[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2997 Introduced in House (IH)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2997

 To require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Commissioner of Food 
  and Drugs to establish a program requiring a certificate of assured 
                    safety for imported food items.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 11, 2007

  Ms. Kaptur (for herself and Mr. Langevin) introduced the following 
 bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and 
in addition to the Committees on Agriculture and Ways and Means, 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 require the Secretary of Agriculture and the Commissioner of Food 
  and Drugs to establish a program requiring a certificate of assured 
                    safety for imported food items.

    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 ``Assured Food Safety Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. CERTIFICATE OF ASSURED SAFETY PROGRAM.

    (a) Program.--The Secretary of Agriculture and the Commissioner of 
Food and Drugs shall jointly establish a program to require all food 
items imported into the United States to bear a certificate of assured 
safety issued by the government of the country from which the item is 
imported. In conducting such program, the Secretary and the 
Commissioner shall--
            (1) establish requirements for a food item to be issued a 
        certificate of assured safety by the government of the country 
        from which the food item is to be imported into the United 
        States; and
            (2) prohibit a food item that does not bear a certificate 
        of assured safety from being imported into the United States.
    (b) Exemptions.--The Secretary and the Commissioner may exempt from 
the requirements of the program established under subsection (a) a food 
item that is imported--
            (1) from a country that has not been the source of a 
        contaminated food item resulting in a significant health or 
        safety recall in the preceding 5 years, as determined by--
                    (A) in the case of meat and poultry food items, the 
                Secretary; and
                    (B) in the case of all other food items, the 
                Commissioner; or
            (2) in a de minimis volume, as determined by--
                    (A) in the case of meat and poultry food items, the 
                Secretary; and
                    (B) in the case of all other food items, the 
                Commissioner.
    (c) Failure To Provide Assured Level of Safety.--
            (1) Prohibition.--If a food item fails to provide the level 
        of safety assured in the certificate required under this 
        section for such item, the Secretary and the Commissioner shall 
        prohibit the importation of any food item that is the same type 
        of food, is produced by the same person, and is produced in the 
        same country until the Secretary or the Commissioner, as 
        appropriate--
                    (A) is given an opportunity to inspect the place of 
                production of the food to determine whether appropriate 
                corrections have been made; and
                    (B) determines that such country has taken 
                sufficient steps to identify and correct the failure.
            (2) Heightened inspection.--For a period of 3 years after 
        removing a prohibition against importation of a food item 
        described in paragraph (1), the Secretary and the Commissioner 
        shall require a heightened inspection of any such food item to 
        provide reasonable assurance to consumers of their safety.

SEC. 3. REPORTS.

    (a) Food Items Subject to Recalls.--Not later than February 15 of 
each year, the Secretary and the Commissioner shall jointly submit to 
Congress a report containing--
            (1) the volume of imported food items subject to recalls; 
        and
            (2) the volume of recoveries of such imported food items.
    (b) Sufficiency of Food Safety.--Not later than 3 years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, the 
Secretary and the Commissioner shall jointly conduct a study and submit 
a report to the Congress on the sufficiency of food safety and improved 
food safety technologies.
    (c) Amount of Food Inspection.--
            (1) Study.--The Secretary and the Commissioner shall 
        jointly conduct a study on inspection of imported food to 
        determine--
                    (A) the minimum amount of inspection necessary to 
                assure consumers of a safe food supply; and
                    (B) the additional cost of allocating resources for 
                inspecting imported food in order to achieve such 
                minimum amount.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Commissioner shall 
        submit to Congress a report containing the results of the study 
        conducted under subsection (a).

SEC. 4. MINIMUM INSPECTIONS.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of the submission of the 
report under section 3(c), the Secretary and the Commissioner shall 
ensure that the amount of imported food inspected by the Secretary and 
the Commissioner is not less than the amount determined necessary under 
section 3(c) to assure consumers of a safe food supply.

SEC. 5. USER FEES REGARDING INSPECTIONS OF IMPORTED FOOD SAFETY.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Assessment.--Beginning in fiscal year 2008, the 
        Secretary and the Commissioner shall jointly assess and collect 
        fees on food imported into the United States.
            (2) Purpose of fees.--The purpose of fees under paragraph 
        (1) is to defray increases in the costs of the resources 
        allocated for inspecting imported food in order to comply with 
        section 4 over the costs of the resources allocated for 
        inspecting imported food in fiscal year 2007 multiplied by the 
        adjustment factor. Increases referred to in the preceding 
        sentence include increases in such costs for an additional 
        number of full-time equivalent positions in the Department of 
        Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services to 
        be engaged in carrying out such section.
            (3) Amount of fee; collection.--A fee under paragraph (1) 
        shall be assessed on each line item of food, as defined by the 
        Secretary and the Commissioner by regulation. The amount of the 
        fee shall be based on the number of line items, and may not 
        exceed $20 per line item, notwithstanding subsection (b). The 
        liability for the fee constitutes a personal debt due to the 
        United States, and such liability accrues on the date on which 
        the food is imported into the United States. The Secretary and 
        the Commissioner may coordinate with and seek the cooperation 
        of other agencies of the Federal Government regarding the 
        collection of such fees.
    (b) Total Fee Revenues.--The total fee revenues collected under 
subsection (a) for a fiscal year shall be the amount appropriated under 
subsection (f)(3).
    (c) Adjustments.--
            (1) Inflation adjustment.--With respect to the amount of 
        total fee revenues referred to in subsection (b), the amount 
        authorized in subsection (f)(3) for a fiscal year shall be 
        adjusted by the Secretary and the Commissioner (and as adjusted 
        shall be published in the Federal Register) to reflect the 
        greater of--
                    (A) the total percentage change that occurred 
                during the preceding fiscal year in the Consumer Price 
                Index for all urban consumers (all items; U.S. city 
                average); or
                    (B) the total percentage change for such fiscal 
                year in basic pay under the General Schedule in 
                accordance with section 5332 of title 5, United States 
                Code, as adjusted by any locality-based comparability 
                payment pursuant to section 5304 of such title for 
                Federal employees stationed in the District of 
                Columbia.
            (2) Annual fee adjustment.--Not later than 60 days after 
        the end of each fiscal year beginning after fiscal year 2008, 
        the Secretary and the Commissioner, subject to not exceeding 
        the maximum fee amount specified in subsection (a)(3), shall 
        adjust the amounts that otherwise would under subsection (a) be 
        assessed as fees during the fiscal year in which the adjustment 
        occurs so that the total revenues collected in such fees for 
        such fiscal year equal the amount applicable pursuant to 
        subsection (b) for the fiscal year.
    (d) Fee Waiver or Reduction.--The Secretary and the Commissioner 
shall grant a waiver from or a reduction of a fee assessed under 
subsection (a) where the Secretary and the Commissioner find that the 
fee to be paid will exceed the anticipated present and future costs 
incurred by the Secretary and the Commissioner in carrying out section 
4 (which finding may be made by the Secretary and the Commissioner 
using standard costs).
    (e) Assessment of Fees.--
            (1) Limitation.--Fees may not be assessed under subsection 
        (a) for a fiscal year beginning after fiscal year 2008 unless 
        the amount appropriated for salaries and expenses of the 
        Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration 
        for such fiscal year is equal to or greater than the amount 
        appropriated for salaries and expenses of the Food and Drug 
        Administration for fiscal year 2008 multiplied by the 
        adjustment factor applicable to the fiscal year involved, 
        except that in making determinations under this paragraph for 
        the fiscal years involved there shall be excluded any amounts 
        collected as fees for purposes of funding the inspection of 
        food or other items being imported.
            (2) Authority.--If the Secretary and the Commissioner do 
        not assess fees under subsection (a) during any portion of a 
        fiscal year because of paragraph (1) and if at a later date in 
        such fiscal year the Secretary and the Commissioner may assess 
        such fees, the Secretary and the Commissioner may assess and 
        collect such fees, without any modification in the rate of the 
        fees, at any time in such fiscal year notwithstanding the 
        provisions of subsection (a)(3) relating to the time at which 
        fees are to be paid.
    (f) Crediting and Availability of Fees.--
            (1) In general.--Fees collected for a fiscal year pursuant 
        to subsection (a) shall be credited to the appropriation 
        accounts for salaries and expenses of the Department of 
        Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration and shall be 
        available in accordance with appropriation Acts until expended 
        without fiscal year limitation. Such sums as may be necessary 
        may be transferred from the Department of Agriculture and the 
        Food and Drug Administration salaries and expenses 
        appropriation accounts without fiscal year limitation to such 
        appropriation accounts for salaries and expenses with such 
        fiscal year limitation. The sums transferred shall be available 
        solely for carrying out section 4.
            (2) Collections and appropriation acts.--The fees 
        authorized in subsection (a)--
                    (A) shall be collected in each fiscal year in 
                accordance with subsections (a)(3) and (b); and
                    (B) shall only be collected and available for the 
                purpose specified in subsection (a)(2).
            (3) Authorization of appropriations; allocations by 
        secretary and commissioner.--Subject to paragraph (4), there is 
        authorized to be appropriated the amount determined by the 
        Secretary and the Commissioner under section 3(c) to be 
        necessary to comply with section 4 for each of the fiscal years 
        2008 through 2012.
            (4) Offset.--Any amount of fees collected for a fiscal year 
        under subsection (a) that exceeds the amount of fees specified 
        in appropriation Acts for such fiscal year shall be credited to 
        the appropriation accounts of the Department of Agriculture and 
        the Food and Drug Administration as provided in paragraph (1), 
        and shall be subtracted from the amount of fees that would 
        otherwise be authorized to be collected under this section 
        pursuant to appropriation Acts for a subsequent fiscal year.
    (g) Collection of Unpaid Fees.--In any case where the Secretary and 
the Commissioner do not receive payment of a fee assessed under 
subsection (a) within 30 days after it is due, such fee shall be 
treated as a claim of the United States Government subject to 
subchapter II of chapter 37 of title 31, United States Code.
    (h) Construction.--This section may not be construed as requiring 
that the number of full-time equivalent positions in the Department of 
Agriculture or the Department of Health and Human Services, for 
officers, employees, and advisory committees not engaged in inspecting 
imported food be reduced to offset the number of officers, employees, 
and advisory committees so engaged.
    (i) Definition of Adjustment Factor.--For purposes of this section, 
the term ``adjustment factor'' applicable to a fiscal year is the 
Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (all items; United States 
city average) for April of the preceding fiscal year divided by such 
Index for April 2007.''.

SEC. 6. PRIVATE CAUSE OF ACTION.

    (a) In General.--Any person aggrieved by the failure of any food 
item to meet the level of safety assured in the certificate required 
for that food item under section 2(a) may bring a civil action in a 
United States district court against the person who imported the food 
item.
    (b) Damages.--In an action brought pursuant to subsection (a), the 
court may award actual damages, equitable relief, and any litigation 
costs reasonably incurred.

SEC. 7. CRIMINAL PENALTIES.

    If any person imports a food item into the United States knowing 
that such food item does not comply with the assurance of safety for 
such food item in the certificate required for that food item under 
section 2(a), such person is deemed to be in violation of section 1001 
of title 18, United States Code (relating to fraudulent and false 
statements in any matter within the Government).

SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``Commissioner'' means the Commissioner of 
        Food and Drugs.
            (2) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        Agriculture.
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