[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 106 (Friday, July 29, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9473-S9475]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. WYDEN:
  S. 1556. A bill to amend the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 
2004 to increase the authorization of appropriations for grants to 
support the competitiveness of specialty crops, to amend the 
Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 to improve the program of 
value-added agricultural product market development grants by routing 
funds through State departments of agriculture, to amend the Federal 
Crop Insurance Act to require a nationwide expansion of the adjusted 
gross revenue insurance program, and

[[Page S9474]]

for other purposes; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry.
  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, today I introduce legislation that will 
safeguard and promote specialty crops and value-added agriculture in 
Oregon and in the United States. The great farmers and ranchers of 
Oregon produce over 200 commodities. This bill intends to improve their 
marketing opportunities, help Oregon farmers and processors get better 
prices for their products, and help Oregon farmers and processors 
compete in an increasingly global market. As it will help Oregon 
farmers so it will help specialty crop farmers from New York to 
Florida, Wisconsin to California.
  I introduce this bill as my colleague from Oregon, Congresswoman 
Hooley, introduces the same bill in the House of Representatives.
  In the increasingly technological world of microchips, products like 
potato chips and other agricultural commodities still remain a large 
part of Oregon's economy. In fact, agriculture is Oregon's second 
largest traded sector and Oregon's second largest export, behind the 
electronics industry. Oregon agriculture creates more than $8 billion 
of direct and indirect economic activity, in both urban and rural areas 
in the state.
  At the center of this bill is the expansion of a specialty crop grant 
program, authorized by Congress in 2001, of which Oregon producers have 
already made use. Oregon received about $3.2 million that was used for 
over 50 projects involving product development, marketing, research, 
and export promotion. The Oregon Department of Agriculture estimates 
that over 3000 producers benefited from these projects. They also 
estimate that enhanced sales resulting from these projects reached $20 
million--about six times what was invested.
  The problem with this pilot program was the grants were only 
available once. Last year Congress passed legislation that reinstated 
these specialty crop grants but at funding level that would provide 
only around $500,000 to Oregon. This legislation raises the authorized 
level to $500 million and makes the grant program permanent. Under this 
expansion Oregon has the potential to receive $5 million a year in 
specialty crop grants.
  The bill I am introducing today also improves USDA's value added 
grant program. Right now this program is run by bureaucrats in 
Washington, DC who have probably never been to Oregon and probably 
couldn't name the top Oregon specialty crops. My office has heard 
numerous complaints that this program is unwieldy, bureaucratic, and 
difficult to navigate. Last year every applicant from Oregon was 
disqualified on a technicality. This bill would make one simple but 
very important change: instead of having the Federal Government 
distribute the money, each State would get a share of the money to hand 
out to their chosen priorities.
  Between these two grant programs each State in the union should have 
plenty of money to implement agricultural promotion strategies that 
match the needs of its individual growers, processors, and citizens.
  This bill also authorizes funds for farmers and processors to become 
``certified.'' Certification comes in many forms like ``Good 
Agricultural Practices,'' ``Good Handling Practices,'' or ``Organic.'' 
Often getting certified is necessary before farmers or processors can 
effectively market products whether in local grocery stores or to 
foreign countries. Certified products often fetch premium prices. To 
encourage farmers to get these certifications and increase their market 
share this legislation would have the USDA reimburse half the cost of 
the certifications.
  Last, this legislation improves opportunities for specialty crop 
farmers to get crop insurance, increase loan availability, provide 
additional funding for export promotion, and make sure that American 
trade policy takes specialty crops into account.
  I know that Oregonians doing a great job growing some of the best 
quality crops in the world. There are a lot of challenges facing 
agriculture: cheap imports, low commodity prices, taxation, labor, and 
dozens of others. This bill won't solve everything, but I think it will 
make an important contribution to improving Oregon agriculture by 
making it more competitive on a global level and helping farmers get a 
decent price for what they produce. I look forward to working with my 
colleagues to assure the enactment of this legislation.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1556

       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 ``Specialty Crop and Value-
     Added Agriculture Promotion Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SPECIALTY CROP.

       Section 3(1) of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 
     2004 (Public 108-465; 7 U.S.C. 1621 note) is amended--
       (1) by inserting ``fish and shellfish whether farm-raised 
     or harvested in the wild,'' after ``dried fruits,''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following: ``The term includes 
     specialty crops that are organically produced (as defined in 
     section 2103 of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 
     U.S.C. 6502).''.

     SEC. 3. PERMANENT AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR STATE 
                   SPECIALTY CROP BLOCK GRANTS.

       Section 101 of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 
     2004 (Public 108-465; 7 U.S.C. 1621 note) is amended by 
     striking subsection (i) and inserting the following:
       ``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--For fiscal year 
     2006 and every fiscal year thereafter, there is authorized to 
     be appropriated to the Secretary of Agriculture $500,000,000 
     to make grants under this section.''.

     SEC. 4. BLOCK GRANTS TO STATES FOR VALUE-ADDED AGRICULTURAL 
                   PRODUCT MARKET DEVELOPMENT.

       (a) In General.--Section 231 of the Agricultural Risk 
     Protection Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-224; 7 U.S.C. 1621 
     note) is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(b) Grant Program.--
       ``(1) State defined.--In this subsection, the term `State' 
     means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the 
     Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 
     Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the 
     Northern Mariana Islands.
       ``(2) Block grants to states.--
       ``(A) Amount of grant to state.--From the amount made 
     available under paragraph (7) for a fiscal year, the 
     Secretary shall provide to each State, subject to 
     subparagraph (B), a grant in an amount equal to the product 
     obtained by multiplying the amount made available for that 
     fiscal year by the result obtained by dividing--
       ``(i) the total value of the agricultural commodities and 
     products made in the State during the preceding fiscal year; 
     by
       ``(ii) the total value of the agricultural commodities and 
     products made in all of the States during the preceding 
     fiscal year.
       ``(B) Limitation.--The total grant provided to a State for 
     a fiscal year under subparagraph (A) shall not exceed 
     $3,000,000.
       ``(3) Use of grant funds by states.--A State shall use the 
     grant funds to award competitive grants--
       ``(A) to an eligible independent producer (as determined by 
     the State) of a value-added agricultural product to assist 
     the producer--
       ``(i) in developing a business plan for viable marketing 
     opportunities for the value-added agricultural product; or
       ``(ii) in developing strategies that are intended to create 
     marketing opportunities for the producer; and
       ``(B) to an eligible agricultural producer group, farmer or 
     rancher cooperative, or majority-controlled producer-based 
     business venture (as determined by the State) to assist the 
     entity--
       ``(i) in developing a business plan for viable marketing 
     opportunities in emerging markets for a value-added 
     agricultural product; or
       ``(ii) in developing strategies that are intended to create 
     marketing opportunities in emerging markets for the value-
     added agricultural product.
       ``(4) Amount of competitive grant .--
       ``(A) In general.--The total amount provided under 
     paragraph (3) to a grant recipient shall not exceed $500,000.
       ``(B) Majority-controlled producer-based business 
     ventures.--The amount of grants provided by a State to 
     majority-controlled producer-based business ventures under 
     paragraph (3)(B) for a fiscal year may not exceed 10 percent 
     of the amount of funds that are used by the State to make 
     grants for the fiscal year under paragraph (3).
       ``(5) Grantee strategies.--A recipient of a grant under 
     paragraph (3) shall use the grant funds--
       ``(A) to develop a business plan or perform a feasibility 
     study to establish a viable marketing opportunity for a 
     value-added agricultural product; or
       ``(B) to provide capital to establish alliances or business 
     ventures that allow the producer of the value-added 
     agricultural product to better compete in domestic or 
     international markets.

[[Page S9475]]

       ``(6) Reports.--Not later than 90 days after the end of a 
     fiscal year for which funds are provided to a State under 
     paragraph (2), the State shall submit to the Committee on 
     Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
     on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a 
     report describing how the funds were used.
       ``(7) Funding.--On October 1 of each fiscal year, of the 
     funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 
     shall make available to carry out this subsection 
     $100,000,000, to remain available until expended.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall take effect on October 1, 2005.

     SEC. 5. REIMBURSEMENT OF CERTIFICATION COSTS.

       (a) Incentive Program.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
     establish an incentive program to encourage the independent 
     third-party certification of agricultural producers and 
     processors for product qualities, production practices, or 
     other product or process attributes that increase 
     marketability or value of an agricultural commodity.
       (2) Inclusions.--The Secretary shall include independent 
     third-party certification systems, including programs such as 
     Good Agricultural Practices, Good Handling Practices, and 
     Good Manufacturing Practices programs, that the Secretary 
     finds will provide 1 or more measurable social, 
     environmental, or marketing advantages.
       (b) Standards.--The Secretary shall set standards regarding 
     the types of certifications, and the types of certification-
     related expenses, that will qualify for reimbursement under 
     the program.
       (c) Limitation on Amount of Reimbursement.--An agricultural 
     producer or processor may not receive reimbursement for more 
     than 50 percent of the qualified expenses incurred by the 
     producer or processor related to accepted certifications.

     SEC. 6. NATIONWIDE EXPANSION OF RISK MANAGEMENT AGENCY 
                   ADJUSTED GROSS REVENUE INSURANCE PROGRAM.

       (a) Expansion.--Section 523(e) of the Federal Crop 
     Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1523(e)) is amended by adding at the 
     end the following:
       ``(3) Permanent nationwide operation.--
       ``(A) In general.--Effective beginning with the 2006 
     reinsurance year, the Corporation shall carry out the 
     adjusted gross revenue insurance pilot program as a permanent 
     program under this title and may expand the program to cover 
     any county in which crops are produced.
       ``(B) Temporary premium subsidies.--To facilitate the 
     expansion of the program nationwide, the Corporation may 
     grant temporary premium subsidies for the purchase of a 
     policy under the program to producers whose farm operations 
     are located in a county that has a high level of specialty 
     crop production and has not had a high-level of participation 
     in the purchase of crop insurance coverage.''.
       (b) Comptroller General Study.--The Comptroller General 
     shall conduct a study of the Federal crop insurance program--
       (1) to determine how well the program under section 
     523(e)(3) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (as added by 
     subsection (a)) serves specialty crop producers; and
       (2) to recommend such changes as the Comptroller General 
     considers appropriate to improve the program for specialty 
     crop producers.

     SEC. 7. EXPANSION OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PROGRAM IN SCHOOL 
                   LUNCH PROGRAMS.

       The Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act is 
     amended--
       (1) in section 18 (42 U.S.C. 1769), by striking subsection 
     (g); and
       (2) by inserting after section 18 the following:

     ``SEC. 19. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE PROGRAM.

       ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall make available in 
     not more than 100 schools in each State, and in elementary 
     and secondary schools on 1 Indian reservation, free fresh and 
     dried fruits and vegetables and frozen berries to be served 
     to school children throughout the school day in 1 or more 
     areas designated by the school.
       ``(b) Priority in Allocation.--In selecting States to 
     participate in the program, the Secretary shall give priority 
     to States that produce large quantities of specialty crops.
       ``(c) Publicity.--A school participating in the program 
     authorized by this section shall publicize in the school the 
     availability of free fruits and vegetables under the program.
       ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated for to carry out this section $20,000,000 
     for each of fiscal years 2006 and 2007.''.

     SEC. 8. INCREASE IN LIMIT ON DIRECT OPERATING LOANS; 
                   INDEXATION TO INFLATION.

       Section 313 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 
     Act (7 U.S.C. 1943) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``$200,000'' and 
     inserting ``$500,000 (increased, beginning with fiscal year 
     2007, by the inflation percentage applicable to the fiscal 
     year in which the loan is made)''; and
       (2) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (2) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(2) the average of such index (as so defined) for the 12-
     month period ending on--
       ``(A) in the case of a loan other than a loan guaranteed by 
     the Secretary, August 31, 2005; or
       ``(B) in the case of a loan guaranteed by the Secretary, 
     August 31, 1996.''.

     SEC. 9. TRADE OF SPECIALTY CROPS.

       (a) Assistant USTR for Specialty Crops.--Section 141(c) of 
     the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2171(c)) is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(6) Assistant ustr for specialty crops.--
       ``(A) Establishment.--There is established in the Office 
     the position of Assistant United States Trade Representative 
     for Specialty Crops.
       ``(B) Appointment.--The Assistant United States Trade 
     Representative for Specialty Crops shall be appointed by the 
     United States Trade Representative.
       ``(C) Primary function.--The primary function of the 
     Assistant United States Trade Representative for Specialty 
     Crops shall be--
       ``(i) to promote the trade interests of specialty crop 
     businesses;
       ``(ii) to remove foreign trade barriers that impede 
     specialty crop businesses; and
       ``(iii) to enforce existing trade agreements beneficial to 
     specialty crop businesses.
       ``(D) Pay.--The Assistant United States Trade 
     Representative for Specialty Crops shall be paid at the level 
     of a member of the Senior Executive Service with equivalent 
     time and service.''.
       (b) Study of Uruguay Round Table Agreement Benefits.--
       (1) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States 
     shall conduct a study on the benefits of the agreements 
     approved by Congress under section 101(a)(1) of the Uruguay 
     Round Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3511(a)(1)) to specialty crop 
     businesses.
       (2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
     enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit 
     to Congress a report describing the results of the study 
     conducted under paragraph (1).
       (c) Foreign Market Access Strategy.--Not later than 1 year 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
     Agriculture shall develop and implement a foreign market 
     access strategy to increase exports of specialty crops to 
     foreign markets.

     SEC. 10. INCREASED AUTHORIZATION FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR 
                   SPECIALTY CROPS.

       Section 3205(d) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment 
     Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 5680(d)) is amended by striking 
     ``$2,000,000'' and inserting ``$10,000,000''.
                                 ______