lcalvobartolome/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Animals
Date: 2011-09-19 00:00:00

American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011 - Amends the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to detain for examination, testing, or the taking of evidence: (1) any horse at any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction that is sore or which the Secretary has probable cause to believe is sore; and (2) any horse or other equine that the Secretary has probable cause to believe is being shipped, transported, moved, delivered, received, possessed, purchased, sold, or donated in violation of such prohibition. Increases the cap on the amount of appropriations that may be used to carry out such Act.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2012-02-07 00:00:00

Amends the Export Apple Act to permit apples to be exported to Canada in bulk bins (a quantity of apples weighing more than 100 pounds) without complying with certain inspection and certification requirements.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2012-04-27 00:00:00

Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) from making payments, either directly or through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), to the Brazilian Cotton Institute.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Transportation and public works
Date: 2012-07-24 00:00:00

Saving Essential American Sailors Act or SEAS Act - Amends the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) to repeal the Act's repeal of the agricultural export requirements that: (1) 25% of the gross tonnage of certain agricultural commodities or their products exported each fiscal year be transported on U.S. commercial vessels, and (2) the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) finance any increased ocean freight charges incurred in the transportation of such items. Revives and reinstates those repealed requirements to read as if they were never repealed.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2012-07-25 00:00:00

U.S. Agricultural Sector Relief Act of 2012 - Amends the Clean Air Act to require the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), pursuant to an application submitted by any person, to seek a critical use exemption under the Montreal Protocol to allow the production, importation, and consumption of methyl bromide: (1) for any approved critical use that is determined by the Administrator to be a critical use for the applicant, and (2) in the amount necessary for such use. Prohibits the Administrator from denying such an application or reducing the amount requested unless the Administrator: (1) has substantial evidence that there is a technically and economically feasible alternative available to the applicant for such use of methyl bromide, and (2) provides such evidence to the applicant in writing. Requires the Administrator, when evaluating the technical and economic feasibility of any alternative, to consider: (1) cost and commercial availability of the alternative, (2) demonstrated effectiveness of the alternative for the applicant's specific intended use, (3) demonstrated effectiveness of the alternative in the geographic region of the applicant's intended use, and (4) state or local regulations that may restrict use of the alternative for the applicant's intended use. Requires the Administrator, pursuant to an application, to allow the production, importation, and consumption of methyl bromide for any approved critical use in response to an emergency event, in an amount necessary for such use, not to exceed: (1) per emergency event at a specific location, 20 metric tons, or (2) in the aggregate for emergency use in the United Sates in a year, the total amount authorized pursuant to the Montreal Protocol process for critical uses in the United States in calendar year 2011. Requires the Administrator to ensure that sufficient quantities of methyl bromide are available for research on methyl bromide alternatives for the agricultural sector. Requires the Administrator to review and adjust as appropriate, any critical use nomination for production, importation, or consumption of methyl bromide in the United States that has been submitted to the Parties to the Montreal Protocol if: (1) a methyl bromide alternative is removed from the U.S. market; and (2) on the basis of the availability of such alternative, the Administrator denied, or reduced the amount requested under, any application for production, importation, or consumption of methyl bromide for the year covered by such nomination.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2011-04-14 00:00:00

Dairy COOL Act of 2011 - Amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to extend mandatory country of origin labeling to dairy products (fluid milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, butter, and other dairy products). Requires a dairy product retailer to designate the product's origin as: (1) each country in which or from the one or more dairy ingredients were produced or originated, and each country in which the product was processed; and (2) if a U.S.-produced dairy product, the state, region, or locality where the product was produced.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2011-06-09 00:00:00

Rural America Preservation Act of 2011 - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to cap maximum annual direct and counter-cyclical payments to an individual (for covered commodities and peanuts) at $20,000 and $30,000, respectively. Revises limitation provisions for marketing loan gains, loan deficiency payments, and commodity certificate transactions, and establishes an annual combined limitation of $75,000 for such payments. Doubles payment limitations for single farming operations. Limits an individual or a legal entity to a combined annual payment of $250,000. Revises provisions respecting limitation of benefits to active farmers. Makes foreign individuals and foreign entities ineligible for agricultural program benefits.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Animals
Date: 2011-06-09 00:00:00

American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act of 2011 - Amends the Horse Protection Act to prohibit the shipping, transporting, moving, delivering, receiving, possessing, purchasing, selling, or donation of horses and other equines to be slaughtered for human consumption. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to detain for examination, testing, or the taking of evidence: (1) any horse at any horse show, horse exhibition, or horse sale or auction that is sore or which the Secretary has probable cause to believe is sore; and (2) any horse or other equine that the Secretary has probable cause to believe is being shipped, transported, moved, delivered, received, possessed, purchased, sold, or donated in violation of such prohibition. Increases the cap on the amount of appropriations that may be used to carry out such Act.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2012-03-20 00:00:00

Amends the Export Apple Act to permit apples to be exported to Canada in bulk bins (a quantity of apples weighing more than 100 pounds) without complying with certain inspection and certification requirements.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2012-03-29 00:00:00

Revenue Loss Assistance and Crop Insurance Enhancement Act of 2012 - Amends the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a revenue loss assistance program (program) beginning with crop year 2013 in lieu of the supplemental revenue assistance payments (SURE) and the average crop revenue election programs (ACRE). (Extends the SURE program for crop year 2012.) Provides producers with program assistance for losses between 12% and 25 % of their historic revenue. Provides counter-cyclical payments for each covered commodity through crop year 2017 on farms for which payment yields and base acres are established if the effective price for the covered commodity is less than its target price. Sets forth 2013-2017 target prices, payment rates, and payment amounts for covered commodities. Provides a special payment calculation rule for long grain and medium grain rice, and a specified four-year alternative election. Sets forth 2013-2017 commodity marketing assistance loan rates. Extends specified agricultural and livestock assistance programs. Repeals the direct payment and ACRE programs. Limits the total revenue loss assistance payments and countercyclical payments that a person or entity may receive in a crop year. Reduces the catastrophic risk protection coverage premium. Authorizes agricultural producers to purchase supplemental crop insurance coverage based on: (1) an individual yield and loss basis, or an area yield and loss basis; or (2) an individual yield and loss basis, supplemented with coverage based on an area yield and loss basis to cover a part of the deductible under the individual yield and loss policy.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2013-03-20 00:00:00

Amends the Export Apple Act to permit apples to be exported to Canada in bulk bins (a quantity of apples weighing more than 100 pounds) without complying with certain inspection and certification requirements.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2013-04-17 00:00:00

Shellfish Marketing Assistance Fairness Act - Amends the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 to include farmed shellfish as a specialty crop.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2013-06-14 00:00:00

Eliminate the MAP Act - Amends the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to repeal the Market Access Program (MAP) of the Department of Agriculture (USDA). (MAP is a program that uses funds from the USDA's Commodity Credit Corporation to aid in the creation, expansion, and maintenance of foreign markets for U.S. agricultural products.)
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-10-09 00:00:00

Lacey Act Clarifying Amendments Act of 2013 - Amends the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to prohibit such Act from applying to: (1) any plant that was imported into the United States before May 22, 2008, or (2) any finished plant product the assembly and processing of which was completed before May 22, 2008.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Environmental protection
Date: 2013-10-23 00:00:00

Lacey Act Paperwork Reduction Act - Amends the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981 to require any person, upon importation of any plant, to possess and have available for inspection by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) a declaration that contains: (1) the scientific name of any plant (including the genus and species of the plant) contained in the importation; and (2) a description of the declared value of the plant or the merchandise containing the plant, the quantity of the plant, and the name of the country from which the plant was taken. (Currently, a person is required to file such a declaration that describes the value of the importation.)

Revises the rulemaking procedure applicable to such importation to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the USFWS and in consultation with the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, to issue such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) distinguish among different species; and (2) limit the applicability of the Act to a particular class or type of species if the Secretary determines that application of this Act would not be feasible, practicable, or effective.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2014-01-27 00:00:00

Dairy COOL Act of 2014 - Amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to define dairy product for country of origin purposes.

Requires a retailer of a covered commodity that is a dairy product to designate the origin of the covered commodity as: (1) each country in which or from which the one or more dairy ingredients or dairy components of the covered commodity were produced, originated, or sourced; and (2) each country in which the covered commodity was processed.

Declares that, with respect to a dairy product produced exclusively in the United States, designation by a retailer of the state, region, or locality of production shall be sufficient to identify the United States as the country of origin.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2014-07-31 00:00:00

American Livestock Protection and Ranching Opportunity Act of 2014 - Expresses the sense of Congress that: the majority of consumers in the United States want to know where animals used to produce the meat eaten are born, raised, and slaughtered; country-of-origin labeling provides information that consumers have a right to know; and country-of-origin labeling facilitates supply chain information critical for food safety.

Amends the Animal Health Protection Act to prohibit the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) from allowing or advancing regulations that allow the importation of fresh meat and meat products from a country until the Secretary certifies to Congress that a country is free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination.

Amends the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 to establish a USDA livestock disease initiative to provide competitive grants for research and development related to surveillance methods, vaccines, vaccination delivery systems, or diagnostic tests for diseases in domestic livestock that present a potential concern to public health and safety. Makes federal agencies, national laboratories, institutions of higher education, research institutions, and state agricultural experiment stations eligible for grants.

Amends the Agricultural Act of 2014 to provide eligible livestock producers with assistance for losses due to brucellosis and to alter the payment rates USDA uses to provide agricultural disaster assistance under the Livestock Indemnity Program and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2015-02-03 00:00:00

Protect Interstate Commerce Act 

This bill prohibits a state or local government from imposing a standard or condition on the production or manufacture of agricultural products sold or offered for sale in interstate commerce if: (1) the production or manufacture occurs in another state, and (2) the standard or condition adds to standards or conditions applicable under federal law and the laws of the state or locality in which the production or manufacture occurs.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2015-04-30 00:00:00

Safe Chicken and Meat for Children Act 

This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to prohibit poultry or meat that is processed or produced in China from being used in the Department of Agriculture's National School Lunch Program, School Breakfast Program, Child and Adult Care Food Program, and Summer Food Service Program.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Health
Date: 2015-05-21 00:00:00

Reducing food-based Inorganic Compounds Exposure Act of 2015 or the RICE Act

This bill directs the Food and Drug Administration to promulgate a final regulation establishing the minimum quantity of inorganic arsenic contained in rice or a rice product that will cause sale of the rice or rice product to be prohibited.

The regulation must: (1) apply the minimum quantity to rice and rice products regardless of the origin of the arsenic, (2) include the establishment of tolerances, and (3) establish a standard for inorganic arsenic that is based on the maximum achievable reduction in health risks and is protective of the long-term health of children.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2016-07-14 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the House on September 20, 2016. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Clarification of Treatment of Electronic Sales of Livestock Act of 2016

(Sec. 2) This bill amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to expand the definition of "marketing agency" to include any person who engages in the business of buying or selling livestock, on a commission or other fee basis, through the use of online, video, or other electronic methods. The term "marketing agency" does not include a person whose annual average of online, video, or electronic sales of livestock, on a commission or other fee basis, is less than $250,000.

(Sec. 3) The bill also permits electronic funds transfers and other expeditious payment methods that the Department of Agriculture determines to be appropriate to be used as options for meeting prompt payment requirements for livestock purchases.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Date: 2015-04-22 00:00:00

Agricultural Export Expansion Act of 2015 

This bill amends the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 to permit a person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to provide payment or financing for sales of agricultural commodities to Cuba or to an individual or entity in Cuba.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2015-05-21 00:00:00

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary has been expanded because action occurred on the measure.)

United States Grain Standards Act Reauthorization Act of 2015 

This bill reauthorizes and amends provisions of the United States Grain Standards Act. The Act authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish official marketing standards for grains, and to provide procedures for grain inspection and weighing. The bill reauthorizes several expiring provisions through FY2020, establishes procedures in the event of an interruption of inspection and weighing services, revises the process for delegating inspections to state agencies, and revises fees for inspection and weighing services.

 (Sec. 2) The bill provides that transfers of grain into an export elevator by any mode of transportation are not required to be officially weighed. In the case of a disruption in official grain inspection or weighing services, the bill requires USDA to immediately take the actions necessary to address the disruption and resume services. USDA must also report to Congress on the disruption and provide daily updates until services have resumed.

The bill ends the permanent delegation to state agencies to carry out export inspection and weighing services. Every five years, USDA must certify that each state agency with a delegation of authority is meeting specified criteria. The certification process must include public notice and a comment period. State agencies that have been delegated authority and intend to temporarily discontinue official inspection or weighing services, except in the case of a major disaster, must notify USDA in advance.

In order to review the performance of states, local agencies, and individuals that have applied to perform official inspections other than at export port locations, USDA must periodically consult with customers of the applicant and work with the applicant to address any concerns.

The bill extends the duration of licenses for inspectors from three to five years. Designations of official agencies terminate at a time specified by USDA that is no later than every five years.

The bill changes the fee calculation for inspection and weighing services and extends the authority to collect fees through FY2020.

The bill extends the limitation on total administrative and supervisory costs, the authorization of appropriations, and the authorization of the advisory committee through FY2020.

(Sec. 3) USDA must report to Congress on the disruption in federal inspection of grain exports at the Port of Vancouver in the summer of 2014. The report must include factors that led or contributed to the disruption and changes in policy USDA has implemented to ensure that a similar disruptions does not occur in the future.

(Sec. 4) USDA must report to Congress on policy barriers to U.S. grain producers in countries that: (1) produce grain that receives official grading in the United States, and (2) do not offer official grading for U.S. grain or provide only the lowest designation for U.S. grain.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2015-07-23 00:00:00

Voluntary Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) and Trade Enhancement Act of 2015

This bill amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to revise country of origin labeling requirements for beef, pork, and chicken.

Under current law, country of origin labeling requirements are administered by the Department of Agriculture and require a retailer to inform consumers of the country of origin of a covered commodity.

The bill repeals the mandatory requirements for beef, pork, and chicken and permits a packer to voluntarily designate any raw single-ingredient beef, pork, or chicken intended for retail sale as exclusively having a U.S. country of origin.
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Foreign trade and international finance
Date: 2016-07-12 00:00:00

Securing American Food Equity Act of 2016 or the SAFE Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Defense Production Act of 1950 to include the Secretary of Agriculture on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) and to require CFIUS to consider the national security-related effects on agricultural assets in reviewing transactions.

(CFIUS is an interagency committee authorized under current law to review transactions that could result in control of a U.S. business by a foreign person in order to determine the effects of the transactions on national security.)
Topic: Agriculture — Trade
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2016-09-15 00:00:00

Clarification of Treatment of Electronic Sales of Livestock Act of 2016

 This bill amends the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 to expand the definition of "marketing agency" to include any person who engages in the business of buying or selling livestock, on a commission or other fee basis, through the use of online, video, or other electronic methods. The term "marketing agency" does not include a person whose annual average of online, video, or electronic sales of livestock, on a commission or other fee basis, is less than $250,000.

 The bill also permits electronic funds transfers and other expeditious payment methods that the Department of Agriculture determines to be appropriate to be used as options for meeting prompt payment requirements for livestock purchases.