I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1600 

To continue and expand upon previous congressional efforts to ensure an 

abundant and affordable supply of fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and 

other specialty crops for American consumers and international markets, 

to enhance the competitiveness of United States-grown specialty crops, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 20, 2007 

Mr. CARDOZA (for himself, Mr. PUTNAM, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. MCCARTHY of California, Mr. KUHL of New York, Mr. HALL

of New York, Mr. WALSH of New York, Mr. HIGGINS, Mr. FARR, Mr. 

MAHONEY of Florida, Mr. HOEKSTRA, Mr. ALLEN, Ms. KILPATRICK, Ms. 

SLAUGHTER, Mr. FILNER, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. WELCH of Vermont, Mr. 

CARNAHAN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. HASTINGS of 

Washington, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. NUNES, Mr. RUSH, Mrs. TAUSCHER, 

Mr. RADANOVICH, Mrs. MCMORRIS RODGERS, Ms. WOOLSEY, Ms. 

HOOLEY, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. COSTA, Mr. BROWN of South Carolina, Mr. 

DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California, Mr. PERLMUTTER, Mr. SHULER, Ms. 

LORETTA SANCHEZ of California, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. CUELLAR, Mrs. 

CAPPS, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. WU, Mrs. BONO, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. BARTLETT of Maryland, Mr. BOYD of Florida, Mrs. DRAKE, Ms. ZOE

LOFGREN of California, Mr. ISSA, Mr. MARIO DIAZ-BALART of Florida, 

Mr. WALDEN of Oregon, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. DELAHUNT, Mr. ARCURI, 

Mr. REYNOLDS, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. 

COURTNEY, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. PLATTS, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. SHAYS, 

Ms. HIRONO, Mr. BARROW, and Mr. CALVERT) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition 

to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Labor, Energy 

and Commerce, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently 

determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 


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A BILL 

To continue and expand upon previous congressional efforts 

to ensure an abundant and affordable supply of fruits, 

vegetables, tree nuts, and other specialty crops for American consumers and international markets, to enhance 

the competitiveness of United States-grown specialty 

crops, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Equitable Agriculture Today for a Healthy America Act’’ 

6 or the ‘‘EAT Healthy America Act’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings and purposes. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—COMMODITY-RELATED PROVISIONS 

Sec. 101. Flexible payment limitations for disaster payments to reflect variations in cost of production and crop value. 

Sec. 102. Adjusted gross income limitations on receipt of disaster assistance by 

first handlers of specialty crops. 

Sec. 103. Equitable treatment of specialty crop producers in distribution of disaster assistance. 

Sec. 104. Tree assistance program. 

TITLE II—CONSERVATION 

Sec. 201. Findings regarding Conservation Security Program. 

Sec. 202. Conservation reserve program. 

Sec. 203. Wetlands reserve program. 

Sec. 204. Funding for Farmland Protection Program. 

Sec. 205. Grassland reserve program. 

Sec. 206. Wildlife habitat incentive program. 

Sec. 207. Environmental quality incentives program. 

Sec. 208. Cooperative conservation partnership initiative. 


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Sec. 209. Regional equity in funding of certain Department of Agriculture conservation programs. 

Sec. 210. Integrated pest management initiative. 

Sec. 211. Technical assistance under Department of Agriculture conservation 

programs. 

Sec. 212. Conservation loan guarantee program. 

Sec. 213. Emergency Conservation Program. 

Sec. 214. Exclusion of payments under Department of Agriculture conservation 

programs from adjusted gross income limitation. 

Sec. 215. Encouragement of voluntary sustainability practices guidelines. 

Sec. 216. Assistance to address long-term climate change. 

TITLE III—TRADE 

Sec. 301. Technical assistance for specialty crops. 

Sec. 302. Coordination of trade objectives between key agencies. 

Sec. 303. Market access program. 

Sec. 304. Grant program for market analysis related to anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases involving specialty crops. 

Sec. 305. Sense of Congress regarding certain antitrust laws applicable to agriculture. 

TITLE IV—INVASIVE PESTS AND DISEASES 

Sec. 401. Threat identification and mitigation program. 

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

Sec. 403. Agricultural quarantine inspection activities at ports of entry. 

Sec. 404. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Export Division. 

Sec. 405. Consultations on sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions for fruits 

and vegetables. 

Sec. 406. Multi-species fruit fly research and sterile fly production. 

Sec. 407. Audit-based approach to specialty crop phytosanitary regulation. 

Sec. 408. Early pest detection and surveillance improvement program. 

TITLE V—NUTRITION 

Sec. 501. Findings. 

Sec. 502. Expansion of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. 

Sec. 503. Fruit and vegetable nutrition promotion program. 

Sec. 504. Use of ‘‘Dietary Guidelines for Americans’’ in special nutrition programs and school lunch programs. 

Sec. 505. Section 32 specialty crop purchases. 

Sec. 506. School preference study. 

Sec. 507. Independent evaluation of Department of Agriculture commodity purchase process. 

Sec. 508. Amendments to the Food Stamp Program. 

Sec. 509. Sense of the Congress regarding nutritional supplements. 

Sec. 510. Food stamp fruit and vegetable EBT pilot project. 

Sec. 511. Decennial evaluations of WIC food packages. 

Sec. 512. Extension of WIC farmers’ market nutrition program. 

Sec. 513. Senior farmers’ market nutrition program. 

TITLE VI—AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH 

Sec. 601. Specialty Crops Economic and Policy Research Institute. 

Sec. 602. Development of specialty crop priority for the National Research Initiative. 


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Sec. 603. Establishment of specialty crop research grants program for producers to improve efficiency and competitiveness. 

Sec. 604. National Clean Plant Network. 

Sec. 605. Prioritizing current Federal research activities for specialty crops. 

TITLE VII—RENEWABLE ENERGY 

Sec. 701. Inventory of specialty crop biomass waste as part of annual assessment of renewable energy resources. 

Sec. 702. Department of Agriculture bioenergy program. 

Sec. 703. Grants for development of specialty crop bioenergy projects. 

TITLE VIII—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 801. Specialty crop block grants. 

Sec. 802. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act; requests by 

State agencies for exemptions. 

Sec. 803. Protection of intellectual property rights in plants and plant-derived 

material. 

Sec. 804. Grant program to improve transportation infrastructure to reduce 

cost of transportation of specialty crops. 

Sec. 805. Additional funds for Agricultural Marketing Service specialty crop 

market news activities. 

Sec. 806. Value-added grants to promote creation, expansion, or operation of 

value-added processing of specialty crops. 

Sec. 807. Eligibility of laborers admitted for temporary residence for Rural 

Housing Service farm labor housing. 

Sec. 808. Food safety initiatives. 

Sec. 809. Implementation of food safety programs under marketing orders. 

Sec. 810. Census of specialty crops; dissemination of information. 

Sec. 811. Office of pesticide programs. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Specialty crop production in the United 

4 States accounts for $50.8 billion in farmgate value, 

5 and, according to the Economic Research Service of 

6 the Department of Agriculture, specialty crops ac7 count for more than 45 percent of the farmgate 

8 value of all crops produced in the United States. 

9 (2) Specialty crop producers deserve a competi10 tive and sustainable environment for specialty crop 

11 production, and the Specialty Crops Competitiveness 


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1 Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–465; 7 U.S.C. 1621 

2 note) represented an initial attempt to ensure the 

3 long-term competitiveness and sustainability of 

4 United States specialty crop production. 

5 (3) Additional Federal investment in the com6 petitiveness and sustainability of the United States 

7 specialty crop industry will produce a strong return 

8 on investment for all of America, not just producers. 

9 (4) By expanding the market for and avail10 ability of safe, wholesome, healthy, and affordable 

11 fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, and other specialty 

12 crops, Congress can assist Americans in achieving 

13 the goal of doubling their fruit and vegetable con14 sumption, as called for in the Department of Agri15 culture and Department of Health and Human Serv16 ices 2005 Dietary Guidelines. 

17 (5) Federal investment in the United States 

18 specialty crop industry is required to create a fair 

19 and level playing field with international competitors 

20 that do not have to comply with the regulatory re21 quirements imposed on United States producers in 

22 the areas of environmental regulation, labor, food 

23 safety, and other area. 


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1 (6) Without appropriate and adequate assist2 ance United States specialty crop production may 

3 relocate to less restrictive foreign growing areas. 

4 (7) Consumers in United States export markets 

5 are increasingly demanding high-value specialty food 

6 products as their disposable income rises, and a 

7 thriving and competitive United States specialty 

8 crop industry will support strong growth in export 

9 markets and improve the United States balance of 

10 trade. 

11 (8) In order to realize the goal of increasing ag12 ricultural exports, it is critical that Federal policy 

13 and resources support efforts to remove the many 

14 existing international trade barriers that continue to 

15 hamper United States specialty crop exports. 

16 (9) The competitiveness of United States spe17 cialty crop producers also depends on maintaining 

18 the current restrictions in section 1106 of the Farm 

19 Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 

20 U.S.C. 7916) that prohibits the planting of fruits 

21 and vegetables and other specialty crops on acres for 

22 which a producer receives direct payments or 

23 counter-cyclical payments, including not allowing 

24 any temporary loss in program benefits as a remedy 


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

2 crops. 

3 (b) PURPOSES.—It is the purpose of this Act to build 

4 upon the success of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness 

5 Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–465; 7 U.S.C. 1621 note) 

6 by making additional changes in Federal agriculture policy 

7 to accomplish the goals of increasing fruit, vegetable, and 

8 tree nut consumption and improving the competitiveness 

9 of United States specialty crop producers. 

10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

11 In this Act: 

12 (1) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

13 of Agriculture. 

14 (2) The term ‘‘specialty crop’’ means fruits and 

15 vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, nursery crops, flo16 riculture, and horticulture. 

17 (3) The term ‘‘State’’ means the several States, 

18 the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of 

19 Puerto Rico. 


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1 TITLE I—COMMODITY-RELATED 

2 PROVISIONS 

3 SEC. 101. FLEXIBLE PAYMENT LIMITATIONS FOR DISASTER 

4 PAYMENTS TO REFLECT VARIATIONS IN COST 

5 OF PRODUCTION AND CROP VALUE. 

6 (a) FLEXIBLE PAYMENT LIMITATIONS.—In lieu of 

7 using a single, specific dollar amount limitation on the 

8 total amount of disaster assistance that a producer of spe9 cialty crops may receive under any provision of law, the 

10 Secretary of Agriculture shall develop and use a series of 

11 payment limitations that reflect cost-of-production and 

12 crop value variations. 

13 (b) USE OF FARM SERVICE AGENCY DATA.—To de14 velop the payment variations range required by subsection 

15 (a), the Secretary of Agriculture may use the most rel16 evant data maintained by the Department of Agriculture 

17 and federally funded institutions, such as land grant col18 leges and universities, in the State or region where the 

19 disaster occurred regarding cost of production and crop 

20 value for various agricultural enterprises. 

21 (c) APPLICABILITY.—The flexible payment limita22 tions required by subsection (a) shall apply on a perma23 nent basis with respect to any natural disaster occurring 

24 after the date of the enactment of this Act for which dis25 aster assistance is provided by the Secretary of AgriVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:38 Apr 02, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1600.IH H1600

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1 culture under any provision of law to producers of spe2 cialty crops. 

3 SEC. 102. ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME LIMITATIONS ON RE4 CEIPT OF DISASTER ASSISTANCE BY FIRST 

5 HANDLERS OF SPECIALTY CROPS. 

6 (a) CHANGE TO APPLICATION OF LIMITATIONS.— 

7 For purposes of applying the adjusted gross income limita8 tions on the receipt of disaster assistance to a first handler 

9 of specialty crops, the Secretary of Agriculture shall treat 

10 income derived by the first handler from the initial prepa11 ration of the specialty crops for marketing and the mar12 keting of the specialty crops as income derived from a 

13 farming operation. 

14 (b) FIRST HANDLER DEFINED.—In this section, the 

15 term ‘‘first handler’’ means a person who— 

16 (1) receives or otherwise acquires specialty 

17 crops from a producer and prepares for marketing 

18 or markets the specialty crops; or 

19 (2) prepares for marketing and markets spe20 cialty crops produced by the person. 


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1 SEC. 103. EQUITABLE TREATMENT OF SPECIALTY CROP 

2 PRODUCERS IN DISTRIBUTION OF DISASTER 

3 ASSISTANCE. 

4 In providing disaster assistance to producers suf5 fering losses due to natural disasters, the Secretary of Ag6 riculture shall seek to ensure that— 

7 (1) producers of specialty crops receive assist8 ance through programs that are designed to meet 

9 the specific needs of such producers and reflect the 

10 production practices of such producers; and 

11 (2) eligibility for assistance and the provision of 

12 assistance is not be tied to traditional programs of 

13 the Department of Agriculture, such as direct pay14 ments under section 1103 or 1303 of the Farm Se15 curity and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 

16 7913, 7953) or crop insurance. 

17 SEC. 104. TREE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

18 (a) INCLUSION OF NURSERY TREE GROWERS.— 

19 (1) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 10201 of the Farm 

20 Security and Rural Investment Act of 2003 (7 

21 U.S.C. 8201) is amended— 

22 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and 

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

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

25 following new paragraph: 


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

2 ‘nursery tree grower’ means a person who produces 

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

4 for commercial sale.’’. 

5 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Subtitle C of 

6 title X of such Act is amended— 

7 (A) in section 10202 (7 U.S.C. 8202)— 

8 (i) in subsection (a), by inserting 

9 ‘‘and nursery tree growers’’ after ‘‘eligible 

10 orchardists’’; and 

11 (ii) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘or 

12 nursery tree grower’’ after ‘‘eligible or13 chardist’’; and 

14 (B) in section 10203 (7 U.S.C. 8203), by 

15 inserting ‘‘and nursery tree growers’’ after ‘‘eli16 gible orchardists’’. 

17 (b) INCREASE IN AUTHORIZED AMOUNT OF ASSIST18 ANCE.—Section 10204(a) of such Act is amended by strik19 ing ‘‘$75,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$150,000 per year’’. 

20 (c) FUNDING.—Section 10205 of such Act is amend21 ed by adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘In 

22 addition to amounts appropriated to carry out this section, 

23 the Secretary shall use $75,000,000 of funds of the Com24 modity Credit Corporation to carry out this subtitle during 

25 fiscal years 2008 through 2012.’’. 


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1 (d) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 

2 section shall apply with respect to any natural disaster oc3 curring after the date of the enactment of this Act for 

4 which assistance is provided by the Secretary of Agri5 culture under the tree assistance program. 

6 TITLE II—CONSERVATION 

7 SEC. 201. FINDINGS REGARDING CONSERVATION SECURITY 

8 PROGRAM. 

9 Congress makes the following findings: 

10 (1) Specialty crop producers and other agricul11 tural producers in the United States require a sig12 nificant new investment in voluntary conservation in13 centives programs in order to ensure that producers 

14 are rewarded when they take steps to produce clean15 er air, cleaner water, important wildlife habitat, and 

16 other environmental benefits for the public. 

17 (2) The expansion and improvement of the con18 servation programs authorized and amended by title 

19 II of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act 

20 of 2002 (Public Law 107–171) should include the 

21 expansion of the Conservation Security Program 

22 under subchapter A of chapter 2 of subtitle D of 

23 title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

24 U.S.C. 3838 et seq.) so that producers have an op25 portunity to enroll in a program that is more equiVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:38 Apr 02, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1600.IH H1600

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1 table and predictable than the current system, under 

2 which only a few watersheds are eligible each fiscal 

3 year. 

4 (3) The Conservation Security Program holds 

5 tremendous promise as a program that can help pro6 ducers effectively address priority resources of con7 cern, but the program must be improved and better 

8 implemented in order to fulfill that promise. 

9 (4) States must have the authority, with appro10 priate national guidance, to select priority ‘‘re11 sources of concern,’’ as currently defined by the 

12 Natural Resources Conservation Service, for specific 

13 areas within the State, and program payments 

14 should focus more on rewarding management inten15 sity and the degree to which a producer addresses 

16 resources of concern. 

17 (5) In order to ensure that the Conservation 

18 Security Program is an effective tool in helping pro19 ducers improve environmental quality, there must be 

20 a better balance between rewarding a producer’s ex21 isting level of resource stewardship and creating 

22 strong incentives for producers to implement addi23 tional practices and measures to improve environ24 mental performance. 


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1 (6) In general, the Conservation Security Pro2 gram should do a better job of helping producers en3 hance habitat for wildlife, particularly rare, threat4 ened, endangered and candidate species. 

5 (7) When the Conservation Security Program is 

6 used to address wildlife, it should be implemented to 

7 further the goals and objectives of the State com8 prehensive wildlife strategy. 

9 (8) It is critical that the Conservation Security 

10 Program provide adequate technical assistance to 

11 producers who need help applying to the program 

12 and implementing their contracts. 

13 SEC. 202. CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM. 

14 (a) EXTENSION OF PROGRAM.—Section 1231 of the 

15 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831) is amend16 ed— 

17 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2007’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘2012’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘2007’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘2012’’; 

21 (3) in subsection (e)(3), by striking ‘‘2002’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘2008’’; and 

23 (4) in subsection (h)(1), by striking ‘‘2007’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘2012’’. 


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1 (b) ELIGIBLE LAND.—Section 1231(b) of such Act 

2 (16 U.S.C. 3831(b)) is amended— 

3 (1) by striking the period at the end of para4 graph (1) and inserting a semicolon; 

5 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

6 end of subparagraph (C); 

7 (3) by striking the period at the end of para8 graph (5) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(6) marginal pasture land or hay land that is 

12 otherwise ineligible, if the land is to be devoted to 

13 native vegetation appropriate to the locale and— 

14 ‘‘(A) will provide suitable habitat for State 

15 or federally listed threatened or endangered 

16 species or species determined by the Secretary 

17 of the Interior to be species of concern; or 

18 ‘‘(B) will contribute to the restoration of a 

19 critically endangered ecosystem or endangered 

20 ecosystem, as defined by the Secretary.’’. 

21 (c) USE OF GENERAL SIGNUP PROCESS.—Section 

22 1231(d) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3831(d)) is amended by 

23 adding at the end the following new sentence: ‘‘To the 

24 maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure 

25 that not more than 85 percent of the acres maintained 


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1 in the conservation reserve at any 1 time during the 2008 

2 through 2012 calendar years are acres that were enrolled 

3 through general signup under section 1234(c)(2)(A).’’. 

4 (d) DUTIES OF PARTICIPANTS.—Section 1232(a) of 

5 such Act (16 U.S.C. 3832(a)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (4)— 

7 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

8 and (B) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respec9 tively; and 

10 (B) by inserting before subparagraph (B), 

11 as so redesignated, the following new subpara12 graph: 

13 ‘‘(A) approved vegetative cover shall not 

14 include vegetative cover inappropriate to the lo15 cale;’’; 

16 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through 

17 (10) as paragraphs (6) through (11); respectively; 

18 (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol19 lowing new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(5) to undertake appropriate management ac21 tivities on the land, including any necessary haying 

22 and grazing activities, as needed throughout the 

23 term of the contract to achieve the purposes of the 

24 conservation reserve program;’’; and 


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1 (4) in subparagraph (A)(i)(II) of paragraph (8), 

2 as redesignated by paragraph (2), by inserting after 

3 ‘‘may be conducted’’ the following: ‘‘, taking into ac4 count grassland types and species, location, weather 

5 conditions, threats posed by invasive species in the 

6 locale, and other factors that determine to what ex7 tent harvesting and grazing activities will advance 

8 the conservation purposes of the program’’. 

9 (e) CONSERVATION PLAN.—Section 1232(b)(1)(A) of 

10 such Act (16 U.S.C. 3832(b)(1)(A)) is amended by insert11 ing before the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, in12 cluding appropriate management activities required by 

13 subsection (a)(5)’’. 

14 (f) COST-SHARE AND MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE.— 

15 Section 1234(b) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3834(b)) is 

16 amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting before the pe18 riod at the end the following: ‘‘, except that the Sec19 retary shall pay 75 percent of the cost of estab20 lishing measures and practices that will benefit a 

21 federally or State listed threatened or endangered 

22 species required under a contract entered into under 

23 this subchapter’’; and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

25 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(6) MANAGEMENT COSTS.—The Secretary 

2 shall pay 75 percent of the cost of management ac3 tivities, including control of invasive species, re4 quired under a contract entered into under this sub5 chapter.’’. 

6 (g) WILDLIFE CRITERIA.—Section 1234(c)(3)(B) of 

7 such Act (16 U.S.C. 3834(c)(3)(B)) is amended by insert8 ing before the period the following: ‘‘, taking into consider9 ation the recommendations of States concerning species 

10 or ecosystems that are State priorities for recovery or res11 toration’’. 

12 (h) RARE AND DECLINING HABITAT.—Section 

13 1234(c) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3834(c)) is amended by 

14 adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(5) RARE AND DECLINING HABITAT.—The 

16 Secretary may approve a request by a State to es17 tablish continuous enrollment categories for rare and 

18 declining habitat in specific areas of the State to 

19 benefit specific State or federally listed threatened 

20 or endangered species.’’. 

21 (i) RENTAL PAYMENT LIMITATIONS.—Section 

22 1234(f) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3834(f)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting before the pe24 riod at the end the following: ‘‘, except that the Sec25 retary may waive this payment limitation for persons 


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1 participating in a conservation reserve enhancement 

2 program or cooperative conservation project if the 

3 Secretary determines such a waiver is necessary to 

4 achieve the objectives of the conservation reserve en5 hancement program or project’’; and 

6 (2) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end the 

7 following new subparagraph: 

8 ‘‘(C) IRRIGATED LAND.—In determining 

9 the amount of annual rental payments for own10 ers and operators seeking to enroll irrigated 

11 land in a conservation reserve enhancement 

12 program, the Secretary shall consider the aver13 age rental rate for irrigated land in the area.’’. 

14 SEC. 203. WETLANDS RESERVE PROGRAM. 

15 (a) MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT.—Section 1237(b)(1) of 

16 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3837(b)(1)) 

17 is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘2,275,000 acres’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘5,000,000 acres’’; and 

20 (2) by striking ‘‘250,000 acres’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘320,000 acres’’. 

22 (b) RIPARIAN AREAS.—Section 1237(d) of such Act 

23 (16 U.S.C. 3837(d)) is amended by striking paragraph (3) 

24 and inserting the following new paragraph: 

25 ‘‘(3) riparian areas.’’. 


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1 (c) WETLAND EASEMENT CONSERVATION PLAN.— 

2 Section 1237A(b)(3) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3837a(b)(3)) 

3 is amended by inserting before the semicolon at the end 

4 the following: ‘‘, including activities necessary to maintain 

5 hydrologic, habitat, and other functional values’’. 

6 (d) COST-SHARE AND MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE.— 

7 Section 1237C of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3837c) is amend8 ed— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘including 

10 necessary hydrologic and habitat maintenance activi11 ties,’’ after ‘‘values,’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

13 following new paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(4) MANAGEMENT COSTS.—The Secretary 

15 may make payments to owners to cover up to the 

16 full actual cost of undertaking any ongoing or peri17 odic management activities necessary to maintain 

18 the hydrologic, habitat, and other functional values 

19 of wetland enrolled in the wetlands reserve pro20 gram.’’. 

21 (e) EASEMENT PRIORITY AND STATE ALLOCA22 TION.—Section 1237C of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3837c) is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘wildlife.’’ and 

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1 dangered, or candidate species for furthering the 

2 goals and objectives of the State comprehensive wild3 life conservation strategy, or improving water qual4 ity.’’; and 

5 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub6 section: 

7 ‘‘(e) ALLOCATION TO STATES.—In making alloca8 tions to States to carry out this subchapter, the Secretary 

9 shall consider to what degree each State gives priority— 

10 ‘‘(1) to protecting and restoring habitat for mi11 gratory birds and other wildlife, particularly rare 

12 species, including threatened, endangered, and can13 didate species; 

14 ‘‘(2) to furthering the goals and objectives of 

15 the State comprehensive wildlife conservation strat16 egy; and 

17 ‘‘(3) to improving water quality.’’. 

18 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1237(c) of 

19 such Act (16 U.S.C. 3837(c)) is amended by striking 

20 ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2012’’. 

21 SEC. 204. FUNDING FOR FARMLAND PROTECTION PRO22 GRAM. 

23 Paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of section 1241 of 

24 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841) is 

25 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(4) The farmland protection program under 

2 subchapter B of chapter 2, using $300,000,000 in 

3 each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.’’. 

4 SEC. 205. GRASSLAND RESERVE PROGRAM. 

5 (a) EXTENSION AND FUNDING.—Paragraph (5) of 

6 section 1241(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

7 U.S.C. 3841(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(5) The grassland reserve program under sub9 chapter C of chapter 2.’’. 

10 (b) ANNUAL ENROLLMENT LEVELS AND PRIORITY

11 FOR LONG-TERM CONTRACTS.—Subsection (b) of section 

12 1238N of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3838n) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

14 following new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(1) ANNUAL ENROLLMENT LEVELS.—To the 

16 maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall en17 roll in the grassland reserve program— 

18 ‘‘(A) 1,000,000 acres in calendar year 

19 2008; 

20 ‘‘(B) 1,500,000 acres in calendar year 

21 2009; 

22 ‘‘(C) 2,000,000 acres in calendar year 

23 2010; 

24 ‘‘(D) 2,500,000 acres in calendar year 

25 2011; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) 3,000,000 acres in calendar year 

2 2012 and each calendar year thereafter.’’; and 

3 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

4 following new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY FOR LONG-TERM AGREEMENTS

6 AND EASEMENTS.—Of the total number of acres en7 rolled in the program at any one time through the 

8 methods described in paragraph (2)(A), the Sec9 retary shall ensure that at least 60 percent of the 

10 acres were enrolled through the use of 30-year rental 

11 agreements and permanent and long-term easements 

12 described in clause (ii) of such paragraph.’’. 

13 (c) ENROLLMENT OF CONSERVATION RESERVE PRO14 GRAM LAND.—Section 1238N of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

15 3838n) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

16 subsection: 

17 ‘‘(d) ENROLLMENT OF CONSERVATION RESERVE

18 PROGRAM LAND.— 

19 ‘‘(1) ENROLLMENT AUTHORIZED.—Subject to 

20 the eligibility requirements of subsection (c) and all 

21 other requirements of this subchapter, land enrolled 

22 in the conservation reserve program may be enrolled 

23 in the grassland reserve program if the Secretary de24 termines that the land is of high ecological value and 

25 under significant threat of conversion to other uses. 


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1 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT.—The number of 

2 acres of conservation reserve program land enrolled 

3 under this subsection in a calendar year shall not ex4 ceed 10 percent of the total number of acres enrolled 

5 in the grassland reserve program in that calendar 

6 year. 

7 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION ON DUPLICATION OF PAY8 MENTS.—Land enrolled in the program under this 

9 subsection shall no longer be eligible for payments 

10 under the conservation reserve program.’’. 

11 (d) BIODIVERSITY AND ALLOCATIONS.—Section 

12 1238O of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3838o) is amended— 

13 (1) redesignating subsection (d) as subsection 

14 (f); and 

15 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol16 lowing new subsections: 

17 ‘‘(d) BIODIVERSITY.—In emphasizing support for 

18 biodiversity consistent with the requirements of subsection 

19 (c), the Secretary shall give priority to agreements and 

20 easements that protect and restore habitat for rare, 

21 threatened, endangered, and candidate species. 

22 ‘‘(e) ALLOCATIONS.—In making allocations to States 

23 to carry out this subchapter, the Secretary shall con24 sider— 


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1 ‘‘(1) to what extent the State evaluates and 

2 ranks applications for easements and agreements 

3 consistent with the requirements of subsection (c); 

4 ‘‘(2) the total number of acres of grassland in 

5 the State that are under threat of conversion to 

6 other uses, including conversion to more intensive 

7 agricultural use as well as conversion to non8 agricultural use; 

9 ‘‘(3) the total number of acres of grassland in 

10 the State that provide important habitat for feder11 ally listed threatened or endangered species and 

12 other wildlife species of concern; 

13 ‘‘(4) to what extent the State implements the 

14 program to ensure that, to the maximum extent 

15 practicable, the program results in the conservation 

16 of large tracts of contiguous grasslands; and 

17 ‘‘(5) to what extent the State prioritizes enroll18 ment of grasslands that are adjacent to other land 

19 under permanent protection, such as State or Fed20 eral land or land covered by a conservation ease21 ment.’’. 

22 (e) USE OF PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS OR STATE

23 AGENCIES.—Section 1238Q of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

24 3838q) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

2 following new subsection: 

3 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY TO USE PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS

4 OR STATES.—The Secretary may permit a private con5 servation or land trust organization (referred to in this 

6 section as a ‘private organization’) or a State agency to 

7 own, write, and enforce an easement under this sub8 chapter, in lieu of the Secretary, subject to the right of 

9 the Secretary to conduct periodic inspections and enforce 

10 the easement, if— 

11 ‘‘(1) the Secretary determines that granting the 

12 permission will promote protection of grassland, land 

13 that contains forbs, and shrubland; 

14 ‘‘(2) the owner authorizes the private organiza15 tion or State agency to hold and enforce the ease16 ment; and 

17 ‘‘(3) the private organization or State agency 

18 agrees to assume the costs incurred in administering 

19 and enforcing the easement, including the costs of 

20 restoration or rehabilitation of the land as specified 

21 by the owner and the private organization or State 

22 agency.’’; 

23 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘hold’’ and in24 serting ‘‘own, write,’’; 


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1 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘hold’’ and in2 serting ‘‘own, write,’’; and 

3 (4) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 

4 following new subsections: 

5 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITIONS ON LIMITATIONS.—Notwith6 standing any provision of State law to the contrary, a con7 servation easement held by the United States, held by a 

8 private organization under this section, or held by its suc9 cessors or assigns under this section shall not be limited 

10 in duration or scope or be defeasible by— 

11 ‘‘(1) the conservation easement being in gross 

12 or appurtenant; 

13 ‘‘(2) the management of the conservation ease14 ment having been delegated or assigned to a non15 Federal entity; or 

16 ‘‘(3) any requirement under State law for re17 recordation or renewal of the easement. 

18 ‘‘(e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Notwithstanding 

19 any provision of State law to the contrary, a conservation 

20 easement shall be construed to effectuate the Federal pur21 poses for which the conservation easement was acquired 

22 and, in interpreting the terms of the conservation ease23 ment, there shall be no presumption favoring the conserva24 tion easement holder or fee owner. 

25 ‘‘(f) REASSIGNMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) REASSIGNMENT REQUIRED.—If a private 

2 organization holding an easement on land under this 

3 subchapter terminates, the owner of the land subject 

4 to the easement shall reassign, not later than 30 

5 days after termination of the private organization, 

6 the easement— 

7 ‘‘(A) to another private organization ap8 proved by the Secretary; or 

9 ‘‘(B) to the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(2) NOTIFICATION OF SECRETARY.—If an 

11 easement is reassigned to another private organiza12 tion under paragraph (1), the owner and the new or13 ganization shall notify the Secretary in writing, not 

14 later than 60 days after the date of reassignment, 

15 that the reassignment has been made. If the notifi16 cation is not provided, the easement shall revert to 

17 the control of the Secretary.’’. 

18 (f) SPECIAL GRASSLANDS RESERVE ENHANCEMENT

19 PROGRAM.—Subchapter C of chapter 2 of subtitle D of 

20 title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 is amended 

21 by inserting after section 1238Q (16 U.S.C. 3838q) the 

22 following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1238R. GRASSLANDS RESERVE ENHANCEMENT PRO2 GRAM. 

3 ‘‘The Secretary may enter into such agreements for 

4 payments to States, including political subdivisions and 

5 agencies of States, that the Secretary determines will ad6 vance the purposes of the grassland reserve program. Sec7 tion 1305(d) of the Agricultural Reconciliation Act of 

8 1987 (Public Law 100–203; 7 U.S.C. 1308 note) does not 

9 apply to payments received by a State or political subdivi10 sion or agency thereof in connection with such an agree11 ment.’’. 

12 SEC. 206. WILDLIFE HABITAT INCENTIVE PROGRAM. 

13 (a) EXTENSION AND FUNDING.—Section 1241(a)(7) 

14 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)(7)) 

15 is amended by striking subparagraphs (A) through (D) 

16 and inserting the following new subparagraphs: 

17 ‘‘(A) $100,000,000 in fiscal year 2008; 

18 ‘‘(B) $140,000,000 in fiscal year 2009; 

19 ‘‘(C) $200,000,000 in each of fiscal years 

20 2010 and 2011; and 

21 ‘‘(D) $300,000,000 in fiscal year 2012.’’. 

22 (b) LONG-TERM AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTS.— 

23 Subsection (b)(2) of section 1240N of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

24 3839bb–1) is amended— 

25 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘in addi26 tion to amounts provided under paragraph (1)’’ and 


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1 inserting ‘‘in an amount up to 100 percent of the ac2 tual cost of any practice required by the agreement 

3 or contract’’; and 

4 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘not more 

5 than 15 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘25 percent’’. 

6 (c) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS AND PROGRAM PRIOR7 ITIES.—Section 1240N of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3839bb– 

8 1) is amended by adding at the end the following new sub9 sections: 

10 ‘‘(d) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR AGREEMENTS BEN11 EFITTING LISTED SPECIES.—In a case in which the Sec12 retary enters into an agreement or contract to protect and 

13 restore habitat for a federally or State-listed endangered, 

14 threatened, or candidate species, the Secretary may pro15 vide incentive payments to landowners to protect and re16 store the habitat, including the cost of management activi17 ties needed during the term of the agreement or contract. 

18 ‘‘(e) PRIORITIES.—In carrying out this section, the 

19 Secretary shall give priority to agreements and contracts 

20 that— 

21 ‘‘(1) protect and restore habitat for rare, 

22 threatened, endangered, and candidate species; or 

23 ‘‘(2) further the goals and objectives of the 

24 State comprehensive wildlife conservation strategy. 


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1 ‘‘(f) ALLOCATIONS.—In making allocations to States 

2 to carry out this chapter, the Secretary shall consider to 

3 what degree each State— 

4 ‘‘(1) gives priority to the protection and res5 toration of habitat for rare, threatened, endangered, 

6 and candidate species and for furtherance of the 

7 State comprehensive wildlife conservation strategy 

8 under subsection (e); and 

9 ‘‘(2) complies with the wildlife action plan for 

10 the State under subsection (f). 

11 ‘‘(g) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—To the max12 imum extent practicable, the Secretary shall enter into co13 operative agreements with State wildlife and natural re14 sources agencies to implement this section, including deliv15 ery of technical assistance.’’. 

16 SEC. 207. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PRO17 GRAM. 

18 (a) EXTENSION.— 

19 (1) FUNDING EXTENSION AND INCREASE.— 

20 Section 1241(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

21 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)) is amended by striking para22 graph (6) and inserting the following new para23 graph: 


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1 ‘‘(6) The environmental quality incentives pro2 gram under chapter 4, using, to the maximum ex3 tent practicable— 

4 ‘‘(A) $1,400,000,000 in fiscal year 2008; 

5 ‘‘(B) $1,600,000,000 in fiscal year 2009; 

6 ‘‘(C) $1,800,000,000 in each of fiscal 

7 years 2010 and 2011; and 

8 ‘‘(D) $2,000,000,000 in fiscal year 2012.’’. 

9 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 4 of 

10 subtitle D of title XII of such Act is amended— 

11 (A) in section 1240B(a)(1) (16 U.S.C. 

12 3839aa–2(a)(1)), by striking ‘‘2007’’ and in13 serting ‘‘2012’’; and 

14 (B) in subsection 1240G (16 U.S.C. 

15 3839aa–7), by striking ‘‘2007’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘2012’’. 

17 (b) DEMONSTRATION OF STRUCTURAL AND LAND

18 MANAGEMENT PRACTICES.— 

19 (1) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 1240B(a)(2) of the 

20 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa– 

21 (a)(2)) is amended— 

22 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub23 paragraph (A); 

24 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

25 subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

2 subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(C) a producer that demonstrates a struc4 tural or land management practice, including 

5 project monitoring, measurement, outreach, or 

6 education shall be eligible to receive cost-share 

7 or incentive payments.’’. 

8 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(A) Section 

9 1240(3) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3839aa(3)) is 

10 amended by striking ‘‘and maintain’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘, maintain, and demonstrate’’. 

12 (B) Section 1240F(1) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

13 3839aa–6(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘and imple14 menting’’ and inserting ‘‘, implementing, or dem15 onstrating’’. 

16 (c) PREDATOR DETERRENCE.—Section 1240B(a) of 

17 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–(a)) 

18 is amended by adding at the end the following paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(3) PREDATOR DETERRENCE.—A producer 

20 that implements practices or other measures as part 

21 of a system of proactive predator deterrence for 

22 large carnivores, including the use of range riders, 

23 removal of carcasses, and installation of electric 

24 fencing around calving areas, shall be eligible to reVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:38 Apr 02, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00033 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1600.IH H1600

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1 ceive cost-share or incentive payments under this 

2 chapter.’’. 

3 (d) BIDDING DOWN.—Section 1240B(c) of the Food 

4 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(c)) is amended 

5 by inserting before the period at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘, except that this prohibition does not relieve the Sec7 retary of the obligation to ensure that cost-effectiveness 

8 is prioritized in the evaluation of offers and payments, as 

9 provided by section 1240C(1)’’. 

10 (e) INCENTIVE PAYMENT RATES.—Section 1240B(e) 

11 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa– 

12 2(e)(2)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the 

14 following new sentence: ‘‘The Secretary shall estab15 lish different rates to accommodate variation in the 

16 cost of practices and product value.’’; and 

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

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(3) RATES FOR COMPONENT PRACTICES.—The 

20 Secretary shall develop additional incentive payment 

21 rates for components of a practice that promotes 

22 residue, nutrient, pest, invasive species, or air qual23 ity management. The amount and rate of incentive 

24 payments for a component practice shall be scaled 

25 according to the anticipated level of impact of that 


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1 practice on the priority resource concerns, such that 

2 more advanced management practices that yield 

3 greater environmental benefit will receive higher 

4 payments.’’. 

5 (f) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.—Section 1240B(g) of 

6 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(g)) 

7 is amended by adding at the end the following new sen8 tence: ‘‘When making initial allocations of funds to States 

9 to make cost-share and incentive payments under this 

10 chapter, the Secretary shall consider to what degree pro11 ducers in each State are under pressure to comply with 

12 existing local, State, or Federal environmental regulations, 

13 or may have to comply with such regulations in the fu14 ture.’’. 

15 (g) EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR COST16 SHARE PAYMENTS AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—Section 

17 1240C of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

18 3839aa–3) is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 1240C. EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR COST20 SHARE PAYMENTS AND INCENTIVE PAY21 MENTS. 

22 ‘‘(a) PRIORITIES AND CRITERIA.—In evaluating ap23 plications for cost-share payments and incentive pay24 ments, the Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) prioritize applications based on how effec2 tively and comprehensively designated resource con3 cerns are addressed; 

4 ‘‘(2) prioritize applications based on their over5 all level of cost-effectiveness to ensure that the con6 servation practices, systems, and approaches pro7 posed are the most efficient means of producing the 

8 proposed project’s anticipated environmental bene9 fits; 

10 ‘‘(3) reward higher levels of environmental per11 formance, such as advanced levels of management 

12 within management practices; and 

13 ‘‘(4) develop criteria for evaluating applications 

14 that will ensure that national, State, and local con15 servation priorities are effectively addressed. 

16 ‘‘(b) WILDLIFE.—In evaluating applications for cost17 share payments and incentive payments related to projects 

18 intended primarily to improve wildlife habitat, the Sec19 retary, in addition to meeting the requirements of sub20 section (a), shall give priority to applications that protect 

21 and restore habitat for rare, threatened, endangered, and 

22 candidate species or further the goals and objectives of 

23 the State comprehensive wildlife conservation strategy.’’. 


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1 (h) SUPPORT FOR PROGRAM PLANS.—Section 1240F 

2 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–6) 

3 is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

5 (1); 

6 (2) by striking the period at the end of para7 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

9 paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(3) developing partnerships with other agen11 cies and contracting with technical assistance pro12 viders to supplement Department expertise and 

13 staffing capacity as necessary.’’. 

14 (i) CONSERVATION INNOVATION GRANTS.—Section 

15 1240H of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

16 3839aa–8) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘may’’ and in18 serting ‘‘shall’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (b)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘shall’’; 

22 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

24 subparagraph (A); and 


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1 (ii) by adding at the end the following 

2 new subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(C) alternative energy projects, such as 

4 solar and wind power energy systems and con5 version of equipment to run on bio-fuels, to re6 duce greenhouse gas emissions and reliance on 

7 fossil fuels in farm operations;’’. 

8 (C) by striking the period at the end of 

9 paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

10 (D) by adding at the end the following new 

11 paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(4) include a plan for technology transfer.’’; 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub14 sections: 

15 ‘‘(d) TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.—To the maximum 

16 extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure efficient, ef17 fective transfer of innovative technologies and approaches 

18 demonstrated through projects that receive funding under 

19 this section. 

20 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.—Of the amounts made available 

21 under section 1241(a)(6) to carry out this chapter, the 

22 Secretary shall use to carry out this section— 

23 ‘‘(1) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

24 ‘‘(2) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

25 ‘‘(3) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 


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1 ‘‘(4) $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 

2 and 2012.’’. 

3 (j) FUNDING UNDER GROUND AND SURFACE WATER

4 CONSERVATION PROGRAM.—Section 1240I of the Food 

5 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–9) is amended 

6 by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following new 

7 subsection: 

8 ‘‘(b) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall use 

9 $100,000,000 of the funds of the Commodity Credit Cor10 poration to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 

11 2008 through 2012. These funds are in addition to 

12 amounts made available under section 1241(a)(6) to carry 

13 out this chapter.’’. 

14 (k) AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE

15 INCENTIVES FOR STATES.—Chapter 4 of subtitle D of 

16 title XII of such Act is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following new sections: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 1240J. AIR QUALITY IMPROVEMENT. 

19 ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY OF COST-SHARE PAYMENTS AND

20 INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—In carrying out this chapter, the 

21 Secretary shall promote air quality by providing cost-share 

22 payments and incentive payments to individual producers 

23 to address air quality concerns associated with agriculture. 

24 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE PRACTICES, COST-SHARE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) REDUCTION OF EMISSIONS OF CRITERIA

2 POLLUTANTS AND AIRBORNE TOXINS.—In addition 

3 to practices eligible for cost-share payments under 

4 this chapter, the Secretary shall provide cost-share 

5 payments to producers under this section for mobile 

6 or stationary equipment, including engines, used in 

7 an agricultural operation that will reduce emissions 

8 of criteria pollutants and airborne toxins. 

9 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In evaluating applica10 tions for cost-share assistance for equipment de11 scribed in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

12 prioritize assistance for equipment that— 

13 ‘‘(A) is the most cost-effective in address14 ing air quality concerns; and 

15 ‘‘(B) will assist producers in meeting State 

16 or local regulatory requirements related to air 

17 quality. 

18 ‘‘(c) LOCATIONS.—In order for producers to receive 

19 payments under this section, a project must be located in 

20 a county— 

21 ‘‘(1) that is in non-attainment for ambient air 

22 quality standards for ozone, particulate matter, or 

23 both; 

24 ‘‘(2) in which there is air quality degradation, 

25 recognized by a State or local regulating agency, to 


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1 which agricultural emissions significantly contribute; 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(3) in which the Secretary determines that 

4 pesticide drift is a priority concern. 

5 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority to 

6 projects that— 

7 ‘‘(1) involve multiple producers implementing 

8 eligible conservation activities in a coordinated way 

9 to promote air quality; or 

10 ‘‘(2) are designed to encourage broad adoption 

11 of innovative approaches, including approaches in12 volving the use of innovative technologies and inte13 grated pest management, so long as the technologies 

14 do not have the unintended consequence of compro15 mising other environmental goals. 

16 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.— 

17 ‘‘(1) AMOUNTS.—The Secretary shall use funds 

18 of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out 

19 this section in the following amounts: 

20 ‘‘(A) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

21 ‘‘(B) $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

22 ‘‘(C) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

23 ‘‘(D) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2011; 

24 and 

25 ‘‘(E) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2012. 


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1 ‘‘(2) RELATION TO OTHER FUNDS.—The funds 

2 made available under paragraph (1) are in addition 

3 to amounts made available under section 1241(a)(6) 

4 to carry out this chapter. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 1240K. PERFORMANCE INCENTIVES FOR STATES. 

6 ‘‘(a) HIGH LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE BONUS.—For 

7 each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012, 20 percent of the 

8 funds made available under this chapter shall be reserved 

9 by the Secretary for bonus allocations to States that dem10 onstrate a high level of performance in implementing the 

11 environmental quality incentives program. 

12 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In evaluating 

13 State performance under subsection (a), the Secretary 

14 shall reward States that— 

15 ‘‘(1) consistently meet the requirements of sec16 tion 1240C in evaluating offers and payments; 

17 ‘‘(2) dedicate a portion of their annual environ18 mental quality incentives program allocation to 

19 multi-producer cooperative efforts to address specific 

20 resource concerns; 

21 ‘‘(3) demonstrate effective and efficient pro22 gram delivery, including the provision of adequate 

23 technical assistance to all program participants 

24 through appropriate staffing and through coopera25 tion with other Federal, State, Tribal, and local 


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1 agencies, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and 

2 individuals with demonstrated expertise in the plan3 ning and implementation of conservation practices, 

4 systems, and approaches; 

5 ‘‘(4) collaborate with other Federal and State 

6 agencies, local governments, educational institutions, 

7 and for-profit and nonprofit organizations to evalu8 ate the environmental outcomes associated with im9 plementation of the environmental quality incentives 

10 program; 

11 ‘‘(5) ensure broad participation in State Tech12 nical Committees; and 

13 ‘‘(6) ensure that priorities established at the 

14 State level are effectively addressed by local work 

15 groups.’’. 

16 SEC. 208. COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP 

17 INITIATIVE. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.—Subtitle 

19 D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 is amend20 ed by adding at the end the following new chapter: 


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1 ‘‘CHAPTER 6—COOPERATIVE CONSERVA2 TION PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE 

3 ‘‘SEC. 1240W. COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP 

4 INITIATIVE. 

5 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

6 shall make grants and enter into agreements for not short7 er than two-year or longer than five-year terms with eligi8 ble entities specified in subsection (c) to preferentially en9 roll producers in one or more of the programs specified 

10 in subsection (b) to carry out special projects and initia11 tives through which multiple producers and other inter12 ested persons cooperate to address specific resources of 

13 concern related to agricultural production on a local, 

14 State, or regional scale. 

15 ‘‘(b) COVERED PROGRAMS.—The conservation pro16 grams referred to in subsection (a) are the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) Conservation reserve program, but only 

18 the continuous signup portion of the program. 

19 ‘‘(2) Conservation reserve enhancement pro20 gram. 

21 ‘‘(3) Environmental quality incentives program. 

22 ‘‘(4) Farmland protection program. 

23 ‘‘(5) Grassland reserve program. 

24 ‘‘(6) Ground and surface water conservation 

25 program. 


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1 ‘‘(7) Wetland reserve program. 

2 ‘‘(8) Wildlife habitat incentive program. 

3 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE PARTNERS.—Agreements may be en4 tered into under this section with any of the following (or 

5 a combination thereof): 

6 ‘‘(1) States and agencies of States. 

7 ‘‘(2) Political subdivisions of States, including 

8 State-sponsored conservation districts. 

9 ‘‘(3) Indian tribes. 

10 ‘‘(4) Nongovernmental organizations and asso11 ciations, including producer associations, farmer co12 operatives, extension associations, and conservation 

13 organizations with a history of working cooperatively 

14 with producers to effectively address resource con15 cerns related to agricultural production, as deter16 mined by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.—The Secretary 

19 shall establish a competitive process for considering 

20 applications for agreements under this section con21 sistent with the evaluation criteria listed in sub22 section (e). 

23 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM ALLOCATION.—Applications 

24 shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(A) specification of the amount of fund2 ing or acres, or both, of one or more covered 

3 programs specified in subsection (b) proposed 

4 to be allocated to carry out the special project 

5 or initiative; and 

6 ‘‘(B) a schedule for utilization of funding 

7 or acres over the life of the proposed project or 

8 initiative. 

9 ‘‘(e) EVALUATION CRITERIA.—In evaluating applica10 tions for agreements under this section the Secretary shall 

11 consider the extent to which— 

12 ‘‘(1) preferential enrollment in the covered pro13 grams specified in the application will effectively ad14 dress the environmental objectives established for 

15 the special project or initiative; and 

16 ‘‘(2) the special project or initiative covered by 

17 the application— 

18 ‘‘(A) enjoys broad local and regional sup19 port from producers and other interested per20 sons, including governmental and nongovern21 mental organizations with appropriate expertise 

22 on the issues the project or initiative seeks to 

23 address; 

24 ‘‘(B) includes clear environmental objec25 tives and a high likelihood of success; 


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1 ‘‘(C) includes a well defined project or ini2 tiative plan that identifies sensitive areas re3 quiring treatment and prioritizes conservation 

4 systems, practices, and activities needed to 

5 achieve environmental objectives; 

6 ‘‘(D) promises adequate and coordinated 

7 participation to achieve the objectives of the 

8 project or initiative; 

9 ‘‘(E) coordinates integration of local, 

10 State, and Federal efforts to make the best use 

11 of available resources and maximize cost-effec12 tive investments; 

13 ‘‘(F) leverages financial and technical re14 sources from sources other than the programs 

15 authorized by this subtitle, including financial 

16 and technical resources provided by Federal 

17 and State agencies, local governments, non18 governmental organizations and associations, 

19 and other private sector entities; 

20 ‘‘(G) describes how all necessary technical 

21 assistance will be provided to each producer 

22 participating in the project or initiative, includ23 ing cost estimates for technical assistance and 

24 whether such assistance will be provided by 

25 technical service providers; 


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1 ‘‘(H) describes how the administrative 

2 costs of the project or initiative will be mini3 mized; 

4 ‘‘(I) addresses a local, State, regional, or 

5 national environmental priority or priorities, 

6 with particular emphasis on any priority for 

7 which there is an existing State or federally ap8 proved plan in place for addressing that pri9 ority; 

10 ‘‘(J) includes a plan to evaluate progress 

11 and measure results; and 

12 ‘‘(K) clearly demonstrates that enrollment 

13 of producers in covered programs will be con14 sistent with the purposes and policies of each 

15 individual program, as established in statute, 

16 rules and regulations, and program guidance 

17 promulgated by implementing agencies. 

18 ‘‘(f) PRIORITIES.—To the maximum extent prac19 ticable, consistent with the requirements of subsection (d), 

20 the Secretary shall ensure that, each fiscal year, grants 

21 are awarded and agreements are entered into under this 

22 section to support projects and initiatives that collectively 

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1 cluding specifically projects and initiatives that are de2 signed— 

3 ‘‘(1) to achieve improvements in water quality 

4 in watersheds impacted by agriculture, particularly 

5 by increasing the participation of producers in im6 plementing best management practices in a water7 shed or developing environmentally and economically 

8 viable alternative uses for manure and litter; 

9 ‘‘(2) to achieve improvements in air quality in 

10 a geographical area where agricultural operations 

11 impact air quality, especially an area that, as deter12 mined by the Administrator of the Environmental 

13 Protection Agency, is a nonattainment area with re14 spect to any of the national ambient air quality 

15 standards promulgated by the Administrator under 

16 section 109 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409); 

17 ‘‘(3) to conserve water for environmental pur18 poses, such as enhanced in stream flows or aquifer 

19 recharge in regions, States, or local areas where 

20 water quantity is a concern; 

21 ‘‘(4) to assist in the recovery of Federal or 

22 State-listed endangered species or species of special 

23 concern or to further the goals and objectives of a 

24 State’s comprehensive wildlife conservation plan 


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1 through the cooperative efforts of multiple pro2 ducers; 

3 ‘‘(5) to control invasive species on rangeland or 

4 other agricultural land through the cooperative ef5 forts of multiple producers in a geographical area; 

6 ‘‘(6) to address a specific resource of concern or 

7 set of concerns on private, non-industrial forest land; 

8 ‘‘(7) to reduce losses of pesticides to the envi9 ronment by engaging multiple producers in a geo10 graphic area in adoption of integrated pest manage11 ment practices and approaches; and 

12 ‘‘(8) to keep working farms and ranches facing 

13 development pressures in agricultural use. 

14 ‘‘(g) COST SHARE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) MAXIMUM; EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary 

16 shall not require more than 25 percent of the cost 

17 of a project or initiative supported under an agree18 ment entered into under this section to come from 

19 non-Federal sources. However, the Secretary may 

20 award more points to projects or initiatives offering 

21 to cover a higher percentage of the cost of the 

22 project or initiative from non-Federal sources. 

23 ‘‘(2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—If the Sec24 retary establishes a cost-share requirement for a 


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1 project or initiative, the Secretary shall allow the use 

2 of in-kind contributions to meet that requirement. 

3 ‘‘(h) FUNDING.— 

4 ‘‘(1) SET-ASIDE.—Of the funds provided each 

5 fiscal year to implement the programs specified in 

6 subsection (b), the Secretary shall reserve the fol7 lowing percentages to ensure an adequate source of 

8 funds for agreements entered into under this section: 

9 ‘‘(A) 5 percent for fiscal year 2008; 

10 ‘‘(B) 10 percent for each of fiscal years 

11 2009 and 2010; and 

12 ‘‘(C) 15 percent for fiscal years 2011 and 

13 2012. 

14 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION TO STATES.—The Secretary 

15 shall allocate to States 60 percent of the funds re16 served under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year to allow 

17 State Conservationists, with the advice of State tech18 nical committees, to select projects and initiatives 

19 for funding under this section at the State level. The 

20 allocation shall be made on a similar basis as what 

21 would have been the case under the covered pro22 grams identified in subsection (b).’’. 

23 (b) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Section 1243 of the 

24 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3843) is amended 

25 by striking subsection (f). 


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1 SEC. 209. REGIONAL EQUITY IN FUNDING OF CERTAIN DE2 PARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVA3 TION PROGRAMS. 

4 Subsection (d) of section 1241 of the Food Security 

5 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841) is amended to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(d) MINIMUM BASE ALLOCATION TO STATES FOR

8 CERTAIN CONSERVATION PROGRAMS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) MINIMUM ALLOCATION.—Before April 1 of 

10 each fiscal year, the Secretary shall give priority for 

11 funding under the conservation programs under this 

12 subtitle, other than the programs excluded by para13 graph (2), to approved applications in any State that 

14 has not received, for that fiscal year, an aggregate 

15 amount of at least $12,000,000 for those conserva16 tion programs. 

17 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN PROGRAMS EXCLUDED.—Para18 graph (1) does not apply to the following programs: 

19 ‘‘(A) The conservation reserve program 

20 under subchapter B of chapter 1. 

21 ‘‘(B) The wetlands reserve program under 

22 subchapter C of chapter 1. 

23 ‘‘(C) The conservation security program 

24 under subchapter A of chapter 2. 

25 ‘‘(D) The grassland reserve program under 

26 subchapter C of chapter 2.’’. 


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1 SEC. 210. INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE. 

2 Subtitle F of title XII of the Food Security Act of 

3 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3830 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

4 the end the following new section: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 1257. INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE. 

6 ‘‘(a) INITIATIVE REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall 

7 implement an integrated pest management initiative in 

8 priority regions identified by the Secretary under sub9 section (b) for the purpose of assisting agricultural pro10 ducers operating in such regions to comply with pest man11 agement regulations and alleviate the need for additional 

12 regulations regarding pest management activities. 

13 ‘‘(b) IDENTIFICATION OF PRIORITY REGIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IDENTIFICATION.—The Secretary of Agri15 culture shall identify priority regions where the 

16 adoption by agricultural producers of integrated pest 

17 management practices and approaches offers the 

18 greatest potential benefit to producers seeking to 

19 comply with environmental regulations and alleviate 

20 the need for additional regulations resulting from 

21 pest management activities. Priority regions shall in22 clude agricultural lands dominated by the production 

23 of specialty crops and agricultural lands where agri24 cultural pest management activities are regulated for 

25 the purpose of mitigating specific impacts to human 

26 health or the environment, such as an area in which 


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1 pollutants exceed authorized total maximum daily 

2 load or an air quality non-attainment area. 

3 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall 

4 identify priority regions in consultation with the En5 vironmental Protection Agency, the United States 

6 Geological Service, the United States Fish and Wild7 life Service, agricultural producers, appropriated 

8 State agencies, and other interested persons. 

9 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES IN PRIORITY REGIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) EXPEDITED APPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

11 PRACTICES.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall de12 velop the best-available integrated pest management 

13 practices for the primary agricultural commodities 

14 and significant pests in each priority region identi15 fied under subsection (b) and expedite approval of 

16 these practices for implementation by agricultural 

17 producers. 

18 ‘‘(2) IMPROVED EVALUATION OF MANAGEMENT

19 PLANS.—The Secretary shall develop and make 

20 available criteria to enable staff of the Natural Re21 sources Conservation Service and agricultural pro22 ducers operating in priority regions identified under 

23 subsection (b) to effectively compare pest manage24 ment plans, considering relative risks and potential 

25 benefits to multiple resources of concern, including 


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1 air, surface water, ground water, bees and other pol2 linators, wildlife, and worker safety. 

3 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

4 shall enter in cooperative agreements, memorandums 

5 of understanding, and contracts for services with 

6 other agencies and non-Federal organizations, as 

7 necessary, to assist in providing technical assistance 

8 regarding integrated pest management planning and 

9 implementation to producers operating in priority re10 gions identified under subsection (b). 

11 ‘‘(4) MARKETING.—The Secretary shall market 

12 the availability of integrated pest management tools 

13 and training to agricultural producers in the priority 

14 regions identified under subsection (b). 

15 ‘‘(5) PROGRAM INTEGRATION.—The Secretary 

16 shall set goals for integrating the integrated pest 

17 management initiative with the environmental qual18 ity incentives program established under chapter 4 

19 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act 

20 of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.) and other con21 servation programs in each priority region identified 

22 under subsection (b), including indicators of the ex23 tent to which these programs fund integrated pest 

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1 ported integrated pest management practices reduce 

2 pesticide use and risk. 

3 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.—The Secretary of Agriculture may 

4 use resources provided for programs under this title to im5 plement the integrated pest management initiative.’’. 

6 SEC. 211. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE UNDER DEPARTMENT 

7 OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION PRO8 GRAMS. 

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

10 1242 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842) 

11 is amended— 

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

13 and inserting the following new paragraph: 

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

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

16 (2) in subsection (b)— 

17 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert18 ing the following new paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(1) SYSTEM FOR EVALUATION OF PRO20 VIDERS.—The Secretary shall establish, by regula21 tion, a system for approving individuals and entities 

22 to provide technical assistance to carry out programs 

23 under this chapter, including criteria for the evalua24 tion of providers or potential providers of technical 

25 assistance. The system shall require, as part of the 


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1 approval process, consultation with county commit2 tees established under section 8(b) of the Soil Con3 servation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 

4 590h(b)).’’; 

5 (B) by striking paragraph (3) and insert6 ing the following new paragraph: 

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

8 may accept bids from approved third parties to pro9 vide technical assistance to producers eligible for 

10 that assistance.’’; and 

11 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘may re12 quest’’ and inserting ‘‘shall request, to the max13 imum extent practicable,’’. 

14 (b) COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION EDUCATIONAL AS15 SISTANCE PROGRAM; TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Such 

16 section is further amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing new subsections: 

18 ‘‘(c) COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION EDUCATIONAL

19 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall establish a 

20 cooperative conservation educational assistance program 

21 through which a student at an institution of higher edu22 cation, in a field of study such as agronomy, conservation 

23 biology, engineering, and other subject relevant to the pro24 vision of technical assistance under this section, may re25 ceive educational assistance in exchange for a commitment 


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1 of service to the Natural Resources Conservation Service 

2 or other agency within the Department of Agriculture in3 volved in providing such assistance. Establishment of the 

4 program shall be carried out by rulemaking, and the final 

5 rule shall be issued not later than 180 days after the date 

6 of the enactment of this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(d) REVIEW AND EXPEDITED APPROVAL OF TECH8 NICAL ASSISTANCE SPECIFICATIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) As a condition on participating in pro10 grams under this subtitle, a State shall assess the 

11 completeness and relevance of existing technical as12 sistance specifications to ensure that the specifica13 tions fully incorporate and provide for the appro14 priate range of conservation practices and resource 

15 mitigation measures available to specialty crop pro16 ducers. In conducting the assessment, the State 

17 shall consult with producers, crop consultants, the 

18 cooperative extension system, and land-grant colleges 

19 and universities, nongovernmental organizations, and 

20 other qualified entities. If revisions to technical spec21 ifications are determined to be necessary, the state 

22 shall establish an administrative process for expe23 diting the incorporation of those revisions. 

24 ‘‘(2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

25 shall ensure that adequate technical assistance is 


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1 available for the implementation of practices by spe2 cialty crop producers through Federal conservation 

3 programs. To comply with this paragraph, the Sec4 retary shall develop— 

5 ‘‘(A) programs that meet specific needs of 

6 specialty crop producers through cooperative 

7 agreements with other agencies and nongovern8 mental organizations; and 

9 ‘‘(B) program specifications that allow for 

10 innovative approaches that engage local re11 sources in providing technical assistance for 

12 planning and implementation of practices.’’. 

13 SEC. 212. CONSERVATION LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM. 

14 Section 304 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De15 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1924) is amended to read as fol16 lows: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 304. CONSERVATION LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide a 

19 loan guarantee, an interest subsidy, or both, to enable an 

20 eligible borrower to obtain a qualified conservation loan. 

21 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE BORROWER.—The term ‘eligible 

23 borrower’ means a farmer, rancher, farm coopera24 tive, private domestic corporation, partnership, joint 

25 operation, trust, or limited liability company, that is 


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1 engaged primarily and directly in agricultural pro2 duction in the United States. 

3 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED CONSERVATION LOAN.—The 

4 term ‘qualified conservation loan’ means a loan that 

5 meets the following requirements: 

6 ‘‘(A) PURPOSE.—The loan proceeds are re7 quired to be used to cover the costs to the bor8 rower of carrying out a qualified conservation 

9 project. 

10 ‘‘(B) PRINCIPAL AMOUNT.—The principal 

11 amount of the loan is not more than 

12 $1,000,000. 

13 ‘‘(C) REPAYMENT PERIOD.—The loan re14 payment period shall not exceed 10 years. 

15 ‘‘(D) NO REPAYMENT REQUIRED IN FIRST

16 YEAR.—The lender is prohibited from requiring 

17 any part of the loan to be repaid in the 1-year 

18 period that begins with the date of the closing 

19 of the loan. 

20 ‘‘(E) NO LOAN FORGIVENESS.—The lender 

21 is prohibited from forgiving any part of the 

22 loan. 

23 ‘‘(F) LIMITED PROCESSING FEE.—The 

24 total of all processing fees charged with respect 


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1 to the loan does not exceed such amount as 

2 shall be prescribed by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED CONSERVATION PROJECT.— 

4 The term ‘qualified conservation project’ means, 

5 with respect to an eligible borrower, conservation 

6 measures included in a conservation plan, approved 

7 by the Secretary under other authority, for a farm8 ing or ranching operation of the borrower, including 

9 but not limited to— 

10 ‘‘(A) the installation of conservation struc11 tures, including terraces, sod waterways, per12 manently vegetated stream borders and filter 

13 strips, windbreaks (tree or grass), shelter belts, 

14 and living snow fences, if all plantings consist 

15 of vegetation appropriate to the locale; 

16 ‘‘(B) the installation of water conservation 

17 measures; 

18 ‘‘(C) the installation of waste management 

19 systems; 

20 ‘‘(D) the establishment or improvement of 

21 permanent pasture; 

22 ‘‘(E) the payment of costs of complying 

23 with section 1212 of the Food Security Act of 

24 1985; 


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1 ‘‘(F) other purposes consistent with the 

2 conservation plan; 

3 ‘‘(G) any conservation project or practice, 

4 as described by technical guides and handbooks 

5 issues by the Natural Resources Conservation 

6 Service; or 

7 ‘‘(H) emerging conservation practices, 

8 techniques, or technologies, as approved by the 

9 Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS APPLICABLE TO LOAN GUARAN11 TEES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF GUAR13 ANTEE.—The portion of a loan that the Secretary 

14 may guarantee under this section shall be not less 

15 than 80 percent and not more than 90 percent of 

16 the principal amount of the loan. 

17 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON TOTAL AMOUNT OUT18 STANDING.—The aggregate principal amount of out19 standing loans guaranteed by the Secretary under 

20 this section shall not exceed $1,000,000,000. 

21 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF INTEREST SUB22 SIDY.—The interest subsidy which the Secretary may pro23 vide under this section with respect to a loan shall result 

24 in a reduction of the interest rate agreed upon by the bor25 rower and the lender (but to not less than zero) by— 


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1 ‘‘(1) 500 basis points, if the principal amount 

2 of the loan is less than $100,000; 

3 ‘‘(2) 400 basis points, if the principal amount 

4 of the loan is not less than $100,000 and is less 

5 than $500,000; and 

6 ‘‘(3) 300 basis points, in any other case. 

7 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO COLLECT PROCESSING

9 FEE.—The Secretary may assess a fee to cover the 

10 cost of processing an application under this section 

11 equal to not more than 1 percent of the principal 

12 amount of the loan sought by the applicant, as de13 scribed in the application. 

14 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF FINANCIAL INFORMA15 TION.—An applicant for a loan guarantee or interest 

16 subsidy under this section shall provide the Sec17 retary with such financial information as may be re18 quired by the Secretary, in the manner generally re19 quired by commercial agricultural lenders in the geo20 graphical area where the farming or ranching oper21 ation of the applicant is located. 

22 ‘‘(3) APPRAISAL.—The Secretary may require 

23 that an appraisal made in connection with an appli24 cation for a loan guarantee or interest subsidy under 

25 this section be conducted by a specialized appraiser 


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1 that uses standards similar to the standards used 

2 for similar purposes in the private sector, as deter3 mined by the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(4) APPROVAL OF APPLICATION.—The Sec5 retary shall not approve an application submitted 

6 pursuant to this section, unless the Secretary has 

7 determined that the project for which the loan is 

8 sought is likely to result in a net benefit to the envi9 ronment. 

10 ‘‘(5) DEADLINE FOR DECISION ON APPLICA11 TION.—To the maximum extent practicable, within 

12 60 business days after the receipt of an application 

13 for assistance under this section, the Secretary shall 

14 transmit to the applicant the decision of the Sec15 retary to approve or disapprove the application. 

16 ‘‘(6) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF LOAN

17 GUARANTEES AND INTEREST SUBSIDIES.—The Sec18 retary shall ensure, to the maximum extent prac19 ticable, that loan guarantees and interest subsidies 

20 under this section are equitably distributed among 

21 agricultural producers according to the size of their 

22 farming operations, as determined on the basis of 

23 the value of the crops produced by the operations. 

24 ‘‘(f) RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER CONSERVATION

25 PROGRAMS.—Neither the application for, nor the receipt 


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1 of, a loan guarantee or an interest subsidy under this sec2 tion shall affect the eligibility of the recipient for assist3 ance under title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 

4 or the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act. 

5 ‘‘(g) APPROPRIATIONS.—For each of fiscal years 

6 2008 through 2013, the Secretary shall use such funds 

7 of the Commodity Credit Corporation as are necessary to 

8 carry out this section.’’. 

9 SEC. 213. EMERGENCY CONSERVATION PROGRAM. 

10 Section 401 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 

11 (16 U.S.C. 2201) is amended by adding at the end the 

12 following new sentence: ‘‘Assistance provided under this 

13 title may include reimbursement for emergency measures 

14 undertaken to clean-up nursery debris resulting from wind 

15 erosion, floods, hurricanes, or other natural disasters.’’. 

16 SEC. 214. EXCLUSION OF PAYMENTS UNDER DEPARTMENT 

17 OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION PRO18 GRAMS FROM ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME 

19 LIMITATION. 

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

21 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308–3a) is amended by striking subpara22 graph (C). 


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1 SEC. 215. ENCOURAGEMENT OF VOLUNTARY SUSTAIN2 ABILITY PRACTICES GUIDELINES. 

3 In administering this title and the amendments made 

4 by this title, the Secretary of Agriculture may encourage 

5 the development of voluntary sustainable practices guide6 lines for producers and processors of specialty crops. 

7 SEC. 216. ASSISTANCE TO ADDRESS LONG-TERM CLIMATE 

8 CHANGE. 

9 Whenever practicable, the Secretary of Agriculture 

10 shall utilize programs of the Department of Agriculture 

11 to provide technical or financial assistance to producers 

12 and processors of specialty crops to address the adverse 

13 impacts of long-term climate change, including the compli14 ance of producers and processors with governmental regu15 lations related to long-term climate change. 

16 TITLE III—TRADE 

17 SEC. 301. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR SPECIALTY CROPS. 

18 (a) FUNDING AND CARRYOVER OF FUNDING.—Sub19 section (d) of section 3205 of the Farm Security and 

20 Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 5680) is amended 

21 to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(d) FUNDING AND CARRYOVER OF FUNDING.— 

23 ‘‘(1) FUNDING.—To carry out the program, the 

24 Secretary shall make available funds of the Com25 modity Credit Corporation, or an equal value of 


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1 commodities owned by the Commodity Credit Cor2 poration, in the amount of— 

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

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

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

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

7 2011 and 2012. 

8 ‘‘(2) CARRYOVER OF FUNDING.—Funds made 

9 available for the program under paragraph (1) or 

10 under section 201 of the Specialty Crops Competi11 tiveness Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–465; 118 

12 Stat. 3884) shall remain available until expended.’’. 

13 (b) FLEXIBILITY.—Such section is further amended 

14 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(e) FLEXIBILITY.—In providing technical assistance 

16 under the program, the Secretary should provide for case17 by-case extensions, upon the approval of the Administrator 

18 of the Foreign Agricultural Service, of time frames pro19 vided by regulations in connection with that assistance.’’. 

20 SEC. 302. COORDINATION OF TRADE OBJECTIVES BETWEEN 

21 KEY AGENCIES. 

22 The President shall take steps to ensure increased co23 ordination among relevant agencies within the Depart24 ment of Agriculture and other agencies within the Execu25 tive branch of export and import trade objectives and 


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1 greater transparency on work related to sanitary and 

2 phytosanitary trade issues. 

3 SEC. 303. MARKET ACCESS PROGRAM. 

4 Section 211(c)(1)(A) of the Agricultural Trade Act 

5 of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5641(c)(1)(A)) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘$200,000,000’’; 

7 and 

8 (2) by inserting ‘‘and $350,000,000 for each of 

9 fiscal years 2008 through 2012,’’ after ‘‘2007,’’. 

10 SEC. 304. GRANT PROGRAM FOR MARKET ANALYSIS RE11 LATED TO ANTI-DUMPING AND COUNTER12 VAILING DUTY CASES INVOLVING SPECIALTY 

13 CROPS. 

14 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Agri15 culture may make grants under this section to a State 

16 agency or an association of specialty crop producers (in 

17 this section referred to as an ‘‘eligible entity’’) to conduct 

18 or procure market analysis in connection with anti-dump19 ing and countervailing duty cases involving a specialty 

20 crop under consideration by the United States Inter21 national Trade Commission or the Department of Com22 merce. 

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

24 under this section, an eligible entity must establish to the 

25 satisfaction of the Secretary that— 


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1 (1) there has been significant price underselling 

2 of the imported specialty crop, as compared with the 

3 previous three-year average price of the domestic 

4 specialty crop; and 

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

6 or market penetration of the imported specialty crop 

7 over the previous three years. 

8 (c) MATCHING FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiving 

9 a grant under this section shall contribute non-Federal 

10 funds toward the market analysis project for which the 

11 grant is provided in an amount at least equal to the 

12 amount of the grant. 

13 (d) FUNDING.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall 

14 use $10,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Cor15 poration for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 

16 to make grants under this section. 

17 SEC. 305. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING CERTAIN ANTI18 TRUST LAWS APPLICABLE TO AGRICULTURE. 

19 It is the sense of Congress that the Export Trading 

20 Company Act (ETC), the Webb-Pomerene Export Act, 

21 and the Capper-Volstead Act should be strongly supported 

22 because these antitrust laws promote United States agri23 cultural exports and allow specialty crop producers key 

24 protections. 


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1 TITLE IV—INVASIVE PESTS AND 

2 DISEASES 

3 SEC. 401. THREAT IDENTIFICATION AND MITIGATION PRO4 GRAM. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the 

6 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service shall estab7 lish and administer a program to determine and prioritize 

8 foreign threats to domestic production of specialty crops, 

9 including threats of bioterrorism. 

10 (b) PROGRAM.—In conducting the program estab11 lished under subsection (a), the Administrator of the Ani12 mal and Plant Health Inspection Service shall— 

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

14 Plant Health Science and Technology; 

15 (2) develop risk assessments of the potential 

16 threat to the specialty crop industry in the United 

17 States from foreign threats; 

18 (3) collaborate with the National Plant Board 

19 to— 

20 (A) prioritize foreign threats to the spe21 cialty crop industry; and 

22 (B) in consultation with State departments 

23 of agriculture and other State or regional re24 source partnerships, develop action plans that 

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1 ing pathway analysis, offshore mitigation meas2 ures, and comprehensive exclusion measures at 

3 ports of entry and other key distribution cen4 ters in addition to strategies to employ if the 

5 foreign pest or disease is introduced; 

6 (4) implement such action plans as soon as they 

7 are developed to test the effectiveness of such action 

8 plans and help prevent new foreign and domestic 

9 pest and disease threats from being introduced or 

10 widely disseminated in the United States; 

11 (5) consult with the Administrator of the Agri12 cultural Research Service, where appropriate, and 

13 utilize the expertise of the Agricultural Research 

14 Service in the development of pest and disease detec15 tion and control or eradication strategies; 

16 (6) consult with the United States Trade Rep17 resentative on both the priority list and action plans 

18 after such are developed to ensure future trade 

19 agreements include measures to mitigate these 

20 threats; and 

21 (7) not use funds available pursuant to sub22 section (d) for eradication efforts that enhance im23 port opportunities into the United States. 

24 (c) REPORTS.—Not later than one year after the date 

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


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1 Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

2 Service shall update and submit to Congress the priority 

3 list and action plans described in subsection (b), including 

4 an accounting of funds expended on such action plans. 

5 (d) FUNDING.—The Administrator of the Animal and 

6 Plant Health Inspection Service shall use $40,000,000 of 

7 the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation for each 

8 of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out this sec9 tion. 

10 SEC. 402. EMERGENCY CONTROL, PREVENTION, AND 

11 ERADICATION PROGRAMS. 

12 (a) EXTRAORDINARY EMERGENCY.—Section 415 of 

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

14 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(f) SECRETARIAL DISCRETION.—The decision to de16 clare an extraordinary emergency under subsection (a) 

17 shall be solely the decision of the Secretary and shall re18 main in effect until the Secretary determines that the 

19 threat posed by the plant pest or noxious weed has 

20 abated.’’. 

21 (b) PLANT PEST EMERGENCY AUTHORITY.—Section 

22 442 of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7772) is amend23 ed— 

24 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘TRANSFER’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘PLANT PEST EMERGENCY’’; and 


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

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(c) SECRETARIAL DISCRETION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) DECLARATION OF EMERGENCY.—The deci5 sion to declare an emergency in connection with a 

6 plant pest or noxious weed that threatens any part 

7 of the agricultural production of the United States 

8 shall be solely the decision of the Secretary and shall 

9 remain in effect until the Secretary determines that 

10 the threat posed by the plant pest or noxious weed 

11 has abated. 

12 ‘‘(2) FUNDS.—The decision of the Secretary to 

13 transfer funds pursuant to this section shall be 

14 based solely on the threat to agricultural production 

15 within the United States. Notwithstanding any other 

16 provision of law, the decision of the Secretary shall 

17 be final and it shall be unlawful for any officer or 

18 employee of the Federal Government other than the 

19 Secretary or the designee of the Secretary to con20 tradict, impede, or reverse the transfer of funds the 

21 Secretary considers necessary for the arrest, control, 

22 eradication, and prevention of the spread of a plant 

23 pest or noxious weed and for related expenses. 

24 ‘‘(d) APPLIED RESEARCH.—The Secretary shall use 

25 the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to fund, 


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1 as necessary, applied research to resolve issues that may 

2 arise during a plant pest emergency. Such research may 

3 include the development of new or improved diagnostic 

4 methods, biocontrol tools, eradication or control tools, or 

5 such other matters as the Secretary determines advance 

6 the effort to arrest, control, eradicate, and prevent the 

7 spread of a plant pest or noxious weed. 

8 ‘‘(e) USE OF COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, to the 

10 greatest extent practicable, enter into a cooperative 

11 agreement pursuant to section 432 with a State to 

12 assist in the arrest, control, eradication, or preven13 tion of a plant pest or noxious weed connected with 

14 an emergency under this section or applied research 

15 conducted pursuant to subsection (d). 

16 ‘‘(2) NO COST SHARING REQUIRED.—The Sec17 retary shall not require a State entering into a coop18 erative agreement with the Secretary under para19 graph (1) to provide a share of the costs necessary 

20 for the arrest, control, eradication, or prevention of 

21 the spread of a plant pest or noxious weed connected 

22 with an emergency under this section or for applied 

23 research conducted pursuant to subsection (d).’’. 

24 (c) COMPENSATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 416 of such Act (7 

2 U.S.C. 7716) is amended to read as follows: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 416. COMPENSATION. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

5 (c), the Secretary shall compensate the owner of any plant, 

6 plant product, article, or means of conveyance— 

7 ‘‘(1) destroyed or otherwise disposed of by the 

8 Secretary under section 414 or 415; or 

9 ‘‘(2) for any loss in market value of any plant, 

10 plant product, article or means of conveyance re11 stricted by the Secretary from being moved or dis12 tributed outside of a quarantine area if the Sec13 retary determines that such plant, plant product, ar14 ticle, or means of conveyance is not infested with or 

15 capable of transmitting a disease or plant pest. 

16 ‘‘(b) AMOUNT.— 

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

18 and (3), the compensation— 

19 ‘‘(A) under subsection (a)(1) shall be based 

20 on the fair market value, as determined by the 

21 Secretary, of the destroyed plant, plant product, 

22 article, or means of conveyance; and 

23 ‘‘(B) under subsection (a)(2) shall be 

24 based on the loss in fair market value of the 


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1 plant, plant product, article, or means of con2 veyance. 

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

4 owner under this section shall not exceed the dif5 ference between— 

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

7 plant, plant product, article, or means of con8 veyance; and 

9 ‘‘(B) any compensation received by the 

10 owner from a State or other source for the de11 stroyed plant, plant product, article, or means 

12 of conveyance. 

13 ‘‘(3) REVIEWABILITY.—The determination by 

14 the Secretary of the amount to be paid under this 

15 section shall be final and not subject to judicial re16 view or review of longer than 60 days by any officer 

17 or employee of the Federal Government other than 

18 the Secretary or the designee of the Secretary. 

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

20 the Secretary under this section for— 

21 ‘‘(1) any plant, plant product, article, or means 

22 of conveyance that has been moved or handled by 

23 the owner in violation of an agreement for the con24 trol and eradication of diseases or pests or in viola25 tion of this title; 


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1 ‘‘(2) any plant, plant product, article, or means 

2 of conveyance that is refused entry under this title; 

3 or 

4 ‘‘(3) any plant, plant product, article, or means 

5 of conveyance that becomes or has become affected 

6 with or exposed to any pest or disease because of a 

7 violation of an agreement for the control and eradi8 cation of diseases or pests or a violation of this title 

9 by the owner.’’. 

10 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 415 

11 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 7715) is amended by striking 

12 subsection (e). 

13 SEC. 403. AGRICULTURAL QUARANTINE INSPECTION AC14 TIVITIES AT PORTS OF ENTRY. 

15 (a) TRANSFER OF CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL IMPORT

16 AND ENTRY FUNCTIONS BACK TO USDA.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall be transferred to 

18 the Secretary of Agriculture the functions of the 

19 Secretary of Homeland Security relating to agricul20 tural import and entry inspection activities under 

21 the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.). 

22 (2) TRANSFER AGREEMENT.—Before the end of 

23 the transition period, the Secretary of Agriculture 

24 and the Secretary shall enter into an agreement to 

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1 graph (1). The Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec2 retary may jointly revise the agreement as necessary 

3 thereafter. 

4 (3) TRANSFER OF DHS EMPLOYEES.—Not later 

5 than the end of the transition period, the Secretary 

6 of Homeland Security shall transfer to the Secretary 

7 of Agriculture not less than 2,600 full-time equiva8 lent positions of the Department of Homeland Secu9 rity. 

10 (4) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

11 421(b) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 

12 U.S.C. 231(b)) is amended by— 

13 (A) striking paragraph (4); and 

14 (B) redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), and 

15 (7) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respec16 tively. 

17 (5) TRANSITION PERIOD DEFINED.—In this 

18 subsection, the term ‘‘transition period’’ means the 

19 period ending on the date that is one year after the 

20 date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 (b) RISK MITIGATION REVIEW COMMITTEES.—The 

22 Secretary of Agriculture shall establish State and regional 

23 risk mitigation review committees to assist the Secretary 

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1 tions. Such committees shall include staff of State depart2 ments of agriculture and other appropriate persons. 

3 SEC. 404. ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERV4 ICE EXPORT DIVISION. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the 

6 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service shall estab7 lish a sanitary and phytosanitary export petitions division 

8 within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. 

9 (b) DUTIES.—The division established under sub10 section (a) shall— 

11 (1) process sanitary and phytosanitary export 

12 petitions; 

13 (2) establish a public docket for sanitary and 

14 phytosanitary export petitions; and 

15 (3) complete review of sanitary and 

16 phytosanitary export petitions filed on or before the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act not later than five 

18 years after such date. 

19 SEC. 405. CONSULTATIONS ON SANITARY AND 

20 PHYTOSANITARY RESTRICTIONS FOR FRUITS 

21 AND VEGETABLES. 

22 (a) CONSULTATIONS ON SANITARY AND

23 PHYTOSANITARY RESTRICTIONS FOR FRUITS AND VEGE24 TABLES.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall, to the great25 est practicable extent, consult with interested persons on 


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1 sanitary and phytosanitary trade issues. The consultation 

2 shall include— 

3 (1) annual briefings to interested persons, in4 cluding Congress; 

5 (2) the development of a strategic risk manage6 ment framework; and 

7 (3) where appropriate, implementation of peer 

8 review for risk analysis. 

9 (b) AMENDMENTS.—Section 2104(b)(2)(A)(ii)(II) of 

10 the Bipartisan Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002 

11 (19 U.S.C. 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 identified’’; 

15 and 

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

17 ‘‘(bb) any fruits or vegetables so 

18 identified are subject to or likely to be 

19 subject to unjustified sanitary or 

20 phytosanitary restrictions, including 

21 those not based on scientific principles 

22 in contravention of the Uruguay 

23 Round Agreements, as determined by 

24 the United States Trade Representa25 tive in consultation with the AgriculVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:38 Apr 02, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00080 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1600.IH H1600

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1 tural Technical Advisory Committee 

2 for Trade in Fruits and Vegetables of 

3 the Department of Agriculture; and’’. 

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

5 subsection (a) apply with respect to the initiation of nego6 tiations to enter into any trade agreement that is subject 

7 to the provisions of section 2103(b) of the Bipartisan 

8 Trade Promotion Authority Act of 2002 (19 U.S.C. 

9 3804(b)) on or after the date of the enactment of this 

10 Act. 

11 SEC. 406. MULTI-SPECIES FRUIT FLY RESEARCH AND STER12 ILE FLY PRODUCTION. 

13 (a) CONSTRUCTION.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

14 shall construct a warehouse and irradiation containment 

15 facility in Waimanalo, Hawaii, to support fruit fly rearing 

16 activities and to house an irradiation to sterilize fruit flies. 

17 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated— 

19 (1) $15,000,000 for the construction of a ware20 house and irradiation containment facility pursuant 

21 to subsection (a); and 

22 (2) $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2008 and each 

23 subsequent fiscal year for maintenance to the facili24 ties constructed pursuant to this section. 


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1 SEC. 407. AUDIT-BASED APPROACH TO SPECIALTY CROP 

2 PHYTOSANITARY REGULATION. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

4 shall establish a grant program to develop an audit-based 

5 inspection program to protect against the spread of plant 

6 pests and to facilitate the interstate movement of plants 

7 and plant products. 

8 (b) PROGRAM.—The program established under sub9 section (a) shall provide grants and other assistance to 

10 specialty crop growers or organizations representing such 

11 growers or to State and local agencies working with grow12 ers and organizations representing such growers for devel13 opment and implementation of inspection systems based 

14 on audit-based systems such as best management prac15 tices to address plant pest and to mitigate the risk of plant 

16 pests in the movement of plants and plant products. 

17 (c) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall use $5,000,000 

18 of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation for each 

19 of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out this sec20 tion. 

21 SEC. 408. EARLY PEST DETECTION AND SURVEILLANCE IM22 PROVEMENT PROGRAM. 

23 (a) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS AUTHORIZED.—The 

24 Secretary of Agriculture shall enter into a cooperative 

25 agreement with each State department of agriculture that 

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1 ties in accordance with guidelines established under the 

2 Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey program of the De3 partment of Agriculture. 

4 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall consult 

5 with the National Plant Board and the National Associa6 tion of State Departments of Agriculture in carrying out 

7 this section. 

8 (c) BASE FUNDS UNDER AGREEMENTS.—The Sec9 retary shall provide each State department of agriculture 

10 with which the Secretary enters into a cooperative agree11 ment under this section not less than $250,000 for each 

12 of fiscal years 2008 through 2012. 

13 (d) ADDITIONAL FUNDS; SPECIAL CONSIDER14 ATIONS.—In addition to funds provided under subsection 

15 (c), the Secretary shall provide funds to a State depart16 ment of agriculture that the Secretary determines is in 

17 a State that has a high risk of being affected by one or 

18 more pest, based on the following factors: 

19 (1) The number of international airports and 

20 maritime facilities in that State. 

21 (2) The volume of international passenger and 

22 cargo entry into that State. 

23 (3) The geographic location of that State and 

24 if such location is conducive to agricultural pest and 


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1 disease establishment due to the climate or crop di2 versity of that State. 

3 (4) Whether the Secretary has declared an 

4 emergency in that State pursuant to section 442 of 

5 the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7772) due to an 

6 agricultural pest or disease of Federal concern. 

7 (5) Such other factors as the Secretary con8 siders appropriate. 

9 (e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

10 (1) PEST DETECTION AND SURVEILLANCE AC11 TIVITIES.—A State department of agriculture that 

12 receives funds under this section shall use the funds 

13 to carry out early pest detection and surveillance ac14 tivities to prevent the introduction of a pest or facili15 tate the eradication of a pest. 

16 (2) SUBAGREEMENTS.—Notwithstanding this 

17 section, a State department of agriculture may use 

18 funds received under subsection (c) or (d) to enter 

19 into subagreements with political subdivisions in 

20 such State that have legal responsibilities relating to 

21 agricultural pest and disease surveillance. 

22 (3) TREATMENT OF FUNDS.—Not more than 5 

23 percent of the funds provided under subsection (c) 

24 or (d) may be used for administrative costs to carry 

25 out a cooperative agreement under this section. 


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1 (f) NO EFFECT ON PILT PAYMENTS.—The receipt 

2 of funds by the department of agriculture under this sec3 tion shall have no effect on the amount of any payment 

4 received by the State of such State department of agri5 culture under chapter 69 of title 31, United States Code. 

6 (g) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall use $50,000,000 

7 of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation for each 

8 of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out this sec9 tion. 

10 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.— 

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

13 an agency of a State that has a legal responsibility 

14 to perform early pest detection and surveillance ac15 tivities. 

16 (2) EARLY PEST DETECTION AND SURVEIL17 LANCE.—The term ‘‘early pest detection and surveil18 lance’’ means the full range of activities undertaken 

19 to find newly introduced pests, whether new to the 

20 United States or new to certain areas of the United 

21 States, before the pests become established, or be22 fore pest infestations become too large and costly to 

23 eradicate or control. 


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1 (3) PEST.—The term ‘‘pest’’ has the meaning 

2 given the term ‘‘plant pest’’ in section 403(14) of 

3 the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7702(14)). 

4 TITLE V—NUTRITION 

5 SEC. 501. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Fruits and vegetables offer consumers a 

8 healthy and nutritious product that is recognized as 

9 critical to the prevention of heart disease, stroke, 

10 and some cancers and other chronic diseases, the re11 duction of obesity and diabetes, and the maintenance 

12 of overall good health. 

13 (2) Proper nutrition is critical in promoting 

14 good health, preventing disease, and improving qual15 ity of life. 

16 (3) Agriculture policies and related domestic 

17 and international nutrition assistance programs 

18 should support incentives and key strategies that 

19 help Americans reach national health goals and ulti20 mately reduce health care costs. 

21 SEC. 502. EXPANSION OF FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE 

22 PROGRAM. 

23 Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School 

24 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) is amended in subsection 

25 (g)— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

2 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

3 (A), by striking ‘‘July 2004’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘July 2007’’; and 

5 (B) by amending subparagraphs (A) and 

6 (B) to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(A) 100 elementary or secondary schools 

8 in each State; 

9 ‘‘(B) additional elementary or secondary 

10 schools in each State in proportion to the stu11 dent population of the State; and’’; 

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

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

14 (3) in paragraph (5), in each of subparagraphs 

15 (A) and (B), by striking ‘‘2008’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘2011’’; and 

17 (4) in paragraph (6)(B)— 

18 (A) in clause (i)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘October 1, 2004, and 

20 on each October 1 thereafter,’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘October 1, 2007, and on each October 

22 1 thereafter,’’; and 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘$9,000,000’’ and in24 serting ‘‘$300,000,000’’; and 

25 (B) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(iii) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 

2 For fiscal year 2008 and each succeeding 

3 fiscal year, of the amount available to 

4 carry out this subsection, the Secretary 

5 may reserve not more than 1 percent of 

6 that amount for administrative expenses in 

7 carrying out this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(iv) STATE ADMINISTRATIVE

9 COSTS.—For fiscal year 2008 and each 

10 succeeding fiscal year, of the amount re11 ceived by a State to carry out this sub12 section, the State may use not more than 

13 5 percent of that amount for administra14 tive expenses in carrying out this sub15 section. To be eligible to use such funds 

16 for such expenses, the State must submit 

17 to the Secretary a plan indicating how the 

18 State intends to use such funds. 

19 ‘‘(v) FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.—The 

20 Secretary shall establish requirements to 

21 be followed by States in administering this 

22 subsection. The initial set of requirements 

23 shall be established not later than 1 year 

24 after the date of the enactment of this 

25 clause.’’. 


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1 SEC. 503. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE NUTRITION PROMOTION 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture, act4 ing through the Administrator of the Agricultural Mar5 keting Service, shall establish and carry out a program 

6 to provide assistance to eligible trade organizations de7 scribed in subsection (c) in support of efforts to increase 

8 the consumption of fruits and vegetables in the United 

9 States to meet Federal health guidelines. 

10 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION.—To be eli11 gible for assistance under this section, an eligible trade 

12 organization shall— 

13 (1) submit to the Administrator of the Agricul14 tural Marketing Service a plan, meeting such guide15 lines as the Administrator may establish, to increase 

16 the consumption of fruits and vegetables in the 

17 United States; and 

18 (2) meet any other requirements established by 

19 the Administrator. 

20 (c) ELIGIBLE TRADE ORGANIZATIONS.—An eligible 

21 trade organization referred to in subsection (a) means any 

22 of the following: 

23 (1) A nonprofit fruit and vegetable trade orga24 nization in the United States; 

25 (2) A nonprofit State or regional fruit and veg26 etable organization. 


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1 (3) A fruit and vegetable agricultural coopera2 tive in the United States. 

3 (4) A commodity board or commission in the 

4 United States. 

5 (5) A business engaged in the fruit and vege6 table industry in the United States. 

7 (d) MATCHING FUNDS.—Assistance provided under 

8 this section shall not exceed— 

9 (1) in the case of an entity referred to in para10 graphs (1) through (4) of subsection (c), 50 percent 

11 of the cost of the plan submitted by the entity under 

12 subsection (b) and approved by the Administrator of 

13 the Agricultural Marketing Service; and 

14 (2) in the case of a business referred to in 

15 paragraph (5) of such subsection, 50 percent of the 

16 cost of the plan submitted by the business under 

17 subsection (b) and approved by the Administrator. 

18 (e) FUNDING.—The Administrator of the Agricul19 tural Marketing Service shall use the funds of the Com20 modity Credit Corporation to carry out this section in the 

21 following amounts: 

22 (1) $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 

23 and 2009. 

24 (2) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

25 (3) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 


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1 (4) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2012. 

2 SEC. 504. USE OF ‘‘DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS’’

3 IN SPECIAL NUTRITION PROGRAMS AND 

4 SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAMS. 

5 Section 9(a) of the Richard B. Russell National 

6 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(a)) is amended by add7 ing at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(5) ALLOCATIONS TO BE BASED ON DIETARY

9 GUIDELINES.—For school year 2007 and each school 

10 year thereafter, the Secretary shall ensure that allo11 cations of food and food ingredients offered in school 

12 nutrition programs under this Act and the Child 

13 Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) are 

14 based on the most recent Dietary Guidelines for 

15 Americans.’’. 

16 SEC. 505. SECTION 32 SPECIALTY CROP PURCHASES. 

17 (a) MINIMUM LEVEL OF PURCHASES.—Section 32 of 

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

19 in the sixth sentence by inserting after ‘‘and their prod20 ucts’’ the following: ‘‘, and, for each of fiscal years 2008 

21 through 2012, the Secretary of Agriculture shall devote 

22 not less than $400,000,000 of sums appropriated under 

23 this section to purchases of non-basic agricultural com24 modities, such as fruits, vegetables, and other specialty 

25 food crops’’. 


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1 (b) EXPANSION OF DOD FRESH PROGRAM.—Such 

2 section is further amended by inserting after the sixth sen3 tence, as amended by subsection (a), the following new 

4 sentence: ‘‘Of the funds specified in the preceding sen5 tence, the Secretary of Agriculture shall expend not less 

6 than $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, $75,000,000 for 

7 both fiscal years 2009 and 2010, $100,000,000 for fiscal 

8 year 2011, and $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 for the 

9 purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables for distribution to 

10 schools and service institutions in accordance with section 

11 6(a) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 1755(a)).’’. 

13 SEC. 506. SCHOOL PREFERENCE STUDY. 

14 The Secretary of Agriculture shall carry out a study 

15 on the preferences of elementary and secondary schools 

16 for commodity distribution, including the extent to which 

17 such schools prefer commodity distribution to include 

18 fruits and vegetables, and submit to Congress a report on 

19 the results of the study. The report shall include an anal20 ysis of the logistical issues that would impede efforts to 

21 increase the extent to which commodity distribution to 

22 schools includes fruits and vegetables, and shall include 

23 recommendations for improving the availability of fruits 

24 and vegetables to schools. 


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1 SEC. 507. INDEPENDENT EVALUATION OF DEPARTMENT OF 

2 AGRICULTURE COMMODITY PURCHASE 

3 PROCESS. 

4 (a) EVALUATION REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Agri5 culture shall arrange to have performed an independent 

6 evaluation of the commodity purchasing processes (and 

7 the statutory and regulatory authority underlying such 

8 processes) used by the Department of Agriculture to re9 move surplus commodities from the market and support 

10 commodity prices and producer incomes, especially with 

11 regard to activities under section 32 of the Act of August 

12 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c) and the importance of increas13 ing purchases of perishable specialty crops. 

14 (b) SUBMISSION OF RESULTS.—Not later than one 

15 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec16 retary of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a report 

17 on the results of the evaluation. 

18 SEC. 508. AMENDMENTS TO THE FOOD STAMP PROGRAM. 

19 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 3 of the Food Stamp Act 

20 of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2012) is amended by adding at the end 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(v) ‘food stamp nutrition education’ means direct 

23 education, group activities, community health promotion, 

24 and comprehensive public health approaches (including 

25 but not limited to, social marketing, mass media, public26 private partnerships, policy, systems and environmental 


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1 changes, and evaluation) that promote healthy eating and 

2 make healthy food and physical activity choices more de3 sired, affordable, and accessible. To serve all those poten4 tially eligible for food stamps, nutrition education pro5 grams should be designed to reach large numbers of low6 income individuals. Programs shall support behavior 

7 change consistent with the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for 

8 Americans, including a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, 

9 whole grains, and low-fat milk products.’’. 

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

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

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

13 education’’ after ‘‘program’’ . 

14 SEC. 509. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS REGARDING NUTRI15 TIONAL SUPPLEMENTS. 

16 It is the sense of the Congress that benefits provided 

17 under the Food Stamp Act of 1977 should not be available 

18 to purchase nutrition supplements or anything other than 

19 food. 

20 SEC. 510. FOOD STAMP FRUIT AND VEGETABLE EBT PILOT 

21 PROJECT. 

22 (a) FINDING.—The Congress finds that increased 

23 consumption of fruits and vegetables by participants in the 

24 food stamp program will significantly improve the overall 

25 dietary habits of such participants. 


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1 (b) PILOT PROJECT.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

2 shall establish and carry out a pilot project that will pro3 vide to each participant in the food stamp program who 

4 receives benefits in the form of an electronic benefit trans5 fer, financial incentives for each dollar of such benefits 

6 expended by such recipient to facilitate the purchase of 

7 fresh fruits and vegetables. 

8 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

9 authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of 5 

10 fiscal years to carry out this section. 

11 SEC. 511. DECENNIAL EVALUATIONS OF WIC FOOD PACK12 AGES. 

13 Section 17(e) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 

14 U.S.C. 1786(e)) is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(6) DECENNIAL EVALUATION.—In 2015, and 

17 every 10 years thereafter, the Secretary shall ar18 range for the National Academy of Sciences, Insti19 tute of Medicine, to evaluate, in light of the most re20 cent Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the food 

21 packages used in carrying out this section and to 

22 recommend changes to those packages to reflect cur23 rent public health concerns, nutrition science, and 

24 the diverse cultures the program serves.’’. 


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1 SEC. 512. EXTENSION OF WIC FARMERS’ MARKET NUTRI2 TION PROGRAM. 

3 Section 17(m)(9)(A) of the Child Nutrition Act of 

4 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(m)(9)(A)) is amended— 

5 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘2009’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘2013’’; and 

7 (2) by striking clause (ii) and inserting the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(ii) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the 

10 funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora11 tion, the Secretary shall make available to 

12 carry out this subsection $20,000,000 for 

13 fiscal year 2008, $30,000,000 for fiscal 

14 year 2009, $45,000,000 for fiscal year 

15 2010, $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, 

16 and not less than $75,000,000 for fiscal 

17 year 2012 and each fiscal year thereafter. 

18 Such funds shall remain available until ex19 pended.’’. 

20 SEC. 513. SENIOR FARMERS’ MARKET NUTRITION PRO21 GRAM. 

22 Section 4402 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest23 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3007) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘$5,000,000’’ 

25 and all that follows through ‘‘2007’’, and inserting 

26 ‘‘$20,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, $30,000,000 for 


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1 fiscal year 2009, $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, 

2 $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, and not less than 

3 $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 and each fiscal 

4 year thereafter’’; 

5 (2) in subsection (b)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

7 the end, 

8 (B) in paragraph (3) by striking the period 

9 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and 

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

11 ‘‘(4) to promote the transition to organic and 

12 other environmentally beneficial food production sys13 tems.’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub15 section: 

16 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS; BENEFIT LEVELS.— 

17 The regulations required by subsection (c)— 

18 ‘‘(1) shall allow for participation by farmers’ 

19 markets, and roadside stands, community supported 

20 agriculture programs; and 

21 ‘‘(2) shall not limit the ability of State or re22 gional programs to set benefit levels per individual 

23 senior.’’. 


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1 TITLE VI—AGRICULTURAL 

2 RESEARCH 

3 SEC. 601. SPECIALTY CROPS ECONOMIC AND POLICY RE4 SEARCH INSTITUTE. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—A Specialty Crop Economic 

6 and Policy Research Institute is established to study eco7 nomic and public policy issues that affect the competitive8 ness of United States specialty crops from a regional and 

9 national perspective. 

10 (b) MEMBER INSTITUTIONS.—The Specialty Crop 

11 Economic and Policy Research Institute shall operate as 

12 a collaborative among the following academic institutions: 

13 (1) Arizona State University: Morrison School 

14 of Management and Agribusiness. 

15 (2) California Polytechnic State University, San 

16 Luis Obispo: California Institute for the Study of 

17 Specialty Crops. 

18 (3) California State University, Fresno: Center 

19 for Agricultural Business. 

20 (4) Cornell University: Department of Applied 

21 Economics and Management. 

22 (5) Michigan State University: Department of 

23 Agricultural Economics. 

24 (6) University of California: Agricultural Issues 

25 Center. 


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1 (7) University of Florida: International Agricul2 tural Trade and Policy Center. 

3 (8) Washington State University: IMPACT 

4 Center. 

5 (c) MANAGEMENT.—The Specialty Crop Economic 

6 and Policy Research Institute shall be coordinated and 

7 managed by the California Polytechnic State University, 

8 San Luis Obispo. The California Polytechnic State Uni9 versity shall direct funding to, and coordinate and facili10 tate the economic and policy research activities of, the 

11 members institutions. 

12 (d) OTHER PARTICIPATION.—The members of the 

13 Specialty Crop Economic and Policy Research Institute 

14 are encouraged to collaborate with other universities, aca15 demic bodies, and researchers with regional and national 

16 expertise. 

17 (e) ADVISORY BOARDS.— 

18 (1) NATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD.— 

19 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Specialty 

20 Crop Economic and Policy Research Insti21 tute shall establish a national advisory 

22 board. 

23 (B) MEMBERSHIP.—The national ad24 visory board shall be comprised of the fol25 lowing: 


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1 (i) A representative of the re2 gional advisory boards. 

3 (ii) A representative of each of 

4 the members of the Specialty Crop 

5 Economic and Policy Research Insti6 tute. 

7 (iii) A representative from the 

8 Office of Chief Economist or Eco9 nomic Research Service of the Depart10 ment of Agriculture. 

11 (iv) A representative from the 

12 Committee on Agriculture of the 

13 House of Representatives. 

14 (v) A representative from the 

15 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

16 and Forestry of the Senate. 

17 (C) CHAIRPERSON.—A chairperson 

18 for the national advisory board shall be 

19 chosen by consensus of the members of the 

20 board. 

21 (2) REGIONAL ADVISORY BOARD.— 

22 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—Each member 

23 of the Specialty Crop Economic and Policy 

24 Research Institute representing a region of 

25 the United States, including Great Lakes 


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1 States, Mountain States, Northeast States; 

2 Northwest States, Southern States, and 

3 Western States shall establish a regional 

4 advisory board and appoint the members of 

5 that advisory board. 

6 (B) MEMBERSHIP.—The regional ad7 visory boards shall be comprised of spe8 cialty crop producers from the region’s 

9 States. The Secretary, Commissioner, or 

10 Director of the region’s State agriculture 

11 departments shall be invited to participate 

12 in the regional advisory board as ex officio 

13 members. 

14 (C) CHAIRPERSON.—A chairperson of 

15 each regional advisory board shall be cho16 sen by consensus of the members of that 

17 board. 

18 (3) ROLE.—The role of the advisory 

19 boards shall be to— 

20 (A) provide information and prioritize 

21 economic and public policy issues from a 

22 regional and national perspective; and 

23 (B) review and comment in regards to 

24 the research projects funded by the SpeVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:38 Apr 02, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00101 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1600.IH H1600

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1 cialty Crop Economic and Policy Research 

2 Institute. 

3 (4) ANNUAL MEETING.—The advisory 

4 boards shall each meet, at minimum, annually. 

5 (f) INSTITUTE OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the 

6 Specialty Crop Economic and Policy Research Institute 

7 shall be as follows: 

8 (1) To provide Congress with a resource for 

9 analysis of the specialty crop sector, including the 

10 impact of changes in domestic and international 

11 markets, production and new product technologies, 

12 alternative policies and macroeconomic conditions on 

13 specialty crop production, use, farm and retail 

14 prices, and farm income and financial stability from 

15 a national, regional, and farm-level perspective. 

16 (2) To provide annual review of the economic 

17 state of the specialty crop industry from a regional 

18 perspective. 

19 (3) To provide specialty crop producers with 

20 World Wide Web-based risk management tools that 

21 can be used to assess the impact of policy, market, 

22 and technological change on their production oper23 ations. 

24 (4) To develop an information series that pro25 vides applied information useful to specialty crop 


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1 growers, their associations, and other interested 

2 stakeholders in evaluating that industry from a re3 gional and national perspective. 

4 (5) To disseminate the results of research 

5 through printed reports, workshops, specialty crop 

6 grower association meetings, and on the World Wide 

7 Web. 

8 (6) To provide research and policy internship 

9 opportunities for undergraduate and graduate stu10 dents. 

11 (g) FUNDING.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds of the Com13 modity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall make 

14 available to carry out this section the following: 

15 (A) For fiscal year 2008, $3,800,000. 

16 (B) For fiscal year 2009, $4,000,000. 

17 (C) For fiscal year 2010, $4,000,000. 

18 (D) For fiscal year 2011, $4,000,000. 

19 (2) INDIRECT AND DIRECT.—The Secretary 

20 may use funds made available under this subsection 

21 for direct and indirect costs of carrying out this sec22 tion. Indirect costs shall not to exceed 12.5 percent 

23 of the total costs. 


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1 SEC. 602. DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIALTY CROP PRIORITY 

2 FOR THE NATIONAL RESEARCH INITIATIVE. 

3 The Secretary of Agriculture shall develop a specialty 

4 crop priority area within the overall areas of emphasis of 

5 the National Research Initiative. Funds available to the 

6 Secretary for the specialty crop priority area shall be ex7 pended on the applied research and extension programs 

8 that increase the quality of specialty crop research. The 

9 National Research Initiative peer review process shall in10 clude representation from the specialty crop sector. 

11 SEC. 603. ESTABLISHMENT OF SPECIALTY CROP RESEARCH 

12 GRANTS PROGRAM FOR PRODUCERS TO IM13 PROVE EFFICIENCY AND COMPETITIVENESS. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

15 shall establish a program to award grants to eligible enti16 ties to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of 

17 United States specialty crop producers. 

18 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The Secretary shall deter19 mine eligible entities for grants under this section. Such 

20 entities shall include Federal agencies, nonprofit United 

21 States specialty crop trade organizations and foundations, 

22 nonprofit State and regional specialty crop organizations, 

23 United States specialty crop agricultural cooperatives, 

24 commodity boards and commissions, university research 

25 and extension programs, and businesses in the specialty 

26 crop industry. 


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1 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds from grants under this 

2 program shall be used for one or more of the following: 

3 (1) Research that addresses the short-term, in4 termediate, and long term needs of the United 

5 States specialty crop industry in production tech6 nology (such as plant breeding, pest management, 

7 production, physiology, food science, and nutrition). 

8 (2) Mechanization, marketing, product develop9 ment, food security, and food safety to improve the 

10 competitiveness of the United States specialty crop 

11 industry. 

12 (3) Development and implementation of indus13 try-specific strategic plans to prioritize research and 

14 develop United States specialty crop industry and 

15 research collaboration. 

16 (d) FUNDING.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds of the Com18 modity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall make 

19 available $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 

20 through 2012 to carry out this section. 

21 (2) FEDERAL COSTS.—Federal costs shall not 

22 exceed 50 percent of the total cost of a research 

23 project funded under this section. 


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1 SEC. 604. NATIONAL CLEAN PLANT NETWORK. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

3 Department of Agriculture, as part of the Cooperative 

4 State Research, Education, and Extension Service, a pro5 gram to be known as the ‘‘National Clean Plant Net6 work’’. The Secretary of Agriculture shall use the network 

7 to develop a sustainable national funding source for clean 

8 planting stock programs for horticultural crops deter9 mined by the Secretary to be of priority for the United 

10 States. Such funding shall be used to award grants to enti11 ties that have the expertise, facilities, and climate nec12 essary to efficiently produce, maintain, and distribute 

13 healthy planting stock for specialty crops. 

14 (b) PRIORITIES.—Section 1408A(c) of the Specialty 

15 Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 (7 U.S.C. 3123a(c)) 

16 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(4) Priorities for Federal research activities 

18 related to United States specialty crops.’’. 

19 (c) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity Cred20 it Corporation, the Secretary of Agriculture shall make 

21 available $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 

22 2012 to carry out this section. 

23 SEC. 605. PRIORITIZING CURRENT FEDERAL RESEARCH AC24 TIVITIES FOR SPECIALTY CROPS. 

25 The Secretary of Agriculture shall— 


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1 (1) coordinate with and assist producers and 

2 organizations comprised of key stakeholders working 

3 together to develop and implement applied research 

4 and extension related to the United States specialty 

5 crop industry; 

6 (2) facilitate in the delivery of information to 

7 key stakeholders in a user-friendly form, in addition 

8 to a standard research publication, and reward pro9 viders for their abilities to deliver information to 

10 both the scientific community and the end-user; 

11 (3) ensure that research and extension activities 

12 conducted by Federal agencies be required to have 

13 industry-appointed panels involved in the 

14 prioritization, administration, and oversight of use of 

15 Federal available to develop and implement applied 

16 research and extension related to the United States 

17 specialty crop industry; and 

18 (4) ensure coordination among research initia19 tives funded and sponsored by the Department of 

20 Agriculture. 


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1 TITLE VII—RENEWABLE ENERGY 

2 SEC. 701. INVENTORY OF SPECIALTY CROP BIOMASS WASTE 

3 AS PART OF ANNUAL ASSESSMENT OF RE4 NEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCES. 

5 Section 201 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public 

6 Law 109–58; 42 U.S.C. 15851) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub8 section (d); and 

9 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol10 lowing new subsection: 

11 ‘‘(c) INVENTORY OF SPECIALTY CROP BIOMASS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) INVENTORY.—As part of each assessment 

13 of biomass renewable energy resources under sub14 section (a), the Secretary shall develop an inventory, 

15 on a State and county basis, of specialty crop bio16 mass that could be potentially utilized in the produc17 tion of electric energy, useful heat, transportation 

18 fuels, petroleum-based product substitutes, and 

19 other value-added products. 

20 ‘‘(2) COOPERATION AND FUNDING.—The Sec21 retary shall prepare the inventory in cooperation 

22 with the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary 

23 of Agriculture may contribute up to $25,000,000 of 

24 funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation each fis25 cal year to assist in the development of the invenVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:38 Apr 02, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00108 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1600.IH H1600

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1 tory. Amounts contributed under this paragraph are 

2 in addition to amounts appropriated pursuant to the 

3 authorization of appropriations in subsection (d). 

4 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

5 ‘‘(A) SPECIALTY CROP.—The term ‘spe6 cialty crop’ has the meaning given that term in 

7 section 3(1) of the Equitable Agriculture Today 

8 for a Healthy America Act. 

9 ‘‘(B) SPECIALTY CROP BIOMASS.—The 

10 term ‘specialty crop biomass’ means agricul11 tural waste from specialty crop production, in12 cluding waste derived from orchard tree crops, 

13 vineyard crops, and nut crops, and other fruit 

14 and vegetable byproducts or residues.’’. 

15 SEC. 702. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BIOENERGY 

16 PROGRAM. 

17 (a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE COMMODITIES UNDER

18 PROGRAM.—Subsection (a)(3) of section 9010 of the 

19 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 

20 U.S.C. 8108) is amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (B), (C), 

22 and (D) as subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E), respec23 tively; and 

24 (2) by inserting after subparagraph (A) the fol25 lowing new subparagraph: 


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1 ‘‘(B) specialty crop agricultural waste, in2 cluding waste derived from orchard tree crops, 

3 vineyard crops, and nut crops, and other fruit 

4 and vegetable byproducts or residues.’’. 

5 (b) REAUTHORIZATION.—Subsection (c) of such sec6 tion is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting 

7 the following new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(2) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 

9 through 2012.’’. 

10 SEC. 703. GRANTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIALTY CROP 

11 BIOENERGY PROJECTS. 

12 (a) BIOMASS COMMERCIAL USE GRANT PROGRAM.— 

13 The Secretary of Agriculture may make a grant to an eli14 gible entity for the purpose of assisting the person to de15 velop a business plan to use specialty crop waste and resi16 dues as a raw material to produce electric energy, sensible 

17 heat, transportation fuels, substitutes for petroleum-based 

18 products, or other value-added products. 

19 (b) GRANT SHARE.—A grant under this section may 

20 not cover more than 50 percent of the cost to develop the 

21 business plan for which the grant is made. 

22 (c) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall select grant re23 cipients under this section after giving consideration to the 

24 anticipated public benefits of the project, including the 

25 quantity of specialty crop waste and residues to be used 


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1 by the resulting facility, opportunities for the creation or 

2 expansion of specialty crop bioenergy industries, and the 

3 potential for new job creation. 

4 (d) MONITORING OF GRANT RECIPIENT ACTIVI5 TIES.—As a condition of a grant under this section, the 

6 grant recipient shall keep such records as the Secretary 

7 may require to fully and accurately disclose the use of the 

8 grant funds. 

9 (e) REPORT.—Not later than October 1, 2010, the 

10 Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a report 

11 describing the results of the grant program authorized by 

12 this section. 

13 (f) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity Cred14 it Corporation, the Secretary of Agriculture shall make 

15 available— 

16 (1) $25,000,000 for fiscal years 2008 and 

17 2009, 

18 (2) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, and 

19 (3) $75,000,000 for fiscal years 2011 and 

20 2012, 

21 to carry out this section. 

22 (g) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘eligible 

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1 ducting scientific research on ethanol production from spe2 cialty crops. 

3 TITLE VIII—MISCELLANEOUS 

4 PROVISIONS 

5 SEC. 801. SPECIALTY CROP BLOCK GRANTS. 

6 (a) EXTENSION OF PROGRAM.—Subsection (a) of 

7 section 101 of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act 

8 of 2004 (Public Law 108–465; 7 U.S.C. 1621 note) is 

9 amended by striking ‘‘2009’’ and inserting ‘‘2012’’. 

10 (b) FUNDING SOURCE AND INCREASE IN ANNUAL

11 FUNDING.—Subsection (i) of such section is amended to 

12 read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(i) FUNDING.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall 

14 use $500,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Cor15 poration for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 

16 to make grants under this section.’’. 

17 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Such section is 

18 further amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Subject to 

20 the appropriation of funds to carry out this section’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘Using the funds made available 

22 under subsection (i)’’; 

23 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘appropriated 

24 pursuant to the authorization of appropriations in’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘made available under’’; and 


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1 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘Subject to 

2 the appropriation of sufficient funds to carry out 

3 this subsection, each’’ and inserting ‘‘Each’’. 

4 SEC. 802. FEDERAL INSECTICIDE, FUNGICIDE, AND 

5 RODENTICIDE ACT; REQUESTS BY STATE 

6 AGENCIES FOR EXEMPTIONS. 

7 Section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 

8 Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136p) is amended— 

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

10 inserting the following: 

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

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

13 ‘‘(b) REQUEST FOR EXEMPTION; REPORT TO CON14 GRESS IN CASE OF DELAY.—If a State agency requests 

15 an exemption under subsection (a) and the Administrator 

16 does not approve or deny the request within the 50-day 

17 period beginning on the date on which the request was 

18 submitted to the Administrator, the Administrator shall 

19 submit to the Committee on Agriculture in the House of 

20 Representatives, and the Committee on Agriculture, Nu21 trition, and Forestry in the Senate, a report that provides 

22 notice of such fact and an explanation of the reasons un23 derlying the failure of the Administrator to approve or 

24 deny the request within such period.’’. 


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1 SEC. 803. PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY 

2 RIGHTS IN PLANTS AND PLANT-DERIVED MA3 TERIAL. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

5 shall expand the Office of Technology Transfer of the De6 partment of Agriculture for the purpose of encouraging 

7 the development and protection of intellectual property 

8 rights in plants and material derived from plants. 

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

10 interests of United States producers of specialty crops— 

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

12 and Copyrights of the United States Department of 

13 Commerce and other Federal agencies; and 

14 (2) in international governmental and non15 governmental organizations dealing with intellectual 

16 property rights. 

17 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

18 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agri19 culture $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 

20 2012 to carry out this section. 

21 SEC. 804. GRANT PROGRAM TO IMPROVE TRANSPOR22 TATION INFRASTRUCTURE TO REDUCE COST 

23 OF TRANSPORTATION OF SPECIALTY CROPS. 

24 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of Agri25 culture, acting through the Transportation Services 

26 Branch of the Department of Agriculture, may make 


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1 grants under this section to an eligible entity described 

2 in subsection (b)— 

3 (1) to expand and improve transportation infra4 structure to improve the cost-effective movement of 

5 specialty crops to local, regional, national, and inter6 national markets; and 

7 (2) to address regional intermodal transpor8 tation deficiencies that adversely affect the move9 ment of specialty crops to markets inside or outside 

10 the United States. 

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

12 made under this section to any of the following (or a com13 bination thereof): 

14 (1) State and local governments. 

15 (2) Grower cooperatives. 

16 (3) Individual specialty crop producers or 

17 groups of producers. 

18 (4) Individual shippers or State or regional pro19 ducer and shipper organizations. 

20 (5) Nonprofit organizations involved in the 

21 trucking trade and research related to the trucking 

22 trade. 

23 (c) MATCHING FUNDS.—The recipient of a grant 

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1 vided that is at least equal to the amount of grant funds 

2 received by the recipient under this section. 

3 (d) FUNDING.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall 

4 use $75,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Cor5 poration for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 

6 to make grants under this section. 

7 SEC. 805. ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR AGRICULTURAL MAR8 KETING SERVICE SPECIALTY CROP MARKET 

9 NEWS ACTIVITIES. 

10 From funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, 

11 the Secretary of Agriculture shall transfer $9,000,000 for 

12 each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to the Agricul13 tural Marketing Service to support the market news activi14 ties of the Agricultural Marketing Service regarding spe15 cialty crops. 

16 SEC. 806. VALUE-ADDED GRANTS TO PROMOTE CREATION, 

17 EXPANSION, OR OPERATION OF VALUE18 ADDED PROCESSING OF SPECIALTY CROPS. 

19 The Secretary of Agriculture shall use $60,000,000 

20 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation for each 

21 of the fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to make grants to 

22 promote the creation, expansion, or operation of value23 added processing in connection with the production of a 

24 specialty crop. 


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1 SEC. 807. ELIGIBILITY OF LABORERS ADMITTED FOR TEM2 PORARY RESIDENCE FOR RURAL HOUSING 

3 SERVICE FARM LABOR HOUSING. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subparagraph (A) of section 

5 514(f)(3) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 

6 1484(f)(3)(A)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ and inserting a comma; 

8 and 

9 (2) by inserting before the semicolon the fol10 lowing: ‘‘, or a nonimmigrant described in section 

11 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a) of the Immigration and Nation12 ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a))’’. 

13 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by sub14 section (a) shall apply with respect to loans and grants 

15 made on, before, or after the date of the enactment of 

16 this Act. 

17 SEC. 808. FOOD SAFETY INITIATIVES. 

18 (a) INITIATIVE AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary may 

19 carry out a food safety education program to educate the 

20 persons involved in the fresh produce industry and the 

21 public about— 

22 (1) scientifically proven practices for reducing 

23 microbiological pathogens on fresh produce; and 

24 (2) methods of reducing the threat of cross-con25 tamination of fresh produce through unsanitary han26 dling practices. 


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

2 program described in subsection (a) in cooperation with 

3 public or private partners. 

4 (c) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall use $5,000,000 

5 of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation for fis6 cal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out this section. 

7 SEC. 809. IMPLEMENTATION OF FOOD SAFETY PROGRAMS 

8 UNDER MARKETING ORDERS. 

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

10 U.S.C. 608c(7)), reenacted with amendments by the Agri11 cultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, is amended 

12 by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(E) In the case of an order related to a 

14 specialty crop (as such term is defined in sec15 tion 3(1) of the Specialty Crops Competitive16 ness Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–465; 118 

17 Stat. 3883)), authorizing the implementation of 

18 food safety programs, such as the implementa19 tion of International Organization for Stand20 ardization 9000 standards and Hazard Analysis 

21 Critical Control Points programs, designed to 

22 enhance the safety of the specialty crop and 

23 products derived from specialty crops.’’. 


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1 SEC. 810. CENSUS OF SPECIALTY CROPS; DISSEMINATION 

2 OF INFORMATION. 

3 (a) CENSUS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—In 2008, and every five 

5 years thereafter, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 

6 conduct a census of specialty crops. 

7 (2) INCLUSION IN CENSUS ON AGRICULTURE.— 

8 The Secretary may include the census conducted 

9 under paragraph (1) in the census on agriculture. 

10 (b) DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION.—The Sec11 retary shall regularly develop and disseminate information 

12 to the public relating to specialty crops. 

13 SEC. 811. OFFICE OF PESTICIDE PROGRAMS. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

16 shall establish an Office of Pesticide Programs (in 

17 this section referred to as the ‘‘Office’’). 

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

19 a director (referred to in this Section as the ‘‘Direc20 tor’’) who shall— 

21 (A) be appointed by the Secretary; and 

22 (B) report directly to the Secretary or a 

23 designee of the Secretary. 

24 (b) DUTIES.—The Director shall— 


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1 (1) develop and coordinate the policy of the De2 partment of Agriculture on pest management and 

3 pesticides; 

4 (2) coordinate activities and services of the De5 partment (including research, extension, and edu6 cation activities) regarding the development, avail7 ability, and use of economically and environmentally 

8 sound pest management tools and practices; 

9 (3) assist other agencies of the Department in 

10 fulfilling the responsibilities of those agencies related 

11 to pest management or pesticides under— 

12 (A) the Food Quality Protection Act of 

13 1996 (7 U.S.C. 136 note; Public Law 104– 

14 170); 

15 (B) the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 

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

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

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

19 (D) other applicable laws, as determined 

20 by the Secretary; and 

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

22 prescribed by the Secretary. 

23 (c) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Director 

24 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure coordina25 tion of interagency activities with— 


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1 (1) the Environmental Protection Agency; 

2 (2) the Food and Drug Administration; and 

3 (3) other applicable Federal and State agencies, 

4 as determined by the President. 

5 (d) OUTREACH.—The Director shall consult with ag6 ricultural producers, as appropriate, that may be affected 

7 by pest management or pesticide related activities or ac8 tions of the Department or other agencies. 

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

10 of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation for each 

11 of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out this sec12 tion. 

Æ 


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