Agriculture

Travel Facilitation and Safety Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 18 December 2015

Travel Facilitation and Safety Act of 2015 This bill authorizes the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enter into cost-sharing agreements with airport authorities in foreign countries at which preclearance operations will be established or maintained if certain circumstances apply. Any cost-sharing agreement may provide for an airport authority's payment to the CBP of its initial preclearance operations costs. The Immigration and Nationality Act is amended with respect to reimbursements to the Department of Justice received from commercial aircraft or vessel owners, operators, or agents, or from any airport or seaport authority, for expenses incurred for immigration inspection services they have requested. Such reimbursements may be collected in advance of those services, and shall be credited as offsetting collections to the currently applicable CBP appropriation, account, or fund. The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 is amended to make the same disposition for reimbursements to the Department of Agriculture for preclearance of animals or articles at locations outside the United States for movement into the United States. The bill expresses the sense of Congress that each visa waiver program country should seek to participate in the U.S. preclearance program. DHS may select preclearance locations and enter into agreements with foreign governments or airports to conduct a collaborative demonstration program at those locations to test emerging biometric technologies. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence shall develop a process to share information derived from the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment database and the Terrorist Screening Database with countries participating in the visa waiver program.

SNAP Work Opportunities and Veteran Protection Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 17 December 2015

SNAP Work Opportunities and Veteran Protection Act of 2015 This bill amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to exempt Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) beneficiaries from work requirements if they are not offered a position in a state job training or workfare program. The bill also exempts from work requirements veterans who are participating in certain programs administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs or a state to further employment or rehabilitation goals. The bill permits the Department of Agriculture to allocate specified funds to states for the employment programs.

Climate Protection and Justice Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015

Climate Protection and Justice Act of 2015 This bill amends the Clean Air Act to address greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, the bill: states as U.S. policy greenhouse gas emission targets for 2020, 2030, 2040, and 2050 that will result in reducing the emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2050; establishes a fee for manufacturing, producing, or importing certain carbon polluting substances (coal, petroleum, and natural gas) that increases over time; establishes the Interagency Climate Council to evaluate whether the targets are being met; requires the Environmental Protection Agency to issue regulations to ensure the targets are met if the council finds the targets are not being met; requires those fees to be deposited in the Carbon Fee Rebate Fund established by this bill; establishes the Carbon Fee Rebate Program, which will distribute proceeds from the fees to eligible U.S. residents; establishes a Climate Justice Resiliency Grant Program to fund projects that mitigate climate impacts on communities that are unable to afford the management or mitigation of those impacts; expands the definition of solid waste under the Clean Air Act and applies air pollution emission limits to those wastes; and establishes a fee on carbon pollution-intensive goods imported into the United States, requires the fees to be deposited in the Carbon Equivalency Fee Fund established by this bill, and requires the fund to be used for certain purposes, including improving industrial energy efficiency. The bill provides funding for the Weatherization Assistance Program, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, and the Rural Energy for America Program. The bill revises the Food Security Act of 1985 by providing incentives for farmers to use no-till cultivation practices and sustainable fertilizer application practices. The bill revises the Federal Power Act to enable access on the electric grid for demand response programs (programs that enable customers to reduce or shift their power use during peak demand periods).

Water and Agriculture Tax Reform Act of 2016

United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015

Water and Agriculture Tax Reform Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit tax-exempt mutual ditch or irrigation companies to earn income from dispositions of certain real property and stock interests without affecting their tax-exempt status, but requires that such income be used to pay the costs of operations, maintenance, and capital improvements of such a company.

Utah Test and Training Range Encroachment Prevention and Temporary Closure Act

United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015

Utah Test and Training Range Encroachment Prevention and Temporary Closure Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior and the Air Force to enter into a memorandum of agreement for the continued management by Interior of approximately 625,643 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in Utah in a manner that provides for its limited use by the Air Force. Under such Agreement the BLM shall continue to manage the BLM land, subject to use by the Air Force for: the preservation of the Utah Test and Training Range against encroachments incompatible with test and training requirements; the testing of advanced weapons systems, including hypersonic weapons, and the standoff distance for weapons; increased public safety for civilians accessing the BLM land; and other purposes related to meeting national security needs. If military operations, public safety, or national security require the temporary closure of the use of roads, trails, or other portions of the BLM land to the public, the Air Force may take necessary action to carry out such closure. The bill establishes the Utah Test and Training Range Community Resource Group to give input to Interior and the Air Force on matters involving public access to, use of, and management of the BLM land. Interior shall convey to the state of Utah, through the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration in Utah, BLM land in Box Elder, Millard, Juab, Tooele, and Beaver Counties, Utah, in exchange for non-federal land owned by Utah in Box Elder, Juab, and Tooele Counties. Upon conveyance, the non-federal land located: (1) within the Utah Test and Training Range shall be managed according to the memorandum of agreement, and (2) within the Cedar Mountains Wilderness shall be added to and administered as part of such Wilderness. Interior, respecting BLM land, and the Department of Agriculture, respecting Forest Service land, shall convey to Utah and to Box Elder, Juab, and Tooele Counties separate easements for motorized travel rights of way across the federal land for certain highways.

A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Secretary of Agriculture relating to inspection of fish of the order Siluriformes.

United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015

This joint resolution disapproves and nullifies a Department of Agriculture rule published on December 2, 2015, to establish a mandatory inspection program for fish of the order Siluriformes, including catfish and products derived from the fish.

To amend the Agricultural Act of 2014 to provide relief for agricultural producers adversely impacted by the Oriental fruit fly.

United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015

This bill amends the Agricultural Act of 2014 to require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reimburse producers on farms for losses that are due to the inability to plant, grow, or ship a crop to market due to a federal or state government quarantine to control the Oriental fruit fly. The payments are limited to 70% of the market value of the affected crop and end as soon as possible once the producer is able to resume marketing a crop after the quarantine is lifted. In implementing this bill, USDA must not discriminate against or penalize a producer that obtained, or did not obtain, crop insurance, noninsured crop disaster assistance, or similar risk protection for the same type of crop, except that assistance provided by this bill must be reduced by the amount of assistance provided for the same losses under any other federal law. Producers receiving assistance under this bill must agree to obtain crop insurance, noninsured crop disaster assistance, or similar risk protection for the same type of crop for at least the next two crop years, if the insurance, assistance, or protection is available.

Clean Energy Worker Just Transition Act

United States · United States Congress · 10 December 2015

Clean Energy Worker Just Transition Act This bill prescribes eligibility requirements and procedures for the award of temporary adjustment assistance to a group of workers of adversely affected coal-related or coal-dependent or similar energy industries who are totally or partially separated, or threatened with total or partial separation, because of the low cost of competing alternative forms of energy. Such assistance shall include temporary additional unemployment compensation, health insurance premium subsidy tax credits, training and support for employment, as well as additional pension benefits. The bill establishes in the Treasury the Clean Energy Workers Trust Fund, appropriations to which shall include the increase in revenues resulting from certain revisions to the rules for taxation of inverted corporations (U.S. corporations that acquire foreign companies to reincorporate in a foreign jurisdiction with income tax rates lower than the U.S. rates). The Internal Revenue Code (IRC) is amended to revise such rules to treat as an inverted domestic corporation subject to U.S. taxation any foreign corporation that acquires the properties of a U.S. corporation or partnership after May 8, 2014, if, after the acquisition: (1) more than 50% (by vote or value) of the stock of the new entity (expanded affiliated group) is held by former shareholders or partners of the domestic corporation or partnership, or (2) the management or control of the expanded affiliated group occurs primarily within the United States and the group has significant domestic business activities. The bill creates a tax credit for hiring certified adversely affected energy industry workers. The Department of Labor shall provide full information to workers about the adjustment assistance available under this Act. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 is amended to transfer specified excess funds derived from coal mine operator-paid reclamation fees to the trustees of the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan for use solely to pay pension benefits required under such Plan. Workplace Democracy for a Clean Energy Future This bill amends the National Labor Relations Act to require the National Labor Relations Board to certify without an election an individual or labor organization as the exclusive representative of the employees in a unit appropriate for bargaining if a majority of the employees has signed valid authorizations designating the individual or labor organization specified in a properly filed petition as their bargaining representative and no other individual or labor organization is currently certified or recognized as the exclusive representative of any of the employees in the unit. The Board shall develop guidelines and procedures for the designation by employees of a bargaining representative. The bill prescribes deadlines for critical turns in collective bargaining to establish an initial agreement upon the request of an individual or labor organization that has been newly organized or certified as a representative. The bill also creates a Community Need-Based Economic Transition Assistance Program, coordinated by the Department of Commerce, for counties or Indian tribes in which at least 35 certified adversely affected workers reside. The Appalachian Regional Commission shall award grants to such counties to support economic development planning and implementation activities in them. The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement shall award grants to eligible counties for reclamation of abandoned coal mine land sites and associated polluted waters. The Environmental Protection Agency shall: (1) award eligible counties capitalization grants to establish a drinking water treatment revolving loan fund; and (2) provide those counties long-term, low-interest loans for large water infrastructure projects not otherwise eligible for funding from a state revolving loan fund. The Department of Agriculture shall provide such counties loans and loan guarantees under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to expand access to, and the quality of, broadband service across the rural United States. Commerce shall award them grants under the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program. The Department of Energy shall award these counties grants for electricity delivery and energy reliability activities to modernize the electric grid.

OVERSIGHT OF USDA'S USE OF CENSUS OF AGRICULTURE AUTHORITY TO ACQUIRE FARMERS' PERSONAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION

United States · United States House of Representatives · 9 December 2015

Christmas Tree Tax Exemption Act

United States · United States Congress · 9 December 2015

Christmas Tree Tax Exemption Act This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to permit "choose and cut" Christmas tree producers to opt out of USDA's Christmas Tree Promotion, Research, and Information Order with respect to trees sold directly to final consumers. (The order was authorized by the Commodity Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1996 and includes an assessment on Christmas tree producers to fund a promotion, research, and information program for fresh cut Christmas trees.)

THE FUTURE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY: SOLUTIONS FOR ENERGY, AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURING

United States · United States House of Representatives · 8 December 2015

Food Recovery Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2015

Food Recovery Act of 2015 This bill amends the following to provide funding, expand tax deductions, and establish requirements to reduce food waste: the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act; the Internal Revenue Code; the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; the Solid Waste Disposal Act; and several agricultural laws. The bill expands and establishes federal grant and loan programs to: improve the nutritional health of children and raise awareness about food waste, improve cooperation between agricultural producers and emergency feeding organizations, assist schools in using food from farms that would otherwise go to waste and providing farms with compostable materials, and install facilities that include composting or anaerobic digesters that use food or crop waste to produce energy. Recipients of grants to install anaerobic digesters that use waste to produce energy must meet specified requirements regarding environmental laws and the distribution of certain food to hunger-serving organizations. USDA must: (1) establish an Office of Food Recovery to coordinate federal programs to measure and reduce food waste, and (2) study techniques for decreasing food waste and estimating the amount of food wasted by farms. The bill provides that composting is a conservation practice eligible for support under USDA's conservation programs. The bill extends and expands tax deductions for the donation of food to charitable organizations. "Sell-by" dates included on food labeling must indicate that the dates are only the manufacturer's suggestion and use uniform language. Companies that receive food service contracts with the federal government must donate surplus food to nonprofit organizations that assist food-insecure people.

A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Secretary of Agriculture relating to inspection of fish of the order Siluriformes.

United States · United States Congress · 7 December 2015

This joint resolution disapproves and nullifies a Department of Agriculture rule published on December 2, 2015, to establish a mandatory inspection program for fish of the order Siluriformes, including catfish and products derived from the fish.

Recognizing the importance of the United States-Israel economic relationship and encouraging new areas of cooperation.

United States · United States Congress · 3 December 2015

Affirms that the U.S.-Israel economic partnership has benefitted both countries and is a foundational component of the strong alliance. Recognizes that science and technology innovation present new frontiers for U.S.-Israel economic cooperation, particularly in light of widespread drought, cybersecurity attacks, and other major challenges impacting the United States. Encourages the Administration to expand forums of economic dialogue with Israel. Supports the exploration of new agreements with Israel, including in the fields of energy, water, agriculture, medicine, neurotechnology and cybersecurity.

AGRICULTURE'S ROLE IN COMBATING GLOBAL HUNGER

United States · United States Senate · 2 December 2015

Rural Broadband Infrastructure Investment Act

United States · United States Congress · 2 December 2015

Rural Broadband Infrastructure Investment Act This bill amends the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 to authorize the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide additional loans and grants for the development of telecommunications and broadband services in rural areas. USDA may give preference to loan applications for projects that support the development of telecommunications services in rural areas on a multijurisdictional basis. In evaluating applications, USDA must consider whether: the project was developed through the collaboration and participation of multiple stakeholders in the service area; the applicant understands the regional resources that could support the project, including natural resources, human resources, infrastructure, and financial resources; and the project has clear objectives and a means to establish performance measures. For the purpose of loans, loan guarantees, and grants, a rural area is any area of the United States not included within the boundaries of any incorporated or unincorporated city, village, or borough having a population in excess of 20,000 inhabitants. USDA may provide grants, in addition to loans and loan guarantees permitted under current law, for the construction, improvement, and acquisition of facilities and equipment for broadband service in rural areas. In providing loans, loan guarantees, and grants, USDA may give priority to multijurisdictional projects for the development of broadband service in rural areas that are developed through the collaboration and participation of multiple stakeholders in the service area.

To amend chapter 2003 of title 54, United States Code, to fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund and provide for the use of such funds, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 1 December 2015

This bill makes permanent the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Of the appropriations from the LWCF: (1) at least 40% shall be used collectively for federal purposes for certain land and water acquisitions (as currently); (2) at least 40% shall be used collectively to provide financial assistance to states for LWCF purposes and for outdoor recreation, for the Forest Legacy Program, for cooperative endangered species grants, and for the American Battlefield Protection Program; and (3) at least 1.5% or $10 million, whichever is greater, shall be used for projects that secure recreational public access to federal public land for hunting, fishing, or other recreational purposes. The Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture shall consider the acquisition of conservation easements and other similar interests in land where it is appropriate and feasible, taking specified considerations into account. The bill establishes a National Park Service Critical Maintenance and Revitalization Conservation Fund in the Treasury for the deposit of specified amounts from revenues due and payable to the United States under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. Amounts deposited in the Fund shall: (1) be used only for the high priority deferred maintenance needs of the National Park Service that support critical infrastructure and visitor services, and (2) be available for expenditure only after amounts are appropriated for such purposes. Amounts in the Fund shall not be used for acquiring land.

Anti-hunger Empowerment Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2015

Anti-hunger Empowerment Act of 2015 This bill reduces administrative requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program), authorizes funding to increase access to SNAP offices, and authorizes grants for community-based nonprofits to expand anti-hunger activities. The bill amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to repeal existing provisions regarding administrative costs and authorize the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to pay 75% of the administrative costs for state agencies to increase the operating hours of SNAP offices, reduce wait times, accept online applications, upgrade technology, and provide a checklist of required documents. If a state agency believes that information provided by a SNAP applicant is incorrect or incomplete, the agency must notify the applicant in writing and include instructions for providing the required information. Unless the information is not provided in response to the request or it cannot be verified, a state must not require an applicant to appear in person. State agencies must not require fingerprints for any member of a household to participate in SNAP or receive benefits. USDA must report annually to Congress on the comparative progress of states in improving access to SNAP. Beyond the Soup Kitchen Grants Program Act of 2015 The Beyond the Soup Kitchen Pilot Program is established to provide grants to community-based nonprofit feeding and anti-hunger groups for programs to reduce hunger, increase the use of nutrition assistance and anti-poverty programs, bolster food security, assist individuals and families to develop assets, promote economic independence, improve nutrition, and reduce obesity.

Horse Protection Amendments Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 19 November 2015

Horse Protection Amendments Act of 2015 This bill amends the Horse Protection Act to replace the Designated Qualified Persons program responsible for inspecting horses for soring with a new inspection system. (The soring of horses is any of various actions taken on a horse's limb to produce a higher gait that may cause pain, distress, inflammation, or lameness.) The Department of Agriculture must establish a single Horse Industry Organization (HIO) in order to establish a formal affiliation with the management of each horse sale, horse exhibition, and horse sale or auction, appoint inspectors to conduct inspections, and otherwise ensure compliance with the Horse Protection Act. The Commissioners of Agriculture for Tennessee and Kentucky must appoint individuals to the HIO. Those individuals must appoint individuals representing the Tennessee Walking Horse industry.

Secure Fence Restoration Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2015

Secure Fence Restoration Act of 2015 This bill amends the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 with respect to construction of border fencing and road improvements to direct the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to complete the required 700-mile southwest border fencing and priority-area fencing by December 31, 2017. The Secure Fence Act of 2006 is amended to direct DHS, in consultation with state and local officials along the U.S.-Mexico border, to achieve operational control over U.S. international land and maritime borders by December 31, 2017. National Security and Federal Lands Protection Act Neither the Department of the Interior nor the Department of Agriculture may prohibit or restrict U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) activities on federal land under their respective jurisdictions within 100 miles of an international land border to: execute search and rescue operations; and prevent unlawful entries into the United States, including entries by terrorists, other unlawful aliens, instruments of terrorism, narcotics, and other contraband through such border. CBP shall have access to such lands to conduct: (1) road and barrier construction and maintenance, (2) vehicular patrols, (3) surveillance activities, and (4) deployment of temporary tactical infrastructure.

Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 17 November 2015

Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act of 2015 Directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA), with respect to National Forest System lands, and the Department of the Interior, with respect to public lands, to implement authorized wildfire prevention projects in at-risk forests and on threatened and endangered species habitat in a manner that focuses on surface, ladder, and canopy fuels reduction activities. Requires projects carried out on threatened and endangered species habitat to: (1) provide enhanced protection from wildfire, including catastrophic wildfire, for the endangered species, threatened species, or their habitat; and (2) comply with applicable recovery plan guidelines. Requires projects carried out in at-risk forests to move the federal land from condition class II or III toward condition class I, as those classes were developed by the Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station in a specified general technical report. Permits use in a project of: (1) domestic livestock grazing to reduce surface fuel loads and to recover burned areas; and (2) timber harvesting and thinning to reduce ladder and canopy fuel loads for the prevention of wildfire, including catastrophic wildfires. Directs USDA and Interior to review public petitions for, and make determinations with respect to, the designation of federal lands as at-risk forests or as threatened and endangered species habitats. Requires notice in the Federal Register of proposed projects and final designated projects and permits public comment on projects as specified. Instructs USDA and Interior to prepare an environmental assessment for projects that include timber harvesting or grazing. Instructs USDA and Interior to research what impact any listing of a species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 would have on both forage and timber forest fuel loads. Requires endangered species recovery plans and critical habitat determinations to include a wildfire risk assessment analysis.

National Park Service Centennial Act

United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2015

National Park Service Centennial Act This bill establishes the National Park Centennial Challenge Fund in the Treasury to finance signature projects and programs to enhance the National Park System (NPS) as it approaches its centennial in 2016. There is also established in the Treasury a Public Lands Centennial Fund. The Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture shall jointly establish a program under which funds from the Centennial Fund are made available to federal land or water management agencies to support projects that: enhance visitor services and outdoor recreational opportunities, restore lands and waters, repair facilities or trails, or increase energy and water efficiency. National Park Foundation Endowment Act The National Park Foundation shall establish the Second Century Endowment for the National Park Service. The National Park Service Second Century Fund is established in the Treasury. Interior shall undertake a broad program of the highest quality interpretation and education. This bill makes permanent the Volunteers in the Parks Program. Interior may establish a Visitor Services Management Authority (VSMA) to administer commercial visitor services programs and activities of the NPS, including the award and administration of commercial visitor facilities and services management contracts pursuant to this Act. A VSMA revolving fund is established for expenses necessary for the management, improvement, enhancement, operation, construction, and maintenance of commercial visitor services and facilities and payment of possessory interest and leasehold surrender interest.

Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2015

Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act of 2015 This bill prohibits the United States from issuing a patent for any mining claim, millsite, or tunnel site located unless a patent application meeting all applicable requirements was filed with the Department of the Interior by September 30, 1994. The holder of each unpatented mining claim, millsite, or tunnel site shall pay Interior a maintenance fee of $150 for each claim, millsite, or tunnel site, as well as a location fee of $50. Any claimholder failing to perform assessment work or fee a maintenance fee shall forfeit the claim, millsite, or tunnel site. Production of all locatable minerals from any mining claim shall be subject to a reasonable royalty established by Interior of between 2% and 5% of the gross income from mining for production of all locatable minerals, which may be reduced in certain circumstances. Interior shall establish a comprehensive inspection, collection, fiscal, and production accounting and auditing system The bill prescribes requirements for exploration permits and mining permits. Any mining operator shall provide Interior with specified financial assurances to ensure the completion of reclamation and the restoration of any land or water adversely affected by the mineral activities. The operator shall restore land and water subject to mineral activities carried out under a permit to a condition capable of supporting: the uses that the land and water was capable of supporting before surface disturbance by the operator; or other beneficial uses that conform to applicable land use plans. The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 is amended to require Interior, for land under the Bureau of Land Management, and the Department of Agriculture, for National Forest System land, to review specified public lands, especially federal land in which mineral activities pose a reasonable likelihood of substantial adverse impacts on National Conservation System units, to inform decisions on withdrawal of land from mining operations. The bill establishes the Hardrock Minerals Reclamation Fund, administered by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, for the reclamation and restoration of land and water resources adversely affected by past hardrock minerals and mining and related activities in abandoned hardrock mine states and on Indian land. Each operator of a hardrock minerals mining operation shall pay, for deposit in the Fund, a reclamation fee of between 0.6% and 2% of the value of the annual production from the operation. The bill prescribes civil penalties for violation of surface management or operation requirements and related regulations.

AFFIRM Act

United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2015

Assisting Family Farmers through Insurance Reform Measures Act or the AFFIRM Act This bill amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reduce federal crop insurance payments and disclose details regarding subsidies. The bill prohibits premium subsidies: (1) for additional coverage for any person or legal entity that has an average adjusted gross income that exceeds $250,000, (2) that exceed $40,000 per year for any person or legal entity, or (3) for policies that are based on the actual market price of an agricultural commodity at the time of harvest. The bill establishes an annual cap on total reimbursements for administrative and operating costs of crop insurance providers that begins at $900 million for 2015 and is adjusted for inflation in each subsequent year. The overall rate of return for insurance providers is capped at 8.9%. The bill eliminates a requirement that any renegotiated Standard Insurance Agreement (SRA) be budget-neutral. (The SRA is an agreement between USDA and the private companies that administer the federal crop insurance program that specifies details such as administrative and operating expense reimbursements and risk sharing. Eliminating the budget neutrality requirement permits USDA to use the renegotiation of the SRA to achieve savings.) USDA must annually disclose to the public specified details regarding the recipients and amounts of federal crop insurance subsidies.

Fruit and Vegetable Access for Children Act

United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2015

Fruit and Vegetables Access for Children Act This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to allow federal grant-funded fresh fruit and vegetable programs carried out by states to include canned, dried, frozen, or pureed fruits and vegetables.

Save Oak Flat Act

United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2015

Save Oak Flat Act This bill amends the Carl Levin and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 to repeal the authorization and requirement for a land exchange between the Department of Agriculture and Resolution Copper Mining, LLC. under which 2,422 acres of Forest Service land located in Pinal County, Arizona, are to be exchanged for various parcels of land owned by Resolution Copper.

AFFIRM Act

United States · United States Congress · 5 November 2015

Assisting Family Farmers through Insurance Reform Measures Act or the AFFIRM Act This bill amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reduce federal crop insurance payments and disclose details regarding subsidies. The bill prohibits premium subsidies: (1) for additional coverage for any person or legal entity that has an average adjusted gross income that exceeds $250,000, (2) that exceed $40,000 per year for any person or legal entity, or (3) for policies that are based on the actual market price of an agricultural commodity at the time of harvest. The bill establishes an annual cap on total reimbursements for administrative and operating costs of crop insurance providers that begins at $900 million for 2015 and is adjusted for inflation in each subsequent year. The overall rate of return for insurance providers is capped at 8.9%. The bill eliminates a requirement that any renegotiated Standard Insurance Agreement (SRA) be budget-neutral. (The SRA is an agreement between USDA and the private companies that administer the federal crop insurance program that specifies details such as administrative and operating expense reimbursements and risk sharing. Eliminating the budget neutrality requirement permits USDA to use the renegotiation of the SRA to achieve savings.) USDA must annually disclose to the public specified details regarding the recipients and amounts of federal crop insurance subsidies.

AMERICAN AGRICULTURE AND OUR NATIONAL SECURITY

United States · United States House of Representatives · 4 November 2015

Federal Land Invasive Species Control, Prevention, and Management Act

United States · United States Congress · 4 November 2015

Federal Land Invasive Species Control, Prevention, and Management Act Directs the Department of the Interior (respecting federal land administered through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, National Park Service, or U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) (respecting federal land administered through the U.S. Forest Service) to plan and carry out activities on land directly managed by the department concerned to control and manage invasive species in order to inhibit or reduce their populations and to effectuate restoration or reclamation efforts. Requires the department concerned to develop a strategic plan for the implementation of an invasive species program that endeavors to achieve an annual 5% net reduction of invasive species populations on land managed by that department. Requires each strategic plan to be developed: (1) in coordination with eligible states, their political subdivisions, and federally recognized Indian tribes; and (2) according to the priorities established by at least one governor of an eligible state in which an ecosystem affected by an invasive species is located. Requires the USDA and Interior to prioritize the use of the least costly option necessary to perform effectively, based on sound scientific data and other commonly used cost-effective benchmarks in an area. Requires projects and activities carried out under this Act to be coordinated with affected local governments according to certain criteria regarding the development and revision of land use plans under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.

Early Childhood Nutrition Improvement Act

United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2015

Early Childhood Nutrition Improvement Act This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to revise several provisions related to the child and adult care food program. Under current law: (1) an institution that provides child or day care under the program may be reimbursed for up to two meals and one supplement per day per child; and (2) a family or group day care home sponsoring organization may receive the same maximum reimbursement, but only with respect to a child maintained in a child care setting for at least eight hours per day. The bill eliminates this distinction between institutions and sponsoring organizations, and increases maximum reimbursement for both to: (1) two meals and one supplement or one meal and two supplements per day per child; or (2) three meals and one supplement or two meals and two supplements per day per child, for each child maintained in a child care setting for at least eight hours per day. A determination of a for-profit day care center's eligibility to participate in the program shall be in effect for six months. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must issue guidance and, as appropriate, regulations to assist in ensuring a fair and effective process for the identification, review, and correction of serious program deficiencies. USDA shall establish an advisory committee to examine the feasibility of reducing unnecessary or duplicative paperwork for those participating or seeking to participate in the program.

AIPM Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2015

Areawide Integrated Pest Management Act of 2015 or the AIPM Act of 2015 This bill amends the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 to expand the Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Integrated Research, Education, and Extension Competitive Grants Program to include grants to colleges, universities, and other entities for qualified areawide integrated pest management projects to prevent the spread of pests and invasive species. The bill establishes an areawide integrated pest management committee to consider stakeholder feedback and determine priorities for the projects. The projects must be implemented on a landscape scale or larger and include collaboration with specified federal, regional, state, and nongovernmental entities. The projects may prevent the spread of pests and invasive species through: prevention, avoidance, monitoring, and suppression; educational programs; and physical, mechanical, cultural biologically-based, or chemical controls. A qualified project must: provide for significant benefits for the prevention, eradication, or management of pests and invasive species; provide for economic and environmental benefits to agriculture, individuals, wildlife, and the environment; address the annual priorities established by the integrated pest management committee; last no more than five years; establish a regional advisory committee to oversee the project; and involve the cooperative extension services in translating the results of research into practical information and tools to be shared. USDA must transfer to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture the authority for the Integrated Research, Education, and Extension Competitive Grants Program.

Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument Act

United States · United States Congress · 3 November 2015

Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument Act This bill establishes the Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument in Arizona. The Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), with respect to lands under their respective jurisdictions, shall manage the Monument to conserve, protect, and enhance its natural resources and values. Interior and USDA shall collaborate with the Greater Grand Canyon Heritage National Monument Advisory Council (established by this Act) to develop a plan for the protection and management of the Monument.

BIG DATA AND AGRICULTURE: INNOVATION AND IMPLICATIONS

United States · United States House of Representatives · 28 October 2015

Locatable Minerals Claim Location and Maintenance Fees Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2015

Locatable Minerals Claim Location and Maintenance Fees Act of 2015 This bill requires the owner or holder of a claim (claimant), for each unpatented lode mining claim, placer claim, mill site, or tunnel site located under the general mining laws (claim), to pay the Department of the Interior a location fee of $37 at the time the claim location notice is recorded with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). A claimant shall also pay Interior a claim maintenance fee of $155 per 20.66-acre claim or fraction thereof to maintain such claim for the following assessment year. Failure to pay either a claim maintenance fee or a location fee for an unpatented mining claim shall subject the claim to forfeiture. All mining claim validity exams shall be completed by Certified Mineral Examiners and reviewed by Certified Review Mineral Examiners. Mineral potential reports for areas withdrawn from mineral entry, and any mining claim validity exams on claims located within those areas, must be completed or prepared by a Certified Mineral Examiner and reviewed by a Certified Review Mineral Examiner. The U.S. Geological Survey shall enter into separate memorandum of understanding to share data to expand the U.S. Mineral Deposit Database with the BLM, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, and the Forest Service. There is established in Interior an Abandoned Noncoal Mine Lands Program to: identify, secure, and remediate physical safety hazards and environmental hazards associated with inactive and abandoned noncoal mine lands that are on or affecting federal public lands or adjacent lands; maintain an inventory of the sites of such mines, affected federal public lands, and adjacent lands; and identify the persons responsible for paying the costs to remediate such hazards. Interior, through the BLM, and the Department of Agriculture, through the Forest Service, shall identify 20 priority sites on federal land containing inactive or abandoned mine sites suitable for Good Samaritan projects. Good Samaritan Cleanup of Abandoned Mine Lands Act Under the Good Samaritan program a permitting authority (the Environmental Protection Agency [EPA] or, in the case of a state or tribal program, the lead agency) may issue a permit to a Good Samaritan to carry out remediation at or related to an inactive or abandoned mine site. A Good Samaritan is a person with an ownership interest in the inactive or abandoned mine site but who did not participate in, nor has any liability for remediation costs relating to, activities that caused any historic mine residue at the site. Projects authorized under the Good Samaritan permit program shall be eligible for nonpoint source management program grants under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act).

Crop Insurance Restoration Act

United States · United States Congress · 28 October 2015

Crop Insurance Restoration Act This bill amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to repeal changes regarding the Standard Reinsurance Agreement that were enacted as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. The bill eliminates provisions that: (1) require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to renegotiate the Standard Reinsurance Agreement no later than December 31, 2016, and at least once every five years thereafter, and (2) establish an 8.9% cap on the overall rate of return for insurance providers under the agreement. (The Standard Reinsurance Agreement is an agreement between USDA and the private companies that administer the federal crop insurance program. It specifies details such as administrative and operating expense reimbursements and risk sharing between USDA and the companies in the operation of the program.)

Land-Grant Opportunity Act

United States · United States Congress · 26 October 2015

Land-Grant Opportunity Act This bill amends the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to modify the formula that the Department of Agriculture uses to distribute funds for land-grant colleges and universities to provide additional funding for certain historically black colleges and universities.

Mount Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act

United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2015

Mount Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act This bill amends the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 to revise details of the Cooper Spur-Government Camp land exchange between the United States and Oregon. After the final appraised value of the federal and nonfederal lands is determined and approved by Department of Agriculture (USDA), the USDA shall not be required to reappraise or update such value for a period of up to three years, unless the condition of any of the lands is significantly and substantially altered by fire, windstorm, or other events. It is the intent of Congress that the land exchange be completed within one year of this Act's enactment. Conveyance conditions are revised regarding wetland boundaries on the federal land, reservation of a nonexclusive trail easement, and equalization of values of the exchange properties.

Forest Service and Department of the Interior Law Enforcement Improvement Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2015

Forest Service and Department of the Interior Law Enforcement Improvement Act of 2015 This bill makes a Regional Forester for a Forest Service region responsible for all Forest Service law enforcement personnel assigned to that Region. The Chief of the Forest Service, however, acting through the Director of Law Enforcement, shall remain responsible for the Investigations Division. The Department of Agriculture (USDA), with respect to the Forest Service, and the Department of the Interior, with respect to its land management agencies, shall establish a Federal Lands Law Enforcement Review Board to review and make recommendations regarding: law enforcement incidents of concern involving agency law enforcement personnel, proposed changes to agency law enforcement policy, the cooperative law enforcement program, and training of agency law enforcement personnel. If a political subdivision of a state contains 25,000 acres or more of federal land, all or a majority of which is either National Forest System land or land under Interior jurisdiction, USDA or Interior, as appropriate, shall try to develop a memorandum of understanding with that political subdivision to address the specific roles and coordination between Forest Service or Interior law enforcement personnel and local law enforcement.

San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Protection Act

United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2015

San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Protection Act This bill establishes the San Gabriel National Recreation Area in California as a unit of the National Park System, consisting of approximately 51,107 acres of identified federal lands and interests. The Department of the Interior must cooperate with the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop opportunities for the management of the federal lands under DOD jurisdiction that are included within the area. The bill establishes the San Gabriel National Recreation Area Public Advisory Council and the San Gabriel National Recreation Area Partnership. Interior and the San Gabriel National Recreation Area Public Advisory Council shall create a comprehensive management plan for the area. Interior shall develop an integrated visitor services plan for the area and is authorized to construct visitor use facilities. The Department of Agriculture must modify the boundaries of the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument in California to include approximately 109,143 acres of additional, identified National Forest System lands and administer them as part of the monument.

Improving School Nutrition Training Act

United States · United States Congress · 23 October 2015

Improving School Nutrition Training Act This bill amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to add requirements regarding the availability of training that the Department of Agriculture provides under current law for local food service personnel. The training must be scheduled primarily during paid working hours, offered in-person when appropriate, and incorporate hands-on training techniques. If the training is scheduled outside of working hours, food service personnel must be informed about the necessity of scheduling the program and compensated for attending the program. Personnel may not be penalized for failing to attend a program outside of working hours.

Nutrition Education Act

United States · United States Congress · 22 October 2015

Nutrition Education Act This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require a local educational agency that participates in a school lunch or breakfast program to require each student to receive 50 hours of nutrition education per school year. Such instruction must be consistent with applicable school meal program requirements as well as meet certain other standards with respect to content and delivery.

Federal Property Low Hanging Fruit Act

United States · United States Congress · 22 October 2015

Federal Property Low Hanging Fruit Act This bill authorizes the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, and the General Services Administration (covered agencies) to develop and carry out a plan to enter into agreements with eligible entities (defined to include a limited liability company, limited partnership, corporation, business trust, or nonprofit entity) to: (1) lease underutilized or excess federal real properties; and (2) develop, rehabilitate, or renovate facilities on such leased properties for the benefit of such agencies. Each covered agency shall identify between 5 and 10 federal real properties to be offered for lease under such agreements. Each agreement shall: (1) have as its primary purpose the enhancement of the functional and economic efficiency of federal real property; and (2) provide a fair market value lease option to the United States to occupy space in the facilities acquired, constructed, or rehabilitated under the agreement but shall not guarantee occupancy by the United States. A covered agency may: (1) provide services to the eligible entity that is party to the agreement, and (2) retain and use any revenues derived from such agreements for federal property management activities. The plan of a covered agency shall: (1) identify the federal real properties that the agency proposes to make available under such agreements, and (2) include project performance measures. A covered agency must submit to Congress: (1) all agreements to be entered into under the agency's plan within 3 years after enactment of this Act, and (2) the final draft of each agreement at least 30 days before entering into it. The Comptroller General shall submit to Congress reports on the effectiveness of the public-private agreement pilot program under this Act.

Agriculture Equipment and Machinery Depreciation Act

United States · United States Congress · 22 October 2015

Agriculture Equipment and Machinery Depreciation Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the placed-in-service restriction on the depreciation of certain farming business machinery and equipment and to make permanent the five-year recovery period for such property.

Clean Cookstoves and Fuels Support Act

United States · United States Congress · 22 October 2015

Clean Cookstoves and Fuels Support Act This bill directs the Department of State to work to advance the goals of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves. For working with the Alliance appropriations are authorized for the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Peace Corps.

AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2016

United States · United States Senate · 21 October 2015

AGRICULTURE BIOTECHNOLOGY: A LOOK AT FEDERAL REGULATION AND STAKEHOLDER PERSPECTIVES

United States · United States Senate · 21 October 2015

Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1937) to require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to more efficiently develop domestic sources of the minerals and mineral materials of strategic and critical importance to United States economic and national security and manufacturing competitiveness.

United States · United States Congress · 20 October 2015

Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1937) to require the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to more efficiently develop domestic sources of the minerals and mineral materials of strategic and critical importance to United States economic and national security and manufacturing competitiveness.

Small Agriculture Producer Size Standards Improvements Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015

Small Agriculture Producer Size Standards Improvements Act of 2015 This bill amends the Small Business Act to specify that the agricultural enterprises it covers are small business concerns. The Act shall cover any small farm regardless of whether its annual receipts, including those of any affiliates, exceed $750,000. The Small Business Administration shall, by rule, establish size standards for agricultural enterprises, which shall be subject to rolling review procedures under the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010.

Safe Agriculture Production Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 8 October 2015

Safe Agriculture Production Act of 2015 This bill amends the Plant Protection Act to allow state, local, or tribal governments to use methyl bromide as a fumigant if: (1) the use is required to respond to an emergency concerning a significant economic loss of crops to pests or diseases, and (2) the Department of Agriculture (USDA) does not object to that use within a specified time period. The bill allows this use of methyl bromide during an emergency event regardless of whether the use is registered and included in the label approved for the product by the Environmental Protection Agency under Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. The bill limits the amount of methyl bromide that may be used per emergency event at a specific location to not more than 20 metric tons. The aggregate amount of methyl bromide used in the United States each year may not exceed the total amount authorized under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The bill gives USDA exclusive authority for determining which species are considered quarantine pests.

Cuba Agricultural Exports Act

United States · United States Congress · 6 October 2015

Cuba Agricultural Exports Act This bill amends the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000 to exempt from prohibitions against U.S. assistance to Cuba any exports under the market access program, the export credit guarantee program, and the foreign market development cooperator program, including any federal commodity promotion program obligations or expenditures of funds. This exemption shall not apply if the U.S. assistance recipient would be an entity controlled by the Cuban government, including the armed forces, the Ministry of the Interior, or any subdivision of either governmental entity. A person subject to U.S. jurisdiction may invest in the development of an agricultural business in Cuba if the Department of State and the Department of Agriculture jointly determine that the agricultural business: is not controlled by the government of Cuba, including the armed forces, the Ministry of the Interior, or any subdivision of either governmental entity; and does not traffic in property of persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction which was confiscated by Cuba on or after January 1, 1959. Certain language limiting financing of agricultural sales to Cuba is repealed.