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TITLE V—MISCELLANEOUS
PROVISIONS
SEC. 501. ROLE OF SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE REGARD-
ING FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES RE-
SEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION.
The Secretary of Agriculture shall be the principal offi-
cial in the executive branch responsible for coordinating all
Federal research and extension activities related to food and
agricultural sciences.
SEC. 502. OFFICE OF PEST MANAGEMENT POLICY.
(a) OBJECTIVE.—The establishment of an Office of
Pest Management Policy pursuant to this section is in-
tended to provide for the effective coordination of agricul-
tural policies and activities within the Department of Agri-
culture related to pesticides and of the development and use
of pest management tools, while taking into account the ef-
fects of regulatory actions of other government agencies.
(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE; PRINCIPAL RESPON-
SIBILITIES.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish in
the Department of Agriculture an Office of Pest Manage-
ment Policy, which shall be responsible for—
(1) the development and coordination of Depart-
ment of Agriculture policy on pest management and
pesticides;
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(2) the coordination of activities and services of
the Department, including research, extension, and
education activities, regarding the development, avail-
ability, and use of economically and environmentally
sound pest management tools and practices;
(3) assisting the Department in fulfilling its re-
sponsibilities related to pest management or pesticides
under the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (Pub-
lic Law 104–170; 110 Stat. 1489), the Federal Insec-
ticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136
et seq.), the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
(21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), or other law; and
(4) performing such other functions as may be
required by law or prescribed by the Secretary.
(c) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—In support of its
responsibilities under subsection (a), the Office of Pest Man-
agement Policy shall provide leadership to ensure coordina-
tion of interagency activities with the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency, the Food and Drug Administration, and
other Federal and State agencies.
(d) OUTREACH.—The Office of Pest Management Pol-
icy shall consult with agricultural producers that may be
affected by pest management or pesticide-related activities
or actions of the Department or other agencies as necessary
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in carrying out the Office’s responsibilities under this sec-
tion.
(e) DIRECTOR.—The Office of Pest Management Policy
shall be under the direction of a Director appointed by the
Secretary who shall report directly to the Secretary or a
designee of the Secretary.
(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are
authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be nec-
essary to carry out this section.
SEC. 503. FOOD SAFETY RESEARCH INFORMATION OFFICE
AND NATIONAL CONFERENCE.
(a) FOOD
SAFETY
RESEARCH
INFORMATION
OF-
FICE.—
(1) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—The Sec-
retary of Agriculture shall establish a Food Safety
Research Information Office at the National Agricul-
tural Library. The Office shall provide to the research
community and the general public information on
publicly funded, and to the extent possible, privately
funded food safety research initiatives for the purpose
of—
(A) preventing unintended duplication of
food safety research; and
(B) assisting the executive and legislative
branches of the Government and private research
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entities to assess food safety research needs and
priorities.
(2) COOPERATION.—The Office shall carry out
paragraph (1) in cooperation with the National Insti-
tutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration,
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pub-
lic institutions, and on a voluntary basis, private re-
search interests.
(b) NATIONAL CONFERENCE.—Not later than 120 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall sponsor a conference to be known as the ‘‘National
Conference on Food Safety Research’’, for the purpose of
beginning the task of food safety research prioritization. The
Secretary shall sponsor annual workshops in each of the
subsequent four years after the conference so that priorities
can be updated or adjusted to reflect changing food safety
concerns.
(c) FOOD SAFETY REPORT.—With regard to the study
and report to be prepared by the National Academy of
Sciences on the scientific and organizational needs for an
effective food safety system, the study shall include rec-
ommendations to ensure that the food safety inspection sys-
tem, within the resources traditionally available to existing
food safety agencies, protects the public health.
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SEC. 504. NUTRIENT COMPOSITION DATA.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall
update, on a periodic basis, nutrient composition data.
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to
Congress a report that describes—
(1) the method the Secretary will use to update
nutrient composition data, including the quality as-
surance criteria that will be used and the method for
generating the data; and
(2) the timing for updating the data.
SEC. 505. AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS RECEIVED OR COL-
LECTED ON BEHALF OF NATIONAL ARBORE-
TUM.
Section 6(b) of the Act of March 4, 1927 (20 U.S.C.
196(b)), is amended by striking ‘‘Treasury’’ and inserting
‘‘Treasury. Amounts in the special fund shall be available
to the Secretary of Agriculture, without further appropria-
tion,’’.
SEC. 506. RETENTION AND USE OF AGRICULTURAL RE-
SEARCH SERVICE PATENT CULTURE COLLEC-
TION FEES.
All funds collected by the Agricultural Research Serv-
ice of the Department of Agriculture in connection with the
acceptance of microorganisms for deposit in, or the distribu-
tion of microorganisms from, the Patent Culture Collection
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maintained and operated by the Agricultural Research
Service shall be credited to the appropriation supporting
the maintenance and operation of the Patent Culture Col-
lection. The collected funds shall be available to the Agricul-
tural Research Service, without further appropriation or
fiscal-year limitation, to carry out its responsibilities under
law (including international treaty) with respect to the
Patent Culture Collection.
SEC. 
507. 
REIMBURSEMENT 
OF 
EXPENSES 
INCURRED
UNDER SHEEP PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND
INFORMATION ACT OF 1994.
Using funds available to the Agricultural Marketing
Service, the Service may reimburse the American Sheep In-
dustry Association for expenses incurred by American
Sheep Industry Association between February 6, 1996, and
May 17, 1996, in preparation for the implementation of
a sheep and wool promotion, research, education, and infor-
mation order under the Sheep Promotion, Research, and In-
formation Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.).
SEC. 508. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING AGRICULTURAL
RESEARCH SERVICE EMPHASIS ON IN FIELD
RESEARCH REGARDING METHYL BROMIDE
ALTERNATIVES.
It is the sense of Congress that, of the Agricultural Re-
search Service funds made available for a fiscal year for
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research regarding the development for agricultural use of
alternatives to methyl bromide, the Secretary of Agriculture
should use a substantial portion of such funds for research
to be conducted in real field conditions, in particular pre-
planting and post-harvest conditions, so as to expedite the
development and commercial use of methyl bromide alter-
natives.
SEC. 509. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING IMPORTANCE
OF 
SCHOOL-BASED 
AGRICULTURAL 
EDU-
CATION.
It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Agri-
culture and the Secretary of Education should collaborate
and cooperate in providing both instructional and technical
support for school-based agricultural education.
SEC. 510. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING DESIGNATION
OF 
DEPARTMENT 
CRISIS 
MANAGEMENT
TEAM.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(1) The Department of Agriculture plays a cru-
cial role in ensuring that the United States is a world
leader in maintaining the most affordable, abundant,
wholesome, and safe food supply for its citizens.
(2) It is in the best interest of consumers, pro-
ducers, processors, retailers, government officials, and
other interested parties to ensure that any crisis that
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may affect the operation of the Department or the
production of a safe and wholesome food supply is
addressed in an effective manner.
(3) Unforeseen circumstances, including natural
disaster, personnel management problems, threats to
public health, and trade disruptions, have the poten-
tial to undermine the operation of the Department
and the Nation’s ability to efficiently provide a safe,
affordable, abundant, and wholesome food supply.
(4) 
Department 
of 
Agriculture 
employees,
consumer confidence, and the food production sector
have been adversely impacted as a result of the chal-
lenges associated with Federal agencies’ ability to re-
spond to incidents in a coordinated and timely fash-
ion.
(5) An effective response to crises, emergencies,
and similar situations depends upon the timely and
efficient coordination of Federal, State, and local gov-
ernment agencies.
(6) It is in the best interests of the Nation to en-
sure that whenever a crisis occurs the appropriate
Federal agencies coordinate their activities.
(7) The Department of Agriculture should take
the lead in ensuring a safe and wholesome supply of
food for the Nation because of its broad and diverse
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relationship with consumers and the food production
sector.
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress
that the Secretary of Agriculture should—
(1) designate a Crisis Management Team within
the Department of Agriculture, which would be com-
posed of senior departmental personnel with strong
subject matter expertise selected from each relevant
agency of the Department and would be headed by a
team leader with strong management and commu-
nications skills;
(2) upon establishment of such a Crisis Manage-
ment Team, direct that the Crisis Management
Team—
(A) develop a department-wide crisis man-
agement plan, taking into account similar plans
developed by other government agencies and
other large organizations;
(B) develop detailed written procedures for
implementing the crisis management plan;
(C) conduct periodic reviews and revisions
of the crisis management plan and procedures;
(D) ensure compliance with crisis manage-
ment procedures by departmental personnel;
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(E) coordinate the Department’s informa-
tion gathering and dissemination activities con-
cerning issues managed by the Crisis Manage-
ment Team;
(F) ensure that all employees of the Depart-
ment are familiar with the crisis management
plan and procedures and are encouraged to bring
information regarding crises or potential crises
to the attention of team members;
(G) ensure that departmental spokespersons
convey accurate, timely, and scientifically sound
information that is easily understood by the tar-
get audience; and
(H) cooperate and coordinate with other
Federal agencies, States, local governments, in-
dustry, and public interest groups; and
(3) seek to enter into cooperative agreements
with other Federal departments and agencies that
have related programs or activities to help ensure con-
sistent, accurate, and coordinated dissemination of
information throughout the executive branch in the
event of a crisis.