7 U.S.C. § 1626 — Definitions

Page 905 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 1627 1 See References in Text note below. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries DISTRIBUTION OF SURPLUS COMMODITIES Pub. L. 97–253, title I, § 191, Sept. 8, 1982, 96 Stat. 787, provided that: ‘‘(a) The Congress finds that— ‘‘(1) for an increasing number of people in the United States, these are times of great suffering and deprivation; ‘‘(2) rising unemployment, decreasing appropria- tions for social services, and increasingly adverse economic conditions have all contributed to produce hunger and want on a scale not experienced since the time of the Great Depression; ‘‘(3) the demand for every conceivable form of as- sistance for the hungry and needy people of the United States grows more critical daily, while the availability of goods and services to meet the needs of such people is rapidly diminishing; ‘‘(4) soup kitchens, food banks, and other organiza- tions which provide food to the hungry report an as- tronomical increase in the number of persons seeking the assistance of such organizations; ‘‘(5) according to a study completed by the General Accounting Office [now Government Accountability Office] in 1977, one hundred and thirty-seven million tons of food, or more than 20 per centum of this coun- try’s total annual food production, is wasted or dis- carded in the United States each year; ‘‘(6) at wholesale and retail food distributors, ship- ping terminals, and other establishments all across the country, enormous quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables and dated dairy and bakery products are discarded each day, while growing numbers of Ameri- cans go to bed hungry and undernourished each night; ‘‘(7) in these times of budget constraints and ap- peals for reductions in Federal spending, the use of private resources to meet the basic food requirements of our citizens should be encouraged; and ‘‘(8) many States and local governments have not enacted laws which limit the liability of food donors, such as so-called Good Samaritan Acts and donor li- ability laws, and thus have discouraged donation of food to the needy by private persons. ‘‘(b) It is the sense of the Congress that— ‘‘(1) departments and agencies of the Federal Gov- ernment should take such steps as may be necessary to distribute to hungry people of the United States surplus food or food which would otherwise be dis- carded; ‘‘(2) State and local governments which have not yet enacted so-called Good Samaritan or donor liabil- ity laws to encourage private cooperative efforts to provide food for hungry people within their respec- tive jurisdictions should do so as quickly as possible; and ‘‘(3) wholesale and retail food distributors, shipping terminals, and other establishments should work more closely with religious, community, and other charitable organizations to make wholesome food which is currently being wasted or discarded by such establishments available for immediate distribution to hungry people of the United States.’’ § 1625. Transfer and consolidation of functions, powers, bureaus, etc. In order to facilitate administration and to in- crease the effectiveness of the marketing re- search, service, and regulatory work of the De- partment of Agriculture to the fullest extent practicable, the Secretary of Agriculture is au- thorized, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, to transfer, group, coordinate, and con- solidate the functions, powers, duties, and au- thorities of each and every agency, division, bu- reau, service, section, or other administrative unit in the Department of Agriculture primarily concerned with research, service, or regulatory activities in connection with the marketing, transportation, storage, processing, distribution of, or service or regulatory activities in connec- tion with, the utilization of, agricultural prod- ucts, into a single administrative agency. In making such changes as may be necessary to carry out effectively the purposes of this chap- ter, the records, property, personnel, and funds of such agencies, divisions, bureaus, services, sections, or other administrative units in the Department of Agriculture affected are author- ized to be transferred to and used by such ad- ministrative agency to which the transfer may be made, but such unexpended balances of appro- priations so transferred shall be used only for the purposes for which such appropriations were made. (Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, § 206, 60 Stat. 1090.) § 1626. Definitions When used in this chapter, the term ‘‘agricul- tural products’’ includes agricultural, horti- cultural, viticultural, and dairy products, live- stock and poultry, bees, forest products, fish and shellfish, and any products thereof, including processed and manufactured products, and any and all products raised or produced on farms and any processed or manufactured product thereof, and the term ‘‘State’’ when used in this chapter 1 shall include the Virgin Islands and Guam. (Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, § 207, 60 Stat. 1091; Pub. L. 92–318, title V, § 506(f), June 23, 1972, 86 Stat. 351.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This chapter, referred to in text inserted by Pub. L. 92–318, probably means title II of act Aug. 14, 1946, which is classified generally to this chapter. For com- plete classification of title II to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 1621 of this title and Tables. AMENDMENTS 1972—Pub. L. 92–318 inserted ‘‘, and the term ‘State’ when used in this chapter shall include the Virgin Is- lands and Guam’’ before period at end. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1972 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 92–318 effective after June 30, 1970, see section 506(n) of Pub. L. 92–318, set out as a note under section 326a of this title. § 1627. Appointment of personnel; compensation; employment of specialists The Secretary of Agriculture shall have the power to appoint, remove, and fix, in accordance with existing law, the compensation of such offi- cers and employees, and to make such expendi- tures as he deems necessary, including expendi- tures for rent outside the District of Columbia, travel, supplies, books, equipment, and such other expenditures as may be necessary to the administration of this chapter: Provided, That the Secretary of Agriculture may appoint any