[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2764 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2764

 To support country-of-origin labeling, ban imports of fresh meat and 
 meat food products from countries with foot-and-mouth disease, reform 
          certain livestock programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 31, 2014

   Mr. Walsh introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To support country-of-origin labeling, ban imports of fresh meat and 
 meat food products from countries with foot-and-mouth disease, reform 
          certain livestock programs, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``American Livestock Protection and 
Ranching Opportunity Act of 2014''.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING COUNTRY OF ORIGIN LABELING.

    It is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) the overwhelming majority of consumers in the United 
        States want to know where animals used to produce the meat 
        eaten by the consumers is born, raised, and slaughtered;
            (2) country-of-origin labeling provides information that 
        consumers in the United States have a right to know; and
            (3) country-of-origin labeling facilitates supply chain 
        information critical for food safety.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON IMPORTATION OF FRESH MEAT AND MEAT PRODUCTS FROM 
              COUNTRIES WITH FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE.

    Section 10404 of the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8303) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) Prohibition on Importation of Fresh Meat and Meat Products 
From Countries With Foot-and-Mouth Disease.--Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, until the date on which the Secretary of Agriculture 
certifies to Congress that a country is free of foot-and-mouth disease 
without vaccination, the Secretary may not--
            ``(1) allow the importation of fresh meat or meat products 
        from that country; or
            ``(2) initiate, administer, finalize, or enforce any 
        rulemaking allowing for the new importation of any fresh meat 
        or meat product from that country.''.

SEC. 4. BRUCELLOSIS RESEARCH AND COMPENSATION.

    (a) Livestock Disease Initiative.--Title IV of the Agricultural 
Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7624 et 
seq.) is amended by inserting after the title heading the following:

``SEC. 401. LIVESTOCK DISEASE INITIATIVE.

    ``(a) In General.--There is established in the Department a 
livestock disease initiative under which the Secretary shall provide to 
eligible entities competitive grants for research and development 
described in subsection (d).
    ``(b) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
this section, an entity shall be--
            ``(1) a Federal agency;
            ``(2) a National Laboratory;
            ``(3) an institution of higher education;
            ``(4) a research institution; or
            ``(5) a State agricultural experiment station.
    ``(c) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
Secretary shall give priority to research and development relating to 
bovine brucellosis, bovine tuberculosis, and other zoonotic diseases in 
livestock that are covered by a high-priority research and extension 
initiative authorized under section 1672 of the Food, Agriculture, 
Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925).
    ``(d) Use of Grants.--An entity that receives a grant under this 
section shall use the grant to conduct research and development 
relating to surveillance methods, vaccines, vaccination delivery 
systems, or diagnostic tests for diseases in domestic livestock that 
present a potential concern to public health and safety, as determined 
by the Secretary.
    ``(e) Matching Funds.--
            ``(1) In general.--In awarding grants under this section, 
        the Secretary may give priority to proposals from eligible 
        entities that provide matching funds for the grants in a manner 
        as determined by the Secretary, but shall not require eligible 
        entities to have matching funds as a requirement of being 
        awarded a grant.
            ``(2) Exemption.--The matching funds requirement under 
        section 1492 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, 
        and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3371) shall not apply 
        in the case of a grant awarded under this section.
    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2015 through 2018.''.
    (b) Assistance for Losses Due to Brucellosis.--Section 1501(c) of 
the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081(c)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ``or brucellosis'' 
        after ``fire condition'' both places it appears;
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``or'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; or''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) brucellosis, as described in paragraph 
                (6).''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) Assistance for losses due to brucellosis.--
                    ``(A) In general.--An eligible livestock producer 
                may receive assistance under this paragraph only if the 
                grazing losses occur due to quarantine of livestock 
                under section 10407 of the Farm Security and Rural 
                Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8306) due to 
                brucellosis infection in the Greater Yellowstone 
                Designated Surveillance Area, as determined by the 
                Secretary.
                    ``(B) Payment rate.--The payment rate for 
                assistance under this paragraph shall be equal to 60 
                percent of the monthly feed cost (as determined under 
                paragraph (3)(C)) for the total number of livestock of 
                the eligible livestock producer subject to 
                quarantine.''.

SEC. 5. LIVESTOCK INDEMNITY PAYMENTS.

    Section 1501(b) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081(b)) 
is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following:
            ``(2) Payment rates.--Indemnity payments to an eligible 
        producer on a farm under paragraph (1) shall be made at a rate 
        of 75 percent of the higher of, as determined by the 
        Secretary--
                    ``(A) the market value of the applicable livestock 
                on the earliest day that information is available to 
                the Secretary; or
                    ``(B) the applicable nationwide price of the 
                applicable livestock for the previous calendar year.''.

SEC. 6. LIVESTOCK FORAGE DISASTER PROGRAM.

    Section 1501(c)(3)(C) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 
9081(c)(3)(C)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(iv) High-value forage.--The Secretary 
                        may provide for a price adjustment in the 
                        monthly feed cost in the case of high-value 
                        forage, as determined by the Secretary.''.
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