Date: 1987-08-03
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 1340. the Commodity Distribution Reform Act of 1987. This legislation is designed to improve the distribution and quality of agricultural commodities acquired by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and more adequately respond to the needs of recipient agencies. This legislation is a compromise of H.R 1340 as reported by the Committee on Agriculture on July 13 and H.R. 2496. the School Lunch Child Nutrition and Older Americans Commodity Program Improvement Act of 1987 and is the product of numerous consultations between Subcommittee Chairman LEON PANETTA of the Domestic Marketing. Consumer Relations and Nutrition Subcommittee and members. of the Committee on Education and Labor and our respectivercommittee staffs. Agricultural commodities are donated to food assistance agencies by the U:S. Department of Agriculture under two authorities. section 416 of the Agricultural Act of 1949 and section 32 of the act of August 24. 1935. Acquisition of. price support and surplus removal commodities have helped stabilize the agricultural economy over the years and have provided numerous health benefits to children. the elderly and our lowincome needy through provision of nutritious foods to food assistance agencies throughout the country. The committee is aware that there. have been. problems associated with the Departments donation of agricultural commodities and commends recent actions by the Department of Agriculture to attempt to correct problems of timely distribution and respond: more effectively to recipient agency needs. Theseefforts have also been: recognized in a resolution adopted. last- week by. the Americart School Food Service Association noting that "the Department of Agriculture. has responded. in an extremely constructive manner" to recommendations for improvements in. the. commodity distribution programs filed by the association andi the National: Frozen Food Association. The compromise bill: before us. today provides a statutory base for these. and additional. improvements in the Departments donation: programs. In arriving at final compromise language providing. these. improvements. however. the Committee on Agriculture has been diligent in ensuring that the purpose of the. commodity distribution programsremoving. surplus. agri cultural commodities from the market and providing nutritious food to food assistance agenciesbe maintained. Further. the committee worked hard to make certain. that nothing in the bill would impair in any way the ability of the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire agricultural commodities through either the price support or surplus removal programs of. the. Department. In this regard. two provisions in the bill as passed by the Committee on Education and Labor of deepest concern to our committee have been corrected to our satisfaction by the amendment offered to the bill on the floor today. First.. section 2(a)(1) of the bill has been changed to apply the development. of commodity specifications only to those commodities which already have been acquired by the Secretary of Agriculture through the price support. surplus removal and direct purchase programs of the Department Second. section 2(c)(1) and section 2(c)(2)(B). have been changed to require that qualifications fbr purchase of. commodities are subject to compliance with. the surplus removal responsibilities of the Secretary of Agriculture. Section 2(b)(4) of the bill requires that the Secretary of Agriculture provide recipient. agencies information as to the types and quantities of commodities they are to receive not. less than 60 days before each distribution. The Committee: on Education and Labor has agreed that many times in surplus removal operations.. in. order to respond to a volatile marketplace. the Secretary must engage in surplus removal activities. quickly. Thus.. the committee report language specifies that the 60day notification. should be. carried out to. the maximum extent feasible. The. Committee on Agriculture.. however.. does understand the need to notify recipient agencies as. soon. as possible when. commodities are to be distributed and agrees that this requirement should be. the exception rather than the rule. Section 2() of the compromise bill mandates that entitlement commodities provided under the school: lunch and elderly feeding. programs shall be provided to recipient agencies without charge or credit if such commodities do not contribute to established meal pattern guidelines. The Committee on Agriculture is concerned that the Secretary may not acquire an entitlement commodity if. such commodity cannot be charged against the entitlement purchase. The floor amendment strikes this- provision- and the concerns of the committees will be addressed in a subsequent colloquy. H.R. 1340 as passed by the Committee on Agriculture received full bipartisan. support. and our committee felt the proposed legislation would. properly correct problems brought to our attention about the current operations of the commodity distribution- programs. Our friends- in. the Education. and Labor Committee. however. wished to correct deficiencies in the school. distribution program in particular and. thus. the compromise bill includes improvements for all commodity donation. programs of the Department of Agriculture. I urge my colleagues to. support the compromise bill as. amended. Mr. Speaker. it is our intention to divide our time on. this side with our colleague from the. Committee on Education. and. Labor. should. they want to avail themselves ofthe time. Mr. Speaker. I yield such. time as. he. may consume to. the distinguished. gentleman from California chairman of the subcommittee. whom I cammend.. along with other members of the subcommittee and staff. for doing yeoman work In this endeavor.