[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1706 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1706

To provide for assistance to United States exporters of certain fruits 
  and vegetables in order to ensure better access to foreign markets.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 27, 2007

 Mr. Nunes (for himself and Mr. Thompson of California) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and 
in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means and Homeland Security, 
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of 
                        the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for assistance to United States exporters of certain fruits 
  and vegetables in order to ensure better access to foreign markets.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``United States Specialty Crop Export 
Opportunities Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. REGULATION OF EXPORTS OF PLANTS, PLANT PRODUCTS, BIOLOGICAL 
              CONTROL ORGANISMS, AND NOXIOUS WEEDS.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle A of title IV of the Agricultural Risk 
Protection Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new section:

``SEC. 420. REGULATION OF EXPORTS OF PLANTS, PLANT PRODUCTS, BIOLOGICAL 
              CONTROL ORGANISMS, AND NOXIOUS WEEDS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary may regulate plants, plant 
products, biological control organisms, and noxious weeds for export 
purposes.
    ``(b) Duties.--The Secretary shall--
            ``(1) coordinate fruit and vegetable market analyses with 
        the private sector and the Administrator of the Foreign 
        Agricultural Service; and
            ``(2) make publicly available on an Internet website--
                    ``(A) the status of all export petitions;
                    ``(B) to the greatest extent possible, an 
                explanation of the sanitary or phytosanitary issues 
                associated with each pending export petition; and
                    ``(C) to the greatest extent possible, information 
                on the import requirements of foreign countries for 
                fruits and vegetables.
    ``(c) Regulations.--The Secretary may issue regulations to 
implement this section.''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 1(b) of 
such Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 note) is amended by inserting after the item 
relating to section 419 the following new item:

``Sec. 420. Regulation of exports of plants, plant products, biological 
                            control organisms, and noxious weeds.''.

SEC. 3. RESTORATION OF IMPORT AND ENTRY AGRICULTURAL INSPECTION 
              FUNCTIONS TO THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

    (a) Repeal of Transfer of Functions.--Section 421 of the Homeland 
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231) is repealed.
    (b) Conforming Amendment to Function of Secretary of Homeland 
Security.--Section 402 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 
202) is amended--
            (1) by striking paragraph (7); and
            (2) by redesignating paragraph (8) as paragraph (7).
    (c) Transfer Agreement.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than the effective date 
        described in subsection (g), the Secretary of Agriculture and 
        the Secretary of Homeland Security shall enter into an 
        agreement to effectuate the return of functions required by the 
        amendments made by this section.
            (2) Use of certain employees.--The agreement may include 
        authority for the Secretary of Agriculture to use employees of 
        the Department of Homeland Security to carry out authorities 
        delegated to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
        regarding the protection of domestic livestock and plants.
    (d) Restoration of Department of Agriculture Employees.--Not later 
than the effective date described in subsection (e), all full-time 
equivalent positions of the Department of Agriculture transferred to 
the Department of Homeland Security under section 421(g) of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231(g)) (as in effect on the 
day before the effective date described in subsection (g)) shall be 
restored to the Department of Agriculture.
    (e) Authority of APHIS.--
            (1) Establishment of program.--The Secretary of Agriculture 
        shall establish within the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 
        Service a program, to be known as the ``International 
        Agricultural Inspection Program'', under which the 
        Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
        (referred to in this subsection as the ``Administrator'') shall 
        carry out import and entry agricultural inspections.
            (2) Information gathering and inspections.--In carrying out 
        the program under paragraph (1), the Administrator shall have 
        full access to--
                    (A) each secure area of any terminal for screening 
                passengers or cargo under the control of the Department 
                of Homeland Security on the day before the date of 
                enactment of this Act for purposes of carrying out 
                inspections and gathering information; and
                    (B) each database (including any database relating 
                to cargo manifests or employee and business records) 
                under the control of the Department of Homeland 
                Security on the day before the date of enactment of 
                this Act for purposes of gathering information.
            (3) Inspection alerts.--The Administrator may issue 
        inspection alerts, including by indicating cargo to be held for 
        immediate inspection.
            (4) Inspection user fees.--The Administrator may, as 
        applicable--
                    (A) continue to collect any agricultural quarantine 
                inspection user fee; and
                    (B) administer any reserve account for the fees.
            (5) Career track program.--
                    (A) In general.--The Administrator shall establish 
                a program, to be known as the ``import and entry 
                agriculture inspector career track program'', to 
                support the development of long-term career 
                professionals with expertise in import and entry 
                agriculture inspection.
                    (B) Strategic plan and training.--In carrying out 
                the program under this paragraph, the Administrator, in 
                coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall--
                            (i) develop a strategic plan to incorporate 
                        import and entry agricultural inspectors into 
                        the infrastructure protecting food, fiber, 
                        forests, bioenergy, and the environment of the 
                        United States from animal and plant pests, 
                        diseases, and noxious weeds; and
                            (ii) as part of the plan under clause (i), 
                        provide training for import and entry 
                        agricultural inspectors participating in the 
                        program not less frequently than once each year 
                        to improve inspection skills.
    (f) Duties of Secretary.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to 
        in this subsection as the ``Secretary'') shall--
                    (A) develop standard operating procedures for 
                inspection, monitoring, and auditing relating to import 
                and entry agricultural inspections, in accordance with 
                recommendations from the Comptroller General of the 
                United States and reports of interagency advisory 
                groups, as applicable; and
                    (B) ensure that the Animal and Plant Health 
                Inspection Service has a national electronic system 
                with real-time tracking capability for monitoring, 
                tracking, and reporting inspection activities of the 
                Service.
            (2) Federal and state cooperation.--
                    (A) Communication system.--The Secretary shall 
                develop and maintain an integrated, real-time 
                communication system with respect to import and entry 
                agricultural inspections to alert State departments of 
                agriculture of significant inspection findings of the 
                Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
                    (B) Advisory committee.--
                            (i) Establishment.--The Secretary shall 
                        establish a committee, to be known as the 
                        ``International Trade Inspection Advisory 
                        Committee'' (referred to in this subparagraph 
                        as the ``committee''), to advise the Secretary 
                        on policies and other issues relating to import 
                        and entry agricultural inspection.
                            (ii) Model.--In establishing the committee, 
                        the Secretary shall use as a model the 
                        Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee.
                            (iii) Membership.--The committee shall be 
                        composed of members representing--
                                    (I) State departments of 
                                agriculture;
                                    (II) directors of ports and 
                                airports in the United States;
                                    (III) the transportation industry;
                                    (IV) the public; and
                                    (V) such other entities as the 
                                Secretary determines to be appropriate.
            (3) Report.--Not less frequently than once each year, the 
        Secretary shall submit to Congress a report containing an 
        assessment of--
                    (A) the resource needs for import and entry 
                agricultural inspection, including the number of 
                inspectors required;
                    (B) the adequacy of--
                            (i) inspection and monitoring procedures 
                        and facilities in the United States; and
                            (ii) the strategic plan developed under 
                        subsection (e)(5)(B)(i); and
                    (C) new and potential technologies and practices, 
                including recommendations regarding the technologies 
                and practices, to improve import and entry agricultural 
                inspection.
            (4) Funding.--The Secretary shall pay the costs of each 
        import and entry agricultural inspector employed by the Animal 
        and Plant Health Inspection Service--
                    (A) from amounts made available to the Department 
                of Agriculture for the applicable fiscal year; or
                    (B) if amounts described in subparagraph (A) are 
                unavailable, from amounts of the Commodity Credit 
                Corporation.
    (g) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section take 
effect on the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act.

SEC. 4. REPORTS OF TRADE ADVISORY COMMITTEES.

    Whenever the Agricultural Policy Committee on Trade or the 
Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee on Trade in Fruits and 
Vegetables, established under section 135 of the Trade Act of 1974, 
provides any recommendations to the United States Trade Representative, 
that committee shall at the same time provide those recommendations to 
the Committee on Agriculture and the Committee on Ways and Means of the 
House of Representatives and to the Committee on Agriculture and the 
Committee on Finance of the Senate.

SEC. 5. REPORT ON FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICE STAFFING LEVELS FOR 
              MONITORING OTHER COUNTRIES' COMPLIANCE WITH TRADE 
              AGREEMENTS.

    Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a report--
            (1) evaluating the ability of the Foreign Agricultural 
        Service to adequately monitor other countries' compliance with 
        the terms of the Uruguay Round Agreements and the terms of 
        other agreements (including NAFTA and other bilateral 
        agreements) to ensure that the United States realizes the full 
        benefits of these agreements as they relate to agricultural 
        commodities; and
            (2) containing the recommending of the Secretary regarding 
        whether current vacancies in the monitoring office of the 
        Foreign Agricultural Service should be filled.

SEC. 6. FEASIBILITY REPORT REGARDING EXPORT INDEMNIFICATION FOR 
              UNSUBSIDIZED COMMODITIES.

    Not later than January 1, 2008, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 
submit to Congress a report evaluating the feasibility and cost of 
establishing an indemnity program for exporters of articles classified 
under chapters 7 and 8 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 
States that will provide compensation to those exporters when they 
comply fully with United States export and foreign country import 
requirements for the articles, but the articles are wrongfully denied 
entry into the foreign country.

SEC. 7. TREATMENT OF UNSUBSIDIZED COMMODITIES UNDER AGREEMENT ON 
              AGRICULTURE.

    The United States Trade Representative shall propose in the Doha 
Round of negotiations conducted under the auspices of the World Trade 
Organization that all articles classified under chapters 7 and 8 of the 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States be excluded from 
coverage under article 13 of the Agreement on Agriculture referred to 
in section 101(d)(2) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 
3511(d)(2)).

SEC. 8. SPECIAL EXPORT CREDIT GUARANTEE PROGRAM.

    The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish and maintain a program 
of export credits that is, as nearly as may be, identical to the 
program administered under sections 1493.400 through 1493.530 of title 
7, Code of Federal Regulations, except that--
            (1) either an exporter to, or an importer in, a foreign 
        place shall be eligible for a credit guarantee;
            (2) the guarantee shall be for a period of 45 days 
        beginning on the date of issuance of the guarantee; and
            (3) the cost of the guarantee shall not exceed 45 cents for 
        each $100 of coverage purchased.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION LEVELS FOR EMERGING MARKET CREDIT PROGRAM.

    Section 1542 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act 
of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5622 note) is amended--
            (1) in subsections (a) and (d)(1)(A)(i) by striking 
        ``2007'' and inserting ``2013''; and
            (2) in subsections (a) and (d) (1)(H) by striking 
        $10,000,000'' and inserting ``$20,000,000''.

SEC. 10. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) NAFTA.--The term ``NAFTA'' means the North American 
        Free Trade Agreement.
            (2) Uruguay round agreements.--The term ``Uruguay Round 
        Agreements'' means the agreements referred to in section 101(d) 
        of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(d)).
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