[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 4, Chapters 15 - 17]
[Chapter 17. Committees]
[D. Jurisdiction of Committees]
[Â§ 30. Committee on Agriculture]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 2791-2799]
 
                               CHAPTER 17
 
                               Committees
 
                         C. COMMITTEE PROCEDURE
 
Sec. 30. Committee on Agriculture

    The Committee on Agriculture became a standing committee of the 
House on May 3, 1820,\(13)\ with jurisdiction over ``subjects relating 
to agriculture.'' \(14)\ Under the rules revisions of 1880, this 
jurisdiction was extended to include forestry, and the committee was 
granted the authority to receive the estimates and report ap
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13. 4 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 4149.
14. Terrence T. Finn, ``Monographs on the Committees of the House of 
        Representatives'' (93d Cong. 2d Sess., Dec. 13, 1974) committee 
        print, p. 6.
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[[Page 2792]]

propriations bills for the Department of Agriculture. This latter 
authority was transferred to the Committee on Appropriations in 
1920.\(15)\
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15. 7 Cannon's Precedents Sec. 1870.
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    The jurisdiction of the committee under the 1973 rules,\(16)\ which 
derived from the revisions effected by the Legislative Reorganization 
Act of 1946, read as follows:
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16. Rule XI clause 1, House Rules and Manual Sec. 677 (1973). See Rule 
        X clause 1(a), House Rules and Manual Sec. 670 (1979).
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        (a) Adulteration of seeds, insect pests, and protection of 
    birds and animals in forest reserves;
        (b) Agriculture generally;
        (c) Agricultural and industrial chemistry;
        (d) Agricultural colleges and experiment stations;
        (e) Agricultural economics and research;
        (f) Agricultural education extension services;
        (g) Agricultural production and marketing and stabilization of 
    prices of agricultural products;
        (h) Animal industry and diseases of animals;
        (i) Crop insurance and soil conservation;
        (j) Dairy Industry;
        (k) Entomology and plant quarantine;
        (l) Extension of farm credit and farm security;
        (m) Forestry in general, and forest reserves other than those 
    created from the public domain;
        (n) Human nutrition and home economics;
        (o) Inspection of livestock and meat products;

        (p) Plant industry, soils, and agricultural engineering;
        (q) Rural electrification.

    Upon the adoption of the Committee Reform Amendments of 1974, 
paragraph 7 [paragraph (g) in the 1973 rules] was altered and 
paragraphs 18 and 19 were added as follows: \(17)\
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17. H. Res. 988, 120 Cong. Rec. 34447-70, 93d Cong. 2d Sess., Oct. 8, 
        1974, effective Jan. 3, 1975. See Rule X clause 1(a)(7), (18), 
        (19), House Rules and Manual Sec. 670 (1975).
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        (7) Agricultural production and marketing and stabilization of 
    prices of agricultural products, and commodities (not including 
    distribution outside of the United States). . . .
        (18) Commodities exchanges.
        (19) Rural development.

    The effect of these changes was to give the committee jurisdiction 
over agricultural commodities (including the Commodity Credit 
Corporation) but to transfer jurisdiction over foreign distribution and 
nondomestic production of commodities (except sugar) to the Committee 
on International Relations.\(18)\
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18. See Rule X clause 1(k), House Rules and Manual Sec. 680 (1975) for 
        the new jurisdiction of the Committee on International 
        Relations.
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    In addition to these areas, the committee has reported on mat

[[Page 2793]]

ters not clearly indicated in the rules. Among these \(19)\ are the 
following:
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19. ``Monographs on the Committees of the House of Representatives'' 
        (93d Cong. 2d Sess., Dec. 13, 1974), committee print.
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        1. Animal welfare;
        2. Flood control;
        3. Food stamps;
        4. Foreign assistance;
        5. International health;
        6. International trade;
        7. Pesticides;
        8. Rural development, including:

            (a) Loans for rural firehouses, community centers, and 
        businesses;
            (b) Nonfarm rural housing loans;
            (c) Rural telephone banks;
            (d) Rural water supply;
            (e) Water pollution control programs;

        9. Wild areas (in forests).

    Further elaboration on the extent of the committee's jurisdiction 
is provided by a partial list set forth by the Chairman \(20)\ of the 
Committee on Agriculture in the course of a statement \(21)\ he made 
before the Committee on Rules on Mar. 2, 1971. Among the subject areas 
he listed were the following:
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20. William R. Poage (Tex.).
21. Terrence T. Finn, ``Monographs on the Committees of the House of 
        Representatives'' (93d Cong. 2d Sess., Dec. 13, 1974), 
        committee print, p. 2.
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        (1) The restoration, expansion, and development of foreign 
    markets for American agricultural products and of international 
    trade in agriculture products; the use of agricultural commodities 
    pursuant to Public Law 480, Eighty-third Congress, as amended and 
    the use of the foreign currencies accruing therefrom; and the 
    effect of the European Common Market and other regional economic 
    agreements and commodity marketing and pricing systems upon United 
    States agriculture.
        (2) All matters relating to the establishment and development 
    of an effective Foreign Agricultural Service pursuant to title VI 
    of the Agricultural Act of 1954.
        (3) All matters relating to the development, use, and 
    administration of the national forests, including but not limited 
    to development of a sound program for general public use of the 
    national forests consistent with watershed protection and 
    sustained-yield timber management, and study of the forest fire 
    prevention and control policies and activities of the Forest 
    Service and their relation to coordinated activities of other 
    Federal, State, and private agencies.
        (4) Price spreads between producers and consumers.
        (5) The formulation and development of improved programs for 
    agricultural commodities; matters relating to the inspection, 
    grading, and marketing of such commodities; and the effect of 
    trading in futures contracts for such commodities.
        (6) The administration and operation of agricultural programs 
    through State and county agricultural stabilization and 
    conservation committees and the administrative policies and 
    procedures

[[Page 2794]]

    relating to the selection, election, and operation of such 
    committees.
        (7) The development of upstream watershed projects authorized 
    by Public Law 156, Eighty-third Congress, and the administration 
    and development of watershed programs pursuant to Public Law 566, 
    Eighty-third Congress, as amended; the development of land use 
    programs pursuant to the Food and Agriculture Act of 1962 and the 
    Agricultural Act of 1970.
        (8) All programs of food assistance or distribution supported 
    in whole or in part by funds authorized to be used by the 
    Department of Agriculture, including but not limited to the food 
    stamp program, the commodity distribution program, the school milk 
    program, and programs established pursuant to the Child Nutrition 
    Act of 1966.
        (9) The implementation and administration of the Wholesome Meat 
    Act of 1967, the Wholesome Poultry Products Act of 1968, and the 
    Egg Products Inspection Act of 1970, including the establishment 
    and development of inspection services as required by the Acts.
        (10) All matters relating to the Federal Insecticide, 
    Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, as amended, and the Federal 
    Environmental Pesticide Control Act of 1972, as well as all 
    agricultural chemicals registered and regulated under such Act.

    In addition to the subject areas already identified, as the 
precedents reveal, the Committee on Agriculture also has jurisdiction 
over measures regulating the transportation, sale, and handling of dogs 
and cats to be used for research,\(22)\ commodities owned by the 
Commodity Credit Corporation,\(23)\ measures granting congressional 
consent to an interstate forest fire protection compact,\(24)\ and 
certain watershed work plans.\(25)\
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22. Sec. 30.2 infra.
23. Sec. 30.1, infra.
24. Sec. 30.5, infra.
25. Sec. 30.7, infra.
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    In 1973, the Committee on Agriculture maintained six commodity 
subcommittees and four operational subcommittees, as follows:

                            Commodity Subcommittees

        1. Subcommittee on Cotton;
        2. Subcommittee on Dairy and Poultry;
        3. Subcommittee on Forests;
        4. Subcommittee on Livestock and Grains;
        5. Subcommittee on Oilseeds and Rice; and
        6. Subcommittee on Tobacco.

                           Operational Subcommittees

        1. Subcommittee on Conservation and Credit;
        2. Subcommittee on Department Operations;
        3. Subcommittee on Domestic Marketing and Consumer Relations; 
    and
        4. Subcommittee on Family Farms and Rural Development.

    The oversight responsibilities of the committee extend to the 
Department of Agriculture, the Farm Credit Administration, and, in

[[Page 2795]]

part, the Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency. 
These duties are undertaken by the Subcommittee on Department 
Operations.
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Commodities Owned by the Commodity Credit Corporation

Sec. 30.1 The Committee on Agriculture has jurisdiction of a measure 
    which authorizes the sale, exchange, barter or donation of 
    commodities owned by the Commodity Credit Corporation.

    On June 9, 1954,\(26)\ the Committee on Agriculture reported out a 
bill (S. 2475), to authorize the President to use agricultural 
commodities to improve the foreign relations of the United States, and 
for other purposes.
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26. 100 Cong. Rec. 7981, 83d Cong. 2d Sess.
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    The measure ultimately became the Agricultural Trade Development 
and Assistance Act of 1954.\(27)\ This legislation authorized the 
President to negotiate with foreign governments for the purpose of 
selling or otherwise disposing of agricultural stocks owned by the 
Commodity Credit Corporation. The Corporation was authorized, in 
addition, to barter such commodities, to donate them to state, federal, 
or private agencies for use  school lunch programs, hospitals, and 
charitable institutions. The act directed the Secretary of Agriculture 
to utilize the authority given him by the Commodity Credit Corporation 
Charter Act \(28)\ to make barters or exchanges of agricultural 
commodities for strategic materials.
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27. 68 Stat. 454, 7 USC Sec. 1691.
28. 62 Stat. 1070, 15 USC Sec. 714.
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    Parliamentarian's Note: The Commodity Credit Corporation Charter 
Act was reported from the Committee on Banking and Currency in 
1948,\(1)\ and by agreement between that committee and the Committee on 
Agriculture, all measures amending the Charter Act were, until 1974, 
referred to the Committee on Banking and Currency. As in the instant 
case, however, the Committee on Agriculture has jurisdiction of many 
bills which deal with the sale, exchange, barter or donation of 
agricultural commodities owned by the Corporation.\(2)\ After the Com
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 1. See the Parliamentarian's Note to  Sec. 33.2, infra, for additional 
        information.
 2. Other examples of the Committee on Agriculture's jurisdiction in 
        this regard would include: Pub. L. No. 84-50 [70 Stat. 188] by 
        which the Corporation was authorized under regulations to be 
        issued by the Secretary of Agriculture to donate food 
        commodities acquired through price support operations to 
        federal penal and correctional institutions; Pub. L. No. 86-756 
        [74 Stat. 899] authorizing the Corporation to donate dairy 
        products and other agricultural commodities for use in home 
        economics courses; and Pub. L. No. 87-179 [75 Stat. 411] 
        permitting the use of donated foods under certain circumstances 
        for training college students.
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[[Page 2796]]

mittee Reform Amendments of 1974, the Committee on Banking and Currency 
relinquished jurisdiction over the Commodity Credit Corporation to the 
Committee on Agriculture.

Domestic Animals

Sec. 30.2 In the 89th Congress, by a rereference, the House confirmed 
    the jurisdiction of the Committee on Agriculture (as distinguished 
    from the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce) of bills 
    authorizing the Secretary of Agriculture to regulate the 
    transportation, sale, and handling of dogs and cats intended for 
    use in research or experimentation.

    On July 29, 1965,(~3~) Oren Harris, of Arkansas, 
Chairman of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, obtained 
unanimous consent that his committee be discharged from the 
consideration of three bills (H.R. 9750, H.R. 9869, and H.R. 9875) 
mentioned above, and that they be rereferred to the Committee on 
Agriculture. In so doing, Mr. Harris pointed out that an identical bill 
(H.R. 9743), had previously been rereferred earlier in the 
session.(4)
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 3. 111 Cong. Rec. 18691, 89th Cong. 1st Sess.
 4. 111 Cong. Rec. 17981, 89th Cong. 1st Sess., July 22, 1965.
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Sec. 30.3 The Committee on Agriculture and not the Committee on 
    Merchant Marine and Fisheries has jurisdiction over a bill relating 
    to the domestic raising of fur-bearing animals.

    On Feb. 14, 1945,(5) Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas, 
recognized Schuyler Otis Bland, of Virginia, Chairman of the Committee 
on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, who obtained unanimous consent that 
his committee be discharged from further consideration of a bill (H.R. 
2115) relating to domestic raising of fur-bearing animals, and that it 
be rereferred to the Committee on Agriculture.(6)
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 5. 91 Cong. Rec. 1085, 79th Cong. 1st Sess.
 6. H.R. 2115 was reported by the Committee on Agriculture on Dec. 10, 
        1945 (H. Rept. No. 1346).

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[[Page 2797]]

Sec. 30.4 The Committee on Agriculture and not the Committee on 
    Merchant Marine and Fisheries has jurisdiction of a bill 
    transferring government activities in connection with domestic 
    rabbits to the Department of Agriculture.

    On Jan. 22, 1945,(7) Speaker Sam Rayburn, of Texas, 
recognized Schuyler Otis Bland, of Virginia, Chairman of the Committee 
on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, who sought unanimous consent that a 
bill (H.R. 95) to transfer government activities in connection with 
domestic rabbits to the Department of Agriculture be rereferred from 
his committee to the Committee on Agriculture.
    No objection being voiced, the rereferral was 
effected.(8)
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 7. 91 Cong. Rec. 424, 79th Cong. 1st Sess.
 8. For a similar rereferral, see 90 Cong. Rec. 2794, 78th Cong. 2d 
        Sess., Mar. 20, 1944.
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Forest Fire Protection

Sec. 30.5 The Committee on Agriculture and not the Committee on the 
    Judiciary has jurisdiction of a bill granting the consent and 
    approval of Congress to an interstate forest fire protection 
    compact.

    On May 26, 1954,(9) Speaker Joseph W. Martin, Jr., of 
Massachusetts, recognized Chauncey W. Reed, of Illinois, Chairman of 
the Committee on the Judiciary, who obtained unanimous consent to have 
his committee discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 
6393), and to have it rereferred to the Committee on 
Agriculture.(10)
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 9. 100 Cong. Rec. 7138, 83d Cong. 2d Sess.
10. H.R. 6393 was reported by the Committee on Agriculture on July 12, 
        1954 (H. Rept. No. 2179). 
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Water Conservation

Sec. 30.6 The Committee on Agriculture and not the Committee on 
    Interior and Insular Affairs has jurisdiction of a bill to amend 
    section 7 of the act of Aug. 11, 1939, as amended, authorizing 
    construction of water conservation and utilization projects in the 
    Great Plains and arid and semiarid areas of the United States--a 
    law which provided water supply for farmers.

    On Mar. 17, 1953,(11) Speaker Joseph W. Martin, Jr., of 
Massachusetts, recognized Arthur L. Miller, of Nebraska, Chairman of

[[Page 2798]]

the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, who made the following 
request:
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11. 99 Cong. Rec. 2004; 83d Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on 
    Interior and Insular Affairs be discharged from further 
    consideration of H.R. 2229, a bill to increase the maximum amount 
    of Federal funds which may be expended for any one water facilities 
    project in the arid and semiarid areas of the United States, and 
    that it be referred to the Committee on Agriculture.
        It is the sense of the Committee on Interior and Insular 
    Affairs that this bill properly comes within the scope and 
    jurisdiction of the Committee on Agriculture.

    The Chair then inquired as to whether there was any objection, and 
none being stated, the measure was rereferred.

Watershed Work Plans

Sec. 30.7 Two of four communications received from the Director of the 
    Bureau of the Budget relating to watershed work plans were referred 
    to the Committee on Agriculture pursuant to the requirements of 16 
    USC Sec. 1002.

    On Aug. 13, 1957,(1~2) two of four (13) 
communications (Exec. Comm. Nos. 1122-1125), from the Director of the 
Bureau of the Budget transmitting watershed work plans were taken from 
the Speaker's table and referred to the Committee on Agriculture.
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12. 103 Cong. Rec. 14628, 85th Cong. 1st Sess.
13. The other two (Exec. Comm. Nos. 1123, 1125) were referred to the 
        Committee on Public Works.
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    The referrals in question were identified, as follows:

        1122. A letter from the Director, Bureau of the Budget, 
    Executive Office of the President, transmitting a watershed work 
    plan for the Caney Creek watershed, Arkansas, pursuant to section 5 
    of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (68 Stat. 
    667), as amended by the act of August 7, 1956 (70 Stat. 1088), and 
    Executive Order No. 10654 of January 20, 1956; to the Committee on 
    Agriculture. . . .
        1124. A letter from the Director, Bureau of the Budget, 
    Executive Office of the President, transmitting a watershed work 
    plan for the Lacamas Creek tributaries watershed, Washington, 
    pursuant to section 5 of the Watershed Protection and Flood 
    Prevention Act (68 Stat. 667; Public Law 566, 83d Cong.) and 
    Executive Order No. 10654 of January 20, 1956; to the Committee on 
    Agriculture.

    Parliamentarian's Note: Pursuant to the requirements of 16 USC 
Sec. 1002, the Committee on Agriculture has jurisdiction of executive 
communications relating to watershed work plans involving no single 
structure providing more than 4,000 acre-feet of total capacity, and 
the Committee on Public Works has jurisdiction of such plans involving 
any single struc

[[Page 2799]]

ture of more than 4,000 acre-feet of total capacity.