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OVERSIGHT PLAN

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE

107TH CONGRESS


TO: The Honorable Dan Burton, Chairman
 House Committee on Government Reform

The Honorable Robert W. Ney, Chairman
 House Committee on House Administration

FROM: The Honorable Larry Combest, Chairman
 House Committee on Agriculture

DATE: February 15, 2001

SUBJECT: Oversight Plan for the House Committee on Agriculture for the 107th Congress

Pursuant to Rule X, clause 2(d)(1) of the Rules of the U.S. House of Representatives for the 107th Congress, I submit the following plan to fulfill the General Oversight Responsibilities reporting requirements. This outline was prepared in consultation with the Ranking Member, was presented to the full Committee for its consideration, and is now offered for your consideration relative to your responsibilities under the Rules. If you have any questions regarding this outline, do not hesitate to contact me.

OVERSIGHT PLAN
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE
107TH CONGRESS

The Committee expects to exercise appropriate oversight activity with regard to the following issues:

1996 FARM BILL AND CURRENT AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIC CONDITIONS:
· The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) implementation of the Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform Act of 1996;

· Current status U.S. farm economy;

· Implementation of crop and market loss assistance provided in fiscal year 2001;

· USDA's implementation of the Nonrecourse Marketing Assistance Loans and Loan Deficiency Payments provisions;

· The impact of the continuation of the milk price support program on U.S. dairy producers, and viability of current purchase price formulas;

· Operation of specialty crop programs; and

· Ways to improve the 1996 Farm Bill to strengthen the safety net for U.S. agricultural producers.

FEDERAL CROP INSURANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT:
· Administration of the Federal Crop Insurance Program, including implementation of crop insurance provisions contained in the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000;

· USDA implementation of statutory provisions designed to reduce crop insurance program waste and improve program integrity;

· Proposed policy options regarding insurance options for revenue and gross margin protection;

· Implementation of dairy forward contracting pilot project and expansion of dairy options pilot program; and

· Implementation of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000.

AGRICULTURAL TRADE:
· The Administration's plans for new trade agreements (Free Trade Area of the Americas and the FTA with Chile) and expansion of existing trade agreements affecting U.S. agriculture, including the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agricultural Agreement, and accession of countries, such as China, to the WTO;

· USDA's implementation of trade agreements and related issues to ensure compliance of other countries' trade obligations, including:

· Planning for the trade title of the 2002 farm bill and Public Law 480, including third country monetization, maximum administrative funding levels, the Farmer-to-Farmer Program, and expanded authority for sales on credit;

· Food assistance programs to ensure that program goals are being met in the most recent uses of the program, including the Global Food for Education Pilot Program;

· Extension of trade promotion negotiating authority;

· Implementation of agriculture sanctions reform and the expansion of sanctions reform;

· Examination of which markets offer the greatest opportunity to increase sales of U.S. agricultural product, such as Asia or Latin America, and what forums are best suited to open those markets, such as the FTAA, APEC, or the WTO;

· Impact of the Trade and Development Act of 2000 on U.S. agriculture (Africa, CBI, carousel);

· The current status of sugar and other sweeteners including stuffed molasses and high fructose corn syrup especially with regard to Mexico and Canada; and

· The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) as it relates to WTO guidelines.

AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND PROMOTION:
· USDA's implementation of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998, including provisions regarding competitive and special grants and precision agriculture;

· The U.S. regulatory process and foreign government's process governing biotechnology relevant to production agriculture, as well as the federal agencies responsible for such regulation and research, including but not limited to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA);

· Implementation of research provisions of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000;

· Administration of the Agricultural Research Service's research stations and worksites;

· Administration of USDA's agricultural marketing and promotion programs; and

· Federal efforts to facilitate research and development of aquacultural enterprises, specifically focusing on the activities of the Joint Committee on Aquaculture, chaired by the Secretary of Agriculture and including the Secretaries of Interior and Commerce.

CONSERVATION AND THE ENVIRONMENT:
· Budget and program activities of USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS);

· NRCS administration of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program;

· The regulatory activities of the NRCS and the EPA regarding concentrated animal feeding operations (including safe harbor agreements, proposed rules, and National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits) and their impact on the livestock industry and other agricultural producers;

· EPA's final rules on total maximum daily loads and their effects of agricultural producers;

· EPA's plan of action regarding hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico;

· Administration of the CRP and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Programs and related issues such as buffers, filterstrips and continuous signup;

· Implementation of the Small Watershed Rehabilitation Act;

· Potential impacts of the EPA's National Ambient Air Quality for ozone and particulate matter on agricultural producers;

· Potential consequences for production agriculture in the United States should the mandates contained in the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change be implemented by treaty, law, or regulation;

· Impact of regulatory activities carried out pursuant to the Endangered Species Act, or any proposed legislative changes to such Act, on agricultural producers;

· Impact of laws or regulations relative to the rights of agricultural producers to use legally acquired property, ranging from actual federal acquisition to regulatory actions that restrict or prohibit lawful activities that affect the value of private property;

· Impact of EPA's regulatory activity relative to methyl bromide on production agriculture in the U.S.;

· EPA's implementation of the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA); and

· Impact of U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision regarding isolated wetlands and the migratory bird rule and the effects on inland wetlands.

U.S. FOREST SERVICE ADMINISTRATION:
· United States Forest Service (USFS) management of the National Forest System, including the agency's fiscal and financial accountability, strategic planning and performance measurement under the Government Performance and Results Act, efforts to address the nation's declining forest health, and federal laws and regulations affecting the management of private forest lands;

· USFS management of public lands under its jurisdiction, including a review of agency policy governing grazing and other uses of these lands which require users to secure a permit;

· Impacts of implementation delay in last-minute regulations affecting federal lands, including the forest roadless policy, transportation policy, and planning regulations;

· Impact of the Southern Forests Assessment, an interagency study on the sustainability of southern forest practices;

· Review of programs that strengthen and support private forestland management; and

· Review of the USFS/Bureau of Land Management report on co-location and combination of services and operations.

USDA GENERAL ADMINISTRATION:
· Implementation of the Freedom to E-File Act;

· Implementation and streamlining of USDA's Common Computing Environment;

· Administration of USDA operations, including reorganization efforts, administrative convergence, management improvements, compliance with the Government Performance and Results Act, and the impact on client services;

· Implementation of USDA's Civil Rights settlement; and

· Confidentiality of information provided to USDA by agricultural producers.

FARM CREDIT, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, AND THE RURAL ECONOMY:
· Farm credit legislation expiring in 2002;

· Farm Credit Administration's (FCA) regulatory responsibilities regarding the Farm Credit System, as well as their individual and collective efforts to ensure the System's financial soundness;

· Availability of credit to agricultural producers in light of low commodity prices;

· Review of the FCA's national charter proposal and its potential effects on the viability of the Farm Credit System;

· Review of a report from the Center for the Study of Rural America ("Beyond Agriculture: New Policies for Rural America," Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank);

· Impact of the rural equity investment legislative proposal;

· Status of the Rural Business-Cooperative Service's Business and Industry loan program;

· Potential impact of electrical industry deregulation on agricultural producers and rural residents;

· Implementation of rural development policies and authorities provided in the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996;

· Implementation of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000; and

· Implementation of rural satellite bill to ensure that implementation regulations are upholding the stated in intent of Congress and there is sufficient local participation in the decision-making process.

WELFARE REFORM AND FOOD NUTRITION PROGRAMS:
· Administration of the food stamp program and the replacement for cash welfare programs (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)), which expire 2002, including:

· The simplified food stamp program and waiver authority provided to states to ensure that states have the necessary flexibility to simplify the program;

· Food stamp program expansion done by regulation in November 2000 (such as non-citizen eligibility and transitional food stamp benefits);

· Harmonization of TANF and food stamp programs by states, especially the application procedures and work requirements;

· Implementation of work requirements and sanctions for able-bodied individuals and use of waivers by states to allow able-bodied persons, aged eighteen to fifty, to receive benefits;

· Funding levels for work programs for able-bodied individuals versus other individuals;

· Implementation of the state's use of electronic benefits transfer (EBT) systems to improve the distribution of food benefits (all states must implement EBT by 2002);

· Effectiveness of provisions designed to curb food stamp trafficking and fraud;

· Effectiveness of the food stamp quality control system;

· Implementation and funding levels for the Emergency Food Assistance program, formerly known as TEFAP and other commodity distribution programs; and

· Nutrition monitoring oversight.

FOOD SAFETY, MARKETING, AND MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES:
· USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service's administration of the meat and poultry inspection laws and the Food and Drug Administration's food inspection activities, including seafood and seafood products to ensure that policies and resources are focused on developing scientifically sound systems for food safety assurance;

· USDA's efforts to educate consumers regarding safe food handling practices, the development of pre-exposure and post-exposure interventions to reduce the frequency and severity of food borne illnesses, expanded research and development of pathogen reduction technologies, as well as streamlined, science-based policies relative to assessment and approval of food safety technologies;

· USDA's implementation of new protocols for meat, poultry, eggs, or seafood safety inspection, including the implementation of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) for medium and small sized plants;

· Impact of lawsuits challenging aspects of food safety inspection modernization efforts including authority to establish and enforce microbiological performance standards and HACCP based inspection models;

· The issue of new drug development, approval, and availability for animal agriculture as well as the implementation of the Animal Drug Availability Act;

· USDA's proposed rule on organic standards;

· USDA's implementation of mandatory livestock price reporting;

· Effectiveness of the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) in monitoring the potential for market manipulation in the livestock industry;

· Concentration of agribusiness and the potential impact on agricultural producers;

· Adequacy of agricultural labor and the agricultural guest worker program, H2A;

· Review implementation of Plant Protection Act of 2000;

· Current functioning of animal health protection programs and legislative proposals to consolidate and modernize legislative authorities;

· Current state of readiness to deal with emerging and exotic animal and plant diseases as well as threats of intentional introduction of animal and plant diseases and food borne pathogens;

· Federal efforts to reduce threats to human, animal, and plant health due to predatory and invasive species;

· Impact of judicial settlements to expand applicability of animal care programs to mice, rats, and birds used in research; and

· Proposals to expand applicability of animal care programs to gamebirds.

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