Bill 111-S-3606 — Agriculture / General
Subject: Agriculture and food

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2011 - Title I: Agricultural Programs - Appropriates FY2011 funds for the following Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs and services: (1) Office of the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary); (2) Office of Tribal Relations; (3) Office of the Chief Economist; (4) healthy food financing initiative; (5) Office of the Chief Economist; (6) National Appeals Division; (7) Office of Budget and Program Analysis; (8) Office of Homeland Security; (9) Office of Advocacy and Outreach; (10) Office of the Chief Information Officer; (11) Office of the Chief Financial Officer; (12) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights; (13) Office of Civil Rights; (14) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration; (15) agriculture buildings and facilities and rental payments; (16) hazardous materials management; (17) departmental administration; (18) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations; (19) Office of Communications; (20) Office of the Inspector General; (21) Office of the General Counsel; (22) Office of the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics; (23) Economic Research Service; (24) National Agricultural Statistics Service; (25) Agricultural Research Service; (26) National Institute of Food and Agriculture; (27) Native American Institutions Endowment Fund; (28) Hispanic-Serving Agricultiral Colleges and Universities Endowment Fund; (29) extension and integrated activities; (30) Office of the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs; (31) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; (32) Agricultural Marketing Service; (33) Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration; (34) Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety; (35) Food Safety and Inspection Service; (36) Office of the Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services; (37) Farm Service Agency; (38) Risk Management Agency; (39) Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Fund; and (40) Commodity Credit Corporation Fund. Title II: Conservation Programs - Appropriates funds for the following: (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment; and (2) Natural Resources Conservation Service. Title III: Rural Development Programs - Appropriates funds for the following: (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Rural Development; (2) rural development salaries and expenses; (3) Rural Housing Service; (4) Rural Business-Cooperative Service; and (5) Rural Utilities Service. Title IV: Domestic Food Programs - Appropriates funds for the following: (1) Office of the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services; and (2) Food and Nutrition Service. Title V: Foreign Assistance and Related Programs - Appropriates funds for the following: (1) Foreign Agricultural Service; (2) Public Law 480 (P.L. 83-480) program title I and title II grants; (3) Commodity Credit Corporation export loans program account; and (4) McGovern-Dole international food for education and child nutrition program grants. Title VI: Related Agencies and Food and Drug Administration - Appropriates funds for the following: (1) Food and Drug Administration (FDA); and (2) Farm Credit Administration. Title VII: General Provisions - Specifies certain uses and limits on or prohibitions against the use of funds appropriated by this Act. (Sec. 702) Authorizes the Secretary to transfer unobligated balances to the Working Capital Fund for plant and capital equipment acquisition. (Sec. 703) Prohibits appropriations under this Act from remaining available for obligation beyond the current fiscal year unless expressly provided for. (Sec. 704) Limits negotiated indirect costs on cooperative agreements between USDA and nonprofit organizations to 10%. (Sec. 706) Limits funds for USDA advisory committees, panels, task forces, and commissions. (Sec. 707) Prohibits the use of funds under this Act for the Safe Meat and Poultry Inspection Panel. (Sec. 708) Requires that USDA agencies reimburse each other for employees detailed for longer than 30 days. (Sec. 711) Prohibits, without congressional notification, funds available under this Act or under previous appropriations Acts from being used through a reprogramming of funds to: (1) eliminate or create a new program; (2) relocate or reorganize an office or employees; (3) privatize federal employee functions; or (4) increase funds or personnel for a project for which funds have been denied or restricted. Prohibits, without congressional notification, funds available under this Act or under previous appropriations Acts from being used through a reprogramming of funds in excess of $500,000 or 10%, whichever is less: (1) to augment an existing program; (2) to reduce by 10% funding or personnel for any existing program; or (3) that results from a reduction in personnel which would result in a change in existing programs. (Sec. 712) Prohibits the use of funds for user fee proposals that fail to provide certain budget impact information. (Sec. 713) Prohibits the use of funds to close or relocate a Rural Development office unless the Secretary determines the cost effectiveness and/or enhancement of program delivery. (Sec. 714) Prohibits funds made available by this Act from being used to close or relocate the FDA Division of Pharmaceutical Analysis in St. Louis, Missouri, outside the city or county limits. (Sec. 715) Limits funds made available in FY2010 or preceding fiscal years under P.L. 480 to reimburse the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) for the release of certain commodities under the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act. (Sec. 716) Appropriates funds for a grant to the National Center for Natural Products Research for construction or renovation to carry out the research objectives of the natural products research grant issued by the FDA. (Sec. 717) Makes funds available in the current fiscal year for agricultural management assistance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act and for specified conservation programs under the Food Security Act of 1985 until expended for obligations made in the current fiscal year. (Sec. 718) Limits FY2011 funds to carry out: (1) a wetlands reserve program, a grasslands reserve program, a farmland protection program, and an environmental quality incentives program under the Food Security Act of 1985; and (2) an agricultural management assistance program under the the Federal Crop Insurance Act. Prohibits the use of CCC funds for dam rehabilitation under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act. Reduces the maximum amount of FY2011 funds available for domestic food assistance programs under the Act of August 24, 1935 before amounts in excess of such maximum must be transferred to carry out the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. Limits funds to carry out the fresh fruit and vegetable program until October 1, 2011. Rescinds specified unobligated amounts for domestic food assistance programs under the Act of August 24, 1935. (Sec. 719) Makes eligible for economic development and job creation assistance under the Rural Electrification Act in the same manner as a borrower under such Act any former Rural Utilities Service borrower that has repaid or prepaid an insured, direct or guaranteed loan under such Act, or any not-for-profit utility that is eligible to receive an insured or direct loan under such Act. (Sec. 720) Appropriates funds for an agricultural pest facility in Hawaii. (Sec. 721) Directs the Secretary to consider: (1) Brattleboro, Vermont, (including individuals and entities with projects within the town) eligible for Rural Utilities Service water and waste disposal grants and loans; and (2) Greenwood, South Carolina, and Paragould, Arkansas, (including individuals and entities with projects within the cities) eligible for rural community facilities program grants and loans. (Sec. 722) Appropriates funds for: (1) the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection; and (2) the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Foods, and Markets. (Sec. 723) Directs the Natural Resources Conservation Service to provide financial and technical assistance through the Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations program to carry out: (1) the Cooper Mine Brooke Watershed project in Connecticut; (2) the East Locust Creek Watershed Plan Revision in Missouri; (3) the Little Otter Creek Watershed Project in Missouri; (4) the Lake County Watershed in Illinois; (5) the Dunloup Creek Watershed Project in Fayette and Raleigh Counties, West Virginia; (6) the North Fork of Elkhorn Creek Watershed project in the West Virginia; (7) the Pocasset River Floodplain Management Project in Rhode Island; and (8) the Southeast Quadrant Drainage and Flood Prevention project in Alabama. (Sec. 724) Prohibits, regarding the specialty crop research initiative, funds from being used to prohibit the provision of certain in-kind support from nonfederal sources. (Sec. 725) Makes unobligated balances remaining at the end of the fiscal year from appropriations for salaries and expenses for the Farm Service Agency and the Rural Development mission area available through September 30, 2012, for information technology expenses. (Sec. 726) Appropriates funds to compensate durum wheat producers for the cost of fungicides applied to control Fusarium head blight (wheat scab). (Sec. 727) Appropriates funds to the Farm Service Agency for a pilot program to demonstrate the use of new technologies that increase the growth rate of reforested hardwood trees on private non-industrial forests lands, enrolling lands on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. (Sec. 728) Authorizes the Secretary to permit a state agency to use funds provided in this Act to exceed the maximum amount of infant formula when issuing liquid infant formula to participants. (Sec. 729) Provides that if a school is closed for at least five consecutive days during a pandemic influenza emergency in FY2011 each household containing at least one member who is an eligible child attending such school shall be eligible to receive specified assistance pursuant to a state-approved plan. (Sec. 730) Makes school food authorities that received a specified grant for equipment assistance eligible to receive a similar grant under the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010. (Sec. 731) States, with specified exceptions, that for programs established or amended by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, or programs for which indefinite amounts were provided in that Act using CCC funds: (1) such funds shall be available for salaries and related administrative expenses without regard to a specified allotment and fund transfer limitation; and (2) the use of such funds shall not be a fund transfer or allotment for purposes of such limitation. (Sec. 732) Amends the Housing Act of 1949 regarding the Doug Bereuter section 502 single family housing loan guarantee program to: (1) increase the fee that the Secretary may collect from the lender at loan issuance from 1% to 3.5% of the loan; and (2) authorize the Secretary to collect an annual fee not to exceed 0.5% of the outstanding principal balance of the loan for the life of the loan. (Makes a conforming amendment to the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, 2001.) (Sec. 733) Authorizes the Secretary to assess a one-time fee for any guaranteed business and industry loan that does not exceed 3% of the guaranteed principal portion of the loan. (Sec. 734) Makes certain FY2005-FY2007 USDA appropriations for the cost of specified rural electrification direct loans available until expended to disburse FY2005-FY2008 obligations. (Sec. 735) Rescinds certain unobligated balances in the Agricultural Research Service, buildings and facilities account. (Sec. 736) Rescinds certain unobligated balances in the Rural Business program account for the business and industry loan guarantee program and certain unobligated balances available for the cost of broadband loans. (Sec. 737) Makes additional amounts available to increase USDA acquisition workforce capacity. (Sec. 738) Authorizes the Secretary to reserve through April 1, 2011, up to 5% of the funding for the following items for projects in areas that are engaged in strategic regional development planning: (1) business and industry guaranteed loans; (2) rural development loan fund; (3) rural business enterprise grants; (4) rural business opportunity grants; (5) rural economic development program; (6) rural microenterprise program; (7) biorefinery assistance program; (8) rural energy for America program; (9) value-added producer grants; (10) broadband program; (11) water and waste program; and (12) rural community facilities program. (Sec. 739) Authorizes the Agricultural Research Service to convey a specified parcel of land in Cache County, Utah, to the Utah State University, Logan, Utah. (Sec. 740) Directs the Secretary to conduct a pilot program that provides loans or loan guarantees for the construction of not more than three baseload electric generation plants. (Sec. 741) Directs the FDA Commissioner, in developing updated guidance documents and review standards for the development of safe and effective products to treat rare diseases and neglected tropical diseases, to: (1) maximize the use of accelerated approval; (2) work with sponsors to facilitate expanded access to investigational therapies; (3) increase coordination and interaction with international regulatory agencies; (4) enhance collaboration between FDA and national regulatory authorities in developing countries; (5) develop guidance on clinical development programs for rare diseases; and (6) increase coordination among individual FDA drug, biological product, and device review divisions.