Agriculture

Risk Management for the 21st Century Act

United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2000

Risk Management for the 21st Century Act - Title I: Crop Insurance Coverage - Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to direct the Commodity Credit Corporation to offer optional quality adjustment crop insurance policies (with reduced premiums for non-electing producers). (Sec. 102) Provides that the Corporation, with respect to prevented planting crop insurance, shall: (1) provide equal coverage levels for all covered commodities; (2) require area-wide conditions for payment; (3) permit (noninsurable) substitute plantings; and (4) make such coverage voluntary (with reduced premiums for non-electing producers). (Sec. 103) Revises payment price levels (expected market price) for each insured commodity. Provides for mandatory and discretionary partial premium payments by the Corporation. Prohibits revenue coverage for potatoes except as part of a whole farm coverage. (Sec. 104) Directs the Corporation to assign a yield to a producer without an actual production history for a commodity. (Sec. 105) Provides for a multiyear disaster (at least a 25 percent production drop resulting from disasters suffered in three of the preceding five crop years) actual production history adjustment. (Sec. 106) Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act, with respect to the noninsured crop disaster assistance program to: (1) authorize combining of crop types or varieties into a single eligible crop; (2) require producers to report annually; (3) eliminate area loss requirements; (4) set forth new eligible crop provisions; (5) establish a service fee for each eligible crop, which may be waived for a limited resource farmer; and (6) revise loss requirements. Title II: Research and Pilot Programs -Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to authorize the Corporation to conduct crop insurance-related research and pilot programs. Caps funding levels for each of FY 2001 through 2004. Authorizes pilot programs to: (1) operate on a regional, State, or national basis; (2) offer premium discounts for whole farm or single crop units permitting cross-State or cross-county insurable units; and (3) offer livestock insurance. (Sec. 202) Sets forth Corporation research and development contracting and reimbursement authority. Directs the Corporation to develop alternative rates and methodologies for rating insurance plans, which shall take into account nonparticipating producers and producers participating only in catastrophic risk protection. Grants priority to commodities with the largest acreage and the lowest percentage of participating producers. Authorizes FY 2001 through 2004 appropriations. States that a forage, pasture, and range program shall be a high priority research project. Directs the Corporation to contract with a qualified person to conduct a study of whether multiyear insurance plans would reduce Federal crop insurance fraud. (Sec. 203) Directs the Corporation to offer either risk management payments or crop insurance premiums for each of the 2002 through 2004 crop years. Sets forth program provisions, including qualifying risk management practices. Authorizes FY 2002 through 2004 appropriations. Title III: Administration - Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to revise the membership of the Corporation's Board of Directors. Revises new product approval provisions. (Sec. 302) States that good farming practices shall include scientifically sound sustainable and organic farming practices. (Sec. 303) Increases monetary and disbarment sanctions for program noncompliance and fraud. (Sec. 304) Directs the Corporation to develop procedures for annual review of agents and loss adjusters, including insurance provider consultation. (Sec. 305) Directs the Board to review the adequacy of State agricultural commodity coverages. (Sec. 306) Sets forth recordkeeping and reporting requirements. (Sec. 307) Establishes a system of fees that an approved insurance provider must pay to a company that developed the policy if the provider wants to sell such policy through the Federal crop insurance program. (Sec. 308) Prohibits purchasing insurance for more than one crop per year on the same acreage unless the producer or the acreage has a previous history of double-cropping. (Sec. 309) Authorizes the Specialty Crops Coordinator to make grants and enter into contracts for research and development activities for new or revised insurance policies for specialty crops. Authorizes the Coordinator to enter into partnerships with qualified public and private entities to increase the availability of specialty crop risk management tools. Obligates specified funds for FY 2001 through 2004 for such activities. Directs the Corporation and the Coordinator to conduct studies of new insurance policies for specialty crops. (Sec. 308) Directs the Board to review insurance plans for adequacy of coverage, and recommend that the Office of Risk Management develop plans for inadequately covered commodities. (Sec. 310) Replaces the current Advisory Committee for Federal Crop Insurance with a Federal Crop Insurance Improvement Commission, which shall review specified crop insurance-related issues, including: (1) improvement of the Federal crop insurance program; and (2) new private sector insurance products. Obligate FY 2001 through 2004 funds for the Commission. (Sec. 311) Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to require highly erodible land and wetland conservation compliance in order to receive crop or revenue insurance, or risk management payments under the Federal Crop Insurance Act. Title IV: Effective Dates; Termination of Authority - Sets forth effective dates and termination of authority provisions.

Establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2001, revising the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2000, and setting forth appropriate budgetary levels for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2005.

United States · United States Congress · 20 March 2000

Declares that this resolution revises and replaces the concurrent resolution on the budget for FY 2000. Sets forth the congressional budget for the Government for FY 2001, including the appropriate budgetary levels for FY 2002 through 2005. (Sec. 2) Lists recommended budgetary levels and amounts, for FY 2000 through 2005, with respect to: (1) Federal revenues; (2) new budget authority; (3) budget outlays; (4) surpluses; and (5) public debt. (Sec. 3) Lists the appropriate levels of new budget authority and outlays for specified major functional categories for FY 2000 through 2005. (Sec. 4) Directs the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee to report a reconciliation bill by specified dates in 2000 that consists of changes in law within its jurisdiction sufficient to reduce the total level of revenues by specified amounts for FY 2001 and for the period of FY 2001 through 2005. Directs the House Budget Committee chairman, whenever certain bills are reported after the date of this resolution's adoption that provide the health-related tax provisions contained in H.R. 2990 (as passed the House), to increase the reconciliation instruction by the amount of the revenue reduction provided by such measures up to specified limits. Requires the House Ways and Means Committee to report a reconciliation bill no later than May 26, 2000, and September 22, 2000, that consists of changes in laws within its jurisdiction sufficient to reduce the public debt by $10 billion and up to $20 billion, respectively, for FY 2001. (Sec. 5) Makes it out of order in the House or the Senate to consider any revision to this or the FY 2002 concurrent budget resolution (or an amendment or conference report) that sets forth a deficit for any fiscal year. Expresses the sense of Congress that legislation should be enacted in this congressional session that would enforce the reduction of the public debt assumed in this resolution by the imposition of a statutory limit on such debt or other appropriate means. (Sec. 6) Makes it out of order in the House or the Senate to consider any reported bill or joint resolution (or any amendment or conference report) that would cause a surplus for FY 2001 to be less than the level (as adjusted for reconciliation or tax-related legislation, Medicare, or agriculture pursuant to this resolution) set forth in this resolution. Requires the level of the surplus to take into account amounts of allocations and budget aggregates adjusted pursuant to the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. (Sec. 7) Makes it out of order in the House or the Senate to consider any bill, joint resolution, amendment, motion, or conference report if the enactment of the bill or resolution as reported, the adoption and enactment of the amendment, or the enactment of the bill or resolution in the form recommended in the conference report would cause a decrease in the on-budget surplus for FY 2000. Makes such point of order inapplicable to any such legislation or motion if it reduces revenues or implements structural social security or Medicare reform. Waives or suspends the point of order under this Act in the Senate only by an affirmative three-fifths majority vote. Requires the same majority to sustain an appeal of the ruling of the Chair on such point of order. Terminates this section on October 1, 2000. (Sec. 8) Requires the House Budget Committee chairman, upon the reporting of a reconciliation bill by the Ways and Means Committee or the offering of an amendment to, or the submission of a conference report on, H.R. 3081, H.R. 6, or H.R. 2990, whichever occurs first, to reduce to zero the amounts by which aggregate levels of Federal revenues should be reduced as set forth in this resolution. Directs the chairman, after such adjustments are made and such a bill is reported or such amendments or conference report are submitted, to increase the levels by which Federal revenues should be reduced by the reduction in revenue caused by the measure, with specified limits. (Sec. 9) Provides that whenever the Ways and Means Committee reports such a bill or whenever an amendment or conference report to the bills referenced above is submitted that would cause the level by which Federal revenues should be reduced, as adjusted, to be exceeded, the House Budget Committee chairman is authorized to increase the levels by which Federal revenues should be reduced by the amount exceeding the level resulting from the measure, with specified limits. (Sec. 10) Provides that if the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) updated budget forecast for FY 2001 projects an increase in the surplus for FY 2000, FY 2001, and the period of FY 2001 through 2005 over the corresponding levels set forth in the March 2000 economic and budget forecast for FY 2001, the House Budget Committee chairman may increase the levels by which Federal revenues should be reduced by the amount exceeding the level resulting from the bill, amendment, or conference report described above, but not to exceed the increase in the surplus set forth in the updated forecast. (Sec. 11) Authorizes the Budget Committee chairman, whenever the Ways and Means or Commerce Committees report legislation or an amendment or conference report thereon is submitted that reforms the Medicare program and provides coverage for prescription drugs, to increase the aggregates and allocations of new budget authority (and resulting outlays) by the amount provided by that measure, with specified limits. (Sec. 12) Authorizes the Budget Committee chairman, whenever the Agriculture Committee reports legislation or submits amendments or a conference report thereon that provides: (1) income support to farm owners and producers, to increase the allocation of new budget authority and outlays to that committee for FY 2000 by the amount of new budget authority and resulting outlays provided by that measure, with specified limits; and (2) risk management or income assistance for agricultural producers, to increase the allocation of new budget authority and outlays to that committee by the amount of new budget authority and resulting outlays, if such legislation does not exceed certain amounts of such authority and outlays. (Sec. 14) Requires the House Budget Committee chairman, whenever the Government Reform Committee reports a bill or submits an amendment or conference report thereon that permits Federal employees to immediately participate in the Thrift Savings Plan, to increase (if necessary) the levels by which Federal revenues should be reduced, with specified limits. (Sec. 15) Provides for the application and effect of changes in allocations and aggregates made pursuant to this resolution. (Sec. 16) Expresses the sense of the House with respect to: (1) the reduction of waste, fraud, and abuse within the Federal Government; (2) CBO estimates on impacts of proposed Federal regulations on the private sector; (3) biennial budgeting; (4) Internal Revenue Service consideration of net loss of income in determining proper taxation rates; and (5) stabilization of Federal revenue-sharing payments to States, counties, and boroughs. (Sec. 17) Expresses the sense of Congress with respect to: (1) the use within the classrooms of funds appropriated for elementary and secondary education programs; (2) funding emergencies; (3) affordable health care coverage for all Americans; (4) access to home health care for seniors and disabled citizens; (5) full funding of the Medicare+Choice program; (6) the National Science Foundation; (7) quality skilled nursing care and the Medicare benefit; (8) funding for special education; (9) the Federal employee pay increase for 2001; (10) the Health Care Financing Administration Medicaid School-Based Administrative Claiming Guide; and (11) modification of the Federal tax law to encourage asset-building of the working poor.

Famine Prevention and Freedom From Hunger Improvement Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2000

Famine Prevention and Freedom from Hunger Improvement Act of 2000 - Amends the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to revise congressional declarations of policy with respect to famine prevention and freedom from hunger in developing countries. (Sec. 2) Urges the United States, among other things, to: (1) generally engage the U.S. university community more extensively in the agricultural research, trade, and development initiatives undertaken outside the United States with the objectives of strengthening its capacity to carry out research, teaching, and extension activities for solving problems in food production, processing, marketing, and consumption in agriculturally underdeveloped nations, and transforming progress in global agricultural research and development (R&D) into economic growth, trade, and trade benefits for U.S. communities and industries and for the provident use of natural resources; and (2) ensure that all federally funded support to universities and their public and private partners relating to the goals of this Act is periodically reviewed for its performance. Includes Native American land- grant colleges within the definition of "universities". (Sec. 3) Authorizes the President to provide U.S. foreign assistance for long-term program support for U.S. university global agricultural and related environmental collaborative research and learning opportunities for students, teachers, extension specialists, researchers, and the general public. Urges the involvement of multilateral banks and U.S. and foreign nongovernmental organizations supporting extension and other productivity-enhancing programs in the international network of agricultural science in order to help agriculturally developing countries in international agricultural problem- solving efforts to prevent famine and hunger in such countries. Directs the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to establish and carry out special programs involving eligible universities for Africa, Russia, the independent states of the former Soviet Union, ongoing programs for child survival, democratization, development of free enterprise, environmental and natural resource management, and other related programs, which depend upon and are integrally related to sound agriculture and rural development. (Sec. 4) Revises the duties of the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development to include: (1) improving agricultural production, trade, and natural resource management in developing countries; and (2) with private organizations seeking to increase agricultural production and trade, natural resources management, and household food security in developing and transition countries. (Sec. 5) Authorizes appropriations.

Upper Mississippi River Basin Conservation Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2000

Upper Mississippi River Basin Conservation Act of 2000 - Title I: Sediment and Nutrient Monitoring Network - Directs the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), through the United States Geological Service, to establish a nutrient and sediment monitoring network for the Upper Mississippi River Basin, to be headquartered at the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. (Sec.102) Directs the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and other involved parties, to establish guidelines for related data collection and storage activities. (Sec. 104) Directs the Secretary to: (1) collaborate with other public and private monitoring efforts in establishing the nutrient and sediment monitoring program; and (2) target resources of the State Water Resources Research Institute Program to promote nutrient and sediment studies in the Basin. Title II: Initiative, Grant, Demonstration, and Outreach Programs - Requires the Director of the United States Geological Survey, in collaboration with the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, to establish a computer modeling program of nutrient and sediment sources in the Basin, which shall include models of: (1) processes affecting field sediment and nutrient loss; (2) watersheds; (3) river channels; and (4) connections between sediment and nutrient yields and sources, land uses, and management practices. States that such information shall be headquartered at the Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. (Sec. 202) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) work with public and private entities to evaluate best management practices designed to reduce nutrient and sediment loss; and (2) assess such practices' economic risks. (Sec. 203) Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to administer a grant program to supplement non-Federal funds being used by public and private entities to demonstrate new best management practices to reduce nutrient and sediment loss in the Basin. (Sec. 204) Requires the Director to: (1) establish an Internet-based system to distribute information about nutrient and sediment loss reduction projects, including Basin projects, and nutrient and sediment levels in the Upper Mississippi River and its tributaries; and (2) report with respect to monitoring and modeling activities. Title III: Financial and Technical Assistance under Department of Agriculture Conservation Programs - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to increase assistance for nutrient and sediment reduction in the Basin, including new assistance to Basin subwatersheds that are nutrient and sediment sources. (Sec. 302) Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to designate the Basin as a conservation priority area. (Sec. 303) Increases enrollment authority under the conservation reserve and the wetland reserve programs. (Sec. 304) Amends the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act to increase funding for the wildlife habitat incentives program. Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to increase funding for the environmental quality incentives program. (Sec. 305) Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into cooperative agreements with public and private agencies, including agreements for goods and services (and personal services). Title IV: Protection of Personal Data - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to provide for privacy of personal data received by the Department of Agriculture and data collection locations with respect to natural resources conservation programs. Sets forth limited disclosure exceptions. Subjects disclosure violations to specified penalty provisions of such Act. Title V: Advisory Council on the Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the Advisory Council on the Upper Mississippi River Stewardship Initiative. Authorizes the Advisory Council to establish specified task groups. Title VI: Interagency Working Group on Upper Mississippi River Basin Initiative - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior to establish an Interagency Working Group to coordinate Federal nutrient and sediment reduction efforts in the Basin. Title VII: Authorization of Appropriations - Authorizes appropriations.

To amend the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 to establish an educational program to improve the risk management skills of agricultural producers.

United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2000

Amends the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out an educational program to improve agricultural producers' risk management skills. Directs the Secretary to establish a Risk Management Education Coordinating Center in each of five designated regions, to be located at an existing risk management education coordinating office or a land-grant college. Directs each Center to: (1) establish a coordinating council; (2) coordinate instructional programs, information dissemination, and resources; and (3) reserve funds for special and competitive grants to land-grant colleges and private entities to conduct such activities States that the National Agriculture Risk Education Library shall serve as a means for the electronic delivery of risk management information and materials. Authorizes appropriations. Directs the Secretary, through the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, to evaluate activities of the Centers.

Giant Sequoia Groves Protection and Management Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 16 March 2000

Giant Sequoia Groves Protection and Management Act of 2000 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into an agreement with and provide funding to the National Academy of Sciences, the Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources to conduct an ecology, management, and protection study of sequoia groves in the Sequoia National Forest. Requires the study to identify: (1) best management practices; and (2) the adequacy of Federal and State forest management practices; and (3) cooperative recommendations. Directs the Board to: (1) review and synthesize sequoia literature, including a specified ecosystem report to Congress; and (2) submit a study report. States that no Sequoia National Forest lands shall be available for presidential proclamation (under the Antiquities Act of 1906) as a national monument until at least 90 days after submission of such report. Obligates funds for the Academy study.

Value-Added Development Act for American Agriculture

United States · United States Congress · 15 March 2000

Value-Added Development Act for American Agriculture - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to eligible applicants for an agricultural innovation center demonstration program to assist value-added agricultural businesses. Sets forth: (1) permitted fund uses; and (2) reporting requirements. Authorizes appropriations.

2000 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act

United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2000

2000 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY 2000. Title I: Counternarcotics - Chapter 1: Department of Justice - Makes additional funds available for salaries and expenses of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Chapter 2: Department of Defense--Military - Makes additional funds available for defense drug interdiction and counter-drug activities. Makes a limited amount available out of amounts appropriated in this Act for the Department of Defense (DOD) for support for counter-drug activities of the Government of Colombia. Subjects the obligation or expenditure of such funds to a specified certification by the Secretary of Defense under the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1998 with respect to authorized uses, security of equipment, review by U.S. personnel, and certain other related factors. Chapter 3: Bilateral Economic Assistance - Makes funds available to the Department of State for Plan Colombia and Andean regional counternarcotics activities. Requires the Secretary of State, prior to obligation of such funds, to report to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Appropriations Committees on proposed uses of such funds on a country-by-country basis. Chapter 4: Military Construction, Defense-Wide - Provides additional funds for defense-wide military construction. Title II: Peacekeeping Operations in Kosovo and Other National Security Matters - Chapter 1: Department of State - Makes additional funds available for security and maintenance of U.S. missions. Chapter 2: Department of Defense--Military - Provides additional funds for Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard operation and maintenance (O&M) as well as defense-wide O&M for assistance to Vieques, Puerto Rico. Makes additional funds available for: (1) the Overseas Contingency Operations Transfer Fund; (2) Air Force aircraft procurement; and (3) the Defense Health Program. (Sec. 2201) Requires members of the uniformed services (from January 1, 2000 through FY 2001) entitled to a basic allowance for housing for a U.S. military housing area to be paid the allowance at a monthly rate not less than the rate in effect on December 31, 1999, in such area for members serving in the same pay grade and with the same dependency status. Authorizes the Secretary of Defense, in light of the rates so authorized, to exceed the limitation on the total amount paid for the basic housing allowance in FY 2000 and 2001. (Sec. 2202) Appropriates additional funds for the Defense-Wide Working Capital Fund for price increases resulting from worldwide increases in the price of petroleum. (Sec. 2205) Makes additional appropriations for the Defense Health Program for unanticipated increases in TRICARE contract costs for FY 1998 through 2001. Chapter 3: Bilateral Economic Assistance - Provides additional funds for: (1) operating expenses of the Agency for International Development; (2) assistance for Eastern Europe and the Baltic States only for assistance for Montenegro and Croatia, assistance to promote democratization in Serbia, and assistance for Kosovo for police activities; (3) international military education and training and foreign military financing for grants to Balkan and southeastern European countries. Chapter 4: Military Construction, Defense-Wide - Appropriates additional funds to DOD to cover incremental O&M costs to family housing. (Sec. 2403) Provides that this section supersedes authority provided in the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2000. Incorporates provisions similar to those contained in such Act that authorize the Secretary of the Air Force to carry out a Base Efficiency Project at Brooks Air Force Base in Texas. Bars the Secretary from exercising such authority until he submits a master plan for Base development to the appropriate congressional committees. Subjects the use of the Base Efficiency Project Fund to advance appropriations. Makes additional funds available for Army Reserve military construction to cover the costs arising from the consequences of Hurricane Floyd. Title III: Natural Disaster Assistance and Other Emergency Appropriations - Chapter 1: Department of Agriculture - Provides additional funds for: (1) the Office of the Inspector General; (2) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service salaries and expenses; and (3) Farm Service Agency salaries and expenses. Authorizes the use of unobligated balances under the emergency conservation program to be used to repair and reconstruct farm structures and equipment after a finding by the Secretary of Agriculture that: (1) the damage or destruction is the result of Hurricanes Dennis, Floyd, or Irene; and (2) insurance was not available to the grantee or the grantee lacked financial resources to obtain insurance. Makes additional funds available for the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Fund to provide premium discounts to purchasers of crop insurance reinsured by the Corporation (except for catastrophic risk protection coverage). Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to reduce the amount of any principal due on a loan made to a marketing association for the 1999 crop of an agricultural commodity by up to 75 percent if the association suffered losses to the commodity due to Hurricanes Dennis, Floyd, or Irene. Makes additional funds available for the Rural Community Advancement Program for water and waste grants and community facilities grants. Provides additional funds for the Rural Housing Service for: (1) the Rural Housing Insurance Fund Program Account for needs resulting from natural disasters; (2) the rental assistance program for emergency needs resulting from Hurricanes Dennis, Floyd, or Irene; (3) mutual and self-help and rural housing assistance grants and contracts for needs resulting from natural disasters; and (4) the farm labor program account for grants to assist low-income migrant and seasonal farm workers for needs resulting from natural disasters. Makes additional funds available for the Rural Utilities Service for the Rural Electrification and Telecommunications Loans Program Account for loans to enable nonprofit cooperatives to purchase a utility to address the high cost of electric power in a service area attributable in part to a hurricane disaster. Provides additional funds for: (1) the Foreign Agricultural Service and General Sales Manager; (2) Food and Drug Administration buildings and facilities; and (3) technical assistance performed by any Department of Agriculture agency in carrying out the Conservation or Wetlands Reserve Programs. Chapter 2: Department of Commerce - Makes additional funds available for: (1) the Economic Development Administration for economic development assistance programs for communities affected by Hurricane Floyd and other recent hurricanes and disasters; (2) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for operations, research, and facilities to provide disaster assistance; and (3) the Small Business Administration for the disaster loans program account. Chapter 3: Department of Defense--Civil - Provides additional funds for: (1) a Corps of Engineers study and report to Congress on the feasibility of a flood damage reduction project for Princeville, North Carolina; and (2) O&M for emergency expenses due to natural disasters. Provides additional funds for the Department of Energy (DOE) for: (1) the Uranium Enrichment Decontamination and Decommissioning Fund; and (2) atomic energy defense activities. Chapter 4: Department of the Interior - Makes additional funds available for: (1) Bureau of Land Management wildland fire management for emergency rehabilitation and wildfire suppression activities; (2) Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service construction activities with respect to facilities and sites damaged by natural disasters; and (3) Geological Survey surveys, investigations, and research to repair or replace stream monitoring equipment and associated facilities damaged by natural disasters. Provides additional funds for Forest Service wildland fire management for emergency rehabilitation, presuppression, and wildfire suppression. Chapter 5: Department of Health and Human Services - Makes additional funds available for the Administration for Children and Families for emergency low income home energy assistance. Chapter 6: Department of Transportation - Provides additional funds for: (1) Coast Guard operating expenses; (2) the Federal-aid highways emergency relief program; and (3) National Transportation Safety Board salaries and expenses for emergency expenses associated with the investigations of the EgyptAir 990 and Alaska Air 261 accidents. (Sec. 3601) Bars the use of funds provided in the Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 for operation of the transportation computer center. (Sec. 3602) Makes the Executive Draft on Federal Transportation in the National Capital Region submitted by the Secretary of Transportation effective on this Act's enactment date. Requires the Secretary to report to Congress on the implementation of the Executive Draft. Chapter 7: Department of Housing and Urban Development - Provides additional funds for the HOME investment partnerships program. Makes unobligated amounts available under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 available for certain one-year grants for permanent or rental housing for homeless persons with disabilities. Authorizes an increase in Federal Emergency Management Agency authority to use unobligated balances of disaster relief. Provides additional funds for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for: (1) human space flight for upgrades to the space shuttle fleet; (2) science, aeronautics and technology for unanticipated program needs; and (3) mission support for augmentation of personnel required to support the space shuttle program. Title IV: Supplemental Appropriations and Offsets - Chapter 1: Department of Energy - Makes additional funds available for atomic energy weapons activities. Chapter 2: Related Agencies - Provides additional funds for: (1) the Forest Service for State and private forestry to be derived by transfer from unobligated wildland fire management funds for volunteer fire assistance programs in eastern North Carolina; and (2) DOE energy conservation for weatherization assistance grants. Chapter 3: Department of Labor - Amends the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 to authorize funds to be collected by the National Mine Health and Safety Academy for authorized activities under provisions making appropriations for salaries and expenses of the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Provides additional funds for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the Health Resources and Services Administration to make competitive grants to provide abstinence education to adolescents. Makes FY 2000 Administration for Children and Families refugee and entrant assistance provided under the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 available through FY 2002. Provides additional funds for payments to States for foster care and adoption assistance. (Sec. 4302) Repeals a provision of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 that withholds the obligation of specified Department of HHS funds until certain dates. Chapter 4: Legislative Branch - Provides additional funds for: (1) the Capitol Police Board for security enhancements to Library of Congress buildings and grounds; and (2) Capitol buildings and grounds fire safety. Chapter 6 (sic): Department of Veterans Affairs - Makes funds appropriated for the Veterans Health Administration for medical care available for assistance for the 2000 Paralympic Games. Makes additional funds available for the Federal Housing Administration for the general and special risk program account. Chapter 7: Offsets - Bars the use of funds made available by any Act to pay the salaries and expenses of personnel to carry out provisions of law relating to the Fund for Rural America or the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems. Rescinds specified amounts of funds made available for: (1) DOE defense environmental restoration and waste management and for implementation of a U.S.-Russian accord for the disposition of excess weapons plutonium; (2) Department of HHS general departmental management; and (3) conversion of Federal information technology systems that were transferred to the Department of Transportation. Title V: General Provisions--This Act - Repeals provisions of law that require payment of: (1) basic pay and allowances for members of the Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, and Navy for the pay period ending on September 30, 2000, no earlier than October 1, 2000; and (2) pay of Federal employees that would be payable on September 29 or 30, 2000, for the preceding pay period on October 1, 2000. (Sec. 5104) Prohibits a sequestration under the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act) to eliminate a FY 2000 breach that might be caused by appropriations or other provisions of this Act. (Sec. 5105) Deems funds made available in this Act for intelligence activities to be specifically authorized by Congress for purposes of the National Security Act of 1947. (Sec. 5106) Repeals certain provisions regarding progress payments and payment procedures of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2000. (Sec. 5107) Bars the use of FY 2000 funds appropriated to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the relocation of the Technical Training Center from Chattanooga, Tennessee. (Sec. 5108) Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should place the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia) on the list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Affordable Drinking Water Act

United States · United States Congress · 14 March 2000

Affordable Drinking Water Act - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants to nonprofit organizations to assist eligible individuals obtain financing for construction, refurbishing, and servicing of individual household water well systems in rural areas.

Genetically Engineered Food Safety Act

United States · United States Congress · 9 March 2000

Genetically Engineered Food Safety Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to include genetically engineered food and related materials in the definition of "food additive." Requires that a petition to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for a regulation prescribing the conditions of safe use of a genetically engineered food additive include all data collected or developed pursuant to safety investigations, including data that does not support the claim of safety. Mandates a fee from petitioners to cover related costs and to provide for a program of basic and applied research on genetic food additive safety.

A bill to continue for 2000 the Department of Agriculture program to provide emergency assistance to dairy producers.

United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2000

Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to use specified Commodity Credit Corporation funds to provide assistance to dairy farmers for economic losses incurred in 2000.

To continue for 2000 the Department of Agriculture program to provide emergency assistance to dairy producers.

United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2000

Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to use specified Commodity Credit Corporation funds to provide assistance to dairy farmers for economic losses incurred in 2000.

To amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to authorize a program to encourage agricultural producers to rest and rehabilitate croplands while enhancing soil and water conservation and wildlife habitat.

United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2000

Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the Habitat Enhancement Rotation Option as a voluntary program to encourage eligible agricultural producers to rest and rehabilitate up to 25 percent of their production flexibility contract acreage in order to enhance soil and water conservation and provide wildlife habitat. Requires such acreage to be planted with authorized cover crops. Permits limited grazing. Sets forth participant payment rates. Authorizes the Secretary to suspend or terminate program participation and permit producers to return withdrawn acreage to production in times of crop shortage. Authorizes appropriations.

To extend the milk price support program through 2002 at an increased price support rate.

United States · United States Congress · 8 March 2000

Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to extend and increase support rates for the milk price support program. Delays the effective date of the commercial dairy processor recourse loan program.

Fair Tax Treatment for Fishermen Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 7 March 2000

Fair Tax Treatment for Fishermen Act of 2000 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) extend income averaging to income from the trade or business of catching, taking, or harvesting fish intended to enter commerce through sale, barter, or trade; and (2) disregard income averaging for farmers and commercial fishermen in computing the regular alternative minimum tax. Allows a limited deduction to fishermen for amounts paid into a Fishing Risk Management Account.

Small Business Tax Fairness Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 6 March 2000

Small Business Tax Fairness Act of 2000 - Title I: Small Business Provisions - Amends the Internal Revenue Code (the Code) to increase a self-employed individual's deduction for the health insurance costs of self and family to 100 percent. Denies such deduction only for any month the individual actually participates in an employer-subsidized health plan (currently, for any month the individual is eligible to participate). (Sec. 102) Increases to $30,000 the aggregate cost taken into account for the option to expense certain depreciable business assets of small businesses. (Sec. 103) Increases from 50 percent to: (1) 60 percent in 2000 and 55 percent for taxable years beginning in 2001 the deduction for meal and entertainment expenses; and (2) 80 percent the deduction of business meal expenses for individuals subject to Federal limitations on hours of service. (Sec. 105) Amends the Code to: (1) extend income averaging to income from the trade or business of catching, taking, or harvesting fish intended to enter commerce through sale, barter, or trade; and (2) disregard income averaging for farmers and commercial fishermen in computing the regular alternative minimum tax. (Sec. 106) Repeals specified occupational taxes relating to distilled spirits, wine, and beer. Revises the record-keeping requirements for wholesale and retail liquor dealers. Makes it unlawful for any liquor dealer (except one selling beer exclusively) to purchase distilled spirits from any person but a wholesale liquor dealer (excluding a wholesale dealer exclusively in beer) subject to specified record-keeping requirements. (Sec. 107) Amends the Code (as amended by the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999) to repeal revisions to the Code (made by the Act) which repealed the use of the installment method of accounting for accrual method taxpayers and modified the pledge rules of installment obligations. Title II: Pension Provisions - Subtitle A: Expanding Coverage - Increases limits on benefits and contributions under qualified pension plans. (Sec. 202) Amends the Code with regard to the tax on prohibited transactions, and in particular certain transactions involving trusts which are part of an owner-employee plan, and which are not exempted from the tax. Limits the meaning of owner-employee, with respect to any non-exempt loan of any part of the corpus or income of a plan to an owner-employee or family member (subchapter S owner, partner, or sole proprietor), to: (1) a participant or beneficiary of an individual retirement plan; or (2) an employer or association of employees which establishes such a plan. (Sec. 203) Modifies top-heavy rules. Redefines certain key employees to: (1) eliminate the ten employees each of whom earns over $30,000 per year and owns the largest interests in the employer; and (2) include an officer of the employer earning more than $150,000 per year. Provides that employer matching contributions shall be taken into account for minimum contribution requirements. Declares that aggregate distributions during the last year (or, for in-service distributions, during the past five years) shall be taken into account when determining: (1) the present value of the cumulated accrued benefit for any employee; or (2) the amount of any employee's account. Excludes from the meaning of top-heavy plan any plan which consists solely of: (1) a cash or deferred arrangement using certain alternative methods of meeting nondiscrimination requirements; and (2) matching contributions which meet certain requirements of a specified additional alternative method of satisfying nondiscrimination tests. Exempts from the minimum benefit requirement, and determination of any employee's years of service with an employer, any service with an employer occurring during a plan year when the plan benefits no current or former employee (frozen plan). Declares that, with respect to top-heavy plans, determination of constructive stock ownership by a five-percent owner shall disregard family attribution requirements. (Sec. 204) Exempts elective deferrals of employer contributions not includable in an employee's gross income from specified limitations on an employer's deductions for such contributions to an employees' trust or annuity plan and compensation under a deferred payment plan. (Sec. 205) Repeals coordination requirements for deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. (Sec. 206) Eliminates the user fee for requests to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for determination letters with respect to the qualified status of any pension plan maintained solely by one or more eligible employers or any trust which is a part of the plan. (Sec. 207) Subjects participant's compensation to specified limits on deductions for employer contributions. (Sec. 208) Establishes an option to treat employee elective deferrals as qualified plus contributions (which shall not, however, be excludable from gross income). Subtitle B: Enhancing Fairness for Women - Amends the Code to allow eligible participants age 50 or over to make additional elective deferrals (catch-up contributions) in any plan year according to a schedule of percentage increments (from ten percent to 40 percent) between 2001 and 2004 and thereafter. (Sec. 222) Increases from 25 percent to 100 percent of compensation (up to $30,000) the maximum allowable annual addition to a participant's plan account. (Sec. 223) Provides for faster vesting of certain employer matching contributions. (Sec. 224) Directs the Secretary of the Treasury (Secretary) to simplify and finalize the regulations relating to specified minimum distribution requirements, and modify them to: (1) reflect current life expectancy; and (2) revise the required distribution methods so that, under reasonable assumptions, the amount of the required minimum distribution does not decrease over a participant's life expectancy. (Sec. 225) Amends the Code to provide for distribution or payment (division of benefits) from an eligible deferred compensation plan upon divorce. (Sec. 226) Directs the Secretary to revise the hardship distribution regulations to provide that six months is the period an employee is prohibited from making elective and employee contributions in order for a distribution to be deemed necessary to satisfy financial need (safe harbor relief for hardship withdrawals from cash or deferred arrangements). Subtitle C: Increasing Portability for Participants - Amends the Code to provide for rollovers among various specified kinds of plans. Revises the requirements for tax-exempt rollovers of individual retirement accounts (IRAs) into eligible (workplace) retirement plans. (Sec. 233) Exempts from certain limitations on the amount of a tax-exempt rollover from an exempt trust: (1) any portion of a distribution transferred in a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer to a qualified trust in a defined contribution plan, which is also separately accounted for; and (2) any portion transferred to an eligible retirement plan. (Sec. 234) Provides a hardship exception to the requirement that a tax-exempt rollover be made within 60 days after distribution. (Sec. 235) Amends the Code to revise the treatment of a plan as failing to meet minimum vesting standards if a participant's accrued benefit is decreased by amendment of the plan. Declares that a defined contribution plan shall not be treated as failing to meet such requirements merely because the transferee plan does not provide some or all of the forms of distribution previously available under another defined contribution plan in specified circumstances. (Sec. 236) Revises certain restrictions on distributions from qualified cash or deferred arrangements. Eliminates a corporation's disposition of assets or of an interest in a subsidiary as events for which lump-sum distributions are covered (while retaining termination of a plan as a covered event). Changes separation from service to severance from employment as a threshold event for the covered distribution of amounts from a qualified cash or deferred arrangement. (Sec. 237) Excludes from gross income any amount transferred to a defined benefit governmental plan in a direct trustee-to-trustee transfer if it is for: (1) purchase of a permissive service credit; or (2) a repayment of cash-outs to which certain limitations on contributions do not apply. (Sec. 238) Amends the Code with respect to restrictions on certain mandatory distributions to allow employers to disregard rollover contributions when determining the present value of nonforfeitable accrued benefits for cash-out purposes. (Sec. 239) Amends the Code, with respect to deferred compensation plans of State and local governments and tax-exempt organizations, to repeal certain additional minimum distribution requirements. Revises requirements for inclusion of deferred compensation in a participant's gross income to limit the taxable year: (1) to the taxable year in which the compensation or income is paid to the participant in the case of a State or local government; and (2) to the taxable year in which the compensation or income is paid or otherwise made available to the participant or other beneficiary in the case of a tax-exempt organization. Subtitle D: Strengthening Pension Security and Enforcement - Amends the Code, with respect to the full-funding limitation, to repeal the current liability funding limit percentage in the case of plan years beginning in 1999 or 2000. Sets the applicable percentage of current liability at 160 percent in 2001, 165 percent in 2002, 170 percent in 2003, and nothing afterwards. (Sec. 242) Revises the special rule for an employer's maximum deductible contribution to change the minimum amount, for plans with more than 100 participants, from the unfunded current liability to the unfunded termination liability. Excludes from termination liability, for plans with under 100 participants, any liability attributable to benefit increases for highly compensated employees resulting from a plan amendment made or effective within the last two years before the termination date. (Sec. 243) Amends the Code with respect to the excise tax on nondeductible contributions to a qualified employer plan. Allows an employer, in determining the amount of nondeductible contributions, to elect not to take into account any contributions to a defined benefit plan except to the extent they exceed the full-funding limitation. (Sec. 244) Establishes an excise tax (of $100 per applicable individual per day) on a defined benefit plan for failing to give notice to participants of any plan amendment providing for a significant reduction in the rate of future benefit accrual. Subtitle E: Reducing Regulatory Burdens - Amends the Code, with respect to annual valuation of a plan's liability, to require actual valuation only once every three years of a plan whose assets are at least 125 percent of its current liability. Permits use of prior year valuations for any two consecutive plan years, so long as an actual valuation takes place in the third year. (Sec. 262) Amends the Code to allow the reinvestment in qualifying employer securities of any employee stock ownership plan dividend paid by a C corporation, without loss of the corporation's deduction from gross income. (Sec. 263) Amend the Tax Reform Act of 1986 to repeal, as of December 31, 2000, the transition rule relating to certain highly compensated employees. (Sec. 264) Directs the Secretary to modify Treasury Regulations to provide that employees of tax-exempt organizations who are eligible to make contributions under a salary reduction agreement may be treated as excludable from a 401 (k) plan or 401 (m) plan if: (1) no such employee is eligible to participate in such 401(k) plan or 401(m) plan; and (2) 95 percent of other employees are eligible to participate in such a plan. (Sec. 265) Amends the Code to make a fringe benefit exclusion from gross income of any qualified retirement planning services provided to an employee and his spouse by an employer maintaining a qualified employer plan. (Sec. 266) Directs the Secretary to modify the annual return filing requirements for one-participant retirement plans (covering only the employer and spouse where the employer owns the entire business, or only one or more partners and spouses in a business partnership) to ensure that any plans with assets of $250,000 or less as of the close of the plan year need not file a return for that year. (Sec. 267) Directs the Secretary to continue to update and improve the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (or any successor program), giving special attention to certain tasks. (Sec. 268) Amends Code provisions regarding a tax exclusion for cash reimbursements to repeal the requirement that a voucher or similar item which may be exchanged for a transit pass is not readily available for direct distribution. (Sec. 269) Repeals the Secretary's mandate, with respect to the nondiscrimination test for matching contributions and employee contributions, to prescribe regulations to prevent the multiple use of the alternative limitation for any highly compensated employee. (Sec. 270) Directs the Secretary to provide that a plan shall be deemed to satisfy nondiscrimination requirements if it satisfies the facts and circumstances test as in effect before January 1, 1994, but only if: (1) it satisfies conditions prescribed by the Secretary to appropriately limit the availability of such test; and (2) it is submitted to the Secretary for a determination of whether it satisfies such test. Revises minimum coverage requirements to allow a plan that otherwise fails to meet such requirements to constitute a qualified plan if it meets certain requirements that were in effect immediately before enactment of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. (Such requirements stated that the plan must at least benefit employees qualifying under a classification set up by the employer and found by the Secretary not to be discriminatory in favor of employees who are officers, shareholders, or highly compensated.) Directs the Secretary to modify certain existing regulations with respect to employers operating separate lines of business to expand the ability of a pension plan to demonstrate compliance with the line of business requirements based upon the facts and circumstances surrounding the design and operation of the plan, even though the plan is unable to satisfy the mechanical tests currently used to determine compliance. (Sec. 271) Amends the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 to extend to international organizations the moratorium on application of certain nondiscrimination rules applicable to State and local governmental plans. (Sec. 272) Increases from 90 to 180 days certain notice and consent periods regarding distributions. Directs the Secretary to modify certain consent regulations to provide that the description of a participant's right, if any, to defer receipt of a distribution shall also describe the consequences of failing to defer such receipt. Subtitle F: Plan Amendments - Prescribes application requirements for plan or contract amendments. Title III: Estate Tax Relief - Subtitle A: Reductions of Estate and Gift Tax Rates - Amends the Code to repeal the two highest estate tax brackets and replace them with a top bracket of "Over $2,500,000", for which the estate tax rate shall be $1,025,800, plus 50 percent of the excess over $2,500,000. Repeals the phase out of graduated rates and the unified credit. Requires additional reductions in estate and gift tax rates of one percent for calendar 2003 and two percent for calendar 2004 and thereafter. (Sec. 302) Declares that it is the sense of Congress that the death tax relief in this Act is considered a first step in the effort to repeal this tax. Subtitle B: Unified Credit Replaced With Unified Exemption Amount - Repeals the unified credits against the estate and gift taxes, and replaces them with a unified exemption amount, determined by specified formulae involving amounts ranging from $675,000 in calendar year 2001 up to $1 million in calendar year 2006 and thereafter. Grants up to a $60,000 exemption to the estate of a nonresident, non-U.S. citizen, with specified variations for residents of U.S. possessions. Subtitle C: Modifications of Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax - Declares that, if any individual makes an indirect skip during such individual's lifetime, any unused portion of such individual's generation-skipping transfer (GST) exemption shall be allocated to the property transferred to the extent necessary to make the inclusion ratio for such property zero. Requires allocation to the property transferred of the entire unused portion if the amount of the indirect skip exceeds such unused portion. (Sec. 322) Declares that, if a trust is severed in a qualified severance, the trusts resulting from such severance shall be treated as separate trusts thereafter. (Sec. 323) Revises valuation rules for gifts for which a gift tax return was filed or deemed allocation made. Provides that, if an allocation of the GST exemption to any transfers of property is deemed to have been made at the close of an estate tax inclusion period, the value of the property shall be its value at such time. (Sec. 324) Directs the Secretary to prescribe circumstances and procedures under which extensions of time will be granted to make an allocation of GST exemption or an election not to apply specified allocation requirements to certain lifetime direct skips, indirect skips, or transfers to a particular trust. Subtitle D: Conservation Easements - Redefines land subject to a qualified conservation easement, for estate tax purposes, to mean land, on the decedent's date of death, located in or within: (1) 50 miles (currently, 25 miles) of a metropolitan area; (2) 50 miles (currently, 25 miles) of a national park or wilderness area; or (3) 25 miles (currently, ten miles) of an Urban National Forest. Title IV: Tax Relief for Distressed Communities and Industries - Subtitle A: American Community Renewal Act of 2000 - American Community Renewal Act of 2000 - Amends the Code to authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to designate (upon local or State nomination) up to 15 renewal communities, of which at least three shall be in rural areas. Requires for nomination purposes that: (1) the area be experiencing high rates of poverty and unemployment and general distress; and (2) State and local governments enter into written contracts with community organizations to promote specified economic growth and employment activities. Excludes from gross income capital gains on the sale or exchange of a qualified community asset (stock, business property, or partnership interest) held for more than five years. Allows a specified deduction for amounts paid into a family development account on behalf of an individual or another qualified individual who is a renewal community resident. Excludes from gross income account distributions used for qualified family development expenses (postsecondary education, first-home purchase, business capitalization, medical, and rollovers). Provides a penalty (with exceptions) in addition to inclusion as gross income for nonqualifying distributions. Authorizes: (1) designation of earned income tax credit payments for family development account deposit; (2) a commercial building revitalization tax deduction; (3) increased first year expensing for renewal community businesses; (4) extension of environmental remediation cost expensing and the work opportunity credit for renewal communities; and (5) similar tax treatment of renewal communities and enterprise zones for specified youth residence requirements. (Sec. 405) Permits a deduction for contributions to a family development account whether or not a taxpayer itemizes. Makes conforming amendments to provisions respecting: (1) tax on excess contributions and prohibited transactions; (2) trust and annuity information; (3) tax exemption applications; and (4) the commercial revitalization credit. Subtitle B: Timber Incentives - Amends the Code, with respect to the deductible amortization of reforestation expenditures, to increase the limitation on the aggregate amount of amortizable basis acquired during the taxable year from $10,000 to $25,000 (and from $5,000 to $12,500 in the case of a separate return by a married individual), but suspends the application of such limitation between December 31, 1999, and January 1, 2004. Title V: Real Estate Provisions - Subtitle A: Improvements in Low-Income Housing Credit - Amends the Code, with respect to the low-income housing credit, to revise the formula for the State housing credit ceiling. Replaces the set multiplicand of $1.25 (to be multiplied by the State population) with a graduated applicable multiplicand rising from $1.35 for calendar year 2001 to $1.65 for calendar year 2004 and thereafter, and a maximum product of $2 million. Provides for cost-of-living adjustments to the State ceiling. (Sec. 502) Revises the housing priority selection criteria a housing credit agency must use to develop a qualified plan for allocating housing credit dollar amounts among projects. Requires such criteria to include: (1) whether the project would use existing housing as part of a community revitalization plan; (2) tenant populations of individuals with children; and (3) projects intended for eventual tenant ownership. Drops from such criteria participation of local tax-exempt organizations. Requires a qualified allocation plan to: (1) give preference in making allocations to projects located in qualified census tracts whose development contributes to a concerted community revitalization plan; and (2) provide a procedure for agency monitoring for noncompliance with habitability standards through regular site visits. (Sec. 503) Requires housing credit agencies to: (1) provide for a comprehensive market study (by a disinterested party, at the developer's expense) of the housing needs of low-income individuals in the area to be served by the project before the credit allocation is made; and (2) make public a written explanation for any allocation of a housing credit dollar amount not made in accordance with the agency's established priorities and selection criteria. (Sec. 504) Revises special rules for the determination of the adjusted basis of buildings eligible for the low-income housing credit. Requires adjusted basis to include property used throughout the taxable year in providing any community service facility designed to serve primarily individuals (even if they are not tenants) whose income is 60 percent or less of area median income. Declares that assistance under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 shall be disregarded in determining whether a building is federally subsidized for purposes of the low-income housing credit. (Sec. 505) Revises the definition of a qualified building (placed in service not later than the second calendar year following a housing credit dollar amount allocation) with respect to which the amount of a low-income housing credit may exceed the credit amount allocated to the building. Sets an alternative date for valuation of the taxpayer's actual basis in the project of which the building is a part (where the actual basis is more than ten percent of the taxpayer's reasonably expected basis). Allows the valuation of the actual basis to be as of the later of the date which is six months after the date that the allocation was made or (as currently) the close of the calendar year in which the allocation is made. Revises the formula for determination of the amount of State housing credit ceiling returned in a calendar year to include the dollar amount previously allocated to a project which fails to meet the ten percent test on a date after the close of the calendar year in which the allocation was made. Revises special rules for the increased basis of a building located in certain high cost areas to redefine a qualified census tract to include, as an alternative to existing criteria, a tract with a poverty rate of at least 25 percent. (Sec. 506) Revises the formula for determining unused housing credit carryovers allocated among certain States. Subtitle B: Private Activity Bond Volume Cap - Provides for an accelerated phase-in of specified increases in the volume cap on private activity bonds. Subtitle C: Exclusion From Gross Income for Certain Forgiven Mortgage Obligations - Excludes from gross income the discharge of qualified residential indebtedness. Limits such exclusion to the excess (if any) of the outstanding principal amount of such indebtedness (immediately before discharge) over the sum of any sales proceeds and any other outstanding principal indebtedness secured by such property.

Timber and Agriculture Environmental Fairness Act

United States · United States Congress · 2 March 2000

Timber and Agriculture Environmental Fairness Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from requiring a national pollutant discharge elimination system permit for discharges composed entirely of agricultural stormwater discharges or for discharges from silviculture operations. Excludes discharges of stormwater runoff from silvicultural operations from the definition of "point source."

To redesignate the Big South Trail in the Comanche Peak Wilderness Area of Roosevelt National Forest in Colorado as the "Jaryd Atadero Legacy Trail".

United States · United States Congress · 1 March 2000

Redesignates the Big South Trail in the Comanche Peak Wilderness Area of Roosevelt National Forest located in Colorado as the Jaryd Atadero Legacy Trail. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to post a sign at the trailhead of the trail that includes a copy of this Act and a picture of Jaryd Atadero.

Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999

United States · United States Congress · 29 February 2000

Conservation and Reinvestment Act of 1999 - Requires: (1) Governors of each State receiving monies from the Conservation and Reinvestment Act Fund (established under this Act) to report on June 15 of each year to the Secretaries of the Interior or of Agriculture, as appropriate, accounting for the money received for the previous fiscal year, including the funded projects and activities; and (2) the Secretary of the Interior to report annually to Congress on monies the Departments of the Interior and of Agriculture have spent out of the Fund, including a summary of such Governors' reports. (Sec. 5) Establishes the Conservation and Reinvestment Act Fund (CRAF). Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to deposit into CRAF certain Outer Continental Shelf revenues, undisbursed amounts under title I of this Act, and certain interest earned on CRAF investments. Transfers all amounts deposited into the CRAF as follows: (1) to the Secretary of the Interior for payment of $1 billion to States for impact assistance and coastal conservation, $125 million for the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978, $100 million for the National Historic Preservation Act, and $150 million ($100 million for permanent conservation easement and $50 million for endangered and threatened species recovery); (2) to the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture for payment of $200 million for Federal and Indian land restoration; (3) to the Land and Water Conservation Fund in the amount of $900 million; and (4) to the Federal Aid to Wildlife Restoration Fund (FAWRF) established under the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act in the amount of $350 million. Provides that any shortfalls less than $2.825 billion in a fiscal year, after FY 2000, proportionally reduce such sums for that fiscal year. (Sec. 6) Limits the amount available for administrative expenses to two percent. Provides that nothing in this Act shall affect the prohibition contained in the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (as amended by this Act) that bars the use of funds transferred to the FAWRF by this Act for administrative or execution of program expenses. (Sec. 7) Requires off-budget treatment of the receipts and disbursements of funds under this Act. (Sec. 9) Prohibits a State or local government from receiving funds under this Act during any fiscal year: (1) when its expenditures of non-Federal funds for recurrent expenditures for programs for which such funding is provided will be less than its expenditures were for such programs during the preceding fiscal year; or (2) for a program unless the Secretary of the Interior is satisfied that such a grant will be used to supplement and, to the extent practicable, increase the level of State, local, or other non-Federal funds available for such program. Exempts a State or local government from such prohibition if the Secretary determines that a reduction in expenditures is attributable to a non-selective reduction in the expenditures in the programs of all executive branch agencies of such entity. Treats all funds received by a State or local government under this Act as Federal funds for purposes of compliance with provisions in effect under other law requiring that non-Federal funds be used to provide a portion of the funding for any program or project. (Sec. 11) Prohibits: (1) the taking of private property in whole or in part, without just compensation; and (2) Federal agencies, using funds appropriated by this Act, from applying any regulation on any lands until the lands or water or an interest therein is acquired, unless authorized to do so by another Act of Congress. (Sec. 12) Requires the Secretary of the Interior to design a standardized sign and, where appropriate, require its installation at sites receiving funds under this Act. Title I: Impact Assistance and Coastal Conservation - Directs the Secretary of the Interior to allocate such transferred CRAF payments to coastal States for impact assistance and coastal conservation only if such States have: (1) a Secretary-approved Coastal State Conservation and Impact Assistance Plan; (2) agreed to provide specified reports; and (3) certain necessary fiscal control and fund accounting procedures. (Sec. 101) Sets forth the formula for allocating such funds to coastal States and coastal political subdivisions. (Sec. 102) Requires the development and submission of a Coastal State Conservation and Impact Assistance Plan by each coastal State seeking to receive grants under this title (and in the case of a producing State, the Governor) to incorporate the plans of the coastal political subdivisions into the Statewide plan for transmittal to the Secretary of the Interior for approval or disapproval before the disbursement of CRAF funds. Specifies authorized uses of the CRAF funds. Title II: Land and Water Conservation Fund Revitalization - Amends the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 to provide that all CRAF funds transferred to the Land and Water Conservation Fund shall be covered into the Fund. (Sec. 203) Makes $900 million available each fiscal year after FY 2001 for expenditure without further appropriation, to be allocated as follows: (1) 50 percent for Federal purposes; and (2) 50 percent for State grants. (Sec. 205) Prohibits the obligation or expenditure of the Federal portion of such funds for any land or water interest acquisition except those specified and approved by Congress in the appropriate appropriations Act. Prescribes: (1) a procedure for preparing and transmitting to Congress of a list of proposed Federal acquisitions; and (2) notification to specified officials of affected areas with respect to such proposed acquisitions. (Sec. 206) Revises the formula used to allocate amounts made available for State purposes from the Fund each fiscal year. Makes all federally recognized Indian tribes and Native Corporations eligible to receive shares of such apportionment in accordance with a competitive grant program established by the Secretary of the Interior. Requires each State, with an exception, to make available as grants to local governments at least 50 percent of its annual apportionment or an equivalent amount made available from other sources. (Sec. 207) Revises the requirement that a State have a comprehensive statewide outdoor recreation plan as a prerequisite to consideration by the Secretary of the Interior of financial assistance for acquisition or development projects. Allows each State to define its own priorities and criteria for selection of outdoor conservation and recreation acquisition and development projects eligible for grants under this Act if it provides for public involvement in this process and publishes an accurate and current State Action Agenda for Community Conservation and Recreation, within five years after enactment of this Act, indicating the needs it has identified and the priorities and criteria it has established. Allows an existing Comprehensive State Plan to remain in effect until the appropriate State adopts a State Action Agenda. (Sec. 209) Requires the Secretary to approve, subject to certain conditions, the conversion of property (other than for public outdoor recreation use) acquired or developed with assistance under the Act only if the State demonstrates no prudent or feasible alternative exists. Exempts from such requirement those properties that no longer meet the criteria within the State Plan or Agenda as an outdoor conservation and recreation facility due to changes in demographics, or that must be abandoned because of environmental contamination which endangers public health and safety. (Sec. 210) Provides that nothing in this title shall affect any State or Federal water law or an interstate compact governing water, alter any allocations of water rights, or create any new water rights. Title III: Wildlife Conservation and Restoration - Amends the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (FAWRA) to require CRAF funds transferred for FAWRA purposes to be deposited in a new subaccount in the FAWRF, to be made available without further appropriation, for apportionment in each fiscal year for State wildlife conservation and restoration programs. (Sec. 304) Sets forth requirements for: (1) apportionment of such subaccount funds; (2) applications for approval of, and development grants for, State wildlife conservation and restoration programs; and (3) coordination. Prohibits such funds from being used for expenses incurred in the administration and execution of programs. Limits to ten percent the use of such funds for wildlife-associated recreation. (Sec. 305) Allows the subaccount funds to be used for a wildlife conservation education program. Exempts education efforts, projects, or programs that promote or encourage opposition to the regulated taking of wildlife. (Sec. 306) Prohibits a State from receiving FAWRA matching funds if it diverts any funds from wildlife conservation purposes. Title IV: Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program Amendments - Amends the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Act of 1978 to make transferred CRAF funds available to the Secretary of the Interior, without further appropriation, to assist local governments in improving their park and recreation systems. Sets forth limits on the use of such funds. (Sec. 404) Provides for the development of new recreation areas and facilities (including the acquisition of lands for such development) under the urban park and recreation recovery program. (Sec. 406) Revises requirements for: (1) Federal assistance grant eligibility; (2) matching grants to local governments for rehabilitation, development, and innovation purposes; (3) local park and recreation recovery action programs; (4) State action incentives; and (5) conversion of recreation property for any other purposes other than public recreation purposes. (Sec. 411) Repeals sunset provisions and congressional reporting requirements with respect to: (1) the impact of the urban park and recreation recovery program; and (2) the annual achievements of the innovation grant program. Title V: Historic Preservation Fund - Amends the National Historic Preservation Act to provide that amounts transferred from the CRAF each fiscal year shall be deposited into the Historic Preservation Fund to be available without further appropriation, in that fiscal year, to carry out the Act. (Sec. 501) Requires at least one half of the funds obligated or expended each fiscal year under this Act to be used for preservation projects on historic properties (giving priority to the preservation of endangered historic properties). (Sec. 502) Authorizes a State to provide financial assistance to the management entity for any national heritage area or national heritage corridor to support cooperative historic preservation planning and development. Title VI: Federal and Indian Lands Restoration - Makes CRAF funds transferred to the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture available to be used as a dedicated source of funding for a coordinated program on Federal and Indian lands to restore degraded lands, protect resources that are threatened with degradation, and protect public health and safety. Allocates: (1) 60 percent to the Secretary of the Interior for lands within the National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System, and public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management; (2) 30 percent to the Secretary of Agriculture for lands within the National Forest System; and (3) ten percent to the Secretary of the Interior for competitive grants to qualified Indian tribes (giving priority to projects based upon the protection of significant resources, the severity of damages or threats to resources, and the protection of public health). (Sec. 603) Requires the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) each establish priority lists for the use of funds (giving priority to projects based upon the protection of significant resources, the severity of damages or threats to resources, and the protection of public health or safety); and (2) jointly establish a coordinated program for tracking the progress of activities carried out with amounts made available by this title and determining the extent to which demonstrable results are being achieved. Title VII: Conservation Easements and Endangered and Threatened Species Recovery - Subtitle A: Conservation Easements - Provides that CRAF funds transferred to the Secretary of the Interior shall be used by the Secretary to establish the Conservation Easement Program to provide grants, under specified conditions, to an eligible entity (State or local government, an Indian Tribe, or certain private organizations) to provide the Federal share of up to 50 percent of the total cost of purchasing permanent conservation easements in land with prime, unique, or other productive uses. Subtitle B: Endangered and Threatened Species Recovery - Makes CRAF funds transferred from the CRAF for this title in a fiscal year available to the Secretary of the Interior without further appropriations, in that fiscal year, to provide financial assistance to persons for development and implementation of Endangered and Threatened Species Recovery Agreements entered into under this title. Requires the Secretary to give priority to the development and implementation of Agreements that: (1) implement actions identified under recovery plans approved by the Secretary; (2) have the greatest potential for contributing to the recovery of an endangered or threatened species; and (3) require use of the assistance on land owned by a small landowner or on a family farm by the owner or operator. (Sec. 713) Prohibits the Secretary from providing financial assistance for any action that is required by a permit or an incidental take statement issued under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 or that is otherwise required under Federal law. (Sec. 714) Authorizes the Secretary to enter into such Agreements and sets forth Agreement requirements, including: (1) requiring activities not otherwise mandated by law that contribute to species recovery; and (2) specifying species recovery goals. Requires the Secretary to review Agreements in compliance, periodically monitor the implementation of each Agreement, and disburse financial assistance to implement the Agreement.

A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey for fair market value 1.06 acres of land in the San Bernardino National Forest, California, to KATY 101.3 FM, a California corporation.

United States · United States Congress · 28 February 2000

Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, subject to valid existing rights and settlement of claims as provided by this Act, to convey to KATY 101.3 F.M.(a California corporation), for fair market value, a specified parcel of land in the San Bernardino National Forest in Riverside County. Requires the Secretary, on payment by KATY of a specified amount, to release KATY from all claims of the United States arising from the occupancy and use of San Bernardino National Forest land by KATY for communication site purposes. Provides for all funds received by the Secretary under this Act to be deposited in the fund established under the Sisk Act, and to remain available for the acquisition of land, water, and interests in land or water for the San Bernardino National Forest.

Advancing the Global Opportunities for Biotechnology in Agriculture Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 24 February 2000

Advancing the Global Opportunities for Biotechnology in Agriculture Act of 2000 - Authorizes the appropriation of certain foreign assistance funds to the Agency for International Development (AID) for programs and projects designed, through the establishment of technical exchange programs for foreign officials and U.S. biotechnology experts, to educate government officials in developing countries regarding the use of biotechnology in the agricultural sector and the regulatory procedures used by the United States with respect to agricultural products using biotechnology. Declares that such programs shall encourage acceptance by such countries of products approved under the U.S. regulatory system or, in the case of countries which choose to establish a national regulatory system based on science, to encourage adoption of domestic approval processes based on objective scientific principles. Directs the President to establish an interagency process for all relevant executive branch agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Department of State, AID, the Department of Commerce, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Environmental Protection Agency, to coordinate efforts and to generate support for the acceptance of agricultural biotechnology. Urges U.S. policies to stress the prominence of science as the foundation for regulatory decision-making and work aggressively in international fora such as the World Trade Organization, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, including its CODEX Alimentarius, and the United Nations, to advocate for science-based decision- making. Urges AID and the Department of Agriculture to ensure that all food and grain products that meet U.S. health and safety requirements are acceptable to foreign countries under relevant food aid programs. Expresses the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State should work with U.S. embassies abroad to develop bilateral support from foreign governments for the approval of science-based trading regimes in multilateral forums and organizations.

USDA Civil Rights Resolution Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 22 February 2000

USDA Civil Rights Resolution Act of 2000 - Amends the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 to provide that if a complainant seeks a determination by the Department of Agriculture on the merits of an eligible complaint (certain complaints related to alleged discrimination in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act or commodity or disaster assistance programs) and the complaint is not resolved by the Department within 270 days of being investigated, the complainant may petition the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to: (1) review the complaint; and (2) make recommendations to the Department of Agriculture to resolve the complaint. Requires the Department of Justice to conduct such review and make recommendations to resolve the complaint not later than 30 days after a petition is filed. Makes the right to review by the Department of Justice available to any complainant with a complaint that: (1) is not considered an eligible complaint under specified time criteria (eligible complaints were filed before July 1, 1997, and allege discrimination occurred between 1981 and 1996); and (2) is pending at the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Agriculture on this Act's enactment date. Deems complainants to have exhausted administrative remedies after review is completed and authorizes the filing of actions after such time in a district court. Requires the tolling of any statute of limitations beginning on the date the complaint was filed at the Department of Agriculture and ending on date of completion of review by the Department of Justice.

Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act

United States · United States Congress · 22 February 2000

Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem a food misbranded if it contains or was produced with a genetically engineered material unless its labeling contains statements meeting specified requirements. Excludes food: (1) served in restaurants; (2) medical food; or (3) grown on a tree that was planted before the date of enactment of this Act, in a case in which the producer of the food does not know if the food contains a genetically engineered material, or was produced with a genetically engineered material. Authorizes grants to appropriate individuals, organizations, and institutions to conduct research into the public health and environmental risks associated with genetically engineered materials, food that contains a genetically engineered material, and food that is produced with a genetically engineered material. Authorizes appropriations.

Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2000

Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument Act of 2000 - Designates the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument in southern California, to be managed jointly by the Secretaries of the Interior and of Agriculture. Provides that nothing in the establishment of the Monument shall be construed as: (1) affecting Indian Reservations, individually held trust lands, Indian allotments, lands or interests in lands held by the State of California or its political subdivision, a special district, or the Mount San Jacinto Winter Park Authority, or private property rights within the Monuments boundaries; nor (2) granting the Secretaries authority on or over non-Federal lands not already provided by law. Requires the Secretaries to prepare a management plan for the conservation and protection of the Monument. Provides for the continued use by the University of California of certain Federal lands within the Monument (including other specified existing and historical uses). Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior, without further authorization by law, to exchange lands with the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians for purposes of this Act. Requires the Secretaries to jointly establish an advisory committee for the Monument to advise them with respect to the preparation and implementation of the management plan. Authorizes appropriations.

USDA Civil Rights Resolution Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2000

USDA Civil Rights Resolution Act of 2000 - Amends the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 to provide that if a complainant seeks a determination by the Department of Agriculture on the merits of an eligible complaint (certain complaints related to alleged discrimination in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act or commodity or disaster assistance programs) and the complaint is not resolved by the Department within 270 days of being investigated, the complainant may petition the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice to: (1) review the complaint; and (2) make recommendations to the Department of Agriculture to resolve the complaint. Requires the Department of Justice to conduct such review and make recommendations to resolve the complaint not later than 30 days after a petition is filed. Makes the right to review by the Department of Justice available to any complainant with a complaint that: (1) is not considered an eligible complaint under specified time criteria (eligible complaints were filed before July 1, 1997, and allege discrimination occurred between 1981 and 1996); and (2) is pending at the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Agriculture on this Act's enactment date. Deems complainants to have exhausted administrative remedies after review is completed and authorizes the filing of actions after such time in a district court. Requires the tolling of any statute of limitations beginning on the date the complaint was filed at the Department of Agriculture and ending on date of completion of review by the Department of Justice.

Agriculture Education Freedom Act

United States · United States Congress · 16 February 2000

Agriculture Education Freedom Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of an individual any gain from the sale of any animal raised and sold by such individual as part of his or her participation in the 4-H program under the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture, the Future Farmers of America, any tax-exempt similar organization, or any program of a tax-exempt educational organization.

To provide for the conveyance of a small parcel of public domain land in the San Bernardino National Forest in the State of California, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2000

Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, subject to valid existing rights and settlement of claims as provided in this Act, to convey to KATY 101.3 FM (a California corporation) a specified parcel of real property located within the San Bernardino National Forest in Riverside County, California. Requires that consideration for such conveyance be equal to the appraised fair market value of such parcel. Requires the Secretary, upon the receipt of a specified payment by KATY to the Secretary, to release KATY from any and all claims of the United States arising from the occupancy and use of the San Bernardino National Forest by KATY for communication site purposes. Requires all funds received pursuant to this Act to be deposited in the fund established under the Sisk Act, and to remain available to the Secretary for the acquisition of lands, waters, and interests in land for inclusion in the San Bernardino National Forest.

Backcountry Landing Strip Access Act

United States · United States Congress · 15 February 2000

General Aviation Access Act - Prohibits the Secretaries of the Interior or of Agriculture from taking any action or inaction, including neglect, which would permanently close or render or declare as unserviceable any aircraft landing strip, unless: (1) the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the head of the aviation department of each State in which the aircraft landing strip is located have approved such action; (2) notice of the proposed action has been published in the Federal Register; (3) a 90-day public comment period on the action has been provided; and (4) any comments received during the comment period have been taken into consideration by the Secretaries, as the case may be, the FAA Administrator, and the head of the aviation department of each State in which the affected aircraft landing strip is located. Directs the Secretaries to: (1) adopt a nationwide policy in accordance with this Act for governing general aviation issues related to the management of Federal land under their jurisdiction; and (2) require regional managers to adhere to it. Declares that a policy affecting access to an aircraft landing strip located on Federal land (including any national policy required under this Act) shall not take effect unless certain conditions are met, including that the FAA has the sole authority to control aviation and airspace over the United States.

To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide emergency loans to poultry producers to rebuild chicken houses destroyed by disasters.

United States · United States Congress · 14 February 2000

Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide loans to qualifying poultry farmers to rebuild destroyed chicken houses.

Emergency Commodity Distribution Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2000

Emergency Commodity Distribution Act of 2000 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to revise provisions relating to the level of commodity purchases under the school lunch program. Requires a specified portion of such program assistance to be in the form of commodity assistance. Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from using commodities provided under the authority of any other Act to meet such program requirement for the school year.

Emergency Commodity Distribution Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2000

Emergency Commodity Distribution Act of 2000 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to revise provisions relating to the level of commodity purchases under the school lunch program. Requires a specified portion of such program assistance to be in the form of commodity assistance. Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from using commodities provided under the authority of any other Act to meet such program requirement for the school year.

Timber and Agriculture Environmental Fairness Act

United States · United States Congress · 10 February 2000

Timber and Agriculture Environmental Fairness Act - Amends the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to prohibit the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency from requiring a national pollutant discharge elimination system permit for discharges composed entirely of agricultural stormwater discharges or for discharges from silviculture operations. Excludes discharges of stormwater runoff from silvicultural operations from the definition of "point source."

Christopher A. McLean, of Nebraska, to be Administrator, Rural Utilities Service, Department of Agriculture, vice Wally B. Beyer.

United States · United States Senate · 9 February 2000

A bill to amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide emergency loans to poultry producers to rebuild chicken houses destroyed by disasters.

United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2000

Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide loans to qualifying poultry farmers to rebuild destroyed chicken houses.

Agricultural Market Access and Development Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 8 February 2000

Agricultural Market Access and Development Act of 2000 - Amends the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to increase FY 2000 through 2002 funding caps for the market access program. Authorizes and sets forth the conditions under which unexpended Commodity Credit Corporation export enhancement program funds may be used for market access or development programs. Establishes FY 2000 through 2002 minimum funding amounts for the foreign market development cooperator program.

Egg Safety Act of 2000

United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2000

Egg Safety Act of 2000 - Amends the Egg Products Inspection Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate egg inspection regulations applicable to specified poultry producers. Requires such regulations to provide for: (1) effective monitoring of performance standards; (2) hazard analysis and critical control point-based egg safety programs; (3) carton labeling that warns of illnesses associated with raw or undercooked eggs; (4) uniform expiration dating, and new expiration dating for pasteurized shell eggs; (5) prohibition of returned (retail) eggs as repackaged shell eggs for human consumption; and (6) Salmonella enteritidis testing and affected egg pasteurization. Authorizes the Food Safety and Inspection Service to determine the production origin of Salmonella-contaminated eggs.