IIB 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2088 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 10, 2015 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

and Forestry 

AN ACT 

To amend the United States Grain Standards Act to improve 

inspection services performed at export elevators at export port locations, to reauthorize certain authorities of 

the Secretary of Agriculture under such Act, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Grain 

3 Standards Act Reauthorization Act of 2015’’. 

4 SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF UNITED STATES GRAIN 

5 STANDARDS ACT. 

6 (a) POLICY AND PURPOSE OF ACT.—Section 2(b) of 

7 the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 74(b)) 

8 is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘to both do10 mestic and foreign buyers’’ and inserting ‘‘respon11 sive to the purchase specifications of domestic and 

12 foreign buyers’’; 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

14 (2); 

15 (3) by striking the period at the end of para16 graph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(4) to provide an accurate, reliable, consist20 ently available, and cost-effective official grain in21 spection and weighing system.’’. 

22 (b) DEFINITIONS.— 

23 (1) MAJOR DISASTER DEFINED.—Section 3 of 

24 the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 

25 75) is amended by adding at the end the following 

26 new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(aa) The term ‘major disaster’ has the mean2 ing given that term in section 102(2) of the Robert 

3 T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist4 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122(2)), except that the term 

5 includes a severe weather incident causing a region6 wide interruption of government services.’’. 

7 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 3 of 

8 the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 

9 75) is further amended— 

10 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (a), 

11 by striking ‘‘otherwise–’’ and inserting ‘‘other12 wise:’’; 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘the term’’ at the begin14 ning of each paragraph (other than paragraphs 

15 (n) and (t)) and inserting ‘‘The term’’; 

16 (C) in paragraph (i)— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘Act (the term’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘Act. The term’’; and 

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘);’’ and inserting a 

20 period; 

21 (D) in paragraphs (n) and (t), by striking 

22 ‘‘the terms’’ and inserting ‘‘The terms’’; 

23 (E) in paragraph (o)— 

24 (i) by striking ‘‘personnel (the term’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘personnel. The term’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘);’’ and inserting a 

2 period; 

3 (F) in paragraph (s), by striking ‘‘the 

4 verb’’ and inserting ‘‘The verb’’; 

5 (G) in paragraph (x)— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘conveyance (the 

7 terms’’ and inserting ‘‘conveyance. The 

8 terms’’; and 

9 (ii) by striking ‘‘accordingly);’’ and in10 serting ‘‘accordingly.’’; 

11 (H) by striking the semicolon at the end of 

12 each paragraph (other than paragraphs (i), (o), 

13 (x), and (y)) and inserting a period; and 

14 (I) in paragraph (y), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

15 and inserting a period. 

16 (c) OFFICIAL INSPECTION AND WEIGHING REQUIRE17 MENTS.— 

18 (1) DISCRETIONARY WAIVER AUTHORITY.—Sec19 tion 5(a)(1) of the United States Grain Standards 

20 Act (7 U.S.C. 77(a)(1)) is amended in the first pro21 viso by striking ‘‘may waive the foregoing require22 ment in emergency’’ and inserting ‘‘shall promptly 

23 waive the foregoing requirement in the event of an 

24 emergency, a major disaster,’’. 


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1 (2) WEIGHING REQUIREMENTS AT EXPORT

2 ELEVATORS.—Section 5(a)(2) of the United States 

3 Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 77(a)(2)) is amend4 ed by striking ‘‘intracompany shipments of grain 

5 into an export elevator by any mode of transpor6 tation, grain transferred into an export elevator by 

7 transportation modes other than barge,’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘shipments of grain into an export elevator by 

9 any mode of transportation’’. 

10 (d) DELEGATION OF OFFICIAL INSPECTION AUTHOR11 ITY.— 

12 (1) AUTHORIZED INSPECTION PERSONNEL AT

13 EXPORT ELEVATORS AT EXPORT PORT LOCA14 TIONS.—Paragraph (1) of section 7(e) of the United 

15 States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79(e)) is 

16 amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (3) 

18 and (4) of this subsection, the Secretary shall cause offi19 cial inspection at export elevators at export port locations, 

20 for all grain required or authorized to be inspected by this 

21 Act, to be performed— 

22 ‘‘(A) by official inspection personnel employed 

23 by the Secretary; or 

24 ‘‘(B) by other persons under contract with the 

25 Secretary as provided in section 8 of this Act.’’. 


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1 (2) DELEGATION TO STATE AGENCIES.—Sec2 tion 7(e) of the United States Grain Standards Act 

3 (7 U.S.C. 79(e)) is amended— 

4 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘, meets the criteria’’ 

6 and all that follows through ‘‘the Secretary 

7 may delegate’’ and inserting ‘‘and meets 

8 the criteria specified in subsection 

9 (f)(1)(A) of this section, the Secretary may 

10 delegate’’; 

11 (ii) by striking ‘‘at export port loca12 tions within the State, including export 

13 port locations’’ and inserting ‘‘at export 

14 elevators at export port locations within 

15 the State, including at export elevators at 

16 export port locations’’; and 

17 (iii) in the last sentence, by striking 

18 ‘‘Any such delegation’’ and inserting ‘‘The 

19 delegation under this paragraph of author20 ity to conduct official inspection services 

21 shall be for a term not to exceed 5 years, 

22 and may be renewed thereafter in accord23 ance with this subsection, except that any 

24 such delegation’’; 


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1 (B) by transferring paragraph (4) to the 

2 end of subsection (f), redesignating such para3 graph as paragraph (5), and, in such para4 graph, by striking ‘‘or subsection (f)’’ and in5 serting ‘‘or subsection (e)’’; and 

6 (C) by striking paragraph (3) and insert7 ing the following new paragraphs: 

8 ‘‘(3) Prior to delegating authority to a State agency 

9 for the performance of official inspection services at export 

10 elevators at export port locations pursuant to paragraph 

11 (2) of this subsection, the Secretary shall comply with the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(A) Upon receipt of an application from a 

14 State agency requesting the delegation of authority 

15 to perform official inspection services on behalf of 

16 the Secretary, publish notice of the application in 

17 the Federal Register and provide a minimum 30-day 

18 comment period on the application. 

19 ‘‘(B) Evaluate the comments received under 

20 subparagraph (A) with respect to an application and 

21 conduct an investigation to determine whether the 

22 State agency that submitted the application and its 

23 personnel are qualified to perform official inspection 

24 services on behalf of the Secretary. In conducting 

25 the investigation, the Secretary shall consult with, 


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1 and review the available files of the Department of 

2 Justice, the Office of Inspector General of the De3 partment of Agriculture, and the Government Ac4 countability Office. 

5 ‘‘(C) Make findings based on the results of the 

6 investigation and consideration of public comments 

7 received. 

8 ‘‘(D) Publish a notice in the Federal Register 

9 announcing whether the State agency has been dele10 gated the authority to perform official inspection 

11 services at export elevators at export port locations 

12 on behalf of the Secretary, and the basis upon which 

13 the Secretary has made the decision. 

14 ‘‘(4)(A) Except in the case of a major disaster, if a 

15 State agency that has been delegated the authority to per16 form official inspection services at export elevators at ex17 port port locations on behalf of the Secretary fails to per18 form such official services, the Secretary shall submit to 

19 Congress, within 90 days after the first day on which in20 spection services were not performed by the delegated 

21 State agency, a report containing— 

22 ‘‘(i) the reasons for the State agency’s failure; 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the rationale as to whether or not the Sec2 retary will permit the State agency to retain its dele3 gated authority. 

4 ‘‘(B) A State agency may request that the delegation 

5 of inspection authority to the agency be canceled by pro6 viding written notice to the Secretary at least 90 days in 

7 advance of the requested cancellation date. 

8 ‘‘(C) If a State agency that has been delegated the 

9 authority under paragraph (2) of this subsection to per10 form official inspection services at an export elevator at 

11 an export port location on behalf of the Secretary intends 

12 to temporarily discontinue such official inspection services 

13 or weighing services for any reason, except in the case of 

14 a major disaster, the State agency shall notify the Sec15 retary in writing of its intention to do so at least 72 hours 

16 in advance of the discontinuation date. The receipt of such 

17 prior notice shall be considered by the Secretary as a miti18 gating factor in determining whether to maintain or re19 voke the delegation of authority to the State agency.’’. 

20 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(A) Section 

21 7(f)(1) of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 

22 U.S.C. 79(f)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘other than 

23 at export port locations’’ and inserting ‘‘(other than 

24 at an export elevator at an export port location)’’. 


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1 (B) Section 16(d) of the United States Grain 

2 Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 87e(d)) is amended by 

3 striking ‘‘The Office of Investigation of the Depart4 ment of Agriculture (or such other organization or 

5 agency within the Department of Agriculture which 

6 may be delegated the authority, in lieu thereof, to 

7 conduct investigations on behalf of the Department 

8 of Agriculture)’’ and inserting ‘‘The Office of In9 spector General of the Department of Agriculture’’. 

10 (4) EVALUATION OF CURRENT DELEGATIONS.— 

11 Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact12 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 

13 complete a review of each State agency that, as of 

14 the date of the enactment of this Act, has been dele15 gated inspection authority under section 7(e) of the 

16 United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79(e)) 

17 and determine if the State agency is qualified to 

18 continue to perform official inspection services at ex19 port elevators at export port locations on behalf of 

20 the Secretary under such section, as amended by 

21 this subsection. The Secretary shall conduct the re22 view subject to the requirements of section 7(e) of 

23 the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 

24 79(e)), as amended by this subsection, and a State 

25 agency determined to be qualified to continue to perVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Jun 10, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2088.RFS H2088

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1 form such official inspection services shall be subject 

2 thereafter to such requirements. 

3 (e) CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS.—Section 7(e) of 

4 the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79(e)) 

5 is further amended by inserting after paragraph (4), as 

6 added by subsection (d), the following new paragraphs: 

7 ‘‘(5) Except in the case of a major disaster, the Sec8 retary shall cause official inspections at an export elevator 

9 at an export port location— 

10 ‘‘(A) to be performed without interruption by 

11 official inspection personnel employed by the Sec12 retary or by a State agency delegated such authority 

13 under paragraph (2) of this subsection; or 

14 ‘‘(B) if interrupted, to be resumed at the export 

15 elevator by utilizing official inspection personnel em16 ployed by the Secretary or by another delegated 

17 State agency as provided under paragraph (2) of 

18 this subsection as follows: 

19 ‘‘(i) Within 6 hours after the interruption, 

20 if the interruption is caused by a State agency 

21 delegated such authority under this subsection 

22 and the Secretary received advance notice of the 

23 interruption pursuant to paragraph (4)(C) of 

24 this subsection. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Within 12 hours after the interrup2 tion, if the State agency failed to provide the 

3 required advance notice of the interruption. 

4 ‘‘(6)(A) If the Secretary is unable to restore official 

5 inspection services within the applicable time period re6 quired by paragraph (5)(B) of this subsection, the inter7 ested person requesting such services at the export eleva8 tor at an export port location shall be authorized to utilize 

9 official inspection personnel, as provided under section 8 

10 of the Act, employed by another State agency delegated 

11 authority under paragraph (2) of this subsection or des12 ignated under subsection (f)(1) of this section. 

13 ‘‘(B) A delegated or designated State agency pro14 viding inspection services under subparagraph (A) may, 

15 at its discretion, provide such services for a period of up 

16 to 90 days from the date on which the services are initi17 ated, after which time the Secretary may restore official 

18 inspection services using official inspection personnel em19 ployed by the Secretary or a State agency delegated such 

20 authority under this subsection, if available. The State 

21 agency shall notify the Secretary in writing of its intention 

22 to discontinue inspection services under subparagraph (A) 

23 at least 72 hours in advance of the discontinuation date. 

24 ‘‘(7) Not later than 60 days after the date of the en25 actment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall make availVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 Jun 10, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2088.RFS H2088

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1 able to the public, including pursuant to a website main2 tained by the Secretary, a list of all delegated States and 

3 all official agencies authorized to perform official inspec4 tions on behalf of the Secretary. This list shall include 

5 the name, contact information, and category of authority 

6 granted. The Secretary shall update the list at least semi7 annually.’’. 

8 (f) GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES FOR OFFICIAL AGEN9 CIES.— 

10 (1) OFFICIAL INSPECTION AUTHORITY.—Sec11 tion 7(f)(2) of the United States Grain Standards 

12 Act (7 U.S.C. 79(f)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘the 

13 Secretary may’’ and all that follows through the end 

14 of the paragraph and inserting the following: ‘‘the 

15 Secretary shall allow a designated official agency to 

16 cross boundary lines to carry out inspections in an17 other geographic area if— 

18 ‘‘(A) the current designated official agency 

19 for that geographic area is unable to provide in20 spection services in a timely manner; 

21 ‘‘(B) a person requesting inspection serv22 ices in that geographic area requests a probe 

23 inspection on a barge-lot basis; or 

24 ‘‘(C) the current official agency for that 

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1 cent official agency to waive the current geo2 graphic area restriction at the request of the 

3 applicant for service.’’. 

4 (2) WEIGHING AUTHORITY.—Section 7A(i)(2) 

5 of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 

6 79a(i)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘the Secretary 

7 may’’ and all that follows through the end of the 

8 paragraph and inserting the following: ‘‘the Sec9 retary shall allow a designated official agency to 

10 cross boundary lines to carry out weighing in an11 other geographic area if— 

12 ‘‘(A) the current designated official agency 

13 for that geographic area is unable to provide 

14 weighing services in a timely manner; or 

15 ‘‘(B) the current official agency for that 

16 geographic area agrees in writing with the adja17 cent official agency to waive the current geo18 graphic area restriction at the request of the 

19 applicant for service.’’. 

20 (g) DURATION OF DESIGNATIONS OF OFFICIAL

21 AGENCIES.—Section 7(g)(1) of the United States Grain 

22 Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79(g)(1)) is amended by striking 

23 ‘‘triennially’’ and inserting ‘‘every 5 years’’. 

24 (h) INSPECTION FEES.— 


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1 (1) COLLECTION AND AMOUNTS.—Section 

2 7(j)(1) of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 

3 U.S.C. 79(j)(1)) is amended— 

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(1)’’; 

5 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

6 subparagraph: 

7 ‘‘(B) For official inspections and weighing at an ex8 port elevator at an export port location performed by the 

9 Secretary, performed by a State agency delegated the au10 thority to perform official inspection services at the export 

11 elevator on behalf of the Secretary, or performed by a 

12 State agency utilized as authorized by subsection 

13 (e)(6)(A), the portion of the fees based upon export ton14 nage shall be based upon a rolling 5-year average of export 

15 tonnage volumes. In order to maintain an operating re16 serve of between 3 to 6 months, the Secretary shall adjust 

17 such fees at least annually.’’. 

18 (2) DURATION OF AUTHORITY.—Section 7(j)(4) 

19 of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 

20 79(j)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 

21 2015’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2020’’. 

22 (i) OFFICIAL WEIGHING OR SUPERVISION AT LOCA23 TIONS WHERE OFFICIAL INSPECTION IS PROVIDED

24 OTHER THAN BY THE SECRETARY.—Section 7A(c)(2) of 


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1 the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 

2 79a(c)(2)) is amended— 

3 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘with re4 spect to export port locations’’ and inserting ‘‘with 

5 respect to an export elevator at an export port loca6 tion’’; and 

7 (2) in the last sentence by striking ‘‘subsection 

8 (g) of section 7’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (e) and 

9 (g) of section 7’’. 

10 (j) COLLECTION OF FEES FOR WEIGHING SERV11 ICES.—Section 7A(l)(3) of the United States Grain Stand12 ards Act (7 U.S.C. 79a(l)(2)) is amended by striking 

13 ‘‘September 30, 2015’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 

14 2020’’. 

15 (k) LIMITATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPER16 VISORY COSTS.—Section 7D of the United States Grain 

17 Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79d) is amended by striking 

18 ‘‘2015’’ and inserting ‘‘2020’’. 

19 (l) ISSUANCE OF AUTHORIZATIONS.— 

20 (1) DURATION.—Section 8(b) of the United 

21 States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 84(b)) is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘triennially’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘every 5 years’’. 

24 (2) PERSONS WHO MAY BE HIRED AS OFFICIAL

25 INSPECTION PERSONNEL.—Section 8(e) of the 


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1 United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 84(e)) 

2 is amended— 

3 (A) by striking ‘‘(on the date of enactment 

4 of the United States Grain Standards Act of 

5 1976)’’; 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘the United States Grain 

7 Standards Act’’ and inserting ‘‘this Act’’; and 

8 (C) by striking ‘‘, on the date of enactment 

9 of the United States Grain Standards Act of 

10 1976, was performing’’ and inserting ‘‘per11 forms’’. 

12 (m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

13 19 of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 

14 87h) is amended by striking ‘‘2015’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘2020’’. 

16 (n) EXPIRATION OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Sec17 tion 21(e) of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 

18 U.S.C. 87j(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 

19 2015’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2020’’. 

20 (o) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.—Section 17B(b) of 

21 the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 87f– 

22 2(b)) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘notwithstanding the provisions 

24 of section 812 of the Agricultural Act of 1970, as 

25 added by the Agriculture and Consumer Protection 


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1 Act of 1973 (7 U.S.C. 612c–3)’’ and inserting ‘‘not2 withstanding section 602 of the Agricultural Trade 

3 Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5712)’’; and 

4 (2) by striking ‘‘or the Secretary’’. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 9, 2015. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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