[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 177 (Thursday, October 26, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5214-S5216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS

      By Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. Grassley):
  S. 3146. A bill to amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to 
establish a voluntary program to reduce food loss and waste, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3146

       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 ``Reduce Food Loss and Waste 
     Act''.

     SEC. 2. FOOD LOSS AND WASTE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM.

       Subtitle A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 
     U.S.C. 1621 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

     ``SEC. 210B. FOOD LOSS AND WASTE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM.

       ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
       ``(1) Apparently wholesome food.--The term `apparently 
     wholesome food' has the meaning given the term in subsection 
     (b) of the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (42 
     U.S.C. 1791(b)).
       ``(2) Certified participant.--The term `certified 
     participant' means an eligible participant that has been 
     certified under subsection (d).
       ``(3) Eligible participant.--The term `eligible 
     participant' means--
       ``(A) a contractor that has entered into a contract with an 
     executive agency, the Senate, or the House of Representatives 
     for the provision, service, or sale of food in the United 
     States;
       ``(B) a State, local, municipal, or Tribal government;
       ``(C) a corporation, partnership, organization, or 
     association;
       ``(D) a farm or a food producer, manufacturer, processor, 
     holder, or packer;
       ``(E) a retail grocer;
       ``(F) a restaurant or similar food service establishment;
       ``(G) an institution of higher education or a consortium of 
     those institutions; or
       ``(H) a primary or secondary school or a consortium of 
     those institutions.
       ``(4) Excess.--The term `excess', with respect to food, 
     means that the food would otherwise be discarded.

[[Page S5215]]

       ``(5) Food.--The term `food' means food (as defined in 
     section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 
     U.S.C. 321)) that is intended for human consumption.
       ``(6) Program.--The term `program' means the Food Loss and 
     Waste Reduction Certification Program established under 
     subsection (b).
       ``(7) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
     of Agriculture.
       ``(b) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a 
     voluntary program, to be known as the `Food Loss and Waste 
     Reduction Certification Program'--
       ``(1) to certify eligible participants in accordance with 
     subsection (d); and
       ``(2) to promote certified participants in accordance with 
     subsection (e).
       ``(c) Purposes.--The purposes of the program are--
       ``(1) to reduce food loss and waste;
       ``(2) to increase donations of excess, apparently wholesome 
     food to nonprofit organizations that provide food assistance 
     to individuals in need; and
       ``(3) to increase the use of alternative disposal methods 
     for food, such as redirection to animal feed, anaerobic 
     digestion, and composting.
       ``(d) Certification.--
       ``(1) Criteria.--
       ``(A) In general.--
       ``(i) Establishment and publication.--Not later than 18 
     months after the date of enactment of the Reduce Food Loss 
     and Waste Act, the Secretary shall establish and publish in 
     the Federal Register criteria for the certification of an 
     eligible participant under the program.
       ``(ii) Inclusions.--Criteria described in clause (i) shall 
     include the submission to a third-party certifier accredited 
     under paragraph (3) of documentation from 12 consecutive 
     months on the quantity of food that the eligible 
     participant--

       ``(I) has donated to nonprofit organizations that provide 
     food assistance for individuals in need; or
       ``(II) has sent to be disposed of.

       ``(B) Stakeholder input.--The Secretary shall solicit 
     comments from interested parties prior to the establishment 
     or revision of the criteria described in subparagraph (A).
       ``(C) Revisions.--
       ``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall revise the criteria 
     described in subparagraph (A) on a periodic basis.
       ``(ii) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish in the 
     Federal Register criteria revised under clause (i) not later 
     than 270 days before the effective date of the revised 
     criteria, including an explanation of the revisions.
       ``(2) Accreditation bodies.--
       ``(A) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date 
     of enactment of the Reduce Food Loss and Waste Act, the 
     Secretary shall establish a process to recognize 
     accreditation bodies to accredit third-party certifiers under 
     paragraph (3)(A).
       ``(B) Standards.--The Secretary shall recognize an 
     accreditation body under subparagraph (A) if the 
     accreditation body meets such standards as the Secretary 
     shall establish.
       ``(3) Third-party certifiers.--
       ``(A) In general.--Not later than 18 months after the date 
     of enactment of the Reduce Food Loss and Waste Act, the 
     Secretary shall establish a process for accreditation bodies 
     recognized under paragraph (2) to accredit third-party 
     certifiers to review and certify eligible participants under 
     the program.
       ``(B) Standards.--An accreditation body recognized under 
     paragraph (2) shall accredit a third-party certifier under 
     subparagraph (A) if the third-party certifier meets such 
     standards as the Secretary shall establish.
       ``(C) Preference.--In accrediting third-party certifiers 
     under subparagraph (A), an accreditation body recognized 
     under paragraph (2) shall give preference to institutions of 
     higher education that have expertise in food loss and waste 
     reduction.
       ``(D) Certification.--A third-party certifier accredited 
     under subparagraph (A) shall review and certify an eligible 
     participant under the program if the eligible participant 
     meets the criteria established under paragraph (1).
       ``(4) Publication.--The Secretary shall maintain on a 
     publicly available website of the Department of Agriculture--
       ``(A) a list of accreditation bodies recognized under 
     paragraph (2); and
       ``(B) a list of third-party certifiers accredited under 
     paragraph (3).
       ``(e) Promotion.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall promote a certified 
     participant under the program, including through--
       ``(A) voluntary labeling established under paragraph (2); 
     and
       ``(B) such other communications as the Secretary determines 
     to be appropriate relating to the products, buildings, 
     practices, and policies of the certified participant, such 
     as--
       ``(i) publication on the website of the Department of 
     Agriculture of information relating to the certified 
     participant; and
       ``(ii) holding events to promote the certified participant 
     or otherwise relating to the program.
       ``(2) Voluntary labeling.--The Secretary shall establish 1 
     or more voluntary labels that indicate that a certified 
     participant is certified under the program.
       ``(f) Interagency Coordination.--The Secretary shall carry 
     out this section in coordination with the Commissioner of 
     Food and Drugs and the Administrator of the Environmental 
     Protection Agency, in accordance with the memorandum of 
     understanding revised under section 3 of the Reduce Food Loss 
     and Waste Act.
       ``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section, including for 
     the hiring of additional personnel, $3,000,000 for each of 
     fiscal years 2024 through 2028, to remain available until 
     expended.''.

     SEC. 3. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.

       The Secretary of Agriculture, the Commissioner of Food and 
     Drugs, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
     Agency shall revise, in accordance with section 210B of the 
     Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (as added by section 2), 
     the agreement signed on December 17, 2020, relating to 
     cooperation and coordination on food loss and waste.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. THUNE (for himself and Mr. Wyden):
  S. 3154. A bill to improve the effectiveness of tribal child support 
enforcement agencies, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Finance.
  Mr. THUNE. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of 
the bill be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 3154

       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 ``Tribal Child Support 
     Enforcement Act''.

     SEC. 2. IMPROVING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF TRIBAL CHILD SUPPORT 
                   ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.

       (a) Improving the Collection of Past-due Child Support 
     Through State and Tribal Parity in the Allowable Use of Tax 
     Information.--
       (1) Amendment to the social security act.--Section 464 of 
     the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 664) is amended by adding 
     at the end the following:
       ``(d) Applicability to Indian Tribes and Tribal 
     Organizations Receiving a Grant Under This Part.--This 
     section, except for the requirement to distribute amounts in 
     accordance with section 457, shall apply to an Indian tribe 
     or tribal organization receiving a grant under section 455(f) 
     in the same manner in which this section applies to a State 
     with a plan approved under this part.''.
       (2) Amendments to the internal revenue code.--
       (A) Section 6103(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 
     is amended by striking ``any local child support enforcement 
     agency'' and inserting ``any tribal or local child support 
     enforcement agency''.
       (B) Section 6103(a)(3) of such Code is amended by inserting 
     ``, (8)'' after ``(6)''.
       (C) Section 6103(l) of such Code is amended--
       (i) in paragraph (6)--

       (I) by striking ``or local'' in subparagraph (A) and 
     inserting ``tribal, or local'';
       (II) by striking ``and local'' in the heading thereof and 
     inserting ``tribal, and local'';
       (III) by striking ``The following'' in subparagraph (B) and 
     inserting ``The'';
       (IV) by striking the colon and all that follows in 
     subparagraph (B) and inserting a period; and
       (V) by adding at the end the following:

       ``(D) State, tribal, or local child support enforcement 
     agency.--For purposes of this paragraph, the following shall 
     be treated as a State, tribal, or local child support 
     enforcement agency:
       ``(i) Any agency of a State or political subdivision 
     thereof operating pursuant to a plan described in section 454 
     of the Social Security Act which has been approved by the 
     Secretary of Health and Human Services under part D of title 
     IV of such Act.
       ``(ii) Any child support enforcement agency of an Indian 
     tribe or tribal organization receiving a grant under section 
     455(f) of the Social Security Act.'';
       (ii) in paragraph (8)--

       (I) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``or State or local'' 
     and inserting ``State, tribal, or local'';
       (II) by adding the following at the end of subparagraph 
     (B): ``The information disclosed to any child support 
     enforcement agency under subparagraph (A) with respect to any 
     individual with respect to whom child support obligations are 
     sought to be established or enforced may be disclosed by such 
     agency to any agent of such agency which is under contract 
     with such agency for purposes of, and to the extent necessary 
     in, establishing and collecting child support obligations 
     from, and locating, individuals owing such obligations.'';
       (III) by striking subparagraph (C) and inserting the 
     following:

       ``(C) State, tribal, or local child support enforcement 
     agency.--For purposes of this paragraph, the term `State, 
     tribal, or local child support enforcement agency' has the 
     same meaning as when used in paragraph (6)(D).''; and

       (IV) by striking ``and local'' in the heading thereof and 
     inserting ``tribal, and local''; and

       (iii) in paragraph (10)(B), by adding at the end the 
     following new clause:

[[Page S5216]]

       ``(iii) The information disclosed to any child support 
     enforcement agency under subparagraph (A) with respect to any 
     individual with respect to whom child support obligations are 
     sought to be established or enforced may be disclosed by such 
     agency to any agent of such agency which is under contract 
     with such agency for purposes of, and to the extent necessary 
     in, establishing and collecting child support obligations 
     from, and locating, individuals owing such obligations.''.
       (D) Section 6103(p) of such Code is amended--
       (i) in paragraph (4), by striking ``subsection (l)(10), 
     (13)(A), (13)(B), (13)(C), (13)(D)(i), (16), (18), (19), or 
     (20) or any entity'' each place it appears in subparagraph 
     (F) and in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) and 
     inserting ``subsection (l)(6), (8), (10), (13)(A), (13)(B), 
     (13)(C), (13)(D)(i), (16), (18), (19), or (20), or any Indian 
     tribe or tribal organization receiving a grant under section 
     455(f) of the Social Security Act, or any entity'', and
       (ii) in paragraph (9), by striking ``or local'' and 
     inserting ``tribal, or local''.
       (E) Subsection (c) of section 6402 of such Code is amended 
     by adding at the end the following: ``For purposes of this 
     subsection, any reference to a State shall include a 
     reference to any Indian tribe or tribal organization 
     receiving a grant under section 455(f) of the Social Security 
     Act.''.
       (b) Reimbursement for Reports.--Section 453(g) of the 
     Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653(g)) is amended--
       (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ``State''; and
       (2) by striking ``and State'' and inserting ``, State, and 
     tribal''.
       (c) Technical Amendments.--Paragraphs (7) and (33) of 
     section 454 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 654) are 
     each amended by striking ``450b'' and inserting ``5304''.
                                 ______
                                 
      By Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Whitehouse, Ms. 
        Baldwin, Ms. Warren, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. 
        Sanders):
  S. 3155. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to expand 
the denial of deduction for certain excessive employee remuneration, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. REED. Madam President, I am reintroducing the Stop Subsidizing 
Multimillion Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act with Senators Blumenthal, 
Whitehouse, Merkley, Baldwin, Warren, Van Hollen, and Sanders. This 
legislation would finally fully close a loophole that allows publicly 
traded corporations to deduct the cost of multimillion-dollar bonuses 
from their corporate tax bills. At a time when the gulf in pay between 
CEOs and average workers is 272 to 1, it is infuriating that U.S. 
taxpayers are being forced to subsidize lavish executive compensation 
packages, but that is what is happening.
  Under section 162(m) of the Tax Code, publicly traded corporations 
cannot deduct more than $1 million in compensation paid to their top 
executives. But section 162(m) does not cover compensation paid to all 
public company employees, and corporations have long exploited this 
loophole to claim tax deductions for executive compensation packages 
that far exceed $1 million. Indeed, publicly traded corporations are 
offering these lucrative compensation deals to ever increasing numbers 
of executives--not just a few at the very top of the organization.
  Both Republican and Democratic administrations have recognized the 
need to close loopholes in section 162(m). Indeed, both President Trump 
and President Biden signed laws based on earlier versions of my 
legislation in order to curtail the abuse of this deduction. This 
includes ensuring that performance-based compensation is actualjy 
counted as compensation under section 162(m) and increasing the number 
of highly paid executives who are subject to section 162(m). Partially 
tightening the law in these ways has saved taxpayers well over $9.2 
billion. But the full loophole has still not been closed and taxpayers 
continue to subsidize billions of dollars in extravagant compensation.
  The Stop Subsidizing Multimillion Dollar Corporate Bonuses Act would 
address the remaining gaps by applying section 162(m) restrictions to 
all employees of publicly traded corporations so that all compensation 
is subject to a deductibility cap of $1 million per employee.
  To be clear, under my bill, publicly traded corporations would still 
be able to pay their executives as much as they desire, but individual 
compensation packages above and beyond $1 million would no longer be 
subsidized through our Tax Code. This is a matter of fairness. It 
ensures that corporations and shareholders--not hard-working 
taxpayers--are shouldering the cost of the multimillion-dollar 
compensation packages they provide to their top earners.
  I thank Public Citizen, Americans for Financial Reform, the AFL-CIO, 
the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, MIT Professor Simon 
Johnson, Take On Wall Street, and the Institute for Policy Studies, 
Global Economy Project for their support. I urge our colleagues to join 
us in cosponsoring this legislation and pressing for its passage.

                          ____________________