IIB 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2088 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JUNE 10, 2015 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 
and Forestry 
AN ACT 
To amend the United States Grain Standards Act to improve 
inspection services performed at export elevators at ex-
port port locations, to reauthorize certain authorities of 
the Secretary of Agriculture under such Act, and for 
other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘United States Grain 
Standards Act Reauthorization Act of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. REAUTHORIZATION OF UNITED STATES GRAIN 
STANDARDS ACT. 
(a) POLICY AND PURPOSE OF ACT.—Section 2(b) of 
the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 74(b)) 
is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘to both do-
mestic and foreign buyers’’ and inserting ‘‘respon-
sive to the purchase specifications of domestic and 
foreign buyers’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 
(2); 
(3) by striking the period at the end of para-
graph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(4) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(4) to provide an accurate, reliable, consist-
ently available, and cost-effective official grain in-
spection and weighing system.’’. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.— 
(1) MAJOR DISASTER DEFINED.—Section 3 of 
the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 
75) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new paragraph: 
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‘‘(aa) The term ‘major disaster’ has the mean-
ing given that term in section 102(2) of the Robert 
T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122(2)), except that the term 
includes a severe weather incident causing a region- 
wide interruption of government services.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 3 of 
the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 
75) is further amended— 
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (a), 
by striking ‘‘otherwise–’’ and inserting ‘‘other-
wise:’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘the term’’ at the begin-
ning of each paragraph (other than paragraphs 
(n) and (t)) and inserting ‘‘The term’’; 
(C) in paragraph (i)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘Act (the term’’ and 
inserting ‘‘Act. The term’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘);’’ and inserting a 
period; 
(D) in paragraphs (n) and (t), by striking 
‘‘the terms’’ and inserting ‘‘The terms’’; 
(E) in paragraph (o)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘personnel (the term’’ 
and inserting ‘‘personnel. The term’’; and 
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(ii) by striking ‘‘);’’ and inserting a 
period; 
(F) in paragraph (s), by striking ‘‘the 
verb’’ and inserting ‘‘The verb’’; 
(G) in paragraph (x)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘conveyance (the 
terms’’ and inserting ‘‘conveyance. The 
terms’’; and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘accordingly);’’ and in-
serting ‘‘accordingly.’’; 
(H) by striking the semicolon at the end of 
each paragraph (other than paragraphs (i), (o), 
(x), and (y)) and inserting a period; and 
(I) in paragraph (y), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 
and inserting a period. 
(c) OFFICIAL INSPECTION AND WEIGHING REQUIRE-
MENTS.— 
(1) DISCRETIONARY WAIVER AUTHORITY.—Sec-
tion 5(a)(1) of the United States Grain Standards 
Act (7 U.S.C. 77(a)(1)) is amended in the first pro-
viso by striking ‘‘may waive the foregoing require-
ment in emergency’’ and inserting ‘‘shall promptly 
waive the foregoing requirement in the event of an 
emergency, a major disaster,’’. 
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(2) WEIGHING
REQUIREMENTS
AT
EXPORT 
ELEVATORS.—Section 5(a)(2) of the United States 
Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 77(a)(2)) is amend-
ed by striking ‘‘intracompany shipments of grain 
into an export elevator by any mode of transpor-
tation, grain transferred into an export elevator by 
transportation modes other than barge,’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘shipments of grain into an export elevator by 
any mode of transportation’’. 
(d) DELEGATION OF OFFICIAL INSPECTION AUTHOR-
ITY.— 
(1) AUTHORIZED INSPECTION PERSONNEL AT 
EXPORT
ELEVATORS
AT
EXPORT
PORT
LOCA-
TIONS.—Paragraph (1) of section 7(e) of the United 
States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79(e)) is 
amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(1) Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (3) 
and (4) of this subsection, the Secretary shall cause offi-
cial inspection at export elevators at export port locations, 
for all grain required or authorized to be inspected by this 
Act, to be performed— 
‘‘(A) by official inspection personnel employed 
by the Secretary; or 
‘‘(B) by other persons under contract with the 
Secretary as provided in section 8 of this Act.’’. 
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(2) DELEGATION
TO
STATE
AGENCIES.—Sec-
tion 7(e) of the United States Grain Standards Act 
(7 U.S.C. 79(e)) is amended— 
(A) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘, meets the criteria’’ 
and all that follows through ‘‘the Secretary 
may delegate’’ and inserting ‘‘and meets 
the 
criteria 
specified 
in 
subsection 
(f)(1)(A) of this section, the Secretary may 
delegate’’; 
(ii) by striking ‘‘at export port loca-
tions within the State, including export 
port locations’’ and inserting ‘‘at export 
elevators at export port locations within 
the State, including at export elevators at 
export port locations’’; and 
(iii) in the last sentence, by striking 
‘‘Any such delegation’’ and inserting ‘‘The 
delegation under this paragraph of author-
ity to conduct official inspection services 
shall be for a term not to exceed 5 years, 
and may be renewed thereafter in accord-
ance with this subsection, except that any 
such delegation’’; 
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(B) by transferring paragraph (4) to the 
end of subsection (f), redesignating such para-
graph as paragraph (5), and, in such para-
graph, by striking ‘‘or subsection (f)’’ and in-
serting ‘‘or subsection (e)’’; and 
(C) by striking paragraph (3) and insert-
ing the following new paragraphs: 
‘‘(3) Prior to delegating authority to a State agency 
for the performance of official inspection services at export 
elevators at export port locations pursuant to paragraph 
(2) of this subsection, the Secretary shall comply with the 
following: 
‘‘(A) Upon receipt of an application from a 
State agency requesting the delegation of authority 
to perform official inspection services on behalf of 
the Secretary, publish notice of the application in 
the Federal Register and provide a minimum 30-day 
comment period on the application. 
‘‘(B) Evaluate the comments received under 
subparagraph (A) with respect to an application and 
conduct an investigation to determine whether the 
State agency that submitted the application and its 
personnel are qualified to perform official inspection 
services on behalf of the Secretary. In conducting 
the investigation, the Secretary shall consult with, 
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and review the available files of the Department of 
Justice, the Office of Inspector General of the De-
partment of Agriculture, and the Government Ac-
countability Office. 
‘‘(C) Make findings based on the results of the 
investigation and consideration of public comments 
received. 
‘‘(D) Publish a notice in the Federal Register 
announcing whether the State agency has been dele-
gated the authority to perform official inspection 
services at export elevators at export port locations 
on behalf of the Secretary, and the basis upon which 
the Secretary has made the decision. 
‘‘(4)(A) Except in the case of a major disaster, if a 
State agency that has been delegated the authority to per-
form official inspection services at export elevators at ex-
port port locations on behalf of the Secretary fails to per-
form such official services, the Secretary shall submit to 
Congress, within 90 days after the first day on which in-
spection services were not performed by the delegated 
State agency, a report containing— 
‘‘(i) the reasons for the State agency’s failure; 
and 
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‘‘(ii) the rationale as to whether or not the Sec-
retary will permit the State agency to retain its dele-
gated authority. 
‘‘(B) A State agency may request that the delegation 
of inspection authority to the agency be canceled by pro-
viding written notice to the Secretary at least 90 days in 
advance of the requested cancellation date. 
‘‘(C) If a State agency that has been delegated the 
authority under paragraph (2) of this subsection to per-
form official inspection services at an export elevator at 
an export port location on behalf of the Secretary intends 
to temporarily discontinue such official inspection services 
or weighing services for any reason, except in the case of 
a major disaster, the State agency shall notify the Sec-
retary in writing of its intention to do so at least 72 hours 
in advance of the discontinuation date. The receipt of such 
prior notice shall be considered by the Secretary as a miti-
gating factor in determining whether to maintain or re-
voke the delegation of authority to the State agency.’’. 
(3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—(A) Section 
7(f)(1) of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 
U.S.C. 79(f)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘other than 
at export port locations’’ and inserting ‘‘(other than 
at an export elevator at an export port location)’’. 
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(B) Section 16(d) of the United States Grain 
Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 87e(d)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘The Office of Investigation of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture (or such other organization or 
agency within the Department of Agriculture which 
may be delegated the authority, in lieu thereof, to 
conduct investigations on behalf of the Department 
of Agriculture)’’ and inserting ‘‘The Office of In-
spector General of the Department of Agriculture’’. 
(4) EVALUATION OF CURRENT DELEGATIONS.— 
Not later than 2 years after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 
complete a review of each State agency that, as of 
the date of the enactment of this Act, has been dele-
gated inspection authority under section 7(e) of the 
United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79(e)) 
and determine if the State agency is qualified to 
continue to perform official inspection services at ex-
port elevators at export port locations on behalf of 
the Secretary under such section, as amended by 
this subsection. The Secretary shall conduct the re-
view subject to the requirements of section 7(e) of 
the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 
79(e)), as amended by this subsection, and a State 
agency determined to be qualified to continue to per-
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form such official inspection services shall be subject 
thereafter to such requirements. 
(e) CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS.—Section 7(e) of 
the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79(e)) 
is further amended by inserting after paragraph (4), as 
added by subsection (d), the following new paragraphs: 
‘‘(5) Except in the case of a major disaster, the Sec-
retary shall cause official inspections at an export elevator 
at an export port location— 
‘‘(A) to be performed without interruption by 
official inspection personnel employed by the Sec-
retary or by a State agency delegated such authority 
under paragraph (2) of this subsection; or 
‘‘(B) if interrupted, to be resumed at the export 
elevator by utilizing official inspection personnel em-
ployed by the Secretary or by another delegated 
State agency as provided under paragraph (2) of 
this subsection as follows: 
‘‘(i) Within 6 hours after the interruption, 
if the interruption is caused by a State agency 
delegated such authority under this subsection 
and the Secretary received advance notice of the 
interruption pursuant to paragraph (4)(C) of 
this subsection. 
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‘‘(ii) Within 12 hours after the interrup-
tion, if the State agency failed to provide the 
required advance notice of the interruption. 
‘‘(6)(A) If the Secretary is unable to restore official 
inspection services within the applicable time period re-
quired by paragraph (5)(B) of this subsection, the inter-
ested person requesting such services at the export eleva-
tor at an export port location shall be authorized to utilize 
official inspection personnel, as provided under section 8 
of the Act, employed by another State agency delegated 
authority under paragraph (2) of this subsection or des-
ignated under subsection (f)(1) of this section. 
‘‘(B) A delegated or designated State agency pro-
viding inspection services under subparagraph (A) may, 
at its discretion, provide such services for a period of up 
to 90 days from the date on which the services are initi-
ated, after which time the Secretary may restore official 
inspection services using official inspection personnel em-
ployed by the Secretary or a State agency delegated such 
authority under this subsection, if available. The State 
agency shall notify the Secretary in writing of its intention 
to discontinue inspection services under subparagraph (A) 
at least 72 hours in advance of the discontinuation date. 
‘‘(7) Not later than 60 days after the date of the en-
actment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall make avail-
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able to the public, including pursuant to a website main-
tained by the Secretary, a list of all delegated States and 
all official agencies authorized to perform official inspec-
tions on behalf of the Secretary. This list shall include 
the name, contact information, and category of authority 
granted. The Secretary shall update the list at least semi-
annually.’’. 
(f) GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES FOR OFFICIAL AGEN-
CIES.— 
(1) OFFICIAL
INSPECTION
AUTHORITY.—Sec-
tion 7(f)(2) of the United States Grain Standards 
Act (7 U.S.C. 79(f)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘the 
Secretary may’’ and all that follows through the end 
of the paragraph and inserting the following: ‘‘the 
Secretary shall allow a designated official agency to 
cross boundary lines to carry out inspections in an-
other geographic area if— 
‘‘(A) the current designated official agency 
for that geographic area is unable to provide in-
spection services in a timely manner; 
‘‘(B) a person requesting inspection serv-
ices in that geographic area requests a probe 
inspection on a barge-lot basis; or 
‘‘(C) the current official agency for that 
geographic area agrees in writing with the adja-
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cent official agency to waive the current geo-
graphic area restriction at the request of the 
applicant for service.’’. 
(2) WEIGHING
AUTHORITY.—Section 7A(i)(2) 
of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 
79a(i)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘the Secretary 
may’’ and all that follows through the end of the 
paragraph and inserting the following: ‘‘the Sec-
retary shall allow a designated official agency to 
cross boundary lines to carry out weighing in an-
other geographic area if— 
‘‘(A) the current designated official agency 
for that geographic area is unable to provide 
weighing services in a timely manner; or 
‘‘(B) the current official agency for that 
geographic area agrees in writing with the adja-
cent official agency to waive the current geo-
graphic area restriction at the request of the 
applicant for service.’’. 
(g) DURATION
OF
DESIGNATIONS
OF
OFFICIAL 
AGENCIES.—Section 7(g)(1) of the United States Grain 
Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79(g)(1)) is amended by striking 
‘‘triennially’’ and inserting ‘‘every 5 years’’. 
(h) INSPECTION FEES.— 
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(1) 
COLLECTION
AND
AMOUNTS.—Section 
7(j)(1) of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 
U.S.C. 79(j)(1)) is amended— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ after ‘‘(1)’’; 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph: 
‘‘(B) For official inspections and weighing at an ex-
port elevator at an export port location performed by the 
Secretary, performed by a State agency delegated the au-
thority to perform official inspection services at the export 
elevator on behalf of the Secretary, or performed by a 
State agency utilized as authorized by subsection 
(e)(6)(A), the portion of the fees based upon export ton-
nage shall be based upon a rolling 5-year average of export 
tonnage volumes. In order to maintain an operating re-
serve of between 3 to 6 months, the Secretary shall adjust 
such fees at least annually.’’. 
(2) DURATION OF AUTHORITY.—Section 7(j)(4) 
of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 
79(j)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 
2015’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2020’’. 
(i) OFFICIAL WEIGHING OR SUPERVISION AT LOCA-
TIONS
WHERE
OFFICIAL
INSPECTION
IS
PROVIDED 
OTHER THAN BY THE SECRETARY.—Section 7A(c)(2) of 
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the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 
79a(c)(2)) is amended— 
(1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘with re-
spect to export port locations’’ and inserting ‘‘with 
respect to an export elevator at an export port loca-
tion’’; and 
(2) in the last sentence by striking ‘‘subsection 
(g) of section 7’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (e) and 
(g) of section 7’’. 
(j) COLLECTION
OF FEES
FOR WEIGHING SERV-
ICES.—Section 7A(l)(3) of the United States Grain Stand-
ards Act (7 U.S.C. 79a(l)(2)) is amended by striking 
‘‘September 30, 2015’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 
2020’’. 
(k) LIMITATION AND ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPER-
VISORY COSTS.—Section 7D of the United States Grain 
Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79d) is amended by striking 
‘‘2015’’ and inserting ‘‘2020’’. 
(l) ISSUANCE OF AUTHORIZATIONS.— 
(1) DURATION.—Section 8(b) of the United 
States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 84(b)) is 
amended by striking ‘‘triennially’’ and inserting 
‘‘every 5 years’’. 
(2) PERSONS WHO MAY BE HIRED AS OFFICIAL 
INSPECTION
PERSONNEL.—Section 8(e) of the 
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United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 84(e)) 
is amended— 
(A) by striking ‘‘(on the date of enactment 
of the United States Grain Standards Act of 
1976)’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘the United States Grain 
Standards Act’’ and inserting ‘‘this Act’’; and 
(C) by striking ‘‘, on the date of enactment 
of the United States Grain Standards Act of 
1976, was performing’’ and inserting ‘‘per-
forms’’. 
(m) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 
19 of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 
87h) is amended by striking ‘‘2015’’ and inserting 
‘‘2020’’. 
(n) EXPIRATION OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—Sec-
tion 21(e) of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 
U.S.C. 87j(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘September 30, 
2015’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2020’’. 
(o) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.—Section 17B(b) of 
the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 87f– 
2(b)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘notwithstanding the provisions 
of section 812 of the Agricultural Act of 1970, as 
added by the Agriculture and Consumer Protection 
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