106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 777

AMENDMENTS
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,

April 10, 2000.

Resolved, That the bill from the Senate (S. 777) entitled

‘‘An Act to require the Department of Agriculture to establish an electronic filing and retrieval system to enable the

public to file all required paperwork electronically with the

Department and to have access to public information on farm

programs, quarterly trade, economic, and production reports,

and other similar information’’, do pass with the following

AMENDMENTS:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Freedom to E-File Act’’.

3 SEC. 2. ELECTRONIC FILING AND RETRIEVAL.

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERNET-BASED SYSTEM.—

5 The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish an electronic

6 filing and retrieval system that uses the telecommunications

7 medium known as the Internet to enable farmers and other

8 persons—

9 (1) to file electronically all paperwork required

10 by the agencies of the Department of Agriculture spec11 ified in subsection (b); and
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1 (2) to have access electronically to information,

2 readily available to the public in published form, re3 garding farm programs, quarterly trade, economic,

4 and production reports, price and supply informa5 tion, and other similar information related to produc6 tion agriculture.

7 (b) COVERED AGENCIES.—Subsection (a) shall apply

8 to the following agencies of the Department of Agriculture:

9 (1) The Farm Service Agency.

10 (2) The Risk Management Agency.

11 (3) The Natural Resources Conservation Service.

12 (4) The rural development components of the De13 partment included in the Secretary’s service center

14 initiative regarding State and field office collocation

15 implemented pursuant to section 215 of the Depart16 ment of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7

17 U.S.C. 6915).

18 (c) TIME-TABLE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later

19 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act,

20 the Secretary shall—

21 (1) to the maximum extent practicable, complete

22 the establishment of the electronic filing and retrieval

23 system required by subsection (a) to the extent nec24 essary to permit the electronic information access re25 quired by paragraph (2) of such subsection;
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1 (2) initiate implementation of the electronic fil2 ing required by paragraph (1) of such subsection by

3 allowing farmers and other persons to download

4 forms from the Internet and submit completed forms

5 via facsimile, mail, or related means; and

6 (3) modify forms used by the agencies specified

7 in subsection (b) into a more user-friendly format,

8 with self-help guidance materials.

9 (d) INTEROPERABILITY.—In carrying out this section,

10 the Secretary shall ensure that the agencies specified in sub11 section (b)—

12 (1) use computer hardware and software that is

13 compatible among the agencies and will operate in a

14 common computing environment; and

15 (2) develop common Internet user-interface loca16 tions and applications to consolidate the agencies’

17 news, information, and program materials.

18 (e) COMPLETION OF IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later

19 than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act,

20 the Secretary shall complete the establishment of the elec21 tronic filing and retrieval system required by subsection (a)

22 to permit the electronic filing required by paragraph (1)

23 of such subsection.

24 (f) PROGRESS REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after

25 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
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1 submit to Congress a report describing the progress made

2 toward establishing the electronic filing and retrieval sys3 tem required by subsection (a).

4 SEC. 3. AVAILABILITY OF AGENCY INFORMATION TECH5 NOLOGY FUNDS.

6 (a) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—From funds made

7 available for each agency of the Department of Agriculture

8 specified in section 2(b) for information technology or infor9 mation resource management, the Secretary of Agriculture

10 shall reserve an amount equal to not more than the fol11 lowing:

12 (1) For fiscal year 2001, $3,000,000.

13 (2) For each subsequent fiscal year, $2,000,000.

14 (b) TIME FOR RESERVATION.—The Secretary shall no15 tify Congress of the amount to be reserved under subsection

16 (a) for a fiscal year not later than December 1 of that fiscal

17 year.

18 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds reserved under subsection

19 (a) shall be used to establish the electronic filing and re20 trieval system required by section 2(a). Once the system is

21 established and operational, reserved amounts shall be used

22 for maintenance and improvement of the system.

23 (d) RETURN OF FUNDS.—Funds reserved under sub24 section (a) and unobligated at the end of the fiscal year

25 shall be returned to the agency from which the funds were
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1 reserved, and such funds shall remain available until ex2 pended.

3 SEC. 4. CONFIDENTIALITY.

4 In carrying out this Act, the Secretary of

5 Agriculture—

6 (1) may not make available any information

7 over the Internet that would otherwise not be avail8 able for release under section 552 or 552a of title 5,

9 United States Code; and

10 (2) shall ensure, to the maximum extent prac11 ticable, that the confidentiality of persons is main12 tained.

Amend the title so as to read ‘‘An Act to require the

Secretary of Agriculture to establish an electronic filing

and retrieval system to enable farmers and other persons

to file paperwork electronically with selected agencies of

the Department of Agriculture and to access public information regarding the programs administered by these

agencies.’’.

Attest:

Clerk.