conducted by our potential adversaries or the President certified that it would be in the national interest of the United States to conduct MaRV tests.

The House bill contained no similar provision.

The House conferees strongly opposed such restrictive language since it could result in unilateral U.S. termination of MaRV testing. The Senate conferees reluctantly agreed to recede, but only after they determined that no MaRV testing, with the exception of the Evader prototype, would be conducted during the period of fiscal year 1976 and 197T. Since the Navy plans to flight test the Evader only over the ocean, the Senate conferees understand that this could in no way be construed as supporting the development of a high accuracy MaRV.

JOHN C. STENNIS,
STUART SYMINGTON,

(with reservation, right of opposition on floor), HENRY M. JACKSON, HOWARD W. CANNON,

HARRY F. BYRD, Jr.,

SAM NUNN,

STROM THURMOND,

JOHN TOWER,

BARRY GOLDWATER,

WILLIAM L. SCOTT,

ROBERT TAFT, Jr.,

Managers on the Part of the Senate.

SEPTEMBER 23 (legal day SEPTEMBER 12), 1975-Ordered to be printed

Mr. HUMPHREY, from the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S.J. Res. 88]

The Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, to which was referred the joint resolution (S.J. Res. 88) to provide emergency authority to the Secretary of Agriculture to restore confidence in the United States grain inspection system, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the joint resolution (as amended) do pass.

SHORT EXPLANATION

S.J. Res. 88, as amei.ded by the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, would

(1) Grant the Secretary of Agriculture one-year, emergency powers to enable him to take immediate action to strengthen the system for the inspection, handling, and export of grain. Under such emergency powers, the Secretary could-among other things-use funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to hire additional Federal inspection personnel, assign personnel to perform original inspection functions on an interim basis, rotate Federal supervisory personnel, revoke the designation of an official inspection agency if he finds that the agency has a conflict-of-interest relationship with a grain elevator or merchandiser, require that all export grain be inspected, and, under certain conditions, prescribe the procedures for the weighing and the certification of the weight of grain when delivered from any elevator or warehouse for transportation in interstate or foreign commerce.

(2) Require the Secretary to review the designation of all official inspection agencies to determine if they are in compliance with the provisions of the United States Grain Standards Act.

(3) Make several changes in the United States Grain Standards. Act and the United States Criminal Code to (a) increase the sanctions for violations of the United States Grain Standards Act, (b) protect

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from assault and death Department of Agriculture personnel assigned to perform inspection, weighing, or grading functions, and (c) make it clear that bribery of licensed inspectors is punishable as a felony.

(4) Direct the Comptroller General to make a one-year study concerning the compliance by major grain exporters with the United States Grain Standards Act.

(5) Amend the United States Grain Standards Act to require (with certain exceptions) the registration of any person engaged in the business of buying grain for sale in interstate or foreign commerce and in the business of handling, weighing, or transporting of grain for sale in interstate or foreign commerce.

(6) Amend the United States Grain Standards Act to require the Secretary to notify the House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry of (a) complaints made by foreign purchasers regarding faulty grain deliveries and (b) cancellation of any contract for the export of more than 100,000 metric tons of grain.

(7) Require the Secretary to make studies regarding (a) the adequacy of the current grain standards established under the United States Grain Standards Act, and (b) the contamination, transportation, and handling of United States agricultural products.

(8) Require the Secretary to make periodic reports during the oneyear period after enactment of the joint resolution concerning (a) the steps being taken to implement the joint resolution, and improve the system for the inspection, handling, and export of grain, (b) any legislative recommendations to strengthen the system, and (c) the status of investigations of irregularities involving the inspection of grain.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

The Committee amendment strikes all after the resolving clause of S.J. Res. 88 and inserts in lieu thereof an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The major differences between S.J. Res. 88 as introduced and the resolution being reported by the Committee are described in the part of this report entitled "Committee Consideration".

BACKGROUND AND NEED

THE COMMITTEE'S INVESTIGATION

I.

In the meeting of the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry on May 21, 1975, the Committee discussed the growing scandal in the grain inspection system authorized by the United States Grain Standards Act. Concern was expressed about the impact on farmers of the recent grand jury indictments and the reports of wrongdoing in grain inspection in the press. After some discussion of the serious nature of this problem, the Committee authorized the Foreign Agricultural Policy Subcommittee to conduct a full and thorough investigation of the problem.

The Committee staff was directed to provide assistance to the Subcommittee for the purposes of this investigation and an immediate effort was made to obtain the additional staff assistance necessary to do a thorough job. The General Accounting Office agreed to provide the Committee with two experienced investigators, with the understanding that the agency would receive reimbursement for the investigators' salaries and expenses at such time as the Committee could obtain additional funding for this purpose.

On June 18, the Committee agreed to a supplemental budget request which would permit the hiring of an additional lawyer to assist in the investigation, allow reimbursement to the General Accounting Office for its investigators, permit the hiring of clerical assistance for the investigatory staff, and provide the travel funds and other necessary expenses of the investigation.

The Senate approved the Committee's supplemental budget request on July 26, 1975.

Because the subject matter of the investigation involved the jurisdiction of the Subcommitttee on Agricultural Production, Marketing, and Stabilization of Prices, the Committee determined that the investigation would be conducted jointly by that subcommittee and the Subcommittee on Foreign Agricultural Policy.

It quickly became apparent that the scope of the scandal in grain inspection and the complexity of the issues to be addressed would require more investigative resources than would be available on the Committee staff. Therefore, in a letter dated June 24, 1975, Senator Humphrey and Congressman Foley requested, on behalf of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry and the House Committee on Agriculture, a complete and comprehensive investigation of our grain marketing system. This letter, which requests that the Comptroller