7 U.S.C. § 1431: Disposition of commodities to prevent waste

In order to prevent the waste of commodities whether in private stocks or acquired through price-support operations by the Commodity Credit Corporation before they can be disposed of in normal domestic channels without impairment of the price-support program or sold abroad at competitive world prices, the Commodity Credit Corporation is authorized, on such terms and under such regulations as the Secretary of Agriculture may deem in the public interest: (1) upon application, to make such commodities available to any Federal agency for use in making payment for commodities not produced in the United States; (2) to barter or exchange such commodities for strategic or other materials as authorized by law; (3) in the case of food commodities to donate such commodities to the Bureau of Indian Affairs and to such State, Federal, or private agency or agencies as may be designated by the proper State or Federal authority and approved by the Secretary, for use in the United States in nonprofit school-lunch programs, in nonprofit summer camps for children, in the assistance of needy persons, and in charitable institutions, including hospitals and facilities, to the extent that they serve needy persons (including infants and children). In the case of clause (3) the Secretary shall obtain such assurance as he deems necessary that the recipients thereof will not diminish their normal expenditures for food by reason of such donation. In order to facilitate the appropriate disposal of such commodities, the Secretary may from time to time estimate and announce the quantity of such commodities which he anticipates will become available for distribution under clause (3). The Commodity Credit Corporation may pay, with respect to commodities disposed of under this subsection, reprocessing, packaging, transporting, handling, and other charges accruing up to the time of their delivery to a Federal agency, or to the designated State or private agency. In addition, in the case of food commodities disposed of under this subsection, the Commodity Credit Corporation may pay the cost of processing such commodities into a form suitable for home or institutional use, such processing to be accomplished through private trade facilities to the greatest extent possible. For the purpose of this subsection the terms “State” and “United States” include the District of Columbia and any Territory or possession of the United States. Dairy products acquired by the Commodity Credit Corporation through price support operations may, insofar as they can be used in the United States in nonprofit school lunch and other nonprofit child feeding programs, in the assistance of needy persons, and in charitable institutions, including hospitals, to the extent that needy persons are served, be donated for any such use prior to any other use or disposition. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, such dairy products may be donated for distribution to needy households in the United States and to meet the needs of persons receiving nutrition assistance under the Older Americans Act of 1965 [ 42 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.]. The Secretary, subject to the requirements of paragraph (10), may furnish eligible commodities for carrying out programs of assistance in developing countries and friendly countries under titles II and III of the Food for Peace Act [ 7 U.S.C. 1721 et seq., 1727 et seq.] and under the Food for Progress Act of 1985 [ 7 U.S.C. 1736 o ], as approved by the Secretary, and for such purposes as are approved by the Secretary. To ensure that the furnishing of commodities under this subsection is coordinated with and complements other United States foreign assistance, assistance under this subsection shall be coordinated through the mechanism designated by the President to coordinate assistance under the Food for Peace Act [ 7 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.]. dairy products, wheat, rice, feed grains, and oilseeds acquired by the Commodity Credit Corporation through price support operations, and the products thereof, that the Secretary determines meet the criteria specified in subsection (a); and such other edible agricultural commodities as may be acquired by the Secretary or the Commodity Credit Corporation in the normal course of operations and that are available for disposition under this subsection, except that no such commodities may be acquired for the purpose of their use under this subsection. Commodities may not be made available for disposition under this subsection in amounts that (i) will, in any way, reduce the amounts of commodities that traditionally are made available through donations to domestic feeding programs or agencies, or (ii) will prevent the Secretary from fulfilling any agreement entered into by the Secretary under a payment-in-kind program under this Act or other Acts administered by the Secretary. the receiving country has the absorptive capacity to use the commodities efficiently and effectively; and such disposition of the commodities will not interfere with usual marketings of the United States, nor disrupt world prices of agricultural commodities and normal patterns of commercial trade with developing countries. have not traditionally purchased the commodity from the United States; or do not have adequate financial resources to acquire the commodity from the United States through commercial sources or through concessional sales arrangements. commodities furnished under this subsection will not displace or interfere with sales that otherwise might be made; and sales or barter under paragraph (7) will not unduly disrupt world prices of agricultural commodities nor normal patterns of commercial trade with friendly countries. If eligible commodities are made available under this subsection to a friendly country, nonprofit and voluntary agencies and cooperatives shall also be eligible to receive commodities for food aid programs in the country. Agreements may be entered into under this subsection to provide eligible commodities in installments over an extended period of time. In agreements with recipients of eligible commodities under this subsection (including nonprofit and voluntary agencies or cooperatives), subject to the availability of commodities each fiscal year, the Secretary, on request, shall approve multiyear agreements to make agricultural commodities available for distribution or sale by the recipients if the agreements otherwise meet the requirements of this subsection. Section 406 of the Food for Peace Act [ 7 U.S.C. 1736 ] shall apply to the commodities furnished under this subsection. The Commodity Credit Corporation may pay the processing and domestic handling costs incurred, as authorized under this subsection, in the form of eligible commodities, as defined in paragraph (2)(A), if the Secretary determines that such in-kind payment will not disrupt domestic markets. The cost of commodities furnished under this subsection, and expenses incurred under section 406 of the Food for Peace Act [ 7 U.S.C. 1736 ] in connection with those commodities, shall be in addition to the level of assistance programmed under that Act [ 7 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.] and shall not be considered expenditures for international affairs and finance. Sales and barter that are incidental to the donation of the commodities or products. Sales and barter to finance the distribution, handling, and processing costs of the donated commodities or products in the importing country or in a country through which such commodities or products must be transshipped, or other activities in the importing country that are consistent with providing food assistance to needy people. Sales and barter of commodities and products furnished to intergovernmental agencies or organizations, insofar as they are consistent with normal programming procedures in the distribution of commodities by those agencies or organizations. Sales of commodities and products furnished to nonprofit and voluntary agencies, or cooperatives, for food assistance under agreements that provide for the use, by the agency or cooperative, of proceeds generated from such sale of commodities or products for the purposes established in clause (ii) of this subparagraph. to transport, store, distribute, and otherwise enhance the effectiveness of the use of commodities and the products thereof donated under this section; and to implement income generating, community development, health, nutrition, cooperative development, agricultural programs, and other developmental activities. any project undertaken in Poland under the auspices of the Charitable Commission of the Polish Catholic Episcopate for the benefit of handicapped or orphaned children; any project for the reconstruction, renovation, or maintenance of the Research Center on Jewish History and Culture of the Jagiellonian University of Krakow, Poland, established for the study of events related to the Holocaust in Poland; any other project or activity which strengthens and supports private and independent sectors of the Polish economy, especially independent farming and agriculture; and the Polish Catholic Episcopate’s Rural Water Supply Foundation. Except as otherwise provided in clause (v), such agreements, taken together for each fiscal year, shall provide for sales of commodities and products for proceeds in amounts that are, in the aggregate, not less than 10 percent of the aggregate value of all commodities and products furnished, or the minimum tonnage required, whichever is greater, for carrying out programs of assistance under this subsection in such fiscal year. The minimum allocation requirements of this clause apply with respect to commodities and products made available under this subsection for carrying out programs of assistance under titles II and III of the Food for Peace Act [ 7 U.S.C. 1721 et seq., 1727 et seq.], and not with respect to commodities and products made available to carry out the Food for Progress Act of 1985 [ 7 U.S.C. 1736 o ]. Proceeds generated from the sale of commodities or products under this subparagraph shall be expended within the country of origin within a reasonable length of time, as determined by the Secretary, except that the Secretary may permit the use of proceeds in a country other than the country of origin as necessary to expedite the transportation of commodities and products furnished under this subsection, or to otherwise carry out the purposes of this subsection. The provisions of clause (iii) of this subparagraph establishing minimum annual allocations for sales and use of proceeds shall not apply to the extent that there have not been sufficient requests for such sales and use of proceeds nor to the extent required under paragraph (3). Sales and barter to cover expenses incurred under paragraph (5)(a). The provisions of sections 403(i) and 407(c) 1 of the Food for Peace Act [ 1 See References in Text note below. 7 U.S.C. 1733(i) , 1736a(c)] shall apply to donations, sales and barters of eligible commodities under this subsection. To the maximum extent practicable, expedited procedures shall be used in the implementation of this subsection. The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register, not later than October 31 of each fiscal year, an estimate of the types and quantities of commodities and products that will be available under this section for the fiscal year. The Secretary is encouraged to finalize program agreements under this section not later than December 31 of each fiscal year. The Secretary shall be responsible for regulations governing sales and barter, and the use of foreign currency proceeds, under paragraph (7) of this subsection that will provide reasonable safeguards to prevent the occurrence of abuses in the conduct of activities provided for in paragraph (7). Each recipient of commodities and products approved for sale or barter under paragraph (7) shall report to the Secretary information with respect to the items required to be included in the Secretary’s report pursuant to clauses (i) through (iv) of subparagraph (B). Reports pursuant to this subparagraph shall be submitted in accordance with regulations of the Secretary. Such regulations shall require at least one report annually, to be submitted not later than December 31 following the end of the fiscal year in which the commodities and products are received; except that a report shall not be required with respect to fiscal year 1985. Omitted. In approving sales of commodities under this subsection, the Secretary shall follow the sale procedure described in section 403( l ) of the Food for Peace Act [ 7 U.S.C. 1733 ( l )]. Not later than 270 days after May 13, 2002 , the Secretary shall review and, as necessary, make changes in regulations and internal procedures designed to streamline, improve, and clarify the application, approval, and implementation processes pertaining to agreements under this section. revising procedures for submitting proposals; developing criteria for program approval that separately address the objectives of the program; pre-screening organizations and proposals to ensure that the minimum qualifications are met; implementing e-government initiatives and otherwise improving the efficiency of the proposal submission and approval processes; upgrading information management systems; improving commodity and transportation procurement processes; and ensuring that evaluation and monitoring methods are sufficient. Not later than 1 year after May 13, 2002 , the Secretary shall consult with the Committee on Agriculture, and the Committee on International Relations, of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate on changes made in regulations and procedures under this paragraph. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if the Secretary of Agriculture determines for each fiscal year that (1) a donation under this section would not limit the Secretary’s ability to meet urgent humanitarian needs for agricultural commodities, and (2) such donation would not cause a reduction in the price of the same or similar agricultural commodities produced in Poland[,] the Secretary of Agriculture shall donate, under the applicable provisions of section 416(b) of the Agricultural Act of 1949 [ 7 U.S.C. 1431(b) ], for each of the fiscal years 1995 through 1999, 8,000 metric tons of uncommitted stocks of eligible commodities of the Commodity Credit Corporation under an agreement with the Government of Poland that the Government of Poland will sell such commodities and that all the proceeds from such sales will be used by governmental and nongovernmental agencies for eligible activities in Poland described in section 416(b)(7)(D)(ii) of that Act (as amended by section 2225 of this Act) that have been approved, upon application, by the joint commission described in section 2226 [of Pub. L. 100–418 , set out below] and by the United States chief of diplomatic mission in Poland. the term ‘eligible commodities’ has the same meaning as is given such term in section 416(b)(2) of the Agricultural Act of 1949 [ 7 U.S.C. 1431(b)(2) ] and, in addition, includes feed grains, soybeans, and soybean products; and the term ‘nongovernmental agencies’ includes nonprofit voluntary agencies, cooperatives, intergovernmental agencies such as the World Food Program, and other multilateral organizations.” The joint commission referred to in sections 2223 and 2224 [of Pub. L. 100–418 , set out above] and in section 416(b)(7)(D)(ii) of the Agricultural Act of 1949 [ 7 U.S.C. 1431(b)(7)(D)(ii) ] (as amended by section 2225 of this Act) shall be established under an agreement between the United States Government, the Government of Poland, and nongovernmental agencies (as defined in section 2223) operating in Poland. appropriate representatives of the Government of Poland; appropriate representatives of nongovernmental agencies which are parties to the agreement described in subsection (a); and representatives from the United States diplomatic mission in Poland, which may include a representative of the Foreign Agricultural Service.” It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Agriculture should exchange or barter, to the maximum extent practicable under the provisions of law specified in subsection (b), commodities (especially dairy products) owned by the Commodity Credit Corporation for materials, goods, and equipment produced in foreign countries. section 4(h) of the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act ( 15 U.S.C. 714b(h) ), section 310 of the Food for Peace Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1692 ) [ 7 U.S.C. 1727g ], and section 416 of the Agricultural Act of 1949 ( 7 U.S.C. 1431 ).”