7 U.S.C. § 1624 — Cooperation with Government and State

Page 904 TITLE 7—AGRICULTURE § 1624 Pub. L. 106–78, title VII, § 703, Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1160. Pub. L. 105–277, div. A, § 101(a) [title VII, § 703], Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681, 2681–25. Pub. L. 105–86, title VII, § 703, Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 2104. Pub. L. 104–180, title VII, § 703, Aug. 6, 1996, 110 Stat. 1596. Pub. L. 104–37, title VII, § 703, Oct. 21, 1995, 109 Stat. 329. Pub. L. 103–330, title VII, § 703, Sept. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 2466. Pub. L. 103–111, title VII, § 703, Oct. 21, 1993, 107 Stat. 1078. Pub. L. 102–341, title VII, § 703, Aug. 14, 1992, 106 Stat. 906. Pub. L. 102–142, title VII, § 704, Oct. 28, 1991, 105 Stat. 911. Pub. L. 101–506, title VI, § 604, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1346. Pub. L. 101–161, title VI, § 604, Nov. 21, 1989, 103 Stat. 982. Pub. L. 100–460, title VI, § 604, Oct. 1, 1988, 102 Stat. 2259. Pub. L. 100–202, § 101(k) [title VI, § 604], Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1329–322, 1329–353. Pub. L. 99–500, § 101(a) [title VI, § 604], Oct. 18, 1986, 100 Stat. 1783, 1783–27, and Pub. L. 99–591, § 101(a) [title VI, § 604], Oct. 30, 1986, 100 Stat. 3341, 3341–27. Pub. L. 99–190, § 101(a) [H.R. 3037, title VI, § 604], Dec. 19, 1985, 99 Stat. 1185; Pub. L. 100–202, § 106, Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1329–433. Pub. L. 97–370, title VI, § 604, Dec. 18, 1982, 96 Stat. 1810. Pub. L. 97–103, title VI, § 604, Dec. 23, 1981, 95 Stat. 1487. Pub. L. 96–528, title VI, § 604, Dec. 15, 1980, 94 Stat. 3116. Pub. L. 96–108, title VI, § 603, Nov. 9, 1979, 93 Stat. 840. Pub. L. 95–448, title VI, § 603, Oct. 11, 1978, 92 Stat. 1092. Pub. L. 95–97, title VI, § 603, Aug. 12, 1977, 91 Stat. 828. Pub. L. 94–351, title VI, § 603, July 12, 1976, 90 Stat. 868. Pub. L. 94–122, title VI, § 605, Oct. 21, 1975, 89 Stat. 667. Pub. L. 93–563, title V, § 505, Dec. 31, 1974, 88 Stat. 1842. Pub. L. 93–135, title V, § 506, Oct. 24, 1973, 87 Stat. 490. Pub. L. 92–399, title V, § 506, Aug. 22, 1972, 86 Stat. 611. Pub. L. 92–73, title V, § 506, Aug. 10, 1971, 85 Stat. 201. Pub. L. 91–566, title V, § 506, Dec. 22, 1970, 84 Stat. 1496. Pub. L. 91–127, title V, § 506, Nov. 26, 1969, 83 Stat. 260. Pub. L. 90–463, title V, § 506, Aug. 8, 1968, 82 Stat. 653. Pub. L. 90–113, title V, § 506, Oct. 24, 1967, 81 Stat. 335. Pub. L. 89–556, title V, § 506, Sept. 7, 1966, 80 Stat. 704. Pub. L. 89–316, title V, § 506, Nov. 2, 1965, 79 Stat. 1179. Pub. L. 88–573, title V, § 506, Sept. 2, 1964, 78 Stat. 876. Pub. L. 88–250, title VI, § 606, Dec. 30, 1963, 77 Stat. 833. Pub. L. 87–879, title VI, § 606, Oct. 24, 1962, 76 Stat. 1215. Pub. L. 87–112, title V, § 506, July 26, 1961, 75 Stat. 241. Pub. L. 86–532, title IV, § 406, June 29, 1960, 74 Stat. 244. Pub. L. 86–80, title IV, § 406, July 8, 1959, 73 Stat. 180. Pub. L. 85–459, title IV, § 406, June 13, 1958, 72 Stat. 199. Pub. L. 85–118, title V, § 506, Aug. 2, 1957, 71 Stat. 340. June 4, 1956, ch. 355, title V, § 506, 70 Stat. 241. May 23, 1955, ch. 43, title V, § 506, 69 Stat. 63. June 29, 1954, ch. 409, title V, § 506, 68 Stat. 319. § 1624. Cooperation with Government and State agencies, private research organizations, etc.; rules and regulations (a) In carrying out the provisions of this chap- ter, the Secretary of Agriculture may cooperate with other branches of the Government, State agencies, private research organizations, pur- chasing and consuming organizations, boards of trade, chambers of commerce, other associations of business or trade organizations, transpor- tation and storage agencies and organizations, or other persons or corporations engaged in the production, transportation, storing, processing, marketing, and distribution of agricultural products whether operating in one or more juris- dictions. The Secretary of Agriculture shall have authority to enter into contracts and agreements under the terms of regulations pro- mulgated by him with States and agencies of States, private firms, institutions, and individ- uals for the purpose of conducting research and service work, making and compiling reports and surveys, and carrying out other functions relat- ing thereto when in his judgment the services or functions to be performed will be carried out more effectively, more rapidly, or at less cost than if performed by the Department of Agri- culture. Contracts under this section may be made for work to be performed within a period not more than four years from the date of any such contract, and advance, progress, or other payments may be made. The provisions of sec- tion 3324(a) and (b) of title 31 and section 6101 of title 41 shall not be applicable to contracts or agreements made under the authority of this section. Any unexpended balances of appropria- tions obligated by contracts as authorized by this section may, notwithstanding the provi- sions of section 5 of the Act of June 20, 1874, as amended (31 U.S.C., sec. 713), remain upon the books of the Treasury for not more than five fis- cal years before being carried to the surplus fund and covered into the Treasury. Any con- tract made pursuant to this section shall con- tain requirements making the result of such re- search and investigations available to the public by such means as the Secretary of Agriculture shall determine. (b) The Secretary of Agriculture shall promul- gate such orders, rules, and regulations as he deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this chapter. (Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, § 205, 60 Stat. 1090; Aug. 30, 1954, ch. 1076, § 1(7), 68 Stat. 966.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 5 of the Act of June 20, 1874, as amended (31 U.S.C. sec. 713), referred to in subsec. (a), was repealed by act July 6, 1949, ch. 299, § 3, 63 Stat. 407. CODIFICATION In subsec. (a), ‘‘section 3324(a) and (b) of title 31’’ sub- stituted for reference to section 3648 (31 U.S.C., sec. 529) of the Revised Statutes on authority of Pub. L. 97–258, § 4(b), Sept. 13, 1982, 96 Stat. 1067, the first section of which enacted Title 31, Money and Finance. In subsec. (a), ‘‘section 6101 of title 41’’ substituted for ‘‘section 3709 (41 U.S.C., sec. 5) of the Revised Stat- utes’’ on authority of Pub. L. 111–350, § 6(c), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3854, which Act enacted Title 41, Public Con- tracts. AMENDMENTS 1954—Subsec. (b). Act Aug. 30, 1954, repealed second sentence requiring Secretary of Agriculture to include in his annual report to Congress a complete statement of research work being performed under contracts or cooperative agreements under this chapter. 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