Nutrition and Opportunities for the Underserved and Rural Incentives to Secure the Heartland Act of 2007

Bill: 110-hr-2401
Sponsor: Rep. Baca, Joe [D-CA-43]
Introduced: 2007-05-21 in the House
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Agricultural colleges
Agricultural conservation
Agricultural education
Agricultural labor
Agricultural subsidies
Air pollution control
American Samoa
Animals
Armed Forces and National Security
Authorization
Block grants
Child nutrition
Commerce
Congressional reporting requirements
Crime and Law Enforcement
Criminal investigation
Defense procurement
Department of Agriculture
Disaster relief
Economics and Public Finance
Education
Education savings accounts
Elementary and secondary education
Emergency Management
Entrepreneurs
Environmental Protection
Executive reorganization
Families
Farm lands
Farmers
Federal advisory bodies
Federal aid to education
Finance and Financial Sector
Food industry
Food relief
Food stamps
Foreclosure
Fruit
Fungicides
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Government procurement
Grassland ecology
Habitat conservation
Higher education
Hispanic Americans
Housing and Community Development
Immigrants
Immigration
Labeling
Labor and Employment
Marketing of farm produce
Migrant labor
Military pay
Minorities
Minority business enterprises
Minority education
Native Americans
Nutrition
Organic farming
Pest control
Pesticides
Prosecution
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Puerto Rico
Restrictive trade practices
Rural economic development
School lunch program
Seasonal labor
Social Welfare
Special prosecutors
Vegetables
WIC program
Welfare eligibility
Welfare work participation
Wildlife conservation
Women
Working poor

Summary:
action_date: 2007-05-21
text: 
Nutrition and Opportunities for the Underserved and Rural Incentives to Secure the Heartland Act of 2007 or NOURISH Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) establish a program through FY2013 to provide greater access and opportunities for minority and socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers to Department of Agriculture programs and services; and (2) establish the USDA Minority Producer Land Preservation Commission (to terminate nine years after enactment of this Act) to review pending Department foreclosure proceedings.
 
Amends the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to extend authorization of appropriations for education grants for Hispanic-serving institutions.
 
Amends the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to revise pesticide recordkeeping provisions.
 
Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to provide for the inclusion of long-term health effects in labeling requirements.
 
Directs the Secretary to: (1) establish, within the Department's Office of Civil Rights and Community Outreach of the Risk Management Agency, an office of Farmworker Coordination; (2) establish a conservation initiative for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers; (3) provide cost-share payments and incentive payments to individual producers to address air quality concerns associated with agriculture; (4) implement an integrated pest management initiative in priority areas; and (5) establish the rural regional entrepreneurship program.
 
Authorizes the Secretary to make emergency grants to assist low-income migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
 
Revises the Agricultural Fair Practices Act of 1967. Establishes within the Department the Office of Special Counsel for Competition Matters which shall: (1) investigate and prosecute violations of this Act and the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921; and (2) serve as a liaison between, and act in consultation with, the Department and the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with respect to competition and trade practices in the food and agricultural sector.
 
Provides for Department and Department of Defense procurement of locally produced agricultural products.
 
Establishes the national organic certification and transition cost share program (in lieu of the current national organic certification cost share program).
 
Extends the: (1) conservation reserve program; (2) grassland reserve program; (3) environmental quality incentives program; (4) conservation innovation grant program; (5) wildlife habitat incentive program; (6) Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) farmers' market nutrition program; (7) senior farmers nutrition program; (8) the community food project competitive grant program; (9) fresh fruit and vegetable program; and (10) farmers' market promotion program.
 
Amends the Food Stamp Act of 1977 to rename the food stamp program as the secure nutrition access program (program). 
 
Revises program provisions with respect to: (1) standard deduction increases; (2) combat pay, retirement account, and education account exclusions; (3) minimum benefit increases; (4) countable resource increases; (5) legal immigrant eligibility; (6) work requirements; (7) program administration; (8) cash payment pilot projects; (9) program reauthorization; (10) block grants for Puerto Rico and American Samoa; (11) outreach; (12) natural disasters; (13) Puerto Rico; (14) farmers' markets; and (15) the emergency food assistance program.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2007-06-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry.
action_date: 2007-06-26
text: Executive Comment Requested from USDA.
action_date: 2007-06-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Specialty Crops, Rural Development, and Foreign Agriculture.
action_date: 2007-06-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Horticulture and Organic Agriculture.
action_date: 2007-06-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research.
action_date: 2007-06-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management.
action_date: 2007-06-26
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry.
action_date: 2007-05-21
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2007-05-21
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2007-05-21
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Education and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2007-05-21
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2007-05-21
text: Introduced in House