SEC. 710. Notwithstanding any other provision of
this Act, all loan levels provided in this Act shall be consid-
ered estimates, not limitations.
SEC. 711. Appropriations to the Department of Agri-
culture for the cost of direct and guaranteed loans made
available in the current fiscal year shall remain available
until expended to cover obligations made in the current
fiscal year for the following accounts: the Rural Develop-
ment Loan Fund program account, the Rural Telephone
Bank program account, the Rural Electrification and
Telecommunication Loans program account, and the
Rural Housing Insurance Fund program account.
SEC. 712. None of the funds in this Act may be used
to retire more than 5 percent of the Class A stock of the
Rural Telephone Bank or to maintain any account or sub-
account within the accounting records of the Rural Tele-
phone Bank the creation of which has not specifically been
authorized by statute: Provided, That notwithstanding any
other provision of law, none of the funds appropriated or
otherwise made available in this Act may be used to trans-
fer to the Treasury or to the Federal Financing Bank any
unobligated balance of the Rural Telephone Bank tele-
phone liquidating account which is in excess of current
requirements and such balance shall receive interest as set
forth for financial accounts in section 505(c) of the Fed-
eral Credit Reform Act of 1990.
SEC. 713. Of the funds made available by this Act,
not more than $1,800,000 shall be used to cover necessary
expenses of activities related to all advisory committees,
panels, commissions, and task forces of the Department
of Agriculture, except for panels used to comply with nego-
tiated rule makings and panels used to evaluate competi-
tively awarded grants.
SEC. 714. None of the funds appropriated by this Act
may be used to carry out section 410 of the Federal Meat
Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 679a) or section 30 of the Poul-
try Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 471).
SEC. 715. No employee of the Department of Agri-
culture may be detailed or assigned from an agency or
office funded by this Act to any other agency or office
of the Department for more than 30 days unless the indi-
vidual’s employing agency or office is fully reimbursed by
the receiving agency or office for the salary and expenses
of the employee for the period of assignment.
SEC. 716. None of the funds appropriated or other-
wise made available to the Department of Agriculture
shall be used to transmit or otherwise make available to
any non-Department of Agriculture employee questions or
responses to questions that are a result of information re-
quested for the appropriations hearing process.
SEC. 717. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, none of the funds provided by this Act, or provided
by previous Appropriations Acts to the agencies funded
by this Act that remain available for obligation or expendi-
ture in the current fiscal year, or provided from any ac-
counts in the Treasury of the United States derived by
the collection of fees available to the agencies funded by
this Act, shall be available for obligation or expenditure
through a reprogramming of funds which: (1) creates new
programs; (2) eliminates a program, project, or activity;
(3) increases funds or personnel by any means for any
project or activity for which funds have been denied or
restricted; (4) relocates an office or employees; (5) reorga-
nizes offices, programs, or activities; or (6) contracts out
or privatizes any functions or activities presently per-
formed by Federal employees.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, none
of the funds provided by this Act, or provided by previous
Appropriations Acts to the agencies funded by this Act
that remain available for obligation or expenditure in the
current fiscal year, or provided from any accounts in the
Treasury of the United States derived by the collection
of fees available to the agencies funded by this Act, shall
be available for obligation or expenditure for activities,
programs, or projects through a reprogramming of funds
in excess of $500,000 or 10 percent, whichever is less,
that: (1) augments existing programs, projects, or activi-
ties; (2) reduces by 10 percent funding for any existing
program, project, or activity, or numbers of personnel by
10 percent as approved by Congress; or (3) results from
any general savings from a reduction in personnel which
would result in a change in existing programs, activities,
or projects as approved by Congress.
(c) The Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of
Health and Human Services, or the Chairman of the Com-
modity Futures Trading Commission shall notify the Com-
mittees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress be-
fore implementing a program or activity not carried out
during the previous fiscal year unless the program or ac-
tivity is funded by this Act or specifically funded by any
other Act.
SEC. 718. With the exception of funds needed to ad-
minister and conduct oversight of grants awarded and ob-
ligations incurred in prior fiscal years, none of the funds
appropriated or otherwise made available by this or any
other Act may be used to pay the salaries and expenses
of personnel to carry out the provisions of section 401 of
Public Law 105–185, the Initiative for Future Agriculture
and Food Systems (7 U.S.C. 7621). Funds under section
401 for fiscal year 2005 are hereby cancelled.
SEC. 719. None of the funds appropriated by this or
any other Act shall be used to pay the salaries and ex-
penses of personnel who prepare or submit appropriations
language as part of the President’s Budget submission to
the Congress of the United States for programs under the
jurisdiction of the Appropriations Subcommittees on Agri-
culture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administra-
tion, and Related Agencies that assumes revenues or re-
flects a reduction from the previous year due to user fees
proposals that have not been enacted into law prior to the
submission of the Budget unless such Budget submission
identifies which additional spending reductions should
occur in the event the user fees proposals are not enacted
prior to the date of the convening of a committee of con-
ference for the fiscal year 2006 appropriations Act.
SEC. 720. None of the funds made available by this
or any other Act may be used to close or relocate a state
Rural Development office unless or until cost effectiveness
and enhancement of program delivery have been deter-
mined.
SEC. 721. In addition to amounts otherwise appro-
priated or made available by this Act, $2,500,000 is ap-
propriated for the purpose of providing Bill Emerson and