I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2809

To establish a national research program to improve the production and

marketing of sweet potatoes and increase the consumption and use of

sweet potatoes by domestic and foreign consumers.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 29, 1993

Mr. LANCASTER (for himself, Mr. BAKER of Louisiana, Mrs. CLAYTON, Mr.

FIELDS of Louisiana, Mr. HAYES, Mr. HEFNER, Mr. HUTCHINSON, Mr.

JEFFERSON, Mr. NEAL of North Carolina, Mr. PARKER, Mr. ROSE, Mr.

THOMPSON, Mr. VALENTINE, and Mr. WHITTEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

A BILL

To establish a national research program to improve the

production and marketing of sweet potatoes and increase

the consumption and use of sweet potatoes by domestic

and foreign consumers.

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.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sweet Potato Research

5 and Production Improvement Act of 1993’’.
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1 SEC. 2. NATIONAL SWEET POTATO RESEARCH PROGRAM.

2 (a) PROGRAM.—The Secretary of Agriculture, acting

3 through the Agricultural Research Service or through co4 operative agreements with land-grant colleges and univer5 sities, shall conduct research regarding sweet potatoes, in6 cluding research to develop—

7 (1) widely adapted, high-quality cultivars of

8 sweet potato with increased yields and improved lev9 els of disease and pest resistance for traditional

10 markets and alternative uses;

11 (2) environmentally compatible management

12 technologies to control diseases, nematodes, insects,

13 and weeds that limit sweet potato production in the

14 United States, including effective controls for sweet

15 potato weevils in host and nonhost crops;

16 (3) detection and monitoring systems for male

17 and female sweet potato weevils in sweet potato stor18 age facilities and in field and seed bed plantings;

19 (4) integrated crop management practices for

20 sweet potatoes that effectively combine cultural and

21 biological controls, environmentally rational chemical

22 usage, and host resistance;

23 (5) improved technology for more efficient har24 vesting, grading, and storage of sweet potatoes;
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1 (6) improved technology for processing sweet

2 potatoes for both traditional and nontraditional food

3 products; and

4 (7) methods to increase sweet potato consump5 tion and uses while also removing possible barriers

6 that limit sweet potato use in both domestic and ex7 port markets.

8 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

9 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agri10 culture to carry out this section $2,400,000 for fiscal year

11 1994 and each subsequent fiscal year. Of the amounts ap12 propriated for a fiscal year under this section—

13 (1) not more than $400,000 shall be available

14 for research described in subsection (a)(1);

15 (2) not more than $500,000 shall be available

16 for research described in subsections (a)(2) and

17 (a)(3);

18 (3) not more than $400,000 shall be available

19 for research described in subsection (a)(4);

20 (4) not more than $400,000 shall be available

21 for research described in subsection (a)(5);

22 (5) not more than $400,000 shall be available

23 for research described in subsection (a)(6); and

24 (6) not more than $300,000 shall be available

25 for research described in subsection (a)(7).
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