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(2) Increased supplies of agricultural commod-
ities in combination with weakened demand have
caused prices of numerous farm commodities to de-
cline dramatically.
(3) Demand for imported agricultural commod-
ities has fallen in some regions of the world, due in
part to world economic conditions, and United States
agricultural exports have declined from their record
level of $60,000,000,000 in 1996.
(4) Prolonged periods of weather disasters and
crop disease have devastated agricultural producers in
a number of States.
(5) Certain States experienced declines in per-
sonal farm income between 1996 and 1997.
(6) June estimates by the Department of Agri-
culture indicate that net farm income for 1998 will
fall to $45,500,000,000, down 13 percent from the
$52,200,000,000 for 1996.
(7) Total farm debt for 1998 is expected to reach
$172,000,000,000, the highest level since 1985.
(8) Thousands of farm families are in danger of
losing their livelihoods and life savings.
(b) SENSE OF SENATE.—Now, therefore, it is the sense
of the Senate that immediate action by the President and
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Congress is necessary to respond to the economic hardships
facing agricultural producers and their communities.
SEC. 752. ELIGIBILITY OF STATE AGRICULTURAL EX-
PERIMENT STATIONS FOR CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL RE-
SEARCH PROGRAMS. (a) FUND FOR RURAL AMERICA.—Sec-
tion 793(c)(2)(B) of the Federal Agriculture Improvement
and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 2204f(c)(2)(B)) is
amended—
(1) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end;
(2) in clause (iv), by striking the period at the
end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(v) a State agricultural experiment
station.’’.
(b) INITIATIVE FOR FUTURE AGRICULTURE AND FOOD
SYSTEMS.—Section 401(d) of the Agricultural Research,
Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C.
7621(d)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the
end;
(2) in paragraph (4), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(5) a State agricultural experiment station.’’.
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SEC. 753. EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN PRODUCTS FROM
UNITED STATES SANCTIONS. (a) FINDINGS.—(1) Prohibit-
ing or otherwise restricting the donations or sales of food,
other agricultural products, medicines or medical equip-
ment in order to sanction a foreign government for actions
or policies that the United States finds objectionable, unnec-
essarily harms innocent populations in the targeted country
and rarely causes the sanctioned government to alter its ac-
tions or policies.
(2) For the United States as a matter of United States
policy to deny access to United States food, other agricul-
tural products, medicines and medical equipment by inno-
cent men, women and children in other countries weakens
the international leadership and moral authority of the
United States.
(3) Sanctions on the sale or donations of American
food, other agricultural products, medicine or medical
equipment needlessly harm American farmers and workers
employed in these sectors by foreclosing markets for these
United States products.
(b)(1) EXCLUSION FROM SANCTIONS.—Notwithstand-
ing any other provision of law, the President shall not re-
strict or otherwise prohibit any exports (including financ-
ing) of food, other agricultural products (including fer-
tilizer), medicines or medical equipment as part of any pol-
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icy of existing or future unilateral economic sanctions im-
posed against a foreign government.
(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (b)(1) of this section
shall not apply to any regulations or restrictions with re-
spect to such products for health or safety purposes or dur-
ing periods of domestic shortages of such products.
(c) IMPOSE SANCTIONS.—The President may retain or
impose sanctions covered under subsection (b)(1) if he deter-
mines that retaining or imposing such sanctions would fur-
ther United States national security interests.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect
one day after the date of enactment of this section into law.
(e) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN COUNTRIES.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of this section, subsection
(b)(2) shall read as follows:
‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Subsection (b)(1) of this section
shall not apply to any country that—
‘‘(A) repeatedly provided support for acts of
international terrorism, within the meaning of sec-
tion 6(j)(1)(A) of the Export Administration Act of
1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2405(j)(1)(A)); or
‘‘(B) systematically denies access to food, medi-
cine, or medical care to persons on the basis of politi-
cal beliefs or as a means of coercion or punishment.’’.
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SEC. 754. LIVESTOCK INDUSTRY IMPROVEMENT. (a)
DOMESTIC MARKET REPORTING.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 203(g) of the Agricul-
tural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1622(g)) is
amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘(g) To’’ and inserting the
following:
‘‘(g) COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION OF MARKETING
INFORMATION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall’’; and
(B) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(2) DOMESTIC MARKET REPORTING.—
‘‘(A) MANDATORY REPORTING PILOT PRO-
GRAM.—
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall
conduct a 3-year pilot program under
which the Secretary shall require any per-
son or class of persons engaged in the busi-
ness of buying, selling, or marketing live-
stock, livestock products, meat, or meat
products in an unmanufactured form to re-
port to the Secretary in such manner as the
Secretary shall require, such information
relating to prices and the terms of sale for
the procurement of livestock, livestock prod-
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ucts, meat, or meat products in an un-
manufactured form as the Secretary deter-
mines is necessary to carry out this sub-
section.
‘‘(ii) NONCOMPLIANCE.—It shall be un-
lawful for a person engaged in the business
of buying, selling, or marketing livestock,
livestock products, meat, or meat products
in an unmanufactured form to knowingly
fail or refuse to provide to the Secretary in-
formation required to be reported under
subparagraph (A).
‘‘(iii) CEASE AND DESIST AND CIVIL
PENALTY.—
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—If the Sec-
retary has reason to believe that a per-
son engaged in the business of buying,
selling, or marketing livestock, livestock
products, meat, or meat products in an
unmanufactured form is violating the
provisions of subparagraph (A) (or
regulation promulgated under subpara-
graph (A)), the Secretary after notice
and opportunity for hearing, may
make an order to cease and desist from
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meats, or meat products in an unmanufactured
form that are not subjected to a mandatory re-
porting requirement under subparagraph (A).
‘‘(C) AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—The
Secretary shall make information received under
this paragraph available to the public only in a
form that ensures that—
‘‘(i) the identity of the person submit-
ting a report is not disclosed; and
‘‘(ii) the confidentiality of proprietary
business information is otherwise protected.
‘‘(D) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in
this paragraph restricts or modifies the author-
ity of the Secretary to collect voluntary reports
in accordance with other provisions of law.’’.
(2) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 203 of the
Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1622)
is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary is directed
and authorized:’’; and
(B) in the first sentence of each of sub-
sections (a) through (f) and subsections (h)
through (n), by striking ‘‘To’’ and inserting ‘‘The
Secretary shall’’.
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(b) PROHIBITION ON NONCOMPETITIVE PRACTICES.—
Section 202 of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7
U.S.C. 192), is amended—
(1) in subsection (g), by striking the period at
the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(h) Engage in any practice or device that the Sec-
retary by regulation, after consultation with producers of
cattle, lamb, and hogs, and other persons in the cattle, lamb,
and hog industries, determines is a detrimental non-
competitive practice or device relating to the price or a term
of sale for the procurement of livestock or the sale of meat
or other byproduct of slaughter.’’.
(c) PROTECTION OF LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS AGAINST
RETALIATION BY PACKERS.—
(1) RETALIATION PROHIBITED.—Section 202(b)
of the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C.
192(b)), is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘or subject’’ and inserting
‘‘subject’’; and
(B) by inserting before the semicolon at the
end the following: ‘‘, or retaliate against any
livestock producer on account of any statement
made by the producer (whether made to the Sec-
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retary or a law enforcement agency or in a pub-
lic forum) regarding an action of any packer’’.
(2) SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS REGARDING ALLE-
GATIONS OF RETALIATION.—Section 203 of the Pack-
ers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 193), is
amended by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(e) SPECIAL PROCEDURES REGARDING ALLEGATIONS
OF RETALIATION.—
‘‘(1) CONSIDERATION BY SPECIAL PANEL.—The
President shall appoint a special panel consisting of
3 members to receive and initially consider a com-
plaint submitted by any person that alleges prohib-
ited packer retaliation under section 202(b) directed
against a livestock producer.
‘‘(2) COMPLAINT; HEARING.—If the panel has
reason to believe from the complaint or resulting in-
vestigation that a packer has violated or is violating
the retaliation prohibition under section 202(b), the
panel shall notify the Secretary who shall cause a
complaint to be issued against the packer, and a
hearing conducted, under subsection (a).
‘‘(3) EVIDENTIARY STANDARD.—In the case of a
complaint regarding retaliation prohibited under sec-
tion 202(b), the Secretary shall find that the packer
involved has violated or is violating section 202(b) if
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the finding is supported by a preponderance of the
evidence.’’.
(3) DAMAGES FOR PRODUCERS SUFFERING RE-
TALIATION.—Section 203 of the Packers and Stock-
yards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 193) (as amended by sub-
section (b)), is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing:
‘‘(f) DAMAGES FOR PRODUCERS SUFFERING RETALIA-
TION.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a packer violates the retal-
iation prohibition under section 202(b), the packer
shall be liable to the livestock producer injured by the
retaliation for not more than 3 times the amount of
damages sustained as a result of the violation.
‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT.—The liability may be en-
forced either by complaint to the Secretary, as pro-
vided in subsection (e), or by suit in any court of
competent jurisdiction.
‘‘(3) OTHER REMEDIES.—This subsection shall
not abridge or alter a remedy existing at common law
or by statute. The remedy provided by this subsection
shall be in addition to any other remedy.’’.
(d) REVIEW
OF FEDERAL AGRICULTURE CREDIT
POLICIES.—The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation
with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Chairman of the
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Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and the
Chairman of the Board of the Farm Credit Administration,
shall establish an interagency working group to study—
(1) the extent to which Federal lending practices
and policies have contributed, or are contributing, to
market concentration in the livestock and dairy sec-
tors of the national economy; and
(2) whether Federal policies regarding the finan-
cial system of the United States adequately take ac-
count of the weather and price volatility risks inher-
ent in livestock and dairy enterprises.
SEC. 755. METERED-DOSE
INHALERS. (a) FIND-
INGS.—Congress finds that—
(1) the Montreal Protocol on Substances That
Deplete the Ozone Layer (referred to in this section as
the ‘‘Montreal Protocol’’) requires the phaseout of
products containing ozone-depleting substances, in-
cluding chloroflourocarbons;
(2) the primary remaining legal use in the
United States of newly produced chloroflourocarbons
is in metered-dose inhalers;
(3) treatment with metered-dose inhalers is the
preferred treatment for many patients with asthma
and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease;
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(4) the incidence of asthma and chronic obstruc-
tive pulmonary disease is increasing in children and
is most prevalent among low-income persons in the
United States;
(5) the Parties to the Montreal Protocol have
called for development of national transition strate-
gies to non-chloroflourocarbon metered-dose inhalers;
(6) the Commissioner of Food and Drugs pub-
lished an advance notice of proposed rulemaking that
suggested a tentative framework for how to phase out
the use of metered-dose inhalers that contain
chloroflourocarbons in the Federal Register on March
6, 1997, 62 Fed. Reg. 10242 (referred to in this sec-
tion as the ‘‘proposal’’); and
(7) the medical and patient communities, while
calling for a formal transition strategy issued by the
Food and Drug Administration by rulemaking, have
expressed serious concerns that the proposal, if imple-
mented without change, could potentially place some
patients at risk by causing the removal of metered-
dose inhalers containing chloroflourocarbons from the
market before adequate non-chlorofluorocarbon re-
placements are available.
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Congress
that—