106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H.R. 4788
HOUSE AMENDMENT TO
SENATE AMENDMENT
In the House of Representatives, U. S.,
October 17, 2000.
Resolved, That the House agree to the amendment of the
Senate to the bill (H.R. 4788) entitled ‘‘An Act to amend the
United States Grain Standards Act to extend the authority
of the Secretary of Agriculture to collect fees to cover the
cost of services performed under that Act, extend the author-
ization of appropriations for that Act, and improve the ad-
ministration of that Act, to reenact the United States Ware-
house Act to require the licensing and inspection of ware-
houses used to store agricultural products and provide for the
issuance of receipts, including electronic receipts, for agricul-
tural products stored or handled in licensed warehouses, and
for other purposes’’, with the following
HOUSE AMENDMENT TO SENATE AMENDMENT:
At the end of the matter proposed to be inserted by
the Senate amendment, add the following new sections:
SEC. 311. COTTON FUTURES.
Subsection (d)(2) of the United States Cotton Futures
Act (7 U.S.C. 15b(d)(2)) is amended by adding at the end
the following: ‘‘A person complying with the preceding sen-
tence shall not be liable for any loss or damage arising or
resulting from such compliance.’’.
SEC. 312. IMPROVED INVESTIGATIVE AND ENFORCEMENT
ACTIVITIES 
UNDER 
THE 
PACKERS 
AND
STOCKYARDS ACT, 1921.
(a) IMPLEMENTATION OF GENERAL ACCOUNTING OF-
FICE RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agri-
culture shall implement the recommendations contained in
the report issued by the General Accounting Office entitled
‘‘Packers and Stockyards Programs: Actions Needed to Im-
prove Investigations of Competitive Practices’’, GAO/
RCED–00–242, dated September 21, 2000.
(b) CONSULTATION.—During the implementation pe-
riod referred to in subsection (a), and for such an addi-
tional time period as needed to assure effective implementa-
tion of the recommendations contained in the report re-
ferred to in such subsection, the Secretary of Agriculture
shall consult and work with the Department of Justice and
the Federal Trade Commission in order to—
(1) implement the recommendations in the report
regarding investigation management, operations, and
case methods development processes; and
(2) effectively identify and investigate com-
plaints of unfair and anti-competitive practices in
violation of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7
U.S.C. 181 et seq.), and enforce the Act.
‘‘(1) assesses the general economic state of the
cattle and hog industries;
‘‘(2) describes changing business practices in
those industries; and
‘‘(3) identifies market operations or activities in
those industries that appear to raise concerns under
this Act.’’.
SEC. 313. REHABILITATION OF WATER RESOURCE STRUC-
TURAL 
MEASURES 
CONSTRUCTED 
UNDER
CERTAIN 
DEPARTMENT 
OF 
AGRICULTURE
PROGRAMS.
The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act
(16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end
the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 14. REHABILITATION OF STRUCTURAL MEASURES
NEAR, AT, OR PAST THEIR EVALUATED LIFE
EXPECTANCY.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
‘‘(1) REHABILITATION.—The term ‘rehabilita-
tion’, with respect to a structural measure constructed
as part of a covered water resource project, means the
completion of all work necessary to extend the service
life of the structural measure and meet applicable
safety and performance standards. This may include:
(A) protecting the integrity of the structural measure
or prolonging the useful life of the structural measure
beyond the original evaluated life expectancy; (B) cor-
recting damage to the structural measure from a cata-
strophic event; (C) correcting the deterioration of
structural components that are deteriorating at an
abnormal rate; (D) upgrading the structural measure
to meet changed land use conditions in the watershed
served by the structural measure or changed safety
criteria applicable to the structural measure; or (E)
decommissioning the structure, if requested by the
local organization.
‘‘(2) COVERED
WATER
RESOURCE
PROJECT.—
The term ‘covered water resource project’ means a
work of improvement carried out under any of the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(A) This Act.
‘‘(B) Section 13 of the Act of December 22,
1944 (Public Law 78–534; 58 Stat. 905).
‘‘(C) The pilot watershed program author-
ized under the heading ‘FLOOD PREVENTION’ of
the Department of Agriculture Appropriation
Act, 1954 (Public Law 156; 67 Stat. 214).
‘‘(D) Subtitle H of title XV of the Agri-
culture and Food Act of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3451
et seq.; commonly known as the Resource Con-
servation and Development Program).
‘‘(3) STRUCTURAL MEASURE.—The term ‘struc-
tural measure’ means a physical improvement that
impounds water, commonly known as a dam, which
was constructed as part of a covered water resource
project, including the impoundment area and flood
pool.
‘‘(b) COST SHARE ASSISTANCE
FOR REHABILITA-
TION.—
‘‘(1) ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary
may provide financial assistance to a local organiza-
tion to cover a portion of the total costs incurred for
the rehabilitation of structural measures originally
constructed as part of a covered water resource
project. The total costs of rehabilitation include the
costs associated with all components of the rehabilita-
tion project, including acquisition of land, easements,
and rights-of-ways, rehabilitation project administra-
tion, the provision of technical assistance, con-
tracting, and construction costs, except that the local
organization shall be responsible for securing all land,
easements, or rights-of-ways necessary for the project.
‘‘(2) AMOUNT
OF
ASSISTANCE; LIMITATIONS.—
The amount of Federal funds that may be made
available under this subsection to a local organization
for construction of a particular rehabilitation project
shall be equal to 65 percent of the total rehabilitation
costs, but not to exceed 100 percent of actual construc-
tion costs incurred in the rehabilitation. However, the
local organization shall be responsible for the costs of
water, mineral, and other resource rights and all Fed-
eral, State, and local permits.
‘‘(3) RELATION TO LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT
REGULATIONS.—As a condition on entering into an
agreement to provide financial assistance under this
subsection, the Secretary, working in concert with the
affected unit or units of general purpose local govern-
ment, may require that proper zoning or other devel-
opmental regulations are in place in the watershed in
which the structural measures to be rehabilitated
under the agreement are located so that—
‘‘(A) the completed rehabilitation project is
not quickly rendered inadequate by additional
development; and
‘‘(B) society can realize the full benefits of
the rehabilitation investment.
‘‘(c) 
TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE
FOR
WATERSHED
PROJECT REHABILITATION.—The Secretary, acting through
the Natural Resources Conservation Service, may provide
technical assistance in planning, designing, and imple-
menting rehabilitation projects should a local organization
request such assistance. Such assistance may consist of spe-
cialists in such fields as engineering, geology, soils, agron-
omy, biology, hydraulics, hydrology, economics, water qual-
ity, and contract administration.
‘‘(d) PROHIBITED USE.—
‘‘(1) PERFORMANCE OF OPERATION AND MAINTE-
NANCE.—Rehabilitation assistance provided under
this section may not be used to perform operation and
maintenance activities specified in the agreement for
the covered water resource project entered into be-
tween the Secretary and the local organization re-
sponsible for the works of improvement. Such oper-
ation and maintenance activities shall remain the re-
sponsibility of the local organization, as provided in
the project work plan.
‘‘(2) RENEGOTIATION.—Notwithstanding para-
graph (1), as part of the provision of financial assist-
ance under subsection (b), the Secretary may renego-
tiate the original agreement for the covered water re-
source project entered into between the Secretary and
the local organization regarding responsibility for the
operation and maintenance of the project when the re-
habilitation is finished.
‘‘(e) APPLICATION
FOR
REHABILITATION
ASSIST-
ANCE.—A local organization may apply to the Secretary
for technical and financial assistance under this section if
the application has also been submitted to and approved
by the State agency having supervisory responsibility over
the covered water resource project at issue or, if there is
no State agency having such responsibility, by the Governor
of the State. The Secretary shall request the State dam safe-
ty officer (or equivalent State official) to be involved in the
application process if State permits or approvals are re-
quired. The rehabilitation of structural measures shall meet
standards established by the Secretary and address other
dam safety issues. At the request of the local organization,
personnel of the Natural Resources Conservation Service of
the Department of Agriculture may assist in preparing ap-
plications for assistance.
‘‘(f) RANKING OF REQUESTS FOR REHABILITATION
ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall establish such system of
approving rehabilitation requests, recognizing that such re-
quests will be received throughout the fiscal year and subject
to the availability of funds to carry out this section, as is
necessary for proper administration by the Department of
Agriculture and equitable for all local organizations. The
approval process shall be in writing, and made known to
all local organizations and appropriate State agencies.