victed of any violation of other Federal law involving the handling, weighing or official inspection of grain, or that official inspection has been refused for any of the above-specified causes (for a period which has not expired) to such person, or any other person conducting a business with which the former was, at the time such cause existed, or is responsibly connected; and (2) that providing official inspection with respect to such grain would be inimical to the integrity of the official inspection service. In addition to, or in lieu of, penalties provided under section 17 of this Act, the Administrator may refuse to provide official inspection in accordance with this section or assess against the respondent a civil penalty not to exceed $100,000 for each such violation, or both, as the Administrator determines it appropriate to effectuate the objectives stated in section 2 of this Act.

"(b) For purposes of paragraph (a) of this section, a person shall be deemed to be responsibly connected with a business if he was or is a partner, officer, director, or holder or owner of 10 per centum or more of its voting stock, or an employee in a managerial or executive capacity.

(c) Before official inspection is refused to any person or a civil penalty is assessed against any person under subsection (a), such person shall be afforded opportunity for a hearing in accordance with sections 554, 556, and 557 of title 5. United States Code: Provided, That the Administrator may, without first affording the person a hearing, refuse official inspection temporarily pending final determination whenever the Administrator has reason to believe there is cause for refusal of inspection and considers such action to be in the best interest of the official inspection system under this Act. The Administrator shall afford such person an opportunity for a hearing within seven days after temporarily refusing inspection.

"(d) Moneys received in payment of such civil penalties shall be deposited in the general fund of the United States Treasury. Upon failure to pay the penalties assessed under this section, the Secretary of Agriculture may request the Attorney General of the United States to institute a civil action to collect the penalties in the appropriate court identified in subsection (f) of section 20 of this Act for the jurisdiction in which the responded is found or resides or transacts business, and such court shall have jurisdiction to hear and decide any such action.

"PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

"SEC. 14. No person licensed or authorized by the Administrator to perform any function under this Act, or employed by the Administrator in otherwise carrying out any of the provisions of this Act, shall, during the term of such license, authorization, or employment, (a) be financally interested (directly or otherwise) in any business entity owning or operating any grain elevator or warehouse or engaged in the merchandising of grain, or (b) in the employment of, or accept gratuities from, any such entity, or (c) be engaged in any other kind of activity specified by regulation of the Administrator as involving a conflict of interest: Provided, however, That the Administrator may license qualified employees of any grain elevators or warehouses to perform official sampling functions, under such conditions as the Administrator may by regulation prescribe, and the Administrator may by regulation provide such other exceptions to the restrictions of this section as he determines are consistent with the purposes of this Act.

"RECORDS

“SEC. 15. (a) Every official inspection contractor and every person licensed to perform any official inspection function under this Act shall maintain such samples of officially inspected grain and such other records as the Administrator may by regulation prescribe for the purpose of administration and enforcement of this Act.

"(b) Every official inspection contractor required to maintain records under this section shall keep such records for a period of two years after the inspection or transaction, which is the subject of the record, occurred: Provided, however, That grain samples shall be required to be maintained only for such period not in excess of ninety days as the Administrator, after consultation with the grain trade and taking into account the needs and circumstances of local markets, shall prescribe; and in specific cases other records may be required by the Adminis

trator to be maintained for not more than three years in addition to said two year period whenever in his judgment the retention of such records for the longer period is necessary for the effective administration and enforcement of this Act. "(c) Every official inspection contractor required to maintain records under this section shall permit any authorized representative of the Secretary of Agriculture to have access to, and to copy, such records at all reasonable times.

"(d) Every person who is the owner or operator of a grain elevator or ware house or is engaged in the merchandising of grain, and who, at any time, has ob tained or obtains official inspection shall, within the five-year period thereafter, maintain complete and accurate records of purchases, sales, transportation, storage, treating, cleaning, drying, blending, and other processing, and official inspection of grain, and permit any authorized representative of the Secretary of Agriculture or the Administrator at all reasonable times, to have access to, and to copy, such records and to have access to any grain elevator or other facility used by such person for handling of grain, pursuant to sections 19 and 20 of this Act.

"PROHIBITED ACTS

"SEC. 16. (a) No person shall—

"(1) falsely make, issue, alter, forge, or counterfeit any official certificate or other offical form or official inspection mark;

"(2) utter, publish, or use as true any falsely made, issued, altered, forged, or counterfeited official certificate or other official form or official inspection mark, or possess, without promptly notifying the Administrator or his repre sentative, or fail to surrender to such a representative upon demand, any falsely made, issued, altered, forged, or counterfeited official inspection certificate or other official form, or any device for making any official inspection mark or simulation thereof, or possess any grain in a container bearing any falsely made, issued, altered, forged, or counterfeited official inspection mark without promptly giving such notice;

"(3) cause or attempt (whether successfully or not) to cause the issuance of a false or incorrect official certificate or other official form by any means, including but not limited to deceptive loading, handling, weighing, or sampling of grain, or submitting grain for official inspection that has been deceptively loaded, handled, weighed, or sampled;

"(4) alter any official sample of grain in any manner or, if an official sample has been altered, thereafter represent it as an official sample;

46

(5) use any official grade designation or offical inspection mark on any container of grain by means of a tag, label, or otherwise, unless the grain in such container was offically inspected on this basis of an official sample taken while the grain was being loaded into or was in such container and the grain was found to qualify for such designation or mark;

"(6) make any false representation that any grain has been officially inspected or officially inspected and found to be of a particular kind, class, quality, condition, or quantity, or that particular facts have been established with respect to grain by official inspection under this Act:

“(7) engage in the falsifying of the weight of any grain shipped in interstate or foreign commerce;

"(8) forcibly asault, resist, oppose, impede, intimidate, or interfere with any person licensed to perform official inspection or authorized or licensed for the official supervision of weighing in, or on account of, the performance of his duties under this Act;

"(9) falsely represent that he is licensed or authorized to perform an official inspection function or for the official supervision of weighing under this Act;

"(10) use any false or misleading means in connection with the making or filing of an application for official inspection; or

"(11) violate any provision of sections 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15 of this Act. "(b) No person licensed or authorized to perform any function under this Act shall

"(1) commit any offense prohibited by subsection (a);

"(2) perform improperly any official sampling, inspection, or other official function under this Act; or

"(3) execute or issue any false or incorrect official certificate or other official form.

"PENALTIES

"SEC. 17. (a) Any person who knowingly or intentionally commits any offense prohibited by section 16 shall be guilty of a felony and shall, on conviction thereof, be subject to imprisonment for not more than five years, a fine of not more than $10,000, or both.

"(b) Any person who recklessly or negligently commits any offense prohibited by section 16 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall, on conviction thereof, be subject to imprisonment for not more than nine months, a fine of not more than $5,000, or both.

"(c) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as requiring the Administrator to report minor violations of this Act for criminal prosecution when he believes that the public interest will be adequately served by a suitable written notice of warning, or to report any violation of this Act for prosecution when he believes that institution of a proceeding under section 13 of this Act will obtain compliance with this Act and he institutes such a proceeding.

"RESPONSIBILITY FOR ACTS OF OTHERS

"SEC. 18. When construing and enforcing the provisions of this Act, the act, omission, or failure of any official agent, or other person acting for or employed by any association, partnership, or corporation within the scope of his employment or office shall, in every case, also be deemed the act, omission, or failure of such association, partnership, or corporation as well as that of the person.

"GENERAL AUTHORITIES

"SEC. 19. (a) The Administrator is authorized to conduct such investigations; hold such hearings; require such reports from any official inspection contractor, licensee or other person; require by regulation as a condition for official inspection, among other things, the installation of specified sampling and monitoring equipment in grain elevators, and approval of the condition of carriers and containers for transporting or storing grain; and prescribe such other rules, regulations and instructions as he deems necessary to effectuate the purposes or provisions of this Act. Whether any certificate, other form, representation, designation, or other description is false, incorrect, or misleading within the meaning of this Act shall be determined by tests made in accordance with such procedures as the Administrator may adopt to effectuate the objectives of this Act, if the relevant facts are determinable by such tests. Proceedings under section 12 of this Act for refusal to renew, or for suspension or revocation of, a license, shall not, unless requested by the respondent, be subject to the administrative procedure provisions in sections 554, 556, and 557 of title 5, United States Code. "(b) The Administrator shall investigate the cancellation of any contract for the sale of grain required to be inspected under this Act or of any complaint regarding the operation or administration of this Act or any official transaction with which this Act is concerned.

"(c) The Administrator is authorized to cause official inspection personnel to monitor in foreign nations which are importers of grain from the United States, grain imported from the United States upon its entry into the foreign nation, to determine whether such grain is of a comparable kind, class, quality, and condition and the same quantity that it was certified to be upon official inspection in the United States.

"ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS

"SEC. 20. (a) For the purposes of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture and Administrator shall at all reasonable times have access to, for the purpose of examination, and the right to copy any documentary evidence of any person with respect to whom such authority is exercised; and the Secretary of Agriculture shall have power to require by subpena the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of all such documentary evidence relating to any matter under investigation, and may administer oaths and affirmations, examine witnesses, and receive evidence.

"(b) Such attendance of witnesses, and the production of such documentary evidence, may be required from any place in the United States, at any designated place of hearing. In case of disobedience to a subpena the Secretary of Agriculture may invoke the aid of any court designated in paragraph (f) of this sec

tion in requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of documentary evidence.

"(c) Any such court within the jurisdiction of which such inquiry is carried on may, in case of contumacy or refusal to obey a subpena issued to any person, issue an order requiring such person to appear before the Secretary of Agriculture or to produce documentary evidence if so ordered, or to give evidence touching the matter in question; and any failure to obey such order of the court may be punished by such court as a contempt thereof.

"(d) Witnesses summoned before the Secretary of Agriculture shall be paid the same fees and mileage that are paid witnesses in the courts of the United States, and witnesses from whom depositions are taken and the persons taking the same shall severally be entitled to the same fees as are paid for like services in the courts of the United States.

"(e) Any person who shall neglect or refuse to attend and testify, or to answer any lawful inquiry, or to produce documentary evidence, if in his power to do so, in obedience to the subpena or lawful requirement of the Secretary of Agriculture shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof be subject to imprisonment for not more than six months, a fine of not more than $3,000, or both.

"(f) The United States district courts, the District Court of Guam, the District Court of the Virgin Islands, the highest court of American Samoa, and the United States courts of the other territories and possessions of the United States shall have jurisdiction in cases arising under this Act.

"REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

"SEC. 21. (a) On December 1 of each year, the Administrator shall report to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and to the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry of the Senate, regarding the effectiveness of the official grain inspection system under this Act for the prior fiscal year. with recommendations for any legislative changes he believes are necessary to accomplish the objectives stated in section 2 of this Act.

(b) The Administrator shall notify the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry of the Senate (1) of any complaint regarding faulty grain delivery made by a foreign purchaser of United States grain to the Department of Agriculture. within thirty days after a determination by the Administrator that there is reasonable cause to believe that the grain delivery was in fact faulty, and (2) within thirty days after receipt by him or the Secretary of Agriculture of the cancellation of any contract for the export of more than one hundred thousand metric tons of grain.

"(c) On December 1 of each year, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry of the Senate a summary of all other complaints received by the Agency and the resolution thereof during the prior fiscal year from foreign purchasers and prospective purchasers of United States grain and other foreign purchasers interested in the trade of grain: Provided, That the summary shall not include a complaint unless reasonable cause exists to believe that the complaint is valid, as determined by the Administrator.

"RELATION TO STATE AND LOCAL LAWS: SEPARABILITY OF PROVISIONS

"SEC. 22. (a) No State or subdivision thereof may require the inspection or description in accordance with any standards of kind, class, quality, condition. or other characteristics of grain as a condition of shipment, or sale, of such grain in interstate or foreign commerce or require any license for, or impose any other restrictions upon, the performance of any official inspection function under this Act by official inspection personnel or the official supervision of weighing. Otherwise, nothing in this Act shall invalidate any law or other provision of any State or subdivision thereof in the absence of a conflict with this Act.

"(b) If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, the validity of the remainder of the Act and the application of such provision to other persons and circumstances shall not be affected thereby.

"APPROPRIATIONS

"SEC. 23. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary for improvement of inspection procedures and equipment, development and issuance of rules, regulations, and instructions, establishment of the fund authorized in section 10 of this Act, and other initial Federal costs for implementing a system for Federal official inspection and official supervision of weighing for United States grain, and other activities authorized by section 5 of this Act, those Federal administrative and supervisory costs not directly related to the official inspection of grain, and the purchase or lease of any buildings, other facilities, or equipment necessary for the conduct of official inspection and any other expenses necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act to the extent that financing is not obtained from the fees and sale of samples as provided for in section 10 of this Act. Such facilities and equipment may be provided by the Administrator for the use of official inspection contractors under arrangements whereby the cost thereof will be amortized and reimbursed to the current appropriation for administration of this Act from fees collected by such contractors over a reasonable period of time determined by the Administrator.".

SEC. 2. Section 5316 of title 5, United States Code, as amended, is amended by adding at the end thereof a new paragraph to read as follows:

"(137) Administrator, Federal Grain Inspection Agency, Department of Agriculture.".

SEC. 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 3709 of the Revised Statutes (41 U.S.C. 5) and section 302 of the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 490), the Administrator of Federal Grain Inspection Agency is authorized to negotiate for and purchase or lease, from any person licensed or designated (on the date of enactment of this Act) to perform official inspection functions under the United States Grain Standards Act, at fair market value, any facilities or equipment which the Administrator determines to be necessary for the conduct of official inspection.

SEC. 4. The Administrator of the Federal Grain Inspection Agency is authorized to hire (without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service) as official inspection personnel any individual who is licensed (on the date of enactment of this Act) to perform functions of official inspection or official supervision of weighing under the United States Grain Standards Act: Provided, That the Administrator determines that such individuals are technically and professionally qualified for the duties to which they will be assigned.

SEC. 5. Section 1114 of title 18 of the United States Code, as amended, is amended, by inserting after "animal diseases" the following: "any employee of the Federal Grain Inspection Agency of the Department of Agriculture assigned to perform official inspection or official supervision of weighing under the United States Grain Standards Act".

SEC. 6. In order to assure that producers, handlers and transporters of grain are encouraged and rewarded for the production, maintenance, and delivery of high quality grain, and that, in a normal year there is, for each kind and class of grain produced in the United States, a grade which is competitive in reputation for quality in the world market, the Administrator of the Federal Grain Inspection Agency is hereby authorized and directed to conduct a study regarding the adequacy of the current grain standards, established under the United States Grain Standards Act. On the basis of the results of such study, the Administrator shall, in accordance with section 5 of the United States Grain Standards Act, make such changes in the grain standards as he determines necessary and appropriate, and, not later than eighteen months after the enactment of this Act, submit a report to the Congress setting forth the findings of such a study.

SEC. 7. The powers, duties and authorization established by this Act for the Administrator of Federal Grain Inspection Agency shall in all instances be exercised, in the interim between the effective date of this Act and the appointment of the Administrator by the President, by the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States.

EFFECTIVE DATE

SEC. 8. (a) This Act shall become effective thirty days after enactment hereof, except that any State or person then providing official inspection service or official supervision of weighing in any area and licensees employed thereby, may continue to operate in that area, subject to the rules and regulations issued by the Administrator until whichever of the following events occurs first:

70-654-763