[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5961 Reported in House (RH)]
<DOC>
Union Calendar No. 545
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5961
[Report No. 115-706]
Making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 24, 2018
Mr. Aderholt, from the Committee on Appropriations, reported the
following bill; which was committed to the Committee of the Whole House
on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
Making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the following sums
are appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise
appropriated, for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies programs for fiscal year ending
September 30, 2019, and for other purposes, namely:
TITLE I
AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS
Production, Processing, and Marketing
Office of the Secretary
(including transfers of funds)
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Secretary, $39,287,000,
of which not to exceed $5,051,000 shall be available for the immediate
Office of the Secretary; not to exceed $800,000 shall be available for
the Office of the Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development:
Provided, That funds made available by this Act to an agency in the
Rural Development mission area for salaries and expenses are available
to fund up to one administrative support staff for the Office; not to
exceed $1,496,000 shall be available for the Office of Homeland
Security; not to exceed $4,711,000 shall be available for the Office of
Partnerships and Public Engagement; not to exceed $17,176,000 shall be
available for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration,
of which $16,301,000 shall be available for Departmental Administration
to provide for necessary expenses for management support services to
offices of the Department and for general administration, security,
repairs and alterations, and other miscellaneous supplies and expenses
not otherwise provided for and necessary for the practical and
efficient work of the Department: Provided further, That funds made
available by this Act to an agency in the Administration mission area
for salaries and expenses are available to fund up to one
administrative support staff for the Office; not to exceed $3,750,000
shall be available for the Office of Assistant Secretary for
Congressional Relations to carry out the programs funded by this Act,
including programs involving intergovernmental affairs and liaison
within the executive branch; and not to exceed $6,303,000 shall be
available for the Office of Communications: Provided further, That the
Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to transfer funds appropriated
for any office of the Office of the Secretary to any other office of
the Office of the Secretary: Provided further, That no appropriation
for any office shall be increased or decreased by more than 5 percent:
Provided further, That not to exceed $22,000 of the amount made
available under this paragraph for the immediate Office of the
Secretary shall be available for official reception and representation
expenses, not otherwise provided for, as determined by the Secretary:
Provided further, That the amount made available under this heading for
Departmental Administration shall be reimbursed from applicable
appropriations in this Act for travel expenses incident to the holding
of hearings as required by 5 U.S.C. 551-558: Provided further, That
funds made available under this heading for the Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Congressional Relations may be transferred to agencies of
the Department of Agriculture funded by this Act to maintain personnel
at the agency level: Provided further, That no funds made available
under this heading for the Office of Assistant Secretary for
Congressional Relations may be obligated after 30 days from the date of
enactment of this Act, unless the Secretary has notified the Committees
on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress on the allocation of these
funds by USDA agency.
Executive Operations
office of the chief economist
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Chief Economist,
$21,286,000, of which $5,000,000 shall be for grants or cooperative
agreements for policy research under 7 U.S.C. 3155.
office of hearings and appeals
For necessary expenses of the Office of Hearings and Appeals,
$14,972,000.
office of budget and program analysis
For necessary expenses of the Office of Budget and Program
Analysis, $9,525,000.
Office of the Chief Information Officer
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Chief Information
Officer, $58,950,000, of which not less than $33,000,000 is for
cybersecurity requirements of the department.
Office of the Chief Financial Officer
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Chief Financial
Officer, $5,741,000.
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Civil Rights, $901,000: Provided, That funds made available by this Act
to an agency in the Civil Rights mission area for salaries and expenses
are available to fund up to one administrative support staff for the
Office.
Office of Civil Rights
For necessary expenses of the Office of Civil Rights, $24,206,000.
Agriculture Buildings and Facilities
(including transfers of funds)
For payment of space rental and related costs pursuant to Public
Law 92-313, including authorities pursuant to the 1984 delegation of
authority from the Administrator of General Services to the Department
of Agriculture under 40 U.S.C. 121, for programs and activities of the
Department which are included in this Act, and for alterations and
other actions needed for the Department and its agencies to consolidate
unneeded space into configurations suitable for release to the
Administrator of General Services, and for the operation, maintenance,
improvement, and repair of Agriculture buildings and facilities, and
for related costs, $62,250,000, to remain available until expended.
Hazardous Materials Management
(including transfers of funds)
For necessary expenses of the Department of Agriculture, to comply
with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) and the Solid Waste Disposal Act
(42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), $3,503,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That appropriations and funds available herein to
the Department for Hazardous Materials Management may be transferred to
any agency of the Department for its use in meeting all requirements
pursuant to the above Acts on Federal and non-Federal lands.
Office of Inspector General
For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General,
including employment pursuant to the Inspector General Act of 1978
(Public Law 95-452; 5 U.S.C. App.), $98,208,000, including such sums as
may be necessary for contracting and other arrangements with public
agencies and private persons pursuant to section 6(a)(9) of the
Inspector General Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-452; 5 U.S.C. App.), and
including not to exceed $125,000 for certain confidential operational
expenses, including the payment of informants, to be expended under the
direction of the Inspector General pursuant to the Inspector General
Act of 1978 (Public Law 95-452; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 1337 of the
Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 (Public Law 97-98).
Office of the General Counsel
For necessary expenses of the Office of the General Counsel,
$44,846,000.
Office of Ethics
For necessary expenses of the Office of Ethics, $4,136,000.
Office of the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under Secretary for
Research, Education, and Economics, $800,000: Provided, That funds made
available by this Act to an agency in the Research, Education, and
Economics mission area for salaries and expenses are available to fund
up to one administrative support staff for the Office.
Economic Research Service
For necessary expenses of the Economic Research Service,
$86,757,000.
National Agricultural Statistics Service
For necessary expenses of the National Agricultural Statistics
Service, $173,717,000, of which up to $45,350,000 shall be available
until expended for the Census of Agriculture: Provided, That amounts
made available for the Census of Agriculture may be used to conduct
Current Industrial Report surveys subject to 7 U.S.C. 2204g(d) and (f).
Agricultural Research Service
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses of the Agricultural Research Service and for
acquisition of lands by donation, exchange, or purchase at a nominal
cost not to exceed $100, and for land exchanges where the lands
exchanged shall be of equal value or shall be equalized by a payment of
money to the grantor which shall not exceed 25 percent of the total
value of the land or interests transferred out of Federal ownership,
$1,259,916,000, of which $10,000,000 shall remain available until
expended to carry out the science program of the National Bio and Agro-
Defense Facility located in Manhattan, Kansas: Provided, That
appropriations hereunder shall be available for the operation and
maintenance of aircraft and the purchase of not to exceed one for
replacement only: Provided further, That appropriations hereunder shall
be available pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 2250 for the construction,
alteration, and repair of buildings and improvements, but unless
otherwise provided, the cost of constructing any one building shall not
exceed $500,000, except for headhouses or greenhouses which shall each
be limited to $1,800,000, except for 10 buildings to be constructed or
improved at a cost not to exceed $1,100,000 each, and except for two
buildings to be constructed at a cost not to exceed $3,000,000 each,
and the cost of altering any one building during the fiscal year shall
not exceed 10 percent of the current replacement value of the building
or $500,000, whichever is greater: Provided further, That
appropriations hereunder shall be available for entering into lease
agreements at any Agricultural Research Service location for the
construction of a research facility by a non-Federal entity for use by
the Agricultural Research Service and a condition of the lease shall be
that any facility shall be owned, operated, and maintained by the non-
Federal entity and shall be removed upon the expiration or termination
of the lease agreement: Provided further, That the limitations on
alterations contained in this Act shall not apply to modernization or
replacement of existing facilities at Beltsville, Maryland: Provided
further, That appropriations hereunder shall be available for granting
easements at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center: Provided
further, That the foregoing limitations shall not apply to replacement
of buildings needed to carry out the Act of April 24, 1948 (21 U.S.C.
113a): Provided further, That appropriations hereunder shall be
available for granting easements at any Agricultural Research Service
location for the construction of a research facility by a non-Federal
entity for use by, and acceptable to, the Agricultural Research Service
and a condition of the easements shall be that upon completion the
facility shall be accepted by the Secretary, subject to the
availability of funds herein, if the Secretary finds that acceptance of
the facility is in the interest of the United States: Provided
further, That funds may be received from any State, other political
subdivision, organization, or individual for the purpose of
establishing or operating any research facility or research project of
the Agricultural Research Service, as authorized by law.
buildings and facilities
For the acquisition of land, construction, repair, improvement,
extension, alteration, and purchase of fixed equipment or facilities as
necessary to carry out the agricultural research programs of the
Department of Agriculture, where not otherwise provided, $136,000,000
to remain available until expended.
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
research and education activities
For payments to agricultural experiment stations, for cooperative
forestry and other research, for facilities, and for other expenses,
$920,012,000, which shall be for the purposes, and in the amounts,
specified in the table titled ``National Institute of Food and
Agriculture, Research and Education Activities'' in the report
accompanying this Act: Provided, That funds for research grants for
1994 institutions, education grants for 1890 institutions, capacity
building for non-land-grant colleges of agriculture, the agriculture
and food research initiative, veterinary medicine loan repayment,
multicultural scholars, graduate fellowship and institution challenge
grants, and grants management systems shall remain available until
expended: Provided further, That each institution eligible to receive
funds under the Evans-Allen program receives no less than $1,000,000:
Provided further, That funds for education grants for Alaska Native and
Native Hawaiian-serving institutions be made available to individual
eligible institutions or consortia of eligible institutions with funds
awarded equally to each of the States of Alaska and Hawaii: Provided
further, That funds for education grants for 1890 institutions shall be
made available to institutions eligible to receive funds under 7 U.S.C.
3221 and 3222: Provided further, That not more than 5 percent of the
amounts made available by this or any other Act to carry out the
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative under 7 U.S.C. 450i(b) may be
retained by the Secretary of Agriculture to pay administrative costs
incurred by the Secretary in carrying out that authority.
native american institutions endowment fund
For the Native American Institutions Endowment Fund authorized by
Public Law 103-382 (7 U.S.C. 301 note), $11,880,000, to remain
available until expended.
extension activities
For payments to States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
Guam, the Virgin Islands, Micronesia, the Northern Marianas, and
American Samoa, $495,626,000, which shall be for the purposes, and in
the amounts, specified in the table titled ``National Institute of Food
and Agriculture, Extension Activities'' in the report accompanying this
Act: Provided, That funds for facility improvements at 1890
institutions shall remain available until expended: Provided further,
That institutions eligible to receive funds under 7 U.S.C. 3221 for
cooperative extension receive no less than $1,000,000: Provided
further, That funds for cooperative extension under sections 3(b) and
(c) of the Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343(b) and (c)) and section 208(c)
of Public Law 93-471 shall be available for retirement and employees'
compensation costs for extension agents.
integrated activities
For the integrated research, education, and extension grants
programs, including necessary administrative expenses, $37,000,000,
which shall be for the purposes, and in the amounts, specified in the
table titled ``National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Integrated
Activities'' in the report accompanying this Act: Provided, That funds
for the Food and Agriculture Defense Initiative shall remain available
until September 30, 2020: Provided further, That notwithstanding any
other provision of law, indirect costs shall not be charged against any
Extension Implementation Program Area grant awarded under the Crop
Protection/Pest Management Program (7 U.S.C. 7626).
Office of the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under Secretary for
Marketing and Regulatory Programs, $901,000: Provided, That funds made
available by this Act to an agency in the Marketing and Regulatory
Programs mission area for salaries and expenses are available to fund
up to one administrative support staff for the Office.
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
salaries and expenses
(including transfers of funds)
For necessary expenses of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service, including up to $30,000 for representation allowances and for
expenses pursuant to the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 4085),
$998,353,000, of which $470,000, to remain available until expended,
shall be available for the control of outbreaks of insects, plant
diseases, animal diseases and for control of pest animals and birds
(``contingency fund'') to the extent necessary to meet emergency
conditions; of which $11,520,000, to remain available until expended,
shall be used for the cotton pests program for cost share purposes or
for debt retirement for active eradication zones; of which $37,857,000,
to remain available until expended, shall be for Animal Health
Technical Services; of which $705,000 shall be for activities under the
authority of the Horse Protection Act of 1970, as amended (15 U.S.C.
1831); of which $62,840,000, to remain available until expended, shall
be used to support avian health; of which $4,251,000, to remain
available until expended, shall be for information technology
infrastructure; of which $189,013,000, to remain available until
expended, shall be for specialty crop pests; of which, $9,426,000, to
remain available until expended, shall be for field crop and rangeland
ecosystem pests; of which $16,523,000, to remain available until
expended, shall be for zoonotic disease management; of which
$40,966,000, to remain available until expended, shall be for emergency
preparedness and response; of which $54,000,000, to remain available
until expended, shall be for tree and wood pests; of which $5,725,000,
to remain available until expended, shall be for the National
Veterinary Stockpile; of which up to $1,500,000, to remain available
until expended, shall be for the scrapie program for indemnities; of
which $2,500,000, to remain available until expended, shall be for the
wildlife damage management program for aviation safety; of which
$10,600,000, to remain available until expended, shall be used to carry
out the science program at the National Bio- and Agro-defense Facility
located in Manhattan, Kansas; Provided, That of amounts available under
this heading for wildlife services methods development, $1,000,000
shall remain available until expended: Provided further, That of
amounts available under this heading for the screwworm program,
$4,990,000 shall remain available until expended; of which $3,000,000,
to remain available until expended, shall be for National Bio- and
Agro-Defense human capital development: Provided further, That no funds
shall be used to formulate or administer a brucellosis eradication
program for the current fiscal year that does not require minimum
matching by the States of at least 40 percent: Provided further, That
this appropriation shall be available for the operation and maintenance
of aircraft and the purchase of not to exceed five, of which two shall
be for replacement only: Provided further, That in addition, in
emergencies which threaten any segment of the agricultural production
industry of the United States, the Secretary may transfer from other
appropriations or funds available to the agencies or corporations of
the Department such sums as may be deemed necessary, to be available
only in such emergencies for the arrest and eradication of contagious
or infectious disease or pests of animals, poultry, or plants, and for
expenses in accordance with sections 10411 and 10417 of the Animal
Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8310 and 8316) and sections 431 and 442
of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7751 and 7772), and any
unexpended balances of funds transferred for such emergency purposes in
the preceding fiscal year shall be merged with such transferred
amounts: Provided further, That appropriations hereunder shall be
available pursuant to law (7 U.S.C. 2250) for the repair and alteration
of leased buildings and improvements, but unless otherwise provided the
cost of altering any one building during the fiscal year shall not
exceed 10 percent of the current replacement value of the building.
In fiscal year 2019, the agency is authorized to collect fees to
cover the total costs of providing technical assistance, goods, or
services requested by States, other political subdivisions, domestic
and international organizations, foreign governments, or individuals,
provided that such fees are structured such that any entity's liability
for such fees is reasonably based on the technical assistance, goods,
or services provided to the entity by the agency, and such fees shall
be reimbursed to this account, to remain available until expended,
without further appropriation, for providing such assistance, goods, or
services.
buildings and facilities
For plans, construction, repair, preventive maintenance,
environmental support, improvement, extension, alteration, and purchase
of fixed equipment or facilities, as authorized by 7 U.S.C. 2250, and
acquisition of land as authorized by 7 U.S.C. 428a, $3,175,000, to
remain available until expended.
Agricultural Marketing Service
marketing services
For necessary expenses of the Agricultural Marketing Service,
$153,095,000: Provided, That this appropriation shall be available
pursuant to law (7 U.S.C. 2250) for the alteration and repair of
buildings and improvements, but the cost of altering any one building
during the fiscal year shall not exceed 10 percent of the current
replacement value of the building.
Fees may be collected for the cost of standardization activities,
as established by regulation pursuant to law (31 U.S.C. 9701).
limitation on administrative expenses
Not to exceed $61,227,000 (from fees collected) shall be obligated
during the current fiscal year for administrative expenses: Provided,
That if crop size is understated and/or other uncontrollable events
occur, the agency may exceed this limitation by up to 10 percent with
notification to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of
Congress.
funds for strengthening markets, income, and supply (section 32)
(including transfers of funds)
Funds available under section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 (7
U.S.C. 612c), shall be used only for commodity program expenses as
authorized therein, and other related operating expenses, except for:
(1) transfers to the Department of Commerce as authorized by the Fish
and Wildlife Act of 1956 (16 U.S.C. 742a et seq.); (2) transfers
otherwise provided in this Act; and (3) not more than $20,705,000 for
formulation and administration of marketing agreements and orders
pursuant to the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937 and the
Agricultural Act of 1961 (Public Law 87-128).
payments to states and possessions
For payments to departments of agriculture, bureaus and departments
of markets, and similar agencies for marketing activities under section
204(b) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1623(b)),
$1,235,000.
limitation on inspection and weighing services expenses
Not to exceed $55,000,000 (from fees collected) shall be obligated
during the current fiscal year for inspection and weighing services:
Provided, That if grain export activities require additional
supervision and oversight, or other uncontrollable factors occur, this
limitation may be exceeded by up to 10 percent with notification to the
Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress.
Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under Secretary for
Food Safety, $800,000: Provided, That funds made available by this Act
to an agency in the Food Safety mission area for salaries and expenses
are available to fund up to one administrative support staff for the
Office.
Food Safety and Inspection Service
For necessary expenses to carry out services authorized by the
Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, and
the Egg Products Inspection Act, including not to exceed $10,000 for
representation allowances and for expenses pursuant to section 8 of the
Act approved August 3, 1956 (7 U.S.C. 1766), $1,049,344,000; and in
addition, $1,000,000 may be credited to this account from fees
collected for the cost of laboratory accreditation as authorized by
section 1327 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of
1990 (7 U.S.C. 138f): Provided, That funds provided for the Public
Health Data Communication Infrastructure system shall remain available
until expended: Provided further, That no fewer than 148 full-time
equivalent positions shall be employed during fiscal year 2019 for
purposes dedicated solely to inspections and enforcement related to the
Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (7 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.): Provided
further, That this appropriation shall be available pursuant to law (7
U.S.C. 2250) for the alteration and repair of buildings and
improvements, but the cost of altering any one building during the
fiscal year shall not exceed 10 percent of the current replacement
value of the building.
TITLE II
FARM PRODUCTION AND CONSERVATION PROGRAMS
Office of the Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under Secretary for
Farm Production and Conservation, $901,000: Provided, That funds made
available by this Act to an agency in the Farm Production and
Conservation mission area for salaries and expenses are available to
fund up to one administrative support staff for the Office.
Farm Production and Conservation Business Center
(including transfers of funds)
For necessary expenses of the Farm Production and Conservation
Business Center, $115,402,000, to remain available until expended.
Farm Service Agency
salaries and expenses
(including transfers of funds)
For necessary expenses of the Farm Service Agency, $1,095,769,000:
Provided, That not more than 50 percent of the $44,691,000 made
available under this heading for information technology related to farm
program delivery, including the Modernize and Innovate the Delivery of
Agricultural Systems and other farm program delivery systems, may be
obligated until the Secretary submits to the Committees on
Appropriations of both Houses of Congress, and receives written or
electronic notification of receipt from such Committees of, a plan for
expenditure that (1) identifies for each project/investment over
$25,000 (a) the functional and performance capabilities to be delivered
and the mission benefits to be realized, (b) the estimated lifecycle
cost, including estimates for development as well as maintenance and
operations, and (c) key milestones to be met; (2) demonstrates that
each project/investment is, (a) consistent with the Farm Service Agency
Information Technology Roadmap, (b) being managed in accordance with
applicable lifecycle management policies and guidance, and (c) subject
to the applicable Department's capital planning and investment control
requirements; and (3) has been reviewed by the Government
Accountability Office and approved by the Committees on Appropriations
of both Houses of Congress: Provided further, That the agency shall
submit a report by the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2018 to
the Committees on Appropriations and the Government Accountability
Office, that identifies for each project/investment that is operational
(a) current performance against key indicators of customer
satisfaction, (b) current performance of service level agreements or
other technical metrics, (c) current performance against a pre-
established cost baseline, (d) a detailed breakdown of current and
planned spending on operational enhancements or upgrades, and (e) an
assessment of whether the investment continues to meet business needs
as intended as well as alternatives to the investment: Provided
further, That the Secretary is authorized to use the services,
facilities, and authorities (but not the funds) of the Commodity Credit
Corporation to make program payments for all programs administered by
the Agency: Provided further, That other funds made available to the
Agency for authorized activities may be advanced to and merged with
this account: Provided further, That funds made available to county
committees shall remain available until expended: Provided further,
That none of the funds available to the Farm Service Agency shall be
used to close Farm Service Agency county offices: Provided further,
That none of the funds available to the Farm Service Agency shall be
used to permanently relocate county based employees that would result
in an office with two or fewer employees without prior notification and
approval of the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of
Congress.
state mediation grants
For grants pursuant to section 502(b) of the Agricultural Credit
Act of 1987, as amended (7 U.S.C. 5101-5106), $3,228,000.
grassroots source water protection program
For necessary expenses to carry out wellhead or groundwater
protection activities under section 1240O of the Food Security Act of
1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb-2), $6,500,000, to remain available until
expended.
dairy indemnity program
(including transfer of funds)
For necessary expenses involved in making indemnity payments to
dairy farmers and manufacturers of dairy products under a dairy
indemnity program, such sums as may be necessary, to remain available
until expended: Provided, That such program is carried out by the
Secretary in the same manner as the dairy indemnity program described
in the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-387, 114
Stat. 1549A-12).
agricultural credit insurance fund program account
(including transfers of funds)
For gross obligations for the principal amount of direct and
guaranteed farm ownership (7 U.S.C. 1922 et seq.) and operating (7
U.S.C. 1941 et seq.) loans, emergency loans (7 U.S.C. 1961 et seq.),
Indian tribe land acquisition loans (25 U.S.C. 488), boll weevil loans
(7 U.S.C. 1989), guaranteed conservation loans (7 U.S.C. 1924 et seq.),
and Indian highly fractionated land loans (25 U.S.C. 488) to be
available from funds in the Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund, as
follows: $2,750,000,000 for guaranteed farm ownership loans and
$1,500,000,000 for farm ownership direct loans; $1,960,000,000 for
unsubsidized guaranteed operating loans and $1,530,000,000 for direct
operating loans; emergency loans, $37,668,000; Indian tribe land
acquisition loans, $20,000,000; guaranteed conservation loans,
$150,000,000; Indian highly fractionated land loans, $10,000,000; and
for boll weevil eradication program loans, $30,000,000: Provided, That
the Secretary shall deem the pink bollworm to be a boll weevil for the
purpose of boll weevil eradication program loans.
For the cost of direct and guaranteed loans and grants, including
the cost of modifying loans as defined in section 502 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, as follows: farm operating loans,
$59,670,000 for direct operating loans, $21,168,000 for unsubsidized
guaranteed operating loans, emergency loans, $1,567,000 and $2,134,000
for Indian highly fractionated land loans to remain available until
expended.
In addition, for administrative expenses necessary to carry out the
direct and guaranteed loan programs, $328,268,000: Provided, That of
this amount, $302,117,000 shall be transferred to and merged with the
appropriation for ``Farm Service Agency, Salaries and Expenses'', of
which $11,600,000 shall be available until September 30, 2020: Provided
further, that of this amount $16,081,000 shall be transferred to and
merged with the appropriation for ``Farm Production and Conservation
Business Center, Salaries and Expenses''.
Funds appropriated by this Act to the Agricultural Credit Insurance
Program Account for farm ownership, operating and conservation direct
loans and guaranteed loans may be transferred among these programs:
Provided, That the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of
Congress are notified at least 15 days in advance of any transfer.
Risk Management Agency
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses of the Risk Management Agency, $75,419,000:
Provided, That not to exceed $1,000 shall be available for official
reception and representation expenses, as authorized by 7 U.S.C.
1506(i).
Natural Resources Conservation Service
conservation operations
For necessary expenses for carrying out the provisions of the Act
of April 27, 1935 (16 U.S.C. 590a-f), including preparation of
conservation plans and establishment of measures to conserve soil and
water (including farm irrigation and land drainage and such special
measures for soil and water management as may be necessary to prevent
floods and the siltation of reservoirs and to control agricultural
related pollutants); operation of conservation plant materials centers;
classification and mapping of soil; dissemination of information;
acquisition of lands, water, and interests therein for use in the plant
materials program by donation, exchange, or purchase at a nominal cost
not to exceed $100 pursuant to the Act of August 3, 1956 (7 U.S.C.
428a); purchase and erection or alteration or improvement of permanent
and temporary buildings; and operation and maintenance of aircraft,
$890,293,000, to remain available until September 30, 2020: Provided,
That appropriations hereunder shall be available pursuant to 7 U.S.C.
2250 for construction and improvement of buildings and public
improvements at plant materials centers, except that the cost of
alterations and improvements to other buildings and other public
improvements shall not exceed $250,000: Provided further, That when
buildings or other structures are erected on non-Federal land, that the
right to use such land is obtained as provided in 7 U.S.C. 2250a.
watershed and flood prevention operations
For necessary expenses to carry out preventive measures, including
but not limited to surveys and investigations, engineering operations,
works of improvement, and changes in use of land, in accordance with
the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1001-1005
and 1007-1009) and in accordance with the provisions of laws relating
to the activities of the Department, $150,000,000, to remain available
until expended: Provided, That for funds provided by this Act or any
other prior Act, the limitation regarding the size of the watershed or
subwatershed exceeding two hundred and fifty thousand acres in which
such activities can be undertaken shall only apply for activities
undertaken for the primary purpose of flood prevention (including
structural and land treatment measures): Provided further, That of the
amounts made available under this heading, $50,000,000 shall be
allocated to projects and activities that can commence promptly
following enactment; that address regional priorities for flood
prevention, agricultural water management, inefficient irrigation
systems, fish and wildlife habitat, or watershed protection; or that
address authorized ongoing projects under the authorities of section 13
of the Flood Control Act of December 22, 1944 (Public Law 78-534) with
a primary purpose of watershed protection by preventing floodwater
damage and stabilizing stream channels, tributaries, and banks to
reduce erosion and sediment transport.
watershed rehabilitation program
Under the authorities of section 14 of the Watershed Protection and
Flood Prevention Act, $10,000,000 is provided: Provided, That of the
amounts made available under this heading, $5,000,000 shall remain
available until expended for watershed rehabilitation projects in
states with high-hazard dams and other watershed structures and that
have recently incurred flooding events which caused fatalities.
CORPORATIONS
The following corporations and agencies are hereby authorized to
make expenditures, within the limits of funds and borrowing authority
available to each such corporation or agency and in accord with law,
and to make contracts and commitments without regard to fiscal year
limitations as provided by section 104 of the Government Corporation
Control Act as may be necessary in carrying out the programs set forth
in the budget for the current fiscal year for such corporation or
agency, except as hereinafter provided.
Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Fund
For payments as authorized by section 516 of the Federal Crop
Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1516), such sums as may be necessary, to remain
available until expended.
Commodity Credit Corporation Fund
reimbursement for net realized losses
(including transfers of funds)
For the current fiscal year, such sums as may be necessary to
reimburse the Commodity Credit Corporation for net realized losses
sustained, but not previously reimbursed, pursuant to section 2 of the
Act of August 17, 1961 (15 U.S.C. 713a-11): Provided, That of the funds
available to the Commodity Credit Corporation under section 11 of the
Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 714i) for the
conduct of its business with the Foreign Agricultural Service, up to
$5,000,000 may be transferred to and used by the Foreign Agricultural
Service for information resource management activities of the Foreign
Agricultural Service that are not related to Commodity Credit
Corporation business.
hazardous waste management
(limitation on expenses)
For the current fiscal year, the Commodity Credit Corporation shall
not expend more than $5,000,000 for site investigation and cleanup
expenses, and operations and maintenance expenses to comply with the
requirement of section 107(g) of the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9607(g)), and
section 6001 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6961).
TITLE III
RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS
Rural Development
salaries and expenses
(including transfers of funds)
For necessary expenses for carrying out the administration and
implementation of Rural Development programs, including activities with
institutions concerning the development and operation of agricultural
cooperatives; and for cooperative agreements; $236,835,000: Provided,
That no less than $6,000,000 shall be for information technology
investments: Provided further, That notwithstanding any other
provision of law, funds appropriated under this heading may be used for
advertising and promotional activities that support Rural Development
programs: Provided further, That in addition to any other funds
appropriated for purposes authorized by section 502(i) of the Housing
Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1472(i)), any amounts collected under such
section, as amended by this Act, will immediately be credited to this
account and will remain available until expended for such purposes.
Rural Housing Service
rural housing insurance fund program account
(including transfers of funds)
For gross obligations for the principal amount of direct and
guaranteed loans as authorized by title V of the Housing Act of 1949,
to be available from funds in the rural housing insurance fund, as
follows: $1,000,000,000 shall be for direct loans and $24,000,000,000
shall be for unsubsidized guaranteed loans; $28,000,000 for section 504
housing repair loans; $40,000,000 for section 515 rental housing;
$230,000,000 for section 538 guaranteed multi-family housing loans;
$10,000,000 for credit sales of single family housing acquired
property; $5,000,000 for section 523 self-help housing land development
loans; and $5,000,000 for section 524 site development loans.
For the cost of direct and guaranteed loans, including the cost of
modifying loans, as defined in section 502 of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, as follows: section 502 loans, $49,000,000 shall be for
direct loans; section 504 housing repair loans, $3,418,000; section 523
self-help housing land development loans, $430,500; section 524 site
development loans, $175,500; and repair, rehabilitation, and new
construction of section 515 rental housing, $9,484,000: Provided, That
to support the loan program level for section 538 guaranteed loans made
available under this heading the Secretary may charge or adjust any
fees to cover the projected cost of such loan guarantees pursuant to
the provisions of the Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661 et seq.),
and the interest on such loans may not be subsidized: Provided
further, That applicants in communities that have a current rural area
waiver under section 541 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490q)
shall be treated as living in a rural area for purposes of section 502
guaranteed loans provided under this heading: Provided further, That of
the amounts available under this paragraph for section 502 direct
loans, no less than $5,000,000 shall be available for direct loans for
individuals whose homes will be built pursuant to a program funded with
a mutual and self-help housing grant authorized by section 523 of the
Housing Act of 1949 until June 1, 2019: Provided further, That the
Secretary shall implement provisions to provide incentives to nonprofit
organizations and public housing authorities to facilitate the
acquisition of Rural Housing Service (RHS) multifamily housing
properties by such nonprofit organizations and public housing
authorities that commit to keep such properties in the RHS multifamily
housing program for a period of time as determined by the Secretary,
with such incentives to include, but not be limited to, the following:
allow such nonprofit entities and public housing authorities to earn a
Return on Investment on their own resources to include proceeds from
low income housing tax credit syndication, own contributions, grants,
and developer loans at favorable rates and terms, invested in a deal;
and allow reimbursement of organizational costs associated with owner's
oversight of asset referred to as ``Asset Management Fee'' of up to
$7,500 per property.
In addition, for the cost of direct loans, grants, and contracts,
as authorized by sections 514 and 516 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42
U.S.C. 1484, 1486), $16,853,000, to remain available until expended,
for direct farm labor housing loans and domestic farm labor housing
grants and contracts: Provided, That any balances available for the
Farm Labor Program Account shall be transferred to and merged with this
account.
In addition, for administrative expenses necessary to carry out the
direct and guaranteed loan programs, $412,254,000 shall be transferred
to and merged with the appropriation for ``Rural Development, Salaries
and Expenses''.
rental assistance program
For rental assistance agreements entered into or renewed pursuant
to the authority under section 521(a)(2) of the Housing Act of 1949 or
agreements entered into in lieu of debt forgiveness or payments for
eligible households as authorized by section 502(c)(5)(D) of the
Housing Act of 1949, $1,331,400,000, of which $40,000,000 shall be
available until September 30, 2020; and in addition such sums as may be
necessary, as authorized by section 521(c) of the Act, to liquidate
debt incurred prior to fiscal year 1992 to carry out the rental
assistance program under section 521(a)(2) of the Act: Provided, That
rental assistance agreements entered into or renewed during the current
fiscal year shall be funded for a one-year period: Provided further,
That any unexpended balances remaining at the end of such one-year
agreements may be transferred and used for purposes of any debt
reduction; maintenance, repair, or rehabilitation of any existing
projects; preservation; and rental assistance activities authorized
under title V of the Act: Provided further, That rental assistance
provided under agreements entered into prior to fiscal year 2019 for a
farm labor multi-family housing project financed under section 514 or
516 of the Act may not be recaptured for use in another project until
such assistance has remained unused for a period of 12 consecutive
months, if such project has a waiting list of tenants seeking such
assistance or the project has rental assistance eligible tenants who
are not receiving such assistance: Provided further, That such
recaptured rental assistance shall, to the extent practicable, be
applied to another farm labor multi-family housing project financed
under section 514 or 516 of the Act: Provided further, That except as
provided in the third proviso under this heading and notwithstanding
any other provision of the Act, the Secretary may recapture rental
assistance provided under agreements entered into prior to fiscal year
2019 for a project that the Secretary determines no longer needs rental
assistance and use such recaptured funds for current needs.
multi-family housing revitalization program account
For the rural housing voucher program as authorized under section
542 of the Housing Act of 1949, but notwithstanding subsection (b) of
such section, and for additional costs to conduct a demonstration
program for the preservation and revitalization of multi-family rental
housing properties described in this paragraph, $53,000,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That of the funds made available
under this heading, $28,000,000, shall be available for rural housing
vouchers to any low-income household (including those not receiving
rental assistance) residing in a property financed with a section 515
loan which has been prepaid after September 30, 2005: Provided
further, That the amount of such voucher shall be the difference
between comparable market rent for the section 515 unit and the tenant
paid rent for such unit: Provided further, That funds made available
for such vouchers shall be subject to the availability of annual
appropriations: Provided further, That the Secretary shall, to the
maximum extent practicable, administer such vouchers with current
regulations and administrative guidance applicable to section 8 housing
vouchers administered by the Secretary of the Department of Housing and
Urban Development: Provided further, That if the Secretary determines
that the amount made available for vouchers in this or any other Act is
not needed for vouchers, the Secretary may use such funds for the
demonstration program for the preservation and revitalization of multi-
family rental housing properties described in this paragraph: Provided
further, That of the funds made available under this heading,
$25,000,000 shall be available for a demonstration program for the
preservation and revitalization of the sections 514, 515, and 516
multi-family rental housing properties to restructure existing USDA
multi-family housing loans, as the Secretary deems appropriate,
expressly for the purposes of ensuring the project has sufficient
resources to preserve the project for the purpose of providing safe and
affordable housing for low-income residents and farm laborers including
reducing or eliminating interest; deferring loan payments,
subordinating, reducing or reamortizing loan debt; and other financial
assistance including advances, payments and incentives (including the
ability of owners to obtain reasonable returns on investment) required
by the Secretary: Provided further, That the Secretary shall as part
of the preservation and revitalization agreement obtain a restrictive
use agreement consistent with the terms of the restructuring: Provided
further, That if the Secretary determines that additional funds for
vouchers described in this paragraph are needed, funds for the
preservation and revitalization demonstration program may be used for
such vouchers: Provided further, That if Congress enacts legislation
to permanently authorize a multi-family rental housing loan
restructuring program similar to the demonstration program described
herein, the Secretary may use funds made available for the
demonstration program under this heading to carry out such legislation
with the prior approval of the Committees on Appropriations of both
Houses of Congress: Provided further, That in addition to any other
available funds, the Secretary may expend not more than $1,000,000
total, from the program funds made available under this heading, for
administrative expenses for activities funded under this heading.
mutual and self-help housing grants
For grants and contracts pursuant to section 523(b)(1)(A) of the
Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1490c), $30,000,000, to remain available
until expended.
rural housing assistance grants
For grants for very low-income housing repair and rural housing
preservation made by the Rural Housing Service, as authorized by 42
U.S.C. 1474, and 1490m, $45,000,000, to remain available until
expended.
rural community facilities program account
(including transfers of funds)
For gross obligations for the principal amount of direct and
guaranteed loans as authorized by section 306 and described in section
381E(d)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act,
$2,800,000,000 for direct loans and $200,000,000 for guaranteed loans.
For the cost of grants for rural community facilities programs as
authorized by section 306 and described in section 381E(d)(1) of the
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, $43,778,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That $4,000,000 of the amount
appropriated under this heading shall be available for a Rural
Community Development Initiative: Provided further, That such funds
shall be used solely to develop the capacity and ability of private,
nonprofit community-based housing and community development
organizations, low-income rural communities, and Federally Recognized
Native American Tribes to undertake projects to improve housing,
community facilities, community and economic development projects in
rural areas: Provided further, That such funds shall be made available
to qualified private, nonprofit and public intermediary organizations
proposing to carry out a program of financial and technical assistance:
Provided further, That such intermediary organizations shall provide
matching funds from other sources, including Federal funds for related
activities, in an amount not less than funds provided: Provided
further, That $5,778,000 of the amount appropriated under this heading
shall be to provide grants for facilities in rural communities with
extreme unemployment and severe economic depression (Public Law 106-
387), with up to 5 percent for administration and capacity building in
the State rural development offices: Provided further, That $4,000,000
of the amount appropriated under this heading shall be available for
community facilities grants to tribal colleges, as authorized by
section 306(a)(19) of such Act: Provided further, That sections 381E-H
and 381N of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act are not
applicable to the funds made available under this heading.
Rural Business--Cooperative Service
rural business program account
(including transfers of funds)
For the cost of loan guarantees and grants, for the rural business
development programs authorized by section 310B and described in
subsections (a), (c), (f) and (g) of section 310B of the Consolidated
Farm and Rural Development Act, $67,215,000, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That of the amount appropriated under this heading,
not to exceed $500,000 shall be made available for one grant to a
qualified national organization to provide technical assistance for
rural transportation in order to promote economic development and
$5,000,000 shall be for grants to the Delta Regional Authority (7
U.S.C. 2009aa et seq.) and the Appalachian Regional Commission (40
U.S.C. 14101 et seq.) for any Rural Community Advancement Program
purpose as described in section 381E(d) of the Consolidated Farm and
Rural Development Act, of which not more than 5 percent may be used for
administrative expenses: Provided further, That $4,000,000 of the
amount appropriated under this heading shall be for business grants to
benefit Federally Recognized Native American Tribes, including $250,000
for a grant to a qualified national organization to provide technical
assistance for rural transportation in order to promote economic
development: Provided further, That sections 381E-H and 381N of the
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act are not applicable to funds
made available under this heading.
intermediary relending program fund account
(including transfer of funds)
For the principal amount of direct loans, as authorized by the
Intermediary Relending Program Fund Account (7 U.S.C. 1936b),
$20,000,000.
For the cost of direct loans, $4,402,000, as authorized by the
Intermediary Relending Program Fund Account (7 U.S.C. 1936b), of which
$557,000 shall be available through June 30, 2019, for Federally
Recognized Native American Tribes. Provided, That such costs, including
the cost of modifying such loans, shall be as defined in section 502 of
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
In addition, for administrative expenses to carry out the direct
loan programs, $4,468,000 shall be transferred to and merged with the
appropriation for ``Rural Development, Salaries and Expenses''.
rural economic development loans program account
(including rescission of funds)
For the principal amount of direct loans, as authorized under
section 313 of the Rural Electrification Act, for the purpose of
promoting rural economic development and job creation projects,
$50,000,000.
Of the funds derived from the interest on the cushion of credit
payments, as authorized by section 313 of the Rural Electrification Act
of 1936, $50,000,000 shall not be obligated and $50,000,000 are
rescinded.
The cost of grants authorized under section 313 of the Rural
Electrification Act, for the purpose of promoting rural economic
development and job creation projects shall not exceed $10,000,000.
rural cooperative development grants
For rural cooperative development grants authorized under section
310B(e) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C.
1932), $27,550,000, of which $2,750,000 shall be for cooperative
agreements for the appropriate technology transfer for rural areas
program: Provided, That not to exceed $3,000,000 shall be for grants
for cooperative development centers, individual cooperatives, or groups
of cooperatives that serve socially disadvantaged groups and a majority
of the boards of directors or governing boards of which are comprised
of individuals who are members of socially disadvantaged groups; and of
which $16,000,000, to remain available until expended, shall be for
value-added agricultural product market development grants, as
authorized by section 231 of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of
2000 (7 U.S.C. 1632a), of which up to $1,000,000 may be for Agriculture
Innovation Centers authorized pursuant to section 6402 of Public Law
107-171.
rural energy for america program
For the cost of a program of loan guarantees, under the same terms
and conditions as authorized by section 9007 of the Farm Security and
Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8107), $334,500: Provided, That
the cost of loan guarantees, including the cost of modifying such
loans, shall be as defined in section 502 of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974.
Rural Utilities Service
rural water and waste disposal program account
(including transfers of funds)
For the cost of direct loans, loan guarantees, and grants for the
rural water, waste water, waste disposal, and solid waste management
programs authorized by sections 306, 306A, 306C, 306D, 306E, and 310B
and described in sections 306C(a)(2), 306D, 306E, and 381E(d)(2) of the
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, $637,690,000, to remain
available until expended, of which not to exceed $1,000,000 shall be
available for the rural utilities program described in section
306(a)(2)(B) of such Act, and of which not to exceed $1,500,000 shall
be available for the rural utilities program described in section 306E
of such Act: Provided, That not to exceed $15,000,000 of the amount
appropriated under this heading shall be for grants authorized by
section 306A(i)(2) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act
in addition to funding authorized by section 306A(i)(1) of such Act:
Provided further, That $65,000,000 of the amount appropriated under
this heading shall be for loans and grants including water and waste
disposal systems grants authorized by section 306C(a)(2)(B) and section
306D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, and Federally
Recognized Native American Tribes authorized by 306C(a)(1) of such Act:
Provided further, That funding provided for section 306D of the
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act may be provided to a
consortium formed pursuant to section 325 of Public Law 105-83:
Provided further, That not more than 2 percent of the funding provided
for section 306D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act may
be used by the State of Alaska for training and technical assistance
programs and not more than 2 percent of the funding provided for
section 306D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act may be
used by a consortium formed pursuant to section 325 of Public Law 105-
83 for training and technical assistance programs: Provided further,
That not to exceed $22,000,000 of the amount appropriated under this
heading shall be for technical assistance grants for rural water and
waste systems pursuant to section 306(a)(14) of such Act, unless the
Secretary makes a determination of extreme need, of which $8,000,000
shall be made available for a grant to a qualified nonprofit multi-
State regional technical assistance organization, with experience in
working with small communities on water and waste water problems, the
principal purpose of such grant shall be to assist rural communities
with populations of 3,300 or less, in improving the planning,
financing, development, operation, and management of water and waste
water systems, and of which not less than $800,000 shall be for a
qualified national Native American organization to provide technical
assistance for rural water systems for tribal communities: Provided
further, That not to exceed $19,000,000 of the amount appropriated
under this heading shall be for contracting with qualified national
organizations for a circuit rider program to provide technical
assistance for rural water systems: Provided further, That not to
exceed $4,000,000 shall be for solid waste management grants: Provided
further, That $10,000,000 of the amount appropriated under this heading
shall be transferred to, and merged with, the Rural Utilities Service,
High Energy Cost Grants Account to provide grants authorized under
section 19 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 918a):
Provided further, That any prior year balances for high-energy cost
grants authorized by section 19 of the Rural Electrification Act of
1936 (7 U.S.C. 918a) shall be transferred to and merged with the Rural
Utilities Service, High Energy Cost Grants Account: Provided further,
That sections 381E-H and 381N of the Consolidated Farm and Rural
Development Act are not applicable to the funds made available under
this heading.
rural electrification and telecommunications loans program account
(including transfer of funds)
The principal amount of direct and guaranteed loans as authorized
by sections 305, 306, and 317 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936
(7 U.S.C. 935, 936, and 940g) shall be made as follows: loans made
pursuant to sections 305, 306, and 317, notwithstanding 317(c), of that
Act, rural electric, $5,500,000,000; guaranteed underwriting loans
pursuant to section 313A, $750,000,000; 5 percent rural
telecommunications loans, cost of money rural telecommunications loans,
and for loans made pursuant to section 306 of that Act, rural
telecommunications loans, $690,000,000: Provided, That up to
$2,000,000,000 shall be used for the construction, acquisition, or
improvement of fossil-fueled electric generating plants (whether new or
existing) that utilize carbon sequestration systems.
For the cost of direct loans as authorized by section 305 of the
Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 935), including the cost of
modifying loans, as defined in section 502 of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, cost of money rural telecommunications loans, $1,125,000.
In addition, for administrative expenses necessary to carry out the
direct and guaranteed loan programs, $33,270,000, which shall be
transferred to and merged with the appropriation for ``Rural
Development, Salaries and Expenses''.
distance learning, telemedicine, and broadband program
For the principal amount of broadband telecommunication loans,
$29,851,000.
For grants for telemedicine and distance learning services in rural
areas, as authorized by 7 U.S.C. 950aaa et seq., $35,000,000, to remain
available until expended: Provided, That $3,000,000 shall be made
available for grants authorized by 379G of the Consolidated Farm and
Rural Development Act: Provided further, That funding provided under
this heading for grants under 379G of the Consolidated Farm and Rural
Development Act may only be provided to entities that meet all of the
eligibility criteria for a consortium as established by this section.
For the cost of broadband loans, as authorized by section 601 of
the Rural Electrification Act, $5,829,900, to remain available until
expended: Provided, That the cost of direct loans shall be as defined
in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
In addition, $30,000,000, to remain available until expended, for a
grant program to finance broadband transmission in rural areas eligible
for Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program benefits authorized by 7
U.S.C. 950aaa.
TITLE IV
DOMESTIC FOOD PROGRAMS
Office of the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer
Services
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under Secretary for
Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, $800,000: Provided, That funds
made available by this Act to an agency in the Food, Nutrition, and
Consumer Services mission area for salaries and expenses are available
to fund up to one administrative support staff for the Office.
Food and Nutrition Service
child nutrition programs
(including transfers of funds)
For necessary expenses to carry out the Richard B. Russell National
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.), except section 21, and the
Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), except sections
17 and 21; $23,183,512,000 to remain available through September 30,
2020, of which such sums as are made available under section
14222(b)(1) of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Public
Law 110-246), as amended by this Act, shall be merged with and
available for the same time period and purposes as provided herein:
Provided, That of the total amount available, $17,004,000 shall be
available to carry out section 19 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966
(42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.): Provided further, That of the total amount
available, $30,000,000 shall be available to provide competitive grants
to State agencies for subgrants to local educational agencies and
schools to purchase the equipment, with a value of greater than $1,000,
needed to serve healthier meals, improve food safety, and to help
support the establishment, maintenance, or expansion of the school
breakfast program: Provided further, That of the total amount
available, $28,000,000 shall remain available until expended to carry
out section 749(g) of the Agriculture Appropriations Act of 2010
(Public Law 111-80): Provided further, That section 26(d) of the
Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769g(d)) is
amended in the first sentence by striking ``2010 through 2018'' and
inserting ``2010 through 2019'': Provided further, That section 9(h)(3)
of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C.
1758(h)(3)) is amended in the first sentence by striking ``For fiscal
year 2018'' and inserting ``For fiscal year 2019'': Provided further,
That section 9(h)(4) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch
Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(h)(4)) is amended in the first sentence by striking
``For fiscal year 2018'' and inserting ``For fiscal year 2019''.
special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children
(wic)
For necessary expenses to carry out the special supplemental
nutrition program as authorized by section 17 of the Child Nutrition
Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), $6,000,000,000, to remain available
through September 30, 2020: Provided, That notwithstanding section
17(h)(10) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(h)(10)),
not less than $60,000,000 shall be used for breastfeeding peer
counselors and other related activities, and $14,000,000 shall be used
for infrastructure: Provided further, That none of the funds provided
in this account shall be available for the purchase of infant formula
except in accordance with the cost containment and competitive bidding
requirements specified in section 17 of such Act: Provided further,
That none of the funds provided shall be available for activities that
are not fully reimbursed by other Federal Government departments or
agencies unless authorized by section 17 of such Act: Provided further,
That upon termination of a federally mandated vendor moratorium and
subject to terms and conditions established by the Secretary, the
Secretary may waive the requirement at 7 CFR 246.12(g)(6) at the
request of a State agency.
supplemental nutrition assistance program
For necessary expenses to carry out the Food and Nutrition Act of
2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), $73,219,274,000, of which $3,000,000,000,
to remain available through December 31, 2020, shall be placed in
reserve for use only in such amounts and at such times as may become
necessary to carry out program operations: Provided, That funds
provided herein shall be expended in accordance with section 16 of the
Food and Nutrition Act of 2008: Provided further, That of the funds
made available under this heading, $998,000 may be used to provide
nutrition education services to State agencies and Federally Recognized
Tribes participating in the Food Distribution Program on Indian
Reservations: Provided further, That this appropriation shall be
subject to any work registration or workfare requirements as may be
required by law: Provided further, That funds made available for
Employment and Training under this heading shall remain available
through September 30, 2020: Provided further, That funds made available
under this heading for section 28(d)(1), section 4(b), and section
27(a) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 shall remain available
through September 30, 2020: Provided further, That none of the funds
made available under this heading may be obligated or expended in
contravention of section 213A of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1183A): Provided further, That, subject to section 737 of this
Act, funds made available under this heading may be used to enter into
contracts and employ staff to conduct studies, evaluations, or to
conduct activities related to program integrity provided that such
activities are authorized by the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.
commodity assistance program
For necessary expenses to carry out disaster assistance and the
Commodity Supplemental Food Program as authorized by section 4(a) of
the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973 (7 U.S.C. 612c
note); the Emergency Food Assistance Act of 1983; special assistance
for the nuclear affected islands, as authorized by section 103(f)(2) of
the Compact of Free Association Amendments Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-
188); and the Farmers' Market Nutrition Program, as authorized by
section 17(m) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966, $306,910,000, to
remain available through September 30, 2020: Provided, That none of
these funds shall be available to reimburse the Commodity Credit
Corporation for commodities donated to the program: Provided further,
That notwithstanding any other provision of law, effective with funds
made available in fiscal year 2019 to support the Seniors Farmers'
Market Nutrition Program, as authorized by section 4402 of the Farm
Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, such funds shall remain
available through September 30, 2020: Provided further, That of the
funds made available under section 27(a) of the Food and Nutrition Act
of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2036(a)), the Secretary may use up to 15 percent for
costs associated with the distribution of commodities.
nutrition programs administration
For necessary administrative expenses of the Food and Nutrition
Service for carrying out any domestic nutrition assistance program,
$162,838,000, of which $12,297,000 shall remain available through
September 30, 2021, for the development and dissemination of the
Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Provided, That of the funds provided
herein, $2,000,000 shall be used for the purposes of section 4404 of
Public Law 107-171, as amended by section 4401 of Public Law 110-246.
TITLE V
FOREIGN ASSISTANCE AND RELATED PROGRAMS
Office of the Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural
Affairs
For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under Secretary for
Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, $875,000: Provided, That funds
made available by this Act to any agency in the Trade and Foreign
Agricultural Affairs mission area for salaries and expenses are
available to fund up to one administrative support staff for the
Office.
office of codex alimentarius
For necessary expenses of the Office of Codex Alimentarius,
$3,796,000 including not to exceed $40,000 for official reception and
representation expenses.
Foreign Agricultural Service
salaries and expenses
(including transfers of funds)
For necessary expenses of the Foreign Agricultural Service,
including not to exceed $250,000 for representation allowances and for
expenses pursuant to section 8 of the Act approved August 3, 1956 (7
U.S.C. 1766), $204,138,000, for overseas operations to include the
payment of locally employed staff: Provided, That the Service may
utilize advances of funds, or reimburse this appropriation for
expenditures made on behalf of Federal agencies, public and private
organizations and institutions under agreements executed pursuant to
the agricultural food production assistance programs (7 U.S.C. 1737)
and the foreign assistance programs of the United States Agency for
International Development: Provided further, That funds made available
for middle-income country training programs, funds made available for
the Borlaug International Agricultural Science and Technology
Fellowship program, and up to $2,000,000 of the Foreign Agricultural
Service appropriation solely for the purpose of offsetting fluctuations
in international currency exchange rates, subject to documentation by
the Foreign Agricultural Service, shall remain available until
expended.
food for peace title i direct credit and food for progress program
account
(including transfer of funds)
For administrative expenses to carry out the credit program of
title I, Food for Peace Act (Public Law 83-480) and the Food for
Progress Act of 1985, $142,000, shall be transferred to and merged with
the appropriation for ``Farm Service Agency, Salaries and Expenses''.
food for peace title ii grants
For expenses during the current fiscal year, not otherwise
recoverable, and unrecovered prior years' costs, including interest
thereon, under the Food for Peace Act (Public Law 83-480), for
commodities supplied in connection with dispositions abroad under title
II of said Act, $1,500,000,000, to remain available until expended:
Provided, That the Administrator of the United States Agency for
International Development shall in each instance notify in writing the
Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress, the Committee
on Agriculture of the House, the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House, and the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and
make publicly available online the amount and use of authority in
section 202(a) of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1722(a)) to
notwithstand the minimum level of nonemergency assistance required by
section 412(e)(2) of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1736f(e)(2)) not
later than 15 days after the date of such action.
mcgovern-dole international food for education and child nutrition
program grants
For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of section 3107
of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 1736o-
1), $207,626,000, to remain available until expended, of which
$1,000,000 is for the use of recently developed potable water
technologies in school feeding projects: Provided, That the Commodity
Credit Corporation is authorized to provide the services, facilities,
and authorities for the purpose of implementing such section, subject
to reimbursement from amounts provided herein.
commodity credit corporation export (loans) credit guarantee program
account
(including transfers of funds)
For administrative expenses to carry out the Commodity Credit
Corporation's Export Guarantee Program, GSM 102 and GSM 103,
$9,180,000; to cover common overhead expenses as permitted by section
11 of the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act and in conformity
with the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990, of which $6,717,000 shall
be transferred to and merged with the appropriation for ``Foreign
Agricultural Service, Salaries and Expenses'', and of which $2,463,000
shall be transferred to and merged with the appropriation for ``Farm
Service Agency, Salaries and Expenses''.
TITLE VI
RELATED AGENCIES AND FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION
Department of Health and Human Services
food and drug administration
salaries and expenses
For necessary expenses of the Food and Drug Administration,
including hire and purchase of passenger motor vehicles; for payment of
space rental and related costs pursuant to Public Law 92-313 for
programs and activities of the Food and Drug Administration which are
included in this Act; for rental of special purpose space in the
District of Columbia or elsewhere; in addition to amounts appropriated
to the FDA Innovation Account, for carrying out the activities
described in section 1002(b)(4) of the 21st Century Cures Act (Public
Law 114-255); for miscellaneous and emergency expenses of enforcement
activities, authorized and approved by the Secretary and to be
accounted for solely on the Secretary's certificate, not to exceed
$25,000; and notwithstanding section 521 of Public Law 107-188;
$5,568,010,000: Provided, That of the amount provided under this
heading, $960,568,000 shall be derived from prescription drug user fees
authorized by 21 U.S.C. 379h, and shall be credited to this account and
remain available until expended; $196,668,000 shall be derived from
medical device user fees authorized by 21 U.S.C. 379j, and shall be
credited to this account and remain available until expended;
$501,396,000 shall be derived from human generic drug user fees
authorized by 21 U.S.C. 379j-42, and shall be credited to this account
and remain available until expended; $40,922,000 shall be derived from
biosimilar biological product user fees authorized by 21 U.S.C. 379j-
52, and shall be credited to this account and remain available until
expended; $30,331,000 shall be derived from animal drug user fees
authorized by 21 U.S.C. 379j-12, and shall be credited to this account
and remain available until expended; $18,336,000 shall be derived from
generic new animal drug user fees authorized by 21 U.S.C. 379j-21, and
shall be credited to this account and remain available until expended;
$712,000,000 shall be derived from tobacco product user fees authorized
by 21 U.S.C. 387s, and shall be credited to this account and remain
available until expended: Provided further, That in addition to and
notwithstanding any other provision under this heading, amounts
collected for prescription drug user fees, medical device user fees,
human generic drug user fees, biosimilar biological product user fees,
animal drug user fees, and generic new animal drug user fees that
exceed the respective fiscal year 2019 limitations are appropriated and
shall be credited to this account and remain available until expended:
Provided further, That fees derived from prescription drug, medical
device, human generic drug, biosimilar biological product, animal drug,
and generic new animal drug assessments for fiscal year 2019, including
any such fees collected prior to fiscal year 2019 but credited for
fiscal year 2019, shall be subject to the fiscal year 2019 limitations:
Provided further, That the Secretary may accept payment during fiscal
year 2019 of user fees specified under this heading and authorized for
fiscal year 2020, prior to the due date for such fees, and that amounts
of such fees assessed for fiscal year 2020 for which the Secretary
accepts payment in fiscal year 2019 shall not be included in amounts
under this heading: Provided further, That none of these funds shall be
used to develop, establish, or operate any program of user fees
authorized by 31 U.S.C. 9701: Provided further, That of the total
amount appropriated: (1) $1,039,675,000 shall be for the Center for
Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and related field activities in the
Office of Regulatory Affairs; (2) $1,839,411,000 shall be for the
Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and related field activities in
the Office of Regulatory Affairs; (3) $389,731,000 shall be for the
Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research and for related field
activities in the Office of Regulatory Affairs; (4) $220,397,000 shall
be for the Center for Veterinary Medicine and for related field
activities in the Office of Regulatory Affairs; (5) $564,905,000 shall
be for the Center for Devices and Radiological Health and for related
field activities in the Office of Regulatory Affairs; (6) $65,331,000
shall be for the National Center for Toxicological Research; (7)
$662,043,000 shall be for the Center for Tobacco Products and for
related field activities in the Office of Regulatory Affairs; (8) not
to exceed $195,933,000 shall be for Rent and Related activities, of
which $57,373,000 is for White Oak Consolidation, other than the
amounts paid to the General Services Administration for rent; (9) not
to exceed $239,716,000 shall be for payments to the General Services
Administration for rent; and (10) $350,868,000 shall be for other
activities, including the Office of the Commissioner of Food and Drugs,
the Office of Foods and Veterinary Medicine, the Office of Medical and
Tobacco Products, the Office of Global and Regulatory Policy, the
Office of Operations, the Office of the Chief Scientist, and central
services for these offices: Provided further, That not to exceed
$25,000 of this amount shall be for official reception and
representation expenses, not otherwise provided for, as determined by
the Commissioner: Provided further, That any transfer of funds pursuant
to section 770(n) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21
U.S.C. 379dd(n)) shall only be from amounts made available under this
heading for other activities: Provided further, That of the amounts
that are made available under this heading for ``other activities'',
and that are not derived from user fees, $1,500,000 shall be
transferred to and merged with the appropriation for ``Department of
Health and Human Services--Office of Inspector General'' for oversight
of the programs and operations of the Food and Drug Administration and
shall be in addition to funds otherwise made available for oversight of
the Food and Drug Administration: Provided further, That of the total
amount made available under this heading, $3,000,000 shall be used by
the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, in coordination with the Secretary
of Agriculture, for consumer outreach and education regarding
agricultural biotechnology and biotechnology-derived food products and
animal feed, including through publication and distribution of science-
based educational information on the environmental, nutritional, food
safety, economic, and humanitarian impacts of such biotechnology, food
products, and feed: Provided further, That $50,000,000 of the amount
allocated to the Center for Tobacco Products from tobacco product user
fees authorized by section 919 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act in fiscal years 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022, shall be used by the
Secretary to develop, establish, and operate a Youth Vapor Product
Education, Prevention, and Enforcement Program, to include consumer
outreach and education targeted to the use of vapor products by minors,
optional grants to school systems, nonprofit public health entities,
and other qualifying entities for programs and initiatives aimed at
youth vapor product and tobacco product prevention, and enforcement of
provisions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act relating to
youth access to vapor products: Provided further, That funds may be
transferred from one specified activity to another with the prior
approval of the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of
Congress.
In addition, mammography user fees authorized by 42 U.S.C. 263b,
export certification user fees authorized by 21 U.S.C. 381, priority
review user fees authorized by 21 U.S.C. 360n and 360ff, food and feed
recall fees, food reinspection fees, and voluntary qualified importer
program fees authorized by 21 U.S.C. 379j-31, outsourcing facility fees
authorized by 21 U.S.C. 379j-62, prescription drug wholesale
distributor licensing and inspection fees authorized by 21 U.S.C.
353(e)(3), third-party logistics provider licensing and inspection fees
authorized by 21 U.S.C. 360eee-3(c)(1), third-party auditor fees
authorized by 21 U.S.C. 384d(c)(8), and medical countermeasure priority
review voucher user fees authorized by 21 U.S.C. 360bbb-4a, shall be
credited to this account, to remain available until expended.
buildings and facilities
For plans, construction, repair, improvement, extension,
alteration, demolition, and purchase of fixed equipment or facilities
of or used by the Food and Drug Administration, where not otherwise
provided, $11,788,000, to remain available until expended.
fda innovation account, cures act
For necessary expenses to carry out the purposes described under
section 1002(b)(4) of the 21st Century Cures Act, in addition to
amounts available for such purposes under the heading ``Salaries and
Expenses'', $70,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided,
That amounts appropriated in this paragraph are appropriated pursuant
to section 1002(b)(3) of the 21st Century Cures Act, are to be derived
from amounts transferred under section 1002(b)(2)(A) of such Act, and
may be transferred by the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to the
appropriation for ``Department of Health and Human Services Food and
Drug Administration Salaries and Expenses'' solely for the purposes
provided in such Act: Provided further, That upon a determination by
the Commissioner that funds transferred pursuant to the previous
proviso are not necessary for the purposes provided, such amounts may
be transferred back to the account: Provided further, That such
transfer authority is in addition to any other transfer authority
provided by law.
INDEPENDENT AGENCIES
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
For necessary expenses to carry out the provisions of the Commodity
Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), including the purchase and hire of
passenger motor vehicles, and the rental of space (to include multiple
year leases), in the District of Columbia and elsewhere, $255,000,000,
including not to exceed $3,000 for official reception and
representation expenses, and not to exceed $25,000 for the expenses for
consultations and meetings hosted by the Commission with foreign
governmental and other regulatory officials, of which not less than
$50,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2020, shall be for
the purchase of information technology and of which not less than
$3,000,000 shall be for expenses of the Office of the Inspector
General: Provided, That notwithstanding the limitations in 31 U.S.C.
1553, amounts provided under this heading are available for the
liquidation of obligations equal to current year payments on leases
entered into prior to the date of enactment of this Act: Provided
further, That for the purpose of recording and liquidating any lease
obligations that should have been recorded and liquidated against
accounts closed pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 1552, and consistent with the
preceding proviso, such amounts shall be transferred to and recorded in
a no-year account in the Treasury, which has been established for the
sole purpose of recording adjustments for and liquidating such unpaid
obligations: Provided further, That if any furlough or reduction-in-
force of personnel at the Commission occurs as a result of an action
under 5 U.S.C. 7119, the Commission shall submit a report to the
Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the
Senate no later than 30 days after the furlough or reduction-in-force
occurs detailing the agency's reasoning for conducting a furlough or
reduction-in-force: Provided further, That in the report the Commission
shall explain why the furlough or reduction-in-force was the only
reasonable course of action in response to an action taken under 5
U.S.C. 7119: Provided further, That after the conclusion of any
furlough or reduction-in-force of the Commission in response to an
action taken under 5 U.S.C. 7119, the Comptroller General shall submit
to the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate and the House of
Representatives a report that describes (1) the long-term cost of any
pay increases the Commission must make in response to an action taken
under 5 U.S.C. 7119; and (2) the operational impact of the furlough or
reduction-in-force.
Farm Credit Administration
limitation on administrative expenses
Not to exceed $74,600,000 (from assessments collected from farm
credit institutions, including the Federal Agricultural Mortgage
Corporation) shall be obligated during the current fiscal year for
administrative expenses as authorized under 12 U.S.C. 2249: Provided,
That this limitation shall not apply to expenses associated with
receiverships: Provided further, That the agency may exceed this
limitation by up to 10 percent with notification to the Committees on
Appropriations of both Houses of Congress.
TITLE VII
GENERAL PROVISIONS
(including rescissions and transfers of funds)
Sec. 701. Within the unit limit of cost fixed by law,
appropriations and authorizations made for the Department of
Agriculture for the current fiscal year under this Act shall be
available for the purchase, in addition to those specifically provided
for, of not to exceed 71 passenger motor vehicles of which 68 shall be
for replacement only, and for the hire of such vehicles: Provided, That
notwithstanding this section, the only purchase of new passenger
vehicles shall be for those determined by the Secretary to be necessary
for transportation safety, to reduce operational costs, and for the
protection of life, property, and public safety.
Sec. 702. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the
Secretary of Agriculture may transfer unobligated balances of
discretionary funds appropriated by this Act or any other available
unobligated discretionary balances that are remaining available of the
Department of Agriculture to the Working Capital Fund for the
acquisition of plant and capital equipment necessary for the delivery
of financial, administrative, and information technology services of
primary benefit to the agencies of the Department of Agriculture, such
transferred funds to remain available until expended: Provided, That
none of the funds made available by this Act or any other Act shall be
transferred to the Working Capital Fund without the prior approval of
the agency administrator: Provided further, That none of the funds
transferred to the Working Capital Fund pursuant to this section shall
be available for obligation without written notification to and the
prior approval of the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of
Congress: Provided further, That none of the funds appropriated by this
Act or made available to the Department's Working Capital Fund shall be
available for obligation or expenditure to make any changes to the
Department's National Finance Center without written notification to
and prior approval of the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses
of Congress as required by section 717 of this Act: Provided further,
That none of the funds appropriated by this Act or made available to
the Department's Working Capital Fund shall be available for obligation
or expenditure to initiate, plan, develop, implement, or make any
changes to remove or relocate any systems, missions, or functions of
the offices of the Chief Financial Officer or any personnel from the
National Finance Center prior to written notification to and prior
approval of the Committee on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress
and in accordance with the requirements of section 717 of this Act:
Provided further, That the Secretary of Agriculture and the offices of
the Chief Financial Officer shall actively market to existing and new
Departments and other government agencies National Finance Center
shared services including, but not limited to, payroll, financial
management, and human capital shared services and allow the National
Finance Center to perform technology upgrades: Provided further, That
of annual income amounts in the Working Capital Fund of the Department
of Agriculture attributable to the amounts in excess of the true costs
of the shared services provided by the National Finance Center and
budgeted for the National Finance Center, the Secretary shall reserve
not more than 4 percent for the replacement or acquisition of capital
equipment, including equipment for the improvement, delivery, and
implementation of financial, administrative, and information technology
services, and other systems of the National Finance Center or to pay
any unforeseen, extraordinary cost of the National Finance Center:
Provided further, That none of the amounts reserved shall be available
for obligation unless the Secretary submits written notification of the
obligation to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of
Congress: Provided further, That the limitations on the obligation of
funds pending notification to Congressional Committees shall not apply
to any obligation that, as determined by the Secretary, is necessary to
respond to a declared state of emergency that significantly impacts the
operations of the National Finance Center; or to evacuate employees of
the National Finance Center to a safe haven to continue operations of
the National Finance Center.
Sec. 703. No part of any appropriation contained in this Act shall
remain available for obligation beyond the current fiscal year unless
expressly so provided herein.
Sec. 704. No funds appropriated by this Act may be used to pay
negotiated indirect cost rates on cooperative agreements or similar
arrangements between the United States Department of Agriculture and
nonprofit institutions in excess of 10 percent of the total direct cost
of the agreement when the purpose of such cooperative arrangements is
to carry out programs of mutual interest between the two parties. This
does not preclude appropriate payment of indirect costs on grants and
contracts with such institutions when such indirect costs are computed
on a similar basis for all agencies for which appropriations are
provided in this Act.
Sec. 705. Appropriations to the Department of Agriculture for the
cost of direct and guaranteed loans made available in the current
fiscal year shall remain available until expended to disburse
obligations made in the current fiscal year for the following accounts:
the Rural Development Loan Fund program account, the Rural
Electrification and Telecommunication Loans program account, and the
Rural Housing Insurance Fund program account.
Sec. 706. None of the funds made available to the Department of
Agriculture by this Act may be used to acquire new information
technology systems or significant upgrades, as determined by the Office
of the Chief Information Officer, without the approval of the Chief
Information Officer and the concurrence of the Executive Information
Technology Investment Review Board: Provided, That notwithstanding any
other provision of law, none of the funds appropriated or otherwise
made available by this Act may be transferred to the Office of the
Chief Information Officer without written notification to and the prior
approval of the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of
Congress: Provided further, That, notwithstanding section 11319 of
title 40, United States Code, none of the funds available to the
Department of Agriculture for information technology shall be obligated
for projects, contracts, or other agreements over $25,000 prior to
receipt of written approval by the Chief Information Officer: Provided
further, That the Chief Information Officer may authorize an agency to
obligate funds without written approval from the Chief Information
Officer for projects, contracts, or other agreements up to $250,000
based upon the performance of an agency measured against the
performance plan requirements described in the explanatory statement
accompanying Public Law 113-235.
Sec. 707. Funds made available under section 524(b) of the Federal
Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1524(b)) in the current fiscal year shall
remain available until expended to disburse obligations made in the
current fiscal year.
Sec. 708. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any former
RUS borrower that has repaid or prepaid an insured, direct or
guaranteed loan under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, or any
not-for-profit utility that is eligible to receive an insured or direct
loan under such Act, shall be eligible for assistance under section
313(b)(2)(B) of such Act in the same manner as a borrower under such
Act.
Sec. 709. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, not
more than $20,000,000 in unobligated balances from appropriations made
available for salaries and expenses in this Act for the Farm Service
Agency shall remain available through September 30, 2020, for
information technology expenses: Provided, That except as otherwise
specifically provided by law, unobligated balances from appropriations
made available for salaries and expenses in this Act for the Rural
Development mission area shall remain available through September 30,
2020, for information technology expenses.
Sec. 710. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available by this Act may be used for first-class travel by the
employees of agencies funded by this Act in contravention of sections
301-10.122 through 301-10.124 of title 41, Code of Federal Regulations.
Sec. 711. In the case of each program established or amended by
the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-79), other than by title I
or subtitle A of title III of such Act, or programs for which
indefinite amounts were provided in that Act, that is authorized or
required to be carried out using funds of the Commodity Credit
Corporation--
(1) such funds shall be available for salaries and related
administrative expenses, including technical assistance,
associated with the implementation of the program, without
regard to the limitation on the total amount of allotments and
fund transfers contained in section 11 of the Commodity Credit
Corporation Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 714i); and
(2) the use of such funds for such purpose shall not be
considered to be a fund transfer or allotment for purposes of
applying the limitation on the total amount of allotments and
fund transfers contained in such section.
Sec. 712. Of the funds made available by this Act, not more than
$2,900,000 shall be used to cover necessary expenses of activities
related to all advisory committees, panels, commissions, and task
forces of the Department of Agriculture, except for panels used to
comply with negotiated rule makings and panels used to evaluate
competitively awarded grants.
Sec. 713. None of the funds in this Act shall be available to pay
indirect costs charged against any agricultural research, education, or
extension grant awards issued by the National Institute of Food and
Agriculture that exceed 30 percent of total Federal funds provided
under each award: Provided, That notwithstanding section 1462 of the
National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of
1977 (7 U.S.C. 3310), funds provided by this Act for grants awarded
competitively by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture shall
be available to pay full allowable indirect costs for each grant
awarded under section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638).
Sec. 714. (a) None of the funds made available in this Act may be
used to maintain or establish a computer network unless such network
blocks the viewing, downloading, and exchanging of pornography.
(b) Nothing in subsection (a) shall limit the use of funds
necessary for any Federal, State, tribal, or local law enforcement
agency or any other entity carrying out criminal investigations,
prosecution, or adjudication activities.
Sec. 715. Notwithstanding subsection (b) of section 14222 of
Public Law 110-246 (7 U.S.C. 612c-6; in this section referred to as
``section 14222''), none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available by this or any other Act shall be used to pay the salaries
and expenses of personnel to carry out a program under section 32 of
the Act of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c; in this section referred to
as ``section 32'') in excess of $1,299,600,000 (exclusive of carryover
appropriations from prior fiscal years), as follows: Child Nutrition
Programs Entitlement Commodities--$485,000,000; State Option
Contracts--$5,000,000; Removal of Defective Commodities--$2,500,000;
Administration of Section 32 Commodity Purchases--$35,853,000:
Provided, That of the total funds made available in the matter
preceding this proviso that remain unobligated on October 1, 2019, such
unobligated balances shall carryover into fiscal year 2020 and shall
remain available until expended for any of the three stated purposes of
section 32, except that any such carryover funds used in accordance
with clause (3) of section 32 may not exceed $350,000,000 and may not
be obligated until the Secretary of Agriculture provides written
notification of the expenditures to the Committees on Appropriations of
both Houses of Congress at least two weeks in advance: Provided
further, That, with the exception of any available carryover funds
authorized in any prior appropriations Act to be used for the purposes
of clause (3) of section 32, none of the funds appropriated or
otherwise made available by this or any other Act shall be used to pay
the salaries or expenses of any employee of the Department of
Agriculture to carry out clause (3) of section 32.
Sec. 716. None of the funds appropriated by this or any other Act
shall be used to pay the salaries and expenses of personnel who prepare
or submit appropriations language as part of the President's budget
submission to the Congress for programs under the jurisdiction of the
Appropriations Subcommittees on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food
and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies that assumes revenues or
reflects a reduction from the previous year due to user fees proposals
that have not been enacted into law prior to the submission of the
budget unless such budget submission identifies which additional
spending reductions should occur in the event the user fees proposals
are not enacted prior to the date of the convening of a committee of
conference for the fiscal year 2020 appropriations Act.
Sec. 717. (a) None of the funds provided by this Act, or provided
by previous appropriations Acts to the agencies funded by this Act that
remain available for obligation or expenditure in the current fiscal
year, or provided from any accounts in the Treasury derived by the
collection of fees available to the agencies funded by this Act, shall
be available for obligation or expenditure through a reprogramming,
transfer of funds, or reimbursements as authorized by the Economy Act,
or in the case of the Department of Agriculture, through use of the
authority provided by section 702(b) of the Department of Agriculture
Organic Act of 1944 (7 U.S.C. 2257) or section 8 of Public Law 89-106
(7 U.S.C. 2263), that--
(1) creates new programs;
(2) eliminates a program, project, or activity;
(3) increases funds or personnel by any means for any
project or activity for which funds have been denied or
restricted;
(4) relocates an office or employees;
(5) reorganizes offices, programs, or activities; or
(6) contracts out or privatizes any functions or activities
presently performed by Federal employees;
unless the Secretary of Agriculture, the Chairman of the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission, or the Secretary of Health and Human
Services (as the case may be) notifies in writing and receives approval
from the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress at
least 30 days in advance of the reprogramming of such funds or the use
of such authority.
(b) None of the funds provided by this Act, or provided by previous
Appropriations Acts to the agencies funded by this Act that remain
available for obligation or expenditure in the current fiscal year, or
provided from any accounts in the Treasury derived by the collection of
fees available to the agencies funded by this Act, shall be available
for obligation or expenditure for activities, programs, or projects
through a reprogramming or use of the authorities referred to in
subsection (a) involving funds in excess of $500,000 or 10 percent,
whichever is less, that--
(1) augments existing programs, projects, or activities;
(2) reduces by 10 percent funding for any existing program,
project, or activity, or numbers of personnel by 10 percent as
approved by Congress; or
(3) results from any general savings from a reduction in
personnel which would result in a change in existing programs,
activities, or projects as approved by Congress; unless the
Secretary of Agriculture, the Chairman of the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission, or the Secretary of Health and Human
Services (as the case may be) notifies in writing and receives
approval from the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses
of Congress at least 30 days in advance of the reprogramming or
transfer of such funds or the use of such authority.
(c) The Secretary of Agriculture, the Chairman of the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission, or the Secretary of Health and Human
Services shall notify in writing and receive approval from the
Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress before
implementing any program or activity not carried out during the
previous fiscal year unless the program or activity is funded by this
Act or specifically funded by any other Act.
(d) None of the funds provided by this Act, or provided by previous
Appropriations Acts to the agencies funded by this Act that remain
available for obligation or expenditure in the current fiscal year, or
provided from any accounts in the Treasury derived by the collection of
fees available to the agencies funded by this Act, shall be available
for--
(1) modifying major capital investments funding levels,
including information technology systems, that involves
increasing or decreasing funds in the current fiscal year for
the individual investment in excess of $500,000 or 10 percent
of the total cost, whichever is less;
(2) realigning or reorganizing new, current, or vacant
positions or agency activities or functions to establish a
center, office, branch, or similar entity with five or more
personnel; or
(3) carrying out activities or functions that were not
described in the budget request; unless the agencies funded by
this Act notify, in writing, the Committees on Appropriations
of both Houses of Congress at least 30 days in advance of using
the funds for these purposes.
(e) As described in this section, no funds may be used for any
activities unless the Secretary of Agriculture, the Chairman of the
Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or the Secretary of Health and
Human Services receives from the Committee on Appropriations of both
Houses of Congress written or electronic mail confirmation of receipt
of the notification as required in this section.
Sec. 718. Notwithstanding section 310B(g)(5) of the Consolidated
Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(g)(5)), the Secretary may
assess a one-time fee for any guaranteed business and industry loan in
an amount that does not exceed 3 percent of the guaranteed principal
portion of the loan.
Sec. 719. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available to the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug
Administration, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or the Farm
Credit Administration shall be used to transmit or otherwise make
available reports, questions, or responses to questions that are a
result of information requested for the appropriations hearing process
to any non-Department of Agriculture, non-Department of Health and
Human Services, non-Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or non-Farm
Credit Administration employee.
Sec. 720. Unless otherwise authorized by existing law, none of the
funds provided in this Act, may be used by an executive branch agency
to produce any prepackaged news story intended for broadcast or
distribution in the United States unless the story includes a clear
notification within the text or audio of the prepackaged news story
that the prepackaged news story was prepared or funded by that
executive branch agency.
Sec. 721. No employee of the Department of Agriculture may be
detailed or assigned from an agency or office funded by this Act or any
other Act to any other agency or office of the Department for more than
60 days in a fiscal year unless the individual's employing agency or
office is fully reimbursed by the receiving agency or office for the
salary and expenses of the employee for the period of assignment.
Sec. 722. Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Commissioner of the Food
and Drug Administration, the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission, and the Chairman of the Farm Credit Administration shall
submit to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a
detailed spending plan by program, project, and activity for all the
funds made available under this Act including appropriated user fees,
as defined in the report accompanying this Act.
Sec. 723. Of the unobligated balances from amounts made available
for the supplemental nutrition program as authorized by section 17 of
the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), $300,000,000 are
hereby rescinded.
Sec. 724. The Secretary shall continue an intermediary loan
packaging program based on the pilot program in effect for fiscal year
2013 for packaging and reviewing section 502 single family direct
loans. The Secretary shall continue agreements with current
intermediary organizations and with additional qualified intermediary
organizations. The Secretary shall work with these organizations to
increase effectiveness of the section 502 single family direct loan
program in rural communities and shall set aside and make available
from the national reserve section 502 loans an amount necessary to
support the work of such intermediaries and provide a priority for
review of such loans.
Sec. 725. For loans and loan guarantees that do not require budget
authority and the program level has been established in this Act, the
Secretary of Agriculture may increase the program level for such loans
and loan guarantees by not more than 25 percent: Provided, That prior
to the Secretary implementing such an increase, the Secretary notifies,
in writing, the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress
at least 15 days in advance.
Sec. 726. None of the credit card refunds or rebates transferred
to the Working Capital Fund pursuant to section 729 of the Agriculture,
Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act, 2002 (7 U.S.C. 2235a; Public Law 107-76) shall be
available for obligation without written notification to, and the prior
approval of, the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of
Congress: Provided, That the refunds or rebates so transferred shall be
available for obligation only for the acquisition of plant and capital
equipment necessary for the delivery of financial, administrative, and
information technology services of primary benefit to the agencies of
the Department of Agriculture.
Sec. 727. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used
to implement, administer, or enforce the ``variety'' requirements of
the final rule entitled ``Enhancing Retailer Standards in the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)'' published by the
Department of Agriculture in the Federal Register on December 15, 2016
(81 Fed. Reg. 90675) until the Secretary of Agriculture amends the
definition of the term ``variety'' as de fined in section
278.1(b)(1)(ii)(C) of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, and
``variety'' as applied in the definition of the term ``staple food'' as
defined in section 271.2 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, to
increase the number of items that qualify as acceptable varieties in
each staple food category so that the total number of such items in
each staple food category exceeds the number of such items in each
staple food category included in the final rule as published on
December 15, 2016: Provided, That until the Secretary promulgates such
regulatory amendments, the Secretary shall apply the requirements
regarding acceptable varieties and breadth of stock to Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program retailers that were in effect on the day
before the date of the enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014
(Public Law 113-79).
Sec. 728. Notwithstanding section 343(a)(13)(C) of the
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, for the purpose of water
and waste disposal guaranteed loans provided under paragraphs (1) and
(24) of section 306(a) of such Act, the terms ``rural'' and ``rural
areas'' mean a city, town, or unincorporated area that has a population
of no more than 20,000 inhabitants.
Sec. 729. Funds provided by this or any prior Appropriations Act
for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative under subsection (b)
of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act (7
U.S.C. 3157(b)) shall be made available without regard to section 1492
of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy
Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3371) under the matching requirements applicable
to such Initiative (other than paragraph (9) of such subsection (b)) in
effect on the day before the date of enactment of such section 1492.
Sec. 730. In carrying out subsection (h) of section 502 of the
Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1472), the Secretary of Agriculture
shall have the same authority with respect to loans guaranteed under
such section and eligible lenders for such loans as the Secretary has
under subsections (h) and (j) of section 538 of such Act (42 U.S.C.
1490p-2) with respect to loans guaranteed under such section 538 and
eligible lenders for such loans.
Sec. 731. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used
to propose, promulgate, or implement any rule, or take any other action
with respect to, allowing or requiring information intended for a
prescribing health care professional, in the case of a drug or
biological product subject to section 503(b)(1) of the Federal Food,
Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 353(b)(1)), to be distributed to such
professional electronically (in lieu of in paper form) unless and until
a Federal law is enacted to allow or require such distribution.
Sec. 732. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used
to notify a sponsor or otherwise acknowledge receipt of a submission
for an exemption for investigational use of a drug or biological
product under section 505(i) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act (21 U.S.C. 355(i)) or section 351(a)(3) of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262(a)(3)) in research in which a human embryo
is intentionally created or modified to include a heritable genetic
modification. Any such submission shall be deemed to have not been
received by the Secretary, and the exemption may not go into effect.
Sec. 733. None of the funds made available by this or any other
Act may be used to carry out the final rule promulgated by the Food and
Drug Administration and put into effect November 16, 2015, in regards
to the hazard analysis and risk-based preventive control requirements
of the current good manufacturing practice, hazard analysis, and risk-
based preventive controls for food for animals rule with respect to the
regulation of the production, distribution, sale, or receipt of dried
spent grain byproducts of the alcoholic beverage production process.
Sec. 734. Funds made available under title II of the Food for
Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1721 et seq.) may only be used to provide
assistance to recipient nations if adequate monitoring and controls, as
determined by the Administrator, are in place to ensure that emergency
food aid is received by the intended beneficiaries in areas affected by
food shortages and not diverted for unauthorized or inappropriate
purposes.
Sec. 735. Notwithstanding 5 U.S.C.5315, the Administrator for
Rural Utilities Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, shall receive
basic pay at a rate not to exceed the maximum amount of compensation
payable to a member of the Senior Executive Service under subsection
(b) of section 5382 of title 5 United States Code, except that the
certification requirement in that subsection shall not apply to the
compensation of the Administrator.
Sec. 736. For fiscal year 2018 and hereafter, the Secretary shall
regulate products made from cells of amenable species of livestock, as
defined in the Federal Meat Inspection Act, or poultry, as defined in
the Poultry Products Inspection act, grown under controlled conditions
for use as human food, and shall issue regulations prescribing the type
and frequency of inspection required for the manufacture and processing
of such products, as well as other requirements necessary to prevent
the adulteration and misbranding of these products.
Sec. 737. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used
by the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Food and Nutrition
Service, to commence any new research and evaluation projects until the
Secretary submits to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of
Congress a research and evaluation plan for fiscal year 2019, prepared
in coordination with the Research, Education, and Economics mission
area of the Department of Agriculture, and a period of 30 days
beginning on the date of the submission of the plan expires to permit
Congressional review of the plan.
Sec. 738. Section 4s(e)(4) of the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C.
6s(e)(4)) is amended--
(1) by inserting ``(A)'' before ``The requirements'' ; and
(2) by adding after and below the end the following:
``(B) The initial margin requirements imposed by
rules adopted pursuant to paragraphs (2)(A)(ii) and
(2)(B)(ii) shall not apply to any swap in which--
``(i) one counter party is a person in
which the other counterparty, directly or
indirectly, holds a majority ownership
interest; or
``(ii) a third party, directly or
indirectly, holds a majority ownership interest
in both counterparties.''.
Sec. 739. (a) The Secretary of Agriculture shall--
(1) conduct audits in a manner that evaluates the following
factors in the country or region being audited, as applicable--
(A) veterinary control and oversight;
(B) disease history and vaccination practices;
(C) livestock demographics and traceability;
(D) epidemiological separation from potential
sources of infection;
(E) surveillance practices;
(F) diagnostic laboratory capabilities; and
(G) emergency preparedness and response; and
(2) promptly make publicly available the final reports of
any audits or reviews conducted pursuant to subsection (1).
Sec. 740. No food that bears or contains partially hydrogenated
oils (as defined in the order published by the Food and Drug
Administration in the Federal Register on June 17, 2015 (80 Fed. Reg.
34650 et seq.)) shall be considered to be adulterated within the
meaning of subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2)(C)(i) of section 402 of the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 342(a)) because such
food contains such partially hydrogenated oils so long as such food is
introduced or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce on or
before June 18, 2018.
Sec. 741. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used
to carry out any activities or incur any expense related to the
issuance of licenses under section 3 of the Animal Welfare Act (7
U.S.C. 2133), or the renewal of such licenses, to class B dealers who
sell dogs and cats for use in research, experiments, teaching, or
testing.
Sec. 742. There is appropriated $20,000,000 to the Commodity
Credit Corporation, in addition to amounts otherwise made available,
for section 1110(f)(3) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C.
1736o(f)(3)).
Sec. 743. (a)(1) No Federal funds made available for this fiscal
year for the rural water, waste water, waste disposal, and solid waste
management programs authorized by sections 306, 306A, 306C, 306D, 306E,
and 310B of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C.
1926 et seq.) shall be used for a project for the construction,
alteration, maintenance, or repair of a public water or wastewater
system unless all of the iron and steel products used in the project
are produced in the United States.
(2) In this section, the term ``iron and steel products'' means the
following products made primarily of iron or steel: lined or unlined
pipes and fittings, manhole covers and other municipal castings,
hydrants, tanks, flanges, pipe clamps and restraints, valves,
structural steel, reinforced precast concrete, and construction
materials.
(b) Subsection (a) shall not apply in any case or category of cases
in which the Secretary of Agriculture (in this section referred to as
the ``Secretary'') or the designee of the Secretary finds that--
(1) applying subsection (a) would be inconsistent with the
public interest;
(2) iron and steel products are not produced in the United
States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities or of
a satisfactory quality; or
(3) inclusion of iron and steel products produced in the
United States will increase the cost of the overall project by
more than 25 percent.
(c) If the Secretary or the designee receives a request for a
waiver under this section, the Secretary or the designee shall make
available to the public on an informal basis a copy of the request and
information available to the Secretary or the designee concerning the
request, and shall allow for informal public input on the request for
at least 15 days prior to making a finding based on the request. The
Secretary or the designee shall make the request and accompanying
information available by electronic means, including on the official
public Internet Web site of the Department.
(d) This section shall be applied in a manner consistent with
United States obligations under international agreements.
(e) The Secretary may retain up to 0.25 percent of the funds
appropriated in this Act for ``Rural Utilities Service--Rural Water and
Waste Disposal Program Account'' for carrying out the provisions
described in subsection (a)(1) for management and oversight of the
requirements of this section.
(f) Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to a project for
which the engineering plans and specifications include use of iron and
steel products otherwise prohibited by such subsection if the plans and
specifications have received required approvals from State agencies
prior to the date of enactment of this Act.
(g) For purposes of this section, the terms ``United States'' and
``State'' shall include each of the several States, the District of
Columbia, and each federally recognized Indian tribe.
Sec. 744. For the purposes of determining eligibility or level of
program assistance for Rural Development programs the Secretary shall
not include incarcerated prison populations.
Sec. 745. None of the funds appropriated by this Act may be used
in any way, directly or indirectly, to influence congressional action
on any legislation or appropriation matters pending before Congress,
other than to communicate to Members of Congress as described in 18
U.S.C. 1913.
Sec. 746. For an additional amount for ``National Institute for
Food and Agriculture-Research and Education Activities,'' $14,000,000
for relocation expenses and for alteration and repair of leased
buildings and improvements pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 2250.
Sec. 747. The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary's
designees are hereby granted the same access to information and subject
to the same requirements applicable to the Secretary of Housing and
Urban Development as provided in section 453 of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 653) and section 6103(1)(7)(D)(ix) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 1603(1)(7)(D)(ix)) to verify the income for
individuals participating in sections 502, 504, 521, and 542 of the
Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1472, 1474, 1490a, and 1490r),
notwithstanding section 453(l)(1) of the Social Security Act.
Sec. 748. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used
to procure raw or processed poultry products imported into the United
States from the People's Republic of China for use in the school lunch
program under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42
U.S.C. 1751 et seq.), the Child and Adult Care Food Program under
section 17 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1766), the Summer Food Service
Program for Children under section 13 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1761), or
the school breakfast program under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42
U.S.C. 1771 et seq.).
Sec. 749. In response to an eligible community where the drinking
water supplies are inadequate due to a natural disaster, as determined
by the Secretary, including drought or severe weather, the Secretary
may provide potable water through the Emergency Community Water
Assistance Grant Program for an additional period of time not to exceed
120 days beyond the established period provided under the Program in
order to protect public health.
Sec. 750. Of the total amounts made available by this Act for
direct loans and grants in the following headings: ``Rural Housing
Service--Rural Housing Insurance Fund Program Account''; ``Rural
Housing Service--Mutual and Self-Help Housing Grants''; ``Rural Housing
Service--Rural Housing Assistance Grants''; ``Rural Housing Service--
Rural Community Facilities Program Account''; ``Rural Business-
Cooperative Service--Rural Business Program Account''; ``Rural
Business-Cooperative Service--Rural Economic Development Loans Program
Account''; ``Rural Business-Cooperative Service--Rural Cooperative
Development Grants''; ``Rural Utilities Service--Rural Water and Waste
Disposal Program Account''; ``Rural Utilities Service--Rural
Electrification and Telecommunications Loans Program Account''; and
``Rural Utilities Service--Distance Learning, Telemedicine, and
Broadband Program'', to the maximum extent feasible, at least 10
percent of the funds shall be allocated for assistance in persistent
poverty counties under this section, including, notwithstanding any
other provision regarding population limits, any county seat of such a
persistent poverty county that has a population that does not exceed
the authorized population limit by more than 10 percent: Provided, That
for purposes of this section, the term ``persistent poverty counties''
means any county that has had 20 percent or more of its population
living in poverty over the past 30 years, as measured by the 1980,
1990, and 2000 decennial censuses, and 2007-2011 American Community
Survey 5-year average: Provided further, That with respect to specific
activities for which program levels have been made available by this
Act that are not supported by budget authority, the requirements of
this section shall be applied to such program level.
Sec. 751. (a) No funds shall be used to finalize the proposed rule
entitled ``Eligibility of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to
Export to the United States Poultry Products from Birds Slaughtered in
the PRC'' published in the Federal Register by the Department of
Agriculture on June 16, 2017 (82 Fed. Reg. 27625), unless the Secretary
of Agriculture shall--
(1) ensure that the poultry slaughter inspection system for
the PRC is equivalent to that of the United States;
(2) ensure that, before any poultry products can enter the
United States from any such poultry plant, such poultry
products comply with all other applicable requirements for
poultry products in interstate commerce in the United States;
(3) conduct periodic verification reviews and audits of any
such plants in the PRC intending to export into the United
States processed poultry products;
(4) conduct re-inspection of such poultry products at
United States ports-of-entry to check the general condition of
such products, for the proper certification and labeling of
such products, and for any damage to such products that may
have occurred during transportation; and
(5) ensure that shipments of any such poultry products
selected to enter the United States are subject to additional
re-inspection procedures at appropriate levels to verify that
the products comply with relevant Federal regulations or
standards, including examinations for product defects and
laboratory analyses to detect harmful chemical residues or
pathogen testing appropriate for the products involved.
(b) This section shall be applied in a manner consistent with
obligations of the United States under any trade agreement to which the
United States is a party.
Sec. 752. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used
by the Food and Drug Administration to develop, issue, promote, or
advance any regulations applicable to food manufacturers for
population-wide sodium reduction actions or to develop, issue, promote
or advance final guidance applicable to food manufacturers for long
term population-wide sodium reduction actions until the date on which a
dietary reference intake report with respect to sodium is completed.
Sec. 753. There is hereby appropriated $2,000,000, to remain
available until September 30, 2020, for the cost of loans and grants
that is consistent with section 4206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014,
for necessary expenses of the Secretary to support projects that
provide access to healthy food in underserved areas, to create and
preserve quality jobs, and to revitalize low-income communities.
Sec. 754. For an additional amount for ``Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service--Salaries and Expenses'', $8,500,000, to remain
available until September 30, 2020, for one-time control and management
and associated activities directly related to the multiple-agency
response to citrus greening.
Sec. 755. None of the funds made available by this or any other
Act may be used to enforce the final rule promulgated by the Food and
Drug Administration entitled ``Standards for the Growing, Harvesting,
Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption,'' and published
on November 27, 2015, with respect to the regulation of the production,
distribution, sale, or receipt of grape varietals that are grown,
harvested and used solely for wine and receive commercial processing
that adequately reduces the presence of microorganisms of public health
significance.
Sec. 756. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used
to revoke an exception made--
(1) pursuant to the rule entitled ``Exceptions to
Geographic Areas for Official Agencies Under the USGSA''
published by the Department of Agriculture in the Federal
Register on April 18, 2003 (68 Fed. Reg. 19137, 19139); and
(2) on a date before April 14, 2017.
Sec. 757. For school year 2019-2020, only a school food authority
that had a negative balance in the nonprofit school food service
account as of December 31, 2018, shall be required to establish a price
for paid lunches in accordance with Section 12(p) of the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act, 42 U.S.C. 1760(p).
Sec. 758. There is hereby appropriated $5,000,000, to remain
available until September 30, 2020, for a pilot program for the
National Institute of Food and Agriculture to provide grants to
nonprofit organizations for programs and services to establish and
enhance farming and ranching opportunities for military veterans.
Sec. 759. For an additional amount for ``Rural Utilities Service--
Distance Learning, Telemedicine, and Broadband Program'', $550,000,000,
to remain available until expended, for the Secretary of Agriculture to
conduct a broadband loan and grant pilot program under the Rural
Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.): Provided, That for
the purpose of the pilot program, the authorities provided in such Act
shall include the authority to make grants for such purposes, as
described in section 601(a) of such Act: Provided further, That the
cost of direct loans shall be as defined in section 502 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974: Provided further, That at least 90
percent of the households to be served by a project receiving a loan or
grant under the pilot program shall be in a rural area without
sufficient access to broadband, defined for this pilot program as 10
Mbps downstream, and 1 Mbps upstream, which shall be reevaluated and
redetermined, as necessary, on an annual basis by the Secretary of
Agriculture: Provided further, That an entity to which a loan or grant
is made under the pilot program shall not use the loan or grant to
overbuild or duplicate broadband expansion efforts made by any entity
that has received a broadband loan from the Rural Utilities Service:
Provided further, That in addition to other available funds, not more
than four percent of the funds can be used for administrative costs to
carry out this pilot program and up to three percent may be utilized
for technical assistance and pre-development planning activities to
support the most rural communities, which shall be transferred to and
merged with the appropriation for ``Rural Development, Salaries and
Expenses'': Provided further, That the Rural Utility Service is
directed to expedite program delivery methods that would implement this
section: Provided further, That for purposes of this section, the
Secretary shall adhere to the notice, reporting and service area
assessment requirements set forth in sections 6104(a)(2)(D) and
6104(a)(2)(E) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 950bb(d)(5),
and 950bb(d)(8) and 950bb(d)(10)).
Sec. 760. Section 202 of H.R. 238, One Hundred Fifteenth Congress,
as passed by the House of Representatives on January 12, 2017, is
hereby enacted into law.
Sec. 761. With the exception of funds needed to administer,
complete, and conduct oversight of contracts awarded and obligations
incurred prior to enactment of this Act, none of the funds appropriated
or otherwise made available by this or any other Act shall be used to
pay the salaries and expenses of personnel to carry out the Biomass
Crop Assistance Program authorized by section 9011 of the Farm Security
and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8111).
Sec. 762. Not later than July 31, 2019, the Secretary of Health
and Human Services shall finalize the draft guidance for industry
entitled ``Bacterial Risk Control Strategies for Blood Collection
Establishments and Transfusion Services to Enhance the Safety and
Availability of Platelets for Transfusion'' issued by the Food and Drug
Administration in March of 2016.
Sec. 763. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this section, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit a report to
the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress that
includes a summary of the process used in establishing the 2020-2025
Dietary Guidelines for Americans published pursuant to section 301 of
the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 (7
U.S.C. 5341) and an explanation with respect to the decision to
incorporate or exclude in such Dietary Guidelines for Americans
recommendations from the report by the National Academies of Science,
Engineering, and Medicine entitled ``Redesigning the Process for
Establishing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans'' and issued
September, 2017.
Sec. 764. None of the funds made available by this Act shall be
used to implement, administer, or enforce the final rule entitled
``Food Labeling: Revision of the Nutrition and Supplement Facts
Labels'', published in the Federal Register on May 27, 2016 (81 Fed.
Reg. 33742) to the extent such rule requires that the nutrition facts
panel on the labeling of a single-ingredient food that does not have
any sugars or sweeteners added to the food, such as honey and maple
syrup, include a statement that the food contains added sugars.
Sec. 765. Paragraph (4) of section 1444(a) of the National
Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7
U.S.C. 3221 (a)) is amended--
(1) by striking ``No more than'' and inserting the
following: ``For fiscal years ending on or before September 30,
2018, no more than'';
(2) by striking ``by an institution'' and inserting ``by an
eligible institution under this section''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``For
fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2018, the
limitation specified in the preceding sentence shall not apply
and 100 percent of such funds may be carried forward to the
succeeding fiscal year.''
Sec. 766. The establishment of any affirmative disclosure
requirements relating to the genetic engineering of salmon or other
finfish, or foods containing genetically engineered salmon or other
finfish shall be made in accordance with the National Bioengineered
Food Disclosure Standard (7 U.S.C. 1639) and any rules or regulations
implementing that Act as promulgated by the Secretary of Agriculture.
Sec. 767. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used
to implement or enforce the matter following the first comma in the
second sentence of footnote (c) of section 220.8(c) of title 7, Code of
Federal Regulations, with respect to the substitution of vegetables for
fruits under the school breakfast program established under section 4
of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773).
Sec. 768. Section 9 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7
U.S.C. 2018) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(i) Nondisclosure.--Any supplemental nutrition assistance program
transaction data that contains information specific to a retail food
store, a retail food store location, a person, or other entity shall be
exempt from the disclosure requirements of section 552(a) of title 5 of
the United States Code pursuant to section 552(b)(3) of title 5 of the
United States Code.''.
Sec. 769. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available by this Act or any other Act with respect to any fiscal year
may be used to implement, administer, or enforce the final rule with
the regulation identifier number 0910-AG38 published by the Food and
Drug Administration in the Federal Register on May 10, 2016 (81 Fed.
Reg. 28974) with respect to traditional large and premium cigars. For
the purposes of this section, the term ``traditional large and premium
cigar'' means--
(a) any roll of tobacco that is wrapped in 100 percent leaf
tobacco, is bunched with 100 percent tobacco filler, contains no
filter, tip, or non-tobacco mouthpiece, weighs at least 6 pounds per
1,000 count, and--
(1) has a 100 percent leaf tobacco binder and is hand
rolled;
(2) has a 100 percent leaf tobacco binder and is made using
human hands to lay the leaf tobacco wrapper or binder onto only
one machine that bunches, wraps, and caps each individual
cigar; or
(3) has a homogenized tobacco leaf binder and is made in
the United States using human hands to lay each 100 percent
leaf tobacco wrapper individually onto a single machine that
bunches, wraps, and caps each individual cigar on such single
machine and makes no more than 15 cigars per minute; and
(b) is not a cigarette or a little cigar (as such terms are defined
in paragraphs (3) and (11), respectively, of section 900 of the Federal
Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387)).
Sec. 770. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made
available by this Act or any other Act with respect to any fiscal year
may, for cigars and pipe tobacco, and components and parts thereof,
which the Secretary of Health and Human Services by regulation under
section 901(b) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C.
387a(b)) deems to be subject to chapter IX of such Act, be used to
treat any reference in sections 905(j) or 910(a) of such Act (21 U.S.C.
387e(j), 387j(a)) to February 15, 2007, as other than a reference to
April 25, 2014, the date of the regulation under which tobacco products
were proposed to be deemed subject to the requirements of such chapter
pursuant to section 901(b) of such Act (21 U.S.C. 387a(b)).
Sec. 771. (a) Section 905(j)(1)(A)(i) of the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387e(j)(1)(A)(i)) is amended by inserting
``or to a tobacco product subject to an order that the Secretary has
issued to such person under subsection (c)(1)(A)(i) of section 910,''
after ``as of February 15, 2007,''.
(b) Section 910(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387j(a)(2)(A)(i)(I)) is amended by inserting
``, or to a tobacco product subject to an order that the Secretary has
issued to such person under subsection (c)(1)(A)(i)'' after ``as of
February 15, 2007''.
Sec. 772. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not later
than 21 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary
of Health and Human Services shall issue a notice of proposed
rulemaking to establish a product standard for vapor products pursuant
to section 907 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C.
387g) to include but not be limited to--
(1) characterizing flavors; and
(2) batteries.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, not later than 36
months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
promulgate a final rule pursuant to such notice.
Sec. 773. (a) A vapor product shall be deemed to be misbranded
under section 903(a) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21
U.S.C. 387c(a)) if the advertising with respect to the vapor product is
disseminated by a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer of the product
in a newspaper, magazine, periodical, or other publication (including
any publication of periodic or limited distribution) other than an
adult publication.
(b)(1) A retailer may only sell any vapor product in a direct face-
to-face exchange without the assistance of any electronic or mechanical
device (such as a vending machine).
(2) This subsection shall not apply with respect to sales of vapor
products conducted through--
(A) mail-order; or
(B) a vending machine or self-service display if, with
respect to the facility in which such vending machine or
display is located, the retailer of such products ensures that
no person under 18 years of age is present or permitted to
enter.
(3) A violation of this section is deemed to constitute a violation
of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act relating to a tobacco
product for purposes of section 303(f)(9) of such Act (21 U.S.C.
333(f)(9)).
(c)(1) Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this
Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall promulgate final
regulations to require that the labeling of vapor products contain--
(A) the phrase ``Keep Out of Reach of Children'';
(B) the phrase ``Underage Sale Prohibited''; and
(C) an accurate statement of the nicotine content of the
vapor product.
(2) A vapor product whose label is in violation of the regulations
required by paragraph (1) is deemed to be misbranded under section 903
of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 387c).
(d)(1) Every person who owns or operates an establishment in any
State engaged in the retail sale of a vapor product shall register that
establishment with the Secretary of Health and Human Services within
the later of 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, or 30
days after first engaging in such retail sale.
(2) The requirements of this subsection do not apply with respect
to any establishment subject to an active registration under--
(A) any State law relating to tobacco products; or
(B) section 905 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act
(21 U.S.C. 387e).
(3) The Secretary shall make available for inspection, to any
person so requesting, any registration filed under this section.
(e) In this section:
(1) The term ``adult publication'' means any newspaper,
magazine, periodical, or other publication--
(A) whose readers younger than 18 years of age
constitute 15 percent or less of the total readership
as measured by competent and reliable survey evidence;
and
(B) that is read by fewer than 2 million persons
younger than 18 years of age as measured by competent
and reliable survey evidence.
(2) The terms ``label'' and ``labeling'' have the meanings
given to such terms in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321).
(3) The term ``tobacco product'' has the meaning given to
such term in section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and
Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321).
(4) The term ``vapor product''--
(A) means any non-combustible product that employs
a heating element, power source, electronic circuit, or
other electronic, chemical, or mechanical means,
regardless of shape or size, to produce vapor from
nicotine in a solution or other form;
(B) includes any electronic cigarette, electronic
cigar, electronic cigarillo, electronic pipe, or
similar product or device, and any vapor cartridge or
other container of nicotine in a solution or other
form; and
(C) does not include any product regulated as a
drug or device by the Food and Drug Administration
under chapter V of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act (21 U.S.C. 351 et seq.).
Sec. 774. Section 1043 of the Pro-Children Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C.
6083) is amended--
(1) by striking ``smoking'' each place it appears in
subsections (a), (b), and (c) and inserting ``smoking or use of
vapor products''; and
(2) by striking ``smoking'' each place it appears in
subsection (e) and inserting ``smoking or vapor product''.
Sec. 775. Section 906(d) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act (21 U.S.C. 387f(d)) is amended by striking paragraph (4) and
inserting the following:
``(4) Age verification for remote sales.--A delivery seller
of vapor products--
``(A) shall not sell, deliver, or cause to be
delivered any vapor products to a person under the
minimum age required for the legal sale or purchase of
vapor products, as determined by the applicable law at
the place of delivery; and
``(B) shall not accept a delivery sale order from a
person without--
``(i) obtaining the full name, birth date,
and residential address of that person; and
``(ii) verifying the information provided
in clause (i), through the use of a
commercially available database or aggregate of
databases, consisting primarily of data from
government sources, that are regularly used by
government and businesses for the purpose of
age and identity verification and
authentication, to ensure that the purchaser is
at least the minimum age required for the legal
sale or purchase of vapor products, as
determined by the applicable law at the place
of delivery.
``(C) Limitation.--No database being used for age
and identity verification under subparagraph (B)(ii)
shall be in the possession or under the control of the
delivery seller, or be subject to any changes or
supplementation by the delivery seller.
``(D) Definitions.--In this paragraph:
``(i) The term `delivery sale' means a sale
of vapor products in which--
``(I) the consumer submits the
order for the sale by means of a
telephone or other method of voice
transmission, the mails, or the
Internet or other online service, or
the seller is otherwise not in the
physical presence of the buyer when the
request for purchase or order is made;
or
``(II) the vapor products are
delivered to the buyer by common
carrier, private delivery service, or
other method of remote delivery, or the
seller is not in the physical presence
of the buyer when the buyer obtains
possession of the vapor products.
``(ii) The term `delivery seller' means a
person who makes a delivery sale, or provides
an online marketplace to facilitate a delivery
sale.
``(iii) The term `online marketplace' means
an online portal or other digital or similar
platform that facilitates the sale of products
to consumers, through retail sale, auction, or
similar transactions.''.
Sec. 776. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall submit a
report to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress,
the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate,
and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of
Representatives, that includes a plan of action with respect to the
development and operation of the Youth Vapor Product Education,
Prevention, and Enforcement Program.
Sec. 777. (a) The Commissioner of Food and Drugs shall conduct a
study on preventing the use of electronic nicotine delivery systems
(referred to in this section as ``ENDS'') by youth. Such study shall
include an analysis of--
(1) the potential costs and benefits of using, and requiring the
use of, biometric security measures in ENDS--
(A) during premarket development;
(B) at the time of sale; and
(C) during postmarket use;
(2) the effectiveness of such biometric security measures in
preventing usage by youth of ENDS;
(3) the potential costs and benefits of requiring such biometric
security measures for sales of ENDS made through mail delivery and via
the Internet; and
(4) alternative technologies that may assist in preventing usage by
youth of ENDS.
(b) The Commissioner of Food and Drugs shall provide a report on
the results of the study under subsection (a) to the Committee on
Appropriations of both Houses of Congress not later than 180 days after
the date of enactment of this Act.
spending reduction account
Sec. 778. $0.
This division may be cited as the ``Agriculture, Rural Development,
Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act,
2019''.
Union Calendar No. 545
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5961
[Report No. 115-706]
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
Making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug
Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2019, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
May 24, 2018
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union
and ordered to be printed