[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2689 Engrossed in House (EH)]

103d CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 2689

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To amend the United States Grain Standards Act to extend the authority 
   of the Federal Grain Inspection Service to collect fees to cover 
 administrative and supervisory costs, to extend the authorization of 
appropriations for such Act, and to improve administration of such Act, 
                        and for other purposes.






103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2689

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To amend the United States Grain Standards Act to extend the authority 
   of the Federal Grain Inspection Service to collect fees to cover 
 administrative and supervisory costs, to extend the authorization of 
appropriations for such Act, and to improve administration of such Act, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``United States 
Grain Standards Act Amendments of 1993''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Limitation on administrative and supervisory costs.
Sec. 3. Authorization of appropriations.
Sec. 4. Inspection and weighing fees; inspection and weighing in 
                            Canadian ports.
Sec. 5. Inspection and weighing pilot program.
Sec. 6. Licensing of inspectors.
Sec. 7. Prohibited acts.
Sec. 8. Criminal penalties.
Sec. 9. Equipment testing and other services.
Sec. 10. Violation of subpoena.
Sec. 11. Standardizing commercial inspections.
Sec. 12. Elimination of gender references.
Sec. 13. Repeal of temporary amendment language; technical amendments.
Sec. 14. Authority to collect fees; termination of advisory committee.
Sec. 15. Effective dates.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPERVISORY COSTS.

    Section 7D of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79d) 
is amended--
            (1) by striking ``inspection and weighing'' and inserting 
        ``services performed''; and
            (2) by striking ``1993'' and inserting ``1998''.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Reauthorization.--Section 19 of the United States Grain 
Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 87h) is amended by striking ``during the period 
beginning October 1, 1988, and ending September 30, 1993'' and 
inserting ``1988 through 1998''.
    (b) Limitation.--Such section is further amended by striking ``and 
17A of this Act'' and inserting ``7B, 16, and 17A''.

SEC. 4. INSPECTION AND WEIGHING FEES; INSPECTION AND WEIGHING IN 
              CANADIAN PORTS.

    (a) Inspection Authority.--Section 7 of the United States Grain 
Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (f)(1)(A)(vi), by striking ``or other 
        agricultural programs operated by'' and inserting ``of''; and
            (2) in the second sentence of subsection (i), by inserting 
        before the period at the end ``or as otherwise provided by 
        agreement with the Canadian Government''.
    (b) Weighing Authority.--Section 7A of such Act (7 U.S.C. 79a) is 
amended--
            (1) in the second sentence of subsection (c)(2), by 
        inserting after ``shall be deemed to refer to'' the following: 
        ```official weighing' or'';
            (2) in the second sentence of subsection (d), by inserting 
        before the period at the end ``or as otherwise provided by 
        agreement with the Canadian Government''; and
            (3) in the first sentence of subsection (i), by inserting 
        before the period at the end ``or as otherwise provided in 
        section 7(i) and subsection (d)''.

SEC. 5. INSPECTION AND WEIGHING PILOT PROGRAM.

    (a) Inspection Authority.--Section 7(f)(2) of the United States 
Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79(f)(2)) is amended by inserting before 
the period at the end the following: ``, except that the Administrator 
may conduct pilot programs to allow more than one official agency to 
carry out inspections within a single geographical area without 
undermining such objectives''.
    (b) Weighing Authority.--The second sentence of section 7A(i) of 
such Act (7 U.S.C. 79a(i)) is amended by inserting before the period at 
the end the following: ``, except that the Administrator may conduct 
pilot programs to allow more than one official agency to carry out the 
weighing provisions within a single geographic area without undermining 
such objectives''.

SEC. 6. LICENSING OF INSPECTORS.

    Section 8 of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 84) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1) of the first sentence, by 
                inserting after ``and is employed'' the following: 
                ``(or is supervised under a contractual arrangement)''; 
                and
                    (B) in the second sentence, by striking ``No 
                person'' and inserting ``Except as otherwise provided 
                in sections 7(i) and 7A(d), no person'';
            (2) in the first proviso of subsection (b), by striking 
        ``independently under the terms of a contract for the conduct 
        of any functions involved in official inspection'' and 
        inserting ``under the terms of a contract for the conduct of 
        any functions''; and
            (3) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by inserting after ``Persons employed'' the 
                following: ``or supervised under a contractual 
                arrangement''; and
                    (B) by inserting after ``including persons 
                employed'' the following: ``or supervised under a 
                contractual arrangement''.

SEC. 7. PROHIBITED ACTS.

    Section 13(a)(11) of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 
U.S.C. 87b(a)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(11) violate section 5, 6, 7, 7A, 7B, 8, 11, 12, 16, or 17A;''.

SEC. 8. CRIMINAL PENALTIES.

    Section 14(a) of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 
87c(a)) is amended by striking ``shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and 
shall, on conviction thereof, be subject to imprisonment for not more 
than twelve months, or a fine of not more than $10,000, or both such 
imprisonment and fine; but, for each subsequent offense subject to this 
subsection, such person''.

SEC. 9. EQUIPMENT TESTING AND OTHER SERVICES.

    Section 16 of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 87e) 
is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by striking the third sentence; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsections:
    ``(g) Testing of Certain Weighing Equipment.--(1) Subject to 
paragraph (2), the Administrator may provide for the testing of 
weighing equipment used for purposes other than weighing grain. The 
testing shall be performed--
            ``(A) in accordance with such regulations as the 
        Administrator may prescribe; and
            ``(B) for a reasonable fee established by regulation or 
        contractual agreement and sufficient to cover, as nearly as 
        practicable, the estimated costs of the testing performed.
    ``(2) Testing performed under paragraph (1) may not conflict with 
or impede the objectives specified in section 2.
    ``(h) Testing of Grain Inspection Instruments.--(1) Subject to 
paragraph (2), the Administrator may provide for the testing of grain 
inspection instruments used for commercial inspection. The testing 
shall be performed--
            ``(A) in accordance with such regulations as the 
        Administrator may prescribe; and
            ``(B) for a reasonable fee that is established by 
        regulation or contractual agreement and is sufficient to cover, 
        as nearly as practicable, the estimated costs of the testing 
        performed.
    ``(2) Testing performed under paragraph (1) may not conflict with 
or impede the objectives specified in section 2.
    ``(i) Additional For Fee Services.--(1) In accordance with such 
regulations as the Administrator may provide, the Administrator may 
perform such other services as the Administrator considers to be 
appropriate.
    ``(2) In addition to the fees authorized by sections 7, 7A, 7B, 
17A, and this section, the Administrator shall collect reasonable fees 
to cover the estimated costs of services performed under paragraph (1) 
other than standardization, compliance, and foreign monitoring 
activities.
    ``(3) To the extent practicable, the fees collected under paragraph 
(2), together with any proceeds from the sale of any samples, shall 
cover the costs, including administrative and supervisory costs, of 
services performed under paragraph (1).
    ``(j) Deposit of Fees.--Fees collected under subsections (g), (h), 
and (i) shall be deposited into the fund created under section 7(j).
    ``(k) Official Courtesies.--The Administrator may extend 
appropriate courtesies to official representatives of foreign countries 
in order to establish and maintain relationships to carry out the 
policy stated in section 2. No gift offered pursuant to this subsection 
shall exceed 20 dollars in value.''.

SEC. 10. VIOLATION OF SUBPOENA.

    Section 17(e) of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 
87f(e)) is amended by striking ``the penalties set forth in subsection 
(a) of section 14 of this Act'' and inserting ``imprisonment for not 
more than 1 year or a fine of not more than $10,000 or both the 
imprisonment and fine''.

SEC. 11. STANDARDIZING COMMERCIAL INSPECTIONS.

    Section 22(a) of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 
87k(a)) is amended by striking ``and the National Conference on Weights 
and Measures'' and inserting ``, the National Conference on Weights and 
Measures, or other appropriate governmental, scientific, or technical 
organizations''.

SEC. 12. ELIMINATION OF GENDER REFERENCES.

    (a) References to His.--(1) Section 3 of the United States Grain 
Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 75) is amended--
            (A) in subsection (a), by striking ``his delegates'' and 
        inserting ``a delegate of the Secretary''; and
            (B) in subsection (z), by striking ``his delegates'' and 
        inserting ``a delegate of the Administrator''.
    (2) Sections 4(a), 7(b), 7(e)(2), 12(b), and 13(a)(2) of such Act 
(7 U.S.C. 76(a), 79(b), 79(e)(2), 87a(b), and 87b(a)(2)) are each 
amended by striking ``his'' and inserting ``the Administrator's''.
    (3) Section 5(a)(1) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 77(a)(1)) is amended by 
striking ``his agent'' and inserting ``the shipper's agent''.
    (4) Section 9 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 85) is amended in the first 
sentence by striking ``his license'' and inserting ``the license''.
    (5) Sections 13(a)(7), 15, and 17(e) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 
87b(a)(7), 87d, and 87f(e)) are each amended by striking ``his'' and 
inserting ``the person's''.
    (6) Section 13(a)(8) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 87b(a)(8)) is amended by 
striking ``his duties'' and inserting ``the duties of the officer, 
employee, or inspection personnel''.
    (b) References to Him.--(1) Section 8(a) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 
84(a)) is amended in the first sentence by striking ``him'' and 
inserting ``the Administrator''.
    (2) Section 9 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 85) is amended by striking 
``him'' and inserting ``the licensee''.
    (c) References to He.--(1) Sections 5(b), 7(a), 7(b), 7(e)(2), 
7A(e), 7B(a), 8(c), 8(f), 10(a), 11(a), 11(b)(5), 12(c), and 14(b) of 
such Act (7 U.S.C. 77(b), 79(a), 79(b), 79(e)(2), 79a(e), 79b(a), 
84(c), 84(f), 86(a), 87(a), 87(b)(5), 87a(c), and 87c(b)), are each 
amended by striking ``he'' each place it appears and inserting ``the 
Administrator''.
    (2) Sections 10(b), 13(a)(9), 14(a), and 17A(c) of such Act (7 
U.S.C. 86(b), 87b(a)(9), 87c(a), and 87f-1(c)) are each amended by 
striking ``he'' and inserting ``the person''.
    (3) Sections 11(B)(1) and 17A(a)(2) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 87(b)(1) 
and 87f-1(a)(2)) are each amended by striking ``he'' and inserting 
``the producer''.

SEC. 13. REPEAL OF TEMPORARY AMENDMENT LANGUAGE; TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.

    (a) Repeal.--Section 2 of the United States Grain Standards Act 
Amendments of 1988 (Public Law 100-518; 102 Stat. 2584) is amended, in 
the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ``Effective for the 
period October 1, 1988, through September 30, 1993, inclusive, the'' 
and inserting ``The''.
    (b) Technical Amendments.--(1) Section 21(a) of the United States 
Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 87j(a)) is amended--
            (A) by striking ``(1)'', and
            (B) by striking paragraph (2).
    (2) Section 22(c) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 87k(c), is amended by 
striking ``subsection (a) and (b)'' and inserting ``subsections (a) and 
(b)''.

SEC. 14. AUTHORITY TO COLLECT FEES; TERMINATION OF ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

    (a) Inspection and Supervisory Fees.--Section 7(j) of the United 
States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79(j)) is amended by adding at the 
end the following new paragraph:
    ``(4) The duties imposed by paragraph (2) on designated official 
agencies and State agencies described in such paragraph and the 
investment authority provided by paragraph (3) shall expire on 
September 30, 1998. After that date, the fees established by the 
Administrator pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not cover administrative 
and supervisory costs related to the official inspection of grain.''.
    (b) Weighing and Supervisory Fees.--Section 7A(l) of such Act (7 
U.S.C. 79a(l)) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph:
    ``(3) The authority provided to the Administrator by paragraph (1) 
and the duties imposed by paragraph (2) on agencies and other persons 
described in such paragraph shall expire on September 30, 1998. After 
that date, the Administrator shall, under such regulations as the 
Administrator may prescribe, charge and collect reasonable fees to 
cover the estimated costs of official weighing and supervision of 
weighing except when the official weighing or supervision of weighing 
is performed by a designated official agency or by a State under a 
delegation of authority. The fees authorized by this paragraph shall, 
as nearly as practicable, cover the costs of the Service incident to 
its performance of official weighing and supervision of weighing 
services in the United States and on United States grain in Canadian 
ports, excluding administrative and supervisory costs. The fees 
authorized by this paragraph shall be deposited into a fund which shall 
be available without fiscal year limitation for the expenses of the 
Service incident to providing services under this Act.''.
    (c) Termination of Advisory Committee.--Section 21 of such Act (7 
U.S.C. 87j) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(e) Termination.--The advisory committee shall terminate on 
September 30, 1998.''.

SEC. 15. EFFECTIVE DATES.

    (a) In General.--Except as provided in subsection (b), the 
amendments made by this Act shall take effect on the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
    (b) Special Effective Date for Certain Provisions.--The amendments 
made by sections 2, 3, and 13(a) shall take effect as of the earlier 
of--
            (1) September 30, 1993; or
            (2) the date of the enactment of this Act.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 28, 1993.

            Attest:






                                                                 Clerk.