In the Senate of the United States,

July 24, 1996.

Resolved, That the bill from the House of Representatives (H.R. 3603) entitled ‘‘An Act making appropriations for

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 1997, and for other purposes’’, do pass

with the following

AMENDMENTS:

1 Ω1æPage 2, line 19, strike out all after ‘‘Secretary’’ down

2 to and including ‘‘days’’ in line 23

3 Ω2æPage 5, line 11, strike out ø$5,000,000¿ and insert:

4 $23,505,400

5 Ω3æPage 5, line 12, strike out ø$125,548,000¿ and insert:

6 $144,053,400

7 Ω4æPage 6, line 5, strike out ø$28,304,000¿ and insert:

8 $30,529,000
2

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1 Ω5æPage 6, line 18, after ‘‘551–558’’ insert: : Provided

2 further, That of the total amount appropriated, not less

3 than $11,774,000 shall be made available for civil rights

4 enforcement

5 Ω6æPage 7, line 1, strike out ø$3,728,000¿ and insert:

6 $3,668,000

7 Ω7æPage 9, line 14, strike out ø$54,176,000¿ and insert:

8 $53,109,000

9 Ω8æPage 10, line 1, strike out ø$100,221,000¿ and insert:

10 $98,121,000

11 Ω9æPage 10, line 17, strike out ø$702,831,000¿ and in12 sert: $722,839,600

13 Ω10æPage 11, line 21, after ‘‘law’’ insert: : Provided fur14 ther, That all rights and title of the United States in the

15 property known as the National Agricultural Water Qual16 ity Laboratory of the United States Department of Agri17 culture, consisting of approximately 9.161 acres in the city

18 of Durant, Oklahoma, including facilities and fixed equip19 ment, shall be conveyed to Southeastern Oklahoma State

20 University

21 Ω11æPage 12, line 6, strike out ø$59,600,000¿ and insert:

22 $59,200,000
3

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1 Ω12æPage 12, line 17, strike out ø$163,671,000¿ and in2 sert: $168,734,000

3 Ω13æPage 12, line 19, strike out ø$19,882,000¿ and in4 sert: $20,497,000

5 Ω14æPage 12, line 20, strike out ø$26,902,000¿ and in6 sert: $27,735,000

7 Ω15æPage 12, line 22, strike out ø$44,235,000¿ and in8 sert: $47,080,000

9 Ω16æPage 12, line 25, strike out ø$96,735,000¿ and in10 sert: $93,935,000

11 Ω17æPage 13, line 2, strike out ø$4,775,000¿ and insert:

12 $5,051,000

13 Ω18æPage 13, line 3, strike out ø$650,000¿ and insert:

14 $500,000

15 Ω19æPage 13, line 5, strike out ø$500,000¿ and insert:

16 $700,000

17 Ω20æPage 13, line 16, strike out ø$2,000,000¿ and insert:

18 $1,500,000

19 Ω21æPage 13, line 19, strike out ø$8,000,000¿ and insert:

20 $8,100,000
4

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1 Ω22æPage 13, line 21, after ‘‘grants’’ insert: (7 U.S.C.

2 3152(b)(4))

3 Ω23æPage 13, lines 23 and 24, strike out ø7 U.S.C.

4 3152(b)(4)¿

5 Ω24æPage 14, line 2, strike out ø$9,605,000¿ and insert:

6 $10,644,000

7 Ω25æPage 14, line 5, strike out ø$411,849,000¿ and in8 sert: $419,370,000

9 Ω26æPage 14, line 21, strike out ø$30,449,000¿ and in10 sert: $55,668,000 (7 U.S.C. 390 et seq.)

11 Ω27æPage 15, line 7, strike out ø$260,438,000¿ and in12 sert: $268,493,000

13 Ω28æPage 15, line 7, after ‘‘$260,438,000’’ insert: ;

14 $2,500,000 for extension work at the 1994 Institutions

15 under the Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343(b)(3))

16 Ω29æPage 15, line 9, strike out ø$58,695,000¿ and insert:

17 $60,510,000

18 Ω30æPage 15, line 12, strike out ø$2,855,000¿ and insert:

19 $2,943,000

20 Ω31æPage 15, line 14, strike out ø$3,214,000¿ and insert:

21 $3,313,000
5

HR 3603 EAS

1 Ω32æPage 15, line 17, strike out ø$7,549,000¿ and insert:

2 $7,782,000

3 Ω33æPage 15, line 18, after ‘‘pended;’’ insert: $1,700,000

4 for institutional capacity building grants at the 1994 Insti5 tutions (7 U.S.C. 301 note), to remain available until ex6 pended (7 U.S.C. 2209b);

7 Ω34æPage 15, line 19, strike out ø$908,000¿ and insert:

8 $936,000

9 Ω35æPage 15, line 21, strike out ø$10,733,000¿ and in10 sert: $11,065,000

11 Ω36æPage 15, line 23, strike out ø$1,167,000¿ and insert:

12 $1,203,000

13 Ω37æPage 15, line 24, strike out ø$9,554,000¿ and insert:

14 $9,850,000

15 Ω38æPage 16, line 1, strike out ø$2,365,000¿ and insert:

16 $2,438,000

17 Ω39æPage 16, line 3, strike out ø$3,192,000¿ and insert:

18 $3,291,000

19 Ω40æPage 16, line 4, strike out ø$1,672,000¿ and insert:

20 $1,724,000
6

HR 3603 EAS

1 Ω41æPage 16, line 6, strike out ø$3,309,000¿ and insert:

2 $3,411,000

3 Ω42æPage 16, line 8, strike out ø$2,628,000¿ and insert:

4 $2,709,000

5 Ω43æPage 16, line 11, strike out ø$24,337,000¿ and in6 sert: $25,090,000

7 Ω44æPage 16, line 18, strike out ø$6,271,000¿ and insert:

8 $11,381,000

9 Ω45æPage 16, line 19, strike out ø$409,670,000¿ and in10 sert: $431,122,000

11 Ω46æPage 17, line 23, strike out ø$435,428,000¿ and in12 sert: $432,103,000

13 Ω47æPage 17, line 23, strike out ø$4,500,000¿ and insert:

14 $5,000,000

15 Ω48æPage 20, line 14, strike out ø$37,592,000¿ and in16 sert: $46,767,000

17 Ω49æPage 22, line 15, strike out ø$22,728,000¿ and in18 sert: $23,928,000

19 Ω50æPage 23, line 15, strike out ø$574,000,000¿ and in20 sert: $557,697,000
7

HR 3603 EAS

1 Ω51æPage 23, line 21, after ‘‘1034(d))’’ insert: : Provided

2 further, That not to exceed $1,500,000 of this appropriation

3 shall be made available to establish a joint FSIS/APHIS

4 National Farm Animal Identification Pilot Program for

5 dairy cows

6 Ω52æPage 24, line 12, strike out øConsolidated¿

7 Ω53æPage 24, line 20, strike out ø$746,440,000¿ and in8 sert: $725,000,000

9 Ω54æPage 25, after line 6 insert:

10 STATE MEDIATION GRANTS

11 For grants pursuant to section 502(b) of the Agricul12 tural Credit Act of 1987, as amended (7 U.S.C. 5101–5106),

13 $2,000,000.

14 Ω55æPage 27, line 4, strike out ø$25,000,000¿ and insert:

15 $75,000,000

16 Ω56æPage 27, line 5, after ‘‘asters’’ insert: ; for boll weevil

17 eradication program loans as authorized by 7 U.S.C. 1989,

18 $15,384,000;

19 Ω57æPage 27, line 16, strike out ø$6,365,000¿ and insert:

20 $19,095,000
8

HR 3603 EAS

1 Ω58æPage 27, line 17, after ‘‘asters;’’ insert: for boll weevil

2 eradication program loans as authorized by 7 U.S.C. 1989,

3 $2,000,000;

4 Ω59æPage 28, strike out lines 1 through 7 and insert:

5 RISK MANAGEMENT

6 For administrative and operating expenses, as author7 ized by section 226A of the Department of Agriculture Reor8 ganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6933), $70,000,000, of

9 which not to exceed $700 shall be available for official recep10 tion and representation expenses, as authorized by section

11 506(i) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C.

12 1506(i)): Provided, That this appropriation shall be avail13 able only to the extent that an official budget request for

14 a specific dollar amount is submitted by the President to

15 Congress.

16 Ω60æPage 31, line 3, strike out ø$619,392,000¿ and in17 sert: $638,954,000

18 Ω61æPage 32, line 6, after ‘‘590e–2)’’ insert: : Provided

19 further, That of the total amount appropriated, no more

20 than $250,000 may be available for purposes authorized

21 under sections 351–360 of Public Law 104–127

22 Ω62æPage 32, line 13, strike out ø$10,762,000¿ and in23 sert: $14,000,000
9

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1 Ω63æPage 35, line 25, strike out all after ‘‘$28,987,000’’

2 over to and including ‘‘1997’’ in line 2 on page 36

3 Ω64æPage 37, line 18, strike out ø$73,190,000¿ and in4 sert: $136,435,000

5 Ω65æPage 37, line 20, after ‘‘program,’’ insert: rental as6 sistance associated with and direct loans for new construc7 tion of section 515 rental housing,

8 Ω66æPage 38, line 4, strike out all after ‘‘Secretary’’ down

9 to and including ‘‘1997’’ in line 7

10 Ω67æPage 39, line 3, strike out ø$53,889,000¿ and insert:

11 $66,354,000

12 Ω68æPage 39, line 11, strike out ø$18,400,000¿ and in13 sert: $17,270,000

14 Ω69æPage 39, line 18, strike out ø$40,000,000¿ and in15 sert: $37,544,000

16 Ω70æPage 40, line 19, strike out ø$6,000,000¿ and insert:

17 $10,000,000

18 Ω71æPage 41, line 1, strike out ø$51,400,000¿ and insert:

19 $53,750,000

20 Ω72æPage 41, line 17, after ‘‘development’’ insert: as pro21 vided under section 747(e) of Public Law 104–127
10

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1 Ω73æPage 41, line 17, after ‘‘development’’ insert: : Pro2 vided further, That of the total amount appropriated, not

3 to exceed $1,300,000 may be available through a cooperative

4 agreement for the appropriate technology transfer for rural

5 areas program: Provided further, That of the total amount

6 appropriated, not less than $2,000,000 shall be available

7 for grants in accordance with section 310B(f) of the Con8 solidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C.

9 1932(f))

10 Ω74æPage 44, line 22, strike out ø$7,500,000¿ and insert:

11 $10,000,000

12 Ω75æPage 45, line 8, strike out ø$496,868,000¿ and in13 sert: $656,742,000

14 Ω76æPage 46, line 2, strike out ø$5,000,000¿ and insert:

15 $5,400,000

16 Ω77æPage 46, line 10, after ‘‘1932)’’ insert: : Provided

17 further, That of the total amount appropriated, not to ex18 ceed $10,000,000 shall be for water and waste disposal sys19 tems pursuant to section 757 of Public Law 104–127

20 Ω78æPage 46, line 10, after ‘‘1932)’’ insert: : Provided

21 further, That notwithstanding section 306(a)(7) of the Con22 solidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C.

23 1926(a)(7)), the town of Berlin, New Hampshire, shall be
11

HR 3603 EAS

1 eligible during fiscal year 1997 for a grant under the rural

2 utilities assistance program

3 Ω79æPage 47, line 2, strike out ø$454,000¿ and insert:

4 $554,000

5 Ω80æPage 47, line 9, strike out ø$8,652,597,000¿ and in6 sert: $8,654,797,000

7 Ω81æPage 47, line 10, strike out ø$3,218,844,000¿ and

8 insert: $3,221,044,000

9 Ω82æPage 47, line 13, strike out all after ‘‘612c)’’ down

10 to and including ‘‘evaluations’’ in line 15 and insert: : Pro11 vided, That not to exceed $2,000,000 of the funds made

12 available under this heading shall be used for studies and

13 evaluations

14 Ω83æPage 48, line 3, strike out all after ‘‘levels’’ down

15 to and including ‘‘Committees’’ in line 9 and insert: : Pro16 vided further, That once the amount for fiscal year 1996

17 carryover funds has been determined by the Secretary, any

18 funds in excess of $100,000,000 may be transferred by the

19 Secretary of Agriculture to any loan program of the Depart20 ment and/or to make available up to $10,000,000 for the

21 WIC farmers’ market nutrition program

22 Ω84æPage 48, line 18, after ‘‘1786)’’ insert: : Provided

23 further, That State agencies required to procure infant for-
12

HR 3603 EAS

1 mula using a competitive bidding system may use funds

2 appropriated by this Act to purchase infant formula under

3 a cost containment contract entered into after September

4 30, 1996 only if the contract was awarded to the bidder

5 offering the lowest net price, as defined by section 17(b)(20)

6 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, unless the State agency

7 demonstrates to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the

8 weighted average retail price for different brands of infant

9 formula in the State does not vary by more than five per10 cent

11 Ω85æPage 48, line 21, strike out ø2011–2029¿ and insert:

12 2011 et seq.

13 Ω86æPage 48, line 21, strike out ø$27,615,029,000¿ and

14 insert: $28,521,029,000

15 Ω87æPage 48, line 24, strike out ø$100,000,000¿ and in16 sert: $1,000,000,000

17 Ω88æPage 49, line 2, strike out all after ‘‘operations’’

18 down to and including ‘‘evaluations’’ in line 4 and insert:

19 : Provided further, That not to exceed $6,000,000 of the

20 funds made available under this heading shall be used for

21 studies and evaluations

22 Ω89æPage 50, line 1, strike out all after ‘‘(note)),’’ down

23 to and including ‘‘2013(b)),’’ in line 2
13

HR 3603 EAS

1 Ω90æPage 50, line 4, strike out ø$205,000,000¿ and in2 sert: $141,250,000

3 Ω91æPage 50, line 8, strike out ø$104,487,000¿ and in4 sert: $107,769,000

5 Ω92æPage 51, line 7, strike out ø$128,005,000¿ and in6 sert: $138,561,000

7 Ω93æPage 51, line 8, strike out ø$2,792,000¿ and insert:

8 $3,231,000

9 Ω94æPage 51, line 9, strike out ø$1,005,000¿ and insert:

10 $1,035,000

11 Ω95æPage 51, line 18, strike out all after ‘‘2392)’’ down

12 to and including ‘‘expenditure’’ in line 23

13 Ω96æPage 52, line 11, strike out ø$216,400,000¿ and in14 sert: $218,944,000

15 Ω97æPage 52, line 19, strike out ø$29,500,000¿ and in16 sert: $40,000,000

17 Ω98æPage 53, line 7, strike out ø$177,000,000¿ and in18 sert: $179,082,000

19 Ω99æPage 53, line 11, strike out ø$1,750,000¿ and insert:

20 $1,818,000
14

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1 Ω100æPage 53, line 17, strike out ø$3,381,000¿ and in2 sert: $3,820,000

3 Ω101æPage 53, line 21, strike out ø$2,792,000¿ and in4 sert: $3,231,000

5 Ω102æPage 55, line 7, after ‘‘9701’’ insert: : Provided fur6 ther, That a sufficient amount of these funds shall be used

7 to ensure compliance with the statutory deadlines set forth

8 in section 505(j)(4)(A) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos9 metic Act (21 U.S.C. 355(j)(4)(A))

10 Ω103æPage 55, strike out lines 14 through 21

11 Ω104æPage 55, after line 21 insert:

12 GENERAL PROVISIONS

13 Ω105æPage 55, after line 21 insert:

14 SEC. 601. EFFECTIVE MEDICATION GUIDES.—

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after

16 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the

17 Department of Health and Human Services shall re18 quest that national organizations representing health

19 care professionals, consumer organizations, voluntary

20 health agencies, the pharmaceutical industry, drug

21 wholesalers, patient drug information database com22 panies, and other relevant parties collaborate to de23 velop a long-range comprehensive action plan to
15

HR 3603 EAS

1 achieve goals consistent with the goals of the proposed

2 rule of the Food and Drug Administration on ‘‘Pre3 scription Drug Product Labeling: Medication Guide

4 Requirements’’ (60 Fed. Reg. 44182; relating to the

5 provision of oral and written prescription informa6 tion to consumers).

7 (b) GOALS.—Goals consistent with the proposed

8 rule described in subsection (a) are the distribution of

9 useful written information to 75 percent of individ10 uals receiving new precriptions by the year 2000 and

11 to 95 percent by the year 2006.

12 (c) PLAN.—The plan described in subsection (a)

13 shall—

14 (1) identify the plan goals;

15 (2) assess the effectiveness of the current pri16 vate-sector approaches used to provide oral and

17 written prescription information to consumers;

18 (3) develop guidelines for providing effective

19 oral and written prescription information con20 sistent with the findings of any such assessment;

21 (4) contain elements necessary to ensure the

22 transmittal of useful information to the consum23 ing public, including being scientifically accu24 rate, non-promotional in tone and content, suffi25 ciently specific and comprehensive as to ade-
16

HR 3603 EAS

1 quately inform consumers about the use of the

2 product, and in an understandable, legible for3 mat that is readily comprehensible and not con4 fusing to consumers expected to use the product.

5 (5) develop a mechanism to assess periodi6 cally the quality of the oral and written pre7 scription information and the frequency with

8 which the information is provided to consumers;

9 and

10 (6) provide for compliance with relevant

11 State board regulations.

12 (d) LIMITATION ON THE AUTHORITY OF THE

13 SECRETARY.—The Secretary of the Department of

14 Health and Human Services shall have no authority

15 to implement the proposed rule described in sub16 section (a), or to develop any similar regulation, pol17 icy statement, or other guideline specifying a uniform

18 content or format for written information voluntarily

19 provided to consumers about prescription drugs if, (1)

20 not later than 120 days after the date of enactment

21 of this Act, the national organizations described in

22 subsection (a) develop and submit to the Secretary for

23 Health and Human Services a comprehensive, long24 range action plan (as described in subsection (a))

25 which shall be acceptable to the Secretary of Health
17

HR 3603 EAS

1 and Human Services; (2) the aforementioned plan is

2 submitted to the Secretary of Health and Human

3 Services for review and acceptance: Provided, That

4 the Secretary shall give due consideration to the sub5 mitted plan and that any such acceptance shall not

6 be arbitrarily withheld; and (3) the implementation

7 of (a) a plan accepted by the Secretary commences

8 within 30 days of the Secretary’s acceptance of such

9 plan, or (b) the plan submitted to the Secretary com10 mences within 60 days of the submission of such plan

11 if the Secretary fails to take any action on the plan

12 within 30 days of the submission of the plan. The

13 Secretary shall accept, reject or suggest modifications

14 to the plan submitted within 30 days of its submis15 sion. The Secretary may confer with and assist pri16 vate parties in the development of the plan described

17 in subsections (a) and (b).

18 (e) SECRETARY REVIEW.—Not later than Janu19 ary 1, 2001, the Secretary of the Department of

20 Health and Human Services shall review the status

21 of private-sector initiatives designed to achieve the

22 goals of the plan described in subsection (a), and if

23 such goals are not achieved, the limitation in sub24 section (d) shall not apply, and the Secretary shall
18

HR 3603 EAS

1 seek public comment on other initiatives that may be

2 carried out to meet such goals.

3 Ω106æPage 55, line 22, before ‘‘Section’’ insert: SEC. 602.

4 Ω107æPage 55, line 24, strike out ø2002¿ and insert:

5 1998

6 Ω108æPage 55, after line 24 insert:

7 SEC. 603. AMENDMENTS TO THE FEDERAL FOOD,

8 DRUG, AND COSMETIC ACT.—

9 (a) IMPORTS FOR EXPORT.—Section 801(d)(3) of

10 the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act is amend11 ed—

12 (1) by striking ‘‘accessory of a device which

13 is ready’’ and inserting ‘‘accessory of a device, or

14 other article of device requiring further process15 ing, which is ready’’;

16 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘is in17 tended to be’’ and inserting ‘‘is intended to be

18 further processed by the initial owner or con19 signee, or’’; and

20 (3) in subparagraph (C)—

21 (A) by striking ‘‘part,’’ and inserting

22 ‘‘part, article,’’; and

23 (B) by striking ‘‘incorporated’’ and in24 serting ‘‘incorporated or further processed’’.
19

HR 3603 EAS

1 (b) LABELING OF EXPORTED DRUGS.—Section

2 801(f) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act

3 is amended—

4 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘If a

5 drug’’ and inserting ‘‘If a drug (other than insu6 lin, an antibiotic drug, an animal drug, or a

7 drug exported under section 802)’’; and

8 (2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end

9 the following new sentence: ‘‘A drug exported

10 under section 802 is exempt from this section.’’.

11 (c) EXPORT OF CERTAIN UNAPPROVED DRUGS

12 AND DEVICES.—Section 802(f)(5) of the Federal Food,

13 Drug, and Cosmetic Act is amended by striking ‘‘if

14 the drug or device is not labeled’’ and inserting ‘‘if

15 the labeling of the drug or device is not’’.

16 Ω109æPage 55, after line 24 insert:

17 SEC. 604. Not later than 180 days after enactment of

18 this Act, the Administrator of the Food and Drug Adminis19 tration, in consultation with the States and other appro20 priate Federal agencies shall report to the Chairman and

21 Ranking Member of the Committee on Appropriations of

22 the House and Senate on the feasibility of applying DNA

23 testing or other testing procedures to determine the adulter24 ation, blending, mixing or substitution of crab meat other

25 than Callinectes Sapidus offered for sale in the United
20

HR 3603 EAS

1 States. The Administrator also shall report on the feasibil2 ity of developing a database of imported crab meat ship3 ments from port of entry to final wholesaler to be made

4 available to State agencies to aid enforcement and public

5 health protection.

6 Ω110æPage 57, line 14, strike out ø$55,101,000¿ and in7 sert: $56,601,000

8 Ω111æPage 57, strike out all after line 21 over to and

9 including line 3 on page 58

10 Ω112æPage 59, line 17, strike out all after ‘‘Service;’’

11 down to and including ‘‘project;’’ in line 19

12 Ω113æPage 64, line 18, after ‘‘statute’’ insert: : Provided,

13 That notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of

14 the funds appropriated or otherwise made available in this

15 Act may be used to transfer to the Treasury or to the Fed16 eral Financing Bank any unobligated balance of the Rural

17 Telephone Bank telephone liquidating account which is in

18 excess of current requirements and such balance shall re19 ceive interest as set forth for financial accounts in section

20 505(c) of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990

21 Ω114æPage 65, strike out lines 6 through 9 and insert:

22 SEC. 721. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise

23 made available by this Act, or made available through the
21

HR 3603 EAS

1 commodity Credit Corporation, shall be used to enroll in

2 excess of 130,000 acres in the fiscal year 1997 wetlands re3 serve program, as authorized by section 3837 of title 16,

4 United States Code: Provided, That additional acreage may

5 be enrolled in the program to the extent that non-Federal

6 funds available to the Secretary are used to fully com7 pensate for the cost of additional enrollments: Provided fur8 ther, That the condition on enrollments provided in section

9 1237(b)(2)(B) of the Food Security Act of 1985, as amended

10 (16 U.S.C. 3837(b)(2)(B)) shall be deemed met upon the

11 enrollment of 43,333 acres through the use of temporary

12 easements: Provided further That the Secretary shall not en13 roll acres in the wetlands reserve program through the use

14 of new permanent easements in fiscal year 1998 until the

15 Secretary has enrolled at least 31,667 acres in the program

16 through the use of temporary easements.

17 Ω115æPage 65, line 15, after ‘‘makings’’ insert: and pan18 els used to evaluate competitively awarded grants

19 Ω116æPage 65, strike out all after line 21 over to and

20 including line 2 on page 66

21 Ω117æPage 66, strike out lines 3 through 7

22 Ω118æPage 66, strike out lines 8 through 12
22

HR 3603 EAS

1 Ω119æPage 66, strike out all after line 21 over to and

2 including ‘‘disaster’’ in line 2 on page 67 and insert: used

3 for an agricultural or related activity, including conserving

4 use, as determined by the Secretary

5 Ω120æPage 67, strike out lines 7 through 14

6 Ω121æPage 67, strike out all after line 18 over to and

7 including line 19 on page 68

8 Ω122æPage 68, line 20, strike out øFunds¿ and insert:

9 Hereafter, funds

10 Ω123æPage 69, strike out all after line 2 over to and in11 cluding line 2 on page 70

12 Ω124æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

13 SEC. 734. Not to exceed 10 percent of the amounts ap14 propriated or otherwise made available by this Act for the

15 Rural Housing Assistance Program, the Rural Business-Co16 operative Assistance Program, and the Rural Utilities As17 sistance Program may be transferred between these pro18 grams for authorized purposes.

19 Ω125æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

20 SEC. 735. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise

21 made available to the Department of Agriculture by this

22 Act may be used to detail or assign an individual from

23 an agency or office funded in this Act to any other agency
23

HR 3603 EAS

1 or office for more than 60 days, unless the Secretary pro2 vides notification to the House and Senate Committees on

3 Appropriations that an employee detail or assignment in

4 excess of 60 days is required.

5 Ω126æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

6 SEC. 736. Section 747(e) of the Federal Agriculture

7 Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 is amended by insert8 ing, ‘‘effective October 1, 1996’’ following ‘‘The Secretary

9 shall make grants’’ in Section 747(e)(2).

10 Ω127æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

11 SEC. 737. LABELING OF RAW POULTRY PRODUCTS.—

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other

13 provision of law, none of the funds appropriated or

14 otherwise made available by this Act may be used to

15 implement or enforce the final rule related to the la16 beling of raw poultry products promulgated by the

17 Food Safety and Inspection Service on August 25,

18 1995 (60 Fed. Reg. 44395), and the final rule shall

19 not be effective during fiscal year 1997.

20 (b) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 90 days after

21 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Ag22 riculture shall issue a revised final rule related to the

23 labeling of raw poultry products that—

24 (1) maintains the standard that the term

25 ‘‘fresh’’ may be used only for raw poultry prod-
24

HR 3603 EAS

1 ucts the internal core temperature of which has

2 not fallen below 26° Fahrenheit;

3 (2) deletes the requirement that poultry

4 products the internal core temperature of which

5 has ever been less than 26° Fahrenheit, but more

6 than 0° Fahrenheit, be labeled as ‘‘hard chilled’’

7 or ‘‘previously hard chilled’’, except that—

8 (A) the products shall be prohibited

9 under the rule from being labeled as ‘‘fresh’’

10 but shall not be required to bear any spe11 cific alternative labeling; and

12 (B) nothing in this section shall be in13 terpreted as modifying the requirements for

14 labeling of all poultry products the internal

15 core temperature of which has ever fallen to

16 0° Fahrenheit as ‘‘frozen’’;

17 (3) provides for a tolerance from the 26°

18 Fahrenheit standard established by the rule of—

19 (A) 1° Fahrenheit for poultry products

20 within an official processing establishment;

21 (B) 2° Fahrenheit for poultry products

22 in commerce;

23 (4) exempts from temperature testing wings,

24 tenders, hearts, livers, gizzards, necks, and prod-
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1 ucts that undergo special processing, such as

2 sliced poultry products; and

3 (5) in all other terms and conditions (in4 cluding the period of time permitted for imple5 mentation) is substantively identical to the rule

6 referred to in subsection (a).

7 (c) REVISED LABELING STANDARDS.—Not later

8 than 60 days after the issuance of a revised final rule

9 under subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture,

10 acting through the Administrator of the Food Safety

11 and Inspection Service, shall issue a compliance di12 rective for the enforcement of the revised labeling

13 standards established by the rule, including standards

14 for—

15 (1) temperature testing that are based on

16 measurements at the center of the deepest muscle;

17 and

18 (2) sampling methods that ensure that the

19 average of individual temperatures within poul20 try product lots of each specific product type

21 (such as whole birds, whole muscle leg products,

22 and whole muscle breast products) meet the

23 standards.

24 (d) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this sec25 tion or the application thereof to any person or cir-
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1 cumstance is held invalid, the validity of the remain2 der of this section and of the application of the provi3 sion to any other persons or circumstances shall not

4 be affected.

5 Ω128æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

6 SEC. 738. Section 7 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977

7 (7 U.S.C. 2016) is amended by adding at the end the follow8 ing:

9 ‘‘(j) ELECTRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFERS.—

10 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF ELECTRONIC BENEFIT

11 TRANSFER SYSTEM.—In this subsection, the term

12 ‘electronic benefit transfer system’ means a system

13 under which a governmental entity distributes bene14 fits pursuant to this Act by establishing an account

15 that may be accessed electronically by a recipient of

16 the benefits or payments.

17 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE LAW.—Disclosures, protections,

18 responsibilities, and remedies established by the Fed19 eral Reserve Board under section 904 of the Elec20 tronic Fund Transfer Act (15 U.S.C. 1692b) shall not

21 apply to benefits under this Act delivered through any

22 electronic benefit transfer system.

23 ‘‘(3) REPLACEMENT OF BENEFITS.—Regulations

24 issued by the Secretary regarding the replacement of

25 benefits and liability for replacement of benefits under
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1 an electronic benefit transfer system shall be similar

2 to the regulations in effect for a paper-based food

3 stamp issuance system.’’.

4 Ω129æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

5 SEC. 739. (a) ELECTRONIC WAREHOUSE RECEIPTS.—

6 Section 17(c) of the United States Warehouse Act (7 U.S.C.

7 259(c)) is amended—

8 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘cotton’’

9 and inserting ‘‘any agricultural product’’;

10 (2) by striking ‘‘the cotton’’ each place it appears

11 and inserting ‘‘the agricultural product’’; and

12 (3) in paragraph (2)—

13 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘in

14 cotton’’ and inserting ‘‘in the agricultural prod15 uct’’; and

16 (B) in the last sentence of subparagraph

17 (B)—

18 (i) by striking ‘‘electronic cotton’’ and

19 inserting ‘‘electronic’’; and

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘cotton stored in a cot21 ton warehouse’’ and inserting ‘‘any agricul22 tural product stored in a warehouse’’.

23 (b) WRITTEN RECEIPTS.—Section 18(c) of the United

24 States Warehouse Act (7 U.S.C. 260(c)) is amended by

25 striking ‘‘consecutive’’.
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1 Ω130æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

2 SEC. 740. Hereafter, notwithstanding any other provi3 sion of law, any domestic fish or fish product produced in

4 compliance with food safety standards or procedures accept5 ed by the Food and Drug Administration as satisfying the

6 requirements of the ‘‘Procedures for the Safe and Sanitary

7 Processing and Importing of Fish and Fish Products’’ (pub8 lished by the Food and Drug Administration as a final reg9 ulation in the Federal Register of December 18, 1995), shall

10 be deemed to have met any inspection requirements of the

11 Department of Agriculture or other Federal agency for any

12 Federal commodity purchase program, including the pro13 gram authorized under section 32 of the Act of August 24,

14 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c) except that the Department of Agri15 culture or other Federal agency may utilize lot inspection

16 to establish a reasonable degree of certainty that fish or fish

17 products purchased under a Federal commodity purchase

18 program, including the program authorized under section

19 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c), meet Fed20 eral product specifications.

21 Ω131æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

22 SEC. 741. (a) EXTENSION OF MULTIFAMILY RURAL

23 HOUSING LOAN PROGRAM.—

24 (1) AUTHORITY TO MAKE LOANS.—Section

25 515(b)(4) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C.
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1 1485(b)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30,

2 1996’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 1997’’.

3 (2) SET-ASIDE FOR NONPROFIT ENTITIES.—The

4 first sentence of section 515(w)(1) of the Housing Act

5 of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1485(w)(1)) is amended by strik6 ing ‘‘fiscal year 1996’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal year

7 1997’’.

8 (b) EXTENSION OF HOUSING IN UNDERSERVED AREAS

9 PROGRAM.—The first sentence of section 509(f)(4)(A) of the

10 Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1479(f)(4)(A)) is amended

11 by striking ‘‘fiscal year 1996’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal year

12 1997’’.

13 (c) REFORMS FOR MULTIFAMILY RURAL HOUSING

14 LOAN PROGRAM.—

15 (1) LIMITATION ON PROJECT TRANSFERS.—Sec16 tion 515 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1485)

17 is amended by inserting after subsection (g) the fol18 lowing new subsection:

19 ‘‘(h) PROJECT TRANSFERS.—After the date of the en20 actment of the Act entitled ‘An Act making appropriations

21 for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Ad22 ministration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal

23 year ending September 30, 1997, and for other purposes’,

24 the ownership or control of a project for which a loan is

25 made or insured under this section may be transferred only
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1 if the Secretary determines that such transfer would further

2 the provision of housing and related facilities for low-in3 come families or persons and would be in the best interests

4 of residents and the Federal Government.’’.

5 (2) EQUITY LOANS.—Section 515(t) of the Hous6 ing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1485(t)) is amended—

7 (A) by striking paragraphs (4) and (5); and

8 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (6)

9 through (8) as paragraphs (4) through (6), re10 spectively.

11 (3) EQUITY TAKEOUT LOANS TO EXTEND LOW-IN12 COME USE.—

13 (A) AUTHORITY AND LIMITATION.—Section

14 502(c)(4)(B)(iv) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42

15 U.S.C. 1472(c)(4)(B)(iv)) is amended by insert16 ing before the period at the end the following: ‘‘or

17 under paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 514(j),

18 except that an equity loan referred to in this

19 clause may not be made available after the date

20 of the enactment of the Act entitled ‘An Act mak21 ing appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Devel22 opment, Food and Drug Administration, and

23 Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year

24 ending September 30, 1997, and for other pur25 poses’, unless the Secretary determines that the
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1 other incentives available under this subpara2 graph are not adequate to provide a fair return

3 on the investment of the borrower, to prevent

4 prepayment of the loan insured under section

5 514 or 515, or to prevent the displacement of

6 tenants of the housing for which the loan was

7 made’’.

8 (B) APPROVAL OF ASSISTANCE.—Section

9 502(c)(4)(C) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42

10 U.S.C. 1472(c)(4)(C)) is amended by striking

11 ‘‘(C)’’ and all that follows through ‘‘provided—

12 ’’ and inserting the following:

13 ‘‘(C) APPROVAL OF ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may

14 approve assistance under subparagraph (B) for assisted

15 housing only if the restrictive period has expired for any

16 loan for the housing made or insured under section 514 or

17 515 pursuant to a contract entered into after December 21,

18 1979, but before the date of the enactment of the Department

19 of Housing and Urban Development Reform Act of 1989,

20 and the Secretary determines that the combination of assist21 ance provided—’’.

22 (C) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section

23 515(c)(1) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C.

24 1485(c)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘December

25 21, 1979’’ and inserting ‘‘December 15, 1989’’.
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1 (d) EQUITY SKIMMING PENALTIES.—

2 (1) INSURANCE OF LOANS FOR THE PROVISION OF

3 HOUSING AND RELATED FACILITIES FOR DOMESTIC FARM

4 LABOR.—Section 514 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C.

5 1484) is amended by adding at the end the following new

6 subsection:

7 ‘‘(j) EQUITY SKIMMING PENALTY.—Whoever, as an

8 owner, agent, or manager, or who is otherwise in custody,

9 control, or possession of property that is security for a loan

10 made or insured under this section willfully uses, or author11 izes the use, of any part of the rents, assets, proceeds, in12 come, or other funds derived from such property, for any

13 purpose other than to meet actual or necessary expenses of

14 the property, or for any other purpose not authorized by

15 this title or the regulations adopted pursuant to this title,

16 shall be fined not more than $250,000 or imprisoned not

17 more than 5 years, or both.’’.

18 (2) DIRECT AND INSURED LOANS TO PROVIDE

19 HOUSING AND RELATED FACILITIES FOR ELDERLY

20 PERSONS AND FAMILIES IN RURAL AREAS.—Section

21 515 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1485) is

22 amended by adding at the end the following new sub23 section:

24 ‘‘(aa) EQUITY SKIMMING PENALTY.—Whoever, as an

25 owner, agent, or manager, or who is otherwise in custody,
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1 control, or possession of property that is security for a loan

2 made or insured under this section willfully uses, or author3 izes the use, of any part of the rents, assets, proceeds, in4 come, or other funds derived from such property, for any

5 purpose other than to meet actual or necessary expenses of

6 the property, or for any other purpose not authorized by

7 this title or the regulations adopted pursuant to this title,

8 shall be fined not more than $250,000 or imprisoned not

9 more than 5 years, or both.’’.

10 Ω132æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

11 SEC. 742. REAUTHORIZATION OF NATIONAL AQUA12 CULTURE ACT OF 1980.—Section 10 of the National Aqua13 culture Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 2809) is amended by striking

14 ‘‘1991, 1992, and 1993’’ each place it appears and inserting

15 ‘‘1991 through 1997’’.

16 Ω133æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

17 SEC. 743. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE VOLUNTARY

18 SEPARATION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—

19 (a) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this sec20 tion—

21 (1) the term ‘‘agency’’ means the Depart22 ment of Agriculture;

23 (2) the term ‘‘employee’’ means an employee

24 (as defined by section 2105 of title 5, United

25 States Code) who is employed by the agency (or
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1 an individual employed by a county committee

2 established under section 8(b)(5) of the Soil Con3 servation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C.

4 590h(b)(5))), is serving under an appointment

5 without time limitation, and has been currently

6 employed for a continuous period of at least 3

7 years, but does not include—

8 (A) a reemployed annuitant under sub9 chapter III of chapter 83 or chapter 84 of

10 title 5, United States Code, or another re11 tirement system for employees of the agency;

12 (B) an employee having a disability on

13 the basis of which such employee is or

14 would be eligible for disability retirement

15 under the applicable retirement system re16 ferred to in subparagraph (A);

17 (C) an employee who is in receipt of a

18 specific notice of involuntary separation for

19 misconduct or unacceptable performance;

20 (D) an employee who, upon completing

21 an additional period of service as referred

22 to in section 3(b)(2)(B)(ii) of the Federal

23 Workforce Restructuring Act of 1994 (5

24 U.S.C. 5597 note), would qualify for a vol-
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1 untary separation incentive payment under

2 section 3 of such Act;

3 (E) an employee who has previously

4 received any voluntary separation incentive

5 payment by the Federal Government under

6 this section or any other authority and has

7 not repaid such payment;

8 (F) an employee covered by statutory

9 reemployment rights who is on transfer to

10 another organization; or

11 (G) any employee who, during the

12 twenty four month period preceding the

13 date of separation, has received a recruit14 ment or relocation bonus under section 5753

15 of title 5, United States Code, or who, with16 in the twelve month period preceding the

17 date of separation, received a retention al18 lowance under section 5754 of title 5, Unit19 ed States Code.

20 (b) AGENCY STRATEGIC PLAN.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of the agency,

22 prior to obligating any resources for voluntary

23 separation incentive payments, shall submit to

24 the House and Senate Committees on Appropria25 tions and the Committee on Governmental Af-
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1 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Gov2 ernment Reform and Oversight of the House of

3 Representatives a strategic plan outlining the in4 tended use of such incentive payments and a

5 proposed organizational chart for the agency

6 once such incentive payments have been com7 pleted.

8 (2) CONTENTS.—The agency’s plan shall in9 clude—

10 (A) the positions and functions to be

11 reduced or eliminated, identified by organi12 zational unit, geographic location, occupa13 tional category and grade level;

14 (B) the number and amounts of vol15 untary separation incentive payments to be

16 offered; and

17 (C) a description of how the agency

18 will operate without the eliminated posi19 tions and functions.

20 (c) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE VOLUNTARY SEPARA21 TION INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—A voluntary separation

23 incentive payment under this section may be

24 paid by an agency to any employee only to the
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HR 3603 EAS

1 extent necessary to eliminate the positions and

2 functions identified by the strategic plan.

3 (2) AMOUNT AND TREATMENT OF PAY4 MENTS.—A voluntary separation incentive pay5 ment—

6 (A) shall be paid in a lump sum after

7 the employee’s separation;

8 (B) shall be paid from appropriations

9 or funds available for the payment of the

10 basic pay of the employees;

11 (C) shall be equal to the lesser of—

12 (i) an amount equal to the

13 amount the employee would be entitled

14 to receive under section 5595(c) of title

15 5, United States Code; or

16 (ii) an amount determined by the

17 agency head not to exceed $25,000 in

18 fiscal year 1997, $20,000 in fiscal year

19 1998, $15,000 in fiscal year 1999, or

20 $10,000 in fiscal year 2000;

21 (D) shall not be a basis for payment,

22 and shall not be included in the computa23 tion, of any other type of Government bene24 fit; and
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1 (E) shall not be taken into account in

2 determining the amount of any severance

3 pay to which the employee may be entitled

4 under section 5595 of title 5, United States

5 Code, based on any other separation.

6 (3) LIMITATION.—No amount shall be pay7 able under this section based on any separation

8 occurring before the date of the enactment of this

9 Act, or after September 30, 2000.

10 (d) ADDITIONAL AGENCY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE

11 RETIREMENT FUND.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other

13 payments which it is required to make under

14 subchapter III of chapter 83 of title 5, United

15 States Code, the agency shall remit to the Office

16 of Personnel Management for deposit in the

17 Treasury of the United States to the credit of the

18 Civil Service Retirement and Disability Fund

19 an amount equal to 15 percent of the final basic

20 pay of each employee of the agency who is cov21 ered under subchapter III of chapter 83 or chap22 ter 84 of title 5, United States Code, to whom a

23 voluntary separation incentive has been paid

24 under this section.
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1 (2) DEFINITION.—For the purpose of para2 graph (1), the term ‘‘final basic pay’’, with re3 spect to an employee, means the total amount of

4 basic pay which would be payable for a year of

5 service by such employee, computed using the

6 employee’s final rate of basic pay, and, if last

7 serving on other than a full-time basis, with ap8 propriate adjustment therefor.

9 (e) EFFECT OF SUBSEQUENT EMPLOYMENT WITH

10 THE GOVERNMENT.—An individual who has received

11 a voluntary separation incentive payment under this

12 section and accepts any employment for compensation

13 with the Government of the United States, or who

14 works for any agency of the United States Govern15 ment through a personal services contract, within 5

16 years after the date of the separation on which the

17 payment is based shall be required to pay, prior to

18 the individual’s first day of employment, the entire

19 amount of the incentive payment to the agency that

20 paid the incentive payment.

21 (f) REDUCTION OF AGENCY EMPLOYMENT LEV22 ELS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The total number of

24 funded employee positions in the agency shall be

25 reduced by one position for each vacancy created
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1 by the separation of any employee who has re2 ceived, or is due to receive, a voluntary separa3 tion incentive payment under this section. For

4 the purposes of this subsection, positions shall be

5 counted on a full-time-equivalent basis.

6 (2) ENFORCEMENT.—The President, through

7 the Office of Management and Budget, shall

8 monitor the agency and take any action nec9 essary to ensure that the requirements of this

10 subsection are met.

11 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take ef12 fect October 1, 1996.

13 Ω134æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

14 SEC. 744. Section 101(b) of the Agriculture and Food

15 Act of 1981 (Public Law 97–98; 7 U.S.C. 608c note) is

16 amended by striking ‘‘1996’’ and inserting ‘‘2002’’.

17 Ω135æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

18 SEC. 745. REVIEW AND REPORT ON H–2A NON19 IMMIGRANT WORKERS PROGRAM.—

20 (a) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense

21 of the Congress that the enactment of this Act may

22 impact the future availability of an adequate work

23 force for the producers of our Nation’s labor intensive

24 agricultural commodities and livestock.
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1 (b) REVIEW.—The Comptroller General shall re2 view the effectiveness of the H–2A nonimmigrant

3 worker program to ensure that the program provides

4 a workable safety valve in the event of future short5 ages of domestic workers after the enactment of this

6 Act. Among other things, the Comptroller General

7 shall review the program to determine—

8 (1) that the program ensures that an ade9 quate supply of qualified United States workers

10 is available at the time and place needed for em11 ployers seeking such workers after the date of en12 actment of this Act;

13 (2) that the program ensures that there is

14 timely approval of applications for temporary

15 foreign workers under the H–2A nonimmigrant

16 worker program in the event of shortages of

17 United States workers after the date of enact18 ment of this Act;

19 (3) that the program ensures that imple20 mentation of the H–2A nonimmigrant worker

21 program is not displacing United States agricul22 tural workers or diminishing the terms and con23 ditions of employment of United States agricul24 tural workers; and
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1 (4) if and to what extent the H–2A non2 immigrant worker program is contributing to

3 the problem of illegal immigration.

4 (c) REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 1996,

5 or three months after the date of enactment of this

6 Act, whichever is sooner, the Comptroller General

7 shall submit a report to Congress setting forth the

8 findings of the review conducted under subsection (b).

9 (d) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section—

10 (1) the term ‘‘Comptroller General’’ means

11 the Comptroller General of the United States;

12 and

13 (2) the term ‘‘H–2A nonimmigrant worker

14 program’’ means the program for the admission

15 of nonimmigrant aliens described in section

16 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(A) of the Immigration and

17 Nationality Act.

18 Ω136æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

19 SEC. 746. NORTHERN FOREST STEWARDSHIP.—

20 (a) FINDINGS.—With respect to the Northern

21 Forest in the States of Maine, New Hampshire, New

22 York, and Vermont, Congress finds that—

23 (1) the current land ownership and man24 agement patterns have served the people and for25 ests of the region well; public policies relating to
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1 the Northern Forest should seek to reinforce rath2 er than replace the patterns of ownership and

3 use that have characterized lands in the Northern

4 Forest for decades;

5 (2) people have a right to participate in de6 cisions that affect them;

7 (3) the rights of private property owners

8 must be respected;

9 (4) natural systems must be sustained over

10 the long term, including air, soil, water, and the

11 diversity of plant and animal species;

12 (5) the history and culture of the Northern

13 Forest and the connections between people and

14 the land must be respected;

15 (6) States should work in partnership with

16 local governments and the Federal Government;

17 (7) differences among the 4 Northern Forest

18 States must be recognized;

19 (8) people must appreciate that the North20 ern Forest has values that are important beyond

21 the boundaries of the Northern Forest;

22 (9) because public funds are scarce, the

23 greatest public benefit must be secured for any

24 additional investment;
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1 (10) proposals must be judged by their long2 term benefits, looking at least 50 years into the

3 future;

4 (11) programs and regulations in existence

5 on the date of enactment of this Act should be

6 continually evaluated, built upon, and improved

7 before new ones are created;

8 (12) the actions described in this section are

9 most appropriately directed by the States, with

10 assistance from the Federal Government, as re11 quested by the States;

12 (13) certain Federal tax policies work

13 against the long-term ownership, management,

14 and conservation of forest land in the Northern

15 Forest region, and Congress and the President

16 should enact additional legislation to address

17 those tax policies as soon as possible; and

18 (14) this section effectuates certain rec19 ommendations of the Northern Forest Lands

20 Council that were developed with broad public

21 input and the involvement of Federal, State, and

22 local governments.

23 (b) PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agri25 culture, acting through the Chief of the Forest
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1 Service, is authorized, at the request of the State

2 of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, or Ver3 mont, to provide technical assistance for a State4 based initiative directed by the State, to define

5 the appropriate benchmarks of sustainable forest

6 management that address the principles of sus7 tainability, as recommended by the Northern

8 Forest Lands Council.

9 (2) PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY.—It is

10 the sense of Congress that for the purposes of

11 paragraph (1), principles of sustainability

12 should include—

13 (A) maintenance of soil productivity;

14 (B) conservation of water quality, wet15 lands, and riparian zones;

16 (C) maintenance or creation of a

17 healthy balance of forest age classes;

18 (D) continuous flow of timber, pulp19 wood, and other forest products;

20 (E) improvement of the overall quality

21 of the timber resource as a foundation for

22 more value-added opportunities;

23 (F) addressing scenic quality by limit24 ing adverse aesthetic impacts of forest har-
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1 vesting, particularly in high-elevation areas

2 and vistas;

3 (G) conservation and enhancement of

4 habitats that support a full range of native

5 flora and fauna;

6 (H) protection of unique or fragile nat7 ural areas; and

8 (I) continuation of opportunities for

9 traditional recreation.

10 (c) NORTHERN FOREST RESEARCH COOPERA11 TIVE.—The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through

12 the Northeastern Forest Experiment Station and the

13 Chief of the Forest Service, is authorized, at the re14 quest of the State of Maine, New Hampshire, New

15 York, or Vermont, to cooperate with the State, the

16 land grant universities of the State, natural resource

17 and forestry schools, other Federal agencies, and other

18 interested parties in coordinating ecological and eco19 nomic research, including—

20 (1) research at those universities on eco21 system health, forest management, product devel22 opment, economics, and related fields;

23 (2) development of specific forest manage24 ment guidelines to achieve principles of sustain25 ability described in subsection (b) as rec-
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1 ommended by the Northern Forest Lands Coun2 cil;

3 (3) technology transfer to the wood products

4 industry on efficient processing, pollution pre5 vention, and energy conservation;

6 (4) dissemination of existing and new infor7 mation to landowners, public and private re8 source managers, State forest citizen advisory

9 committees, and the general public through pro10 fessional associations, publications, and other in11 formation clearinghouse activities; and

12 (5) analysis of strategies for the protection

13 of areas of outstanding ecological significance,

14 high biodiversity, and the provision of important

15 recreational opportunities, including strategies

16 for areas identified through State land acquisi17 tion planning processes.

18 (d) INTERSTATE COORDINATION STRATEGY.—At

19 the request of the States of Maine, New Hampshire,

20 New York, and Vermont, the Chief of the Forest Serv21 ice is authorized to make a representative of the State

22 and Private Forest Program available to meet with

23 representatives of the States to coordinate the imple24 mentation of Federal and State policy recommenda-
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1 tions issued by the Northern Forest Lands Council

2 and other policies agreed to by the States.

3 (e) LAND CONSERVATION.—.

4 (1) FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary

5 of Agriculture (acting through the Chief of the

6 Forest Service) and the Secretary of the Interior

7 (acting through the Director of the National

8 Park Service and Director of the United States

9 Fish and Wildlife Service) at the request of the

10 State of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, or

11 New York, is authorized to provide technical and

12 financial assistance for a State-managed public

13 land acquisition planning process and land ac14 quisition initiatives directed by the State.

15 (2) PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT.—A goal-ori16 ented planning process for a State described in

17 paragraph (1) to establish a land conservation

18 program shall include—

19 (A) identification of, and setting of

20 priorities for the acquisition of, fee or less21 than-fee interests in exceptional and impor22 tant lands, in accordance with criteria that

23 include—

24 (i) places offering outstanding rec25 reational opportunities, including loca-
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1 tions for hunting, fishing, trapping,

2 hiking, camping, and other forms of

3 back-country recreation;

4 (ii) recreational access to river

5 and lake shorelines;

6 (iii) land supporting vital ecologi7 cal functions and values;

8 (iv) habitats for rare, threatened,

9 or endangered natural communities,

10 plants, and wildlife;

11 (v) areas of outstanding scenic

12 value and significant geological fea13 tures; and

14 (vi) working private forest lands

15 that are of such significance or so

16 threatened by conversion that conserva17 tion easements should be purchased;

18 (B) acquisition of land and interests

19 in land only from willing sellers;

20 (C) involvement of local governments

21 and landowners in the planning process in

22 a meaningful way that acknowledges their

23 concerns about public land acquisition;
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1 (D) recognition that zoning, while an

2 important land use mechanism, is not an

3 appropriate substitution for acquisition;

4 (E) assurances that unilateral eminent

5 domain will only be used with the consent

6 of the landowner to clear title and establish

7 purchase prices;

8 (F) efficient use of public funds by

9 purchasing only the rights necessary to best

10 identify and protect exceptional values;

11 (G) consideration of the potential im12 pacts and benefits of land and easement ac13 quisition on local and regional economies;

14 (H) consideration of the necessity of

15 including costs of future public land man16 agement in the assessment of overall costs of

17 acquisition;

18 (I) minimization of adverse tax con19 sequences to municipalities by making

20 funds available to continue to pay property

21 taxes based at least on current use valu22 ation of parcels acquired, payments in lieu

23 of taxes, user fee revenues, or other benefits,

24 where appropriate;
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1 (J) identification of the potential for

2 exchanging public land for privately held

3 land of greater public value; and

4 (K) assurances that any land or inter5 ests inland that are acquired are used and

6 managed for their intended purposes.

7 (3) WILLING SELLER.—No Federal funds

8 made available to carry out this section may be

9 expended for acquisition of private or public

10 property unless the owner of the property will11 ingly offers the property for sale.

12 (4) LAND ACQUISITION.—

13 (A) FUNDING.—After completion of the

14 planning process under paragraph (2), a

15 Federal and State cooperative land acquisi16 tion project under this section may be car17 ried out with funding provided exclusively

18 by the Federal Government or with funding

19 provided by both the Federal Government

20 and a State government.

21 (B) OBJECTIVES.—A cooperative land

22 acquisition project funded under this section

23 shall promote State land conservation objec24 tives that correspond with Federal goals
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1 and the recommendations of the Northern

2 Forest Lands Council.

3 (5) COMPLEMENTARY PROGRAM.—The Sec4 retary of the Interior shall conduct activities

5 under this subsection—

6 (A) as a complement to the State Com7 prehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan for

8 each Northern Forest State in existence on

9 the date of enactment of this section; and

10 (B) with a landscape perspective.

11 (6) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—There are author13 ized to be appropriated, out of any funds

14 made available for State purposes under

15 section 6 of the Land and Water Conserva16 tion Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–8),

17 such sums as are necessary to carry out this

18 subsection.

19 (B) EFFECT ON APPORTIONMENT.—Ap20 portionment among the States under section

21 6(b) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 460l–8(b)) shall

22 be from funds not appropriated under sub23 paragraph (A).

24 (f) LANDOWNER LIABILITY EXEMPTION.—

25 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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1 (A) many landowners keep their land

2 open and available for responsible recre3 ation; and

4 (B) private lands help provide impor5 tant forest-based recreation opportunities

6 for the public in the Northern Forest region.

7 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of

8 Congress that States and other interested persons

9 should pursue initiatives that—

10 (A) strengthen relief-from-liability laws

11 to protect landowners that allow responsible

12 public recreational use of their lands;

13 (B) update relief-from-liability laws to

14 establish hold-harmless mechanisms for

15 landowners that open their land to public

16 use, including provision for payment by the

17 State of the costs of a landowner’s defense

18 against personal injury suits and of the

19 costs of repairing property damage and re20 moving litter;

21 (C) private additional reductions in

22 property taxes for landowners that allow re23 sponsible public recreational use of their

24 lands;
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1 (D) provide for purchases by the State

2 of land in fee and of temporary and perma3 nent recreation easements and leases, in4 cluding rights of access;

5 (E) foster State and private coopera6 tive recreation agreements;

7 (F) create recreation coordinator and

8 landowner liaison and remote ranger posi9 tions in State government to assist in the

10 management of public use of private lands

11 and provide recreation opportunities and

12 other similar services;

13 (G) strengthen enforcement of trespass,

14 antilittering, and antidumping laws;

15 (H) improve recreation user education

16 programs; and

17 (I) improve capacity in State park

18 and recreation agencies to measure rec19 reational use (including types, amounts, lo20 cations, and concentrations of use) and

21 identify and address trends in use before the

22 trends create problems.

23 (g) NONGAME CONSERVATION.—

24 (1) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—
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1 (A) private landowners often manage

2 their lands in ways that produce a variety

3 of public benefits, including wildlife habitat;

4 and

5 (B) there should be more incentives for

6 private landowners to exceed current forest

7 management standards and responsibilities

8 under Federal laws.

9 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of

10 Congress that Congress should make it a priority

11 to consider legislation that creates a funding

12 mechanism to support the conservation of

13 nongame fish and wildlife and associated recre14 ation activities on public and private lands and

15 does not replace, substitute, or duplicate existing

16 laws that support game fish and wildlife.

17 (h) WATER QUALITY.—The Administrator of the

18 Environmental Protection Agency, in cooperation

19 with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary

20 of the Interior, is authorized, at the request of the

21 State of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, or Ver22 mont, to provide technical and financial assistance to

23 assess water quality trends within the Northern For24 est region.

25 (i) RURAL COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agri2 culture is authorized, at the request of the State

3 of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, or Ver4 mont, to provide technical and financial assist5 ance to the State, working in partnership with

6 the forest products industry, local communities,

7 and other interests to develop technical and mar8 keting capacity within rural communities for re9 alizing value-added opportunities in the forest

10 products sector.

11 (2) RURAL COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE PRO12 GRAM.—Sufficient funds from the rural commu13 nity assistance program under paragraph (1)

14 shall be directed to support State-based public

15 and private initiatives to—

16 (A) strengthen partnerships between

17 the public and private sectors and enhance

18 the viability of rural communities;

19 (B) develop technical capacity in the

20 utilization and marketing of value-added

21 forest products; and

22 (C) develop extension capacity in de23 livering utilization and marketing informa24 tion to forest-based businesses.
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1 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as

3 are necessary to carry out subsections (b), (c), (d), (e),

4 (h), and (i) of this section and section 2371 of the

5 Rural Economic Development Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C.

6 6601) in the States of Maine, New Hampshire, New

7 York, and Vermont.

8 (k) APPLICABILITY.—This section shall be in ef9 fect during fiscal year 1997 and each fiscal year

10 thereafter.

11 Ω137æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

12 SEC. 747. BARLEY PAYMENTS.—Section 113 of Public

13 Law 104–127 is amended by inserting a new subsection (g)

14 that reads:

15 ‘‘(g) ADJUSTMENT IN BARLEY ALLOCATION.—In addi16 tion to the adjustments required under subsection (c), the

17 amount allocated under subsection (b) for barley contract

18 payments shall be increased by $20,000,000 in fiscal year

19 1998, and shall be reduced by $5,000,000 in each of fiscal

20 years 1999–2002.’’.

21 Ω138æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

22 SEC. 748. INTERIM MORATORIUM ON BYPASS

23 FLOWS.—
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1 (a) MORATORIUM.—Section 389(a) of Public

2 Law 104–127 is amended by striking ‘‘an 18-month’’

3 after the word ‘‘be’’ and inserting ‘‘a 20-month’’.

4 (b) REPORT.—Section 389(d)(4) of Public Law

5 104–127 is amended by striking ‘‘1 year’’ after the

6 word ‘‘than’’ and inserting ‘‘14 months’’.

7 (c) EXTENSION FOR DELAY.—Section 389 of

8 public law 104–127 is amended by adding at the end

9 the following new subsection—

10 ‘‘(e) EXTENSION FOR DELAY.—There shall be a

11 day-for-day extension to the 20-month moratorium re12 quired by subsection (a) and a day-for-day extension

13 to the report required by subsection (d)(4)—

14 ‘‘(1) for every day of delay in implementing

15 or establishing the Water Rights Task Force

16 caused by a failure to nominate Task Force

17 members by the Administration or by the Con18 gress; or

19 ‘‘(2) for every day of delay caused by a fail20 ure by the Secretary of Agriculture to identify

21 adequate resources as determined by the Sec22 retary of Agriculture to carry out the purposes

23 of the task force.’’.

24 Ω139æPage 70, after line 2 insert:
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1 SEC. 749. EASEMENTS ON INVENTORIED PROPERTY.—

2 None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available

3 by this Act may be used by the Secretary of Agriculture

4 to establish a wetland conservation easement under section

5 335(g) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development

6 Act (7 U.S.C. 1985(g)) on an inventoried property that was

7 used for farming (including haying and grazing) at any

8 time during the period beginning on the date 5 years before

9 the property entered the inventory of the Secretary and end10 ing on the date the property entered the inventory of the

11 Secretary, to the extent that land would otherwise be eligible

12 for an easement haying and grazing must be done, accord13 ing to a plan approved by the Natural Resources Conserva14 tion Service.

15 Ω140æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

16 SEC. 750. GRANTS FOR PRECISION AGRICULTURAL

17 TECHNOLOGIES.—Section 793(c)(2)(A) of the Federal Agri18 culture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C.

19 2204f(c)(2)(A)) is amended—

20 (1) in clause (vii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end;

21 (2) in clause (viii), by striking the period at the

22 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

23 (3) by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(ix) develop and apply precision agri25 cultural technologies.’’.
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1 Ω141æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

2 SEC. 751. SENSE OF SENATE ON CANADIAN WHEAT

3 AND BARLEY EXPORTS.—IT IS THE SENSE OF THE SENATE

4 THAT—

5 (1) the United States Trade Representative

6 should continue to carefully monitor the export of

7 wheat and barley from western Canada to the United

8 States;

9 (2) the bilateral Memorandum of Understanding

10 with Canada clearly states that the United States—

11 (A) will not accept market disruptions from

12 imports of Canadian grains; and

13 (B) will use its trade laws if it appears

14 likely that market disruptions will occur;

15 (3) the United States Trade Representative

16 should monitor any policy changes by the Canadian

17 Government, acting through the Canadian Wheat

18 Board, that have the potential for increasing the ex19 ports of Canadian grains to the United States;

20 (4) family farmers of the United States should

21 not be subjected to increases in the 1-way channel of

22 Canadian grain exports to the United States that un23 fairly disrupt the grain transportation systems and

24 depress the prices received by farmers; and
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1 (5) the United States Trade Representative

2 should be prepared to support the use of antidumping

3 laws, countervailing duty laws, section 301 of the

4 Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2411), and other Unit5 ed States laws consistent with the international obli6 gations of the United States, if—

7 (A) the Canadian Government implements

8 the changes described in paragraph (3) without

9 a resolution of the underlying cross-border grain

10 trading issues between the United States and

11 Canada; and

12 (B) the changes lead to unfair and injuri13 ous exports of Canadian grain to the United

14 States.

15 Ω142æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

16 SEC. 752. No funds appropriated or otherwise made

17 available to the Secretary of Agriculture may be used to

18 administer section 118(b)(2)(A) of the Agricultural Market19 ing Transition Act unless the planting of a fruit or vegeta20 ble on contract acreage, if planted subsequent to the failure

21 of a contract commodity on the same acreage within the

22 same crop year is permitted on contract acreage: Provided,

23 That this provision shall take effect upon the date of enact24 ment of this Act into law.

25 Ω143æPage 70, after line 2 insert:
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1 SEC. 753. PLANTING OF WILD RICE ON CONTRACT

2 ACREAGE.—None of the funds appropriated in this Act may

3 be used to administer the provision of contract payments

4 to a producer under the Agricultural Market Transition Act

5 (7 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.) for contract acreage on which wild

6 rice is planted unless the contract payment is reduced by

7 an acre for each contract acre planted to wild rice.

8 Ω144æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

9 TITLE VIII—SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS

10 AND RESCISSION FOR THE FISCAL YEAR

11 ENDING SEPTEMBER 30, 1996

12 Ω145æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

13 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

14 FARM SERVICE AGENCY

15 AGRICULTURAL CREDIT INSURANCE FUND PROGRAM

16 ACCOUNT

17 For an additional amount for the Agricultural Credit

18 Insurance Fund Program Account for the additional cost

19 of emergency insured loans authorized by 7 U.S.C. 1928–

20 1929, including the cost of modifying such loans as defined

21 in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, re22 sulting from droughts in the Western United States, Hurri23 cane Bertha, and other natural disasters, to remain avail24 able until expended, $25,000,000: Provided, That these

25 funds are available to subsidize additional gross obligations
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1 for the principal amount of direct loans of $85,208,000:

2 Provided further, That the entire amount is designated by

3 Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant to section

4 251(b)(2)(D)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency

5 Deficit Control Act of 1985, as amended: Provided further,

6 That the amount shall be available to the extent that the

7 President notifies Congress of his designation of any or all

8 of these amounts as an emergency requirement under sec9 tion 251(b)(2)(D)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emer10 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

11 Ω146æPage 70, after line 2 insert:

12 DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

13 BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, AND FIREARMS

14 SALARIES AND EXPENSES

15 For an additional amount for ‘‘Salaries and Ex16 penses’’, to be used in connection with investigations of

17 arson or violence against religious institutions,

18 $12,011,000, to remain available until expended.

19 INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE

20 INFORMATION SYSTEMS

21 (RESCISSION)

22 Of the funds made available under this heading in

23 Public Law 104–52, $16,500,000 are rescinded.

24 Ω147æPage 70, after line 2 insert:
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1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Agriculture, Rural De2 velopment, Food and Drug Administration, and Related

3 Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997’’.

Attest:

Secretary.
104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3603

AMENDMENTS
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