[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2487 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2487

   To ensure an abundant and affordable supply of highly nutritious 
 fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops for American consumers 
 and international markets by enhancing the competitiveness of United 
                     States-grown specialty crops.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 31, 2006

   Mr. Craig (for himself, Ms. Stabenow, Mrs. Murray, Mr. Crapo, Mr. 
Santorum, and Mr. Levin) introduced the following bill; which was read 
  twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
                                Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To ensure an abundant and affordable supply of highly nutritious 
 fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops for American consumers 
 and international markets by enhancing the competitiveness of United 
                     States-grown specialty crops.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Specialty Crops 
Competition Act of 2006''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings and purpose.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
                           TITLE I--MARKETING

Sec. 101. Implementation of food safety programs under marketing 
                            orders.
Sec. 102. Increase in maximum amount of assistance authorized under 
                            tree assistance program.
Sec. 103. Fruit and vegetable market news allocation.
               TITLE II--SPECIALTY CROP GRANTS AND LOANS

Sec. 201. Grants to States to enhance competitiveness of specialty 
                            crops.
Sec. 202. Operating loans.
Sec. 203. Increased purchases of fruits, vegetables, and specialty 
                            crops.
                     TITLE III--INTERNATIONAL TRADE

Sec. 301. Foreign market access study and strategy plan.
Sec. 302. Technical assistance for specialty crops.
Sec. 303. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
Sec. 304. Protection of intellectual property rights in plants and 
                            plant-derived material.
Sec. 305. Plant patents.
              TITLE IV--SPECIALTY CROP RESEARCH AND GRANTS

Sec. 401. Transfer of administration and funding of Office of Pest 
                            Management Policy.
Sec. 402. National specialty crops development initiative grant 
                            program.
Sec. 403. Mechanized harvesting for production and processing methods.
          TITLE V--INVASIVE PEST RESEARCH AND DISEASE RESPONSE

Sec. 501. Foreign invasive pests and diseases.
Sec. 502. Emergency response Fund.
Sec. 503. Independent scientific advice for Animal and Plant Health 
                            Inspection Service.
Sec. 504. Food safety initiatives.
Sec. 505. Clean plant network.
                         TITLE VI--CONSERVATION

Sec. 601. Elimination of limitation on adjusted gross income from 
                            eligibility requirements for environmental 
                            quality incentives program.
Sec. 602. Sustainability practices.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) a secure domestic food supply is a national security 
        imperative for the United States;
            (2) a competitive specialty crop industry in the United 
        States is necessary for the production of an abundant, 
        affordable supply of highly nutritious fruits, vegetables, and 
        other specialty crops (including nursery crops, floriculture, 
        and low-growing dense perennial turfgrass sod), which are vital 
        to the health and well-being of all Americans;
            (3) increased consumption of specialty crops will provide 
        tremendous health and economic benefits to both consumers and 
        specialty crop growers;
            (4) specialty crop growers believe that there are numerous 
        areas of Federal agriculture policy that could be improved to 
        promote increased consumption of specialty crops and increase 
        the competitiveness of producers in the efficient production of 
        affordable specialty crops in the United States;
            (5) as the globalization of markets continues, it is 
        becoming increasingly difficult for United States producers to 
        compete against heavily subsidized foreign producers in both 
        the domestic and foreign markets; and
            (6) United States specialty crop producers continue to face 
        serious tariff and non-tariff trade barriers in many export 
        markets.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to make necessary 
changes in and additions to Federal agricultural policy to accomplish 
the goals of increasing specialty crop consumption and improving the 
competitiveness of United States specialty crop producers.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
            (2) Specialty crop.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``specialty crop'' means 
                each agricultural crop produced in the United States.
                    (B) Exclusions.--The term ``specialty crop'' does 
                not include wheat, feed grains, oilseeds, cotton, rice, 
                peanuts, sugar, dry peas, lentils, chickpeas, and 
                tobacco.
            (3) State.--The term ``State'' means--
                    (A) each of the several States of the United 
                States;
                    (B) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
                    (C) Guam;
                    (D) American Samoa; and
                    (E) the United States Virgin Islands.
            (4) State department of agriculture.--The term ``State 
        department of agriculture'' means the agency, commission, or 
        department of a State government responsible for protecting and 
        promoting agriculture in the State.

                           TITLE I--MARKETING

SEC. 101. IMPLEMENTATION OF FOOD SAFETY PROGRAMS UNDER MARKETING 
              ORDERS.

    Section 8c(7) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 
608c(7)), reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing 
Agreement Act of 1937, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and (D) as 
        subparagraph (D) and (E), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new 
        subparagraph (C):
    ``(C) In the case of an order relating to a specialty crop (as 
defined in section 3 of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 
2004), authorizing the implementation of food safety programs, such as 
good agricultural and manufacturing practices, ISO 9000 standards, and 
Hazard Analysis of Critical Control Points programs, designed to 
enhance the safety of the specialty crop and products derived from 
specialty crops.''.

SEC. 102. INCREASE IN MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED UNDER 
              TREE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    Section 10204(a) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 
2002 (7 U.S.C. 8204(a)) is amended by striking ``$75,000'' and 
inserting ``$150,000 annually''.

SEC. 103. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE MARKET NEWS ALLOCATION.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through the Administrator of 
the Agricultural Marketing Service, shall use $9,000,000 of funds of 
the Commodity Credit Corporation during fiscal year 2007 to carry out 
market news activities to provide timely price information of United 
States fruits and vegetables in the United States.
    (b) Future Funding.--Subsequent to fiscal year 2007, funding for 
the activities described in subsection (a) shall be annually indexed 
for inflation.

               TITLE II--SPECIALTY CROP GRANTS AND LOANS

SEC. 201. GRANTS TO STATES TO ENHANCE COMPETITIVENESS OF SPECIALTY 
              CROPS.

    (a) Availability and Purpose of Grants.--
            (1) In general.--For each of fiscal years 2007 through 
        2009, the Secretary shall make a grant under this section to 
        each State that submits an application for a grant for that 
        fiscal year in accordance with the terms and conditions 
        established under paragraph (4).
            (2) Use of grant funds.--The grant funds shall be used by 
        the State department of agriculture solely to enhance the 
        competitiveness of United States specialty crops.
            (3) Maintenance of effort.--The State shall provide 
        assurances to the Secretary that funds provided to the State 
        under this section will be used only to supplement, not to 
        supplant, the amount of Federal, State, and local funds 
        otherwise expended in support of specialty crops and specialty 
        crop producers in the State.
            (4) Terms and conditions.--Not later than 180 days after 
        the date of enactment of this Act for fiscal year 2006 and 
        before commencement of each of fiscal years 2007 through 2009, 
        the Secretary shall establish terms and conditions for the 
        submission of grant applications for that fiscal year.
    (b) Amount.--
            (1) In general.--Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3), the 
        amount of the grant for a fiscal year to a State under this 
        section shall bear the same ratio to the total amount made 
        available under subsection (e) for that fiscal year as--
                    (A) the value of specialty crop production in the 
                State during the preceding calendar year; bears to
                    (B) the value of specialty crop production during 
                that calendar year in all those States submitting 
                applications for a grant for that fiscal year.
            (2) Minimum grant amount.--Except as provided in paragraph 
        (3), at a minimum, each eligible State shall receive $3,000,000 
        per fiscal year as a grant under this section.
            (3) Limitation.--No State shall receive more than 
        $15,000,000 of the combined amount from paragraph (1) and 
        paragraph (2) for any fiscal year in which this Act applies.
            (4) Availability of funds.--
                    (A) In general.--Any funds remaining after 
                allocations are made under paragraphs (2) and (3) shall 
                be available on a competitive basis to any State 
                department of agriculture that submits an application 
                to the Secretary.
                    (B) Criteria.--The Secretary shall--
                            (i) establish criteria for review of 
                        applications submitted under subparagraph (A); 
                        and
                            (ii) award funds to applicants that best 
                        fulfill the criteria.
    (c) Grant Expenditure Priorities.--
            (1) In general.--It is the intent of Congress that 
        specialty crop producers, organizations, and commissions should 
        primarily benefit from the disposition of grant funds under 
        this section.
            (2) Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this section, a State department of agriculture shall conduct 
        at least 1 public hearing, or provide some other method for 
        public comment, to obtain the advice and opinion of specialty 
        crop producers, organizations, and commissions in the State 
        regarding the use of grant funds.
            (3) Consideration.--The Secretary shall ensure that a State 
        department of agriculture considers the advice and opinions 
        received under paragraph (2) when making decisions about the 
        use of grant funds.
    (d) Use of Commodity Credit Corporation.--The Secretary shall use 
$200,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation during each 
of fiscal years 2007 through 2009 to carry out this section.

SEC. 202. OPERATING LOANS.

    Section 313(a)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 
Act (7 U.S.C. 1943(a)(1)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(or, if the borrower is a producer of a 
        specialty crop (as defined in section 3 of the Specialty Crops 
        Competition Act of 2006), $500,000)'' after ``$200,000''; and
            (2) by inserting ``(or, if the borrower is a producer of a 
        specialty crop (as so defined), $1,500,000)'' after 
        ``$700,000''.

SEC. 203. INCREASED PURCHASES OF FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND SPECIALTY 
              CROPS.

    Section 10603(a) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 
2002 (7 U.S.C. 612c-4(a)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Of the funds'' and inserting the 
        following:
            ``(1) In general.--Of the funds'';
            (2) in paragraph (1) (as designated by paragraph (1)), by 
        striking ``shall use not'' and inserting ``shall use, in 
        addition to an amount equal to the amount used for fiscal year 
        2001, not''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) No effect on other purchases.--The purchase of 
        additional fruits, vegetables, and other specialty food crops 
        under paragraph (1) shall not decrease, displace, or otherwise 
        affect any purchase by the Secretary or any agency or entity of 
        fruits, vegetables, or other commodities.''.

                     TITLE III--INTERNATIONAL TRADE

SEC. 301. FOREIGN MARKET ACCESS STUDY AND STRATEGY PLAN.

    (a) Definition of Uruguay Round Agreements.--In this section, the 
term ``Uruguay Round Agreements'' includes any agreement described in 
section 101(d) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)).
    (b) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
study--
            (1) the extent to which United States specialty crops have 
        or have not benefitted from any reductions of foreign trade 
        barriers, as provided for in the Uruguay Round Agreements; and
            (2) the reasons why United States specialty crops have or 
        have not benefitted from such trade-barrier reductions.
    (c) Strategy Plan.--The Secretary shall prepare a foreign market 
access strategy plan based on the study in subsection (b), to increase 
exports of specialty crops, including an assessment of the foreign 
trade barriers that are incompatible with the Uruguay Round Agreements 
and a strategy for removing those barriers.
    (d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act--
            (1) the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a 
        report that contains the results of the study; and
            (2) the Secretary shall submit to Congress the strategy 
        plan.

SEC. 302. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR SPECIALTY CROPS.

    (a) In General.--Section 3205 of the Farm Security and Rural 
Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 5680) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) by striking ``(d) Funding.--For'' and all that 
                follows through ``$2,000,000'' and inserting the 
                following:
    ``(e) Funding.--
            ``(1) In general.--For each of fiscal years 2007 through 
        2009, the Secretary shall make available $10,000,000''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Carryover of unobligated funds.--In a case in which 
        the total amount of funds or commodities made available under 
        paragraph (1) for a fiscal year is not obligated in that fiscal 
        year, the Secretary shall make available in the subsequent 
        fiscal year an amount equal to--
                    ``(A) the amount made available for the fiscal year 
                under paragraph (1); plus
                    ``(B) the amount not obligated in the previous 
                fiscal year.''; and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d) Petition.--A participant in the program may petition the 
Secretary for an extension of a project that exceeds, or will exceed, 
applicable time restrictions.''.

SEC. 303. ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH INSPECTION SERVICE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish in the Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture, the 
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Export Petition Division for the sole 
purpose of processing petitions that are submitted to that Service for 
reducing sanitary and phytosanitary trade barriers in export markets.
    (b) Staff and Support.--The Division shall be adequately staffed 
and supported by resources necessary to manage the work associated with 
petitions described in subsection (a).
    (c) Elimination of Backlog.--Not later than 5 years after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall eliminate the backlog of 
the petitions in existence on the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 304. PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN PLANTS AND 
              PLANT-DERIVED MATERIAL.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish an office in the 
Department of Agriculture for the sole purpose of encouraging the 
development and protection of intellectual property rights in plants 
and material derived from plants.
    (b) Duties.--The office shall be an advocate for the interests of 
United States producers of specialty crops--
            (1) before the Office of Patents, Trademarks, and 
        Copyrights of the Department of Commerce and other Federal 
        agencies; and
            (2) in international governmental and nongovernmental 
        organizations dealing with intellectual property rights.

SEC. 305. PLANT PATENTS.

    (a) Essentially Derived Plant.--Section 100 of title 35, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) The term `essentially derived plant' means a plant that--
            ``(1) is predominantly derived from another plant (referred 
        to in this paragraph as the `initial plant') or from a plant 
        that is predominantly derived from the initial plant, while 
        retaining the expression of the essential characteristics that 
        result from the genotype of the initial plant;
            ``(2) is clearly distinguishable from the initial plant; 
        and
            ``(3) except for differences that result from the act of 
        derivation, conforms to the initial plant in the expression of 
        the essential characteristics that result from the genotype of 
        the initial plant.''.
    (b) Novelty.--Section 162 of title 35, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by striking the section heading and inserting the 
        following:
``Sec. 162. Description, claim, novelty'';
            (2) in the first undesignated paragraph, by striking ``No 
        plant'' and inserting the following:
    ``(a) Description.--No plant'';
            (3) in the second undesignated paragraph, by striking ``The 
        claim'' and inserting the following:
    ``(b) Claim.--The claim''; and
            (4) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Novelty.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), no 
        plant patent application shall be denied, nor shall any issued 
        plant patent be invalidated, on the grounds that the invention 
        was sold or otherwise disposed of.
            ``(2) Exceptions.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply if--
                    ``(A) more than 1 year prior to the date of the 
                application for patent in the United States, the 
                invention was sold or otherwise disposed of to other 
                persons in the United States, by or with the consent of 
                the inventor or discoverer, or the successor in 
                interest of the inventor or discoverer, for purposes of 
                exploitation of the invention;
                    ``(B) more than 4 years prior to the date of the 
                application for patent in the United States, the 
                invention was sold or otherwise disposed of to other 
                persons in a foreign country, by or with the consent of 
                the inventor or discoverer, or the successor in 
                interest of the inventor or discoverer, for purposes of 
                exploitation of the invention; or
                    ``(C) more than 6 years prior to the date of the 
                application for patent in the United States, in the 
                case of a tree or vine, the invention was sold or 
                otherwise disposed of to other persons in a foreign 
                country, by or with the consent of the inventor or 
                discoverer, or the successor in interest of the 
                inventor or discoverer, for purposes of exploitation of 
                the invention.''.
    (c) Plant Patent Grant.--Section 163 of title 35, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``In the case'' and inserting the 
        following:
    ``(a) In General.--In the case''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(b) Application.--Subsection (a) applies equally to--
            ``(1) any plant that is essentially derived from a 
        protected plant, unless the protected plant is an essentially 
        derived plant; and
            ``(2) any plant that is not clearly distinguishable from a 
        protected plant.''.
    (d) Conforming Amendment.--The chapter analysis for chapter 15 of 
title 35, United States Code is amended by striking the item relating 
to section 162 and inserting the following:

``162. Description, claim, novelty.''.
    (e) Application.--The amendments made by this section apply to--
            (1) all applications for plant patents filed on or after 
        the date of enactment of this Act, or pending on that date; and
            (2) in the case of the amendments made by subsection (b), 
        all plant patents in force on the date of enactment of this 
        Act.

              TITLE IV--SPECIALTY CROP RESEARCH AND GRANTS

SEC. 401. TRANSFER OF ADMINISTRATION AND FUNDING OF OFFICE OF PEST 
              MANAGEMENT POLICY.

    (a) Transfer.--The Secretary shall transfer the Office of Pest 
Management Policy of the Department of Agriculture from the 
Agricultural Research Service to the Office of the Secretary for 
administrative and funding purposes.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary for the activities of the Office of Pest 
Management Policy $5,000,000 for each fiscal year.

SEC. 402. NATIONAL SPECIALTY CROPS DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE GRANT 
              PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary, acting through integrated 
competitive grant programs administered by the Cooperative Research, 
Education, and Extension Service, shall use $30,000,000 of funds of the 
Commodity Credit Corporation for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2011 
to support the National Specialty Crop Development Initiative, a long-
term program to improve efficiency and competitiveness of specialty 
crop producers in the world marketplace.
    (b) Use of Funds.--The Secretary, acting through the Agricultural 
Research Service and the Cooperative Research, Education, and Extension 
Service, working jointly with industry, shall use an appropriate amount 
of funds described in subsection (a) to organize workshops to develop a 
comprehensive strategic plan to address short-term, intermediate-term, 
and long-term needs in production technology, marketing, product 
development, and food safety issues essential to maintain a competitive 
specialty crop industry.

SEC. 403. MECHANIZED HARVESTING FOR PRODUCTION AND PROCESSING METHODS.

    The Secretary shall authorize the Administrator of the Agricultural 
Research Service and the Administrator of the Cooperative State 
Research, Education, and Extension Service to conduct research in the 
areas of mechanized harvesting and new production and processing 
methods for specialty crops.

          TITLE V--INVASIVE PEST RESEARCH AND DISEASE RESPONSE

SEC. 501. FOREIGN INVASIVE PESTS AND DISEASES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary may conduct specific research--
            (1) to identify and prioritize the harmful economic and 
        health impact of foreign invasive pests and diseases 
        threatening the United States; and
            (2) to develop corresponding eradication and control 
        programs.
    (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $1,000,000.

SEC. 502. EMERGENCY RESPONSE FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the 
United States a revolving fund, to be known as the ``Invasive Pest and 
Disease Response Fund'' (referred to in this section as the ``Fund''), 
consisting of--
            (1) such amounts as may be appropriated to the Fund; and
            (2) any proceeds received by the Secretary as reimbursement 
        for services provided by the Secretary using amounts in the 
        Fund.
    (b) Availability.--Amounts in the Fund shall remain available until 
expended.
    (c) Use of Fund.--On request by the Secretary, the Secretary of the 
Treasury shall transfer from the Fund to the Secretary of Agriculture 
such amounts as the Secretary determines are necessary to support 
emergency eradication and research activities of the Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service in response to economic and health threats 
posed by invasive pests and disease to agricultural commodities.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to the Fund such funds as may be necessary to achieve a 
balance in the Fund of $75,000,000 on October 1 of each fiscal year.

SEC. 503. INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC ADVICE FOR ANIMAL AND PLANT HEALTH 
              INSPECTION SERVICE.

    (a) Finding.--Congress finds that the decision process at the 
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service with respect to requests to 
import specialty crops into the United States, or export specialty 
crops from the United States, would have greater credibility if the 
scientific analysis underlying the requests was subject to independent 
scientific peer review.
    (b) Peer Review Process.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary, acting through the 
        Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
        Service, shall establish a process to obtain independent advice 
        and peer review on the scientific and technical aspects of 
        requests to import specialty crops into the United States or 
        export specialty crops from the United States, including the 
        preparation of risk assessments and the design of mitigation 
        measures.
            (2) Initiation.--The independent review process shall be 
        initiated at the request of the Administrator.
    (c) Qualifications.--Each person who participates in an independent 
scientific review panel under this section shall be qualified by 
education, training, and experience to evaluate scientific and 
technical information on matters subject to review.
    (d) Review Required.--The Administrator shall request an 
independent review of the scientific and technical work product data 
that are used in connection with policy guidance on, or in support of, 
a decision on--
            (1) any situation in which there has been a request to 
        export a specialty crop grown in the United States to another 
        country;
            (2) establishment of the appropriate level of protection or 
        level of negligible risk that will be applicable to the 
        consideration of a request for approval to import a specialty 
        crop from another country;
            (3) consideration of the type (qualitative or quantitative) 
        of risk assessment to conduct with respect to a request for 
        approval for the importation of a specialty crop into the 
        United States;
            (4)(A) the sufficiency, type, and quality of data that 
        should be submitted to the Administrator in conjunction with a 
        request to import a specialty crop into the United States and 
        to merit preparation of a risk assessment; and
            (B) following preparation of a risk assessment, a review 
        of--
                    (i) the risk assessment, including the assumptions 
                and interpretation of the data used; and
                    (ii) the mitigation measures designed to address 
                the plant pest and disease issues relevant to the 
                request; or
            (5) situations in which the Animal and Plant Health 
        Inspection Service is considering permitting an import from a 
        country where--
                    (A) multiple plant pests are present in the growing 
                regions;
                    (B) both plant pests and plant diseases are present 
                in the growing regions; or
                    (C) new information or developments have become 
                known which cast doubt on the scientific basis of 
                previous decisions.
    (e) Review Process.--
            (1) In general.--To facilitate review under this section, 
        the Administrator shall make available to the review panel all 
        of the scientific and technical information in the possession 
        of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service that is 
        relevant to the matter to be reviewed.
            (2) Advice and comments.--Not later than a date specified 
        by the Administrator, the panel shall make available to the 
        Administrator--
                    (A) advice and comments on the adequacy of the 
                scientific and technical basis of the proposed action; 
                and
                    (B) any pertinent information in the possession of 
                the panel.
    (f) Use of Technical and Scientific Capabilities of Federal 
Agencies.--In preparing advice and comments under subsection (e)(2)(A), 
a review panel may make use of the technical and scientific 
capabilities of any Federal agency having relevant expertise.
    (g) Committees and Investigative Panels.--The Administrator may 
establish such committees and panels as are necessary to carry out this 
section.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such funds as are necessary to carry out this section.

SEC. 504. FOOD SAFETY INITIATIVES.

    (a) Initiative Authorized.--The Secretary may carry out a food 
safety education program to educate the public and persons in the fresh 
produce industry about--
            (1) scientifically proven practices for reducing microbial 
        pathogens on fresh produce; and
            (2) methods of reducing the threat of cross-contamination 
        of fresh produce through unsanitary handling practices.
    (b) Cooperation.--The Secretary may carry out the education program 
in cooperation with public and private partners.
    (c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $1,000,000.

SEC. 505. CLEAN PLANT NETWORK.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program to be 
known as the ``National Clean Plant Network'' (referred to in this 
section as the ``Program'').
    (b) Requirements.--Under the Program, the Secretary shall establish 
a network of clean plant centers for diagnostic and pathogen 
elimination services to--
            (1) produce clean propagative plant material; and
            (2) maintain blocks of pathogen-tested plant material in 
        sites located throughout the United States.
    (c) Availability of Clean Plant Source Material.--Clean plant 
source material may be made available to--
            (1) a State for a certified plant program of the State; and
            (2) private nurseries and growers.
    (d) Consultation and Collaboration.--In carrying out the Program, 
the Secretary shall--
            (1) consult with State departments of agriculture and land 
        grant universities; and
            (2) to the extent practicable and with input from the 
        appropriate State officials and industry representatives, use 
        existing Federal or State facilities to serve as clean plant 
        centers.
    (e) Funding.--The Secretary shall use $5,000,000 each year of funds 
of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out the Program.

                         TITLE VI--CONSERVATION

SEC. 601. ELIMINATION OF LIMITATION ON ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME FROM 
              ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY 
              INCENTIVES PROGRAM.

    Section 1001D(b)(2)(C) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 
1308-3a(b)(2)(C)) is amended by inserting ``(other than the program 
under chapter 4 of subtitle D of that title)'' after ``of this Act''.

SEC. 602. SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES.

    (a) Encouragement of Voluntary Sustainability Practices 
Guidelines.--In administering this Act and the amendments made by this 
Act, the Secretary shall encourage the development of voluntary 
sustainable practices guidelines for producers and processors of 
specialty crops, including provisions that--
            (1) enhance producer-to-producer and processor-to-processor 
        education about--
                    (A) the importance of sustainable practices; and
                    (B) how self-governance will enhance the economic 
                viability and future of the specialty crop community; 
                and
            (2) demonstrate that working closely with neighbors, 
        communities, and other stakeholders to maintain an open 
        dialogue can address concerns, enhance mutual respect, and 
        accelerate results.
    (b) Priority in Eligibility for Conservation Programs.--In 
establishing eligibility for participation in conservation programs 
administered by the Secretary, the Secretary may give priority to 
specialty crop producers that follow the sustainability guidelines.
                                 <all>