[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 140 (Monday, September 28, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H6287-H6290]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 MANDATORY PRICE REPORTING ACT OF 2015

  Mr. CONAWAY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and concur in 
the Senate amendment to the bill (H.R. 2051) to amend the Agricultural 
Marketing Act of 1946 to extend the livestock mandatory price reporting 
requirements, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the Senate amendment is as follows:
  Senate amendment:

       Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert:

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

       (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the 
     ``Agriculture Reauthorizations Act of 2015''.
       (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act 
     is as follows:
       Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

                   TITLE I--MANDATORY PRICE REPORTING

       Sec. 101. Extension of livestock mandatory reporting.
       Sec. 102. Swine reporting.
       Sec. 103. Lamb reporting.
       Sec. 104. Study on livestock mandatory reporting.

        TITLE II--NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION ACT REAUTHORIZATION

       Sec. 201. National Forest Foundation Act reauthorization.

      TITLE III--UNITED STATES GRAIN STANDARDS ACT REAUTHORIZATION

       Sec. 301. Reauthorization of United States Grain Standards 
           Act.
       Sec. 302. Report on disruption in Federal inspection of 
           grain exports.
       Sec. 303. Report on policy barriers to grain producers.

                   TITLE I--MANDATORY PRICE REPORTING

     SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF LIVESTOCK MANDATORY REPORTING.

       (a) Extension of Authority.--Section 260 of the 
     Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1636i) is 
     amended by striking ``September 30, 2015'' and inserting 
     ``September 30, 2020''.
       (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 942 of the Livestock 
     Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 (7 U.S.C. 1635 note; Public 
     Law 106-78) is amended by striking ``September 30, 2015'' and 
     inserting ``September 30, 2020''.

     SEC. 102. SWINE REPORTING.

       (a) Definitions.--Section 231 of the Agricultural Marketing 
     Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1635i) is amended--
       (1) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through (22) as 
     paragraphs (10) through (23), respectively;
       (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:
       ``(9) Negotiated formula purchase.--The term `negotiated 
     formula purchase' means a swine or pork market formula 
     purchase under which--
       ``(A) the formula is determined by negotiation on a lot-by-
     lot basis; and
       ``(B) the swine are scheduled for delivery to the packer 
     not later than 14 days after the date on which the formula is 
     negotiated and swine are committed to the packer.'';
       (3) in paragraph (12)(A) (as so redesignated), by inserting 
     ``negotiated formula purchase,'' after ``pork market formula 
     purchase,''; and
       (4) in paragraph (23) (as so redesignated)--
       (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (E); 
     and
       (C) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
       ``(D) a negotiated formula purchase; and''.
       (b) Daily Reporting.--Section 232(c) of the Agricultural 
     Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1635j(c)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)(D), by striking clause (ii) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(ii) Price distributions.--The information published by 
     the Secretary under clause (i) shall include--

       ``(I) a distribution of net prices in the range between and 
     including the lowest net price and the highest net price 
     reported;
       ``(II) a delineation of the number of barrows and gilts at 
     each reported price level or, at the option of the Secretary, 
     the number of barrows and gilts within each of a series of 
     reasonable price bands within the range of prices; and
       ``(III) the total number and weighted average price of 
     barrows and gilts purchased through negotiated purchases and 
     negotiated formula purchases.''; and

       (2) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end the following:
       ``(C) Late in the day report information.--The Secretary 
     shall include in the morning report and the afternoon report 
     for the following day any information required to be reported 
     under subparagraph (A) that is obtained after the time of the 
     reporting day specified in that subparagraph.''.

     SEC. 103. LAMB REPORTING.

       Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall revise section 59.300 
     of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, so that--
       (1) the definition of the term ``importer''--
       (A) includes only those importers that imported an average 
     of 1,000 metric tons of lamb meat products per year during 
     the immediately preceding 4 calendar years; and
       (B) may include any person that does not meet the 
     requirement referred to in subparagraph (A), if the Secretary 
     determines that the person should be considered an importer 
     based on their volume of lamb imports; and
       (2) the definition of the term ``packer''--
       (A) applies to any entity with 50 percent or more ownership 
     in a facility;
       (B) includes a federally inspected lamb processing plant 
     which slaughtered or processed the equivalent of an average 
     of 35,000 head of lambs per year during the immediately 
     preceding 5 calendar years; and
       (C) may include any other lamb processing plant that does 
     not meet the requirement referred to in subparagraph (B), if 
     the Secretary determines that the processing plant should be 
     considered a packer after considering the capacity of the 
     processing plant.

     SEC. 104. STUDY ON LIVESTOCK MANDATORY REPORTING.

       (a) Study Required.--
       (1) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture, acting 
     through the Agricultural Marketing Service in conjunction 
     with the Office of the Chief Economist and in consultation 
     with cattle, swine, and lamb producers, packers, and other 
     market participants, shall conduct a study on the program of 
     information regarding the marketing of cattle, swine, lambs, 
     and products of such livestock under subtitle B of the 
     Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1635 et seq.).
       (2) Requirements.--The study shall--
       (A) analyze current marketing practices in the cattle, 
     swine, and lamb markets;
       (B) identify legislative or regulatory recommendations made 
     by cattle, swine, and lamb producers, packers, and other 
     market participants to ensure that information provided under 
     the program--
       (i) can be readily understood by producers, packers, and 
     other market participants;
       (ii) reflects current marketing practices; and
       (iii) is relevant and useful to producers, packers, and 
     other market participants;
       (C) analyze the price and supply information reporting 
     services of the Department of Agriculture related to cattle, 
     swine, and lamb; and
       (D) address any other issues that the Secretary considers 
     appropriate.
       (b) Report.--Not later than March 1, 2018, the Secretary of 
     Agriculture 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 
     containing the findings of the study conducted under 
     subsection (a).

[[Page H6288]]

  


        TITLE II--NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION ACT REAUTHORIZATION

     SEC. 201. NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION ACT REAUTHORIZATION.

       (a) Extension of Authority To Provide Matching Funds for 
     Administrative and Project Expenses.--Section 405(b) of the 
     National Forest Foundation Act (16 U.S.C. 583j-3(b)) is 
     amended by striking ``for a period of five years beginning 
     October 1, 1992'' and inserting ``during fiscal years 2016 
     through 2018''.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 410(b) of the 
     National Forest Foundation Act (16 U.S.C. 583j-8(b)) is 
     amended by striking ``during the five-year period'' and all 
     that follows through ``$1,000,000 annually'' and inserting 
     ``there are authorized to be appropriated $3,000,000 for each 
     of fiscal years 2016 through 2018''.
       (c) Technical Corrections.--
       (1) Agent.--Section 404 of the National Forest Foundation 
     Act (16 U.S.C. 583j-2) is amended--
       (A) in subsection (a)(4), by inserting ``notice or'' after 
     ``authorized to accept''; and
       (B) in subsection (b), by striking ``under this paragraph'' 
     and inserting ``by subsection (a)(4)''.
       (2) Annual report.--Section 407(b) of the National Forest 
     Foundation Act (16 U.S.C. 583j-5(b)) is amended by striking 
     the comma after ``The Foundation shall''.

      TITLE III--UNITED STATES GRAIN STANDARDS ACT REAUTHORIZATION

     SEC. 301. REAUTHORIZATION OF UNITED STATES GRAIN STANDARDS 
                   ACT.

       (a) Official Inspection and Weighing Requirements.--
       (1) Discretionary waiver authority.--Section 5(a)(1) of the 
     United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 77(a)(1)) is 
     amended in the first proviso by striking ``may waive the 
     foregoing requirement in emergency or other circumstances 
     which would not impair the objectives of this Act'' and 
     inserting ``shall waive the foregoing requirement in 
     emergency or other circumstances that would not impair the 
     objectives of this Act whenever the parties to a contract for 
     such shipment mutually agree to the waiver and documentation 
     of such agreement is provided to the Secretary prior to 
     shipment''.
       (2) Weighing requirements at export elevators.--Section 
     5(a)(2) of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 
     77(a)(2)) is amended in the proviso by striking 
     ``intracompany shipments of grain into an export elevator by 
     any mode of transportation, grain transferred into an export 
     elevator by transportation modes other than barge,'' and 
     inserting ``shipments of grain into an export elevator by any 
     mode of transportation''.
       (3) Disruption in grain inspection or weighing.--Section 5 
     of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 77) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(d) Disruption in Grain Inspection or Weighing.--In the 
     case of a disruption in official grain inspections or 
     weighings, including if the Secretary waives the requirement 
     for official inspection due to an emergency under subsection 
     (a)(1), the Secretary shall--
       ``(1) immediately take such actions as are necessary to 
     address the disruption and resume inspections or weighings;
       ``(2) not later than 24 hours after the start of the 
     disruption in inspection or weighing, submit to the Committee 
     on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the 
     Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 
     Senate a report that describes--
       ``(A) the disruption; and
       ``(B) any actions necessary to address the concerns of the 
     Secretary relating to the disruption so that inspections or 
     weighings may resume; and
       ``(3) once the initial report in paragraph (2) has been 
     made, provide daily updates until official inspection or 
     weighing services at the site of disruption have resumed.''.
       (b) Official Inspection Authority and Funding.--
       (1) Delegation of official inspection authority.--Section 
     7(e)(2) of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 
     79(e)(2)) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``(2) If the Secretary'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(2) Delegation of authority to state agencies.--
       ``(A) In general.--If the Secretary'';
       (B) in the first sentence--
       (i) by striking ``and (A)'' and inserting ``and (i)'';
       (ii) by striking ``or (B)(i)'' and inserting ``or 
     (ii)(I)'';
       (iii) by striking ``(ii)'' and inserting ``(II)''; and
       (iv) by striking ``(iii)'' and inserting ``(III)''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(B) Certification.--
       ``(i) In general.--Every 5 years, the Secretary shall 
     certify that each State agency with a delegation of authority 
     is meeting the criteria described in subsection (f)(1)(A).
       ``(ii) Process.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of the Agriculture Reauthorizations Act of 2015, 
     the Secretary shall establish a process for certification 
     under which the Secretary shall--

       ``(I) publish in the Federal Register notice of intent to 
     certify a State agency and provide a 30-day period for public 
     comment;
       ``(II) evaluate the public comments received and, in 
     accordance with paragraph (3), conduct an investigation to 
     determine whether the State agency is qualified;
       ``(III) make findings based on the public comments received 
     and investigation conducted; and
       ``(IV) publish in the Federal Register a notice announcing 
     whether the certification has been granted and describing the 
     basis on which the Secretary made the decision.

       ``(C) State agency requirements.--
       ``(i) In general.--If a State agency that has been 
     delegated authority under this paragraph intends to 
     temporarily discontinue official inspection or weighing 
     services for any reason, except in the case of a major 
     disaster, the State agency shall notify the Secretary in 
     writing of the intention of the State agency to do so at 
     least 72 hours in advance of the discontinuation date.
       ``(ii) Secretarial consideration.--The Secretary shall 
     consider receipt of a notice described in clause (i) as a 
     factor in administering the delegation of authority under 
     this paragraph.''.
       (2) Consultation.--Section 7(f)(1) of the United States 
     Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79(f)(1)) is amended--
       (A) in subparagraph (A)(xi), by striking ``and'' at the 
     end;
       (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(C) the Secretary--
       ``(i) periodically conducts a consultation with the 
     customers of the applicant, in a manner that provides 
     opportunity for protection of the identity of the customer if 
     desired by the customer, to review the performance of the 
     applicant with regard to the provision of official inspection 
     services and other requirements of this Act; and
       ``(ii) works with the applicant to address any concerns 
     identified during the consultation process.''.
       (3) Geographic boundaries for official agencies.--
       (A) Official inspection authority.--Section 7(f)(2) of the 
     United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79(f)(2)) is 
     amended by striking ``the Secretary may'' and all that 
     follows through the end of the paragraph and inserting the 
     following: ``the Secretary shall allow a designated official 
     agency to cross boundary lines to carry out inspections in 
     another geographic area if--
       ``(A) the current designated official agency for that 
     geographic area is unable to provide inspection services in a 
     timely manner;
       ``(B) a person requesting inspection services in that 
     geographic area requests a probe inspection on a barge-lot 
     basis; or
       ``(C) the current official agency for that geographic area 
     agrees in writing with the adjacent official agency to waive 
     the current geographic area restriction at the request of the 
     applicant for service.''.
       (B) Weighing authority.--Section 7A(i)(2) of the United 
     States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79a(i)(2)) is amended by 
     striking ``the Secretary may'' and all that follows through 
     the end of the paragraph and inserting the following: ``the 
     Secretary shall allow a designated official agency to cross 
     boundary lines to carry out weighing in another geographic 
     area if--
       ``(A) the current designated official agency for that 
     geographic area is unable to provide weighing services in a 
     timely manner; or
       ``(B) the current official agency for that geographic area 
     agrees in writing with the adjacent official agency to waive 
     the current geographic area restriction at the request of the 
     applicant for service.''.
       (4) Duration of designation authority.--Section 7(g)(1) of 
     the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79(g)(1)) is 
     amended by striking ``triennially'' and inserting ``every 5 
     years''.
       (5) Fees.--Section 7(j) of the United States Grain 
     Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79(j)(1)) is amended--
       (A) by striking ``(j)(1) The Secretary'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(j) Fees.--
       ``(1) Inspection fees.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary'';
       (B) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) the second sentence, by striking ``The fees'' and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(B) Amount of fees.--The fees'';
       (ii) in the third sentence, by striking ``Such fees'' and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(C) Use of fees.--Fees described in this paragraph''; and
       (iii) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(D) Export tonnage fees.--For an official inspection at 
     an export facility performed by the Secretary, the portion of 
     the fees based on export tonnage shall be based on the 
     rolling 5-year average of export tonnage volumes.'';
       (C) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5);
       (D) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:
       ``(4) Adjustment of fees.--In order to maintain an 
     operating reserve of not less than 3 and not more than 6 
     months, the Secretary shall adjust the fees described in 
     paragraphs (1) and (2) not less frequently than annually.''; 
     and
       (E) in paragraph (5) (as redesignated by subparagraph (C)), 
     in the first sentence, by striking ``2015'' and inserting 
     ``2020''.
       (c) Weighing Authority.--Section 7A of the United States 
     Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79a) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (c)(2), in the last sentence, by striking 
     ``subsection (g) of section 7'' and inserting ``subsections 
     (e) and (g) of section 7''; and
       (2) in subsection (l)--
       (A) by striking ``(l)(1) The Secretary'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(l) Fees.--
       ``(1) Weighing fees.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary'';
       (B) in paragraph (1)--
       (i) the second sentence, by striking ``The fees'' and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(B) Amount of fees.--The fees'';
       (ii) in the third sentence, by striking ``Such fees'' and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(C) Use of fees.--Fees described in this paragraph''; and
       (iii) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(D) Export tonnage fees.--For an official weighing at an 
     export facility performed by the

[[Page H6289]]

     Secretary, the portion of the fees based on export tonnage 
     shall be based on the rolling 5-year average of export 
     tonnage volumes.'';
       (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph (4);
       (D) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
       ``(3) Adjustment of fees.--In order to maintain an 
     operating reserve of not less than 3 and not more than 6 
     months, the Secretary shall adjust the fees described in 
     paragraphs (1) and (2) not less frequently than annually.''; 
     and
       (E) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by subparagraph (C)), 
     in the first sentence, by striking ``2015'' and inserting 
     ``2020''.
       (d) Limitation and Administrative and Supervisory Costs.--
     Section 7D of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 
     79d) is amended by striking ``2015'' and inserting ``2020''.
       (e) Issuance of Authorization.--Section 8(b) of the United 
     States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 84(b)) is amended by 
     striking ``triennially'' and inserting ``every 5 years''.
       (f) Appropriations.--Section 19 of the United States Grain 
     Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 87h) is amended by striking ``2015'' 
     and inserting ``2020''.
       (g) Advisory Committee.--Section 21(e) of the United States 
     Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 87j(e)) is amended by striking 
     ``2015'' and inserting ``2020''.

     SEC. 302. REPORT ON DISRUPTION IN FEDERAL INSPECTION OF GRAIN 
                   EXPORTS.

       Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the 
     Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 
     Senate, the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
     Representatives, the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural 
     Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related 
     Agencies of the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, 
     and the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food 
     and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies of the 
     Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives a 
     report that describes--
       (1) the specific factors that led to disruption in Federal 
     inspection of grain exports at the Port of Vancouver in the 
     summer of 2014;
       (2) any factors that contributed to the disruption referred 
     to in paragraph (1) that were unique to the Port of 
     Vancouver, including a description of the port facility, 
     security needs and available resources for that purpose, and 
     any other significant factors as determined by the Secretary; 
     and
       (3) any changes in policy that the Secretary has 
     implemented to ensure that a similar disruption in Federal 
     inspection of grain exports at the Port of Vancouver or any 
     other location does not occur in the future.

     SEC. 303. REPORT ON POLICY BARRIERS TO GRAIN PRODUCERS.

       Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
     Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the 
     United States Trade Representative, shall submit to the 
     Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 
     Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
     Representatives a report that describes--
       (1) the policy barriers to United States grain producers in 
     countries the grain of which receives official grading in the 
     United States but which do not offer official grading for 
     United States grain or provide only the lowest designation 
     for United States grain, including an analysis of possible 
     inconsistencies with trade obligations; and
       (2) any actions the Executive Branch is taking to remedy 
     the policy barriers so as to put United States grain 
     producers on equal footing with grain producers in countries 
     imposing the barriers.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Conaway) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CONAWAY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks 
and to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CONAWAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of H.R. 2051, the Agriculture Reauthorizations Act 
of 2015.
  Mr. Speaker, on June 9, the House passed three individual bills: the 
Mandatory Price Reporting Act of 2015; the United States Grain 
Standards Reauthorization Act of 2015; and the National Forest 
Foundation Reauthorization Act of 2015. For each of these, the 
Committee on Agriculture held hearings and business meetings, and the 
House acted in a timely manner to ensure the continuation of these 
critical programs.
  I am proud of the fact that the House worked its will in a bipartisan 
manner following regular order throughout. Just last week the other 
body worked its will, combining these three bills into a single bill 
before us.
  Though modifications were made that I do not agree with, it is 
imperative that the House pass this legislation in advance of the 
authority for price reporting and grain inspection expiring on 
Wednesday evening. Failure to enact this legislation today will have 
devastating impacts on our Nation's meat industries and grain 
exporters.
  I urge the House to adopt this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2051, a bill to 
reauthorize the Mandatory Price Reporting Act, the United States Grain 
Standards Act, and the National Forest Foundation Act. Legislative 
language to reauthorize each of these was introduced, reported by the 
House Agriculture Committee, and passed by the House on voice vote as 
standalone measures on June 10th of this year. The first two, the 
Mandatory Price Reporting Act and the Grain Standards Act authorities 
are set to expire in just a few days.
  As passed by the House, each of these measures enjoyed wide 
bipartisan support from Members as well as support from each of the 
impacted industries. Unfortunately, after passing through the other 
chamber, we are left with bill language that is somewhat less than 
ideal, but at least maintains these critical program authorities for 5 
more years.
  In the development of the Mandatory Price Reporting Act and with each 
of its subsequent reauthorizations, we have asked the impacted 
industries to work together in a cooperative spirit to develop their 
legislative proposals and submit only those that are unanimously 
supported. The meat and livestock industries did just that this past 
spring. Those proposals were reviewed in a hearing in the Subcommittee 
on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture on April 22nd, bill language was 
introduced in the House, a business meeting was held, and the House 
unanimously passed the bill. Unfortunately, a demand was made in the 
other body that the bill be modified to remove language of critical 
importance to our constituents. Thus, we have before us today a bill 
that is less than what our constituents requested. Yet if we fail to 
act, a program of critical importance to the meat and livestock 
industries would expire leaving these industries in a quandary. It is a 
shame that politics must interfere with policy on even the simplest 
measures, but we must move forward.
  The United States Grain Standards Act reauthorization faced similar 
challenges in the other body. As my colleagues will recall, last summer 
amid an ongoing labor dispute, the Washington State Department of 
Agriculture (WSDA) discontinued mandatory grain weighing and grading 
services.
  In statements issued at the time, WSDA acknowledged that they 
withheld inspection services because of their belief that the 
``continued provision of inspections services appears to have been 
unhelpful in leading to any foreseeable resolution'' of the labor 
dispute.
  Instead of fulfilling their statutory obligation, the leadership of 
the U.S. Department of Agriculture politicized this situation when the 
agency declined to fulfill its statutory responsibility to resume 
inspection and weighing services. Services were eventually restored, 
but not before significant costs accrued to all parties involved.
  We have worked hard to gain access to overseas markets. We are 
shooting ourselves in the foot when we cannot ship our products to 
these markets because State and Federal agencies are unable or 
unwilling to comply with their obligations. To not be able to ship our 
grain because there are no inspectors at a facility does a disservice 
to our farmers, and it harms our economy.
  To address this situation, the House could have been punitive. In 
fact, there were some in the industry that would have preferred that. 
But that is not what we were interested in doing. We simply wanted to 
develop a safeguard mechanism to avoid this situation being repeated. 
To do that, we worked with the Washington State delegation, the 
Washington State Department of Agriculture, labor unions, industry and 
even the USDA. What we developed was bipartisan consensus on a workable 
safeguard provision. Nevertheless, the bill as adopted in the other 
body provides little safeguard against future abuses of discretion. I 
cannot emphasize this enough--it is imperative that these inspection 
and weighing services are provided in a reliable, uninterrupted, 
consistent and cost-effective manner. To ensure that we fulfill this 
obligation, we must learn the lessons of history or it is doomed to 
repeat itself.
  To this end, the Secretary of Agriculture is instructed to take 
prompt action to provide for restoration of official grain inspection 
service as soon as he receives notice or otherwise learns about the 
impending disruption from a delegated State agency. In this regard, as 
a way of not allowing the Secretary to sit on his hands after learning 
that a disruption in official service was imminent, the Secretary is 
required to:

[[Page H6290]]

  1. Immediately take such actions as are necessary to address the 
disruption and resume inspection and weighing services; and
  2. Not later than 24 hours after receiving notice or otherwise 
learning of the impending disruption of such inspection or weighing, or 
after the start of such disruption in official service, whichever is 
earlier, submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and 
Forestry of the Senate a report that describes the disruptions and any 
actions necessary to address the concerns of the Secretary relating to 
the disruption so that inspections or weighings may resume.
  On a positive note, another critical element of the House bill was 
retained wherein the Secretary will be obligated to waive official 
weighing and inspection requirements in both cases of emergency as well 
as other circumstances as long as the waiver does not impair the 
underlying objectives of the statute and the buyers and sellers agree 
and provide documentation of the agreement to the Secretary. This 
waiver requirement is intended to provide certainty to trading partners 
as well as U.S. suppliers.
  Since its charter in 1993, the National Forest Foundation provides 
the ability to leverage private and federal dollars to support our 
Nation's great forests in a variety of ways. In recent years, the 
Foundation has leveraged funds at over a 4 to 1 ratio and plans to 
continue on this success to raise at least $125 million for forest 
restoration activities. Simply put, the National Forest Foundation 
works, and this is a common-sense reauthorization.
  While I recognize that concessions were made resulting in less than 
ideal bill text, at the end of the day, H.R. 2051 provides certainty to 
American agriculture, and I would urge my colleagues to support it.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. PETERSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2051. This bipartisan 
legislation reauthorizes the Mandatory Price Reporting Act, the 
National Forest Foundation Act, and the U.S. Grain Standards Act. This 
bill continues the tradition of bipartisan, bicameral work done by the 
Agriculture Committees.
  Important livestock price reporting programs will be continued under 
the bill's mandatory price reporting provisions. Producers rely on 
access to transparent, accurate, and timely market information, and 
H.R. 2051 will provide that certainty.
  The National Forest Foundation Act is the type of public-private 
collaboration we should all be able to support, giving private groups 
and stakeholders a chance to help in the stewardship and management of 
our national forests and grasslands. H.R. 2051 will ensure that this 
partnership can continue.
  Finally, the U.S. Grain Standards Reauthorization Act will allow the 
Federal Grain Inspection Service to continue official weighing and 
inspection services. Both grain buyers and sellers rely on a gold 
standard quality assurance, backed by the Federal Government, when 
conducting business.
  Again, this is good, commonsense legislation, a bipartisan bill. I 
urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CONAWAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I also want to thank my colleague, my ranking member, 
Collin Peterson. Throughout this work, he and all the Members on both 
sides of the aisle of the committee worked well together. It is a 
tribute to the way bipartisan work ought to be done in the House, and I 
am proud of the work the Agriculture Committee has done.
  I urge Members to join me in support of this bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway) that the House suspend the rules and 
concur in the Senate amendment to the bill, H.R. 2051.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the Senate amendment was concurred in.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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