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106th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5495
To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to enhance dairy
markets through dairy product mandatory reporting, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 18, 2000
Mr. Simpson (for himself, Mr. Kind, Mr. Sherwood, and Mr. Peterson of
Minnesota) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to enhance dairy
markets through dairy product mandatory reporting, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Dairy Market Enhancement Act of
2000''.
SEC. 2. DAIRY PRODUCT MANDATORY REPORTING.
The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``Subtitle C--Dairy Product Mandatory Reporting
``SEC. 271. PURPOSE.
``The purpose of this subtitle is to establish a program of
information regarding the marketing of dairy products that--
``(1) provides information that can be readily understood
by producers and other market participants, including
information with respect to prices, quantities sold, and
inventories of dairy products;
``(2) improves the price and supply reporting services of
the Department of Agriculture; and
``(3) encourages competition in the marketplace for dairy
products.
``SEC. 272. DEFINITIONS.
``In this subtitle:
``(1) Dairy products.--The term `dairy products' means
manufactured dairy products that are used by the Secretary to
establish minimum prices for Class III and Class IV milk under
a Federal milk marketing order issued under section 8c of the
Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c), reenacted with
amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937.
``(2) Manufacturer.--The term `manufacturer' means any
person engaged in the business of buying milk in commerce for
the purpose of manufacturing dairy products.
``(3) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
``SEC. 273. MANDATORY REPORTING FOR DAIRY PRODUCTS.
``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a program of
mandatory dairy product information reporting that will--
``(1) provide timely, accurate, and reliable market
information;
``(2) facilitate more informed marketing decisions; and
``(3) promote competition in the dairy product
manufacturing industry.
``(b) Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--In establishing the program, the
Secretary shall only--
``(A)(i) subject to the conditions described in
paragraph (2), require each manufacturer to report to
the Secretary information concerning the price,
quantity, and moisture content of dairy products sold
by the manufacturer; and
``(ii) modify the format used to provide the
information on the day before the date of enactment of
this subtitle to ensure that the information can be
readily understood by market participants; and
``(B) require each manufacturer and other person
storing dairy products to report to the Secretary, at a
periodic interval determined by the Secretary,
information on the quantity of dairy products stored.
``(2) Conditions.--The conditions referred to in paragraph
(1)(A)(i) are that--
``(A) the information referred to in paragraph
(1)(A)(i) is required only with respect to those
package sizes actually used to establish minimum prices
for Class III or Class IV milk under a Federal milk
marketing order;
``(B) the information referred to in paragraph
(1)(A)(i) is required only to the extent that the
information is actually used to establish minimum
prices for Class III or Class IV milk under a Federal
milk marketing order;
``(C) the frequency of the required reporting under
paragraph (1)(A)(i) does not exceed the frequency used
to establish minimum prices for Class III or Class IV
milk under a Federal milk marketing order; and
``(D) the Secretary may exempt from all reporting
requirements any manufacturer that processes and
markets less than 1,000,000 pounds of dairy products
per year.
``(c) Administration.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall promulgate such
regulations as are necessary to ensure compliance with, and
otherwise carry out, this subtitle.
``(2) Confidentiality.--
``(A) In general.--Except as otherwise directed by
the Secretary or the Attorney General for enforcement
purposes, no officer, employee, or agent of the United
States shall make available to the public information,
statistics, or documents obtained from or submitted by
any person under this subtitle other than in a manner
that ensures that confidentiality is preserved
regarding the identity of persons, including parties to
a contract, and proprietary business information.
``(B) Relation to other requirements.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no facts or
information obtained under this subtitle shall be
disclosed in accordance with section 552 of title 5,
United States Code.
``(3) Verification.--The Secretary shall take such actions
as the Secretary considers necessary to verify the accuracy of
the information submitted or reported under this subtitle.
``(4) Enforcement.--
``(A) Unlawful act.--It shall be unlawful and a
violation of this subtitle for any person subject to
this subtitle to willfully fail or refuse to provide,
or delay the timely reporting of, accurate information
to the Secretary in accordance with this subtitle.
``(B) Order.--After providing notice and an
opportunity for a hearing to affected persons, the
Secretary may issue an order against any person to
cease and desist from continuing any violation of this
subtitle.
``(C) Appeal.--
``(i) In general.--The order of the
Secretary under subparagraph (B) shall be final
and conclusive unless an affected person files
an appeal of the order of the Secretary in
United States district court not later than 30
days after the date of the issuance of the
order.
``(ii) Findings.--A finding of the
Secretary under this paragraph shall be set
aside only if the finding is found to be
unsupported by substantial evidence.
``(D) Noncompliance with order.--
``(i) In general.--If a person subject to
this subtitle fails to obey an order issued
under this paragraph after the order has become
final and unappealable, or after the
appropriate United States district court has
entered a final judgment in favor of the
Secretary, the United States may apply to the
appropriate United States district court for
enforcement of the order.
``(ii) Enforcement.--If the court
determines that the order was lawfully made and
duly served and that the person violated the
order, the court shall enforce the order.
``(iii) Civil penalty.--If the court finds
that the person violated the order, the person
shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more
than $10,000 for each offense.
``(5) Fees.--The Secretary shall not charge or assess a
user fee, transaction fee, service charge, assessment,
reimbursement fee, or any other fee under this subtitle for--
``(A) the submission or reporting of information;
``(B) the receipt or availability of, or access to,
published reports or information; or
``(C) any other activity required under this
subtitle.
``(6) Recordkeeping.--Each person required to report
information to the Secretary under this subtitle shall
maintain, and make available to the Secretary, on request,
original contracts, agreements, receipts, and other records
associated with the sale or storage of any dairy products
during the 2-year period beginning on the date of the creation
of the records.
``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.''.
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