Agriculture

AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2010

United States · United States Senate · 31 December 2009

Federal Land Avalanche Protection Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2009

Federal Land Avalanche Protection Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, to establish an avalanche protection program to: (1) identify the potential for avalanches on federal lands and inform the public about the probability of avalanches and their potential adverse effects; (2) carry out ongoing research to improve avalanche forecasting; and (3) reduce the risks of avalanches and mitigate their effects. Requires the Secretary: (1) to coordinate the program to ensure protection for recreational users of public land under the Secretary of the Interior's jurisdiction, using resources of the Forest Service's National Avalanche Center; (2) to establish an advisory committee to assist in program development and implementation; and (3) with the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of the Army, to establish a central depository for weapons, ammunition, and parts for avalanche control purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to carry out projects and activities to: (1) assist in the prevention, forecasting, detection, and mitigation of avalanches; (2) maintain essential transportation, utilities, and communications; (3) assist avalanche artillery users to ensure the availability of adequate supplies of artillery and explosives required for avalanche control in specified areas; and (4) assist research and development activities for alternatives to minimize reliance on military weapons for avalanche control. Directs the Secretary to give priority to projects carried out in avalanche zones with a high frequency or severity of avalanches or in which deaths, injuries, or damage to public facilities and communities have occurred. Requires the Administrator of General Services to transfer specified property suitable for avalanche control purposes to a user of surplus ordnance.

Oregon Eastside Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 17 December 2009

Oregon Eastside Forests Restoration, Old Growth Protection, and Jobs Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, through the Chief of the Forest Service, to manage certain forest, stream, grassland, wetland, alpine, and other land and water located in a covered area of Oregon to: (1) conserve and restore forest and watershed health; (2) reduce the risk of uncharacteristic natural disturbances from fire, insects, and disease; (3) allow for characteristic natural disturbances; and (4) increase the resistance and resiliency of the covered lands to uncharacteristic events. Requires the Secretary to implement ecological restoration projects in the covered area in order to achieve such goals. Requires the delineation of each riparian habitat conservation area in a watershed for all permanently flowing streams, lakes, wetlands, seeps, springs, and intermittent streams. Requires the conservation and restoration of aquatic and riparian resources within National Forest land in the covered area. Establishes the Eastside Forest Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel to periodically advise the Secretary, collaborative groups, and the public about the development and implementation of forest and watershed management goals, the Eastside Landscape Forest Restoration Assessment, and ecological restoration projects. Requires the Restoration Assessment to include a 10-year restoration plan for the comprehensive ecological restoration of forest and watershed health in the covered area. Subjects ecological restoration projects carried out under this Act to an environmental analysis. Provides for expedited judicial review of an action challenging a project developed under this Act. Provides for: (1) the establishment of regional biomass projects; (2) stewardship contracting projects to carry out ecological restoration projects; and (3) the selection of a Deputy Regional Forester to serve as the principal agency contact for implementation of this Act.

National Forest Insect and Disease Emergency Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2009

National Forest Insect and Disease Emergency Act of 2009 - Designates certain areas of National Forest System land in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming as insect and disease emergency areas. Allows the designation of an area of System land as an additional insect and disease emergency area if the land: (1) is located in an affected state; and (2) is subject to an insect and disease infestation emergency. Excludes certain lands from inclusion in an insect and disease emergency area. Sets forth requirements for the duration of insect and disease emergency areas designated under this Act. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary), in implementing the emergency forest restoration program, to make payments to owners of nonindustrial private forest land to carry out emergency measures in response to an insect and disease infestation emergency under this Act. Authorizes the: (1) Secretary to offer to enter into any contracts or other agreements with the state of Colorado to perform watershed restoration and protection services on System land in the state when similar and complementary restoration and protection services are being carried out on adjacent state or private land; and (2) Secretary of the Interior to carry out such activities on public land located in Colorado. Extends permanently the authority under which the Forest Service may enter into such contracts with private persons and entities to perform services to achieve land management goals for the national forests that meet local and rural communities' needs. Bars the Forest Service from obligating funds to cover the costs of canceling Forest Service multiyear stewardship end result contracts until the date on which they are canceled.

Federal Land Avalanche Protection Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2009

Federal Land Avalanche Protection Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, to establish an avalanche protection program to: (1) identify the potential for avalanches on federal lands and inform the public about the probability of avalanches and their potential adverse effects; (2) carry out ongoing research to improve avalanche forecasting; and (3) reduce the risks of avalanches and mitigate their effects. Requires the Secretary: (1) to coordinate the program to ensure protection for recreational users of public land under the Secretary of the Interior's jurisdiction, using resources of the Forest Service's National Avalanche Center; (2) to establish an advisory committee to assist in program development and implementation; and (3) with the Secretary of Transportation and the Secretary of the Army, to establish a central depository for weapons, ammunition, and parts for avalanche control purposes. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to carry out projects and activities to: (1) assist in the prevention, forecasting, detection, and mitigation of avalanches; (2) maintain essential transportation, utilities, and communications; (3) assist avalanche artillery users to ensure the availability of adequate supplies of artillery and explosives required for avalanche control in specified areas; and (4) assist research and development activities for alternatives to minimize reliance on military weapons for avalanche control. Directs the Secretary to give priority to projects carried out in avalanche zones with a high frequency or severity of avalanches or in which deaths, injuries, or damage to public facilities and communities have occurred. Requires the Administrator of General Services (GSA) to transfer specified property suitable for avalanche control purposes to a user of surplus ordnance.

Children's Fruit and Vegetable Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2009

Children's Fruit and Vegetable Act of 2009 - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) promote the use of salad or fruit and vegetable bars in schools participating in the school lunch program; (2) provide training and technical assistance to states and schools on how to do so; and (3) provide grants to states for a one-time payment to schools for the cost of setting up and operating salad or fruit and vegetable bars. Directs the Secretary to identify and remove barriers to the equitable purchase of fruits and vegetables within the Secretary's procurement and distribution systems. Authorizes the Secretary to use administrative funds under the Act's fresh fruit and vegetable program to provide program participants with technical assistance and national and regional training conferences that emphasize best practices. Directs the Secretary, within two years of receiving the findings of the National Academy of Sciences' review of the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Program Meal Patterns and Nutrient Standards, to promulgate a final rule updating the nutrition standards and meal requirements for school meal programs so they are consistent with such findings. Requires the Secretary to allocate funds to states, in proportion to each state's administrative expense allocation under the school lunch and breakfast programs, so they can award competitive grants to school food authorities for the equipment needed to prepare, process, and store food for the school lunch program. Directs the Secretary to provide competitive matching grants and technical assistance to schools and nonprofit entities to carry out farm-to-school programs that improve the access of school lunch and breakfast program participants to local foods.

Downed Animal and Food Safety Protection Act

United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2009

Downed Animal and Food Safety Protection Act - States that it is U.S. policy that all nonambulatory cattle in interstate and foreign commerce be immediately and humanely euthanized when such cattle become nonambulatory. Amends the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate regulations providing for the humane treatment, handling, and disposition of nonambulatory cattle by a covered entity, including a requirement that nonambulatory cattle be humanely euthanized. Requires an entity to: (1) humanely euthanize nonambulatory cattle (while not limiting the Secretary's ability to test nonambulatory cattle for disease, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy); and (2) not move nonambulatory cattle while such cattle is conscious, and ensure that such cattle remains unconscious until death. Prohibits an inspector at an establishment covered by the Federal Meat Inspection Act to pass nonambulatory cattle, carcass, or carcass parts through inspection. Requires an inspector or other employee at such establishment to label such material as "inspected and condemned."

BPA Consumer Information Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2009

BPA Consumer Information Act of 2009 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to deem a food to be misbranded if its container: (1) is composed, in whole or in part, of bisphenol A or could release bisphenol A into food; and (2) fails to display such information in a warning on its label.

Access to Nutritious Meals for Young Children Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 16 December 2009

Access to Nutritious Meals for Young Children Act of 2009 - Amends the the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to increase reimbursement rates for free, reduced price, and paid meals and snacks served under the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) at nonresidential child care centers and family or group day care homes. Allows such providers to be reimbursed for the service of three meals and a snack. (Currently, reimbursement is provided for two meals and a snack.) Lowers the percentage of children or school children in an area that must be eligible for free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs to make family or group day care homes in the area eligible for higher CACFP reimbursement rates as tier I homes. Increases the maximum monthly administrative payment per home provided to sponsors of family or group day care homes. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to improve the ability of the CACFP to reach low-income families by streamlining program and paperwork requirements.

CIR ASAP Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2009

Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America's Security and Prosperity Act of 2009, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform ASAP Act of 2009, or the CIR ASAP Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) (Secretary) to: (1) develop and submit to Congress a National Strategy for Border Security; (2) increase the number of Customs and Border Protection officers, agriculture specialists, and border security support personnel, and enhance related equipment, assets, and technology; (3) develop a comprehensive land and maritime border surveillance plan, including aerial and integrated surveillance demonstration programs; (4) issue a rule for electronic device searches and related agent training; (5) improve coordination efforts to combat human smuggling; (6) establish a Border Communities Liaison Office in every Border Patrol sector at the southern and northern borders; (7) carry out a ports of entry technology demonstration program; and (8) establish a Southern Border Security Task Force. Authorizes appropriations for border security improvements at U.S. ports of entry. Authorizes border relief grants for tribal, state, or local law enforcement and related agencies in proximity to the border or in a designated High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. Provides reimbursement for state and county prosecutors in border states for prosecuting federally initiated and referred drug cases. Suspends the Operation Streamline program pending an evaluation of its viability. Expands resources for Project Gunrunner and for Operation Armas Cruzadas along the U.S.-Mexico border. Establishes the United States-Mexico Border Enforcement Commission. Prohibits the U.S. Armed Forces, including the National Guard, from assisting in non-emergency federal, state, local, and civilian law enforcement of immigration laws. Directs the Secretaries of DHS, Interior, Agriculture, Defense, and Commerce to develop: (1) a land border protection strategy; and (2) a borderlands environmental monitoring plan. Provides for: (1) enhanced border cooperation with Mexico; and (2) expansion of Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism programs. Sets forth detention conditions. Directs the Secretary to appoint an Immigration Detention Commission. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) immigration enforcement protections; (2) unlawful detentions; (3) protections for vulnerable populations; (4) apprehension procedures for families and family detention; (5) welfare requirements for children separated from detained or removed parents; (6) unaccompanied alien children; and (7) female detainees. Provides a stay of removal and work authorization for detained alien workers who are witnesses or necessary for workplace prosecution claims. Eliminates, with specified exceptions, DHS authority to enter into agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies to perform immigration law enforcement functions. Establishes in DHS an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Ombudsman. Eliminates the one-year asylun filing requirement. Provides for federal court review of DHS orders of removal currently exempt from such review. Establishes an alien employment verification system which requires employers to comply with: (1) document verification requirements; and (2) a phased-in electronic employment verification system. Sets forth backlog reduction provisions respecting family-sponsored and employment-based immigrant levels. Revises the definition of "immediate relative" to: (1) include the spouse and child of a lawful permanent resident; and (2) permit a qualifying widow/widower and the child or parent of a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident to maintain such status while filing for permanent resident status. Increases: (1) per-country limits for family-sponsored and employment-based immigrants; and (2) specified family-unity exceptions to unlawful presence-based inadmissibility. Prohibits the removal from the United States of an individual who: (1) fled his or her homeland while under the age of 12 years old; and (2) was later admitted to the United States as a refugee, parolee, or asylee. Exempts the sons and daughters of certain naturalized Filipino World War II veterans from worldwide or numerical immigrant visa limits. Makes a minor child of an alien fiancee/fiance or of an alien spouse of a U.S. citizen eligible for derivative K-visa status under specified circumstances. Redefines "child" to include a stepchild under 21 years old. Amends the Haitian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act of 1998 to: (1) require determinations with respect to children to be made using the age and status of an individual on October 21, 1998; and (2) permit an application based upon child status to be filed by a parent or guardian if the child is present in the United States on such filing date. Permits new status adjustment applications to be filed for a limited time period. Reduces the required support level for immigrant sponsorship. Establishes the Prevent Unauthorized Migration Visa (PUM Visa) program which shall provide for: (1) 100,000 PUM conditional permanent resident visas annually, for three years, to persons from countries (transitional visa admission states) which represent at least 5% of the total unauthorized migration population to the United States for the past five years; and (2) a process to adjust to permanent resident status. Exempts specified categories of U.S.-educated aliens from employment-based immigration limits. Permits a nonimmigrant alien whose employer has petitioned for an employment-based green card for such alien to file an application for adjustment of status regardless of whether an immigrant visa is immediately available. (Requires visa availability before such application may be approved.) Return of Talent Act - Establishes the Return of Talent Program to permit an eligible alien (and certain family members) to return to the alien's country of citizenship for up to two years in order to contribute to such country's postconflict or natural disaster reconstruction activities. (During such absence the alien and family members shall be considered to be continuously present and residing in the United States for naturalization purposes.) Establishes a conditional nonimmigrant status for qualifying aliens and their dependents who are illegally present or out of status in the United States and who register and meet the requirements for such status. Authorizes: (1) adjustment from conditional to permanent resident status at the earlier of six years after enactment of this Act or 30 days after specified immigrant visas become available (with exceptions to such time frame for certain students, military personnel, and employed individuals); and (2) naturalization three years after permanent resident status adjustment. Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits, and Security Act of 2009 or the AgJOBS Act of 2009 - Confers "blue card status" upon an alien who: (1) during the 24-month period ending on December 31, 2008, has performed specified lengths of, or earned a specified amount from, agricultural employment in the United States; (2) applied for such status during the 18-month application period; (3) is otherwise admissible to the United States; and (4) has not been convicted of specified felonies or misdemeanors. Limits the number of blue cards that may be issued during the five-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act. Provides for adjustment of blue card status to permanent resident status based upon completed periods of agricultural employment. Revises H-2A visa (agricultural labor or temporary or seasonal services) provisions. Replaces the existing labor certification requirement with a labor attestation requirement containing: (1) a description of the nature and location of the job; (2) the job's expected beginning and ending dates; (3) the number of jobs; and (4) specified labor assurances respecting job opportunities covered by collective bargaining agreements and non-covered job opportunities. Establishes: (1) the Commission on Immigration and Labor Markets; and (2) the Security and Prosperity Account in the Treasury. Requires each State Workforce Agency (SWA) to establish an Internet-based American Worker Recruit and Match program. Requires employers and foreign labor contractors to provide workers recruited abroad with specified employment-related information. Amends H-1B visa (specialty occupation) employer application requirements to: (1) revise wage determination requirements; (2) require Internet posting and description of employment positions; (3) lengthen U.S. worker displacement protection; (4) apply certain requirements to all H-1B employers rather than only to H-1B dependent employers; (5) prohibit employer advertising that makes a position available only to, or gives priority to, H-1B nonimmigrants; and (6) limit the number of H-1B and L-1 visa (intracompany transfer) employees that an employer of 50 or more workers in the United States may hire. Authorizes the Department of Labor (DOL) to: (1) investigate applications for fraud; and (2) conduct H-1B compliance audits. Prohibits an employer from hiring an L-1 nonimmigrant for more than one year who will: (1) serve in a capacity involving specialized knowledge; and (2) be stationed primarily at the worksite of another employer. Specifies L-1: (1) employer petition requirements for employment at a new office; (2) wage rates and working conditions; and (3) employer penalties. Authorizes: (1) DOL to enforce federal labor laws with respect to employers of H-2B nonagricultural temporary workers; and (2) a private right of action against such employers. Specifies employer actions to recruit U.S. workers prior to filing for H-2B admissions. Sets forth H-2B and U.S. worker protections. Amends EB-5 visa (alien investor) provisions to: (1) increase EB-5 eligibility; (2) make the regional center program permanent; (3) establish $2,500 regional center designation and premium processing fees; (4) permit concurrent filing for EB-5 petitions and status adjustment applications; (5) establish in the Treasury the Immigrant Entrepreneur Regional Center Account; and (6) increase employment creation-related visas. Revises provisions regarding: (1) immigration service fees; (2) the naturalization age-based English language proficiency exemption; and (3) citizenship application background checks. Establishes the New Americans Initiative grants program to to assist lawful permanent resident aliens to become citizens. Authorizes grants for: (1) public education and community training regarding the provisions of this Act; (2) community-based organizations to assist naturalization applicants (initial entry, adjustment, and citizenship assistance grants); and (3) states to form New American Councils. Provides for the naturalization of certain graduates of U.S. high schools who are under 25 years of age on the date of application for naturalization. Establishes: (1) a tax credit and a deduction for certification expenses for teachers of English language learners; and (2) a tax credit for employer-provided adult English literacy and basic education programs. Makes funds available for oath of allegiance ceremonies.

Universal Classroom Breakfast Expansion Act

United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2009

Universal Classroom Breakfast Expansion Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to award competitive grants to states and, through them, subgrants to schools to assist such schools in establishing universal free breakfast programs that provide all of their students with free breakfasts for at least three years under the school breakfast program. Requires students to be allowed to eat such breakfasts in the classroom after school starts. Limits subgrant eligibility to elementary or secondary schools in which at least 40% of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches under the school lunch program. Directs state grantees to provide: (1) technical assistance to schools in implementing such programs; (2) targeted outreach to schools with the highest percentage of students who are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches under the school lunch program; and (3) subgrant priority to schools in which 75% or more of the students are eligible for such lunches. Requires subgrantees to cover, from nonfederal sources, the costs of serving free breakfasts that exceed the assistance received under the school breakfast program.

Recognizing the potential for a national fresh food financing initiative to provide an effective and economically sustainable solution to the problem of limited access to healthy foods in underserved urban, suburban, and rural low-income communities, while also improving health and stimulating local economic development.

United States · United States Congress · 15 December 2009

Recognizes the potential for a national fresh food financing initiative to: (1) provide a sustainable solution to the problem of limited access to healthy foods in underserved urban, suburban, and rural low-income communities; and (2) help reduce health disparities and improve the health of families and children, create jobs, and stimulate local economic development in low-income communities.

Rural Broadband Initiative Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2009

Rural Broadband Initiative Act of 2009 - Amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to establish in the Department of Agriculture the Office of Rural Broadband Initiatives, to be headed by the Under Secretary for Rural Broadband Initiatives. States that the Under Secretary shall: (1) administer all rural broadband-related grant and loan programs previously administered by the Administrator of the Rural Utilities Service, including the rural broadband access loan and loan guarantee program and the community connect grant program; (2) conduct rural outreach; (3) foster development of a comprehensive rural broadband strategic vision; (4) assess relevant technologies; (5) serve as a single information source for all federal rural broadband programs and services; and (6) provide technical assistance to state, regional, and local governments to develop broadband deployment strategies. Directs the Under Secretary to submit: (1) a comprehensive rural broadband strategy report to the President and to Congress; and (2) a plan for a Rural Broadband Advisory Panel to Congress. Establishes in the Treasury the National Rural Broadband Innovation Fund.

A resolution recognizing the cooperative efforts of hunters, sportsmen's associations, meat processors, hunger relief organizations, and State wildlife, health, and food safety agencies to establish programs that provide game meat to feed the hungry.

United States · United States Congress · 14 December 2009

Recognizes: (1) the cooperative efforts of hunters, sportsmen's associations, meat processors, hunger relief organizations, and state wildlife, health and food safety agencies to establish programs that provide game meat to feed the hungry across the United States; and (2) such programs' contributions to decreasing hunger.

Public Lands Rehabilitation and Job Creation Act

United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2009

Public Lands Rehabilitation and Job Creation Act - Makes emergency supplemental appropriations for FY2010 to: (1) the Department of the Interior for National Park Service operations and construction; (2) the Department of Agriculture for the Forest Service for capital improvement and maintenance road projects; and (3) the Department of Transportation (DOT) for the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for highway infrastructure investment.

New Deal for a New Economy Act

United States · United States Congress · 11 December 2009

New Deal for a New Economy Act - Directs the Secretary of the Treasury, from unobligated funds under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA), to make specified sums available for FY2010-FY2012 to the Secretary of Education, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Secretaries of Commerce, Labor, the Interior, and Agriculture. Requires: (1) the Secretary of Education to allocate, and each eligible local educational agency in the state to receive, funds in proportion to amounts received under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965; and (2) a state to make and distribute the amount allocated to it within 90 days of receipt. Authorizes the use of funds to hire new employees, rehire employees laid off during the year prior to enactment, continue to employ employees scheduled to be laid off as a result of reduced budgets, and prevent furloughs scheduled as a result of reduced budgets. Directs: (1) the Attorney General to award grants to state, local, or tribal law enforcement agencies through the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program to hire, rehire, continue to employ, and prevent furloughs of police officers; (2) the Secretary of DHS, through the Administrator of the United States Fire Administration, to award grants through the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program to hire, rehire, continue to employ, and prevent furloughs of firefighters; (3) the Secretary of Commerce to award grants to states, cities or other political subdivisions or a consortium of such subdivisions, or Indian tribes, to assist in maintaining basic government services; and (4) the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture to fund specific public works projects in national parks and through the National Forest Service, respectively. Establishes in the Department of Labor a New Economy Grant Program, to provide grants for the creation of new jobs on specific public works projects. Limits funding under this Act's Departments of Labor, the Interior, and Agriculture programs to individuals who meet specified criteria. Bars displacement of existing employees. Sets forth requirements regarding the use of funds, the maximum employment period, wages, reporting, and expedited administration.

International Fisheries Stewardship and Enforcement Act

United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2009

International Fisheries Stewardship and Enforcement Act - Directs the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) and the Secretary of the department in which the Coast Guard is operating to enforce specified laws concerning fisheries and fish products, as applicable to specified provisions of this Act. Sets forth provisions regarding: (1) civil and criminal penalties; (2) search, inspection, shipment detention, arrest, and subpoena authorities; and (3) prohibited actions. Amends the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act to direct the Secretary to identify nations or certain entities that are engaged or have been engaged during the preceding three years in illegal or unregulated fishing, or that have violated related conservation and management measures. Prohibits certain activities under specified fishing and marine Acts, including: (1) refusing, resisting, or interfering with searches, investigations, inspections, or observers; (2) importing, exporting, transporting, selling, or purchasing fish or fish products in violation of a treaty or any binding conservation measure to which the United States is a party; or (3) falsifying records, accounts, labels, or product identification. Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) identify vessels and vessel owners engaged in illegal or unregulated fishing; and (2) take appropriate action against such vessels and vessel owners in accordance with U.S. and international law. Applies any action restricting port privileges to all U.S. and territorial ports. Directs the Secretary to establish an International Fisheries Enforcement Program in the Office of Law Enforcement of the National Marine Fisheries Service to investigate illegal or unregulated fishing activity and enforce the provisions of this Act. Authorizes the Secretary to establish an international cooperation and assistance program to provide assistance for international capacity building efforts. Authorizes information disclosure to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, international fishery management organizations, or arrangements made under an international fishery agreement, if those organizations or arrangements have unauthorized information disclosure safeguards. Amends the High Seas Fishing Compliance Act to revise high seas fishing permit provisions. Antigua Convention Implementing Act of 2009 - Amends the Tuna Conventions Act of 1950 to revise provisions regarding: (1) the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission; (2) the General Advisory Committee; (3) the Scientific Advisory Subcommittee; (4) prohibited acts; and (5) enforcement. Repeals the Eastern Pacific Tuna Licensing Act of 1984.

Equality for Women Farmers Act

United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2009

Equality for Women Farmers Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to attempt to notify potential claimants of a three-year opportunity to submit a claim for gender discrimination damages against the Department of Agriculture for failing to provide or review applications for farm loans, farm loan servicing, or disaster loans during the period January 1, 1981, through the date of enactment of this Act. Directs the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to appoint a Special Master to adjudicate such claims. Prohibits the Department from initiating foreclosure on collateral or secured property of an eligible claimant during such three-year period. Sets forth audit and reporting provisions.

Bottled Water Safety and Right to Know Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2009

Bottled Water Safety and Right to Know Act of 2009 - Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to identify and establish standards for contaminants in bottled water that are at least as protective as standards established by: (1) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for national primary drinking water; or (2) the World Health Organization, the European Union, or the state of California. Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to states for the enforcement of standards adopted under this Act. Transfers all functions of the Secretary relating to inspections and enforcement concerning bottled water to the EPA if the Secretary fails to publish the final regulation concerning such standards within two years. Requires the Secretary to: (1) promulgate regulations that require each manufacturer of bottled water to submit reports on its water and display required information on bottle labels; (2) make such reports available to the public; (3) make certain additional information available to the public about the regulation of contaminants in bottled drinking water; (4) publish information regarding violations of bottled water regulations; and (5) establish a grant program to gather information on such violations. Prohibits a manufacturer of bottled water from failing to submit an annual report or to display the required information on bottle labels in accordance with this Act.

Incentives to Increase Use of Renewable Biomass Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2009

Incentives to Increase Use of Renewable Biomass Act of 2009 - Amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) establish a program to provide interest-free loans to eligible institutions (i.e., an institution of higher education, an elementary or secondary school, a hospital, a local government building, or a governmental, community, health, or educational building owned or leased and occupied by an Indian tribe, except any building used for gaming) for capital costs for converting existing equipment, or installing new equipment, to use renewable biomass for energy generation, heating, or cooling systems; and (2) ensure that an institution receiving such a loan will use renewable biomass for no less than 75% of the energy generation, heating, or cooling needs of the facility for which the loan is received. Establishes in the Treasury a revolving fund for such program. Requires the Secretary to: (1) deposit amounts received as payment on loans provided under such program into such revolving fund; and (2) make available $100 million of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to such revolving fund.

Healthy Forests Restoration Amendments Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2009

Healthy Forests Restoration Amendments Act of 2009 - Amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to expand the purposes of the Act to include providing for the protection, restoration, and enhancement of forest ecosystem components to protect infrastructure in rural communities. Expands federal land areas eligible for hazardous fuel reduction projects. Repeals the total federal land acreage limitation on authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects. Revises requirements regarding the alternative analysis process for authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects in the wildland-urban interface. Bars the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior from being required to study, develop, or describe more than the proposed agency action and a no action alternative in an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement for specified proposed authorized hazardous fuel reduction projects.

To authorize drought assistance adjustments to provide immediate funding for projects and activities that will help alleviate record unemployment and diminished agricultural production related to the drought in California.

United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2009

Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to use funds provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 or appropriation measures through FY2012 for any required non-federal share of the cost of projects that: (1) are funded by the federal government; (2) are located in an area that either has been identified by the U.S. Drought Monitor as experiencing severe, extreme, or exceptional drought within the 24 months prior to this Act's enactment or has been designated as a disaster area by California during 2009; (3) will make progress towards providing a more reliable water supply for California and protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta ecosystem, will increase water management flexibility, or will reduce impacts on environmental resources from projects operated by the California State Department of Water Resources, the California State Department of Fish and Game, the Bureau of Reclamation, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or other relevant state and federal agencies; (4) show potential to restore agriculture production or agricultural employment for such areas; and (5) have made significant progress in the completion of any necessary environmental or public review. Directs that the use of funds for the nonfederal share of projects as authorized in this Act be considered a drought assistance adjustment. Requires the Secretary to establish criteria for calculating such adjustments utilizing existing practices for adjustments in water service and repayment rates.

To require the Forest Service to accommodate, to the extent consistent with the management objectives and limitations applicable to the National Forest System lands at issue, individuals with mobility disabilities who need to use a power-driven mobility device for reasonable access to such lands.

United States · United States Congress · 8 December 2009

Directs the Secretary of Agriculture, through the Chief of the Forest Service, to require Forest Service personnel, in the implementation of off-road vehicle management under the Forest Service Travel Management Rule, to endeavor to accommodate individuals with mobility disabilities who would need to use a power-driven mobility device for access to such lands. Requires Forest Service personnel to provide an individual with mobility disabilities who uses a power-driven mobility device to access specific National Forest System lands, who seeks permission to access such lands, and who is denied such access, with an explanation for the denial of access to such lands.

Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2009

Tax Extenders Act of 2009 - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2010 certain expiring provisions for individual taxpayers, including: (1) the taxpayer election to deduct state and local general sales taxes in lieu of state and local income taxes; (2) the standard tax deduction for state and local real property taxes; (3) the tax deduction from gross income for qualified tuition and related expenses; and (4) the tax deduction from gross income for certain expenses of elementary and secondary school teachers. Extends through 2010 expiring provisions for business taxpayers, including: (1) the tax credit for increasing research activities; (2) tax treatment of certain items affecting U.S. shareholders of controlled foreign corporation; (3) accelerated depreciation for qualified leasehold, restaurant, and retail property, for motorsports entertainment complexes, and for farming business machinery and equipment; (4) the tax credit for railroad track maintenance expenditures; (5) the enhanced expensing allowance for certain film and television production costs; (6) expensing of environmental remediation costs; (7) the tax credit for mine rescue team training expenses; (8) the taxpayer election to expense advanced mine safety equipment expenditures; (9) the tax credit for differential wages payments to employees who are active duty members of the Uniformed Services; (10) tax rules relating to regulated investment companies (RICs); and (11) the suspension of the taxable income limitation on percentage depletion for oil and natural gas produced from marginal properties. Extends through 2010 expiring provisions relating to charitable organizations and contributions, including: (1) the tax deduction for charitable contributions of capital gain real property by individual taxpayers and certain corporate farmers and ranchers for conservation purposes; (2) the enhanced tax deduction for charitable contributions of food inventory and book inventories to public schools and for corporate contributions of computer technology and equipment for educational purposes; (3) penalty-free distributions from individual retirement accounts (IRAs) for charitable purposes; and (4) special tax rules for payments to controlling exempt organizations, exclusion of gain or loss from unrelated business taxable income from the sale or exchange of certain brownfield sites, and basis adjustment to stock of S corporations making charitable contributions. Extends through 2010: (1) the tax credit for employment of members of Indian tribes; (2) accelerated depreciation of property used for business purposes on an Indian reservation; (3) extension of the tax deduction for income attributable to domestic production activities to such activities in Puerto Rico; (4) the limitation on the amount of distilled spirits tax covered (paid over) into the treasuries of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands; and (5) the tax credit for American Samoa economic development expenditures. Extends through 2010 certain provisions relating to community development and assistance, including: (1) tax incentives in empowerment zones and renewal communities; (2) the new markets tax credit; (3) tax incentives for investment in the District of Columbia, the New York Liberty Zone, the Gulf Opportunity Zone, and low-income housing. Extends through 2010 tax-related disaster relief provisions, including: (1) the tax deduction for personal casualty losses attributable to federally-declared disasters; (2) expensing allowance for cleanup and other expenditures in disaster areas; (3) the five-year extended carryover period for net operating losses incurred in a disaster area; (4) waiver of mortgage revenue bond requirements for refinancing residences damaged or destroyed in a disaster area; and (5) expensing and accelerated depreciation of certain disaster assistance property. Extends through 2010 energy conservation and production provisions, including: (1) the tax credits for biodiesel and renewable diesel used as fuel; (2) the alternative motor vehicle tax credit for large hybrid vehicles; (3) the alternative fuel excise tax credit for natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas; and (4) tax rules relating to sales required to implement federal and state restructuring policy for qualified electric utilities. Revises and adds reporting and other requirements relating to income from assets held abroad, including by: (1) requiring foreign financial and nonfinancial institutions to withhold 30% of payments made to such institutions by U.S. individuals unless such institutions agree to disclose the identity of such individuals and report on their bank transactions; (2) denying a tax deduction for interest on non-registered bonds issued outside the United States; (3) requiring any individual who holds more than $50,000 in a depository or custodial account maintained by a foreign financial institution to report on such accounts; (4) imposing an enhanced tax penalty for underpayments attributable to undisclosed foreign financial assets; (5) extending the limitation period for assessment of underpayments with respect to assets held outside the United States; (6) requiring shareholders of a passive foreign investment company to file informational returns; (7) enhancing tax rules and penalties relating to foreign trusts with U.S. beneficiaries; and (8) requiring withholding of tax on dividend equivalent payments received by foreign individuals. Sets forth tax rules relating to partnership interests transferred in connection with the performance of services. Increases by an additional 26.5% the required estimated tax payments for certain large corporations in the third quarter of 2014. Requires the Chief of Staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation to submit to the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee a report on each tax expenditure extended by this Act.

HEARING TO REVIEW THE COSTS AND BENEFITS OF AGRICULTURE OFFSETS

United States · United States House of Representatives · 3 December 2009

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to treat nonrecourse small business investment company loans from the Small Business Administration as amounts at risk for purposes of determining the deduction for losses.

United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2009

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to revise the definition of "qualified nonrecourse financing" to include qualified nonrecourse real property or Small Business Investment Company financing as amounts at risk for purposes of determining the deductibility of losses from certain investment activities, including farming, leasing, and energy exploration.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the limitation on the reduction in fair market value of real property used for farming, or in another trade or business, for purposes of estate taxes.

United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2009

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) increase to $3.5 million the limitation on the reduction in the fair market value of real property used for farming or in another trade or business for estate tax purposes; and (2) allow an annual inflation adjustment to the limitation amount after 2010.

Haiti Reforestation Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2009

Haiti Reforestation Act of 2009 - Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to offer to enter into agreements with the government of Haiti to provide financial assistance, technology transfers, or capacity building assistance to reduce deforestation and increase reforestation in Haiti. Directs the Secretary to establish a grant program to carry out such activities. Amends the the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 to: (1) direct the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to invite the government of Haiti to submit a list of areas in which tropical forests are seriously degraded or threatened; and (2) authorize USAID to make grants to nongovernmental organizations to purchase discounted commercial debt of the government of Haiti in exchange for government commitments to restore identified forests or to develop plans for their sustainable use.

Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2009

Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2009 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) make a supplemental direct commodity payment to eligible producers that previously received such a payment; (2) make grants to states to assist eligible specialty crop producers for losses associated with drought or excessive rainfall during 2009; (3) provide supplemental assistance to eligible producers and first-handlers of the 2009 crop of cottonseed in disaster counties; (4) continue to carry out the 2002 livestock compensation program and provide assistance to any applicant that conducts a livestock operation located in a disaster county or produces fish classified within the family Ictaluridae (catfish); and (5) make payments to eligible producers for livestock losses occurring in a disaster county.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend for 2 years the treatment of certain farming business machinery and equipment as 5-year property for purposes of depreciation.

United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2009

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to extend through 2011 the classification of certain farming business machinery and equipment as five-year property for purposes of the tax deduction for depreciation.

TRADE Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2009

Trade Reform, Accountability, Development, and Employment Act of 2009 or the TRADE Act of 2009 - Directs the Comptroller General to: (1) review certain free trade agreements (including Uruguay Round Agreements) between the United States and a trade agreement country to evaluate their economic, employment, environmental, national security, health, safety, and other effects; and (2) report on them to the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on Ways and Means, including analyses of specified aspects of each trade agreement and certain information about agreement parties, such as whether the country has a democratic form of government, adopted and enforces certain core labor rights, respects fundamental human rights, enforces rights under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), complies with environmental laws, and poses a potential national security concern. Requires implementing bills of new trade agreements between the United States and another country to include certain standards with respect to: (1) labor; (2) environment and public safety; (3) food and product health and safety; (4) services; (5) investment; (6) procurement; (7) intellectual property; (8) agriculture; (9) trade remedies and safeguards; (10) dispute resolution and enforcement; and (11) technical assistance. Sets forth a point of order to consideration of bills implementing new trade agreements. Requires the President to submit to Congress a plan for the renegotiation of existing trade agreements to bring them into compliance with such standards. Expresses the sense of Congress that certain processes for U.S. trade negotiations should be followed when Congress considers legislation providing special procedures for bills implementing trade agreements.

Feed All Struggling Americans Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2009

Feed All Struggling Americans Act of 2009 - Amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to exclude from household income for food stamp eligibility purposes any unemployment benefits received for a continuous period exceeding 26 weeks.

Processed Food Safety Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 30 November 2009

Processed Food Safety Act of 2009 - Amends the Poultry Products Inspection Act and the Federal Meat Inspection Act to prohibit the sale or transport in commerce of any processed poultry, poultry product, meat, or meat food product capable of human consumption that has not undergone a pathogen reduction treatment for each ingredient or been certified to contain no verifiable traces of pathogens. Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require each registered facility to: (1) apply pathogen reduction treatments to each food that it manufactures, processes, packages, or holds for consumption in the United States; and (2) certify that each such food contains no verifiable traces of pathogens, or that each such food leaving the facility has received required pathogen reduction treatments. Requires coloring, synthetic flavorings, and spices used in such products to be named.

A bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide emergency disaster assistance to certain agricultural producers that suffered losses during the 2009 calendar year.

United States · United States Congress · 20 November 2009

Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) make a supplemental direct commodity payment to eligible producers that previously received such a payment; (2) make grants to states to assist eligible specialty crop producers for losses associated with drought or excessive rainfall during 2009; (3) provide supplemental assistance to eligible producers and first-handlers of the 2009 crop of cottonseed in disaster counties; (4) continue to carry out the 2002 livestock compensation program and provide assistance to any applicant that conducts a livestock operation located in a disaster county or produces fish classified within the family Ictaluridae (catfish); and (5) make payments to eligible producers for livestock losses occurring in a disaster county.

A bill to amend the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to increase the amount made available to purchase commodities for the emergency food assistance program in fiscal year 2010.

United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2009

Amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2009 to increase the FY2010 amount for emergency food assistance program commodity purchases.

To amend the Agricultural Adjustment Act to clarify that the delivery of milk to a handler under a Federal milk marketing order occurs when the raw milk is received at the producer's farm, and the producer may not be charged for transportation-related costs incurred by a handler after the raw milk leaves the farm, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2009

Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act, reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, to state that: (1) the delivery by a producer or association of producers of raw milk to a handler under a federal milk marketing order shall be deemed to occur when the raw milk is received at the producer's farm, whether directly by the handler or by a transportation agent acting on behalf of the handler; and (2) the producer may not be charged for transportation-related costs, including hauling fees, stop fees, and fuel surcharges, incurred by a handler or the transportation agent after the raw milk leaves the farm.

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the new carryover basis rules in order to prevent tax increases and the imposition of compliance burdens on many more estates than would benefit from repeal, to retain the estate tax with a $3,500,000 exemption, to reinstitute and update the Pay-As-You-Go requirement of budget neutrality on new tax and mandatory spending legislation, enforced by the threat of annual, automatic sequestration, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2009

Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act of 2009 - Repeals provisions of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) eliminating the tax on estates and generation-skipping transfers and the step-up in basis provisions for property acquired from a decedent for estates of decedents dying after 2009. Declares that the sunset provision (general terminating date of December 10, 2010) of EGTRRA shall not apply to title V of such Act (Estate, Gift, and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Provisions). Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a $3.5 million estate tax exclusion and a reduction in the maximum estate and gift tax rate to 45% after 2009.

Hunger Free Schools Act

United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2009

Hunger Free Schools Act - Amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to make performance awards to states that demonstrate outstanding performance or show substantial improvement in directly certifying as eligible for free meals under the school lunch and breakfast programs any children whose families are eligible for supplemental nutrition assistance under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008. (Direct certification eliminates the need for such families to submit applications for participation in the school lunch and breakfast programs.) Requires each state that directly certifies less than 95% of their children who are eligible for direct certification to implement: (1) a corrective action plan for the current school year; and (2) a direct certification improvement plan, approved by the Secretary, for the following school year. Requires direct certification of children who are members of a household that includes a child: (1) who is eligible for and receiving assistance under title XIX (Medicaid) or title XXI (Children's Health Insurance Program [CHIP, formerly known as SCHIP]) of the Social Security Act; and (2) whose income does not exceed 133% of the federal poverty level. Directs the Secretary to award grants to states to assist them in implementing such certification program. Allows local educational agencies (LEAs) to directly certify children whose household is eligible for a supplemental subsistence allowance for low-income members of the Armed Forces with dependents. Permits schools and LEAs to receive special assistance payments for free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs that are based not on applications for such meals, but on: (1) estimates, made from recent socioeconomic data, of the number of children eligible for such meals; or (2) if the school or LEA is from a high poverty area, the direct certification of a specified minimum percentage of their students as eligible for free meals due to their eligibility for certain other public assistance. Requires such schools and LEAs to provide free meals to all their students under the school lunch and breakfast programs and cover, from nonfederal sources, the costs of serving such meals that exceed the assistance received under such programs.

National Forest Insect and Disease Emergency Act of 2010

United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2009

National Forest Insect and Disease Emergency Act of 2009 - Designates certain areas in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming as insect and disease emergency areas. Allows the designation of additional insect and disease emergency areas in accordance with this Act. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary), in implementing the emergency forest restoration program, to make payments to owners of nonindustrial private forest land to carry out emergency measures in response to an insect and disease infestation emergency under this Act. Authorizes the: (1) Secretary to enter into contracts or agreements with a state to allow the performance of watershed restoration and protection services on National Forest System land when similar and complementary restoration and protection services are being carried out by the state on adjacent state or private land; and (2) Secretary of the Interior to carry out such activities on public land administered by the Secretary of the Interior. Bars the Secretary from obligating funds to cover the costs of canceling Forest Service multiyear stewardship contracts until the date on which they are canceled. Extends permanently the authority under which the Forest Service may enter into such contracts with private persons and entities to perform services to achieve land management goals for the national forests and the public lands that meet local and rural community needs.

E. Coli Eradication Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 18 November 2009

E. Coli Eradication Act of 2009 - Amends the the Federal Meat Inspection Act to require that slaughterhouses, processing establishments, and grinding facilities perform specified tests for the presence of E. coli O157:H7 in ground beef. Subjects imported trim, bench trim, and ground beef to the same testing requirements as domestic trim, bench trim, and ground beef.

Emergency Port of Entry Personnel and Infrastructure Funding Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 10 November 2009

Emergency Port of Entry Personnel and Infrastructure Funding Act of 2009 - Amends the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2010 to allocate certain FY2010 appropriations to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to pay the salaries and related compensation for an additional 250 CBP officers and 25 associated support personnel who shall be devoted to new inspection lanes at new land ports of entry along the Southern border between the United States and Mexico. Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to hire, train, and assign to duty, by the end of FY2013, an additional: (1) 2,500 full-time CBP officers to serve on all inspection lanes and enforcement teams at U.S. lands ports of entry on the Northern border between the United States and Canada and the same number of CBP officers for the same purposes on the Southern border; and (2) 350 full-time support staff for all U.S. ports of entry. Directs the Secretary to report to specified congressional committees on DHS plans for placing sufficient CBP officers on outbound inspections and agriculture specialists at all Southern border land ports of entry, respectively. Authorizes the Secretary to make incentive payments of $5,000 to $10,000, during FY2010-FY2015, to recruit and retain qualified CBP port of entry officers. Directs the Secretary to: (1) equip each CBP officer with a secure two-way communication and satellite-enabled device that allows communication between ports of entry and inspection stations, and with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement entities; and (2) establish a grant program for the purchase of detection equipment at land ports of entry and mobile, hand-held, two-way communication and biometric devices for state and local law enforcement officers along the Southern border. Amends the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) to allocate certain construction funds for infrastructure improvements, expansion, and new construction (or reimbursement for new construction costs incurred during FY2007-FY2009) of high-volume ports of entry in Texas, regardless of port ownership. Grants the CBP additional authority for port of entry construction along the Northern and Southern U.S. borders.

Growing Safe Food Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 9 November 2009

Growing Safe Food Act of 2009 - Amends the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to make grants for food safety training, education, extension, outreach, and technical assistance, with respect to foods under the authority of the Commissioner of Food and Drugs (FDA), to: (1) farm owners and operators; (2) small food processors; and (3) small fruit and vegetable merchant wholesalers. Authorizes the Secretary to make grants to farms that have, or are transitioning to, certified organic production.

Access to Nutritious Meals for Young Children Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2009

Access to Nutritious Meals for Young Children Act of 2009 - Amends the the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to increase reimbursement rates for free, reduced price, and paid meals and snacks served under the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) at nonresidential child care centers and family or group day care homes. Allows such providers to be reimbursed for the service of three meals and a snack. (Currently, reimbursement is provided for two meals and a snack.) Lowers the percentage of children or school children in an area that must be eligible for free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs to make family or group day care homes in the area eligible for higher CACFP reimbursement rates as tier I homes. Increases the maximum monthly administrative payment per home provided to sponsors of family or group day care homes. Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to improve the ability of the CACFP to reach low-income families by streamlining program and paperwork requirements.

Big Sur Forest Service Management Unit Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 6 November 2009

Big Sur Forest Service Management Unit Act of 2009 - Establishes the Big Sur Management Unit of Los Padres National Forest in California to replace the Monterey Ranger District in the Forest. Directs the Secretary of the Interior to transfer to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture (the Secretary) all Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administered public lands within the boundaries of the Unit for inclusion in the Unit. Authorizes the lease or issuance of permits for the use of all or a part of Brazil Ranch. Designates the Unit as a Wildland Urban Interface Special Study Area. Requires the Secretary to: (1) make use of existing authority and resources to pioneer innovative fire pre-suppression methods consistent with public safety and wilderness values; (2) create and annually update a fire management plan applicable to the Unit; and (3) establish agency approval procedures for responding to fire emergencies in the Unit. Adjusts the boundaries of the Ventana Wilderness Area. Designates the Horse Canyon and Horse Pasture proposed wilderness additions as wilderness and as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Adjusts the boundaries of the Silver Peak Wilderness Area. Designates the Alder Creek proposed wilderness addition as wilderness and a component of such System. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to take measures in the wilderness areas and wilderness additions designated by this Act necessary for the control of fire, insects, and diseases. Designates: (1) specified segments of the Arroyo Seco River, Big Creek, Carmel River, San Antonio River, and San Carpoforo Creek and their tributaries in Big Sur, California, as components of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System; (2) Forest Service Road 19S09, to be known as the Arroyo Seco-Indians Trail, as a National Recreation Trail; and (3) the Jeff Norman Botanical Area.

Small Business Administration Disaster Recovery and Reform Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2009

Small Business Administration Disaster Recovery and Reform Act of 2009 - Amends the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to direct the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to submit to the congressional small business committees recommendations for improvements to the Gulf Coast disaster loan refinancing program. Extends for 24 additional months the authorized loan assistance term for small businesses affected by Hurricanes Katrina or Rita and participating in the SBA small business and capital ownership development program. Allows the Administrator to declare a disaster with respect to small businesses that installed defective drywall manufactured in China, for purposes of qualification for SBA disaster loan assistance. Amends the Small Business Act to increase authorized assistance under the SBA's: (1) pioneer business recovery program (formerly the expedited disaster assistance loan program); and (2) disaster loan assistance program. Authorizes the Administrator to guarantee loans made under an approved state bridge loan program. Requires the Administrator to report on: (1) regional outreach on disaster assistance programs; (2) coordination of economic injury disaster declarations; and (3) coordination between SBA and Department of Agriculture (USDA) disaster programs. Directs the Administrator to ensure that disaster recovery needs unmet by federal and private sources are not overlooked by the SBA in determining duplication of benefits for disaster victims.

Clean Energy Partnerships Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2009

Clean Energy Partnerships Act of 2009 - Requires the Secretary of Agriculture and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to establish: (1) a program to govern the creation of credits from emission reductions from uncapped domestic sources and sinks; (2) the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction and Sequestration Advisory Committee to provide scientific and technical advice on the establishment and implementation of such offset program; and (3) a carbon conservation program to provide incentives to landowners or grazing contractor holders to implement projects that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or sequester or permanently store carbon through conservation easements, sequestration contracts, and timber harvest or grazing contracts with the Department of Agriculture or the Department of the Interior. Requires the Administrator to establish a registry to record approved credits issued under such offset program. Requires each appropriate official to: (1) establish and maintain a list of types of offset projects eligible to generate offset credits under the program; and (2) prescribe regulations to ensure the emission reduction integrity of the offset projects. Authorizes the Administrator to issue offset credits for emissions reduced by specified international projects that reduce deforestation. Provides that a person is not required to hold allowances or credits for emissions resulting from the use of gas as an energy source if the gas is derived from an approved domestic methane offset project. Establishes: (1) the Carbon Conservation Fund for the carbon conservation program; and (2) the Rural Clean Energy Resources Fund to provide assistance for the development of biofuel and bioenergy, including by supporting the Rural Energy for America Program and implementing a research and demonstration program that includes approaches to sequestering carbon through agricultural, grazing, and forestry practices and reducing methane and nitrous oxide emissions associated with agricultural production.

A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide that the value of certain historic property shall be determined using an income approach in determining the taxable estate of a decedent.

United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2009

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow decedent estates to base the value of qualified historic property on the net earnings of such property for estate and gift tax purposes. Defines "qualified historic property" as any building designated as a national historic landmark for at least 25 years prior to the death of a decedent and originally used for residential or farming purposes.

A resolution designating Thursday, November 19, 2009, as "Feed America Day".

United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2009

Designates Thursday, November 19, 2009, as Feed America Day. Encourages the people of the United States to sacrifice two meals on Thursday, November 19, 2009, and to donate the money that they would have spent on such food to a religious or charitable organization of their choice for the purpose of feeding the hungry.

Family Farm and Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2009

United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2009

Family Farm and Small Business Tax Relief Act of 2009 - Extends the estate and gift tax rates in effect in 2009 by eliminating the general terminating date (i.e., December 31, 2010) in the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) applicable to such rates. Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish a permanent $3.5 million estate tax exclusion (adjusted for inflation) and a maximum estate and gift tax rate of 45% after 2010; (2) restore after 2010 the estate tax deduction for family-owned business interests and increase the amount of such deduction to $8 million (adjusted annually for inflation); and (3) exclude from the gross estate of a decedent the value of farmland used as a farm for farming purposes.

Congratulating the National Association of Farm Service Agency County Office Employees (NASCOE) on its 50th anniversary and its role in support of American agriculture.

United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2009

Congratulates the National Association of Farm Service Agency County Office Employees (NASCOE) on its 50th anniversary. Thanks NASCOE members for their public service to rural America.