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(c) LIMITATIONS AND CONFLICTS OF INTERESTS.—
(1) POLITICAL
ACTIVITIES.—The Foundation
shall not participate or intervene in a political cam-
paign on behalf of any candidate for public office.
(2) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.—No director, offi-
cer, or employee of the Foundation shall participate,
directly or indirectly, in the consideration or deter-
mination of any question before the Foundation af-
fecting—
(A) the financial interests of the director, of-
ficer, or employee; or
(B) the interests of any corporation, part-
nership, entity, organization, or other person in
which the director, officer, or employee—
(i) is an officer, director, or trustee; or
(ii) has any direct or indirect finan-
cial interest.
(3) LEGISLATION OR GOVERNMENT ACTION OR
POLICY.—No funds of the Foundation may be used in
any manner for the purpose of influencing legislation
or government action or policy.
(4) LITIGATION.—No funds of the Foundation
may be used to bring or join an action against the
United States or any State.
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SEC. 334. COMPOSITION AND OPERATION.
(a) COMPOSITION.—The Foundation shall be adminis-
tered by a Board of Trustees that shall consist of 9 voting
members, each of whom shall be a United States citizen and
not a Federal officer. The Board shall be composed of—
(1) individuals with expertise in agricultural
conservation policy matters;
(2) a representative of private sector organiza-
tions with a demonstrable interest in natural re-
sources conservation;
(3) a representative of statewide conservation or-
ganizations;
(4) a representative of soil and water conserva-
tion districts;
(5) a representative of organizations outside the
Federal Government that are dedicated to natural re-
sources conservation education; and
(6) a farmer or rancher.
(b) NONGOVERNMENTAL EMPLOYEES.—Service as a
member of the Board shall not constitute employment by,
or the holding of, an office of the United States for the pur-
poses of any Federal law.
(c) MEMBERSHIP.—
(1) INITIAL MEMBERS.—The Secretary shall ap-
point 9 persons who meet the criteria established
under subsection (a) as the initial members of the
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Board and designate 1 of the members as the initial
chairperson for a 2-year term.
(2) TERMS OF OFFICE.—
(A) IN GENERAL.—A member of the Board
shall serve for a term of 3 years, except that the
members appointed to the initial Board shall
serve, proportionately, for terms of 1, 2, and 3
years, as determined by the Secretary.
(B) LIMITATION ON TERMS.—No individual
may serve more than 2 consecutive 3-year terms
as a member.
(3) SUBSEQUENT MEMBERS.—The initial mem-
bers of the Board shall adopt procedures in the con-
stitution of the Foundation for the nomination and
selection of subsequent members of the Board. The
procedures shall require that each member, at a mini-
mum, meets the criteria established under subsection
(a) and shall provide for the selection of an individ-
ual, who is not a Federal officer or a member of the
Board.
(d) CHAIRPERSON.—After the appointment of an ini-
tial chairperson under subsection (c)(1), each succeeding
chairperson of the Board shall be elected by the members
of the Board for a 2-year term.
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(e) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Board shall be
filled by the Board not later than 60 days after the occur-
rence of the vacancy.
(f) COMPENSATION.—A member of the Board shall re-
ceive no compensation from the Foundation for the service
of the member on the Board.
(g) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from the home
or regular place of business of a member of the Board in
the performance of services for the Board, the member shall
be allowed travel expenses paid by the Foundation, includ-
ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, at the same rate as a
person employed intermittently in the Government service
would be allowed under section 5703 of title 5, United
States Code.
SEC. 335. OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Board may—
(1) appoint, hire, and discharge the officers and
employees of the Foundation, other than the appoint-
ment of the initial Executive Director of the Founda-
tion;
(2) adopt a constitution and bylaws for the
Foundation that are consistent with the purposes of
the Foundation and this subtitle; and
(3) undertake any other activities that may be
necessary to carry out this subtitle.
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(b) OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES.—
(1) APPOINTMENT AND HIRING.—An officer or
employee of the Foundation—
(A) shall not, by virtue of the appointment
or employment of the officer or employee, be con-
sidered a Federal employee for any purpose, in-
cluding the provisions of title 5, United States
Code, governing appointments in the competitive
service, except that such an individual may par-
ticipate in the Federal employee retirement sys-
tem as if the individual were a Federal em-
ployee; and
(B) may not be paid by the Foundation a
salary in excess of $125,000 per year.
(2) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—
(A) INITIAL
DIRECTOR.—The Secretary
shall appoint an individual to serve as the ini-
tial Executive Director of the Foundation who
shall serve, at the direction of the Board, as the
chief operating officer of the Foundation.
(B) SUBSEQUENT DIRECTORS.—The Board
shall appoint each subsequent Executive Director
of the Foundation who shall serve, at the direc-
tion of the Board, as the chief operating officer
of the Foundation.
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(C) QUALIFICATIONS.—The Executive Di-
rector shall be knowledgeable and experienced in
matters relating to natural resources conserva-
tion.
SEC. 336. CORPORATE POWERS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE
FOUNDATION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation—
(1) may conduct business throughout the United
States and the territories and possessions of the Unit-
ed States; and
(2) shall at all times maintain a designated
agent who is authorized to accept service of process
for the Foundation, so that the serving of notice to,
or service of process on, the agent, or mailed to the
business address of the agent, shall be considered as
service on or notice to the Foundation.
(b) SEAL.—The Foundation shall have an official seal
selected by the Board that shall be judicially noticed.
(c) POWERS.—To carry out the purposes of the Foun-
dation under section 333(b), the Foundation shall have, in
addition to the powers otherwise provided under this sub-
title, the usual powers of a corporation, including the
power—
(1) to accept, receive, solicit, hold, administer,
and use any gift, devise, or bequest, either absolutely
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or in trust, of real or personal property or any in-
come from, or other interest in, the gift, devise, or be-
quest;
(2) to acquire by purchase or exchange any real
or personal property or interest in property, except
that funds provided under section 310 may not be
used to purchase an interest in real property;
(3) unless otherwise required by instrument of
transfer, to sell, donate, lease, invest, reinvest, retain,
or otherwise dispose of any property or income from
property;
(4) to borrow money from private sources and
issue bonds, debentures, or other debt instruments,
subject to section 339, except that the aggregate
amount of the borrowing and debt instruments out-
standing at any time may not exceed $1,000,000;
(5) to sue and be sued, and complain and defend
itself, in any court of competent jurisdiction, except
that a member of the Board shall not be personally
liable for an action in the performance of services for
the Board, except for gross negligence;
(6) to enter into a contract or other agreement
with an agency of State or local government, edu-
cational institution, or other private organization or
person and to make such payments as may be nec-
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essary to carry out the functions of the Foundation;
and
(7) to do any and all acts that are necessary to
carry out the purposes of the Foundation.
(d) INTEREST IN PROPERTY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Foundation may acquire,
hold, and dispose of lands, waters, or other interests
in real property by donation, gift, devise, purchase, or
exchange.
(2) INTERESTS IN REAL PROPERTY.—For pur-
poses of this subtitle, an interest in real property
shall be treated, among other things, as including an
easement or other right for the preservation, conserva-
tion, protection, or enhancement of agricultural, nat-
ural, scenic, historic, scientific, educational, inspira-
tional, or recreational resources.
(3) GIFTS.—A gift, devise, or bequest may be ac-
cepted by the Foundation even though the gift, devise,
or bequest is encumbered, restricted, or subject to a
beneficial interest of a private person if any current
or future interest in the gift, devise, or bequest is for
the benefit of the Foundation.
SEC. 337. ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES AND SUPPORT.
For each of fiscal years 1996 through 1998, the Sec-
retary may provide, without reimbursement, personnel, fa-
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‘‘(2) the carrying out of such arrangements is
contrary to the public interest.
‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to rem-
edy the burden on and obstruction to commerce in livestock
described in paragraph (1) and protect the public interest.
‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) CASH SALE.—The term ‘cash sale’ means a
sale in which the seller does not expressly extend cred-
it to the buyer.
‘‘(2) TRUST.—The term ‘trust’ means 1 or more
assets of a buyer that (subsequent to a cash sale of
livestock) constitutes the corpus of a trust held for the
benefit of a seller and consists of—
‘‘(A) account receivables and proceeds
earned from the cash sale of livestock by a dealer;
‘‘(B) account receivables and proceeds of a
marketing agency earned on commission from
the cash sale of livestock;
‘‘(C) the inventory of the dealer or market-
ing agency; or
‘‘(D) livestock involved in the cash sale, if
the seller has not received payment in full for the
livestock and a bona fide third-party purchaser
has not purchased the livestock from the dealer
or marketing agency.