II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1160 

To ensure an abundant and affordable supply of highly nutritious fruits, 

vegetables, and other specialty crops for American consumers and international markets by enhancing the competitiveness of United Statesgrown specialty crops. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 19, 2007 

Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. CRAPO, Mrs. CLINTON, Mr. 

CASEY, Mr. LEVIN, Mrs. BOXER, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. 

CANTWELL, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. SMITH, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. BROWN, Mr. 

MENENDEZ, Mr. BURR, and Ms. SNOWE) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To ensure an abundant and affordable supply of highly nutritious fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops for 

American consumers and international markets by enhancing the competitiveness of United States-grown specialty crops. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Specialty Crops Competition Act of 2007’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings and purpose. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—MARKETING 

Sec. 101. Implementation of food safety programs under marketing orders. 

Sec. 102. Fruit and vegetable market news allocation. 

Sec. 103. Grants to States to enhance competitiveness of specialty crops. 

Sec. 104. Operating loans. 

Sec. 105. Value-added grant program. 

TITLE II—INTERNATIONAL TRADE 

Sec. 201. Foreign market access study and strategy plan. 

Sec. 202. Technical assistance for specialty crops. 

Sec. 203. Protection of intellectual property rights in plants and plant-derived 

material. 

Sec. 204. Plant patents. 

Sec. 205. Coordination of trade objectives. 

Sec. 206. Grants for market analysis of anti-dumping and countervailing duty 

cases. 

TITLE III—SPECIALTY CROP RESEARCH AND GRANTS 

Sec. 301. National specialty crops development initiative grant program. 

Sec. 302. Mechanized harvesting for production and processing methods. 

TITLE IV—INVASIVE PEST RESEARCH AND DISEASE RESPONSE 

Sec. 401. Threat identification and mitigation program. 

Sec. 402. Emergency control, prevention, and eradication programs. 

Sec. 403. Restoration of import and entry agricultural inspection functions to 

the Department of Agriculture. 

Sec. 404. Consultations on sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions for fruits 

and vegetables. 

Sec. 405. Clean plant network. 

TITLE V—PERMANENT DISASTER RELIEF AUTHORITY FOR 

SPECIALTY CROPS 

Sec. 501. Permanent authority to provide emergency agricultural assistance for 

specialty crops. 

Sec. 502. Tree assistance program. 

TITLE VI—NUTRITION 

Sec. 601. Increased purchases of fruits and vegetables. 

Sec. 602. Expansion of fresh fruit and vegetable program. 

Sec. 603. Food stamp nutrition education. 

Sec. 604. Food stamp fruit and vegetable electronic benefit transfer pilot 

project. 

Sec. 605. Nutritional Education Program Review Committee. 

Sec. 606. Sense of the Senate on Federal nutrition programs. 


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TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 701. Elimination of limitation on adjusted gross income from eligibility requirements for environmental quality incentives program. 

Sec. 702. Technical assistance under conservation programs. 

Sec. 703. Integrated pest management initiative. 

Sec. 704. Sustainability practices. 

Sec. 705. Exemption of State agencies from the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, 

and Rodenticide Act. 

Sec. 706. Transportation infrastructure cost reduction grant program. 

Sec. 707. Office of Pest Management Policy. 

Sec. 708. Food safety initiatives. 

Sec. 709. Census of specialty crops. 

Sec. 710. Farm Worker Housing. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

3 (1) a secure domestic food supply is a national 

4 security imperative for the United States; 

5 (2) a competitive specialty crop industry in the 

6 United States is necessary for the production of an 

7 abundant, affordable supply of highly nutritious 

8 fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops (includ9 ing nursery crops, floriculture, and low-growing 

10 dense perennial turfgrass sod), which are vital to the 

11 health and well-being of all Americans; 

12 (3) increased consumption of specialty crops 

13 will provide tremendous health and economic bene14 fits to both consumers and specialty crop growers; 

15 (4) specialty crop growers believe that there are 

16 numerous areas of Federal agriculture policy that 

17 could be improved to promote increased consumption 

18 of specialty crops and increase the competitiveness 


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1 of producers in the efficient production of affordable 

2 specialty crops in the United States; 

3 (5) the competitiveness of United States spe4 cialty crop producers depends on maintaining the 

5 current restrictions in section 1106(b) of the Farm 

6 Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 

7 U.S.C. 7916(b)) that prohibit the planting of fruits 

8 and vegetables and other specialty crops on acres for 

9 which a producer receives direct payments or 

10 counter-cyclical payments, including not allowing 

11 any temporary loss in program benefits as a remedy 

12 for 1 year or other short-term shifts to specialty 

13 crops; 

14 (6) as the globalization of markets continues, it 

15 is becoming increasingly difficult for United States 

16 producers to compete against heavily subsidized for17 eign producers in both the domestic and foreign 

18 markets; 

19 (7) United States specialty crop producers con20 tinue to face serious tariff and non-tariff trade bar21 riers in many export markets; and 

22 (8) Congress supports the intent of the market 

23 access program established under section 203 of the 

24 Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5623). 


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1 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to make 

2 necessary changes in and additions to Federal agricultural 

3 policy to accomplish the goals of increasing specialty crop 

4 consumption and improving the competitiveness of United 

5 States specialty crop producers. 

6 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

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

9 means the Department of Agriculture. 

10 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

11 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

12 (3) SPECIALTY CROP.—The term ‘‘specialty 

13 crop’’ means fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried 

14 fruits, nursery crops, floriculture, and horticulture. 

15 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

16 the several States of the United States. 

17 (5) STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.— 

18 The term ‘‘State department of agriculture’’ means 

19 the agency, commission, or department of a State 

20 government responsible for protecting and promoting 

21 agriculture in the State. 


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1 TITLE I—MARKETING 

2 SEC. 101. IMPLEMENTATION OF FOOD SAFETY PROGRAMS 

3 UNDER MARKETING ORDERS. 

4 Section 8c(7) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 

5 U.S.C. 608c(7)), reenacted with amendments by the Agri6 cultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and 

8 (D) as subparagraph (D) and (E), respectively; and 

9 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the fol10 lowing new subparagraph (C): 

11 ‘‘(C) In the case of an order relating to a specialty 

12 crop (as defined in section 3 of the Specialty Crops Com13 petitiveness Act of 2004), authorizing the implementation 

14 of food safety programs, such as good agricultural and 

15 manufacturing practices, ISO 9000 standards, and Haz16 ard Analysis of Critical Control Points programs, designed 

17 to enhance the safety of the specialty crop and products 

18 derived from specialty crops.’’. 

19 SEC. 102. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE MARKET NEWS ALLOCA20 TION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

22 Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service, shall 

23 carry out market news activities to provide timely price 

24 information of United States fruits and vegetables in the 

25 United States. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $9,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012, 

4 to remain available until expended. 

5 SEC. 103. GRANTS TO STATES TO ENHANCE COMPETITIVE6 NESS OF SPECIALTY CROPS. 

7 (a) AVAILABILITY AND PURPOSE OF GRANTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 

9 2008 through 2012, the Secretary shall make a 

10 grant under this section to each State that submits 

11 an application for a grant for that fiscal year in ac12 cordance with the terms and conditions established 

13 under paragraph (4). 

14 (2) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—The grant funds 

15 shall be used by the State department of agriculture 

16 solely to enhance the competitiveness of United 

17 States specialty crops. 

18 (3) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—The State 

19 shall provide assurances to the Secretary that funds 

20 provided to the State under this section will be used 

21 only to supplement, not to supplant, the amount of 

22 Federal, State, and local funds otherwise expended 

23 in support of specialty crops and specialty crop pro24 ducers in the State. 


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1 (4) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Not later than 

2 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act for 

3 fiscal year 2007 and before commencement of each 

4 of fiscal years 2008 through 2012, the Secretary 

5 shall establish terms and conditions for the submis6 sion of grant applications for that fiscal year. 

7 (b) AMOUNT.— 

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

9 the amount of the grant for a fiscal year to a State 

10 under this section shall bear the same ratio to the 

11 total amount made available under subsection (e) for 

12 that fiscal year as— 

13 (A) the value of specialty crop production 

14 in the State during the preceding calendar year; 

15 bears to 

16 (B) the value of specialty crop production 

17 during that calendar year in all those States 

18 submitting applications for a grant for that fis19 cal year. 

20 (2) MINIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—At a minimum, 

21 each eligible State shall receive $3,000,000 per fiscal 

22 year as a grant under this section. 

23 (3) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any funds remaining 

25 after allocations are made under paragraph (2) 


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1 shall be available on a competitive basis to any 

2 State department of agriculture that submits 

3 an application to the Secretary. 

4 (B) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall— 

5 (i) establish criteria for review of ap6 plications submitted under subparagraph 

7 (A); and 

8 (ii) award funds to applicants that 

9 best fulfill the criteria. 

10 (c) GRANT EXPENDITURE PRIORITIES.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—It is the intent of Congress 

12 that specialty crop producers, organizations, and 

13 commissions should benefit from the disposition of 

14 grant funds under this section. 

15 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

16 grant under this section, a State department of agri17 culture shall conduct at least 1 public hearing, or 

18 provide some other method for public comment, to 

19 obtain the advice and opinion of specialty crop pro20 ducers, organizations, and commissions in the State 

21 regarding the use of grant funds. 

22 (3) CONSIDERATION.—The Secretary shall en23 sure that a State department of agriculture con24 siders the advice and opinions received under paraVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:39 Apr 22, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1160.IS S1160

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1 graph (2) when making decisions about the use of 

2 grant funds. 

3 (d) USE OF COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION.—Of 

4 funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

5 shall use to carry out this section— 

6 (1) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

7 (2) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

8 (3) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

9 (4) $350,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and 

10 (5) $400,000,000 for fiscal year 2012. 

11 SEC. 104. OPERATING LOANS. 

12 Section 313(a)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and 

13 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1943(a)(1)) is amend14 ed— 

15 (1) by inserting ‘‘(or, if the borrower is a pro16 ducer of a specialty crop (as defined in section 3 of 

17 the Specialty Crops Competition Act of 2007), 

18 $500,000)’’ after ‘‘$200,000’’; and 

19 (2) by inserting ‘‘(or, if the borrower is a pro20 ducer of a specialty crop (as so defined), 

21 $1,500,000)’’ after ‘‘$700,000’’. 

22 SEC. 105. VALUE-ADDED GRANT PROGRAM. 

23 Section 231(b)(4) of the Agricultural Risk Protection 

24 Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 1621 note; Public Law 106–224) 

25 is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘2002’’ and inserting ‘‘2007’’; 

2 (2) by striking ‘‘2006’’ and inserting ‘‘2011’’; 

3 and 

4 (3) by striking ‘‘$40,000,000’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘$60,000,000’’. 

6 TITLE II—INTERNATIONAL 

7 TRADE 

8 SEC. 201. FOREIGN MARKET ACCESS STUDY AND STRATEGY 

9 PLAN. 

10 (a) DEFINITION OF URUGUAY ROUND AGREE11 MENTS.—In this section, the term ‘‘Uruguay Round 

12 Agreements’’ includes any agreement described in section 

13 101(d) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 

14 3511(d)). 

15 (b) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

16 States shall study— 

17 (1) the extent to which United States specialty 

18 crops have or have not benefitted from any reduc19 tions of foreign trade barriers, as provided for in the 

20 Uruguay Round Agreements; and 

21 (2) the reasons why United States specialty 

22 crops have or have not benefitted from such trade23 barrier reductions. 

24 (c) STRATEGY PLAN.—The Secretary shall prepare 

25 a foreign market access strategy plan based on the study 


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1 in subsection (b), to increase exports of specialty crops, 

2 including an assessment of the foreign trade barriers that 

3 are incompatible with the Uruguay Round Agreements 

4 and a strategy for removing those barriers. 

5 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act— 

7 (1) the Comptroller General shall submit to 

8 Congress a report that contains the results of the 

9 study; and 

10 (2) the Secretary shall submit to Congress the 

11 strategy plan. 

12 SEC. 202. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR SPECIALTY CROPS. 

13 Section 3205 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest14 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 5680) is amended by striking 

15 subsection (d) and inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(d) PETITION.—A participant in the program may 

17 petition the Secretary for an extension of a project carried 

18 out under this section that exceeds, or will exceed, applica19 ble time restrictions. 

20 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

22 available of funds of, or an equal value of commod23 ities owned by, the Commodity Credit Corporation— 

24 ‘‘(A) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

25 ‘‘(B) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 


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1 ‘‘(C) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

2 ‘‘(D) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

3 2011 and 2012. 

4 ‘‘(2) CARRYOVER OF UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.— 

5 In a case in which the total amount of funds or com6 modities made available under paragraph (1) for a 

7 fiscal year is not obligated in that fiscal year, the 

8 Secretary shall make available in the subsequent fis9 cal year an amount equal to— 

10 ‘‘(A) the amount made available for the 

11 fiscal year under paragraph (1); plus 

12 ‘‘(B) the amount not obligated in the pre13 vious fiscal year.’’. 

14 SEC. 203. PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 

15 RIGHTS IN PLANTS AND PLANT-DERIVED MA16 TERIAL. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

18 an office in the Department for the sole purpose of encour19 aging the development and protection of intellectual prop20 erty rights in plants and material derived from plants. 

21 (b) DUTIES.—The office shall be an advocate for the 

22 interests of United States producers of specialty crops— 

23 (1) before the Office of Patents, Trademarks, 

24 and Copyrights of the Department of Commerce and 

25 other Federal agencies; and 


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1 (2) in international governmental and non2 governmental organizations dealing with intellectual 

3 property rights. 

4 SEC. 204. PLANT PATENTS. 

5 (a) NOVELTY.—Section 162 of title 35, United States 

6 Code, is amended— 

7 (1) by striking the section heading and insert8 ing the following: 

9 ‘‘§ 162. Description, claim, novelty’’; 

10 (2) in the first undesignated paragraph, by 

11 striking ‘‘No plant’’ and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(a) DESCRIPTION.—No plant’’; 

13 (3) in the second undesignated paragraph, by 

14 striking ‘‘The claim’’ and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(b) CLAIM.—The claim’’; and 

16 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(c) NOVELTY.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para19 graph (2), no plant patent application shall be de20 nied, nor shall any issued plant patent be invalidated 

21 for failure to comply with section 102(b). 

22 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

23 apply if— 

24 ‘‘(A) more than 4 years prior to the date 

25 of the application for patent in the United 


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1 States (or more than 6 years in the case of a 

2 tree or vine), the plant was— 

3 ‘‘(i) described in a printed publication 

4 in the United States and a foreign country; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ii) sold or otherwise available for 

7 asexual reproduction to other persons in 

8 the foreign country, by or with the consent 

9 of the inventor or discoverer, or the suc10 cessor in interest of the inventor or discov11 erer; or 

12 ‘‘(B) more than 1 year prior to the date of 

13 the application for patent in the United States, 

14 the plant was in public use or on sale in the 

15 United States, by or with the consent of the in16 ventor or discoverer, or the successor in interest 

17 of the inventor or discoverer’’. 

18 (b) RIGHT OF PRIORITY.—Section 119 of title 35, 

19 United States Code, is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a), by adding before the pe21 riod at the end ‘‘(except in the case of plant patents 

22 as provided in subsection (f))’’; and 

23 (2) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the 

24 following: 

25 ‘‘(f) PLANT PATENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An application for plant 

2 breeder’s rights filed in a WTO member country (or 

3 in a foreign UPOV Contracting Party) shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) have the same effect for right of pri5 ority under subsections (b) and (c) as applica6 tions for patents, subject to the same conditions 

7 as apply to applications for patents; and 

8 ‘‘(B) subject to paragraph (2), have the 

9 same effect as a plant patent application would 

10 have if filed in the United States on the date 

11 on which the application for the rights of a 

12 plant breeder was filed in the foreign country, 

13 if the application in the United States is filed 

14 not later than 4 years (or 6 years in the case 

15 of a tree or vine) after the application is filed 

16 in the foreign country. 

17 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—No patent shall be granted 

18 on any application for a plant patent that— 

19 ‘‘(A) more than 4 years prior to the date 

20 of the application for patent in the United 

21 States (or more than 6 years in the case of a 

22 tree or vine), had been— 

23 ‘‘(i) described in a printed publication 

24 in the United States and a foreign country; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) sold or otherwise available for 

2 asexual reproduction to other persons in 

3 the foreign country, by or with the consent 

4 of the inventor or discoverer, or the suc5 cessor in interest of the inventor or discov6 erer; or 

7 ‘‘(B) more than 1 year prior to the date of 

8 the application for patent in the United States, 

9 had been in public use or on sale in the United 

10 States.’’. 

11 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of chap12 ters for chapter 15 of title 35, United States Code is 

13 amended by striking the item relating to section 162 and 

14 inserting the following: 

‘‘162. Description, claim, novelty.’’. 

15 (d) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by this 

16 section apply to— 

17 (1) all applications for plant patents filed on or 

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, or pending 

19 on that date; and 

20 (2) in the case of the amendments made by 

21 subsection (a), all plant patents in force on the date 

22 of enactment of this Act. 

23 SEC. 205. COORDINATION OF TRADE OBJECTIVES. 

24 The President shall ensure, to the maximum extent 

25 practicable, that there is— 


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1 (1) increased coordination among relevant agen2 cies in the Department and other Federal agencies 

3 in the formulation and implementation of export and 

4 import trade objectives; and 

5 (2) greater transparency on work related to 

6 sanitary and phytosanitary trade issues. 

7 SEC. 206. GRANTS FOR MARKET ANALYSIS OF ANTI-DUMP8 ING AND COUNTERVAILING DUTY CASES. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make grants 

10 under this section to a State agency or an association of 

11 specialty crop producers (referred to in this section as an 

12 ‘‘eligible entity’’) to conduct or procure market analysis 

13 in connection with anti-dumping and countervailing duty 

14 cases involving a specialty crop under consideration by the 

15 United States International Trade Commission or the De16 partment of Commerce. 

17 (b) GRANT CRITERIA.—To be eligible for a grant 

18 under this section, an eligible entity shall establish to the 

19 satisfaction of the Secretary that— 

20 (1) there has been significant price underselling 

21 of the imported specialty crop, as compared with the 

22 previous 3-year average price of the domestic spe23 cialty crop; and 


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1 (2) there is a significant increase of the volume 

2 or market penetration of the imported specialty crop 

3 over the previous 3 years. 

4 (c) MATCHING FUNDS.—To be eligible to receive a 

5 grant under this section, an eligible entity that receives 

6 a grant under this section shall contribute non-Federal 

7 funds to carry out the market analysis project for which 

8 the grant is provided in an amount that is at least equal 

9 to the amount of the grant. 

10 (d) FUNDING.—For each of fiscal years 2008 

11 through 2012, the Secretary shall use $10,000,000 of 

12 funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to make 

13 grants under this section. 

14 TITLE III—SPECIALTY CROP 

15 RESEARCH AND GRANTS 

16 SEC. 301. NATIONAL SPECIALTY CROPS DEVELOPMENT INI17 TIATIVE GRANT PROGRAM. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

19 a program to award grants to eligible entities to improve 

20 the efficiency and competitiveness of United States spe21 cialty crop producers. 

22 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

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

24 the Secretary shall determine eligibility standards 

25 for grants under this section. 


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1 (2) INCLUSIONS.—Eligible entities shall in2 clude— 

3 (A) nonprofit United States specialty crop 

4 trade organizations and foundations; 

5 (B) nonprofit State and regional specialty 

6 crop organizations; 

7 (C) Federal agencies; 

8 (D) United States specialty crop agricul9 tural cooperatives; 

10 (E) agricultural commodity boards and 

11 commissions; and 

12 (F) research and extension programs of in13 stitutions of higher education focusing on the 

14 specialty crop industry. 

15 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—As a condition of receiving a 

16 grant under this section, an eligible entity shall agree to 

17 use funds from grants for— 

18 (1) research that addresses the short–term, in19 termediate, and long–term needs of the United 

20 States specialty crop industry, including production 

21 technology (such as plant breeding, pest and disease 

22 management, production, physiology, food science), 

23 mechanization, marketing, product development, 

24 health and nutrition, food security, and food safety 


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1 to improve the competitiveness of the United States 

2 specialty crop industry; or 

3 (2) development and implementation of indus4 try-specific strategic plans to prioritize research and 

5 develop United States specialty crop industry and 

6 research collaboration. 

7 (d) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity Cred8 it Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out this 

9 section $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 

10 through 2012. 

11 SEC. 302. MECHANIZED HARVESTING FOR PRODUCTION 

12 AND PROCESSING METHODS. 

13 The Secretary shall authorize the Administrator of 

14 the Agricultural Research Service and the Administrator 

15 of the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Exten16 sion Service to conduct research in the areas of mecha17 nized harvesting and new production and processing meth18 ods for specialty crops. 

19 TITLE IV—INVASIVE PEST RE20 SEARCH AND DISEASE RE21 SPONSE 

22 SEC. 401. THREAT IDENTIFICATION AND MITIGATION PRO23 GRAM. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

25 through the Administrator of the Animal and Plant 


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1 Health Inspection Service, shall establish a program to de2 termine and prioritize foreign threats to domestic produc3 tion of specialty crops, including threats of bioterrorism. 

4 (b) PROGRAM.—In conducting the program estab5 lished under subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

6 (1) consult with the Director of the Center for 

7 Plant Health Science and Technology; 

8 (2) conduct in partnership with States, early 

9 pest detection and surveillance activities associated 

10 with the Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey; 

11 (3) develop risk assessments of the potential 

12 threat to the specialty crop industry in the United 

13 States from foreign threats; 

14 (4) collaborate with the National Plant 

15 Board— 

16 (A) to prioritize foreign threats to the spe17 cialty crop industry; and 

18 (B) in consultation with State departments 

19 of agriculture and other State or regional re20 source partnerships, develop action plans that 

21 effectively address the foreign threats, including 

22 pathway analysis, offshore mitigation measures, 

23 and comprehensive exclusion measures at ports 

24 of entry and other key distribution centers in 


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1 addition to strategies to employ if the foreign 

2 pest or disease is introduced; 

3 (5) implement action plans developed under 

4 paragraph (4)(B) as soon as the action plans devel5 oped to test the effectiveness of the action plans and 

6 help prevent new foreign and domestic pest and dis7 ease threats from being introduced or widely dis8 seminated in the United States; 

9 (6) as appropriate, consult with the Adminis10 trator of the Agricultural Research Service and use 

11 the expertise of the Agricultural Research Service in 

12 the development of pest and disease detection and 

13 control or eradication strategies; and 

14 (7) after prioritizing foreign threats and devel15 oping action plans under paragraph (4), consult with 

16 the United States Trade Representative to ensure 

17 that future trade agreements include measures to 

18 mitigate the threats. 

19 (c) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

20 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

21 Secretary shall update and submit to Congress the priority 

22 list and action plans described in subsection (b)(4), includ23 ing an accounting of funds expended on the action plans. 

24 (d) FUNDING.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds of the Com2 modity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use 

3 to carry out this section $40,000,000 for each of fis4 cal years 2008 through 2012. 

5 (2) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary may not use 

6 funds made available under paragraph (1) to carry 

7 out eradication efforts that enhance import opportu8 nities into the United States. 

9 SEC. 402. EMERGENCY CONTROL, PREVENTION, AND 

10 ERADICATION PROGRAMS. 

11 (a) EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY.—Section 415 of 

12 the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7715) is amended by 

13 striking subsection (e) and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(e) SECRETARIAL DISCRETION.—The decision to 

15 declare an extraordinary emergency under subsection (a) 

16 shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) be solely the decision of the Secretary; and 

18 ‘‘(2) remain in effect until the Secretary deter19 mines that the threat posed by the plant pest or 

20 noxious weed has abated.’’. 

21 (b) COMPENSATION.—Section 416 of the Plant Pro22 tection Act (7 U.S.C. 7716) is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 416. COMPENSATION. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) GENERAL RULE.—Except as provided in 

2 subsection (c), the Secretary shall compensate the 

3 owner of any plant, plant biological control orga4 nism, plant product, plant pest, noxious weed, arti5 cle, or means of conveyance destroyed or otherwise 

6 disposed of by the Secretary under section 414 or 

7 415. 

8 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION RESTRICTIONS.—If any 

9 plant or article is located in a quarantine area and 

10 is restricted by the quarantine from being moved or 

11 distributed outside of the quarantine area, and the 

12 plant or article is inspected by the Secretary and de13 termined not to be infested with or capable of trans14 mitting any disease or pest, the owner of the plant 

15 or article shall be eligible for compensation from the 

16 Secretary for loss in market value attributable to the 

17 regulatory restrictions in the distribution of the 

18 plant or article. 

19 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 

21 and (3), the compensation under subsection (a) shall 

22 be based on the fair market value, as determined by 

23 the Secretary, of the destroyed plant, plant biological 

24 control organism, plant product, plant pest, noxious 

25 weed, article, or means of conveyance. 


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1 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Compensation paid any 

2 owner under this section shall not exceed the dif3 ference between— 

4 ‘‘(A) the fair market value of the destroyed 

5 plant, plant biological control organism, plant 

6 product, plant pest, noxious weed, article, or 

7 means of conveyance; and 

8 ‘‘(B) any compensation received by the 

9 owner from a State or other source for the de10 stroyed plant, plant biological control organism, 

11 plant product, plant pest, noxious weed, article, 

12 or means of conveyance. 

13 ‘‘(3) REVIEWABILITY.—A determination by the 

14 Secretary of the amount paid under this section 

15 shall be final and not subject to— 

16 ‘‘(A) judicial review; or 

17 ‘‘(B) review of longer than 60 days by any 

18 officer or employee of the Federal Government 

19 other than the Secretary or the designee of the 

20 Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTIONS.—No payment shall be made by 

22 the Secretary under this section for— 

23 ‘‘(1) any plant, plant biological control orga24 nism, plant product, plant pest, noxious weed, arti25 cle, or means of conveyance that has been moved or 


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1 handled by the owner in violation of this title or an 

2 agreement for the control and eradication of diseases 

3 or pests; 

4 ‘‘(2) any plant, plant biological control orga5 nism, plant product, plant pest, noxious weed, arti6 cle, or means of conveyance that is refused entry 

7 under this title; or 

8 ‘‘(3) any plant, plant biological control orga9 nism, plant product, plant pest, noxious weed, arti10 cle, or means of conveyance that becomes or has be11 come affected with or exposed to any pest or disease 

12 because of a violation of this title or an agreement 

13 for the control and eradication of diseases or pests 

14 by the owner.’’. 

15 (c) TRANSFER AUTHORITY.—Section 442 of the 

16 Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7772) is amended by strik17 ing subsection (c) and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(c) SECRETARIAL DISCRETION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY.—The deci20 sion to declare an emergency in connection with a 

21 plant pest or noxious weed that threatens any part 

22 of the agricultural production of the United States 

23 shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) be solely the decision of the Sec25 retary; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) remain in effect until the Secretary 

2 determines that the threat posed by the plant 

3 pest or noxious weed has abated. 

4 ‘‘(2) FUNDS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The decision of the 

6 Secretary to transfer funds pursuant to this 

7 section shall be— 

8 ‘‘(i) based solely on the threat to agri9 cultural production in the United States; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) except as provided in subpara12 graph (B), final. 

13 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITIONS.—Notwithstanding 

14 any other provision of law, it shall be unlawful 

15 for any officer or employee of the Federal Gov16 ernment other than the Secretary or the des17 ignee of the Secretary to contradict, impede, or 

18 reverse the transfer of funds the Secretary con19 siders necessary for the arrest, control, eradi20 cation, or prevention of the spread of a plant 

21 pest or noxious weed and for related expenses. 

22 ‘‘(d) APPLIED RESEARCH.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use 

24 such funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation as 

25 the Secretary considers necessary to carry out apVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:39 Apr 22, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1160.IS S1160

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1 plied research to resolve issues that may arise dur2 ing a plant pest emergency, including research to de3 velop new or improved— 

4 ‘‘(A) diagnostic methods; 

5 ‘‘(B) biocontrol tools; 

6 ‘‘(C) eradication or control tools; or 

7 ‘‘(D) such other programs and activities as 

8 the Secretary determines advance the effort to 

9 arrest, control, eradicate, or prevent the spread 

10 of a plant pest or noxious weed. 

11 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—If feasible, 

12 the Secretary may enter into a cooperative agree13 ment with an affected State— 

14 ‘‘(A) to assist in the applied research, pre15 vention, eradication, or control programs; and 

16 ‘‘(B) if cost-effective, to use State per17 sonnel to carry out the programs. 

18 ‘‘(3) NO COST SHARE.—The Secretary may not 

19 delay implementation of programs described in this 

20 subsection due to the inability of a State or coop21 erator to provide a cost-share to carry out the pro22 gram.’’. 


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1 SEC. 403. RESTORATION OF IMPORT AND ENTRY AGRICUL2 TURAL INSPECTION FUNCTIONS TO THE DE3 PARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 

4 (a) REPEAL OF TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS.—Section 

5 421 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231) 

6 is repealed. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT TO FUNCTION OF

8 SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY.—Section 402 of 

9 the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 202) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by striking paragraph (7); and 

12 (2) by redesignating paragraph (8) as para13 graph (7). 

14 (c) TRANSFER AGREEMENT.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than the effective 

16 date described in subsection (g), the Secretary and 

17 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall enter into 

18 an agreement to effectuate the return of functions 

19 required by the amendments made by this section. 

20 (2) USE OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEES.—The agree21 ment may include authority for the Secretary to use 

22 employees of the Department of Homeland Security 

23 to carry out authorities delegated to the Animal and 

24 Plant Health Inspection Service regarding the pro25 tection of domestic livestock and plants. 


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1 (d) RESTORATION OF DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES.— 

2 Not later than the effective date described in subsection 

3 (e), not less than 2,600 full-time equivalent positions of 

4 the Department of Agriculture transferred to the Depart5 ment of Homeland Security under section 421(g) of the 

6 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231(g)) (as in 

7 effect on the day before the effective date described in sub8 section (g)) shall be restored to the Department of Agri9 culture. 

10 (e) AUTHORITY OF APHIS.— 

11 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Sec12 retary shall establish within the Animal and Plant 

13 Health Inspection Service a program, to be known 

14 as the ‘‘International Agricultural Inspection Pro15 gram’’, under which the Administrator of the Animal 

16 and Plant Health Inspection Service (referred to in 

17 this subsection as the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall carry 

18 out import and entry agricultural inspections. 

19 (2) INFORMATION GATHERING AND INSPEC20 TIONS.—In carrying out the program under para21 graph (1), the Administrator shall have full access 

22 to— 

23 (A) each secure area of any terminal for 

24 screening passengers or cargo under the control 

25 of the Department of Homeland Security on the 


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1 day before the date of enactment of this Act for 

2 purposes of carrying out inspections and gath3 ering information; and 

4 (B) each database (including any database 

5 relating to cargo manifests or employee and 

6 business records) under the control of the De7 partment of Homeland Security on the day be8 fore the date of enactment of this Act for pur9 poses of gathering information. 

10 (3) INSPECTION ALERTS.—The Administrator 

11 may issue inspection alerts, including by indicating 

12 cargo to be held for immediate inspection. 

13 (4) INSPECTION USER FEES.—The Adminis14 trator may, as applicable— 

15 (A) continue to collect any agricultural 

16 quarantine inspection user fee; and 

17 (B) administer any reserve account for the 

18 fees. 

19 (5) CAREER TRACK PROGRAM.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

21 shall establish a program, to be known as the 

22 ‘‘import and entry agriculture inspector career 

23 track program’’, to support the development of 

24 long-term career professionals with expertise in 

25 import and entry agriculture inspection. 


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1 (B) STRATEGIC PLAN AND TRAINING.—In 

2 carrying out the program under this paragraph, 

3 the Administrator, in coordination with the Sec4 retary, shall— 

5 (i) develop a strategic plan to incor6 porate import and entry agricultural in7 spectors into the infrastructure protecting 

8 food, fiber, forests, bioenergy, and the en9 vironment of the United States from ani10 mal and plant pests, diseases, and noxious 

11 weeds; and 

12 (ii) as part of the plan under clause 

13 (i), provide training for import and entry 

14 agricultural inspectors participating in the 

15 program not less frequently than once each 

16 year to improve inspection skills. 

17 (f) DUTIES OF SECRETARY.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

19 (A) develop standard operating procedures 

20 for inspection, monitoring, and auditing relating 

21 to import and entry agricultural inspections, in 

22 accordance with recommendations from the 

23 Comptroller General of the United States and 

24 reports of interagency advisory groups, as appli25 cable; and 


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1 (B) ensure that the Animal and Plant 

2 Health Inspection Service has a national elec3 tronic system with real-time tracking capability 

4 for monitoring, tracking, and reporting inspec5 tion activities of the Service. 

6 (2) FEDERAL AND STATE COOPERATION.— 

7 (A) COMMUNICATION SYSTEM.—The Sec8 retary shall develop and maintain an integrated, 

9 real-time communication system with respect to 

10 import and entry agricultural inspections to 

11 alert State departments of agriculture of sig12 nificant inspection findings of the Animal and 

13 Plant Health Inspection Service. 

14 (B) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

15 (i) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary 

16 shall establish a committee, to be known as 

17 the ‘‘International Trade Inspection Advi18 sory Committee’’ (referred to in this sub19 paragraph as the ‘‘committee’’), to advise 

20 the Secretary on policies and other issues 

21 relating to import and entry agricultural 

22 inspection. 

23 (ii) MODEL.—In establishing the com24 mittee, the Secretary shall use as a model 


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1 the Agricultural Trade Advisory Com2 mittee. 

3 (iii) MEMBERSHIP.—The committee 

4 shall be composed of members rep5 resenting— 

6 (I) State departments of agri7 culture; 

8 (II) directors of ports and air9 ports in the United States; 

10 (III) the transportation industry; 

11 (IV) the public; and 

12 (V) such other entities as the 

13 Secretary determines to be appro14 priate. 

15 (3) REPORT.—Not less frequently than once 

16 each year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

17 report containing an assessment of— 

18 (A) the resource needs for import and 

19 entry agricultural inspection, including the 

20 number of inspectors required; 

21 (B) the adequacy of— 

22 (i) inspection and monitoring proce23 dures and facilities in the United States; 

24 and 


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1 (ii) the strategic plan developed under 

2 subsection (e)(5)(B)(i); and 

3 (C) new and potential technologies and 

4 practices, including recommendations regarding 

5 the technologies and practices, to improve im6 port and entry agricultural inspection. 

7 (4) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall pay the 

8 costs of each import and entry agricultural inspector 

9 employed by the Animal and Plant Health Inspec10 tion Service— 

11 (A) from amounts made available to the 

12 Department of Agriculture for the applicable 

13 fiscal year; or 

14 (B) if amounts described in subparagraph 

15 (A) are unavailable, from amounts of the Com16 modity Credit Corporation. 

17 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

18 this section take effect on the date that is 180 days after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act. 

20 SEC. 404. CONSULTATIONS ON SANITARY AND 

21 PHYTOSANITARY RESTRICTIONS FOR FRUITS 

22 AND VEGETABLES. 

23 (a) CONSULTATIONS ON SANITARY AND

24 PHYTOSANITARY RESTRICTIONS FOR FRUITS AND VEGE25 TABLES.—To the maximum extent practicable, the SecVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:39 Apr 22, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1160.IS S1160

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1 retary shall consult with interested persons, and conduct 

2 annual briefings, on sanitary and phytosanitary trade 

3 issues, including— 

4 (1) the development of a strategic risk manage5 ment framework; and 

6 (2) as appropriate, implementation of peer re7 view for risk analysis. 

8 (b) SPECIAL CONSULTATIONS ON IMPORT-SENSITIVE

9 PRODUCTS.—Section 2104(b)(2)(A)(ii)(II) of the Bipar10 tisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002 (19 U.S.C. 

11 3804(b)(2)(A)(ii)(II)) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘whether the products so identi13 fied’’ and inserting ‘‘whether— 

14 ‘‘(aa) the products so identi15 fied; and’’; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(bb) any fruits or vegeta18 bles so identified are subject to 

19 or likely to be subject to unjusti20 fied sanitary or phytosanitary re21 strictions, including restrictions 

22 not based on scientific principles 

23 in contravention of the Uruguay 

24 Round Agreements, as deter25 mined by the United States 


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1 Trade Representative Technical 

2 Advisory Committee for Trade in 

3 Fruits and Vegetables of the De4 partment of Agriculture; and’’. 

5 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

6 subsection (b) apply with respect to the initiation of nego7 tiations to enter into any trade agreement that is subject 

8 to section 2103(b) of the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Au9 thority Act of 2002 (19 U.S.C. 3803(b)) on or after the 

10 date of the enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 405. CLEAN PLANT NETWORK. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

13 program to be known as the ‘‘National Clean Plant Net14 work’’ (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Program’’). 

15 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—Under the Program, the Sec16 retary shall establish a network of clean plant centers for 

17 diagnostic and pathogen elimination services to— 

18 (1) produce clean propagative plant material; 

19 and 

20 (2) maintain blocks of pathogen-tested plant 

21 material in sites located throughout the United 

22 States. 

23 (c) AVAILABILITY OF CLEAN PLANT SOURCE MATE24 RIAL.—Clean plant source material may be made available 

25 to— 


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1 (1) a State for a certified plant program of the 

2 State; and 

3 (2) private nurseries and growers. 

4 (d) CONSULTATION AND COLLABORATION.—In car5 rying out the Program, the Secretary shall— 

6 (1) consult with State departments of agri7 culture and land grant universities; and 

8 (2) to the extent practicable and with input 

9 from the appropriate State officials and industry 

10 representatives, use existing Federal or State facili11 ties to serve as clean plant centers. 

12 (e) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall use $5,000,000 

13 each year of funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation 

14 to carry out the Program. 

15 TITLE V—PERMANENT DIS16 ASTER RELIEF AUTHORITY 

17 FOR SPECIALTY CROPS 

18 SEC. 501. PERMANENT AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE EMER19 GENCY AGRICULTURAL ASSISTANCE FOR 

20 SPECIALTY CROPS. 

21 The Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 

22 (Public Law 108–465; 118 Stat. 3882) is amended by 

23 adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘TITLE V—PERMANENT 

2 DISASTER RELIEF AUTHORITY 

3 ‘‘SEC. 501. PERMANENT AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE EMER4 GENCY AGRICULTURAL ASSISTANCE FOR 

5 SPECIALTY CROPS. 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTER AREA.— 

8 The term ‘federally declared disaster area’ means— 

9 ‘‘(A) a county covered by— 

10 ‘‘(i) a Presidential declaration of 

11 major disaster issued under section 401 of 

12 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

13 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 5170); or 

15 ‘‘(ii) a declaration by the Secretary of 

16 a disaster area under subpart A of part 

17 1945 of title 7, Code of Federal Regula18 tions (or successor regulations); and 

19 ‘‘(B) each county contiguous to a county 

20 described in subparagraph (A). 

21 ‘‘(2) FIRST HANDLER.—The term ‘first han22 dler’ means a person that prepares for marketing 

23 and markets specialty crops produced by the person. 

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

25 the Secretary of Agriculture. 


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1 ‘‘(b) EQUITABLE TREATMENT OF SPECIALTY CROP

2 PRODUCERS IN DISTRIBUTION OF DISASTER ASSIST3 ANCE.—Subject to subsection (c), in providing disaster as4 sistance to specialty crop producers that have suffered 

5 losses due to natural disasters, the Secretary shall ensure, 

6 to the maximum extent practicable, that— 

7 ‘‘(1) specialty crop producers crops receive as8 sistance through programs that are designed to meet 

9 the specific needs of the specialty crop producers 

10 and reflect the production practices of the specialty 

11 crop producers; and 

12 ‘‘(2) eligibility for assistance and the provision 

13 of assistance shall be without regard to eligibility for 

14 or provision of assistance under other programs of 

15 the Department of Agriculture, including— 

16 ‘‘(A) direct payments under section 1103 

17 or 1303 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest18 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7913, 7953); 

19 ‘‘(B) crop insurance under the Federal 

20 Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.); 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(C) the noninsured crop assistance pro23 gram under section 196 of the Federal Agri24 culture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 

25 (7 U.S.C. 7333). 


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1 ‘‘(c) SPECIALTY CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE.— 

2 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY AS3 SISTANCE.—The Secretary shall use the funds of the 

4 Commodity Credit Corporation to make emergency 

5 financial assistance available to producers on a farm 

6 that incur qualifying crop losses for a specialty crop 

7 due to damaging weather or related condition, as de8 termined by the Secretary, that results in the des9 ignation of the county in which the farm is located 

10 as a federally declared disaster area. 

11 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION.—In administering any 

12 disaster assistance program for specialty crops, the 

13 Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 

14 ensure that quality loss determinations adequately 

15 address losses that result from the inability of pro16 ducers on a farm to market the specialty crop for 

17 the originally intended use in order to ensure that 

18 the producers on a farm are adequately compensated 

19 for the difference in values based upon actual, rather 

20 than intended, market use. 

21 ‘‘(3) FLEXIBLE PAYMENT LIMITATIONS FOR

22 DISASTER PAYMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) FLEXIBLE PAYMENT LIMITATIONS.— 

24 In lieu of using a single, specific dollar amount 

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1 sistance that producers on a farm may receive 

2 for a specialty crop under this section, the Sec3 retary shall develop and use a series of payment 

4 limitations that reflect cost-of-production and 

5 crop value variations. 

6 ‘‘(B) USE OF DATA.—In developing pay7 ment limitations under subparagraph (A), the 

8 Secretary may use the most relevant undated 

9 data relating to cost of production and crop 

10 value that is maintained by any federally-fund11 ed institution, including an agency of the De12 partment of Agriculture or a college or univer13 sity eligible to receive funds under the Act of 

14 July 2, 1862 (7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), in the 

15 State or region in which the disaster occurred. 

16 ‘‘(C) APPLICABILITY.—The flexible pay17 ment limitations required by subparagraph (A) 

18 shall apply to any natural disaster occurring on 

19 or after the date of the enactment of this sec20 tion for which disaster assistance is provided by 

21 the Secretary under this section or any other 

22 provision of law to producers on a farm for a 

23 specialty crop. 

24 ‘‘(4) ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME LIMITATIONS

25 ON RECEIPT OF DISASTER ASSISTANCE BY FIRST


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1 HANDLERS OF SPECIALTY CROPS.—In applying any 

2 gross income limitations to a first handler of a spe3 cialty crop, the Secretary shall treat income derived 

4 by the first handler from the initial preparation of 

5 the specialty crop for marketing, and the marketing 

6 of the specialty crop, as income derived from a farm7 ing operation. 

8 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 is authorized to be appropriated such amounts as are nec10 essary to reimburse the Commodity Credit Corporation for 

11 funds expended by the Secretary under this section. 

12 ‘‘(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section applies to the 

13 2007 and subsequent crop years.’’. 

14 SEC. 502. TREE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

15 (a) INCLUSION OF NURSERY TREE GROWERS.— 

16 (1) DEFINITION OF NURSERY TREE GROWER.— 

17 Section 10201 of the Farm Security and Rural In18 vestment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8201) is amended— 

19 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and 

20 (4) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 

21 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(3) NURSERY TREE GROWER.—The term 

24 ‘nursery tree grower’ means a person that produces 


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1 nursery, ornamental, fruit, nut, or Christmas trees 

2 for commercial sale.’’. 

3 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 10202 of the Farm 

4 Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 

5 U.S.C. 8202) is amended— 

6 (A) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘and 

7 nursery tree growers’’ after ‘‘eligible orchard8 ists’’; and 

9 (B) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘or 

10 nursery tree grower’’ after ‘‘eligible orchardist’’ 

11 each place it appears. 

12 (3) ASSISTANCE.—Section 10203 of the Farm 

13 Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 

14 U.S.C. 8203) is amended by inserting ‘‘and nursery 

15 tree growers’’ after ‘‘eligible orchardists’’. 

16 (b) INCREASE IN AUTHORIZED AMOUNT OF ASSIST17 ANCE.—Section 10204(a) of the Farm Security and Rural 

18 Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8204(a)) is amended 

19 by striking ‘‘$75,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$150,000 per year’’. 

20 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

21 section shall apply with respect to any natural disaster oc22 curring after the date of the enactment of this Act for 

23 which assistance is provided by the Secretary under the 

24 tree assistance program. 


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1 TITLE VI—NUTRITION 

2 SEC. 601. INCREASED PURCHASES OF FRUITS AND VEGETA3 BLES. 

4 Section 10603 of the Farm Security and Rural In5 vestment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 612c–4) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘Of the funds’’ and insert8 ing the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds’’; 

10 (B) in paragraph (1) (as designated by 

11 paragraph (1)), by striking ‘‘shall use not’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘shall use, in addition to an amount 

13 equal to the amount used for fiscal year 2001, 

14 not’’; and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(2) NO EFFECT ON OTHER PURCHASES.—The 

17 purchase of additional fruits, vegetables, and other 

18 specialty food crops under paragraph (1) shall not 

19 decrease, displace, or otherwise affect any purchase 

20 by the Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(3) SURPLUS REMOVAL WAIVER.—Notwith22 standing any other provision of law, the Secretary 

23 may waive the application of any provision of section 

24 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c), 

25 in order to comply with this subsection.’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(b) EXPANSION OF DOD FRESH FRUIT AND VEGE4 TABLE DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM.—Of the funds set aside 

5 under subsection (a)(1), the Secretary shall use to pur6 chase fresh fruits and vegetables for distribution to schools 

7 and service institutions in accordance with section 6(a) of 

8 the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 1755(a)), not less than— 

10 ‘‘(1) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

11 ‘‘(2) $70,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 

12 2009 through 2010; 

13 ‘‘(3) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; and 

14 ‘‘(4) $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2012.’’. 

15 SEC. 602. EXPANSION OF FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE 

16 PROGRAM. 

17 Section 18(g) of the Richard B. Russell National 

18 School Lunch (42 U.S.C. 1769(g)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

20 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), 

21 (B), and (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), re22 spectively, and indenting appropriately; 

23 (B) by striking ‘‘(1)’’ and all that follows 

24 through ‘‘each subsequent school year,’’ and in25 serting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM.— 

2 ‘‘(A) INITIAL PROGRAM.—For the school 

3 year beginning July 2007 and each subsequent 

4 school year through the school year beginning 

5 July 2009,’’; 

6 (C) by striking clauses (i) and (ii) (as re7 designated by subparagraph (A)) and inserting 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(i) 25 elementary or secondary 

10 schools in each State; and’’; and 

11 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(B) EXPANSION.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For the school 

14 year beginning July 2010 and each subse15 quent school year, the Secretary shall ex16 pand the program described in subpara17 graph (A)(i) to make free fresh fruit and 

18 vegetables available to the maximum num19 ber of elementary and secondary schools 

20 possible, if the Secretary determines that, 

21 as compared to the preceding fiscal year, 

22 there is no decrease in— 

23 ‘‘(I) the total number of children 

24 served by the program; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) the nutritional value of the 

2 meals served accordance with the pro3 gram. 

4 ‘‘(ii) INDIAN RESERVATIONS.—For 

5 the school year beginning July 2010 and 

6 each subsequent school year, the Secretary 

7 shall carry out the program described in 

8 subparagraph (A)(ii) on an additional 12 

9 Indian reservations, chosen by the Sec10 retary on a competitive basis.’’; 

11 (2) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

12 (1)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; 

13 (3) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘2008’’ each 

14 place it appears and inserting ‘‘2011’’; 

15 (4) in paragraph (6)— 

16 (A) by striking subparagraph (B); 

17 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 

18 and (D) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respec19 tively; and 

20 (C) in subparagraph (B) (as redesignated 

21 by subparagraph (B)), by striking ‘‘subpara22 graphs (A) and (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara23 graph (A) and paragraph (7)’’; and 

24 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(7) MANDATORY FUNDS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On October 1, 2007, 

2 and on each October 1 thereafter through Octo3 ber 1, 2009, out of any funds in the Treasury 

4 not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of the 

5 Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary to 

6 carry out this subsection $50,000,000, to re7 main available until expended. 

8 ‘‘(B) SUBSEQUENT FUNDING.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

10 (ii), on October 1, 2010 and October 1, 

11 2011, out of any funds in the Treasury not 

12 otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of 

13 the Treasury shall transfer to the Sec14 retary to carry out this subsection 

15 $100,000,000, to remain available until ex16 pended. 

17 ‘‘(ii) ALLOCATION.—Except as pro18 vided in clause (iii), in carrying out the 

19 program under this subsection for each of 

20 fiscal years 2011 and 2012, the Secretary 

21 shall allocate amounts made available pur22 suant to clause (i) to eligible programs in 

23 each State based on the ratio that— 

24 ‘‘(I) the number of students in 

25 the State that receive free or reduced 


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1 price school lunches under this Act; 

2 bears to 

3 ‘‘(II) the number of students in 

4 all States that receive free or reduced 

5 price school lunches under this Act. 

6 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATIONS.—For the period 

7 of fiscal years 2011 and 2012, the Sec8 retary shall ensure that no State receives 

9 under this subsection— 

10 ‘‘(I) less than $1,000,000; or 

11 ‘‘(II) more than $5,000,0000. 

12 ‘‘(iv) INDIAN RESERVATIONS.—For 

13 each of fiscal years 2011 and 2012, the 

14 Secretary shall use $5,000,000 to carry 

15 out the program under this subsection on 

16 Indian reservations described in subpara17 graphs (A)(ii) and (B)(ii) of paragraph 

18 (1). 

19 ‘‘(C) RECEIPT AND ACCEPTANCE.—The 

20 Secretary shall be entitled to receive, shall ac21 cept, and shall use to carry out this section the 

22 funds transferred under subparagraphs (A) and 

23 (B)(i), without further appropriation. 

24 ‘‘(D) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—For 

25 fiscal year 2008 and each succeeding fiscal 


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1 year, the Secretary may reserve not more than 

2 1 percent of the amounts made available to 

3 carry out this subsection to use for administra4 tive expenses in carrying out this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(E) STATE ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

7 (ii), for fiscal year 2008 and each suc8 ceeding fiscal year, a State may use not 

9 more than 5 percent of the amount re10 ceived by a State to carry out this sub11 section for administrative expenses in car12 rying out this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(ii) PLAN.—To be eligible to use 

14 funds in accordance with clause (i), a State 

15 shall submit to the Secretary, and obtain 

16 approval of the Secretary for, a plan that 

17 describes how the State intends to use the 

18 funds. 

19 ‘‘(F) FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.—Not 

20 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

21 this paragraph, the Secretary shall establish re22 quirements to be followed by States in admin23 istering this subsection.’’. 


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1 SEC. 603. FOOD STAMP NUTRITION EDUCATION. 

2 (a) DEFINITION OF FOOD STAMP NUTRITION EDU3 CATION.—Section 3 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 

4 U.S.C. 2012) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(v) FOOD STAMP NUTRITION EDUCATION.—The 

7 term ‘food stamp nutrition education’ means direct edu8 cation, group activities, community health promotion, and 

9 comprehensive public health approaches (including social 

10 marketing, mass media, public-private partnerships, pol11 icy, systems and environmental changes, and evaluation) 

12 that— 

13 ‘‘(1) promote healthy eating; 

14 ‘‘(2) make healthy food and physical activity 

15 choices more desired, affordable, and accessible; 

16 ‘‘(3) are designed to reach large numbers of 

17 low-income individuals; and 

18 ‘‘(4) support behavior change consistent with 

19 the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans 

20 published under section 301 of the National Nutri21 tion Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 

22 (7 U.S.C. 5341), including promotion of a diet rich 

23 in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat 

24 milk products.’’. 

25 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—Section 11(e)(1)(A) of the 

26 Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2020(e)(1)(A)) is 


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1 amended by inserting ‘‘, and provide food stamp nutrition 

2 education’’ after ‘‘program’’. 

3 SEC. 604. FOOD STAMP FRUIT AND VEGETABLE ELEC4 TRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFER PILOT PROJECT. 

5 (a) PILOT PROJECT.—The Secretary shall establish 

6 and carry out a pilot project to provide to each participant 

7 in the food stamp program established under the Food 

8 Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) who receives 

9 benefits in the form of an electronic benefit transfer finan10 cial incentives for each dollar of the benefits expended by 

11 the participant to facilitate the purchase of fresh fruits 

12 and vegetables. 

13 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

14 authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of fis15 cal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out this section. 

16 SEC. 605. NUTRITIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAM REVIEW 

17 COMMITTEE. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in coordina19 tion with the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

20 and the Secretary of Education, shall establish a com21 mittee to be known as the ‘‘Nutritional Education Pro22 gram Review Committee’’ (referred to in this section as 

23 the ‘‘Committee’’). 

24 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Secretary, in coordination 

25 with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the 


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1 Secretary of Education, shall appoint to the Committee 

2 such members as the Secretary determines to be appro3 priate. 

4 (c) DUTIES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

6 the date on which the Committee is established, the 

7 Committee shall establish and maintain a catalogue 

8 of federally-funded nutritional education programs. 

9 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

10 date on which the Committee is established, the 

11 Committee shall prepare and submit to Congress a 

12 report describing methods of— 

13 (A) evaluating the effectiveness of Federal 

14 efforts to inform schools and other interested 

15 parties of federally-funded nutritional education 

16 programs; 

17 (B) improving the programs described in 

18 subparagraph (A); and 

19 (C) making Federal funds more widely 

20 available to— 

21 (i) schools; 

22 (ii) programs that satisfy applicable 

23 local wellness policy requirements under 

24 section 204 of the Child Nutrition and 


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1 WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 (42 

2 U.S.C. 1751 note; 118 Stat. 780); 

3 (iii) day care centers; and 

4 (iv) other eligible entities. 

5 SEC. 606. SENSE OF THE SENATE ON FEDERAL NUTRITION 

6 PROGRAMS. 

7 It is the sense of the Senate that— 

8 (1) the Department of Agriculture has an im9 portant role in educating families about nutrition 

10 and healthy lifestyles; and 

11 (2) all Federal nutrition programs should— 

12 (A) follow the latest nutritional science; 

13 and 

14 (B) be sensitive to the diverse cultures of 

15 the people served by the programs. 

16 TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS 

17 SEC. 701. ELIMINATION OF LIMITATION ON ADJUSTED 

18 GROSS INCOME FROM ELIGIBILITY REQUIRE19 MENTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY IN20 CENTIVES PROGRAM. 

21 Section 1001D(b)(2)(C) of the Food Security Act of 

22 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308–3a(b)(2)(C)) is amended by insert23 ing ‘‘(other than the program under chapter 4 of subtitle 

24 D of that title)’’ after ‘‘of this Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 702. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE UNDER CONSERVATION 

2 PROGRAMS. 

3 (a) USE OF THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS.—Section 

4 1242 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (2) 

7 and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(2) at the option of the producer, through an 

9 approved third party, if available.’’; and 

10 (2) in subsection (b)— 

11 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert12 ing the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) SYSTEM FOR EVALUATION OF PRO14 VIDERS.—The Secretary shall establish, by regula15 tion, a system for approving individuals and entities 

16 to provide technical assistance to carry out programs 

17 under this title, including criteria for the evaluation 

18 of providers or potential providers of technical as19 sistance.’’; 

20 (B) by striking paragraph (3) and insert21 ing the following: 

22 ‘‘(3) COMPETITIVE BIDDING.—The Secretary 

23 may accept bids from approved third parties to pro24 vide technical assistance to producers eligible for the 

25 assistance.’’; and 


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1 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘may re2 quest’’ and inserting ‘‘shall request, to the max3 imum extent practicable,’’. 

4 (b) COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION EDUCATIONAL AS5 SISTANCE PROGRAM.—Section 1242 of the Food Security 

6 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842) is amended by adding at 

7 the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(c) COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION EDUCATIONAL

9 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—Not later than 180 days after 

10 the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary 

11 shall promulgate a final rule to establish a cooperative 

12 conservation educational assistance program under which 

13 a student at an institution of higher education, in a field 

14 of study such as agronomy, conservation biology, engineer15 ing, or other subject relevant to the provision of technical 

16 assistance under this section, may receive educational as17 sistance in exchange for a commitment of service to the 

18 Natural Resources Conservation Service or other agency 

19 in of the Department of Agriculture involved in providing 

20 the assistance.’’. 

21 (c) REVIEW AND EXPEDITED APPROVAL OF TECH22 NICAL ASSISTANCE SPECIFICATIONS.— 

23 (1) ACTION BY SECRETARY.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall di2 rect each State to assess and ensure, to the 

3 maximum extent practicable— 

4 (i) the completeness and relevance of 

5 existing technical assistance specifications; 

6 and 

7 (ii) that the State fully incorporates 

8 and provides for the appropriate range of 

9 conservation practices and resource mitiga10 tion measures available to specialty crop 

11 producers. 

12 (B) CONSULTATION.—In completing the 

13 assessment under subparagraph (A), each State 

14 shall consult with specialty crop producers, crop 

15 consultants, Cooperative Extension and land 

16 grant universities, nongovernmental organiza17 tions, and other qualified entities. 

18 (C) REVISIONS.—If a State determines 

19 under subparagraph (A)(i) that revisions to 

20 technical assistance specifications are necessary, 

21 the State shall establish an administrative proc22 ess for expediting the revisions. 

23 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall en25 sure that adequate technical assistance is availVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:39 Apr 22, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1160.IS S1160

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1 able for the implementation of conservation 

2 practices by specialty crop producers through 

3 Federal conservation programs. 

4 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out sub5 paragraph (A), the Secretary shall develop— 

6 (i) programs that meet specific needs 

7 of specialty crop producers through cooper8 ative agreements with other agencies and 

9 nongovernmental organizations; and 

10 (ii) program specifications that allow 

11 for innovative approaches that engage local 

12 resources in providing technical assistance 

13 for planning and implementation of con14 servation practices. 

15 SEC. 703. INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out an 

17 integrated pest management initiative to assist specialty 

18 crop producers in accordance with this section. 

19 (b) EXPEDITED APPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT PRAC20 TICES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to obtain as22 sistance under this section, a State shall ensure, to 

23 the maximum extent practicable— 

24 (A) the completeness and relevance of ex25 isting financial assistance specifications; and 


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1 (B) that the State fully incorporates and 

2 provides for the appropriate range of pest man3 agement activities and resource mitigation 

4 measures available to specialty crop producers. 

5 (2) REVISIONS.—If a State determines under 

6 paragraph (1)(A) that revisions to financial assist7 ance specifications are necessary, the State shall es8 tablish an administrative process for expediting the 

9 revisions. 

10 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

11 offer to enter into cooperative agreements, memoranda of 

12 understanding, and contracts for services with other Fed13 eral agencies and non-Federal organizations, as the Sec14 retary determines to be necessary, to ensure that adequate 

15 technical assistance regarding integrated pest manage16 ment planning and implementation is available to specialty 

17 crop producers. 

18 (d) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall conduct out19 reach to agricultural producers on integrated pest man20 agement cost share options, with an emphasis on agricul21 tural producers that have not previously participated in 

22 conservation programs. 

23 (e) PROGRAM INTEGRATION.—The Secretary shall, to 

24 the maximum extent practicable, integrate the integrated 

25 pest management initiative under this section with the enVerDate Aug 31 2005 21:39 Apr 22, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00061 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1160.IS S1160

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1 vironmental quality incentives program established under 

2 chapter 4 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security 

3 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.) and other applica4 ble conservation programs, to ensure that opportunities 

5 for the implementation of integrated pest management 

6 practices are fully incorporated into conservation pro7 grams. 

8 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

9 authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary 

10 to carry out this section. 

11 SEC. 704. SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES. 

12 (a) ENCOURAGEMENT OF VOLUNTARY SUSTAIN13 ABILITY PRACTICES GUIDELINES.—In administering this 

14 Act and the amendments made by this Act, the Secretary 

15 may encourage the development of voluntary sustainable 

16 practices guidelines for producers and processors of spe17 cialty crops. 

18 (b) PRIORITY IN ELIGIBILITY FOR CONSERVATION

19 PROGRAMS.—In establishing eligibility for participation in 

20 conservation programs administered by the Secretary, the 

21 Secretary may give priority to specialty crop producers 

22 that follow the sustainability guidelines. 


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1 SEC. 705. EXEMPTION OF STATE AGENCIES FROM THE FED2 ERAL INSECTICIDE, FUNGICIDE, AND 

3 RODENTICIDE ACT. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 18 of the Federal Insecti5 cide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136p) is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘The Administrator may,’’ and 

8 inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator may,’’; 

10 (2) by striking ‘‘The Administrator, in’’ and in11 serting the following: 

12 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—The Administrator, in’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘(c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—If a State agency re15 quests an exemption under subsection (a) and the Admin16 istrator does not approve or deny the request during the 

17 50-day period beginning on the date on which the request 

18 is submitted to the Administrator, the Administrator shall 

19 submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 

20 Representatives, and the Committee on Agriculture, Nu21 trition, and Forestry of the Senate, a report that in22 cludes— 

23 ‘‘(1) notice of the delay; and 

24 ‘‘(2) an explanation of the reasons for the fail25 ure of the Administrator to approve or deny the re26 quest within that period.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con2 tents in section 1(b) of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, 

3 and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. prec 121) is amended by 

4 inserting at the end of the item relating to section 18 the 

5 following: 

‘‘(a) In general. 

‘‘(b) Consultation. 

‘‘(c) Report to Congress.’’. 

6 SEC. 706. TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE COST RE7 DUCTION GRANT PROGRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through the 

9 Transportation Services Branch of the Agricultural Mar10 keting Service, may make grants under this section to an 

11 eligible entity described in subsection (b)— 

12 (1) to expand and improve transportation infra13 structure to improve the cost-effective movement of 

14 specialty crops to markets inside or outside the 

15 United States; and 

16 (2) to address regional intermodal transpor17 tation deficiencies that adversely affect the move18 ment of specialty crops to markets inside or outside 

19 the United States. 

20 (b) ELIGIBLE GRANT RECIPIENTS.—Grants may be 

21 made under this section to— 

22 (1) State and local governments; 

23 (2) grower cooperatives; 


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1 (3) individual specialty crop producers or 

2 groups of producers; 

3 (4) individual shippers; and 

4 (5) State and regional producer and shipper or5 ganizations. 

6 (c) MATCHING FUNDS.—To be eligible for a grant 

7 under this section, the recipient of a grant under this sec8 tion shall contribute an amount of non-Federal funds to 

9 carry out the project for which the grant is provided that 

10 is at least equal to the amount of grant funds received 

11 by the recipient under this section. 

12 (d) FUNDING.—For each of fiscal years 2008 

13 through 2012, the Secretary shall use $75,000,000 of 

14 funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to make 

15 grants under this section. 

16 SEC. 707. OFFICE OF PEST MANAGEMENT POLICY. 

17 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to es18 tablish an Office of Pest Management Policy in the De19 partment to provide for the effective coordination of agri20 cultural policies and activities related to pesticides and the 

21 development and use of pest management tools, taking 

22 into account the effects of regulatory actions of govern23 ment agencies. 

24 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

2 in the Department an Office of Pest Management 

3 Policy (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Office’’). 

4 (2) DIRECTOR.—The head of the Office shall be 

5 a Director (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Direc6 tor’’) who shall— 

7 (A) be appointed by the Secretary; and 

8 (B) report directly to the Secretary or a 

9 designee of the Secretary. 

10 (c) DUTIES.—The Director shall— 

11 (1) develop and coordinate Department policy 

12 on pest management and pesticides; 

13 (2) coordinate activities and services of the De14 partment (including research, extension, and edu15 cation activities) regarding the development, avail16 ability, and use of economically- and environ17 mentally-sound pest management tools and prac18 tices; 

19 (3) assist other agencies of the Department in 

20 fulfilling the responsibilities of the agencies related 

21 to pest management or pesticides under— 

22 (A) the Food Quality Protection Act of 

23 1996 (7 U.S.C. 136 note; Public Law 104– 

24 170); 


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1 (B) the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 

2 Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.); 

3 (C) the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 

4 Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.); and 

5 (D) other applicable laws; and 

6 (4) carry out such other functions as may be 

7 required by law or prescribed by the Secretary. 

8 (d) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—In carrying out 

9 the responsibilities of the Office, the Director shall provide 

10 leadership, to the maximum extent practicable, to ensure 

11 coordination of interagency activities with— 

12 (1) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

13 (2) the Food and Drug Administration; and 

14 (3) other applicable Federal and State agencies. 

15 (e) OUTREACH.—As necessary to carry out the re16 sponsibilities of the Office, the Director shall consult with 

17 agricultural producers that may be affected by pest man18 agement or pesticide-related activities or actions of the 

19 Department or other agencies. 

20 (f) FUNDING.—For each of fiscal years 2008 through 

21 2012, the Secretary shall use $5,000,000 of funds of the 

22 Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out this section. 


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1 SEC. 708. FOOD SAFETY INITIATIVES. 

2 (a) INITIATIVE AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may 

3 carry out a food safety education program to educate the 

4 public and persons in the fresh produce industry about— 

5 (1) scientifically proven practices for reducing 

6 microbial pathogens on fresh produce; and 

7 (2) methods of reducing the threat of cross-con8 tamination of fresh produce through unsanitary han9 dling practices. 

10 (b) COOPERATION.—The Secretary may carry out the 

11 education program in cooperation with public and private 

12 partners. 

13 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

14 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

15 out this section $1,000,000. 

16 SEC. 709. CENSUS OF SPECIALTY CROPS. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than September 30, 

18 2008, and each 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall con19 duct a census of specialty crops to assist in the regularly 

20 development and dissemination of information relative to 

21 specialty crops. 

22 (b) RELATION TO OTHER CENSUS.—The Secretary 

23 may include the census of speciality crops in the census 

24 on agriculture. 


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1 SEC. 710. FARM WORKER HOUSING. 

2 (a) LOANS AND GRANTS FOR HOUSING FARM LA3 BORERS ADMITTED FOR TEMPORARY RESIDENCE.—Sec4 tion 514(f)(3)(A) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

5 1484(f)(3)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or a non6 immigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the 

7 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 

8 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a))’’ after ‘‘permanent residence’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Subsection (a) shall apply 

10 with respect to loans and grants made on, before, or after 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


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