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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5973 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5973

   To amend the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 to provide for 
  continuous improvement of organic standards, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 17, 2023

Mr. Newhouse (for himself, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Panetta, Ms. Pingree, and 
               Mr. Valadao) introduced the following bill

                            October 25, 2023

                Referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To amend the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 to provide for 
  continuous improvement of organic standards, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Continuous Improvement and 
Accountability in Organic Standards Act'' or the ``CIAO Act''.

SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL GUIDELINES.

    Section 2122(a) of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 
U.S.C. 6521(a)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(a) Continuous Improvement of Organic Standards.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date 
        of enactment of the Continuous Improvement and Accountability 
        in Organic Standards Act, and not less frequently than once 
        every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall publish in the 
        Federal Register a request for information soliciting the 
        public's input with respect to which regulations implementing 
        this title should be prioritized for revision during the 
        following five-year period. 
            ``(2) Implementing recommended changes.--Based upon the 
        information received pursuant to the request for information 
        under paragraph (1), and in consultation with the National 
        Organic Standards Board, the Secretary shall, not later than 5 
        years after the date on which a request for information is 
        published under paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A) publish in the Federal Register a list of 
                proposed changes to the regulations implementing this 
                title that will be prioritized for revision;
                    ``(B) obtain from the National Organic Standards 
                Board recommendations for each of the proposed changes 
                listed under subparagraph (A), except for any such 
                changes for which the National Organic Standards Board 
                has previously provided recommendations that are 
                sufficient (as determined by the Secretary) for 
                implementation; and
                    ``(C) after obtaining recommendations from the 
                National Organic Standards Board, and after public 
                notice and an opportunity for comment, revise such 
                regulations accordingly.
            ``(3) Considerations.--When implementing paragraph (2), the 
        Secretary and the National Organic Standards Board shall each 
        consider the best available information, including 
        environmental and ecological data, consumer and market data, 
        organic production and handling practices, organic research, 
        and scientific data.
            ``(4) Rules of construction.--Nothing in this subsection 
        shall be construed as--
                    ``(A) altering the Secretary's obligation to 
                consult with the National Organic Standards Board 
                pursuant to section 2104(c);
                    ``(B) affecting section 2118; or
                    ``(C) precluding from occurring on a more frequent 
                or urgent timeline any revisions to regulations 
                implementing this title.''.
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