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in the same manner as other assessments under this section
and shall be subject to the same sanctions for nonpayment.’’.
(d) ELIMINATION OF THE TOBACCO BUDGET ASSESS-
MENT.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
provisions of section 106(g) of the Agricultural Act of 1949,
as amended (7 U.S.C. 1445(g)), shall not apply or be ex-
tended to the 1999 crops of tobacco and shall not, in any
case, apply to any tobacco for which additional assessments
have been rendered under sections 1 and 2 of this Act.
(e) AMENDMENT OF THE COMMODITY CREDIT COR-
PORATION CHARTER ACT.—Section 4(g) of the Commodity
Credit Corporation Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 714b(g)) is
amended in the first sentence by striking ‘‘$193,000,000’’
and inserting ‘‘$178,000,000’’.
SEC. 760. Expenses for computer-related activities of
the Department of Agriculture funded through the Commod-
ity Credit Corporation pursuant to section 161(b)(1)(A) of
Public Law 104–127 in fiscal year 1999 shall not exceed
$50,000,000: Provided, That section 4(g) of the Commodity
Credit Corporation Charter Act is amended by striking
$178,000,000 and inserting $173,000,000.
SEC. 761. WAIVER OF STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR
CERTAIN DISCRIMINATION CLAIMS. (a) DEFINITION OF ELI-
GIBLE CLAIM.—In this section, the term ‘‘eligible claim’’
means a nonemployment-related claim that was filed with
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the Department of Agriculture on or before July 1, 1997
and alleges discrimination by the Department of Agri-
culture at any time during the period beginning on Janu-
ary 1, 1981, and ending on December 31, 1996—
(1) in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity
Act (15 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.) in administering—
(A) a farm ownership, farm operating, or
emergency loan funded from the Agricultural
Credit Insurance Program Account; or
(B) a housing program established under
title V of the Housing Act of 1949; or
(2) in the administration of a commodity pro-
gram or a disaster assistance program.
(b) WAIVER.—To the extent permitted by the Constitu-
tion, an eligible claim, if commenced not later than 2 years
after the date of the enactment of this Act, shall not be
barred by any statute of limitations.
(c) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—In lieu of bringing a civil ac-
tion, a claimant may seek a written determination on
the merits of an eligible claim by the Secretary of Ag-
riculture if such claim is filed with the Secretary
within two years of the date of enactment of this Act.
(2) TIME PERIOD FOR RESOLUTION OF ADMINIS-
TRATIVE
CLAIMS.—To the maximum extent prac-
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ticable, the Secretary shall, within 180 days from the
date an eligible claim is filed with the Secretary
under this subsection, conduct an investigation, issue
a written determination, and propose a resolution in
accordance with this subsection.
(3) HEARING
AND
AWARD.—The Secretary
shall—
(A) provide the claimant an opportunity for
a hearing before making the determination; and
(B) award the claimant such relief as would
be afforded under the applicable statute from
which the eligible claim arose notwithstanding
any statute of limitations.
(d) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—Federal courts reviewing
an eligible claim under this section shall apply a de novo
standard of review.
(e) LIMITATION
ON ADMINISTRATIVE AWARDS
AND
SETTLEMENT AUTHORITY AND EXTENSION OF TIME.—
(1) LIMITATION
ON
ADMINISTRATIVE
AWARDS
AND SETTLEMENT AUTHORITY.—A proposed adminis-
trative award or settlement exceeding $75,000 (other
than debt relief) of an eligible claim—
(A) shall not take effect until 90 days after
notice of the award or settlement is given to the
Attorney General; and
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(B) shall not take effect if, during that 90-
day period, the Attorney General objects to the
award or settlement.
(2) EXTENSION OF TIME.—Notwithstanding sub-
sections (b) and (c), if an eligible claim is denied ad-
ministratively, the claimant shall have at least 180
days to commence a cause of action in a Federal
court of competent jurisdiction seeking a review of
such denial.
SEC. 762. CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE. (a) IN GEN-
ERAL.—Section 2 of the Census of Agriculture Act of 1997
(7 U.S.C. 2204g) is amended—
(1) in subsection (b) by inserting at the end the
following: ‘‘In fiscal year 1999 the Secretary of Agri-
culture is directed to continue to revise the Census of
Agriculture to eliminate redundancies in questions
asked of farmers by USDA.’’.
(2) in subsection (d) by deleting in paragraph
(1) ‘‘who willfully gives’’ and inserting in its place
‘‘shall not give’’, and deleting ‘‘, shall be fined not
more than $500’’.
(3) in subsection (d) by deleting in paragraph
(2) ‘‘who refuses or willfully neglects’’ and inserting
in its place ‘‘shall not refuse or willfully neglect’’, and
deleting ‘‘, shall not be fined more than $100’’.
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SEC. 763. TREE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. (a) IN GEN-
ERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture may use funds for tree
assistance made available under Public Law 105–174, to
carry out a tree assistance program to owners of trees that
were lost or destroyed as a result of a disaster or emergency
that was declared by the President or the Secretary of Agri-
culture during the period beginning May 1, 1998, and end-
ing August 1, 1998, regardless of whether the damage re-
sulted in loss or destruction after August 1, 1998.
(b) ADMINISTRATION.—Subject to subsection (c), the
Secretary shall carry out the program, to the maximum ex-
tent practicable, in accordance with the terms and condi-
tions of the tree assistance program established under part
783 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations.
(c) ELIGIBILITY.—A person shall be presumed eligible
for assistance under the program if the person demonstrates
to the Secretary that trees owned by the person were lost
or destroyed by May 31, 1999, as a direct result of fire
blight infestation that was caused by a disaster or emer-
gency described in subsection (a).
SEC. 764. STUDY OF FUTURE FEDERAL AGRICUL-
TURAL POLICIES. (a) IN GENERAL.—On the request of the
Commission on 21st Century Production Agriculture, the
Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief Econo-
mist of the Department of Agriculture, shall make assist-
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ance and information available to the Commission to enable
the Commission to conduct a study to guide the development
of future Federal agricultural policies.
(b) DUTIES.—In conducting the study, the Commis-
sion shall—
(1) examine a range of future Federal agricul-
tural policies that may succeed the policies established
under the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7
U.S.C. 7201 et seq.) for the 2003 and subsequent
crops, and the impact of such policies on farm in-
come, the structure of agriculture, trade competitive-
ness, conservation, the environment and other factors;
(2) assess the potential impact of any legislation
enacted through the end of the 105th Congress on fu-
ture Federal agricultural policies; and
(3) review economic agricultural studies that are
relevant to future Federal agricultural policies.
(c) REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 1999, the
Commission shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture
of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Agri-
culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, and the
Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representa-
tives and the Senate, the results of the study conducted
under this section.
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SEC. 765. INDICATION OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN OF IM-
PORTED PERISHABLE AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES. (a)
DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT.—The term
‘‘food service establishment’’ means a restaurant, cafe-
teria, lunch room, food stand, saloon, tavern, bar,
lounge, or other similar facility, operated as an enter-
prise engaged in the business of selling foods to the
public.
(2) PERISHABLE
AGRICULTURAL
COMMODITY;
RETAILER.—The terms ‘‘perishable agricultural com-
modity’’ and ‘‘retailer’’ have the meanings given the
terms in section 1(b) of the Perishable Agricultural
Commodities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C. 499a(b)).
(b) NOTICE OF COUNTRY OF ORIGIN REQUIRED.—Ex-
cept as provided in subsection (c), a retailer of a perishable
agricultural commodity imported into the United States
shall inform consumers, at the final point of sale of the per-
ishable agricultural commodity to consumers, of the country
of origin of the perishable agricultural commodity.
(c) EXEMPTION
FOR FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISH-
MENTS.—Subsection (b) shall not apply to a perishable ag-
ricultural commodity imported into the United States to
the extent that the perishable agricultural commodity is—
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(1) prepared or served in a food service establish-
ment; and
(2)(A) offered for sale or sold at the food service
establishment in normal retail quantities; or
(B) served to consumers at the food service estab-
lishment.
(d) METHOD OF NOTIFICATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The information required by
subsection (b) may be provided to consumers by
means of a label, stamp, mark, placard, or other clear
and visible sign on the imported perishable agricul-
tural commodity or on the package, display, holding
unit, or bin containing the commodity at the final
point of sale to consumers.
(2) LABELED
COMMODITIES.—If the imported
perishable agricultural commodity is already individ-
ually labeled regarding country of origin by the pack-
er, importer, or another person, the retailer shall not
be required to provide any additional information to
comply with this section.
(e) VIOLATIONS.—If a retailer fails to indicate the
country of origin of an imported perishable agricultural
commodity as required by subsection (b), the Secretary of
Agriculture may assess a civil penalty on the retailer in
an amount not to exceed—
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(1) $1,000 for the first day on which the viola-
tion occurs; and
(2) $250 for each day on which the same viola-
tion continues.
(f) DEPOSIT
OF FUNDS.—Amounts collected under
subsection (e) shall be deposited in the Treasury of the
United States as miscellaneous receipts.
(g) APPLICATION
OF SECTION.—This section shall
apply with respect to a perishable agricultural commodity
imported into the United States after the end of the 6-month
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 766. (a) FINDINGS.—
(1) The President’s budget submission includes
unauthorized user fees.
(2) It is unlikely these fees will be authorized in
the immediate future.
(3) The assumption of revenue from unauthor-
ized user fees results in a shortfall of funds available
for programs under the jurisdiction of the Agri-
culture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Admin-
istration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
(4) That among the programs for which addi-
tional funds can be justified are—
(A) human nutrition research;
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(B) the Food Safety Initiative activities of
the United States Department of Agriculture and
the Food and Drug Administration;
(C) the Wetlands Reserve Program;
(D) the conservation Farm Option Pro-
gram;
(E) the Farmland Protection Program;
(F) the Inspector General’s Law Enforce-
ment Initiative;
(G) the Food and Drug Administration pre-
notification certification;
(H) the Food and Drug Administration
clinical pharmacology;
(I) the Food and Drug Administration Of-
fice of Cosmetics and Color;
(J) the Rural Electric loan programs;
(K) the Pesticide Data Program;
(L) the Rural Community Advancement
Program;
(M) civil rights activities; and
(N) the Fund for Rural America.
(b) SENSE OF SENATE.—Therefore, it is the sense of
the Senate that in the event an additional allocation be-
comes available, the before mentioned programs should be
considered for funding.
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SEC. 767. OFFICE OF THE SMALL FARMS ADVOCATE.
(a) DEFINITION OF SMALL FARM.—In this section, the term
‘‘small farm’’ has the meaning given the term in section
506 of the Rural Development Act of 1972 (7 U.S.C. 2666).
(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agri-
culture shall establish and maintain in the Department of
Agriculture an Office of the Small Farms Advocate.
(c) FUNCTIONS.—The Office of the Small Farms Advo-
cate shall—
(1) cooperate with, and monitor, agencies and of-
fices of the Department to ensure that the Department
is meeting the needs of small farms;
(2) provide input to agencies and offices of the
Department on program and policy decisions to en-
sure that the interests of small farms are represented;
and
(3) develop and implement a plan to coordinate
the effective delivery of services of the Department to
small farms.
(d) ADMINISTRATOR.—
(1) APPOINTMENT.—The Office of the Small
Farms Advocate shall be headed by an Administrator,
who shall be appointed by the President, with the ad-
vice and consent of the Senate. Nothing in this Act
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shall be construed to authorize a net increase in the
number of political appointees within the Department
of Agriculture.
(2) DUTIES.—The Administrator shall—
(A) act as an advocate for small farms in
connection with policies and programs of the De-
partment; and
(B) carry out the functions of the Office of
the Small Farms Advocate under subsection (b).
(3) EXECUTIVE
SCHEDULE.—Section 5315 of
title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at
the end the following:
‘‘Administrator, Office of the Small Farms Advo-
cate, Department of Agriculture.’’.
(e) RESOURCES.—Using funds that are otherwise
available to the Department of Agriculture, the Secretary
shall provide the Office of the Small Farms Advocate with
such human and capital resources as are sufficient for the
Office to carry out its functions in a timely and efficient
manner.
(f) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall annually
submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri-
tion, and Forestry of the Senate an annual report that de-