Specialty Crops Competition Act of 2007

Bill: 110-s-1160
Sponsor: Sen. Stabenow, Debbie [D-MI]
Introduced: 2007-04-19 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Agricultural credit
Agricultural labor
Agricultural research
Agriculture in foreign trade
Alien labor
Census
Child nutrition
Commerce
Countervailing duties
Department of Agriculture
Disaster relief
Dumping
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Electronic benefits transfers
Elementary and secondary education
Emergency Management
Environmental Protection
Executive reorganization
Families
Federal aid to housing
Federal aid to transportation
Finance and Financial Sector
Flowers
Food safety
Food stamps
Foreign Trade and International Finance
Foreign trade promotion
Fruit
Government Operations and Politics
Government lending
Grants-in-aid
Horticulture
Housing and Community Development
Immigration
Integrated pest management
Intellectual property
Labor and Employment
Marketing of farm produce
Nutrition
Nuts
Patents
Plant breeding
Plant protection
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Rural housing
School lunch program
Science, Technology, Communications
Temporary employment
Transportation and Public Works
Trees
Vegetables

Summary:
action_date: 2007-04-19
text: 
Specialty Crops Competition Act of 2007 - Defines "specialty crop" as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, nursery crops, floriculture, and horticulture. 
 
Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act to provide for marketing order specialty crop food safety programs.
 
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) carry out fruit and vegetable market news activities; (2) make grants to states to enhance specialty crop competitiveness; (3) prepare a foreign market access strategy plan; (4) establish in the Department of Agriculture an office for the protection of intellectual property rights in plants and plant-derived materials; (5) make grants for market analysis of antidumping and countervailing duty cases; (6) establish a program of specialty crop research and grants; (7) establish an invasive pest threat identification and mitigation program; (8) establish the national clean plant network to provide diagnostic and pathogen elimination services; (9) establish the nutrition education program review committee; (10) carry out an integrated pest management initiative; and (11) carry out a specialty crop census every five years.
 
Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to obligate funds for specialty crop operating loans.
 
Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to: (1) increase and extend specialty crop technical assistance; (2) make nursery tree growers eligible for tree program assistance; (3) provide for increased fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop purchases; and (4) remove the income limitation from the environmental quality incentives program.
 
Amends the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 to increase and extend funding for value-added agricultural market development grants.
 
Revises specified plant patent provisions.
 
Amends the Plant Protection Act to revise compensation provisions.
 
Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to restore import and entry agricultural inspection functions to the Department of Agriculture. Establishes the international agricultural inspection program within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).
 
Amends the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 to direct the Secretary to provide emergency assistance to specialty crop producers who suffer qualifying losses in disaster-designated counties.
 
Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to expand the fresh fruit and vegetable program.
 
Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to include food stamp nutrition education (as defined by this Act) within the scope of the food stamp program. Establishes a food stamp fruit and vegetable electronic benefit transfer pilot program.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) make transportation infrastructure grants to eligible state and local governments, shippers, and specialty crop producers; and (2) carry out food safety initiatives.
 
Establishes in the Department an Office of Pest Management Policy.
 
Amends the Housing Act of 1949 to provide loans and grants for housing farm laborers admitted for temporary residence (H-2A visas).


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2007-04-19
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
action_date: 2007-04-19
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S4754)
action_date: 2007-04-19
text: Introduced in Senate