘‘(c) GENERAL COVERAGE LEVELS.—

17 ‘‘(1) ADDITIONAL COVERAGE GENERALLY.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall

19 offer to producers of agricultural commodities

20 grown in the United States plans of crop insur21 ance that provide additional coverage.

22 ‘‘(B) PURCHASE.—To be eligible for addi23 tional coverage, a producer must apply to an ap24 proved insurance provider for purchase of addi25 tional coverage if the coverage is available from
24

•HR 4217 EAH

1 an approved insurance provider. If additional

2 coverage is unavailable privately, the Corpora3 tion may offer additional coverage plans of in4 surance directly to producers.

5 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF RELEVANT INFORMATION.—If

6 a producer has already applied for catastrophic risk

7 protection at the local office of the Department and

8 elects to purchase additional coverage, the relevant in9 formation for the crop of the producer shall be trans10 ferred to the approved insurance provider servicing

11 the additional coverage crop policy.

12 ‘‘(3) YIELD AND LOSS BASIS.—A producer shall

13 have the option of purchasing additional coverage

14 based on an individual yield and loss basis or on an

15 area yield and loss basis, if both options are offered

16 by the Corporation.

17 ‘‘(4) LEVEL OF COVERAGE.—The level of coverage

18 shall be dollar denominated and may be purchased at

19 any level not to exceed 85 percent of the individual

20 yield or 95 percent of the area yield (as determined

21 by the Corporation). Not later than the beginning of

22 the 1996 crop year, the Corporation shall provide

23 producers with information on catastrophic risk and

24 additional coverage in terms of dollar coverage (with-
25

•HR 4217 EAH

1 in the allowable limits of coverage provided in this

2 paragraph).

3 ‘‘(5) PRICE LEVEL.—The Corporation shall es4 tablish a price level for each commodity on which in5 surance is offered that—

6 ‘‘(A) shall not be less than the projected

7 market price for the commodity (as determined

8 by the Corporation); or

9 ‘‘(B) at the discretion of the Corporation,

10 may be based on the actual market price at the

11 time of harvest (as determined by the Corpora12 tion).

13 ‘‘(6) PRICE ELECTIONS.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara15 graph (B), insurance coverage shall be made

16 available to a producer on the basis of any price

17 election that equals or is less than the price elec18 tion established by the Corporation. The coverage

19 shall be quoted in terms of dollars per acre.

20 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM PRICE ELECTIONS.—The

21 Corporation may establish minimum price elec22 tions below which levels of insurance shall not be

23 offered.

24 ‘‘(C) WHEAT CLASSES AND MALTING BAR25 LEY.—The Corporation shall, as the Corporation
26

•HR 4217 EAH

1 determines practicable, offer producers different

2 price elections for classes of wheat and malting

3 barley (including contract prices in the case of

4 malting barley), in addition to the standard

5 price election, that reflect different market prices,

6 as determined by the Corporation. The Corpora7 tion shall, as the Corporation determines prac8 ticable, offer additional coverage for each class

9 determined under this subparagraph and charge

10 a premium for each class that is actuarially

11 sound.

12 ‘‘(7) FIRE AND HAIL COVERAGE.—For levels of

13 additional coverage equal to 65 percent or more of the

14 recorded or appraised average yield indemnified at

15 100 percent of the expected market price, or an equiv16 alent coverage, a producer may elect to delete from the

17 additional coverage any coverage against damage

18 caused by fire and hail if the producer obtains an

19 equivalent or greater dollar amount of coverage for

20 damage caused by fire and hail from an approved in21 surance provider. On written notice of the election to

22 the company issuing the policy providing additional

23 coverage and submission of evidence of substitute cov24 erage on the commodity insured, the premium of the

25 producer shall be reduced by an amount determined
27

•HR 4217 EAH

1 by the Corporation to be actuarially appropriate, tak2 ing into account the actuarial value of the remaining

3 coverage provided by the Corporation. In no event

4 shall the producer be given credit for an amount of

5 premium determined to be greater than the actuarial

6 value of the protection against losses caused by fire

7 and hail that is included in the additional coverage

8 for the crop.

9 ‘‘(8) STATE PREMIUM SUBSIDIES.—The Corpora10 tion may enter into an agreement with any State or

11 agency of a State under which the State or agency

12 may pay to the approved insurance provider an addi13 tional premium subsidy to further reduce the portion

14 of the premium paid by producers in the State.

15 ‘‘(9) LIMITATIONS ON ADDITIONAL COVERAGE.—

16 The Board may limit the availability of additional

17 coverage under this subsection in any county or area,

18 or on any farm, on the basis of the insurance risk in19 volved. The Board shall not offer additional coverage

20 equal to less than 50 percent of the recorded or ap21 praised average yield indemnified at 100 percent of

22 the expected market price, or an equivalent coverage.

23 ‘‘(10) ADMINISTRATIVE FEE.—

24 ‘‘(A) FEE REQUIRED.—Except as otherwise

25 provided in this paragraph, if a producer elects
28

•HR 4217 EAH

1 to purchase additional coverage for a crop at a

2 level that is less than 65 percent of the recorded

3 or appraised average yield indemnified at 100

4 percent of the expected market price, or an equiv5 alent coverage, the producer shall pay an admin6 istrative fee for the additional coverage. Sub7 section (b)(5) shall apply in determining the

8 amount and use of the administrative fee or in

9 determining whether to waive the administrative

10 fee.

11 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If a producer elects to

12 purchase additional coverage for a crop equal to

13 65 percent or more of the recorded or appraised

14 average yield indemnified at 100 percent of the

15 expected market price, or an equivalent coverage,

16 the producer shall not be subject to the adminis17 trative fee required by this paragraph or sub18 section (b)(5). If the producer has already paid

19 the administrative fee for a lower level of cov20 erage for the crop, the administrative fee shall be

21 refunded to the producer unless the refund would

22 reduce to less than $200 the total amount of the

23 administrative fees paid by the producer for 2 or

24 more crops in the same county for which a lower

25 level of coverage is obtained.
29

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL FEE.—If a producer elects

2 to purchase additional coverage for a crop equal

3 to or exceeding 65 percent of the recorded or ap4 praised average yield and 100 percent of the ex5 pected market price or an equivalent coverage,

6 the producer shall pay an administrative fee of

7 $10 for the coverage. If a producer has already

8 paid an administrative fee for lesser coverage for

9 the crop, the fee for lesser coverage shall be re10 funded to the producer unless the producer has

11 paid the maximum fee for lesser coverage and re12 fund of the fee will not reduce the amount to be

13 paid below the maximum amount.

14 ‘‘(D) DEPOSIT OF FEES.—Notwithstanding

15 the authority granted to the Secretary under the

16 Federal Crop Insurance Corporation account

17 provisions of the Agricultural, Rural Develop18 ment, Food and Drug Administration, and Re19 lated Agencies Appropriations Act, 1995, admin20 istrative fees collected under subparagraph (B)

21 in excess of $100 per producer per county and

22 under subparagraph (C) shall be deposited in the

23 insurance fund established under section 516(c)

24 to be available for the programs and activities of

25 the Corporation.
30

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(d) PREMIUMS.—

2 ‘‘(1) PREMIUMS REQUIRED.—The Corporation

3 shall fix adequate premiums for all the plans of in4 surance of the Corporation at such rates as the Board

5 determines are actuarially sufficient to attain an ex6 pected loss ratio of not greater than 1.1 through Sep7 tember 30, 1998, and not greater than 1.075 after Oc8 tober 1, 1998.

9 ‘‘(2) PREMIUM AMOUNTS.—The premium

10 amounts for catastrophic risk protection under sub11 section (b) and additional coverage under subsection

12 (c) shall be fixed as follows:

13 ‘‘(A) In the case of catastrophic risk protec14 tion, the amount of the premium shall be suffi15 cient to cover anticipated losses and a reasonable

16 reserve.

17 ‘‘(B) In the case of additional coverage

18 below 65 percent of the recorded or appraised av19 erage yield indemnified at 100 percent of the ex20 pected market price, or an equivalent coverage,

21 but greater than 50 percent of the recorded or

22 appraised average yield indemnified at 100 per23 cent of the expected market price, or an equiva24 lent coverage, the amount of the premium

25 shall—
31

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(i) be sufficient to cover anticipated

2 losses and a reasonable reserve; and

3 ‘‘(ii) include an amount for operating

4 and administrative expenses, as determined

5 by the Corporation.

6 ‘‘(C) In the case of additional coverage

7 equal to or greater than 65 percent of the re8 corded or appraised average yield indemnified at

9 100 percent of the expected market price, or an

10 equivalent coverage, the amount of the premium

11 shall—

12 ‘‘(i) be sufficient to cover anticipated

13 losses and a reasonable reserve; and

14 ‘‘(ii) include an amount for operating

15 and administrative expenses, as determined

16 by the Corporation, on an industry-wide

17 basis as a percentage of the amount of the

18 premium used to define loss ratio.

19 ‘‘(e) PAYMENT OF PORTION OF PREMIUM BY CORPORA20 TION.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purpose of encourag22 ing the broadest possible participation of producers in

23 the catastrophic risk protection provided under sub24 section (b) and the additional coverage provided

25 under subsection (c), the Corporation shall pay a part
32

•HR 4217 EAH

1 of the premium in the amounts provided in accord2 ance with this subsection.

3 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The amount of the

4 premium to be paid by the Corporation shall be as

5 follows:

6 ‘‘(A) In the case of catastrophic risk protec7 tion, the amount shall be equivalent to the pre8 mium established for catastrophic risk protection

9 under subsection (d)(2)(A).

10 ‘‘(B) In the case of coverage below 65 per11 cent of the recorded or appraised average yield

12 indemnified at 100 percent of the expected mar13 ket price, or an equivalent coverage, but greater

14 than 50 percent of the recorded or appraised av15 erage yield indemnified at 100 percent of the ex16 pected market price, or an equivalent coverage,

17 the amount shall be equivalent to the amount of

18 premium established for catastrophic risk protec19 tion coverage and the amount of operating and

20 administrative expenses established under sub21 section (d)(2)(B).

22 ‘‘(C) In the case of coverage equal to or

23 greater than 65 percent of the recorded or ap24 praised average yield indemnified at 100 percent

25 of the expected market price, or an equivalent
33

•HR 4217 EAH

1 coverage, on an individual or area basis, the

2 amount shall be equivalent to an amount equal

3 to the premium established for 50 percent loss in

4 yield indemnified at 75 percent of the expected

5 market price and the amount of operating and

6 administrative expenses established under sub7 section (d)(2)(C).

8 ‘‘(3) PREMIUM REDUCTION.—If an approved in9 surance provider determines that the provider may

10 provide insurance more efficiently than the expense

11 reimbursement amount established by the Corpora12 tion, the approved insurance provider may reduce,

13 subject to the approval of the Corporation, the pre14 mium charged the insured by an amount correspond15 ing to the efficiency. The approved insurance provider

16 shall apply to the Corporation for authority to reduce

17 the premium before making such a reduction, and the

18 reduction shall be subject to the rules, limitations,

19 and procedures established by the Corporation.

20 ‘‘(4) INDIVIDUAL AND AREA CROP INSURANCE

21 COVERAGE.—The Corporation shall allow approved

22 insurance providers to offer a plan of insurance to

23 producers that combines both individual yield cov24 erage and area yield coverage at a premium rate de-
34

•HR 4217 EAH

1 termined by the provider under the following condi2 tions:

3 ‘‘(A) The individual yield coverage shall be

4 equal to or greater than catastrophic risk protec5 tion as described in subsection (b).

6 ‘‘(B) The combined policy shall include area

7 yield coverage that is offered by the Corporation

8 or similar area coverage, as determined by the

9 Corporation.

10 ‘‘(C) The Corporation shall provide reinsur11 ance on the area yield portion of the combined

12 policy at the request of the provider, except that

13 the provider shall agree to pay to the producer

14 any portion of the area yield and loss indemnity

15 payment received from the Corporation or a

16 commercial reinsurer that exceeds the individual

17 indemnity payment made by the provider to the

18 producer.

19 ‘‘(D) The Corporation shall pay a part of

20 the premium equivalent to—

21 ‘‘(i) the amount authorized under

22 paragraph (2) (except provisions regarding

23 operating and administrative expenses);

24 and
35

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(ii) the amount of operating and ad2 ministrative expenses authorized by the Cor3 poration for the area yield coverage portion

4 of the combined policy.

5 ‘‘(E) The provider shall provide all under6 writing services for the combined policy, includ7 ing the determination of individual yield cov8 erage premium rates, the terms and conditions of

9 the policy, and the acceptance and classification

10 of applicants into risk categories, subject to sub11 paragraph (F).

12 ‘‘(F) The Corporation shall approve the

13 combined policy unless the Corporation deter14 mines that the policy is not actuarially sound or

15 that the interests of producers are not adequately

16 protected.

17 ‘‘(f) ELIGIBILITY.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To participate in cata19 strophic risk protection coverage under this section, a

20 producer shall submit an application at the local of21 fice of the Department or to an approved insurance

22 provider.

23 ‘‘(2) SALES CLOSING DATE.—For coverage under

24 this title, each producer shall purchase crop insurance

25 on or before the sales closing date for the crop by pro-
36

•HR 4217 EAH

1 viding the required information and executing the re2 quired documents. Subject to the goal of ensuring ac3 tuarial soundness for the crop insurance program, the

4 sales closing date shall be established by the Corpora5 tion to maximize convenience to producers in obtain6 ing benefits under price and production adjustment

7 programs of the Department. Beginning with the

8 1995 crop year, the Corporation shall establish, for an

9 insurance policy for each insurable crop that is plant10 ed in the spring, a sales closing date that is 30 days

11 earlier than the corresponding sales closing date that

12 was established for the 1994 crop year.

13 ‘‘(3) RECORDS AND REPORTING.—To obtain cat14 astrophic risk protection under subsection (b) or addi15 tional coverage under subsection (c), a producer

16 shall—

17 ‘‘(A) provide, to the extent required by the

18 Corporation, records acceptable to the Corpora19 tion of historical acreage and production of the

20 crops for which the insurance is sought or accept

21 a yield determined by the Corporation; and

22 ‘‘(B) report acreage planted and prevented

23 from planting by the designated acreage report24 ing date for the crop and location as established

25 by the Corporation.
37

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(g) YIELD DETERMINATIONS.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), the

3 Corporation shall establish crop insurance underwrit4 ing rules that ensure that yield coverage, as specified

5 in this subsection, is provided to eligible producers ob6 taining catastrophic risk protection under subsection

7 (b) or additional coverage under subsection (c).

8 ‘‘(2) YIELD COVERAGE PLANS.—

9 ‘‘(A) ACTUAL PRODUCTION HISTORY.—Sub10 ject to subparagraph (B), the yield for a crop

11 shall be based on the actual production history

12 for the crop, if the crop was produced on the

13 farm without penalty during each of the 4 crop

14 years immediately preceding the crop year for

15 which actual production history is being estab16 lished, building up to a production data base for

17 each of the 10 consecutive crop years preceding

18 the crop year for which actual production his19 tory is being established.

20 ‘‘(B) ASSIGNED YIELD.—If the producer

21 does not provide satisfactory evidence of the yield

22 of a commodity under subparagraph (A), the

23 producer shall be assigned a yield that is not less

24 than 65 percent of the transitional yield of the

25 producer (adjusted to reflect actual production
38

•HR 4217 EAH

1 reflected in the records acceptable to the Corpora2 tion for continuous years), as specified in regula3 tions issued by the Corporation based on produc4 tion history requirements.

5 ‘‘(C) AREA YIELD.—The Corporation may

6 offer a crop insurance plan based on an area

7 yield that allows an insured producer to qualify

8 for an indemnity if a loss has occurred in an

9 area (as specified by the Corporation) in which

10 the farm of the producer is located. Under an

11 area yield plan, an insured producer shall be al12 lowed to select the level of area production at

13 which an indemnity will be paid consistent with

14 such terms and conditions as are established by

15 the Corporation.

16 ‘‘(D) COMMODITY-BY-COMMODITY BASIS.—A

17 producer may choose between individual yield or

18 area yield coverage or combined coverage (as

19 provided in subsection (e)(4)), if available, on a

20 commodity-by-commodity basis.

21 ‘‘(3) TRANSITIONAL YIELDS FOR PRODUCERS OF

22 FEED OR FORAGE.—

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a producer does not

24 provide satisfactory evidence of a yield under

25 paragraph (2)(A), the producer shall be assigned
39

•HR 4217 EAH

1 a yield that is at least 80 percent of the transi2 tional yield established by the Corporation (ad3 justed to reflect the actual production history of

4 the producer) if the Secretary determines that—

5 ‘‘(i) the producer grows feed or forage

6 primarily for on-farm use in a livestock,

7 dairy, or poultry operation; and

8 ‘‘(ii) over 50 percent of the net farm

9 income of the producer is derived from the

10 operation.

11 ‘‘(B) YIELD CALCULATION.—The Corpora12 tion shall—

13 ‘‘(i) for the first year of participation

14 of a producer, provide the assigned yield

15 under this paragraph to the producer of feed

16 or forage; and

17 ‘‘(ii) for the second year of participa18 tion of the producer, apply the actual pro19 duction history or assigned yield require20 ment, as provided in this subsection.

21 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The

22 authority provided by this paragraph shall ter23 minate on the date that is 3 years after the effec24 tive date of this paragraph.
40

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(h) SUBMISSION OF POLICIES AND MATERIALS TO

2 BOARD.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any standard

4 forms or policies that the Board may require be made

5 available to producers under subsection (c), a person

6 may prepare for submission or propose to the

7 Board—

8 ‘‘(A) other crop insurance policies and pro9 visions of policies; and

10 ‘‘(B) rates of premiums for multiple peril

11 crop insurance pertaining to wheat, soybeans,

12 field corn, and any other crops determined by

13 the Secretary.

14 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION OF POLICIES.—A policy or

15 other material submitted to the Board under this sub16 section may be prepared without regard to the limita17 tions contained in this title, including the require18 ments concerning the levels of coverage and rates and

19 the requirement that a price level for each commodity

20 insured must equal the expected market price for the

21 commodity as established by the Board. In the case of

22 such a policy, the payment by the Corporation of a

23 portion of the premium of the policy may not exceed

24 the amount that would otherwise be authorized under

25 subsection (e).
41

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(3) REVIEW AND APPROVAL BY THE BOARD.—

2 A policy or other material submitted to the Board

3 under this subsection shall be reviewed by the Board

4 and, if the Board finds that the interests of producers

5 are adequately protected and that any premiums

6 charged to the producers are actuarially appropriate,

7 shall be approved by the Board for reinsurance and

8 for sale to producers as an additional choice at actu9 arially appropriate rates and under appropriate

10 terms and conditions. The Corporation may enter

11 into more than 1 reinsurance agreement with the ap12 proved insurance provider simultaneously to facilitate

13 the offering of the new policies.

14 ‘‘(4) GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION AND RE15 VIEW.—The Corporation shall issue regulations to es16 tablish guidelines for the submission, and Board re17 view, of policies or other material submitted to the

18 Board under this subsection. At a minimum, the

19 guidelines shall ensure the following:

20 ‘‘(A) A proposal submitted to the Board

21 under this subsection shall be considered as con22 fidential commercial or financial information

23 for purposes of section 552(b)(4) of title 5, Unit24 ed States Code, until approved by the Board. A

25 proposal disapproved by the Board shall remain
42

•HR 4217 EAH

1 confidential commercial or financial informa2 tion.

3 ‘‘(B) The Board shall provide an applicant

4 with the opportunity to present the proposal to

5 the Board in person if the applicant so desires.

6 ‘‘(C) The Board shall provide an applicant

7 with notification of intent to disapprove a pro8 posal not later than 30 days prior to making the

9 disapproval. An applicant that receives the noti10 fication may modify the application of the ap11 plicant. Any modification shall be considered an

12 original application for purposes of this para13 graph.

14 ‘‘(D) Specific guidelines shall prescribe the

15 timing of submission of proposals under this sub16 section and timely consideration by the Board so

17 that any approved proposal may be made avail18 able to all persons reinsured by the Corporation

19 in a manner permitting the persons to partici20 pate, if the persons so desire, in offering such a

21 proposal in the first crop year in which the pro22 posal is approved by the Board for reinsurance,

23 premium subsidy, or other support offered by

24 this title.
43

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(5) REQUIRED PUBLICATION.—Any policy, pro2 vision of a policy, or rate approved under this sub3 section shall be published as a notice in the Federal

4 Register and made available to all persons contract5 ing with or reinsured by the Corporation under the

6 terms and conditions of the contract between the Cor7 poration and the person originally submitting the

8 policy or other material.

9 ‘‘(6) PILOT COST OF PRODUCTION RISK PROTEC10 TION PLAN.—

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall

12 offer, to the extent practicable, a cost of produc13 tion risk protection plan of insurance that in14 demnifies producers (including new producers)

15 for insurable losses as provided in this para16 graph.

17 ‘‘(B) PILOT BASIS.—The cost of production

18 risk protection plan shall—

19 ‘‘(i) be established as a pilot project for

20 each of the 1996 and 1997 crop years; and

21 ‘‘(ii) be carried out in a number of

22 counties that is determined by the Corpora23 tion to be adequate to provide a comprehen24 sive evaluation of the feasibility, effective-
44

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ness, and demand among producers for the

2 plan.

3 ‘‘(C) INSURABLE LOSS.—An insurable loss

4 shall be incurred by a producer if the gross in5 come of the producer (as determined by the Cor6 poration) is less than an amount determined by

7 the Corporation, as a result of a reduction in

8 yield or price resulting from an insured cause.

9 ‘‘(D) DEFINITION OF NEW PRODUCER.—As

10 used in this paragraph, the term ‘new producer’

11 means a person that has not been actively en12 gaged in farming for a share of the production

13 of the insured crop for more than 2 crop years,

14 as determined by the Secretary.

15 ‘‘(7) ADDITIONAL PREVENTED PLANTING POLICY

16 COVERAGE.—

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with the

18 1995 crop year, the Corporation shall offer to

19 producers additional prevented planting coverage

20 that insures producers against losses in accord21 ance with this paragraph.

22 ‘‘(B) APPROVED INSURANCE PROVIDERS.—

23 Additional prevented planting coverage shall be

24 offered by the Corporation through approved in25 surance providers.
45

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(C) TIMING OF LOSS.—A crop loss shall be

2 covered by the additional prevented planting cov3 erage if—

4 ‘‘(i) crop insurance policies were ob5 tained for—

6 ‘‘(I) the crop year the loss was ex7 perienced; and

8 ‘‘(II) the crop year immediately

9 preceding the year of the prevented

10 planting loss; and

11 ‘‘(ii) the cause of the loss occurred—

12 ‘‘(I) after the sales closing date for

13 the crop in the crop year immediately

14 preceding the loss; and

15 ‘‘(II) before the sales closing date

16 for the crop in the year in which the

17 loss is experienced.

18 ‘‘(8) PILOT PROGRAM OF ASSIGNED YIELDS FOR

19 NEW PRODUCERS.—

20 ‘‘(A) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—For each of the

21 1995 and 1996 crop years, the Corporation shall

22 carry out a pilot program to assign to eligible

23 new producers higher assigned yields than would

24 otherwise be assigned to the producers under sub25 section (g). The Corporation shall include in the
46

•HR 4217 EAH

1 pilot program 30 counties that are determined

2 by the Corporation to be adequate to provide a

3 comprehensive evaluation of the feasibility, effec4 tiveness, and demand among new producers for

5 increased assigned yields.

6 ‘‘(B) INCREASED ASSIGNED YIELDS.—In the

7 case of an eligible new producer participating in

8 the pilot program, the Corporation shall assign

9 to the new producer a yield that is equal to not

10 less than 110 percent of the transitional yield

11 otherwise established by the Corporation.

12 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE NEW PRODUCER.—The Sec13 retary shall establish a definition of new pro14 ducer for purposes of determining eligibility to

15 participate in the pilot program.

16 ‘‘(i) ADOPTION OF RATES AND COVERAGES.—The Cor17 poration shall adopt, as soon as practicable, rates and cov18 erages that will improve the actuarial soundness of the in19 surance operations of the Corporation for those crops that

20 are determined to be insured at rates that are not actuari21 ally sound, except that no rate may be increased by an

22 amount of more than 20 percent over the comparable rate

23 of the preceding crop year.

24 ‘‘(j) CLAIMS FOR LOSSES.—
47

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Under rules prescribed by

2 the Corporation, the Corporation may provide for ad3 justment and payment of claims for losses. The rules

4 prescribed by the Corporation shall establish stand5 ards to ensure that all claims for losses are adjusted,

6 to the extent practicable, in a uniform and timely

7 manner.

8 ‘‘(2) DENIAL OF CLAIMS.—

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara10 graph (B), if a claim for indemnity is denied by

11 the Corporation or an approved provider, an ac12 tion on the claim may be brought against the

13 Corporation or Secretary only in the United

14 States district court for the district in which the

15 insured farm is located.

16 ‘‘(B) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—A suit on

17 the claim may be brought not later than 1 year

18 after the date on which final notice of denial of

19 the claim is provided to the claimant.

20 ‘‘(3) INDEMNIFICATION.—The Corporation shall

21 provide approved insurance providers with indem22 nification, including costs and reasonable attorney

23 fees incurred by the approved insurance provider, due

24 to errors or omissions on the part of the Corporation.

25 ‘‘(k) REINSURANCE.—
48

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

2 provision of this title, the Corporation shall, to the

3 maximum extent practicable, provide reinsurance to

4 insurers approved by the Corporation that insure pro5 ducers of any agricultural commodity under 1 or

6 more plans acceptable to the Corporation.

7 ‘‘(2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The reinsurance

8 shall be provided on such terms and conditions as the

9 Board may determine to be consistent with sub10 sections (b) and (c) and sound reinsurance principles.

11 ‘‘(3) SHARE OF RISK.—The reinsurance agree12 ments of the Corporation with the reinsured compa13 nies shall require the reinsured companies to bear a

14 sufficient share of any potential loss under the agree15 ment so as to ensure that the reinsured company will

16 sell and service policies of insurance in a sound and

17 prudent manner, taking into consideration the finan18 cial condition of the reinsured companies and the

19 availability of private reinsurance.

20 ‘‘(4) RATE.—The rate established by the Board

21 to reimburse approved insurance providers and

22 agents for the administrative and operating costs of

23 the providers and agents shall not exceed—

24 ‘‘(A) for the 1997 reinsurance year, 29 per25 cent of the premium used to define loss ratio;
49

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(B) for the 1998 reinsurance year, 28 per2 cent of the premium used to define loss ratio;

3 and

4 ‘‘(C) for the 1999 reinsurance year, 27.5

5 percent of the premium used to define loss ratio.

6 ‘‘(5) COST AND REGULATORY REDUCTION.—Con7 sistent with section 118 of the Federal Crop Insurance

8 Reform Act of 1994, and consistent with maintenance

9 of program integrity, prevention of fraud and abuse,

10 the need for program expansion, and improvement of

11 quality of service to customers, the Board shall alter

12 program procedures and administrative requirements

13 in order to reduce the administrative and operating

14 costs of approved insurance providers and agents in

15 an amount that corresponds to any reduction in the

16 reimbursement rate required under paragraph (4)

17 during the 5-year period beginning on the date of en18 actment of this paragraph.

19 ‘‘(6) AGENCY DISCRETION.—The determination

20 of whether the Corporation is achieving, or has

21 achieved, corresponding administrative cost savings

22 shall not be subject to administrative review, and is

23 wholly committed to agency discretion within the

24 meaning of section 701(a)(2) of title 5, United States

25 Code.
50

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(7) PLAN.—The Corporation shall submit to

2 Congress a plan outlining the measures that will be

3 used to achieve the reduction required under para4 graph (5). If the Corporation can identify additional

5 cost reduction measures, the Corporation shall de6 scribe the measures in the plan.

7 ‘‘(l) OPTIONAL COVERAGES.—The Corporation may

8 offer specific risk protection programs, including protection

9 against prevented planting, wildlife depredation, tree dam10 age and disease, and insect infestation, under such terms

11 and conditions as the Board may determine, except that

12 no program may be undertaken if insurance for the specific

13 risk involved is generally available from private companies.

14 ‘‘(m) RESEARCH.—

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para16 graph (2), the Corporation may conduct research, sur17 veys, pilot programs, and investigations relating to

18 crop insurance and agriculture-related risks and

19 losses including insurance on losses involving reduced

20 forage on rangeland caused by drought and by insect

21 infestation, livestock poisoning and disease, destruc22 tion of bees due to the use of pesticides, and other

23 unique special risks related to fruits, nuts, vegetables,

24 aquacultural species, forest industry needs (including
51

•HR 4217 EAH

1 appreciation), and other agricultural products as de2 termined by the Board.

3 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—No action may be undertaken

4 with respect to a risk under paragraph (1) if insur5 ance protection against the risk is generally available

6 from private companies.

7 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.—After the completion of any

8 pilot program under this subsection, the Corporation

9 shall evaluate the pilot program and submit to the

10 Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representa11 tives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition,

12 and Forestry of the Senate, a report of the operations

13 of the pilot program, including the evaluation by the

14 Corporation of the pilot program and the rec15 ommendations of the Corporation with respect to im16 plementing the program on a national basis.’’.

17 SEC. 107. CROP INSURANCE YIELD COVERAGE.

18 Section 508A (7 U.S.C. 1508a) is repealed.

19 SEC. 108. PREEMPTION.

20 Section 511 (7 U.S.C. 1511) is amended by adding

21 at the end the following sentence: ‘‘A contract of insurance

22 of the Corporation, and a contract of insurance reinsured

23 by the Corporation, shall be exempt from taxation imposed

24 by any State, municipality, or local taxing authority.’’.
52

•HR 4217 EAH

1 SEC. 109. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

2 The Act is amended by inserting after section 514 (7

3 U.S.C. 1514) the following new section:

4 ‘‘SEC. 515. ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR FEDERAL CROP IN5 SURANCE.

6 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary may establish

7 within the Department an advisory committee to be known

8 as the ‘Advisory Committee for Federal Crop Insurance’.

9 ‘‘(b) PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY.—The primary re10 sponsibility of the Advisory Committee shall be to advise

11 the Secretary on the implementation of this title and on

12 other issues related to crop insurance, as determined by the

13 Manager of the Corporation.

14 ‘‘(c) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Committee shall be

15 composed of the Manager of the Corporation, the Secretary

16 (or a designee of the Secretary), and not fewer than 12

17 members representing organizations and agencies involved

18 in the provision of crop insurance under this title. Not fewer

19 than 3 of the members of the Advisory Committee shall be

20 representatives of the specialty crops industry. The organi21 zations or agencies represented by members on the Advisory

22 Committee may include insurance companies, insurance

23 agents, farm producer organizations, experts on agronomic

24 practices, and banking and lending institutions.

25 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—
53

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(1) TERMS.—Members of the Advisory Commit2 tee (other than the Manager of the Corporation and

3 the Secretary) shall be appointed by the Secretary for

4 a term of up to 2 years from nominations made by

5 the organizations and agencies specified in subsection

6 (c). The terms of the members (other than the Man7 ager of the Corporation and the Secretary) shall be

8 staggered.

9 ‘‘(2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Advisory Committee

10 shall be chaired by the Manager of the Corporation.

11 ‘‘(3) MEETINGS.—The Advisory Committee shall

12 meet at least annually. The meetings of the Advisory

13 Committee shall be publicly announced in advance

14 and shall be open to the public. Appropriate records

15 of the activities of the Advisory Committee shall be

16 kept and made available to the public on request.

17 ‘‘(e) REPORTS.—Not later than June 30 of each year,

18 the Advisory Committee shall submit to the Secretary a re19 port specifying the conclusions and recommendations of the

20 Advisory Committee regarding—

21 ‘‘(1) the progress toward implementation of this

22 title;

23 ‘‘(2) the actuarial soundness of the Federal crop

24 insurance program;
54

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(3) the rate of producer participation in both

2 catastrophic risk protection under section 508(b) and

3 additional coverage under section 508(c); and

4 ‘‘(4) the progress toward improved crop insur5 ance coverage for new and specialty crops.

6 ‘‘(f) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority

7 provided by this section shall terminate on September 30,

8 1998.’’.

9 SEC. 110. FUNDING.

10 Section 516 (7 U.S.C. 1516) is amended to read as

11 follows:

12 ‘‘SEC. 516. FUNDING.

13 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

14 ‘‘(1) DISCRETIONARY EXPENSES.—There are au15 thorized to be appropriated for each of fiscal years

16 1995 through 2001 such sums as are necessary to

17 cover—

18 ‘‘(A) the salaries and expenses of the Cor19 poration; and

20 ‘‘(B) the administrative and operating ex21 penses of the Corporation for the sales commis22 sions of agents.

23 ‘‘(2) MANDATORY EXPENSES.—There are author24 ized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to

25 cover—
55

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(A) in the case of each of the 1995 through

2 1997 reinsurance years, the administrative and

3 operating expenses of the Corporation for the

4 sales commissions of agents, consistent with sub5 section (b)(1);

6 ‘‘(B) premium subsidies, including the ad7 ministrative and operating expenses of an ap8 proved insurance provider for the delivery of

9 policies with additional coverage; and

10 ‘‘(C) payments for noninsured assistance

11 losses under section 519.

12 ‘‘(b) PAYMENT OF EXPENSES.—

13 ‘‘(1) ADMINISTRATIVE AND OPERATING EX14 PENSES.—

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

16 subparagraph (B), in the case of each of the 1995

17 through 1997 reinsurance years, the Corporation

18 is authorized to pay from the insurance fund es19 tablished under subsection (c), the administrative

20 and operating expenses of an approved insurance

21 provider, including expenses covered by sub22 section (a)(1)(B).

23 ‘‘(B) SALES COMMISSIONS FOR 1997 REIN24 SURANCE YEAR.—In the case of the 1997 reinsur25 ance year, the amount of the payments from the
56

•HR 4217 EAH

1 insurance fund established under subsection (c)

2 for the expenses of the Corporation for the sales

3 commissions of agents may not exceed 8.5 per4 cent of the total amount of premiums paid for

5 additional coverage for the 1997 reinsurance

6 year.

7 ‘‘(2) OTHER EXPENSES.—The Corporation is au8 thorized to pay from the insurance fund established

9 under subsection (c)—

10 ‘‘(A) all other expenses of the Corporation

11 (other than expenses covered by subsection

12 (a)(1)), including all premium subsidies,

13 noninsured assistance benefits, and indemnities;

14 ‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (1)(B), in the

15 case of each of the 1995 through 1997 reinsur16 ance years, all administrative and expense reim17 bursements due under a reinsurance agreement

18 with an approved insurance provider; and

19 ‘‘(C) to the extent necessary, expenses in20 curred by the Corporation to carry out research

21 and development.

22 ‘‘(c) INSURANCE FUND.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is established an in24 surance fund, for the deposit of premium income and
57

•HR 4217 EAH

1 amounts made available under subsection (a)(2), to be

2 available without fiscal year limitation.

3 ‘‘(2) COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION

4 FUNDS.—If at any time the amounts in the insurance

5 fund are insufficient to enable the Corporation to

6 carry out subsection (b), to the extent the funds of the

7 Commodity Credit Corporation are available—

8 ‘‘(A) the Corporation may request the Sec9 retary to use the funds of the Commodity Credit

10 Corporation to carry out subsection (b); and

11 ‘‘(B) the Secretary may use the funds of the

12 Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out sub13 section (b).’’.

14 SEC. 111. NONINSURED CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE.

15 Section 519 (7 U.S.C. 1519) is amended to read as

16 follows:

17 ‘‘SEC. 519. NONINSURED CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE PRO18 GRAM.

19 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—

20 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—In the case of an eligible

21 crop described in paragraph (2), the Corporation

22 shall establish a noninsured crop disaster assistance

23 program to provide coverage equivalent to the cata24 strophic risk protection otherwise available under sec25 tion 508(b).
58

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE CROPS.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As used in this section,

3 the term ‘eligible crop’ means each commercial

4 crop or other agricultural commodity (except

5 livestock)—

6 ‘‘(i) for which catastrophic risk protec7 tion under section 508(b) is not available;

8 and

9 ‘‘(ii) that is produced for food or fiber.

10 ‘‘(B) CROPS SPECIFICALLY INCLUDED.—The

11 term ‘eligible crop’ shall include floricultural, or12 namental nursery, and Christmas tree crops,

13 turfgrass sod, and industrial crops.

14 ‘‘(3) CAUSE OF LOSS.—To qualify for assistance

15 under this section, the losses of the noninsured com16 modity shall be due to drought, flood, or other natural

17 disaster, as determined by the Secretary.

18 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION FOR NONINSURED CROP DISASTER

19 ASSISTANCE.—

20 ‘‘(1) TIMELY APPLICATION.—To be eligible for

21 assistance under this section, a producer shall submit

22 an application for noninsured crop disaster assist23 ance at a local office of the Department. The applica24 tion shall be in such form, contain such information,
59

•HR 4217 EAH

1 and be submitted at such time as the Corporation

2 may require.

3 ‘‘(2) RECORDS.—A producer shall annually pro4 vide records, as required by the Corporation, of pre5 vious crop acreage, acreage yields, and production, or

6 the producer shall accept a yield under subsection

7 (e)(3) determined by the Corporation.

8 ‘‘(3) ACREAGE REPORTS.—A producer shall pro9 vide reports on acreage planted or prevented from

10 being planted, as required by the Corporation, by the

11 designated acreage reporting date for the crop and lo12 cation as established by the Corporation.

13 ‘‘(c) LOSS REQUIREMENTS.—

14 ‘‘(1) REQUIRED AREA LOSS.—A producer of an

15 eligible crop shall not receive noninsured crop disaster

16 assistance unless the average yield for that crop, or an

17 equivalent measure in the event yield data are not

18 available, in an area falls below 65 percent of the ex19 pected area yield, as established by the Corporation.

20 ‘‘(2) PREVENTED PLANTING.—Subject to para21 graph (1), the Corporation shall make a prevented

22 planting noninsured crop disaster assistance payment

23 if the producer is prevented from planting more than

24 35 percent of the acreage intended for the eligible crop
60

•HR 4217 EAH

1 because of drought, flood, or other natural disaster, as

2 determined by the Secretary.

3 ‘‘(3) REDUCED YIELDS.—Subject to paragraph

4 (1), the Corporation shall make a reduced yield

5 noninsured crop disaster assistance payment to a

6 producer if the total quantity of the eligible crop that

7 the producer is able to harvest on any farm is, be8 cause of drought, flood, or other natural disaster as

9 determined by the Secretary, less than 50 percent of

10 the expected individual yield for the crop, as deter11 mined by the Corporation, factored for the interest of

12 the producer for the crop.

13 ‘‘(d) PAYMENT.—The Corporation shall make available

14 to a producer eligible for noninsured assistance under this

15 section a payment computed by multiplying—

16 ‘‘(1) the quantity that is less than 50 percent of

17 the established yield for the crop; by

18 ‘‘(2)(A) in the case of each of the 1995 through

19 1998 crop years, 60 percent of the average market

20 price for the crop (or any comparable coverage deter21 mined by the Corporation); or

22 ‘‘(B) in the case of each of the 1999 and subse23 quent crop years, 55 percent of the average market

24 price for the crop (or any comparable coverage deter25 mined by the Corporation); by
61

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(3) a payment rate for the type of crop (as de2 termined by the Corporation) that—

3 ‘‘(A) in the case of a crop that is produced

4 with a significant and variable harvesting ex5 pense, reflects the decreasing cost incurred in the

6 production cycle for the crop that is—

7 ‘‘(i) harvested;

8 ‘‘(ii) planted but not harvested; and

9 ‘‘(iii) prevented from being planted be10 cause of drought, flood, or other natural dis11 aster (as determined by the Secretary); and

12 ‘‘(B) in the case of a crop that is not pro13 duced with a significant and variable harvesting

14 expense, is determined by the Corporation.

15 ‘‘(e) YIELD DETERMINATIONS.—

16 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Corporation shall

17 establish farm yields for purposes of providing

18 noninsured crop disaster assistance under this sec19 tion.

20 ‘‘(2) ACTUAL PRODUCTION HISTORY.—The Cor21 poration shall determine yield coverage using the ac22 tual production history of the producer over a period

23 of not less than the 4 previous consecutive crop years

24 and not more than 10 consecutive crop years. Subject

25 to paragraph (3), the yield for the year in which
62

•HR 4217 EAH

1 noninsured crop disaster assistance is sought shall be

2 equal to the average of the actual production history

3 of the producer during the period considered.

4 ‘‘(3) ASSIGNMENT OF YIELD.—If a producer does

5 not submit adequate documentation of production his6 tory to determine a crop yield under paragraph (2),

7 the Corporation shall assign to the producer a yield

8 equal to not less than 65 percent of the transitional

9 yield of the producer (adjusted to reflect actual pro10 duction reflected in the records acceptable to the Cor11 poration for continuous years), as specified in regula12 tions issued by the Corporation based on production

13 history requirements.

14 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITION ON ASSIGNED YIELDS IN CER15 TAIN COUNTIES.—

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—

17 ‘‘(i) DOCUMENTATION.—If sufficient

18 data are available to demonstrate that the

19 acreage of a crop in a county for the crop

20 year has increased by more than 100 per21 cent over any year in the preceding 7 crop

22 years or, if data are not available, if the

23 acreage of the crop in the county has in24 creased significantly from the previous crop

25 years, a producer must provide such de-
63

•HR 4217 EAH

1 tailed documentation of production costs,

2 acres planted, and yield for the crop year

3 for which benefits are being claimed as is

4 required by the Corporation. If the Corpora5 tion determines that the documentation pro6 vided is not sufficient, the Corporation may

7 require documenting proof that the crop,

8 had the crop been harvested, could have been

9 marketed at a reasonable price.

10 ‘‘(ii) PROHIBITION.—Except as pro11 vided in subparagraph (B), a producer who

12 produces a crop on a farm located in a

13 county described in clause (i) may not ob14 tain an assigned yield.

15 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—A crop or a producer

16 shall not be subject to this subsection if—

17 ‘‘(i) the planted acreage of the producer

18 for the crop has been inspected by a third

19 party acceptable to the Secretary; or

20 ‘‘(ii)(I) the County Executive Director

21 and the State Executive Director rec22 ommend an exemption from the requirement

23 to the Deputy Administrator for State and

24 County Operations of the Agricultural Sta25 bilization and Conservation Service; and
64

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(II) the Deputy Administrator ap2 proves the recommendation.

3 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION ON RECEIPT OF SUBSEQUENT

4 ASSIGNED YIELD.—A producer who receives an as5 signed yield for the current year of a natural disaster

6 because required production records were not submit7 ted to the local office of the Department shall not be

8 eligible for an assigned yield for the year of the next

9 natural disaster unless the required production

10 records of the previous 1 or more years (as applica11 ble) are provided to the local office.

12 ‘‘(6) YIELD VARIATIONS DUE TO DIFFERENT

13 FARMING PRACTICES.—The Corporation shall ensure

14 that noninsured crop disaster assistance accurately

15 reflects significant yield variations due to different

16 farming practices, such as between irrigated and

17 nonirrigated acreage.

18 ‘‘(f) CONTRACT PAYMENTS.—A producer who has re19 ceived a guaranteed payment for production, as opposed to

20 delivery, of a crop pursuant to a contract shall have the

21 production of the producer adjusted upward by the amount

22 of the production equal to the amount of the contract pay23 ment received.

24 ‘‘(g) PAYMENT OF LOSSES.—Payments for noninsured

25 crop disaster assistance losses under this section shall be
65

•HR 4217 EAH

1 made from the insurance fund established under section

2 516. The losses shall not be included in calculating the pre3 miums charged to producers for insurance under section

4 508.

5 ‘‘(h) EXCLUSIONS.—Noninsured crop disaster assist6 ance under this section shall not cover losses due to—

7 ‘‘(1) the neglect or malfeasance of the producer;

8 ‘‘(2) the failure of the producer to reseed to the

9 same crop in those areas and under such cir10 cumstances where it is customary to reseed; or

11 ‘‘(3) the failure of the producer to follow good

12 farming practices, as determined by the Corpora13 tion.’’.

14 SEC. 112. PAYMENT AND INCOME LIMITATIONS.

15 Section 519 (7 U.S.C. 1519) (as amended by section

16 111) is further amended by adding at the end the following

17 new subsection:

18 ‘‘(h) PAYMENT AND INCOME LIMITATIONS.—

19 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this subsection:

20 ‘‘(A) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ has the

21 meaning provided the term in regulations issued

22 by the Secretary. The regulations shall conform,

23 to the extent practicable, to the regulations defin24 ing the term ‘person’ issued under section 1001
66

•HR 4217 EAH

1 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C.

2 1308).

3 ‘‘(B) QUALIFYING GROSS REVENUES.—The

4 term ‘qualifying gross revenues’ means—

5 ‘‘(i) if a majority of the gross revenue

6 of the person is received from farming,

7 ranching, and forestry operations, the gross

8 revenue from the farming, ranching, and

9 forestry operations of the person; and

10 ‘‘(ii) if less than a majority of the

11 gross revenue of the person is received from

12 farming, ranching, and forestry operations,

13 the gross revenue of the person from all

14 sources.

15 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT LIMITATION.—The total amount

16 of payments that a person shall be entitled to receive

17 annually under this title may not exceed $100,000.

18 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON MULTIPLE BENEFITS FOR

19 SAME LOSS.—If a producer who is eligible to receive

20 benefits under catastrophic risk protection under sec21 tion 508(b) or noninsured crop disaster assistance

22 under this section is also eligible to receive assistance

23 for the same loss under any other program adminis24 tered by the Secretary, the producer shall be required

25 to elect whether to receive benefits under this title or
67

•HR 4217 EAH

1 under the other program, but not both. A producer

2 who purchases additional coverage under section

3 508(c) may also receive assistance for the same loss

4 under other programs administered by the Secretary,

5 except that the amount received for the loss under the

6 additional coverage together with the amount received

7 under the other programs may not exceed the amount

8 of the actual loss of the producer.

9 ‘‘(4) INCOME LIMITATION.—A person who has

10 qualifying gross revenues in excess of the amount

11 specified in section 2266(a) of the Food, Agriculture,

12 Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 1421

13 note) (as in effect on November 28, 1990) during the

14 taxable year (as determined by the Secretary) shall

15 not be eligible to receive any noninsured assistance

16 payment under this section.

17 ‘‘(5) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue

18 regulations prescribing such rules as the Secretary de19 termines necessary to ensure a fair and equitable ap20 plication of section 1001 of the Food Security Act of

21 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308), the general payment limitation

22 regulations of the Secretary, and the limitations es23 tablished under this subsection.’’.
68

•HR 4217 EAH

1 SEC. 113. PRODUCER ELIGIBILITY.

2 Section 520 (7 U.S.C. 1520) is amended to read as

3 follows:

4 ‘‘SEC. 520. PRODUCER ELIGIBILITY.

5 ‘‘Except as otherwise provided in this title, a producer

6 shall not be denied insurance under this title if—

7 ‘‘(1) for purposes of catastrophic risk protection

8 coverage, the producer is a ‘person’ (as defined by the

9 Secretary); and

10 ‘‘(2) for purposes of any other plan of insurance,

11 the producer is 18 years of age and has a bona fide

12 insurable interest in a crop as an owner-operator,

13 landlord, tenant, or sharecropper.’’.

14 SEC. 114. INELIGIBILITY FOR CATASTROPHIC RISK AND

15 NONINSURED ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS.

16 The Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) is amended by adding

17 at the end the following new section:

18 ‘‘SEC. 521. INELIGIBILITY FOR CATASTROPHIC RISK AND

19 NONINSURED ASSISTANCE PAYMENTS.

20 ‘‘If the Secretary determines that a person has know21 ingly adopted a material scheme or device to obtain cata22 strophic risk, additional coverage, or noninsured assistance

23 benefits under this title to which the person is not entitled,

24 has evaded this title, or has acted with the purposes of evad25 ing this title, the person shall be ineligible to receive all

26 benefits applicable to the crop year for which the scheme
69

•HR 4217 EAH

1 or device was adopted. The authority provided by this sec2 tion shall be in addition to, and shall not supplant, the

3 authority provided by section 506(n).’’.

4 SEC. 115. ELIMINATION OF GENDER REFERENCES.

5 (a) MANAGEMENT OF CORPORATION.—Section 505 (7

6 U.S.C. 1505) is amended—

7 (1) in subsection (a), by striking the third sen8 tence and inserting ‘‘The Board shall be appointed

9 by, and hold office at the pleasure of, the Secretary.

10 The Secretary shall not be a member of the Board.’’;

11 and

12 (2) in subsection (d)—

13 (A) by striking ‘‘upon him’’; and

14 (B) by striking ‘‘He shall be appointed by,’’

15 and inserting ‘‘The manager shall be appointed

16 by,’’.

17 (b) PERSONNEL.—Section 507 (7 U.S.C. 1507) is

18 amended—

19 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘as he may de20 termine: Provided, That’’ and inserting ‘‘as the Sec21 retary may determine appropriate. However,’’; and

22 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘as he may re23 quest’’ and inserting ‘‘that the Secretary requests’’.
70

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (c) INDEMNITIES EXEMPT FROM LEVY.—Section 509

2 (7 U.S.C. 1509) is amended by striking ‘‘or his estate’’ and

3 inserting ‘‘or the estate of the insured’’.

4 SEC. 116. PREVENTED PLANTING.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective for the 1994 crop year,

6 a producer described in subsection (b) shall receive com7 pensation under the prevented planting coverage policy pro8 vision described in subsection (b)(1) by—

9 (1) obtaining from the Secretary of Agriculture

10 the applicable amount that is payable under the con11 serving use program described in subsection (b)(4);

12 and

13 (2) obtaining from the Federal Crop Insurance

14 Corporation the amount that is equal to the difference

15 between—

16 (A) the amount that is payable under the

17 conserving use program; and

18 (B) the amount that is payable under the

19 prevented planting coverage policy.

20 (b) ELIGIBLE PRODUCERS.—Subsection (a) shall

21 apply to a producer who—

22 (1) purchased a prevented planting policy for the

23 1994 crop year from the Federal Crop Insurance Cor24 poration prior to the spring sales closing date for the

25 1994 crop year;
71

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (2) is unable to plant a crop due to major, wide2 spread flooding in the Midwest, or excessive ground

3 moisture, that occurred prior to the spring sales clos4 ing date for the 1994 crop year;

5 (3) had a reasonable expectation of planting a

6 crop on the prevented planting acreage for the 1994

7 crop year; and

8 (4) participates in a conserving use program es9 tablished for the 1994 crop of wheat, feed grains, up10 land cotton, or rice established under section

11 107B(c)(1)(E), 105B(c)(1)(E), 103B(c)(1)(D), or

12 101B(c)(1)(D), respectively, of the Agricultural Act of

13 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1445b–3a(c)(1)(E), 1444f(c)(1)(E),

14 1444–2(c)(1)(D), or 1441–2(c)(1)(D)).

15 (c) OILSEED PREVENTED PLANTING PAYMENTS.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Effective for the 1994 crop

17 year, a producer of a crop of oilseeds (as defined in

18 section 205(a) of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (7

19 U.S.C. 1446f(a))) shall receive a prevented planting

20 payment for the crop if the requirements of para21 graphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (b) are satisfied.

22 (2) SOURCE OF PAYMENT.—The total amount of

23 payments required under this subsection shall be

24 made by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation.
72

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (d) PAYMENT.—A payment under this section may not

2 be made before October 1, 1994.

3 SEC. 117. REPORT ON IMPROVING DISSEMINATION OF CROP

4 INSURANCE INFORMATION.

5 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment

6 of this Act and at the end of each of the 2 1-year periods

7 thereafter, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation shall

8 submit a report to Congress containing a plan to implement

9 a sound program for producer education regarding the crop

10 insurance program and for the dissemination of crop insur11 ance information to producers, as required by section

12 508(a)(5) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (as amended

13 by section 106).

14 SEC. 118. CROP INSURANCE PROVIDER EVALUATION.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Comptroller General of the

16 United States and the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation

17 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Corporation’’) shall

18 jointly evaluate the financial arrangement between the Cor19 poration and approved insurance providers to determine

20 the quality, costs, and efficiencies of providing the benefits

21 of multiple peril crop insurance to producers of agricultural

22 commodities covered under the Federal Crop Insurance Act

23 (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.).

24 (b) COLLECTION OF INFORMATION AND PROPOSALS.—

25 The Corporation shall require private insurance providers
73

•HR 4217 EAH

1 and agents to supply, and the private insurance providers

2 and agents shall supply, records and information necessary

3 to make the determinations and evaluations required under

4 this section. The Corporation shall solicit from the approved

5 insurance providers and agents proposals for modifying or

6 altering the requirements, regulations, procedures, and

7 processes related to implementing the Federal Crop Insur8 ance Act to reduce the operating and administrative costs

9 of the providers and agents.

10 (c) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after

11 receipt of information and cost-reduction proposals under

12 subsection (b), the Corporation shall evaluate the informa13 tion and proposals obtained and report the results of the

14 evaluation to the Committee on Agriculture of the House

15 of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nu16 trition, and Forestry of the Senate.

17 (d) FINAL REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General and

19 the Corporation shall submit a final report that provides

20 the evaluation required under subsection (a) to the Commit21 tee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the

22 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the

23 Senate. In making the evaluation, the Comptroller General

24 and the Corporation shall—
74

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (1) consider the changes made by the Corpora2 tion in response to increased program participation

3 resulting from the enactment of this Act;

4 (2) include an evaluation and opinion of the ac5 curacy and reasonableness of—

6 (A) the average actual costs for approved

7 insurance providers to deliver multiple peril

8 crop insurance;

9 (B) the cost per policy of complying with

10 the requirements, regulations, procedures, and

11 processes of the Federal Crop Insurance Act;

12 (C) the cost differences for various provider

13 firm sizes and any business delivered by the Fed14 eral Government;

15 (D) the adequacy of the standard reimburse16 ment for potential new providers; and

17 (E) the identification of any new costs re18 lated to the enactment of this Act not previously

19 identified in the information reported by the

20 providers;

21 (3) compare delivery costs of multiple peril crop

22 insurance to other insurance coverages that the pro23 vider may sell and determine the extent, if any, to

24 which any funds provided to carry out the Federal
75

•HR 4217 EAH

1 Crop Insurance Act are being used to fund any other

2 business enterprise operated by the provider;

3 (4)(A) assess alternative methods for reimbursing

4 providers for reasonable and necessary expenses asso5 ciated with delivery of multiple peril crop insurance;

6 (B) recommend changes under this paragraph

7 that reasonably demonstrate the need to achieve the

8 greatest operating efficiencies on the part of the pro9 vider and the Corporation has been recognized; and

10 (C) identify areas for improved operating effi11 ciencies, if any, in the requirements made by the Cor12 poration for compliance and program integrity;

13 (5) assess the potential for alternative forms of

14 reinsurance arrangements for providers of different

15 firm sizes, taking into consideration—

16 (A) the need to achieve a reasonable return

17 on the capital of the provider compared to other

18 lines of insurance;

19 (B) the relative risk borne by the provider

20 for the different lines of insurance;

21 (C) the availability and price of commercial

22 reinsurance; and

23 (D) any additional costs that may be in24 curred by the Federal Government in carrying

25 out the Federal Crop Insurance Act; and
76

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (6) include an analysis of the effect of the cur2 rent or proposed reinsurance arrangements on provid3 ers having different business levels.

4 (e) INFORMATION.—

5 (1) PRIVACY.—In conducting the evaluation re6 quired by this section, the Comptroller General and

7 the Corporation shall maintain the privacy of propri8 etary information.

9 (2) SUBPOENAS.—The Comptroller General shall

10 have the power to subpoena information relevant to

11 the evaluation required by this section from any pri12 vate insurance provider. The Comptroller General

13 shall allow the Corporation access to the information

14 subpoenaed taking into consideration the necessity of

15 preserving the privacy of proprietary information.

16 SEC. 119. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

17 (a) PRICE SUPPORT PROGRAMS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Agricultural

19 Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) is amended by

20 adding at the end the following new section:

21 ‘‘SEC. 427. CROP INSURANCE REQUIREMENT.

22 ‘‘As a condition of receiving any benefit (including

23 payments) under title I or II for each of the 1995 and subse24 quent crops of tobacco, rice, extra long staple cotton, upland

25 cotton, feed grains, wheat, peanuts, oilseeds, and sugar, a
77

•HR 4217 EAH

1 producer must obtain at least catastrophic risk protection

2 insurance coverage under section 508 of the Federal Crop

3 Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508) for the crop and crop year

4 for which the benefit is sought, if the coverage is offered by

5 the Corporation.’’.

6 (2) RICE.—Section 101B(c) of such Act (7

7 U.S.C. 1441–2(c)) is amended—

8 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking subpara9 graph (F); and

10 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting

11 the following new paragraph:

12 ‘‘(2) CROP INSURANCE REQUIREMENT.—A pro13 ducer shall obtain catastrophic risk protection insur14 ance coverage in accordance with section 427.’’.

15 (3) UPLAND COTTON.—Section 103B(c) of such

16 Act (7 U.S.C. 1444–2(c)) is amended—

17 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking subpara18 graph (F); and

19 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting

20 the following new paragraph:

21 ‘‘(2) CROP INSURANCE REQUIREMENT.—A pro22 ducer shall obtain catastrophic risk protection insur23 ance coverage in accordance with section 427.’’.

24 (4) FEED GRAINS.—Section 105B(c) of such Act

25 (7 U.S.C. 1444f(c)) is amended—
78

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking subpara2 graph (G); and

3 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting

4 the following new paragraph:

5 ‘‘(2) CROP INSURANCE REQUIREMENT.—A pro6 ducer shall obtain catastrophic risk protection insur7 ance coverage in accordance with section 427.’’.

8 (5) WHEAT.—Section 107B(c) of such Act (7

9 U.S.C. 1445b–3a(c)) is amended—

10 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking subpara11 graph (G); and

12 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting

13 the following new paragraph:

14 ‘‘(2) CROP INSURANCE REQUIREMENT.—A pro15 ducer shall obtain catastrophic risk protection insur16 ance coverage in accordance with section 427.’’.

17 (6) DISASTER PAYMENTS.—Section 208 of such

18 Act (7 U.S.C. 1446i) is repealed.

19 (b) FARMERS HOME ADMINISTRATION PROGRAMS.—

20 The Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7

21 U.S.C. 1921 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the

22 following new section:

23 ‘‘SEC. 371. CROP INSURANCE REQUIREMENT.

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of obtaining any

25 benefit (including a direct loan, loan guarantee, or pay-
79

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ment) described in subsection (b), a borrower must obtain

2 at least catastrophic risk protection insurance coverage

3 under section 508 of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7

4 U.S.C. 1508) for the crop and crop year for which the bene5 fit is sought, if the coverage is offered by the Corporation.

6 ‘‘(b) APPLICABLE BENEFITS.—Subsection (a) shall

7 apply to—

8 ‘‘(1) a farm ownership loan (FO) under section

9 303;

10 ‘‘(2) an operating loan (OL) under section 312;

11 and

12 ‘‘(3) an emergency loan (EM) under section

13 321.’’.

14 (c) DISASTER ASSISTANCE.—Subtitle B of title XXII

15 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of

16 1990 (7 U.S.C. 1421 note) is amended by striking chapter

17 3.

18 (d) EMERGENCY APPROPRIATIONS.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Effective January 1, 1995,

20 section 251(b)(2)(D)(i) of the Balanced Budget and

21 Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C.

22 901(b)(2)(D)(i)) is amended by adding at the end the

23 following new sentence: ‘‘This subparagraph shall not

24 apply to appropriations to cover agricultural crop

25 disaster assistance.’’.
80

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (2) EMERGENCY LEGISLATION.—Effective Janu2 ary 1, 1995, section 252(e) of such Act (2 U.S.C.

3 902(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following

4 new sentence: ‘‘This subsection shall not apply to di5 rect spending provisions to cover agricultural crop

6 disaster assistance.’’.

7 (e) FALSE STATEMENTS.—Section 1014 of title 18,

8 United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or a company

9 the Corporation reinsures’’ after ‘‘Federal Crop Insurance

10 Corporation’’.

11 (f) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.—

12 (1) The first sentence of section 506(d) (7 U.S.C.

13 1506(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘508(f)’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘508(j)’’.

15 (2) The last sentence of section 507(c) (7 U.S.C.

16 1507(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘508(b)’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘508(h)’’.

18 (3) Section 518 (7 U.S.C. 1518) is amended by

19 striking ‘‘(k)’’ and inserting ‘‘(m)’’.

20 SEC. 120. EFFECTIVE DATE.

21 Except as otherwise provided in this title, this title and

22 the amendments made by this title shall become effective

23 on the date of enactment of this Act and shall apply to the

24 provision of crop insurance under the Federal Crop Insur25 ance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) beginning with the 1995
81

•HR 4217 EAH

1 crop year. With respect to the 1994 crop year, the Federal

2 Crop Insurance Act (as in effect on the day before the date

3 of enactment of this Act) shall continue to apply.

4 TITLE II—DEPARTMENT OF AG5 RICULTURE REORGANIZA6 TION

7 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

8 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This title may be cited as the ‘‘De9 partment of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994’’.

10 SEC. 202. PURPOSE.

11 The purpose of this title is to provide the Secretary

12 of Agriculture with the necessary authority to streamline

13 and reorganize the Department of Agriculture to achieve

14 greater efficiency, effectiveness, and economies in the orga15 nization and management of the programs and activities

16 carried out by the Department.

17 SEC. 203. DEFINITIONS.

18 Except where the context requires otherwise, for pur19 poses of this title:

20 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’

21 means the Department of Agriculture.

22 (2) NATIONAL APPEALS DIVISION.—The term

23 ‘‘National Appeals Division’’ means the National Ap24 peals Division of the Department established under

25 section 272.
82

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

2 the Secretary of Agriculture.

3 (4) FUNCTION.—The term ‘‘function’’ means an

4 administrative, financial, or regulatory activity of an

5 agency, office, officer, or employee of the Department.

6 Subtitle A—General Reorganization

7 Authorities

8 SEC. 211. TRANSFER OF DEPARTMENT FUNCTIONS TO SEC9 RETARY OF AGRICULTURE.

10 (a) TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—Except as provided in

11 subsection (b), there are transferred to the Secretary of Agri12 culture all functions of all agencies, offices, officers, and em13 ployees of the Department that are not already vested in

14 the Secretary on the date of the enactment of this Act.

15 (b) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to

16 the following functions:

17 (1) Functions vested by subchapter II of chapter

18 5 of title 5, United States Code, in administrative

19 law judges employed by the Department.

20 (2) Functions vested by the Inspector General

21 Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App.) in the Inspector General

22 of the Department.

23 (3) Functions vested by chapter 9 of title 31,

24 United States Code, in the Chief Financial Officer of

25 the Department.
83

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (4) Functions vested in the corporations of the

2 Department or the boards of directors and officers of

3 such corporations.

4 (5) Functions vested in the Alternative Agricul5 tural Research and Commercialization Board by the

6 Alternative Agricultural Research and Commer7 cialization Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5901 et seq.).

8 SEC. 212. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY TO DELEGATE TRANS9 FERRED FUNCTIONS.

10 (a) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—

11 (1) DELEGATION AUTHORIZED.—Subject to

12 paragraph (2), the Secretary may delegate to any

13 agency, office, officer, or employee of the Department

14 the authority to perform any function transferred to

15 the Secretary under section 211(a) or any other func16 tion vested in the Secretary as of the date of the en17 actment of this Act. The authority provided in the

18 preceding sentence includes the authority to establish,

19 consolidate, alter, or discontinue any agency, office,

20 or other administrative unit of the Department.

21 (2) CONDITION ON AUTHORITY.—The delegation

22 authority provided by paragraph (1) shall be subject

23 to—

24 (A) sections 232, 251(d), 273, and 304 and

25 subsections (a) and (b)(1) of section 261;
84

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (B) sections 502 and 503 of the Agricultural

2 Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5692 and 5693);

3 and

4 (C) section 8(b)(5) of the Soil Conservation

5 and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C.

6 590h(b)(5)).

7 (b) COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS REQUIRED FOR NAME

8 CHANGE.—

9 (1) ANALYSIS REQUIRED.—Except as provided

10 in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall conduct a cost11 benefit analysis before changing the name of any

12 agency, office, division, or other unit of the Depart13 ment to ensure that the benefits to be derived from

14 changing the name of the agency, office, division, or

15 other unit outweigh the expense of executing the name

16 change.

17 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply

18 with respect to any name change required or author19 ized by this title.

20 (c) PUBLIC COMMENT ON PROPOSED REORGANIZA21 TION.—To the extent that the implementation of the author22 ity provided to the Secretary by this title to reorganize the

23 Department involves the creation of new agencies or offices

24 within the Department or the delegation of major functions

25 or major groups of functions to any agency or office of the
85

•HR 4217 EAH

1 Department (or the officers or employees of such agency or

2 office), the Secretary shall, to the extent considered prac3 ticable by the Secretary—

4 (1) give appropriate advance public notice of the

5 proposed reorganization action or delegation; and

6 (2) afford appropriate opportunity for interested

7 parties to comment on the proposed reorganization

8 action or delegation.

9 (d) INTERAGENCY TRANSFER OF RECORDS, PROP10 ERTY, PERSONNEL, AND FUNDS.—

11 (1) RELATED TRANSFERS.—Subject to para12 graph (2), as part of the transfer or delegation of a

13 function of the Department made or authorized by

14 this title, the Secretary may transfer within the De15 partment—

16 (A) any of the records, property, or person17 nel affected by the transfer or delegation of the

18 function; and

19 (B) unexpended balances (available or to be

20 made available for use in connection with the

21 transferred or delegated function) of appropria22 tions, allocations, or other funds of the Depart23 ment.

24 (2) APPLICABLE LAW RELATING TO FUNDS

25 TRANSFER.—Section 1531 of title 31, United States
86

•HR 4217 EAH

1 Code, shall apply to any transfer of funds under

2 paragraph (1).

3 (e) EXHAUSTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS.—Not4 withstanding any other provision of law, a person shall ex5 haust all administrative appeal procedures established by

6 the Secretary or required by law before the person may

7 bring an action in a court of competent jurisdiction

8 against—

9 (1) the Secretary;

10 (2) the Department; or

11 (3) an agency, office, officer, or employee of the

12 Department.

13 SEC. 213. REDUCTIONS IN NUMBER OF DEPARTMENT PER14 SONNEL.

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

16 (1) HEADQUARTERS OFFICES.—The term ‘‘head17 quarters offices’’, with respect to agencies, offices, or

18 other administrative units of the Department, means

19 the offices, functions, and employee positions that are

20 located or performed—

21 (A) in Washington, District of Columbia; or

22 (B) in such other locations as are identified

23 by the Secretary for purposes of this section.

24 (2) FIELD STRUCTURE.—The term ‘‘field struc25 ture’’ means the offices, functions, and employee posi-
87

•HR 4217 EAH

1 tions of all agencies, offices, or other administrative

2 units of the Department, other than the headquarters

3 offices, except that the term does not include State,

4 county, or area committees established under section

5 8(b)(5) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allot6 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 590h(b)(5)). The term includes

7 the physical and geographic locations of such agen8 cies, offices, or other administrative units.

9 (b) NUMBER OF REDUCTIONS REQUIRED.—The Sec10 retary shall achieve Federal employee reductions of at least

11 7,500 staff years within the Department by the end of fiscal

12 year 1999. Reductions in the number of full-time equivalent

13 positions within the Department achieved under section 5

14 of the Federal Workforce Restructuring Act of 1994 (Public

15 Law 103–226; 108 Stat. 115; 5 U.S.C. 3101 note) shall be

16 counted toward the employee reductions required under this

17 section.

18 (c) EMPHASIS ON HEADQUARTERS OFFICES REDUC19 TIONS.—In achieving the employee reductions required by

20 subsection (b), the Secretary shall pursue a goal so that the

21 percentage of the total number of employee staff years re22 duced in headquarters offices is at least twice the percentage

23 of the total number of employee staff years reduced in the

24 field structure.
88

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (d) SCHEDULE.—The personnel reductions in head2 quarters offices and in the field structure should be accom3 plished concurrently in a manner determined by the Sec4 retary.

5 SEC. 214. CONSOLIDATION OF HEADQUARTERS OFFICES.

6 Subject to the availability of appropriated funds for

7 this purpose, the Secretary shall develop and carry out a

8 plan to consolidate offices located in Washington, District

9 of Columbia, of agencies, offices, and other administrative

10 units of the Department.

11 SEC. 215. COMBINATION OF FIELD OFFICES.

12 (a) COMBINATION OF OFFICES REQUIRED.—Where

13 practicable and to the extent consistent with efficient, effec14 tive, and improved service, the Secretary shall combine field

15 offices of agencies within the Department to reduce person16 nel and duplicative overhead expenses.

17 (b) JOINT USE OF RESOURCES AND OFFICES RE18 QUIRED.—When two or more agencies of the Department

19 share a common field office, the Secretary shall require the

20 agencies to jointly use office space, equipment, office sup21 plies, administrative personnel, and clerical personnel asso22 ciated with that field office.

23 SEC. 216. IMPROVEMENT OF INFORMATION SHARING.

24 Whenever the Secretary procures or uses computer sys25 tems, as may be provided for in advance in appropriations
89

•HR 4217 EAH

1 Acts, the Secretary shall do so in a manner that enhances

2 efficiency, productivity, and client services and is consistent

3 with the goal of promoting computer information sharing

4 among agencies of the Department.

5 SEC. 217. REPORTS BY THE SECRETARY.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), notwith7 standing any other provision of law, the Secretary may,

8 but shall not be required to, prepare and submit any report

9 solely to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep10 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition,

11 and Forestry of the Senate.

12 (b) LIMITATION.—For each fiscal year, the Secretary

13 may not prepare and submit more than 30 reports referred

14 to in subsection (a).

15 (c) SELECTION OF REPORTS.—In consultation with

16 the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representa17 tives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and

18 Forestry of the Senate, the Secretary shall determine which

19 reports, if any, the Secretary will prepare and submit in

20 accordance with subsection (b).

21 SEC. 218. ASSISTANT SECRETARIES OF AGRICULTURE.

22 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is authorized to

23 establish in the Department the positions of—

24 (1) Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Con25 gressional Relations;
90

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (2) Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Ad2 ministration; and

3 (3) Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Mar4 keting and Regulatory Programs.

5 (b) CONFIRMATION REQUIRED.—If the Secretary es6 tablishes any position of Assistant Secretary authorized

7 under subsection (a), the Assistant Secretary shall be ap8 pointed by the President, by and with the advice and con9 sent of the Senate.

10 (c) SUCCESSION.—Any official who is serving as As11 sistant Secretary of Agriculture for Administration or As12 sistant Secretary of Agriculture for Congressional Relations

13 on the date of the enactment of this Act and who was ap14 pointed as such Assistant Secretary by the President, by

15 and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall not

16 be required to be reappointed under subsection (b) to the

17 successor position authorized under subsection (a) if the

18 Secretary establishes the position, and the official occupies

19 the new position, within 180 days after the date of the en20 actment of this Act (or such later date set by the Secretary

21 if litigation delays rapid succession).

22 (d) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE.—Section 5315 of title 5,

23 United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘Assistant Sec24 retaries of Agriculture (7).’’ and inserting ‘‘Assistant Sec25 retaries of Agriculture (3).’’.
91

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (e) REPEAL OF SUPERSEDED PROVISIONS REGARDING

2 ASSISTANT SECRETARIES.—The following provisions of law

3 are repealed:

4 (1) Section 2 of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of

5 1953 (5 U.S.C. App; 7 U.S.C. 2201 note).

6 (2) Section 2 of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to en7 large the powers and duties of the Department of Ag8 riculture and to create an Executive Department to

9 be known as the Department of Agriculture.’’, ap10 proved February 9, 1889 (7 U.S.C. 2212).

11 (3) The first paragraph designated ‘‘OFFICE OF

12 THE SECRETARY:’’ under the heading ‘‘DEPART13 MENT OF AGRICULTURE’’ of the Act entitled ‘‘An

14 Act making appropriations for the Department of Ag15 riculture for the fiscal year ending June thirtieth,

16 nineteen hundred and seven.’’, approved June 30,

17 1906 (34 Stat. 670; 7 U.S.C. 2212).

18 (4) Section 604(a) of the Rural Development Act

19 of 1972 (7 U.S.C. 2212a).

20 (5) Section 2 of Public Law 94–561 (7 U.S.C.

21 2212b).

22 (6) Section 8(a) of Public Law 97–325 (7 U.S.C.

23 2212c).
92

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (7) Section 1413(d) of the National Agricultural

2 Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977

3 (7 U.S.C. 3128(d)).

4 SEC. 219. PAY INCREASES PROHIBITED.

5 The compensation of any officer or employee of the De6 partment on the date of the enactment of this Act shall not

7 be increased as a result of the enactment of this title.

8 Subtitle B—Farm and Foreign

9 Agricultural Services

10 SEC. 225. UNDER SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR FARM

11 AND FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICES.

12 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is authorized to

13 establish in the Department the position of Under Secretary

14 of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services.

15 (b) CONFIRMATION REQUIRED.—If the Secretary es16 tablishes the position of Under Secretary of Agriculture for

17 Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services authorized under

18 subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall be appointed by

19 the President, by and with the advice and consent of the

20 Senate.

21 (c) FUNCTIONS OF UNDER SECRETARY.—

22 (1) PRINCIPAL FUNCTIONS.—Upon establish23 ment, the Secretary shall delegate to the Under Sec24 retary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricul25 tural Services those functions under the jurisdiction
93

•HR 4217 EAH

1 of the Department that are related to farm and for2 eign agricultural services.

3 (2) ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS.—The Under Sec4 retary of Agriculture for Farm and Foreign Agricul5 tural Services shall perform such other functions as

6 may be required by law or prescribed by the Sec7 retary.

8 (d) SUCCESSION.—Any official who is serving as

9 Under Secretary of Agriculture for International Affairs

10 and Commodity Programs on the date of the enactment of

11 this Act and who was appointed by the President, by and

12 with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall not be re13 quired to be reappointed under subsection (b) to the succes14 sor position authorized under subsection (a) if the Secretary

15 establishes the position, and the official occupies the new

16 position, within 180 days after the date of the enactment

17 of this Act (or such later date set by the Secretary if litiga18 tion delays rapid succession).

19 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

20 (1) EXISTING POSITION.—Section 501 of the Ag21 ricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5691), relat22 ing to the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Inter23 national Affairs and Commodity Programs, is re24 pealed.
94

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (2) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE.—Section 5314 of

2 title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking

3 ‘‘Under Secretary of Agriculture for International Af4 fairs and Commodity Programs.’’ and inserting

5 ‘‘Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm and For6 eign Agricultural Services.’’.

7 SEC. 226. CONSOLIDATED FARM SERVICE AGENCY.

8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary is authorized to

9 establish and maintain in the Department a Consolidated

10 Farm Service Agency.

11 (b) FUNCTIONS OF CONSOLIDATED FARM SERVICE

12 AGENCY.—If the Secretary establishes the Consolidated

13 Farm Service Agency under subsection (a), the Secretary

14 is authorized to assign to the Agency jurisdiction over the

15 following functions:

16 (1) Agricultural price and income support pro17 grams, production adjustment programs, and related

18 programs.

19 (2) General supervision of the Federal Crop In20 surance Corporation.

21 (3) Agricultural credit programs assigned before

22 the date of the enactment of this Act by law to the

23 Farmers Home Administration (including farm own24 ership and operating, emergency, and disaster loan

25 programs) and other lending programs for agricul-
95

•HR 4217 EAH

1 tural producers and others engaged in the production

2 of agricultural commodities.

3 (4) Subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D of

4 title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C.

5 3831–3836) and the agricultural conservation pro6 gram under the Soil Conservation and Domestic Al7 lotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590g et seq.).

8 (5) Such other functions as the Secretary consid9 ers appropriate, except for those programs assigned

10 by the Secretary to the Natural Resources Conserva11 tion Service or another agency of the Department

12 under section 246(b).

13 (c) SPECIAL CONCURRENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR CER14 TAIN FUNCTIONS.—In carrying out the programs specified

15 in subsection (b)(4), the Secretary shall—

16 (1) acting on the recommendations of the Con17 solidated Farm Service Agency, with the concurrence

18 of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, issue

19 regulations to carry out such programs;

20 (2) ensure that the Consolidated Farm Service

21 Agency, in establishing policies, priorities, and guide22 lines for such programs, does so with the concurrence

23 of the Natural Resources Conservation Service at na24 tional, State, and local levels;
96

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (3) ensure that, in reaching such concurrence at

2 the local level, the Natural Resources Conservation

3 Service works in cooperation with Soil and Water

4 Conservation Districts or similar organizations estab5 lished under State law;

6 (4) ensure that officials of county and area com7 mittees established under section 8(b)(5) of the Soil

8 Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C.

9 590h(b)(5)) meet annually with officials of such Dis10 tricts or similar organizations to consider local con11 servation priorities and guidelines; and

12 (5) take steps to ensure that the concurrence

13 process does not interfere with the effective delivery of

14 such programs.

15 (d) JURISDICTION OVER CONSERVATION PROGRAM

16 APPEALS.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Until such time as an adverse

18 decision described in this paragraph is referred to the

19 National Appeals Division for consideration, the Con20 solidated Farm Service Agency shall have initial ju21 risdiction over any administrative appeal resulting

22 from an adverse decision made under title XII of the

23 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.),

24 including an adverse decision involving technical de-
97

•HR 4217 EAH

1 terminations made by the Natural Resources Con2 servation Service.

3 (2) TREATMENT OF TECHNICAL DETERMINA4 TION.—With respect to administrative appeals involv5 ing a technical determination made by the Natural

6 Resources Conservation Service, the Consolidated

7 Farm Service Agency, by rule with the concurrence of

8 the Natural Resources Conservation Service, shall es9 tablish procedures for obtaining review by the Natural

10 Resources Conservation Service of the technical deter11 minations involved. Such rules shall ensure that tech12 nical criteria established by the Natural Resources

13 Conservation Service shall be used by the Consoli14 dated Farm Service Agency as the basis for any deci15 sions regarding technical determinations. If no review

16 is requested, the technical determination of the Natu17 ral Resources Conservation Service shall be the tech18 nical basis for any decision rendered by a county or

19 area committee established under section 8(b)(5) of

20 the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act

21 (16 U.S.C. 590h(b)(5)). If the committee requests a re22 view by the Natural Resources Conservation Service

23 of a wetlands determination of the Service, the Con24 solidated Farm Service Agency shall consult with

25 other Federal agencies whenever required by law or
98

•HR 4217 EAH

1 under a memorandum of agreement in existence on

2 the date of the enactment of this Act.

3 (3) REINSTATEMENT OF PROGRAM BENEFITS.—

4 Rules issued to carry out this subsection shall provide

5 for the prompt reinstatement of benefits to a producer

6 who is determined in an administrative appeal to

7 meet the requirements of title XII of the Food Secu8 rity Act of 1985 applicable to the producer.

9 (e) USE OF FEDERAL AND NON-FEDERAL EMPLOY10 EES.—

11 (1) USE AUTHORIZED.—In the implementation

12 of programs and activities assigned to the Consoli13 dated Farm Service Agency, the Secretary may use

14 interchangeably in local offices of the Agency both

15 Federal employees of the Department and non-Federal

16 employees of county and area committees established

17 under section 8(b)(5) of the Soil Conservation and

18 Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590h(b)(5)).

19 (2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph

20 (1), no personnel action (as defined in section

21 2302(a)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code) may be

22 taken with respect to a Federal employee unless such

23 action is taken by another Federal employee.

24 (f) COLLOCATION.—To the maximum extent prac25 ticable, the Secretary shall collocate county offices of the
99

•HR 4217 EAH

1 Consolidated Farm Service Agency with county offices of

2 the Natural Resources Conservation Service in order to—

3 (1) maximize savings from shared equipment, of4 fice space, and administrative support;

5 (2) simplify paperwork and regulatory require6 ments;

7 (3) provide improved services to agricultural

8 producers and landowners affected by programs ad9 ministered by the Agency and the Service; and

10 (4) achieve computer compatibility between the

11 Agency and the Service to maximize efficiency and

12 savings.

13 (g) SAVINGS PROVISION.—For purposes of subsections

14 (c) through (f) of this section:

15 (1) A reference to the ‘‘Consolidated Farm Serv16 ice Agency’’ includes any other office, agency, or ad17 ministrative unit of the Department assigned the

18 functions authorized for the Consolidated Farm Serv19 ice Agency under this section.

20 (2) A reference to the ‘‘Natural Resources Con21 servation Service’’ includes any other office, agency,

22 or administrative unit of the Department assigned the

23 functions authorized for the Natural Resources Con24 servation Service under section 246(b).
100

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (h) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 331(a) of the

2 Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C.

3 1981(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘assets to the Farmers

4 Home Administration’’ and all that follows through the pe5 riod at the end of the subsection and inserting ‘‘assets to

6 such officers or agencies of the Department of Agriculture

7 as the Secretary considers appropriate.’’.

8 SEC. 227. STATE, COUNTY, AND AREA COMMITTEES.

9 (a) COMMITTEES UNDER THE SOIL CONSERVATION

10 AND DOMESTIC ALLOTMENT ACT.—Section 8(b) of the Soil

11 Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C.

12 590h(b)) is amended—

13 (1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(b)’’;

14 (2) by designating the second through eighth un15 designated paragraphs as paragraphs (2) through (8),

16 respectively; and

17 (3) by striking paragraph (5) (as so designated)

18 and inserting the following new paragraph:

19 ‘‘(5) STATE, COUNTY, AND AREA COMMITTEES.—

20 ‘‘(A) APPOINTMENT OF STATE COMMITTEES.—

21 The Secretary shall appoint in each State a State

22 committee composed of not fewer than 3 nor more

23 than 5 members who are fairly representative of the

24 farmers in the State. The members of a State commit-
101

•HR 4217 EAH

1 tee shall serve at the pleasure of the Secretary for such

2 term as the Secretary may establish.

3 ‘‘(B) ESTABLISHMENT OF COUNTY, AREA, OR

4 LOCAL COMMITTEES.—(i) In each county or area in

5 which activities are carried out under this section, the

6 Secretary shall establish a county or area committee.

7 ‘‘(ii) Any such committee shall consist of not

8 fewer than 3 nor more than 5 members who are fairly

9 representative of the agricultural producers in the

10 county or area and who shall be elected by the agri11 cultural producers in such county or area under such

12 procedures as the Secretary may prescribe.

13 ‘‘(iii) The Secretary may designate local admin14 istrative areas within the county or larger area cov15 ered by a committee established under clause (i). Only

16 agricultural producers within a local administrative

17 area who participate or cooperate in programs ad18 ministered within their area shall be eligible for nom19 ination and election to the local committee for that

20 area, under such regulations as the Secretary may

21 prescribe.

22 ‘‘(iv) The Secretary shall solicit and accept

23 nominations from organizations representing the in24 terests of socially disadvantaged groups (as defined in
102

•HR 4217 EAH

1 section 355(e)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural

2 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2003(e)(1)).

3 ‘‘(v) Members of each county, area, or local com4 mittee shall serve for terms not to exceed 3 years.

5 ‘‘(C) TERMINATION OR COMBINATION OF COMMIT6 TEES.—The Secretary may not terminate a county or

7 area committee or combine or consolidate two or more

8 county or area committees unless—

9 ‘‘(i) the Secretary first notifies the commit10 tee or committees involved of the proposed action;

11 and

12 ‘‘(ii) the State committee of the State in

13 which the affected counties are located approves

14 of such action in a vote taken after the end of

15 the 60-day period beginning on the date the noti16 fication is received.

17 ‘‘(D) USE OF COMMITTEES.—The Secretary shall

18 use the services of such committees in carrying out

19 programs under this section and the agricultural

20 credit programs under the Consolidated Farm and

21 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1921 et seq.) and

22 in considering administrative appeals as provided by

23 section 226(d) of the Department of Agriculture Reor24 ganization Act of 1994. The Secretary may use the

25 services of such committees in carrying out programs
103

•HR 4217 EAH

1 under other authorities administered by the Sec2 retary.

3 ‘‘(E) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue

4 such regulations as the Secretary considers necessary

5 relating to the selection and exercise of the functions

6 of the respective committees, and to the administra7 tion through such committees of the programs de8 scribed in subparagraph (D). Pursuant to such regu9 lations, each county and area committee shall select

10 an executive director for the area or county. Such se11 lection shall be made in the same manner as provided

12 for the selection of the county executive director under

13 section 7.21(b)(2) of title 7, Code of Federal Regula14 tions, as in effect on January 1, 1994. Regulations

15 governing payments or grants under this subsection

16 shall be as simple and direct as possible, and, when17 ever practicable, they shall be classified on the follow18 ing two bases:

19 ‘‘(i) Soil-depleting practices.

20 ‘‘(ii) Soil-building practices.

21 ‘‘(F) MANDATORY DUTIES OF SECRETARY.—In

22 carrying out this section, the Secretary shall—

23 ‘‘(i) insofar as practicable, protect the inter24 ests of tenants and sharecroppers;
104

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(ii) accord such encouragement to pro2 ducer-owned and producer-controlled cooperative

3 associations as will be in harmony with the pol4 icy toward cooperative associations set forth in

5 Federal laws and as will tend to promote effi6 cient methods of marketing and distribution;

7 ‘‘(iii) in every practicable manner, protect

8 the interests of small producers; and

9 ‘‘(iv) in every practical way, encourage and

10 provide for soil-conserving and soil-rebuilding

11 practices.

12 ‘‘(G) DISCRETIONARY AUTHORITIES OF SEC13 RETARY.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary

14 may use other approved agencies.

15 ‘‘(H) LIMITATIONS.—In carrying out this sec16 tion, the Secretary shall not have the authority to ac17 quire any land or any right or interest in land.’’.

18 (b) ELIMINATION OF FMHA COUNTY COMMITTEES.—

19 The Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7

20 U.S.C. 1921 et seq.) is amended—

21 (1) by striking section 332 (7 U.S.C. 1982); and

22 (2) in section 333 (7 U.S.C. 1983)—

23 (A) by striking paragraph (2); and

24 (B) redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), and

25 (5) as paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), respectively.
105

•HR 4217 EAH

1 Subtitle C—Rural Economic and

2 Community Development

3 SEC. 231. UNDER SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR RURAL

4 ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.

5 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is authorized to

6 establish in the Department the position of Under Secretary

7 of Agriculture for Rural Economic and Community Devel8 opment.

9 (b) CONFIRMATION REQUIRED.—If the Secretary es10 tablishes the position of Under Secretary of Agriculture for

11 Rural Economic and Community Development authorized

12 under subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall be ap13 pointed by the President, by and with the advice and con14 sent of the Senate.

15 (c) FUNCTIONS OF UNDER SECRETARY.—

16 (1) PRINCIPAL FUNCTIONS.—Upon establish17 ment, the Secretary shall delegate to the Under Sec18 retary of Agriculture for Rural Economic and Com19 munity Development those functions under the juris20 diction of the Department that are related to rural

21 economic and community development.

22 (2) ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS.—The Under Sec23 retary of Agriculture for Rural Economic and Com24 munity Development shall perform such other func-
106

•HR 4217 EAH

1 tions as may be required by law or prescribed by the

2 Secretary.

3 (d) SUCCESSION.—Any official who is serving as

4 Under Secretary of Agriculture for Small Community and

5 Rural Development on the date of the enactment of this Act

6 and who was appointed by the President, by and with the

7 advice and consent of the Senate, shall not be required to

8 be reappointed under subsection (b) to the successor position

9 authorized under subsection (a) if the Secretary establishes

10 the position, and the official occupies the new position,

11 within 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act

12 (or such later date set by the Secretary if litigation delays

13 rapid succession).

14 (e) LOAN APPROVAL AUTHORITY.—Approval authority

15 for loans and loan guarantees in connection with the elec16 tric and telephone loan and loan guarantee programs au17 thorized by the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C.

18 901 et seq.) shall not be transferred to, or conditioned on

19 review of, a State director or other employee whose primary

20 duty is not the review and approval of such loans or the

21 provision of assistance to such borrowers.

22 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

23 (1) EXISTING POSITION.—Section 3 of the Rural

24 Development Policy Act of 1980 (7 U.S.C. 2211b) is

25 amended by striking subsection (a).
107

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (2) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE.—Section 5314 of

2 title 5, United States Code, is amended by striking

3 ‘‘Under Secretary of Agriculture for Small Commu4 nity and Rural Development.’’ and inserting ‘‘Under

5 Secretary of Agriculture for Rural Economic and

6 Community Development.’’.

7 (3) REPEAL OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT ADMINIS8 TRATION.—Section 364 of the Consolidated Farm and

9 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2006f) is repealed.

10 SEC. 232. RURAL UTILITIES SERVICE.

11 (a) ESTABLISHMENT REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall

12 establish and maintain within the Department the Rural

13 Utilities Service and assign to the Service such functions

14 as the Secretary considers appropriate.

15 (b) ADMINISTRATOR.—

16 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Rural Utilities Service

17 shall be headed by an Administrator who shall be ap18 pointed by the President, by and with the advice and

19 consent of the Senate.

20 (2) SUCCESSION.—Any official who is serving as

21 Administrator of the Rural Electrification Adminis22 tration on the date of the enactment of this Act and

23 who was appointed by the President, by and with the

24 advice and consent of the Senate—
108

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (A) may be considered to be serving in the

2 successor position established under paragraph

3 (1); and

4 (B) shall not be required to be reappointed

5 to that position by reason of the enactment of

6 this Act.

7 (3) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE.—Section 5315 of

8 title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at

9 the end the following:

10 ‘‘Administrator, Rural Utilities Service, Depart11 ment of Agriculture.’’.

12 (c) FUNCTIONS.—The Secretary shall carry out

13 through the Rural Utilities Service the following functions

14 that are under the jurisdiction of the Department:

15 (1) Electric and telephone loan programs and

16 water and waste facility activities authorized by law,

17 including—

18 (A) the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7

19 U.S.C. 901 et seq.); and

20 (B) section 2322 of the Food, Agriculture,

21 Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C.

22 1926–1); and

23 (2) Water and waste facility programs and ac24 tivities authorized by law, including—
109

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (A) sections 306, 306A, 306B, and 306C,

2 the provisions of sections 309 and 309A relating

3 to assets, terms, and conditions of water and

4 sewer programs, section 310B(b)(2), and the

5 amendment made by section 342 of the Consoli6 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7

7 U.S.C. 1926, 1926a, 1926b, 1926c, 1929, 1929a,

8 1932(b)(2), and 1013a); and

9 (B) section 2324 of the Food, Agriculture,

10 Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C.

11 1926 note).

12 SEC. 233. RURAL HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOP13 MENT SERVICE.

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AUTHORIZED.—Notwithstanding

15 any other provision of law, the Secretary is authorized to

16 establish and maintain within the Department the Rural

17 Housing and Community Development Service and to as18 sign to the Service such functions as the Secretary considers

19 appropriate.

20 (b) FUNCTIONS.—If the Secretary establishes the Rural

21 Housing and Community Development Service under sub22 section (a), the Secretary is authorized to assign to the Serv23 ice jurisdiction over the following:

24 (1) Programs and activities under title V of the

25 Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.).
110

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (2) Programs and activities authorized under

2 section 310B(i) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural

3 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(i)) and related pro4 visions of law.

5 (3) Programs and activities that relate to rural

6 community lending programs, including programs

7 authorized by sections 365 through 369 of the Consoli8 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C.

9 2008–2008d).

10 SEC. 234. RURAL BUSINESS AND COOPERATIVE DEVELOP11 MENT SERVICE.

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AUTHORIZED.—Notwithstanding

13 any other provision of law, the Secretary is authorized to

14 establish and maintain within the Department the Rural

15 Business and Cooperative Development Service and to as16 sign to the Service such functions as the Secretary considers

17 appropriate.

18 (b) FUNCTIONS.—If the Secretary establishes the Rural

19 Business and Cooperative Development Service under sub20 section (a), the Secretary is authorized to assign to the Serv21 ice jurisdiction over the following:

22 (1) Section 313 and title V of the Rural Elec23 trification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 940c and 950aa et

24 seq.).
111

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (2) Subtitle G of title XVI of the Food, Agri2 culture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7

3 U.S.C. 5901 et seq.).

4 (3) Sections 306(a)(1) and 310B of the Consoli5 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C.

6 1926(a)(1) and 1932).

7 (4) Section 1323 of the Food Security Act of

8 1985 (Public Law 99–198; 7 U.S.C. 1932 note).

9 (5) The Act of July 2, 1926 (44 Stat. 802, chap10 ter 725; 7 U.S.C. 451 et seq.).

11 SEC. 235. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS REGARDING RURAL

12 ELECTRIFICATION ADMINISTRATION.

13 (a) AMENDMENTS TO RURAL ELECTRIFICATION ACT

14 OF 1936.—The Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C.

15 901 et seq.) is amended—

16 (1) by striking the first section (7 U.S.C. 901)

17 and inserting the following:

18 ‘‘SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

19 ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘Rural Electrification

20 Act of 1936’.’’;

21 (2) in section 2(a) (7 U.S.C. 902(a)), by striking

22 ‘‘Administrator’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Agri23 culture’’;

24 (3) in section 3(a) (7 U.S.C. 903(a))—
112

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (A) by striking ‘‘Administrator, upon the

2 request and approval of the Secretary of Agri3 culture,’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’; and

4 (B) by striking ‘‘Administrator appointed

5 pursuant to the provisions of this Act or from

6 the Administrator of the Rural Electrification

7 Administration established by Executive Order

8 Numbered 7037’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’;

9 (4) in section 8 (7 U.S.C. 908)—

10 (A) by striking ‘‘Administrator authorized

11 to be appointed by this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘Sec12 retary’’; and

13 (B) by striking ‘‘Rural Electrification Ad14 ministration created by this Act’’ and inserting

15 ‘‘Secretary’’;

16 (5) by striking section 11A (7 U.S.C. 911a);

17 (6) in section 13 (7 U.S.C. 913), by inserting be18 fore the period at the end the following: ‘‘; and the

19 term ‘Secretary’ shall be deemed to mean the Sec20 retary of Agriculture’’;

21 (7) in sections 206(b)(2), 306A(b), 311, and

22 405(b)(1)(A) (7 U.S.C. 927(b)(2), 936a(b), 940a, and

23 945(b)(1)(A)), by striking ‘‘Rural Electrification Ad24 ministration’’ each place it appears and inserting

25 ‘‘Secretary’’;
113

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (8) in sections 305(c)(2)(C)(ii)(II) and 306E(d)

2 (7 U.S.C. 935(c)(2)(C)(ii)(II) and 936e(d)), by strik3 ing ‘‘ADMINISTRATOR’’ and inserting ‘‘SECRETARY’’;

4 (9) in section 403(b) (7 U.S.C. 943(b)), by strik5 ing ‘‘Rural Electrification Administration or of any

6 other agency of the Department of Agriculture,’’ and

7 inserting ‘‘Secretary,’’;

8 (10) in section 404 (7 U.S.C. 944), by striking

9 ‘‘the Administrator of the Rural Electrification Ad10 ministration’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary shall des11 ignate an official of the Department of Agriculture

12 who’’;

13 (11) in sections 406(c) and 410 (7 U.S.C. 946(c)

14 and 950), by striking ‘‘Administrator of the Rural

15 Electrification Administration’’ each place it appears

16 and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’;

17 (12) in the heading of section 501 (7 U.S.C.

18 950aa), by striking ‘‘OF REA ADMINISTRATOR’’;

19 and

20 (13) except as otherwise provided in this sub21 section, by striking ‘‘Administrator’’ each place it ap22 pears in such Act and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’.

23 (b) MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS.—(1) Section

24 236(a) of the Disaster Relief Act of 1970 (7 U.S.C. 912a)

25 is amended by striking ‘‘Rural Electrification Administra-
114

•HR 4217 EAH

1 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary under the Rural Electrifica2 tion Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.)’’.

3 (2) Section 505 of the Department of Agriculture Or4 ganic Act of 1944 (7 U.S.C. 915) is amended—

5 (A) by striking ‘‘Rural Electrification Adminis6 tration’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Agriculture’’;

7 and

8 (B) by striking ‘‘its’’ and inserting ‘‘the Sec9 retary’s’’.

10 (3) Section 401 of the Rural Electrification Act of

11 1938 (7 U.S.C. 903 note) is amended in the second para12 graph by striking ‘‘Administrator of the Rural Electrifica13 tion Administration’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Agri14 culture’’.

15 (4) Chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XXIII of the Food,

16 Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C.

17 950aaa et seq.), relating to Distance Learning and Medical

18 Link Programs, is amended—

19 (A) in section 2333—

20 (i) by striking paragraph (1); and

21 (ii) by redesignating paragraphs (2)

22 through (11) as paragraphs (1) through (10), re23 spectively;

24 (B) in section 2334(h)(2), by striking ‘‘section

25 2333(3)(F)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 2333(2)(F)’’; and
115

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (C) by striking ‘‘Administrator’’ each place it

2 appears and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’.

3 (5) Section 306(a)(15) of the Consolidated Farm and

4 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(15)) is amend5 ed—

6 (A) by striking subparagraph (C); and

7 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub8 paragraph (C).

9 (6) Section 2322(d) of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva10 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 1926–1(d)) is amend11 ed—

12 (A) by striking paragraph (2); and

13 (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para14 graph (2).

15 Subtitle D—Food, Nutrition, and

16 Consumer Services

17 SEC. 241. UNDER SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR FOOD,

18 NUTRITION, AND CONSUMER SERVICES.

19 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is authorized to

20 establish in the Department the position of Under Secretary

21 of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services.

22 (b) CONFIRMATION REQUIRED.—If the Secretary es23 tablishes the position of Under Secretary of Agriculture for

24 Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services authorized under

25 subsection (a), the Under Secretary shall be appointed by
116

•HR 4217 EAH

1 the President, by and with the advice and consent of the

2 Senate.

3 (c) FUNCTIONS OF UNDER SECRETARY.—

4 (1) PRINCIPAL FUNCTIONS.—Upon establish5 ment, the Secretary shall delegate to the Under Sec6 retary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and

7 Consumer Services those functions under the jurisdic8 tion of the Department that are related to food, nutri9 tion, and consumer services (except as provided in

10 section 261(b)(1)).

11 (2) ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS.—The Under Sec12 retary of Agriculture for Food, Nutrition, and

13 Consumer Services shall perform such other functions

14 as may be required by law or prescribed by the Sec15 retary.

16 (d) SUCCESSION.—Any official who is serving as As17 sistant Secretary of Agriculture for Food and Consumer

18 Services on the date of the enactment of this Act and who

19 was appointed by the President, by and with the advice

20 and consent of the Senate, shall not be required to be

21 reappointed under subsection (b) to the successor position

22 authorized under subsection (a) if the Secretary establishes

23 the position, and the official occupies the new position,

24 within 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act
117

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (or such later date set by the Secretary if litigation delays

2 rapid succession).

3 (e) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE.—Section 5314 of title 5,

4 United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item

5 relating to the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Farm

6 and Foreign Agricultural Services (as added by section

7 225(e)(2)) the following:

8 ‘‘Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nutri9 tion, and Consumer Services.’’.

10 Subtitle E—Natural Resources and

11 Environment

12 SEC. 245. UNDER SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR NATU13 RAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT.

14 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is authorized to

15 establish in the Department the position of Under Secretary

16 of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment.

17 (b) CONFIRMATION REQUIRED.—If the Secretary es18 tablishes the position of Under Secretary of Agriculture for

19 Natural Resources and Environment authorized under sub20 section (a), the Under Secretary shall be appointed by the

21 President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

22 (c) FUNCTIONS OF UNDER SECRETARY.—

23 (1) PRINCIPAL FUNCTIONS.—Upon establish24 ment, the Secretary shall delegate to the Under Sec25 retary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Envi-
118

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ronment those functions under the jurisdiction of the

2 Department that are related to natural resources and

3 environment (except to the extent those functions are

4 delegated under section 226).

5 (2) ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS.—The Under Sec6 retary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Envi7 ronment shall perform such other functions and duties

8 as may be required by law or prescribed by the Sec9 retary.

10 (d) SUCCESSION.—Any official who is serving as As11 sistant Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and

12 Environment on the date of the enactment of this Act and

13 who was appointed by the President, by and with the advice

14 and consent of the Senate, shall not be required to be

15 reappointed under subsection (b) to the successor position

16 authorized under subsection (a) if the Secretary establishes

17 the position, and the official occupies the new position,

18 within 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act

19 (or such later date set by the Secretary if litigation delays

20 rapid succession).

21 (e) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE.—Section 5314 of title 5,

22 United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item

23 relating to the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food, Nu24 trition, and Consumer Services (as added by section 241(e))

25 the following:
119

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural Re2 sources and Environment.’’.

3 SEC. 246. NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE.

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary is authorized to

5 establish and maintain within the Department a Natural

6 Resources Conservation Service.

7 (b) FUNCTIONS.—If the Secretary establishes the Natu8 ral Resources Conservation Service under subsection (a), the

9 Secretary is authorized to assign to the Service jurisdiction

10 over the following:

11 (1) The rural environmental conservation pro12 gram under title X of the Agricultural Act of 1970

13 (16 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.).

14 (2) The Great Plains Conservation Program

15 under section 16(b) of the Soil Conservation and Do16 mestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590p(b)).

17 (3) The Water Bank Act (16 U.S.C. 1301 et

18 seq.).

19 (4) The forestry incentive program under section

20 4 of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978

21 (16 U.S.C. 2103).

22 (5) Title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985

23 (16 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.), except subchapter B of chap24 ter 1 of subtitle D of such title.
120

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (6) Salinity control program under section

2 202(c) of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control

3 Act (43 U.S.C. 1592(c)).

4 (7) The Farms for the Future Act of 1990 (7

5 U.S.C. 4201 note).

6 (8) Such other functions as the Secretary consid7 ers appropriate, except functions under subchapter B

8 of chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Se9 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831–3836) and the ag10 ricultural conservation program under the Soil Con11 servation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C.

12 590g et seq.).

13 (c) SPECIAL CONCURRENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR CER14 TAIN FUNCTIONS.—In carrying out the programs specified

15 in paragraphs (2), (3), (4), and (6) of subsection (b) and

16 the program under subchapter C of chapter 1 of subtitle

17 D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C.

18 3837–3837f), the Secretary shall—

19 (1) acting on the recommendations of the Natu20 ral Resources Conservation Service, with the concur21 rence of the Consolidated Farm Service Agency, issue

22 regulations to carry out such programs;

23 (2) ensure that the Natural Resources Conserva24 tion Service, in establishing policies, priorities, and

25 guidelines for each such program, does so with the
121

•HR 4217 EAH

1 concurrence of the Consolidated Farm Service Agency

2 at national, State, and local levels;

3 (3) ensure that, in reaching such concurrence at

4 the local level, the Natural Resources Conservation

5 Service works in cooperation with Soil and Water

6 Conservation Districts or similar organizations estab7 lished under State law;

8 (4) ensure that officials of county and area com9 mittees established under section 8(b)(5) of the Soil

10 Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C.

11 590h(b)(5)) meet annually with officials of such Dis12 tricts or similar organizations to consider local con13 servation priorities and guidelines; and

14 (5) take steps to ensure that the concurrence

15 process does not interfere with the effective delivery of

16 such programs.

17 (d) USE OF FEDERAL AND NON-FEDERAL EMPLOY18 EES.—

19 (1) USE AUTHORIZED.—In the implementation

20 of functions assigned to the Natural Resources Con21 servation Service, the Secretary may use interchange22 ably in local offices of the Service both Federal em23 ployees of the Department and non-Federal employees

24 of county and area committees established under sec-
122

•HR 4217 EAH

1 tion 8(b)(5) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic

2 Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590h(b)(5)).

3 (2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph

4 (1), no personnel action (as defined in section

5 2302(a)(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code) may be

6 taken with respect to a Federal employee unless such

7 action is taken by another Federal employee.

8 (e) SAVINGS PROVISION.—For purposes of subsections

9 (c) and (d) of this section:

10 (1) A reference to the ‘‘Natural Resources Con11 servation Service’’ includes any other office, agency,

12 or administrative unit of the Department assigned the

13 functions authorized for the Natural Resources Con14 servation Service under this section.

15 (2) A reference to the ‘‘Consolidated Farm Serv16 ice Agency’’ includes any other office, agency, or ad17 ministrative unit of the Department assigned the

18 functions authorized for the Consolidated Farm Serv19 ice Agency under section 226.

20 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

21 (1) SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE.—Section 5 of

22 the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act

23 (16 U.S.C. 590e) is repealed.
123

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (2) SOIL AND WATER RESOURCES CONSERVA2 TION.—The Soil and Water Resources Conservation

3 Act of 1977 (16 U.S.C. 2001) is amended—

4 (A) in section 2(2) (16 U.S.C. 2001(2))—

5 (i) by striking ‘‘created the Soil Con6 servation Service’’; and

7 (ii) by striking ‘‘Department of Agri8 culture which’’ and inserting ‘‘, has ensured

9 that the Department of Agriculture’’;

10 (B) in section 3(2) (16 U.S.C. 2002(2)), by

11 striking ‘‘through the Soil Conservation Service’’;

12 and

13 (C) in section 6(a) (16 U.S.C. 2005(a)), by

14 striking ‘‘Soil Conservation Service’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘Secretary’’.

16 (3) STATE TECHNICAL COMMITTEES.—Section

17 1262 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C.

18 3862) is amended by adding at the end the following

19 new subsection:

20 ‘‘(e) FACA REQUIREMENTS.—The committees estab21 lished under section 1261 shall be exempt from the Federal

22 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.).’’.

23 SEC. 247. REORGANIZATION OF FOREST SERVICE.

24 (a) REQUIRED ELEMENTS OF REORGANIZATION PRO25 POSALS.—Reorganization proposals that are developed by
124

•HR 4217 EAH

1 the Secretary to carry out the designation by the President

2 of the Forest Service as a Reinvention Lab pursuant to the

3 National Performance Review, dated September 1993, shall

4 include proposals for—

5 (1) reorganizing the Service in a manner that is

6 consistent with the principles of interdisciplinary

7 planning;

8 (2) redefining and consolidating the mission and

9 roles of, and research conducted by, employees of the

10 Service in connection with the National Forest Sys11 tem and State and private forestry to facilitate inter12 disciplinary planning and to eliminate functional13 ism;

14 (3) reforming the budget structure of the Service

15 to support interdisciplinary planning, including re16 ducing the number of budget line items;

17 (4) defining new measures of accountability so

18 that Congress may meet the constitutional obligation

19 of Congress to oversee the Service;

20 (5) achieving structural and organizational con21 solidations;

22 (6) to the extent practicable, sharing office space,

23 equipment, vehicles, and electronic systems with other

24 administrative units of the Department and other

25 Federal field offices, including proposals for using an
125

•HR 4217 EAH

1 on-line system by all administrative units of the De2 partment to maximize administrative efficiency; and

3 (7) reorganizing the Service in a manner that

4 will result in a larger percentage of employees of the

5 Service being retained at organizational levels below

6 regional offices, research stations, and the area office

7 of the Service.

8 (b) REPORT.—Not later than March 31, 1995, the Sec9 retary shall submit a report to the Committee on Agri10 culture of the House of Representatives and the Committee

11 on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate that

12 describes actions taken to carry out subsection (a), identifies

13 any disparities in regional funding patterns, and contains

14 the rationale behind the disparities.

15 Subtitle F—Research, Education,

16 and Economics

17 SEC. 251. UNDER SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR RE18 SEARCH, EDUCATION, AND ECONOMICS.

19 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary is authorized to

20 establish in the Department the position of Under Secretary

21 of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics.

22 (b) CONFIRMATION REQUIRED.—If the Secretary es23 tablishes the position of Under Secretary of Agriculture for

24 Research, Education, and Economics authorized under sub-
126

•HR 4217 EAH

1 section (a), the Under Secretary shall be appointed by the

2 President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

3 (c) FUNCTIONS OF UNDER SECRETARY.—

4 (1) PRINCIPAL FUNCTIONS.—Upon establish5 ment, the Secretary shall delegate to the Under Sec6 retary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and

7 Economics those functions and duties under the juris8 diction of the Department that are related to research,

9 education, and economics.

10 (2) ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS.—The Under Sec11 retary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and

12 Economics shall perform such other functions and du13 ties as may be required by law or prescribed by the

14 Secretary.

15 (d) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND

16 EXTENSION SERVICE.—

17 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in

18 the Department a Cooperative State Research, Edu19 cation, and Extension Service.

20 (2) FUNCTIONS.—The Secretary shall delegate to

21 the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Ex22 tension Service functions related to cooperative State

23 research programs and cooperative extension and edu24 cation programs that are under the jurisdiction of the

25 Department.
127

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (3) OFFICER-IN-CHARGE.—If the Secretary estab2 lishes the position of Under Secretary of Agriculture

3 for Research, Education, and Economics, the officer

4 in charge of the Cooperative State Research, Edu5 cation, and Extension Service shall report directly to

6 the Under Secretary.

7 (e) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE.—Section 5314 of title 5,

8 United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item

9 relating to the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Natural

10 Resources and Environment (as added by section 245(e))

11 the following:

12 ‘‘Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research,

13 Education, and Economics.’’.

14 SEC. 252. PROGRAM STAFF.

15 In making the personnel reductions required under sec16 tion 213, the Secretary shall reduce the number of Federal

17 research and education personnel of the Department by a

18 percentage equal to at least the percentage of overall Depart19 ment personnel reductions. The Secretary shall achieve such

20 reduction in research and education personnel in a manner

21 that minimizes duplication and maximizes coordination be22 tween Federal and State research and extension activities.
128

•HR 4217 EAH

1 Subtitle G—Food Safety

2 SEC. 261. UNDER SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR FOOD

3 SAFETY.

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the De5 partment of Agriculture the position of Under Secretary of

6 Agriculture for Food Safety. The Under Secretary shall be

7 appointed by the President, by and with the advice and

8 consent of the Senate, from among individuals with special9 ized training or significant experience in food safety or

10 public health programs.

11 (b) FUNCTIONS OF UNDER SECRETARY.—

12 (1) PRINCIPAL FUNCTIONS.—The Secretary shall

13 delegate to the Under Secretary of Agriculture for

14 Food Safety those functions and duties under the ju15 risdiction of the Department that are primarily relat16 ed to food safety.

17 (2) ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS.—The Under Sec18 retary of Agriculture for Food Safety shall perform

19 such other functions and duties as may be required by

20 law or prescribed by the Secretary.

21 (c) EXECUTIVE SCHEDULE.—Section 5314 of title 5,

22 United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item

23 relating to the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research,

24 Education, and Economics (as added by section 251(e)) the

25 following:
129

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘Under Secretary of Agriculture for Food Safe2 ty.’’.

3 (d) TECHNICAL AND SCIENTIFIC REVIEW GROUPS.—

4 The Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary for Re5 search, Education, and Economics, may, without regard to

6 the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing ap7 pointment in the competitive service, and without regard

8 to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chap9 ter 53 of title 5, United States Code, relating to classifica10 tion and General Schedule pay rates—

11 (1) establish such technical and scientific review

12 groups as are needed to carry out the functions of the

13 Department; and

14 (2) appoint and pay the members of the groups,

15 except that officers and employees of the United States

16 shall not receive additional compensation for service

17 as a member of a group.

18 SEC. 262. CONDITIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF ALTER19 ATIONS IN THE LEVEL OF ADDITIVES AL20 LOWED IN ANIMAL DIETS.

21 (a) CONDITIONS.—The Food and Drug Administration

22 shall not implement or enforce the final rule described in

23 subsection (b) to alter the level of selenium allowed to be

24 used as a supplement in animal diets unless the Commis-
130

•HR 4217 EAH

1 sioner of the Food and Drug Administration makes a deter2 mination that—

3 (1) selenium additives are not essential, at levels

4 authorized in the absence of such final rule, to main5 tain animal nutrition and protect animal health;

6 (2) selenium at such levels is not safe to the ani7 mals consuming the additive;

8 (3) selenium at such levels is not safe to individ9 uals consuming edible portions of animals that re10 ceive the additive;

11 (4) selenium at such levels does not achieve its

12 intended effect of promoting normal growth and re13 production of livestock and poultry; and

14 (5) the manufacture and use of selenium at such

15 levels cannot reasonably be controlled by adherence to

16 current good manufacturing practice requirements.

17 (b) FINAL RULE DESCRIBED.—The final rule referred

18 to in subsection (a) is the final rule issued by the Food

19 and Drug Administration and published in the Federal

20 Register on September 13, 1993 (58 Fed. Reg. 47962), in

21 which the Administration stayed 1987 amendments to the

22 selenium food additive regulations, and any modification

23 of such rule issued after the date of the enactment of this

24 Act.
131

•HR 4217 EAH

1 Subtitle H—National Appeals

2 Division

3 SEC. 271. DEFINITIONS.

4 For purposes of this subtitle:

5 (1) ADVERSE DECISION.—The term ‘‘adverse de6 cision’’ means an administrative decision made by an

7 officer, employee, or committee of an agency that is

8 adverse to a participant. The term includes a denial

9 of equitable relief by an agency or the failure of an

10 agency to issue a decision or otherwise act on the re11 quest or right of the participant. The term does not

12 include a decision over which the Board of Contract

13 Appeals has jurisdiction.

14 (2) AGENCY.—The term ‘‘agency’’ means any

15 agency of the Department designated by the Secretary

16 or a successor agency of the Department, except that

17 the term shall include the following (and any succes18 sor to the following):

19 (A) The Consolidated Farm Service Agency

20 (or other office, agency, or administrative unit of

21 the Department assigned the functions author22 ized for the Consolidated Farm Service Agency

23 under section 226).

24 (B) The Commodity Credit Corporation,

25 with respect to domestic programs.
132

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (C) The Farmers Home Administration.

2 (D) The Federal Crop Insurance Corpora3 tion.

4 (E) The Rural Development Administra5 tion.

6 (F) The Natural Resources Conservation

7 Service (or other office, agency, or administra8 tive unit of the Department assigned the func9 tions authorized for the Natural Resources Con10 servation Service under section 246(b)).

11 (G) A State, county, or area committee es12 tablished under section 8(b)(5) of the Soil Con13 servation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C.

14 590h(b)(5)).

15 (3) APPELLANT.—The term ‘‘appellant’’ means a

16 participant who appeals an adverse decision in ac17 cordance with this subtitle.

18 (4) CASE RECORD.—The term ‘‘case record’’

19 means all the materials maintained by the Secretary

20 related to an adverse decision.

21 (5) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means the

22 Director of the Division.

23 (6) DIVISION.—The term ‘‘Division’’ means the

24 National Appeals Division established by this title.
133

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (7) HEARING OFFICER.—The term ‘‘hearing offi2 cer’’ means an individual employed by the Division

3 who hears and determines appeals of adverse decisions

4 by any agency.

5 (8) IMPLEMENT.—The term ‘‘implement’’ refers

6 to those actions necessary to effectuate fully and

7 promptly a final determination of the Division not

8 later than 30 calendar days after the effective date of

9 the final determination.

10 (9) PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘participant’’ shall

11 have the meaning given that term by the Secretary by

12 regulation.

13 SEC. 272. NATIONAL APPEALS DIVISION AND DIRECTOR.

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF DIVISION.—The Secretary

15 shall establish and maintain an independent National Ap16 peals Division within the Department to carry out this sub17 title.

18 (b) DIRECTOR.—

19 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Division shall be head20 ed by a Director, appointed by the Secretary from

21 among persons who have substantial experience in

22 practicing administrative law. In considering appli23 cants for the position of Director, the Secretary shall

24 consider persons currently employed outside Govern25 ment as well as Government employees.
134

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (2) TERM AND REMOVAL.—The Director shall

2 serve for a 6-year term of office, and shall be eligible

3 for reappointment. The Director shall not be subject

4 to removal during the term of office, except for cause

5 established in accordance with law.

6 (3) POSITION CLASSIFICATION.—The position of

7 the Director may not be a position in the excepted

8 service or filled by a noncareer appointee.

9 (c) DIRECTION, CONTROL, AND SUPPORT.—The Direc10 tor shall be free from the direction and control of any person

11 other than the Secretary. The Division shall not receive ad12 ministrative support (except on a reimbursable basis) from

13 any agency other than the Office of the Secretary. The Sec14 retary may not delegate to any other officer or employee

15 of the Department, other than the Director, the authority

16 of the Secretary with respect to the Division.

17 (d) DETERMINATION OF APPEALABILITY OF AGENCY

18 DECISIONS.—If an officer, employee, or committee of an

19 agency determines that a decision is not appealable and

20 a participant appeals the decision to the Director, the Di21 rector shall determine whether the decision is adverse to the

22 individual participant and thus appealable or is a matter

23 of general applicability and thus not subject to appeal. The

24 determination of the Director as to whether a decision is

25 appealable shall be administratively final.
135

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (e) DIVISION PERSONNEL.—The Director shall appoint

2 such hearing officers and other employees as are necessary

3 for the administration of the Division. A hearing officer or

4 other employee of the Division shall have no duties other

5 than those that are necessary to carry out this subtitle.

6 SEC. 273. TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.

7 There are transferred to the Division all functions ex8 ercised and all administrative appeals pending before the

9 effective date of this subtitle (including all related functions

10 of any officer or employee) of or relating to—

11 (1) the National Appeals Division established by

12 section 426(c) of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (7

13 U.S.C. 1433e(c)) (as in effect on the day before the

14 date of the enactment of this Act);

15 (2) the National Appeals Division established by

16 subsections (d) through (g) of section 333B of the Con17 solidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C.

18 1983b) (as in effect on the day before the date of the

19 enactment of this Act);

20 (3) appeals of decisions made by the Federal

21 Crop Insurance Corporation; and

22 (4) appeals of decisions made by the Soil Con23 servation Service (as in effect on the day before the

24 date of the enactment of this Act).
136

•HR 4217 EAH

1 SEC. 274. NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR HEARING.

2 Not later than 10 working days after an adverse deci3 sion is made that affects the participant, the Secretary shall

4 provide the participant with written notice of such adverse

5 decision and the rights available to the participant under

6 this subtitle or other law for the review of such adverse deci7 sion.

8 SEC. 275. INFORMAL HEARINGS.

9 If an officer, employee, or committee of an agency

10 makes an adverse decision, the agency shall hold, at the re11 quest of the participant, an informal hearing on the deci12 sion. With respect to programs carried out through the Con13 solidated Farm Service Agency (or other office, agency, or

14 administrative unit of the Department assigned to carry

15 out the programs authorized for the Consolidated Farm

16 Service Agency under section 226), the Secretary shall

17 maintain the informal appeals process applicable to such

18 programs, as in effect on the date of the enactment of the

19 subtitle. If a mediation program is available under title V

20 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 (7 U.S.C. 5101 et

21 seq.) as a part of the informal hearing process, the partici22 pant shall be offered the right to choose such mediation.

23 SEC. 276. RIGHT OF PARTICIPANTS TO DIVISION HEARING.

24 (a) APPEAL TO DIVISION FOR HEARING.—Subject to

25 subsection (b), a participant shall have the right to appeal
137

•HR 4217 EAH

1 an adverse decision to the Division for an evidentiary hear2 ing by a hearing officer consistent with section 277.

3 (b) TIME FOR APPEAL.—To be entitled to a hearing

4 under section 277, a participant shall request the hearing

5 not later than 30 days after the date on which the partici6 pant first received notice of the adverse decision.

7 SEC. 277. DIVISION HEARINGS.

8 (a) GENERAL POWERS OF DIRECTOR AND HEARING

9 OFFICERS.—

10 (1) ACCESS TO CASE RECORD.—The Director

11 and hearing officer shall have access to the case record

12 of any adverse decision appealed to the Division for

13 a hearing.

14 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.—The Direc15 tor and hearing officer shall have the authority to re16 quire the attendance of witnesses, and the production

17 of evidence, by subpoena and to administer oaths and

18 affirmations. Except to the extent required for the dis19 position of ex parte matters as authorized by law—

20 (A) an interested person outside the Divi21 sion shall not make or knowingly cause to be

22 made to the Director or a hearing officer who is

23 or may reasonably be expected to be involved in

24 the evidentiary hearing or review of an adverse

25 decision, an ex parte communication (as defined
138

•HR 4217 EAH

1 in section 551(14) of title 5, United States Code)

2 relevant to the merits of the proceeding;

3 (B) the Director and such hearing officer

4 shall not make or knowingly cause to be made to

5 any interested person outside the Division an ex

6 parte communication relevant to the merits of

7 the proceeding.

8 (b) TIME FOR HEARING.—Upon a timely request for

9 a hearing under section 276(b), an appellant shall have the

10 right to have a hearing by the Division on the adverse deci11 sion within 45 days after the date of the receipt of the re12 quest for the hearing.

13 (c) LOCATION AND ELEMENTS OF HEARING.—

14 (1) LOCATION.—A hearing on an adverse deci15 sion shall be held in the State of residence of the ap16 pellant or at a location that is otherwise convenient

17 to the appellant and the Division.

18 (2) EVIDENTIARY HEARING.—The evidentiary

19 hearing before a hearing officer shall be in person,

20 unless the appellant agrees to a hearing by telephone

21 or by a review of the case record. The hearing officer

22 shall not be bound by previous findings of fact by the

23 agency in making a determination.

24 (3) INFORMATION AT HEARING.—The hearing of25 ficer shall consider information presented at the hear-
139

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ing without regard to whether the evidence was known

2 to the agency officer, employee, or committee making

3 the adverse decision at the time the adverse decision

4 was made. The hearing officer shall leave the record

5 open after the hearing for a reasonable period of time

6 to allow the submission of information by the appel7 lant or the agency after the hearing to the extent nec8 essary to respond to new facts, information, argu9 ments, or evidence presented or raised by the agency

10 or appellant.

11 (4) BURDEN OF PROOF.—The appellant shall

12 bear the burden of proving that the adverse decision

13 of the agency was erroneous.

14 (d) DETERMINATION NOTICE.—The hearing officer

15 shall issue a notice of the determination on the appeal not

16 later than 30 days after a hearing or after receipt of the

17 request of the appellant to waive a hearing, except that the

18 Director may establish an earlier or later deadline. If the

19 determination is not appealed to the Director for review

20 under section 278, the notice provided by the hearing officer

21 shall be considered to be a notice of an administratively

22 final determination.

23 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The final determination shall

24 be effective as of the date of filing of an application, the
140

•HR 4217 EAH

1 date of the transaction or event in question, or the date of

2 the original adverse decision, whichever is applicable.

3 SEC. 278. DIRECTOR REVIEW OF DETERMINATIONS OF

4 HEARING OFFICERS.

5 (a) REQUESTS FOR DIRECTOR REVIEW.—

6 (1) TIME FOR REQUEST BY APPELLANT.—Not

7 later than 30 days after the date on which an appel8 lant receives the determination of a hearing officer

9 under section 277, the appellant shall submit a writ10 ten request to the Director for review of the deter11 mination in order to be entitled to a review by the

12 Director of the determination.

13 (2) TIME FOR REQUEST BY AGENCY HEAD.—Not

14 later 15 business days after the date on which an

15 agency receives the determination of a hearing officer

16 under section 277, the head of the agency may make

17 a written request that the Director review the deter18 mination.

19 (b) DETERMINATION OF DIRECTOR.—The Director

20 shall conduct a review of the determination of the hearing

21 officer using the case record, the record from the evidentiary

22 hearing under section 277, the request for review, and such

23 other arguments or information as may be accepted by the

24 Director. Based on such review, the Director shall issue a

25 final determination notice that upholds, reverses, or modi-
141

•HR 4217 EAH

1 fies the determination of the hearing officer. However, if

2 the Director determines that the hearing record is inad3 equate, the Director may remand all or a portion of the

4 determination for further proceedings to complete the hear5 ing record or, at the option of the Director, to hold a new

6 hearing. The Director shall complete the review and either

7 issue a final determination or remand the determination

8 not later than—

9 (1) 10 business days after receipt of the request

10 for review, in the case of a request by the head of an

11 agency for review; or

12 (2) 30 business days after receipt of the request

13 for review, in the case of a request by an appellant

14 for review.

15 (c) BASIS FOR DETERMINATION.—The determination

16 of the hearing officer and the Director shall be based on

17 information from the case record, laws applicable to the

18 matter at issue, and applicable regulations published in the

19 Federal Register and in effect on the date of the adverse

20 decision or the date on which the acts that gave rise to the

21 adverse decision occurred, whichever date is appropriate.

22 (d) EQUITABLE RELIEF.—Subject to regulations is23 sued by the Secretary, the Director shall have the authority

24 to grant equitable relief under this section in the same man25 ner and to the same extent as such authority is provided
142

•HR 4217 EAH

1 to the Secretary under section 326 of the Food and Agri2 culture Act of 1962 (7 U.S.C. 1339a) and other laws. Not3 withstanding the administrative finality of a final deter4 mination of an appeal by the Division, the Secretary shall

5 have the authority to grant equitable or other types of relief

6 to the appellant after an administratively final determina7 tion is issued by the Division.

8 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—A final determination issued

9 by the Director shall be effective as of the date of filing of

10 an application, the date of the transaction or event in ques11 tion, or the date of the original adverse decision, whichever

12 is applicable.

13 SEC. 279. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

14 A final determination of the Division shall be

15 reviewable and enforceable by any United States district

16 court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with chapter

17 7 of title 5, United States Code.

18 SEC. 280. IMPLEMENTATION OF FINAL DETERMINATIONS

19 OF DIVISION.

20 On the return of a case to an agency pursuant to the

21 final determination of the Division, the head of the agency

22 shall implement the final determination not later than 30

23 days after the effective date of the notice of the final deter24 mination.
143

•HR 4217 EAH

1 SEC. 281. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO NA2 TIONAL APPEALS DIVISION.

3 (a) DECISIONS OF STATE, COUNTY, AND AREA COM4 MITTEES.—

5 (1) APPLICATION OF SUBSECTION.—This sub6 section shall apply only with respect to functions of

7 the Consolidated Farm Service Agency or the Com8 modity Credit Corporation that are under the juris9 diction of a State, county, or area committee estab10 lished under section 8(b)(5) of the Soil Conservation

11 and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590h(b)(5))

12 or an employee of such a committee.

13 (2) FINALITY.—Each decision of a State, county,

14 or area committee (or an employee of such a commit15 tee) covered by paragraph (1) that is made in good

16 faith in the absence of misrepresentation, false state17 ment, fraud, or willful misconduct shall be final not

18 later than 90 days after the date of filing of the appli19 cation for benefits, unless the decision is—

20 (A) appealed under this subtitle; or

21 (B) modified by the Administrator of the

22 Consolidated Farm Service Agency or the Execu23 tive Vice President of the Commodity Credit Cor24 poration.

25 (3) RECOVERY OF AMOUNTS.—If the decision of

26 the State, county, or area committee has become final
144

•HR 4217 EAH

1 under paragraph (2), no action may be taken by the

2 Consolidated Farm Service Agency, the Commodity

3 Credit Corporation, or a State, county, or area com4 mittee to recover amounts found to have been dis5 bursed as a result of a decision in error unless the

6 participant had reason to believe that the decision

7 was erroneous.

8 (4) SAVINGS PROVISION.—For purposes of this

9 subsection, a reference to the ‘‘Consolidated Farm

10 Service Agency’’ includes any other office, agency, or

11 administrative unit of the Department assigned the

12 functions authorized for the Consolidated Farm Serv13 ice Agency under section 226.

14 (b) AGRICULTURAL STABILIZATION AND CONSERVA15 TION SERVICE.—Section 426 of the Agricultural Act of 1949

16 (7 U.S.C. 1433e) is repealed.

17 (c) FARMERS HOME ADMINISTRATION.—Section 333B

18 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7

19 U.S.C. 1983b) is repealed.

20 SEC. 282. EXPANSION OF ISSUES COVERED BY STATE MEDI21 ATION PROGRAMS.

22 (a) EXPANSION OF MEDIATION PROGRAMS.—Section

23 501 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 (7 U.S.C. 5101)

24 is amended—
145

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘an agricul2 tural loan mediation program’’ and inserting ‘‘a me3 diation program’’;

4 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘agricultural

5 loan’’; and

6 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the

7 following new subsection:

8 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS OF STATE MEDIATION PRO9 GRAMS.—

10 ‘‘(1) ISSUES COVERED.—To be certified as a

11 qualifying State, the mediation program of the State

12 must provide mediation services for the persons de13 scribed in paragraph (2) who are involved in agricul14 tural loans or agricultural loans and one or more of

15 the following issues under the jurisdiction of the De16 partment of Agriculture:

17 ‘‘(A) Wetlands determinations.

18 ‘‘(B) Compliance with farm programs, in19 cluding conservation programs.

20 ‘‘(C) Agricultural credit.

21 ‘‘(D) Rural water loan programs.

22 ‘‘(E) Grazing on National Forest System

23 lands.

24 ‘‘(F) Pesticides.
146

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ‘‘(G) Such other issues as the Secretary con2 siders appropriate.

3 ‘‘(2) PERSONS ELIGIBLE FOR MEDIATION.—The

4 persons referred to in paragraph (1) are producers,

5 their creditors (if applicable), and other persons di6 rectly affected by actions of the Department of Agri7 culture.

8 ‘‘(3) CERTIFICATION CONDITIONS.—The Sec9 retary shall certify a State as a qualifying State with

10 respect to the issues proposed to be covered by the me11 diation program of the State if the mediation pro12 gram—

13 ‘‘(A) provides for mediation services that, if

14 decisions are reached, result in mediated, mutu15 ally agreeable decisions between the parties to the

16 mediation;

17 ‘‘(B) is authorized or administered by an

18 agency of the State government or by the Gov19 ernor of the State;

20 ‘‘(C) provides for the training of mediators;

21 ‘‘(D) provides that the mediation sessions

22 shall be confidential;

23 ‘‘(E) ensures, in the case of agricultural

24 loans, that all lenders and borrowers of agricul-
147

•HR 4217 EAH

1 tural loans receive adequate notification of the

2 mediation program; and

3 ‘‘(F) ensures, in the case of other issues cov4 ered by the mediation program, that persons di5 rectly affected by actions of the Department of

6 Agriculture receive adequate notification of the

7 mediation program.’’.

8 (b) PARTICIPATION OF DEPARTMENT.—Section 503 of

9 such Act (7 U.S.C. 5103) is amended—

10 (1) by striking ‘‘agricultural loan’’ each place it

11 appears;

12 (2) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) of

13 subsection (a)(1)—

14 (A) by inserting ‘‘or agency’’ after ‘‘pro15 gram’’; and

16 (B) by striking ‘‘that makes, guarantees, or

17 insures agricultural loans’’;

18 (3) in subsection (a)(1)(A)—

19 (A) by inserting ‘‘or agency’’ after ‘‘such

20 program’’; and

21 (B) by inserting ‘‘certified under section

22 501’’ after ‘‘mediation program’’;

23 (4) in subsection (a)(1)(B)—

24 (A) by striking ‘‘, effective beginning on the

25 date of the enactment of this Act,’’; and
148

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (B) by inserting ‘‘certified under section

2 501’’ after ‘‘mediation programs’’; and

3 (5) in subsection (a)(1)(C)—

4 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘described in’’

5 and inserting ‘‘certified under’’; and

6 (B) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘if applica7 ble,’’ before ‘‘present’’.

8 (c) REGULATIONS.—Section 504 of such Act (7 U.S.C.

9 5104) is amended—

10 (1) by striking ‘‘Within 150 days after the date

11 of the enactment of this Act, the’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘The’’; and

13 (2) by adding at the end the following new sen14 tence: ‘‘The regulations prescribed by the Secretary

15 shall require qualifying States to adequately train

16 mediators to address all of the issues covered by the

17 mediation program of the State.’’.

18 (d) REPORT.—Section 505 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 5105)

19 is amended by striking ‘‘1990’’ and inserting ‘‘1998’’.

20 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

21 506 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 5106) is amended by striking

22 ‘‘1995’’ and inserting ‘‘2000’’.

23 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

24 (1) REFERENCES TO AGRICULTURAL LOANS.—

25 Subtitle A of title V of such Act is amended—
149

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (A) in sections 502 and 505(1) (7 U.S.C.

2 5102, 5105(1)), by striking ‘‘agricultural loan’’

3 each place it appears; and

4 (B) in section 505(3) (7 U.S.C. 5105(3)), by

5 striking ‘‘an agricultural loan mediation’’ and

6 inserting ‘‘a mediation’’.

7 (2) WAIVER OF FARM CREDIT SYSTEM MEDI8 ATION RIGHTS BY BORROWERS.—Section 4.14E of the

9 Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C. 2202e) is amend10 ed by striking ‘‘agricultural loan’’.

11 (3) WAIVER OF FMHA MEDIATION RIGHTS BY

12 BORROWERS.—Section 358 of the Consolidated Farm

13 and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2006) is

14 amended by striking ‘‘agricultural loan’’.

15 SEC. 283. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

16 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as

17 may be necessary to carry out the activities of the Division.

18 Subtitle I—Miscellaneous

19 Reorganization Provisions

20 SEC. 291. SUCCESSORSHIP PROVISIONS RELATING TO BAR21 GAINING UNITS AND EXCLUSIVE REPRESENT22 ATIVES.

23 (a) VOLUNTARY AGREEMENT.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the exercise of the Sec25 retary’s authority under this title results in changes
150

•HR 4217 EAH

1 to an existing bargaining unit that has been certified

2 under chapter 71 of title 5, United States Code, the

3 affected parties shall attempt to reach a voluntary

4 agreement on a new bargaining unit and an exclusive

5 representative for such unit.

6 (2) CRITERIA.—In carrying out the requirements

7 of this subsection, the affected parties shall use cri8 teria set forth in—

9 (A) sections 7103(a)(4), 7111(e), 7111(f)(1),

10 and 7120 of title 5, United States Code, relating

11 to determining an exclusive representative; and

12 (B) section 7112 of title 5, United States

13 Code (disregarding subsections (b)(5) and (d)

14 thereof), relating to determining appropriate

15 units.

16 (b) EFFECT OF AN AGREEMENT.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the affected parties reach

18 agreement on the appropriate unit and the exclusive

19 representative for such unit under subsection (a), the

20 Federal Labor Relations Authority shall certify the

21 terms of such agreement, subject to paragraph (2)(A).

22 Nothing in this subsection shall be considered to re23 quire the holding of any hearing or election as a con24 dition for certification.

25 (2) RESTRICTIONS.—
151

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (A) CONDITIONS REQUIRING

2 NONCERTIFICATION.—The Federal Labor Rela3 tions Authority may not certify the terms of an

4 agreement under paragraph (1) if—

5 (i) it determines that any of the cri6 teria referred to in subsection (a)(2) (dis7 regarding section 7112(a) of title 5, United

8 States Code) have not been met; or

9 (ii) after the Secretary’s exercise of au10 thority and before certification under this

11 section, a valid election under section

12 7111(b) of title 5, United States Code, is

13 held covering any employees who would be

14 included in the unit proposed for certifi15 cation.

16 (B) TEMPORARY WAIVER OF PROVISION

17 THAT WOULD BAR AN ELECTION AFTER A COL18 LECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT IS

19 REACHED.—Nothing in section 7111(f)(3) of title

20 5, United States Code, shall prevent the holding

21 of an election under section 7111(b) of such title

22 that covers employees within a unit certified

23 under paragraph (1), or giving effect to the re24 sults of such an election (including a decision

25 not to be represented by any labor organization),
152

•HR 4217 EAH

1 if the election is held before the end of the 12-

2 month period beginning on the date such unit is

3 so certified.

4 (C) CLARIFICATION.—The certification of a

5 unit under paragraph (1) shall not, for purposes

6 of the last sentence of section 7111(b) of title 5,

7 United States Code, or section 7111(f)(4) of such

8 title, be treated as if it had occurred pursuant to

9 an election.

10 (3) DELEGATION.—

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Labor Rela12 tions Authority may delegate to any regional di13 rector (as referred to in section 7105(e) of title

14 5, United States Code) its authority under the

15 preceding provisions of this subsection.

16 (B) REVIEW.—Any action taken by a re17 gional director under subparagraph (A) shall be

18 subject to review under the provisions of section

19 7105(f) of title 5, United States Code, in the

20 same manner as if such action had been taken

21 under section 7105(e) of such title, except that in

22 the case of a decision not to certify, such review

23 shall be required if application therefor is filed

24 by an affected party within the time specified in

25 such provisions.
153

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (c) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

2 term ‘‘affected party’’ means—

3 (1) with respect to an exercise of authority by

4 the Secretary under this title, any labor organization

5 affected thereby; and

6 (2) the Department of Agriculture.

7 SEC. 292. PURCHASE OF AMERICAN-MADE EQUIPMENT AND

8 PRODUCTS.

9 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the Con10 gress that, to the greatest extent practicable, all equipment

11 and products purchased using funds made available pursu12 ant to this title should be American-made.

13 (b) NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—In providing financial

14 assistance to, or entering into any contract with, any entity

15 using funds made available pursuant to this title, the Sec16 retary, to the greatest extent practicable, shall provide to

17 such entity a notice describing the statement made in sub18 section (a) by the Congress.

19 SEC. 293. MISCELLANEOUS CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

20 (a) UNITED STATES GRAIN STANDARDS ACT.—The

21 United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 71 et seq.)

22 is amended—

23 (1) in section 3 (7 U.S.C. 75)—

24 (A) by inserting ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub25 section (y);
154

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (B) by striking subsections (z) and (aa);

2 and

3 (C) by redesignating subsection (bb) as sub4 section (z);

5 (2) by striking section 3A (7 U.S.C. 75a);

6 (3) in section 5(b) (7 U.S.C. 77(b)), by striking

7 ‘‘Service employees’’ and inserting ‘‘employees of the

8 Secretary’’;

9 (4) in sections 7(j)(2) and 7A(l)(2) (7 U.S.C.

10 79(j)(2) and 79a(l)(2)), by striking ‘‘supervision by

11 Service personnel of its field office personnel’’ in the

12 first sentence of both sections and inserting ‘‘super13 vision by the Secretary of the Secretary’s field office

14 personnel’’;

15 (5) in section 12(c) (7 U.S.C. 87a(c)), by strik16 ing ‘‘or Administrator’’;

17 (6) in section 12(d) (7 U.S.C. 87a(d)), by strik18 ing ‘‘or the Administrator’’;

19 (7) except as otherwise provided in this sub20 section, by striking ‘‘Administrator’’ each place it ap21 pears and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’; and

22 (8) except as otherwise provided in this sub23 section, by striking ‘‘Service’’ each place it appears

24 and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’.
155

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (b) PACKERS AND STOCKYARDS ACT, 1921.—Section

2 407 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C.

3 228), is amended—

4 (1) by striking subsection (b);

5 (2) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e), and

6 (f), as subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e), respectively;

7 and

8 (3) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated), by

9 striking ‘‘subsection (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection

10 (d)’’.

11 SEC. 294. REMOVAL OF OBSOLETE ADMINISTRATIVE PROVI12 SIONS.

13 Section 5316 of title 5, United States Code, is amend14 ed—

15 (1) by striking ‘‘Administrator, Agricultural

16 Marketing Service, Department of Agriculture.’’;

17 (2) by striking ‘‘Administrator, Agricultural Re18 search Service, Department of Agriculture.’’;

19 (3) by striking ‘‘Administrator, Agricultural

20 Stabilization and Conservation Service, Department

21 of Agriculture.’’;

22 (4) by striking ‘‘Administrator, Farmers Home

23 Administration.’’;

24 (5) by striking ‘‘Administrator, Foreign Agricul25 tural Service, Department of Agriculture.’’;
156

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (6) by striking ‘‘Administrator, Rural Elec2 trification Administration, Department of Agri3 culture.’’;

4 (7) by striking ‘‘Administrator, Soil Conserva5 tion Service, Department of Agriculture.’’;

6 (8) by striking ‘‘Chief Forester of the Forest

7 Service, Department of Agriculture.’’;

8 (9) by striking ‘‘Director of Science and Edu9 cation, Department of Agriculture.’’;

10 (10) by striking ‘‘Administrator, Animal and

11 Plant Health Inspection Service, Department of Agri12 culture.’’; and

13 (11) by striking ‘‘Administrator, Federal Grain

14 Inspection Service, Department of Agriculture.’’.

15 SEC. 295. PROPOSED CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

16 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment

17 of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress rec18 ommended legislation containing additional technical and

19 conforming amendments to Federal laws that are required

20 as a result of the enactment of this title.

21 SEC. 296. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the au23 thority delegated to the Secretary by this title to reorganize

24 the Department shall terminate on the date that is 2 years

25 after the date of enactment of this Act.
157

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (b) FUNCTIONS.—Subsection (a) shall not affect—

2 (1) the authority of the Secretary to continue to

3 carry out a function that the Secretary performs on

4 the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment

5 of this Act;

6 (2) the authority delegated to the Secretary

7 under Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1953 (5 U.S.C.

8 App.; 7 U.S.C. 2201 note); or

9 (3) the authority of an agency, office, officer, or

10 employee of the Department to continue to perform all

11 functions delegated or assigned to the entity or person

12 as of that termination date.

13 TITLE III—MISCELLANEOUS

14 SEC. 301. POULTRY LABELING.

15 It is the sense of Congress that—

16 (1) the United States Department of Agriculture

17 should—

18 (A) carry out the plans of the Department

19 to hold public hearings for the purpose of receiv20 ing public input on issues related to the condi21 tions under which poultry sold in the United

22 States may be labeled ‘‘fresh’’; and

23 (B) finalize and publish a decision on the

24 issues as expeditiously as possible after holding

25 the hearings; and
158

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (2) no person serving on the expert advisory

2 committee established to advise the Secretary of Agri3 culture on the issues should stand to profit, or rep4 resent any interest that would stand to profit, from

5 the decision of the Department on the issues.

6 SEC. 302. FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES OF

7 THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRI8 CULTURE.

9 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no em10 ployee of the United States Department of Agriculture shall

11 be peremptorily removed, on or after February 15, 1994,

12 from the position of the employee without an opportunity

13 for a public or nonpublic hearing, at the option of the em14 ployee, because of remarks made during personal time in

15 opposition to policies, or proposed policies, of the Depart16 ment, including policies or proposed policies regarding ho17 mosexuals. Any employee removed on or after February 15,

18 1994, without the opportunity for such a hearing shall be

19 reinstated to the position of the employee pending such a

20 hearing.

21 SEC. 303. ADJUSTED COST OF THRIFTY FOOD PLAN.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3(o)(11) of the Food Stamp

23 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2012(o)(11)) is amended by inserting

24 ‘‘and (in the case of households residing in Alaska) on Octo25 ber 1, 1994,’’ after ‘‘1992,’’.
159

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by sub2 section (a) shall be effective beginning on September 30,

3 1994.

4 SEC. 304. OFFICE OF RISK ASSESSMENT AND COST-BENEFIT

5 ANALYSIS.

6 (a) OFFICE OF RISK ASSESSMENT AND COST-BENEFIT

7 ANALYSIS.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish in

8 the Department of Agriculture an Office of Risk Assessment

9 and Cost-Benefit Analysis, which shall be under the direc10 tion of a Director appointed by the Secretary.

11 (b) FUNCTIONS.—The Director shall ensure that any

12 regulatory analysis that is conducted under this section in13 cludes a risk assessment and cost-benefit analysis that is

14 performed consistently and uses reasonably obtainable and

15 sound scientific, technical, economic, and other data.

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Effective six months after the

17 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agri18 culture shall publish in the Federal Register, for each

19 proposed major regulation the primary purpose of

20 which is to regulate issues of human health, human

21 safety, or the environment that is promulgated by the

22 Department after the enactment of this Act, an analy23 sis with as much specificity as practicable, of—

24 (A) the risk, including the effect of the risk,

25 to human health, human safety, or the environ-
160

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ment, and any combination thereof, addressed by

2 the regulation, including, where applicable and

3 practicable, the health and safety risks to persons

4 who are disproportionately exposed or particu5 larly sensitive;

6 (B) the costs associated with the implemen7 tation of, and compliance with, the regulation;

8 (C) where appropriate and meaningful, a

9 comparison of that risk relative to other similar

10 risks regulated by the Department or other Fed11 eral Agency, resulting from comparable activities

12 and exposure pathways (such comparisons

13 should consider relevant distinctions among

14 risks, such as the voluntary or involuntary na15 ture of risks and the preventability or

16 nonpreventability of risks); and

17 (D) the quantitative and qualitative benefits

18 of the regulation, including the reduction or pre19 vention of risk expected from the regulation.

20 Where such a regulatory analysis is not practicable because

21 of compelling circumstances, the Director shall provide an

22 explanation in lieu of conducting an analysis under this

23 section.

24 (2) EVALUATION.—The regulatory analysis re25 ferred to in paragraph (1) should also contain a
161

•HR 4217 EAH

1 statement that the Secretary of Agriculture evalu2 ated—

3 (A) whether the regulation will advance the

4 purpose of protecting against the risk referred to

5 in paragraph (1)(A); and

6 (B) whether the regulation will produce ben7 efits and reduce risks to human health, human

8 safety, or the environment, and any combination

9 thereof, in a cost-effective manner as a result of

10 the implementation of and compliance with the

11 regulation, by local, State, and Federal Govern12 ment and other public and private entities, as

13 estimated in paragraph (1)(B).

14 (3) This section shall not be construed to amend,

15 modify, or alter any statute and shall not be subject

16 to judicial review. This section shall not be construed

17 to grant a cause of action to any person. The Sec18 retary of Agriculture shall perform the analyses re19 quired in this section in such a manner that does not

20 delay the promulgation or implementation of regula21 tions mandated by statute or judicial order.

22 (c) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term

23 ‘‘major regulation’’ means any regulation that the Sec24 retary of Agriculture estimates is likely to have an annual
162

•HR 4217 EAH

1 impact on the economy of the United States of $100,000,000

2 in 1994 dollars.

3 SEC. 305. FAIR AND EQUITABLE TREATMENT OF SOCIALLY

4 DISADVANTAGED PRODUCERS.

5 (a) FAIR CROP ACREAGE BASES AND FARM PROGRAM

6 PAYMENT YIELDS.—If the Secretary of Agriculture deter7 mines that crop acreage bases or farm program payment

8 yields established for farms owned or operated by socially

9 disadvantaged producers are not established in accordance

10 with title V of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1461

11 et seq.), the Secretary shall adjust the bases and yields to

12 conform to the requirements of such title and make available

13 any appropriate commodity program benefits.

14 (b) FAIR APPLICATION OF CONSOLIDATED FARM AND

15 RURAL DEVELOPMENT ACT.—If the Secretary of Agri16 culture determines that application of the Consolidated

17 Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1921 et seq.)

18 with respect to socially disadvantaged producers is not con19 sistent with the requirements of such Act, the Secretary

20 shall make such changes in the administration of such Act

21 as the Secretary considers necessary to provide for the fair

22 and equitable treatment of socially disadvantaged producers

23 under such Act.

24 (c) REPORT ON TREATMENT OF SOCIALLY DISADVAN25 TAGED PRODUCERS.—
163

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (1) REPORT REQUIRED.—The Comptroller Gen2 eral of the United States shall prepare a report to de3 termine—

4 (A) whether socially disadvantaged produc5 ers are underrepresented on State, county, area,

6 or local committees established under section

7 8(b)(5) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic

8 Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590h(b)(5)) or local re9 view committees established under section 363 of

10 the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 (7

11 U.S.C. 1363) because of racial, ethnic, or gender

12 prejudice; and

13 (B) if such underrepresentation exists,

14 whether it inhibits or interferes with the partici15 pation of socially disadvantaged producers in

16 programs of the Department of Agriculture.

17 (2) SUBMISSION OF REPORT.—Not later than

18 February 1, 1995, the Comptroller General shall sub19 mit the report required by this subsection to the Com20 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives

21 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and

22 Forestry of the Senate.

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

24 term ‘‘socially disadvantaged producer’’ means a producer

25 who is a member of a group whose members have been sub-
164

•HR 4217 EAH

1 jected to racial, ethnic, or gender prejudice because of their

2 identity as members of a group without regard to their in3 dividual qualities.

4 SEC. 306. AVIATION INSPECTIONS.

5 (a) STUDY REGARDING ACCEPTANCE OF FEDERAL

6 AVIATION ADMINISTRATION AIRCRAFT INSPECTIONS.—

7 (1) INTENT OF STUDY.—The intent of the study

8 required by this subsection is to examine the cost effi9 ciencies of conducting inspections of aircraft and pi10 lots by one Federal agency without reducing aircraft,

11 passenger, or pilot safety standards or lowering mis12 sion preparedness.

13 (2) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Agri14 culture and the Secretary of Transportation shall

15 jointly conduct a study of the inspection specifica16 tions and procedures by which aircraft and pilots

17 contracted by the Department are certified to deter18 mine the cost efficiencies of eliminating duplicative

19 Department inspection requirements and transferring

20 some or all inspection requirements to the Federal

21 Aviation Administration, while ensuring that neither

22 aircraft, passenger, nor pilot safety is reduced and

23 that mission preparedness is maintained.

24 (3) SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting

25 the study, the Secretaries shall evaluate current in-
165

•HR 4217 EAH

1 spection specifications and procedures mandated by

2 the Department and the Forest Service, taking into

3 consideration the unique requirements and risks of

4 particular Department and Forest Service missions

5 that may require special inspection specifications and

6 procedures to ensure the safety of Department and

7 Forest Service personnel and their contractees.

8 (4) MAINTENANCE OF STANDARDS AND PRE9 PAREDNESS.—In making recommendations to trans10 fer inspection authority or otherwise change Depart11 ment inspection specifications and procedures, the

12 Secretaries shall ensure that the implementation of

13 any such recommendations does not lower aircraft or

14 pilot standards or preparedness for Department or

15 Forest Service missions.

16 (5) SUBMISSION OF RESULTS.—Not later than

17 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,

18 the Secretaries shall submit to Congress the results of

19 the study, including any recommendations to transfer

20 inspection authority or otherwise change Department

21 inspection specifications and procedures and a cost22 benefit analysis of such recommendations.

23 (b) REVIEW OF RECENTLY ADOPTED AIRCRAFT

24 POLICY.—
166

•HR 4217 EAH

1 (1) REVIEW REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Agri2 culture shall review the policy initiated by the Sec3 retary on July 1, 1994, to accept Federal Aviation

4 Administration inspections on aircraft and pilots

5 that provide ‘‘airport to airport’’ service for the For6 est Service. The policy is currently being coopera7 tively developed by the Department and the Federal

8 Aviation Administration and is intended to reduce

9 duplicative inspections and to reduce Government

10 costs, while maintaining aircraft, passenger, and

11 pilot safety standards, specifications and procedures

12 currently required by the Department and the Forest

13 Service.

14 (2) EXPANSION OF POLICY.—As part of the re15 view, the Secretary of Agriculture shall examine the

16 feasibility and desirability of applying this policy on

17 a Government-wide basis.

18 (3) SUBMISSION OF RESULTS.—Not later than

19 one year after the date of the implementation of the

20 policy, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to

21 Congress the results of the review, including any rec-
167

•HR 4217 EAH

1 ommendations that the Secretary considers appro2 priate.

Attest:

Clerk.
103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4217

AMENDMENT

TO

SENATE AMENDMENT