H. R. 3603—30
awarded competitively by the Cooperative State Research, Edu-
cation, and Extension Service that exceed 14 percent of total Federal
funds provided under each award.
SEC. 713. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Act,
all loan levels provided in this Act shall be considered estimates,
not limitations.
SEC. 714. Appropriations to the Department of Agriculture for
the cost of direct and guaranteed loans made available in fiscal
year 1997 shall remain available until expended to cover obligations
made in fiscal year 1997 for the following accounts: the rural
development loan fund program account; the Rural Telephone Bank
program account; the rural electrification and telecommunications
loans program account; and the rural economic development loans
program account.
SEC. 715. Such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 1997
pay raises for programs funded by this Act shall be absorbed within
the levels appropriated in this Act.
SEC. 716. (a) COMPLIANCE WITH BUY AMERICAN ACT.—None
of the funds made available in this Act may be expended by an
entity unless the entity agrees that in expending the funds the
entity will comply with sections 2 through 4 of the Act of March
3, 1933 (41 U.S.C. 10a–10c; popularly known as the ‘‘Buy American
Act’’).
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS; REQUIREMENT REGARDING NOTICE.—
(1) PURCHASE OF AMERICAN-MADE EQUIPMENT AND PROD-
UCTS.—In the case of any equipment or product that may
be authorized to be purchased with financial assistance pro-
vided using funds made available in this Act, it is the sense
of the Congress that entities receiving the assistance should,
in expending the assistance, purchase only American-made
equipment and products.
(2) NOTICE TO RECIPIENTS OF ASSISTANCE.—In providing
financial assistance using funds made available in this Act,
the head of each Federal agency shall provide to each recipient
of the assistance a notice describing the statement made in
paragraph (1) by the Congress.
(c) PROHIBITION OF CONTRACTS WITH PERSONS FALSELY LABEL-
ING PRODUCTS AS MADE IN AMERICA.—If it has been finally deter-
mined by a court or Federal agency that any person intentionally
affixed a label bearing a ‘‘Made in America’’ inscription, or any
inscription with the same meaning, to any product sold in or shipped
to the United States that is not made in the United States, the
person shall be ineligible to receive any contract or subcontract
made with funds made available in this Act, pursuant to the debar-
ment, suspension, and ineligibility procedures described in sections
9.400 through 9.409 of title 48, Code of Federal Regulations.
SEC. 717. Notwithstanding the Federal Grant and Cooperative
Agreement Act, marketing services of the Agricultural Marketing
Service and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service may
use cooperative agreements to reflect a relationship between Agri-
cultural Marketing Service or the Animal and Plant Health Inspec-
tion Service and a State or Cooperator to carry out agricultural
marketing programs or to carry out programs to protect the Nation’s
animal and plant resources.
SEC. 718. None of the funds in this Act may be used to retire
more than 5% of the Class A stock of the Rural Telephone Bank
or to maintain any account or subaccount within the accounting
H. R. 3603—31
records of the Rural Telephone Bank the creation of which has
not specifically been authorized by statute: Provided, That notwith-
standing any other provision of law, none of the funds appropriated
or otherwise made available in this Act may be used to transfer
to the Treasury or to the Federal Financing Bank any unobligated
balance of the Rural Telephone Bank telephone 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 Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990.
SEC. 719. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available by this Act may be used to provide food stamp benefits
to households whose benefits are calculated using a standard deduc-
tion greater than the standard deduction in effect for fiscal year
1995.
SEC. 720. None of the funds made available in this Act may
be used to provide assistance to, or to pay the salaries of personnel
who carry out a market promotion/market access program pursuant
to section 203 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C.
5623) that provides assistance to the United States Mink Export
Development Council or any mink industry trade association.
SEC. 721. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available by this Act, or made available through the Commodity
Credit Corporation, shall be used to enroll in excess of 130,000
acres in the fiscal year 1997 wetlands reserve program, as author-
ized by section 3837 of title 16, United States Code: Provided,
That additional acreage may be enrolled in the program to the
extent that non-Federal funds available to the Secretary are used
to fully compensate for the cost of additional enrollments: Provided
further, That the condition on enrollments provided in section
1237(b)(2)(B) of the Food Security Act of 1985, as amended (16
U.S.C. 3837(b)(2)(B)) shall be deemed met upon the enrollment
of 43,333 acres through the use of temporary easements: Provided
further, That the Secretary shall not enroll acres in the wetlands
reserve program through the use of new permanent easements
in fiscal year 1998 until the Secretary has enrolled at least 31,667
acres in the program through the use of temporary easements.
SEC. 722. Of the funds made available by this Act, not more
than $1,000,000 shall be used to cover necessary expenses of activi-
ties related to all advisory committees, panels, commissions, and
task forces of the Department of Agriculture except for panels
used to comply with negotiated rule makings and panels used
to evaluate competitively awarded grants.
SEC. 723. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available by this Act shall be used to pay the salaries and expenses
of personnel who carry out an export enhancement program if
the aggregate amount of funds and/or commodities under such
program exceeds $100,000,000.
SEC. 724. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available by this Act shall be used to pay the salaries and expenses
of personnel who carry out a farmland protection program in excess
of $2,000,000 authorized by section 388 of Public Law 104–127.
SEC. 725. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available by this Act shall be used to pay the salaries and expenses
of personnel who carry out a conservation farm option program
in excess of $2,000,000 authorized by section 335 of Public Law
104–127.
H. R. 3603—32
SEC. 726. None of the funds made available in this Act may
be used to pay the salaries of employees of the Department of
Agriculture who make payments pursuant to a production flexibility
contract entered into under section 111 of the Federal Agriculture
Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–127; 7
U.S.C. 7211) when it is made known to the Federal official having
authority to obligate or expend such funds that the land covered
by that production flexibility contract is not being used for the
production of an agricultural commodity or is not devoted to a
conserving use, unless it is also made known to that Federal official
that the lack of agricultural production or the lack of a conserving
use is a consequence of drought, flood, or other natural disaster.
SEC. 727. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available by this Act shall be used to extend any existing or expiring
contract in the Conservation Reserve Program authorized by 16
U.S.C. 3831–3845.
SEC. 728. None of the funds appropriated in this Act may
be used to carry out the provisions of section 918 of Public Law
104–127, the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act.
SEC. 729. Hereafter, funds appropriated to the Department
of Agriculture may be used for incidental expenses such as transpor-
tation, uniforms, lodging, and subsistence for volunteers serving
under the authority of 7 U.S.C. 2272, when such volunteers are
engaged in the work of the United States Department of Agri-
culture; and for promotional items of nominal value relating to
the United States Department of Agriculture Volunteer Programs.
SEC. 730. No employee of the Department of Agriculture 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 individual’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. 731. Section 747 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement
and Reform Act of 1996 is amended by inserting, ‘‘effective October
1, 1996,’’ following ‘‘The Secretary shall make grants’’ in section
310B(e)(2) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act:
Provided, That this section shall take effect upon enactment of
this Act into law.
SEC. 732. LABELING OF RAW POULTRY PRODUCTS.—
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by
this Act may be used to implement or enforce the final rule related
to the labeling of raw poultry products promulgated by the Food
Safety and Inspection Service on August 25, 1995 (60 Fed. Reg.
44395), and the final rule shall not be effective during fiscal year
1997.
(b) FINAL RULE.—Not later than 90 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall issue
a revised final rule related to the labeling of raw poultry products
that—
(1) maintains the standard that the term ‘‘fresh’’ may be
used only for raw poultry products the internal core tempera-
ture of which has not fallen below 26° Fahrenheit;
(2) deletes the requirement that poultry products the
internal core temperature of which has ever been less than
26° Fahrenheit, but more than 0° Fahrenheit, be labeled as
‘‘hard chilled’’ or ‘‘previously hard chilled’’, except that—
H. R. 3603—33
(A) the products shall be prohibited under the rule
from being labeled as ‘‘fresh’’ but shall not be required
to bear any specific alternative labeling; and
(B) nothing in this section shall be interpreted as
modifying the requirements for labeling of all poultry prod-
ucts the internal core temperature of which has ever fallen
to 0° Fahrenheit as ‘‘frozen’’;
(3) provides for a tolerance from the 26° Fahrenheit stand-
ard established by the rule of—
(A) 1° Fahrenheit for poultry products within an official
processing establishment;
(B) 2° Fahrenheit for poultry products in commerce;
(4) exempts from temperature testing wings, tenders,
hearts, livers, gizzards, necks, and products that undergo spe-
cial processing, such as sliced poultry products; and
(5) in all other terms and conditions (including the period
of time permitted for implementation) is substantively identical
to the rule referred to in subsection (a).
(c) REVISED LABELING STANDARDS.—Not later than 60 days
after the issuance of a revised final rule under subsection (b),
the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Administrator of
the Food Safety and Inspection Service, shall issue a compliance
directive for the enforcement of the revised labeling standards estab-
lished by the rule, including standards for—
(1) temperature testing that are based on measurements
at the center of the deepest muscle; and
(2) sampling methods that ensure that the average of
individual temperatures within poultry product lots of each
specific product type (such as whole birds, whole muscle leg
products, and whole muscle breast products) meet the stand-
ards.
(d) SEVERABILITY.—If any provision of this section or the
application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid,
the validity of the remainder of this section and of the application
of the provision to any other persons or circumstances shall not
be affected.
SEC. 733. Hereafter, notwithstanding any other provision of
law, any domestic fish or fish product produced in compliance
with food safety standards or procedures accepted by the Food
and Drug Administration as satisfying the requirements of the
‘‘Procedures for the Safe and Sanitary Processing and Importing
of Fish and Fish Products’’ (published by the Food and Drug
Administration as a final regulation in the Federal Register of
December 18, 1995), shall be deemed to have met any inspection
requirements of the Department of Agriculture or other Federal
agency for any Federal commodity purchase program, including
the program authorized under section 32 of the Act of August
24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c) except that the Department of Agriculture
or other Federal agency may utilize lot inspection to establish
a reasonable degree of certainty that fish or fish products purchased
under a Federal commodity purchase program, including the pro-
gram authorized under section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935
(7 U.S.C. 612c), meet Federal product specifications.
SEC. 734. Rural Housing Program Extensions.—
(a) EXTENSION OF MULTIFAMILY RURAL HOUSING LOAN PRO-
GRAM.—