United States Grain Standards Reauthorization Act of 2020
Floor Speech
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Mr. PETERSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 4054) to reauthorize the United States Grain Standards Act, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows: S. 4054
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 ``United States Grain Standards Reauthorization Act of 2020''. SEC. 2. NOTIFICATION OF DISCONTINUANCE OF SERVICES BY STATE AGENCIES.
Section 7 of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79) is amended--
(1) in subsection (e)(2)(C)(i), by inserting ``and affected customers or applicants for service of official inspection or weighing services provided by the State agency'' after ``notify the Secretary''; and
(2) in subsection (j)(5), in the first sentence, by striking ``2020'' and inserting ``2025''. SEC. 3. WEIGHING AUTHORITY.
Section 7A(l)(4) of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79a(l)(4)) is amended in the first sentence by striking ``2020'' and inserting ``2025''. SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPERVISORY COSTS.
Section 7D of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79d) is amended by striking ``2020'' and inserting ``2025''. SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.
Section 17B of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 87f-2) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Enhancement of Current Reporting.--
``(1) Increased frequency of inspection program data reporting.--
``(A) In general.--Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall publish quarterly reports describing data from the tests and inspections for intrinsic quality factors (including protein, oil, and starch) and food safety factors, as reported, in the aggregate, for fiscal years 2014 through 2018 in the tables in section V (relating to providing official grain inspection and weighing services) of the 2016 through 2018 annual reports to Congress by the Federal Grain Inspection Service.
``(B) Delineation.--The data from the tests and inspections under subparagraph (A) shall be delineated to reflect whether the tests and inspections were requested of or performed by--
``(i) the Secretary; or
``(ii) a State agency delegated authority under section 7 or 7A or an official agency.
``(2) Exceptions and waivers.--Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall publish quarterly reports describing--
``(A) the number of exceptions requested under section 7(f)(2)(B);
``(B) the number of exceptions granted under section 7(f)(2)(B);
``(C) the number of waivers requested under section 5(a)(1); and
``(D) the number of waivers granted under section 5(a)(1).
``(e) Additional Reporting; Consultation.--The Secretary may, to the extent determined appropriate by the Secretary, in consultation with State agencies delegated authority under sections 7 and 7A, official agencies, and the grain industries described in the second sentence of section 21(a), publish--
``(1) data relating to testing for other intrinsic quality or food safety factors; and
``(2) other data collected from inspection and weighing activities conducted under this Act.
``(f) Protection of Confidential Business Information.--Any trade secrets or information described in section 552(b)(4) of title 5, United States Code, that is provided to or collected by the Secretary in carrying out subsection (d) or (e) shall not be included in a report under subsection (d) or (e) or otherwise publicly disclosed.''. SEC. 6. APPROPRIATIONS.
Section 19 of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 87h) is amended--
(1) by striking the section heading and designation and all that follows through ``There are hereby'' and inserting the following: ``SEC. 19. FUNDING.
``(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are'';
(2) in subsection (a) (as so designated)--
(A) by striking ``such sums as are necessary'' and inserting ``$23,000,000''; and
(B) by striking ``1988 through 2020'' and inserting ``2021 through 2025''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(b) Limitations on Uses of User Fees.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Official inspection or weighing service.--The term `official inspection or weighing service' means official inspection, official weighing, supervision of weighing, supervision of agency personnel, supervision of the field office personnel of the Secretary, testing of equipment or instruments, other services, or registration, the cost to the Secretary of which is authorized to be covered by the collection of a user fee pursuant to section 7, 7A, 7B, 16, or 17A, as applicable.
``(B) User fee.--The term `user fee' means a fee collected by the Secretary under section 7, 7A, 7B, 16, or 17A.
``(2) Requirement.--A user fee--
``(A) shall be used solely to cover--
``(i) the cost to the Secretary for carrying out official inspection or weighing services; and
``(ii) administrative costs to the Secretary directly relating to official inspection or weighing services; and
``(B) shall not be used for--
``(i) activities relating to the development or maintenance of grain standards; or
``(ii) any other activity that is not directly related to the performance of official inspection or weighing services.''. SEC. 7. ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
Section 21 of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 87j) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), in the last sentence, by striking ``successive terms'' and inserting ``successively for more than 2 terms''; and
(2) in subsection (e), by striking ``2020'' and inserting ``2025''. SEC. 8. REVIEW OF GEOGRAPHIC BOUNDARIES FOR OFFICIAL AGENCIES.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Grain handling facility.--The term ``grain handling facility'' means a grain elevator, warehouse, or other storage or handling facility.
(2) Official agency geographic area.--The term ``official agency geographic area'' means a geographic area for an official agency, as defined by the Secretary under section 7(f)(2)(A) or 7A(i)(2)(A) of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 79(f)(2)(A), 79a(i)(2)(A)).
(3) United states grain standards act terms.--The terms ``grain'', ``official agency'', ``official inspection'', ``officially inspected'', ``official weighing'', ``supervision of weighing'', and ``Secretary'' have the meanings given the terms in section 3 of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 75).
(b) Review.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct a comprehensive nationwide review of the official agency geographic areas.
(2) Considerations.--In conducting the review under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall take into consideration--
(A) the number of grain handling facilities, both within the official agency geographic areas and in areas that are not official agency geographic areas, that currently use, or, during the 5-year period preceding the date of submission of the report under subsection (c), received service from, an official agency that provides official inspection, official weighing, supervision of weighing, or other services under the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 71 et seq.);
(B) the volume of grain for which official agencies provide services at grain handling facilities within the official agency geographic areas;
(C) the number of official inspections of vessels and other carriers within the official agency geographic areas;
(D) other related services performed by official agencies at grain handling facilities within the official agency geographic areas;
(E) the timeliness, accuracy, and appropriateness of services performed by official agencies at grain handling facilities within the official agency geographic areas;
(F) fees charged by official agencies for services performed under the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 71 et seq.), including grading, weighing, sampling, stowage examination, and certification; and
(G) any implications of modifications to the official agency geographic areas on enhancing official inspection, official weighing, and supervision of weighing in the domestic market.
(c) Report.--Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 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--
(1) the results of the review completed under subsection (b); and
(2) any recommendations with respect to those results that the Secretary determines appropriate. SEC. 9. TECHNICAL CORRECTION.
Section 4(a)(1) of the United States Grain Standards Act (7 U.S.C. 76(a)(1)) is amended by striking ``soybeans mixed'' and inserting ``soybeans, mixed''.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 4054, the U.S. Grain Standards Reauthorization Act of 2020.
I want to thank Ranking Member Conaway, General Farm Commodities and Risk Management Subcommittee Chairman Vela, and Ranking Member Thompson for their bipartisan support for passage of S. 4054, the United States Grain Standards Reauthorization Act of 2020.
The inspections provided by the Federal Grain Inspection Service define and classify grains, as well as assign grades to specify weight and quality requirements, and these inspections provide a gold-standard assurance backed by the Federal Government to both grain buyers and sellers.
American grain farmers participate in a very competitive world, and foreign grain buyers should be confident in this process that we have put forward and have in place to ensure our exports are adequately inspected.
As we move ahead with reauthorization, I hope that we can take stock in how well the current system of export inspections by the Federal and State agencies is working, and continue to work on a bipartisan basis, and to provide necessary certainty and stability for producers and our Federal grain inspection system.
I would also like to note the need for a dedicated and strong workforce at our ports to ensure that American grain can be expertly and efficiently loaded into ships for export. I would encourage those companies that have not already reached an agreement with their workforce to continue to seek an agreement. I applaud the American- owned companies that have already committed to their workers.
So I encourage my colleagues to support the U.S. Grain Standards Reauthorization Act of 2020. American grain farmers participate in a fiercely competitive world market, and we need to ensure that our inspection system allows importers to maintain their confidence in the quality of U.S. grain.
Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman very, very much for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I have served in this body for 18 years, and throughout those 18 years, I have had a man that I am convinced was sent by God enter my life at a critical time, and that man is the chairman of the Agriculture Committee, Collin Peterson.
I am here to certainly ask everybody to make sure you vote unanimously on the bill.
But I am here to express a great friendship, a heartfelt gratitude. And I say, as so many of my colleagues, you cannot have gone through this tremendous challenge of being an elected official without God having sent people your way to help you, to guide you. Such a man is Collin Peterson and let me tell you why.
When I came to Congress 18 years ago, I was assigned to the Agriculture Committee, and I was the only African American on that committee for several years. Sometimes, when you are going into the crevices and the corners of life where you have not been before, God sends somebody along to give you a helping hand. Such a man in my life is Collin Peterson.
Not only that; he took me under his wing and guided me. Not just on one committee did he have me chair, several, starting with livestock, moving on to credit, energy, the commodities, and now the financial exchanges; daring to move me into areas where I did not know that he had faith in me. And so I wanted to take this moment to say thank you.
Now, as you mentioned, Mr. Chairman, thanks to your good right hand, you have opened a way that I might become the next chairman of the House Agriculture Committee. No man, nothing, has helped me more to be in this position than my friendship with this great man, Collin Peterson.
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Mr. PETERSON. Craig), one of our new and rising upcoming members of the Agriculture Committee.
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Mr. PETERSON. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. PETERSON. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.
I thank the gentleman for his kind words and for his willingness to work with us over these last number of years.
With this bill, we got just about all of our work done. We have the CFTC reauthorization we didn't get done, but everything else is off the plate. So that is good.
We made good progress. We will, both of us, ride off into the sunset, I think, feeling that we have done a decent job.
So, again, I thank Mr. Conaway and all members of the committee for the work that they do and wish them well in the next Congress.
Mr. Speaker, I ask everybody to unanimously support S. 4054, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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