[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 108 (Monday, July 22, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H8052-H8053]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE ACT OF 1996
Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3665) to transfer to the Secretary of Agriculture the
authority to conduct the census of agriculture, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 3665
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Census of Agriculture Act of
1996''.
SEC. 2. TRANSFER TO THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE OF THE
AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT THE CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE
(a) In General.--Section 526 of the Revised Statutes (7
U.S.C. 2204) is amended by adding at the end the following.
``(c)(1) The Secretary shall, in 1998 and in every 5th year
beginning after 1998, take a census of agriculture. In
connection with each such census, the Secretary may conduct
any survey or other data collection, and employ any sampling
or other statistical method, that the Secretary determines is
necessary and appropriate.
``(2) The data collected in each census taken under this
subsection shall relate to the year immediately preceding the
year in which the census is taken.
``(3) Any person who refuses or neglects to answer
questions submitted to such person in connection with a
census or survey under this subsection, or who answers any
such questions falsely, shall be subject to section 221 of
title 13, United States Code, to the same extent and in the
same manner as if--
``(A) section 142 of such title 13 had remained in effect;
and
``(B) the census or survey were a census or survey under
such section 142, rather than under this subsection.
The failure or refusal on the part of any person to disclose
such person's social security number in response to a request
made in connection with any census or other activity under
this subsection shall not be a violation under the preceding
sentence.
``(4) Each census under this subsection shall include each
State, and as may be determined by the Secretary, the
District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Guam,
the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any such other
possessions and areas over which the United States
exercises jurisdiction, control, or sovereignty. Inclusion
of other areas over which the United States exercises
jurisdiction, control, or sovereignty shall be subject to
the concurrence of the Secretary of State.
``(5) The Secretary of Commerce may, upon written request
of the Secretary of Agriculture, furnish any information
collected under title 13, United States Code, which the
Secretary of Agriculture considers necessary for the taking
of a census or survey under this subsection. Any information
so furnished may not be used for any purpose other than the
statistical purposes for which it is supplied.
``(6) The Secretary of Agriculture shall, upon written
request of the Secretary of Commerce, furnish any information
collected in a census taken under this subsection which the
Secretary of Commerce considers necessary for the taking of a
census or survey under title 13, United States Code. Any
information so furnished may not be used for any purpose
other than the statistical purposes for which it is supplied.
``(7) Any rules or regulations necessary to carry out this
subsection may be prescribed by--
``(A) the Secretary, to the extent that matters within the
jurisdiction of the Secretary are involved; and
``(B) the Secretary of Commerce, to the extent that matters
within the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Commerce are
involved.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--Effective October 1, 1998--
(1) section 142 of title 13, United States Code, and the
item relating to section 142 in the table of sections for
chapter 5 of such title 13, are repealed; and
(2) section 343(a)(11)(F) of the Consolidated Farm and
Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(11)(F)) is amended by
inserting ``or section 526(c) of the Revised Statutes (7
U.S.C. 2204(c)), as the case may be,'' before ``except''.
SEC. 3. PROVISIONS RELATING TO CONFIDENTIALITY OF
INFORMATION.
(a) Information Furnished to the Department of
Agriculture.--
(1) Authority to furnish information.--Section 9(a) of
title 13, United States Code, is amended by striking
``chapter 10 of this title--'' and
(2) Confidentiality of information.--Section 1770(d)(5) of
the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 2276(d)(5)) is
amended to read as follows:
``(5) subsections (a) and (c) of section 526 of the Revised
Statues (7 U.S.C. 2204(a) and (c));''.
(b) Information Furnished to the Department of Commerce.--
(1) Authority to furnish information.--Section 1770 of the
Food Security Act of 1985 is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(e) Nothing in this section shall be considered to
prohibit any release of information under section 526(c)(6)
of the Revised Statutes (7 U.S.C. 2204(c)(6)).''.
(2) Confidentiality of information.--Information furnished
under section 526(c)(6) of the Revised Statutes shall, for
purposes of section 9 and 214 of title 13, United States
Code, be treated as if it were information furnished under
the provisions of such title 13.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas [Mr. Combest] and the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Stenholm] each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Combest].
Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3665 is a short bill--it simply transfers the
authority to conduct the Census on Agriculture from the Secretary of
Commerce to the Secretary of Agriculture and eliminates this authority
from the Secretary of Commerce as of October 1, 1998.
This census authority change was one that the Senate wanted to
include as part of the 1996 farm bill. However, we completed the farm
bill conference before we on the House side had a chance to clear this
change with the Government Reform Committee.
I, along with Chairman Roberts and all the other members of the
Agriculture Committee, want to thank all the members and staff of the
Government Reform Subcommittee on National Security, International
Affairs, and Criminal Justice, Chairman Zeliff and his ranking member,
Mrs. Thurman, for their help in accommodating this move--everyone
worked very hard to get this bill put together very quickly.
In order to cope with the continuing move to streamline and downsize
Federal agencies, it has become apparent that moving the authority to
conduct the Census on Agriculture from Commerce to USDA makes sense,
from both an administrative and cost-effective point of view. In fact,
the fiscal year 1997 Agriculture appropriations bill has already
shifted the $17 million in funding for the Census on Agriculture to
USDA, rather than the Department of Commerce.
By moving the authority to conduct the census over to USDA, it allows
the Department of Commerce to free up the funds otherwise obligated for
this census; eliminates the need for a specific line-item in the
Commerce Department's appropriation; and locates the census at the
agency with the biggest interest in the ag census, without precluding
USDA from working with the Commerce Department on actually getting the
work done.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3665, the Census of
Agriculture Act of 1996. I would simply like to reiterate to my
colleagues what my colleague the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Combest] has
already said, and that is that this bill does not change the definition
of what constitutes a farm nor does it decrease the amount of funding
available for other discretionary activities within the Department of
Agriculture.
This legislation simply moves the administration of the ag census
from the Bureau of the Census within Commerce to the Department of
Agriculture. Secretary Glickman has indicated that he
[[Page H8053]]
will charge the National Agriculture Statistics Service with continuing
to carry out an agricultural census every 5 years. The Ag Statistics
Service within USDA is well suited to take over the responsibilities
for carrying out the census activities, as they already maintain a
network in every state that allows them to put out State by State
reports weekly and major reports throughout the year. These reports are
utilized by all segments of the agricultural sector in this country and
every by our foreign competitors.
I am pleased that Secretary Glickman took the initiative in forging
this compromise with the Department of Commerce as well as the Office
of Management and Budget to ensure the viability of the ag census for
future years. I would also like to thank our colleagues on the
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight for their cooperation in
ensuring the passage of H.R. 3665 and urge my colleagues to support the
passage of this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman
from West Virginia [Mr. Wise].
Mr. WISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas [Mr.
Stenholm] and I thank the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Combest]. This is
truly a great Texas piece of legislation, but it is very, very
important for West Virginia. Let me just say that I appreciate also the
full committee chair of both the Committee on Agriculture and the
Committee on Government Reform and Oversight for their efforts as well.
Mr. Speaker, this is a very important bill, particularly for rural
States, rural areas, and particularly for States that have farming of
the type that West Virginia does.
{time} 1345
If this piece of legislation did not go through, West Virginia will
be the most seriously affected State of any State in the Nation in
terms of losing its definition of family farm and losing a lot of farms
that presently benefit from that definition. West Virginia presently
has over 17,000 farms that are defined as farms by the Department of
Census, that is, they have sales in excess of $1,000. Raising that to
$10,000 would cause 78 percent of our farms in the State to lose that
definition.
What that means then is that we would be greatly impacted, farmers
would not be able to receive certain tax, favorable tax treatment, the
distribution of research funds for farms would be altered and also for
college agricultural programs as well as the allocation of soil
conservation efforts. So clearly this is a very, very significant piece
of legislation for much of rural West Virginia and much of rural
America.
Simply, what it does is to move the census functions from the Bureau
of Census to the United States Department of Agriculture. That is
important because the USDA obviously has clear experience with working
with farms and farm definitions, not so the Bureau of Census.
Also, the Bureau of Census has seen its budget cut in this particular
area 31 percent. That means they are not going to be spending as much
time focusing on what it is that makes up farming and what is important
to farmers. I believe that this consolidation moving to USDA will also
integrate the agriculture statistic programs of the two departments and
eliminate duplication and promote efficiency. The Bureau of Census, I
am happy to say supports this move as well.
The USDA has indicated that at least in the foreseeable future, the
near future, they do not foresee changing the threshold definition of
farming, that is changing the threshold definition from the present
$1,000. That means that there would not be an immediate increase to 5-
or, even as had been proposed in the Bureau of Census, to $10,000. If
that threshold level is raised to $10,000, 78 percent of West Virginia
farms will no longer be defined as a farm and therefore not be eligible
for favorable tax treatments in certain instances nor will they count
towards the formula monies for various agriculture programs, including
Soil Conservation Service and agricultural research efforts.
I think this is an extremely important piece of legislation. I just
want the chairman to know, and the ranking member, that just as
recently as this weekend at various functions people were coming up to
me and saying what is being done about the farm threshold. Am I going
to be a farmer or not? I was happy to tell them that it is on the floor
Monday afternoon and that it should be voted on.
Now, of course this bill will go to the Senate, so it is important
that the Senate as well, the other body, take this piece of legislation
up. There is no controversy that I can see. It seems to be widely
supported. The Bureau of Census supports it. The United States
Department of Agriculture supports it. We have got the Agriculture
Committees, the Government Reform Committees supporting it. So, clearly
it ought to be able to move quickly and get to the President and we can
end this anxiety that presently a lot of farmers in my State and many
other States are undergoing as they wonder whether or not they are
going to see their farm continue with the farm status which entitled
them to certain preferential tax treatments as well as figuring into
the formula monies for agricultural functions such as soil conservation
and ag research.
So I thank once again those who made this possible. Let me just say
of the 17,020 family farms in West Virginia, 13,274, or 78 percent, are
very, very grateful to us for moving this bill to the floor so quickly.
Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, just in conclusion, I might point out that this is an
excellent example of cooperation between various agencies, cooperation
between various committees that will now allow us to do the most
efficient census possible with the least amount of taxpayer resources
and the best utilization of all of the talents available in agriculture
already there in order to do the job that needs doing for American
agriculture.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. COMBEST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I conclude and say I appreciate the cooperation of my
colleague, the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Stenholm], the comments of the
gentleman from West Virginia [Mr. Wise], and would urge our colleagues
to support this legislation under the suspension.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Coble). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from Texas [Mr. Combest] that the House
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3665, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof), the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was
passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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