7 U.S.C. § 6712 — Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance

Page 1896 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 6712 (2) Extension project results The Secretary may disseminate to farmers, ranchers, private forest landowners, and ap- propriate State agencies in each State infor- mation concerning— (A) the results of projects under this sub- section; and (B) the manner in which the methods used in the projects might be applicable to the operations of the farmers, ranchers, private forest landowners, and State agencies. (3) Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this sub- section for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2007. (f) Administrative costs Not more than 3 percent of the funds made available for this section may be used by the Secretary to pay administrative costs incurred in carrying out this section. (g) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $15,000,000 for each of fis- cal years 2007 through 2012. (Pub. L. 106–224, title II, § 221, June 20, 2000, 114 Stat. 407; Pub. L. 107–171, title VII, § 7223, title IX, § 9009, May 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 454, 483; Pub. L. 110–234, title VII, § 7407, May 22, 2008, 122 Stat. 1252; Pub. L. 110–246, § 4(a), title VII, § 7407, June 18, 2008, 122 Stat. 1664, 2013.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Pub. L. 110–234 and Pub. L. 110–246 made identical amendments to this section. The amendments by Pub. L. 110–234 were repealed by section 4(a) of Pub. L. 110–246. Section was enacted as part of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000, and not as part of the Global Climate Change Prevention Act of 1990 which comprises this chapter. AMENDMENTS 2008—Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 110–246, § 7407, added subsec. (g) and struck out former subsec. (g). Prior to amend- ment, text read as follows: ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated for fiscal years 2002 through 2007 such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.’’ 2002—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–171, § 7223(1), substituted ‘‘To the extent funds are made available for this pur- pose, the Secretary shall provide’’ for ‘‘Of the amount made available under section 261(a)(2), the Secretary shall use $15,000,000 to provide’’. Subsecs. (d), (e). Pub. L. 107–171, § 9009, added subsecs. (d) and (e). Former subsec. (d) redesignated (f). Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 107–171, § 9009(1), redesignated sub- sec. (d) as (f). Pub. L. 107–171, § 7223(2), substituted ‘‘for this sec- tion’’ for ‘‘under subsection (a) of this section’’. Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 107–171, § 7223(3), added subsec. (g). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2008 AMENDMENT Amendment of this section and repeal of Pub. L. 110–234 by Pub. L. 110–246 effective May 22, 2008, the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–234, see section 4 of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as an Effective Date note under section 8701 of this title. § 6712. Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Program (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Advisory Council The term ‘‘Advisory Council’’ means the Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Program Advisory Council established under subsection (f)(1). (2) Agriculture or forestry credit The term ‘‘agriculture or forestry credit’’ means a credit representing an amount of greenhouse gas emissions from an agricultural or forestry activity that are prevented, re- duced, or mitigated (including through the se- questration of carbon) as a result of an agri- cultural or forestry activity. (3) Beginning, socially disadvantaged, limited resource, or veteran farmer, rancher, or private forest landowner The term ‘‘beginning, socially disadvan- taged, limited resource, or veteran farmer, rancher, or private forest landowner’’ means a farmer, rancher, or private forest landowner who is— (A) a beginning farmer or rancher (as de- fined in section 2279(a) of this title); (B) a socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher (as defined in section 2003(e) of this title); (C) a limited resource farmer or rancher (as defined in section 1470.3 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regula- tions)); or (D) a veteran farmer (as defined in section 2279 of this title). (4) Covered entity The term ‘‘covered entity’’ means a person or entity, including a private business, non- profit organization, or public agency, that ei- ther— (A) is a provider of technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, or private forest land- owners in carrying out sustainable land use management practices that prevent, reduce, or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions (in- cluding through the sequestration of car- bon); or (B) is a third-party verifier entity that conducts the verification of the processes de- scribed in protocols for voluntary environ- mental credit markets. (5) Greenhouse gas The term ‘‘greenhouse gas’’ means— (A) carbon dioxide; (B) methane; (C) nitrous oxide; and (D) any other gas that the Secretary, in consultation with the Advisory Council, de- termines has been identified to have heat trapping qualities. (6) Program The term ‘‘Program’’ means the Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Provider and Third- Party Verifier Program established under sub- section (b). Page 1897 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 6712 (7) Protocol The term ‘‘protocol’’ means a systematic ap- proach for generating an agriculture or for- estry credit, which follows a transparent and thorough science-based methodology (includ- ing 1 or more baseline scenarios)— (A) for the development of projects to pre- vent, reduce, or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions (including projects to sequester carbon); and (B) for demonstrating how to quantify, monitor, report, and verify the prevention, reduction, or mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions by projects described in subpara- graph (A). (8) Socially disadvantaged group The term ‘‘socially disadvantaged group’’ has the meaning given that term in section 2003(e) of this title. (9) Technical assistance The term ‘‘technical assistance’’ means technical expertise, information, and tools to assist a farmer, rancher, or private forest landowner, who is engaged in or wants to en- gage in a project to prevent, reduce, or miti- gate greenhouse gas emissions (including a project to sequester carbon), as necessary to meet a protocol. (10) Voluntary environmental credit market The term ‘‘voluntary environmental credit market’’ means a voluntary market through which agriculture or forestry credits may be bought or sold. (b) Establishment of program (1) Determination (A) In general Not later than 270 days after December 29, 2022, the Secretary shall make a determina- tion of whether establishing a voluntary pro- gram to register covered entities that carry out activities described in subsection (c)(2) will further each of the following purposes: (i) Facilitating the participation of farmers, ranchers, and private forest land- owners in voluntary environmental credit markets. (ii) Facilitating the provision of tech- nical assistance, through covered entities, to farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners to help overcome barriers to entry into voluntary environmental credit markets. (iii) Ensuring that participating farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners re- ceive fair distribution of revenues derived from the sale of an agriculture or forestry credit. (iv) Increasing access for farmers, ranch- ers, and private forest landowners to re- sources relating to existing voluntary en- vironmental credit markets, including in- formation relating to the basic market structure and the various roles and quali- fications of different parties. (B) Considerations In making the determination under this paragraph, the Secretary shall consider the results of the assessment conducted under subsection (g)(2)(A) and any other relevant information. (2) Establishment If the Secretary determines under paragraph (1) that establishing such a program will fur- ther such purposes, the Secretary shall estab- lish a voluntary program, to be known as the ‘‘Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Pro- vider and Third-Party Verifier Program’’, to register covered entities that carry out activi- ties described in subsection (c). (3) Report Not later than 90 days after making the de- termination under paragraph (1), the Sec- retary shall publish a report describing the reasons for such determination, including how establishing a program under this subsection would or would not further each of the pur- poses described in paragraph (1)(A). (c) Protocols, qualifications, and activities (1) Widely accepted protocols and qualifica- tions After providing public notice and at least a 60-day period for public comment, but not later than 90 days after the date on which the Program is established, the Secretary shall publish— (A) a list of, and documents relating to, widely accepted protocols that are designed to ensure consistency, reliability, effective- ness, efficiency, and transparency of vol- untary environmental credit markets, in- cluding protocol documents and details re- lating to— (i) calculations; (ii) sampling methodologies; (iii) voluntary environmental credit ac- counting principles; (iv) systems for verification, monitoring, measurement, and reporting; and (v) methods to account for additionality, permanence, leakage, and, where appro- priate, avoidance of double counting; and (B) descriptions of widely accepted quali- fications possessed by covered entities that provide technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners. (2) Activities A covered entity may register under the Program with respect to technical assistance or process verification the covered entity car- ries out for activities that prevent, reduce, or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, includ- ing— (A) land or soil carbon sequestration; (B) emissions reductions derived from fuel choice or reduced fuel use; (C) livestock emissions reductions, includ- ing emissions reductions achieved through— (i) feeds, feed additives, and the use of byproducts as feed sources; or (ii) manure management practices; (D) on-farm energy generation; (E) energy feedstock production; (F) fertilizer or nutrient use emissions re- ductions; Page 1898 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 6712 (G) reforestation; (H) forest management, including improv- ing harvesting practices and thinning dis- eased trees; (I) prevention of the conversion of forests, grasslands, and wetlands; (J) restoration of wetlands or grasslands; (K) grassland management, including pre- scribed grazing; (L) current practices associated with pri- vate land conservation programs adminis- tered by the Secretary; and (M) such other activities, or combinations of activities, that the Secretary, in con- sultation with the Advisory Council, deter- mines to be appropriate. (3) Inclusions In publishing the list of widely accepted pro- tocols and the descriptions of widely accepted qualifications under paragraph (1), the Sec- retary, in consultation with the Advisory Council, shall include all relevant information relating to market-based protocols, as appro- priate, with regard to— (A) quantification; (B) verification; (C) additionality; (D) permanence; (E) reporting; and (F) other expertise, as determined by the Secretary. (4) Periodic review As appropriate, the Secretary shall periodi- cally review and revise the list and descrip- tions published under paragraph (1) to include any additional protocols or qualifications de- scribed in paragraph (3). (d) Registration, website, and publication of lists (1) Registration list (A) In general Not later than 1 year after establishing the Program, the Secretary shall publish, through a website maintained by the Sec- retary, a registration list consisting of a list of covered entities that have submitted in- formation to the Secretary, which list the Secretary shall regularly update. (B) Registration A covered entity may register under the Program to be included on the registration list by submitting to the Secretary, through a website maintained by the Secretary, in- formation that— (i) shall include— (I) the region in which the covered en- tity provides its services; (II) whether the covered entity is a technical assistance provider or a verifier; and (III) the protocols in which the covered entity has proficiency; and (ii) may include additional information that— (I) has been identified by the Advisory Council in its initial assessment under subsection (g)(1) to ensure certainty for producers in the marketplace for agri- culture or forestry credits; and (II) the Secretary determines is appro- priate for inclusion. (2) Website and solicitation During the 180-day period beginning on the date on which the Program is established, the Secretary shall publish, through an existing website maintained by the Secretary— (A) information describing how covered en- tities may register under the Program in ac- cordance with paragraph (1); (B) a list of the widely accepted protocols and qualifications published by the Sec- retary under subsection (c)(1); and (C) instructions and suggestions to assist farmers, ranchers, and private forest land- owners in facilitating the development of ag- riculture or forestry credits and accessing voluntary environmental credit markets, in- cluding— (i) through working with covered enti- ties registered under the Program; and (ii) by providing information relating to programs, registries, and protocols of pro- grams and registries that provide market- based participation opportunities for working and conservation agricultural and forestry lands. (3) Programmatic integrity The Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that covered entities reg- istered under the Program— (A) act in good faith to provide realistic estimates of costs and revenues relating to activities and verification of processes de- scribed in subsection (c)(2), as applicable to the covered entity; and (B) demonstrate expertise in, and are able to perform in accordance with, best manage- ment practices for agricultural and forestry activities that prevent, reduce, or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions (including through the sequestration of carbon). (4) Removal from registration list (A) In general (i) Removal The Secretary shall remove a covered entity from the registration list under the Program if the Secretary determines that the covered entity has not acted in accord- ance with— (I) the information provided by the en- tity under paragraph (1)(B); or (II) best management practices for ag- ricultural and forestry activities that prevent, reduce, or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions (including through the se- questration of carbon). (ii) Determination The Secretary may make a determina- tion under clause (i)— (I) based on a periodic review of a rep- resentative sample of covered entities, which shall occur not less frequently than once each year; or (II) as necessary. (B) Appeal of removal (i) In general A covered entity that has been removed from the registration list pursuant to sub- Page 1899 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 6712 paragraph (A) may appeal the determina- tion to the Secretary. (ii) Re-registration A covered entity that appeals a deter- mination under clause (i) may re-register under the Program if the covered entity successfully proves, as determined by the Secretary, that the covered entity has acted in accordance with, as applicable— (I) the information provided by the en- tity under paragraph (1)(B); and (II) best management practices for ag- ricultural and forestry activities that prevent, reduce, or mitigate greenhouse gas emissions (including through the se- questration of carbon). (C) Notification If the Secretary removes a covered entity from the registration list pursuant to sub- paragraph (A), to the extent practicable, the Secretary shall— (i) request from that covered entity con- tact information for all farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners to which the covered entity provided technical assist- ance or the verification of the processes described in protocols of voluntary envi- ronmental credit markets; and (ii) notify those farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners of the removal. (5) Savings clause Nothing in this section authorizes the Sec- retary to compel a farmer, rancher, or private forest landowner to participate in a trans- action or project facilitated by a covered enti- ty certified under paragraph (1). (e) Submission of fraudulent information or claims (1) In general A person or entity, regardless of whether the person or entity is registered under the Pro- gram, shall not make a fraudulent submission under subsection (d) or make a fraudulent claim regarding the presence of that person or entity on the registration list published under such subsection. (2) Penalty Any person or entity that violates paragraph (1) shall be— (A) subject to a civil penalty equal to such amount as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, not to exceed $1,000 per viola- tion; and (B) ineligible to register under the Pro- gram for the 5-year period beginning on the date of the violation. (f) Greenhouse Gas Technical Assistance Pro- vider and Third-Party Verifier Program Ad- visory Council (1) In general During the 90-day period beginning on the date on which the Program is established, the Secretary shall establish an advisory council, to be known as the ‘‘Greenhouse Gas Tech- nical Assistance Provider and Third-Party Verifier Program Advisory Council’’. (2) Membership (A) In general The Advisory Council shall be composed of members appointed by the Secretary in ac- cordance with this paragraph. (B) General representation The Advisory Council shall— (i) be broadly representative of the agri- culture and private forest sectors; (ii) include beginning, socially disadvan- taged, limited resource, and veteran farm- ers, ranchers, and private forest land- owners; and (iii) be composed of not less than 51 per- cent farmers, ranchers, or private forest landowners. (C) Members Members appointed under subparagraph (A) shall include— (i) not more than 2 representatives of the Department of Agriculture, as determined by the Secretary; (ii) not more than 1 representative of the Environmental Protection Agency, as de- termined by the Administrator of the En- vironmental Protection Agency; (iii) not more than 1 representative of the National Institute of Standards and Technology; (iv) not fewer than 12 representatives of the agriculture industry, appointed in a manner that is broadly representative of the agriculture sector, including not fewer than 6 active farmers and ranchers; (v) not fewer than 4 representatives of private forest landowners or the forestry and forest products industry appointed in a manner that is broadly representative of the private forest sector; (vi) not more than 4 representatives of the relevant scientific research commu- nity, including not fewer than 2 represent- atives from land-grant colleges and univer- sities (as defined in section 3103 of this title), of which 1 shall be a representative of a college or university eligible to re- ceive funds under the Act of August 30, 1890 (commonly known as the ‘‘Second Morrill Act’’) (26 Stat. 417, chapter 841; 7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.), including Tuskegee Uni- versity; (vii) not more than 2 experts or profes- sionals familiar with voluntary environ- mental credit markets and the verification requirements in those markets; (viii) not more than 3 members of non- governmental or civil society organiza- tions with relevant expertise, of which not fewer than 1 shall represent the interests of socially disadvantaged groups; (ix) not more than 3 members of private sector entities or organizations that par- ticipate in voluntary environmental credit markets; and (x) any other individual whom the Sec- retary determines to be necessary to en- sure that the Advisory Council is com- posed of a diverse group of representatives of industry, academia, independent re- searchers, and public and private entities. Page 1900 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 6712 1 See References in Text note below. (D) Chair The Secretary shall designate a member of the Advisory Council to serve as the Chair. (E) Terms (i) In general The term of a member of the Advisory Council shall be 2 years, except that, of the members first appointed— (I) not fewer than 8 members shall serve for a term of 1 year; (II) not fewer than 12 members shall serve for a term of 2 years; and (III) not fewer than 12 members shall serve for a term of 3 years. (ii) Additional terms After the initial term of a member of the Advisory Council, including the members first appointed, the member may serve not more than 4 additional 2-year terms. (3) Meetings (A) Frequency The Advisory Council shall meet not less frequently than annually, at the call of the Chair. (B) Initial meeting During the 90-day period beginning on the date on which the members are appointed under paragraph (2)(A), the Advisory Council shall hold an initial meeting. (4) General duties The Advisory Council shall— (A) periodically review and recommend any appropriate changes to— (i) the list of protocols and description of qualifications published by the Secretary under subsection (c)(1); and (ii) the activities described in subsection (c)(1)(B); (B) make recommendations to the Sec- retary regarding the best practices that should be included in the protocols, descrip- tion of qualifications, and activities de- scribed in subparagraph (A); and (C) advise the Secretary regarding— (i) the current methods used by vol- untary environmental credit markets to quantify and verify the prevention, reduc- tion, or mitigation of greenhouse gas emis- sions (including the sequestration of car- bon); (ii) means to reduce barriers to entry in the business of providing technical assist- ance or the verification of the processes described in protocols of voluntary envi- ronmental credit markets for covered enti- ties, including by improving technical as- sistance provided by the Secretary; (iii) means to reduce compliance and verification costs for farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners in entering voluntary environmental credit markets, including through mechanisms and proc- esses to aggregate the value of activities across land ownership; (iv) issues relating to land and asset ownership in light of evolving voluntary environmental credit markets; and (v) additional means to reduce barriers to entry in voluntary environmental credit markets for farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners, particularly for begin- ning, socially disadvantaged, limited re- source, and veteran farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners. (5) Compensation The members of the Advisory Council shall serve without compensation. (6) Conflict of interest The Secretary shall prohibit any member of the Advisory Council from— (A) engaging in any determinations or ac- tivities of the Advisory Council that may re- sult in the favoring of, or a direct and pre- dictable effect on— (i) the member or a family member, as determined by the Secretary; (ii) stock owned by the member or a fam- ily member, as determined by the Sec- retary; or (iii) the employer of, or a business owned in whole or in part by, the member or a family member, as determined by the Sec- retary; or (B) providing advice or recommendations regarding, or otherwise participating in, matters of the Advisory Council that— (i) constitute a conflict of interest under section 208 of title 18; or (ii) may call into question the integrity of the Advisory Council, the Program, or the technical assistance or verification ac- tivities described under subsection (c)(2). (7) FACA applicability The Advisory Council shall be subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.),1 except that section 14(a)(2) of that Act shall not apply. (g) Assessment (1) Initial assessment Not later than 90 days after the Advisory Council holds an initial meeting, the Advisory Council shall submit to the Secretary, the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Agri- culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate an initial assessment that examines ways to ensure certainty for farmers, ranchers, or pri- vate forest landowners in the marketplace for agriculture or forestry credits, including iden- tification of any information that may be ap- propriate for entities to provide when reg- istering under subsection (d)(1)(B). (2) General assessment Not later than 240 days after December 29, 2022, the Secretary, in consultation with the Administrator of the Environmental Protec- tion Agency, shall— (A) conduct an assessment, which incor- porates information from existing publica- tions and reports of the Department of Agri- culture and other entities with relevant ex- pertise, regarding— Page 1901 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 6712 (i) the number and categories of non- Federal actors in the nonprofit and for- profit sectors involved in development, generation, or sale of agriculture or for- estry credits in voluntary environmental credit markets; (ii) the estimated overall domestic mar- ket demand for agriculture or forestry credits at the end of the preceding 4-cal- endar year period, and historically, in vol- untary environmental credit markets; (iii) the total number of agriculture or forestry credits (measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) that were es- timated to be in development, generated, or sold in market transactions during the preceding 4-calendar year period, and his- torically, in voluntary environmental credit markets; (iv) the estimated supply and demand of metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent of offsets in the global marketplace for the next 4 years; (v) the barriers to entry due to compli- ance and verification costs described in subsection (f)(4)(C)(iii); (vi) the state of monitoring and meas- urement technologies needed to quantify long-term carbon sequestration in soils and from other activities to prevent, re- duce, or mitigate greenhouse gas emis- sions in the agriculture and forestry sec- tors; (vii) means to reduce barriers to entry into voluntary environmental credit mar- kets for beginning, socially disadvantaged, limited resource, and veteran farmers, ranchers, and private forest landowners, and the extent to which existing protocols of voluntary environmental credit mar- kets allow for aggregation of projects among farmers, ranchers, and private for- est landowners; (viii) the extent to which the existing re- gimes for generating and selling agri- culture or forestry credits (as the regimes exist at the end of the preceding 4-calendar year period, and historically), and existing voluntary environmental credit markets, may be impeded or constricted, or achieve greater scale and reach, if the Department of Agriculture were involved, including in- volvement in education described in clause (ix); (ix) the extent to which Department of Agriculture education of stakeholders about voluntary environmental credit markets would benefit those stakeholders, including whether that education would reduce barriers to entry identified under clause (v); (x) the extent to which existing proto- cols of voluntary environmental credit markets, including verification, additionality, permanence, and reporting, adequately take into consideration and ac- count for factors encountered by the agri- culture and private forest sectors in pre- venting, reducing, or mitigating green- house gas emissions (including by seques- tering carbon) through agriculture and for- estry practices, considering variances across regions, topography, soil types, crop or species varieties, and business models; (xi) the extent to which existing proto- cols of voluntary environmental credit markets consider options to ensure the continued valuation, through discounting or other means, of agriculture and forestry credits in the case of the practices under- lying those credits being disrupted due to unavoidable events, including production challenges and natural disasters; and (xii) opportunities for other voluntary markets outside of voluntary environ- mental credit markets to foster the trad- ing, buying, or selling of credits that are derived from activities that provide other ecosystem service benefits, including ac- tivities that improve water quality, water quantity, wildlife habitat enhancement, and other ecosystem services, as the Sec- retary determines appropriate; (B) publish the assessment; and (C) submit the assessment to the Com- mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For- estry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives. (3) Quadriennial assessment The Secretary, in consultation with the Ad- ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and the Advisory Council, shall con- duct the assessment described in paragraph (2)(A) and publish and submit such assessment in accordance with subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (2) every 4 years after the publi- cation and submission of the first assessment under subparagraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (2). (h) Confidentiality (1) Prohibition (A) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary, any other officer or employee of the Department of Agriculture or any agen- cy of the Department of Agriculture, or any other person may not disclose to the public the information held by the Secretary de- scribed in subparagraph (B). (B) Information (i) In general Except as provided in clause (ii), the in- formation prohibited from disclosure under subparagraph (A) is— (I) personally identifiable information, including in a contract or service agree- ment, of a farmer, rancher, or private forest landowner, obtained by the Sec- retary under subsection (d)(4)(C)(i); and (II) confidential business information in a contract or service agreement of a farmer, rancher, or private forest land- owner obtained by the Secretary under subsection (d)(4)(C)(i). (ii) Aggregated release Information described in clause (i) may be released to the public if the information has been transformed into a statistical or Page 1902 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 6801 aggregate form that does not allow the identification of the person who supplied or is the subject of the particular informa- tion. (2) Exception Paragraph (1) shall not prohibit the disclo- sure by an officer or employee of the Federal Government of information described in para- graph (1)(B) as otherwise directed by the Sec- retary or the Attorney General for enforce- ment purposes. (i) Funding (1) Authorization of appropriations In addition to the amount made available under paragraph (2), there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027. (2) Direct funding (A) Rescission There is rescinded $4,100,000 of the unobli- gated balance of amounts made available by section 1003 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117–2). (B) Appropriation If such unobligated amounts are available to execute the rescission under subparagraph (A), on the day after the execution of the re- scission, there is appropriated to the Sec- retary, out of amounts in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $4,100,000 to carry out this section to remain available for fis- cal years 2023 through 2027. (3) Prohibition None of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation shall be used to carry out this section. (j) Rule of construction Nothing in this section shall be construed to provide authority to the Secretary for the estab- lishment or operation of a Federal market through which agriculture or forestry credits may be bought or sold. (Pub. L. 117–328, div. HH, title I, § 201, Dec. 29, 2022, 136 Stat. 5971.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Act of August 30, 1890, referred to in subsec. (f)(2)(C)(vi), is act Aug. 30, 1890, ch. 841, 26 Stat. 417, pop- ularly known as the Agricultural College Act of 1890 and also as the Second Morrill Act, which is classified generally to subchapter II (§ 321 et seq.) of chapter 13 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 321 of this title and Tables. The Federal Advisory Committee Act, referred to in subsec. (f)(7), is Pub. L. 92–463, Oct. 6, 1972, 86 Stat. 770, which was set out in the Appendix to Title 5, Govern- ment Organization and Employees, and was substan- tially repealed and restated in chapter 10 (§ 1001 et seq.) of Title 5 by Pub. L. 117–286, §§ 3(a), 7, Dec. 27, 2022, 136 Stat. 4197, 4361. Section 14 of the Act was repealed and restated as section 1013 of Title 5. For disposition of sections of the Act into chapter 10 of Title 5, see Dis- position Table preceding section 101 of Title 5. Section 1003 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, referred to in subsec. (i)(2)(A), is section 1003 of Pub. L. 117–2, title I, Mar. 11, 2021, 135 Stat. 12, which is not classified to the Code. CODIFICATION Section was enacted as part of the Consolidated Ap- propriations Act, 2023, and not as part of the Global Cli- mate Change Prevention Act of 1990 which comprises this chapter. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries DEFINITION OF ‘‘SECRETARY’’ ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of Agriculture, see section 101 of div. HH of Pub. L. 117–328, set out as a note under section 2016a of this title. CHAPTER 97—FRESH CUT FLOWERS AND FRESH CUT GREENS PROMOTION AND IN- FORMATION Sec. 6801. Findings and declaration of policy. 6802. Definitions. 6803. Issuance of orders. 6804. Required terms in orders. 6805. Exclusion; determinations. 6806. Referenda. 6807. Petition and review. 6808. Enforcement. 6809. Investigations and power to subpoena. 6810. Confidentiality. 6811. Authority for Secretary to suspend or termi- nate order. 6812. Construction. 6813. Regulations. 6814. Authorization of appropriations. § 6801. Findings and declaration of policy (a) Findings Congress finds that— (1) fresh cut flowers and fresh cut greens are an integral part of life in the United States, are enjoyed by millions of persons every year for a multitude of special purposes (especially important personal events), and contribute a natural and beautiful element to the human environment; (2)(A) cut flowers and cut greens are pro- duced by many individual producers through- out the United States as well as in other coun- tries, and are handled and marketed by thou- sands of small-sized and medium-sized busi- nesses; and (B) the production, handling, and marketing of cut flowers and cut greens constitute a key segment of the United States horticultural in- dustry and thus a significant part of the over- all agricultural economy of the United States; (3) handlers play a vital role in the mar- keting of cut flowers and cut greens in that handlers— (A) purchase most of the cut flowers and cut greens marketed by producers; (B) prepare the cut flowers and cut greens for retail consumption; (C) serve as an intermediary between the source of the product and the retailer; (D) otherwise facilitate the entry of cut flowers and cut greens into the current of domestic commerce; and (E) add efficiencies to the market process that ensure the availability of a much great- er variety of the product to retailers and consumers;