(e) The Commission shall elect a chairman from among the members of the Commission who are selected and appointed under the provisions of subsection (b)(2) of this section.

(f) The Commission shall meet at the call of the chairman or a majority of the Commission.

CONDUCT OF STUDY

Sec. 1220.9 The Commission shall study the agriculture-related trade and export policies, programs, and practices of the United States and the international and domestic factors affecting such policies, programs, and practices, including the intergovernmental activities of the United States that affect the formulation of policies. In conducting the study, the Commission shall consider, among other things, the following:

(1) the effectiveness of existing agricultural export assistance programs, and the manner in which they can be improved;

(2) new export assistance programs that should be considered, and the conditions under which they can be implemented; (3) practices of foreign countries that impede the export of United States agricultural commodities and products, and appropriate responses for the United States;

(4) the effectiveness of the trade agreements program of the United States with respect to agriculture-related trade and exports, and the manner in which it can be improved;

(5) international economic trends that affect agricultural exports, and the manner in which the United States can best adjust its policies, programs, and practices to meet changing economic conditions;

(6) potential areas of conflict and compatibility between international agricultural trade and foreign food assistance programs, and the manner in which any conflict can be resolved; and

(7) the relationship between international agricultural trade and foreign economic development and food programs, and the manner in which they can be made more compatible.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND REPORTS

Sec. 1221.9 (a) On the basis of its study, the Commission shall make findings and develop recommendations for consideration by the President and Congress with respect to the agriculture-related trade and export policies, programs, and practices of the United States, and the manner in which such policies, programs, and practices can be improved to better develop, maintain and expand markets for United States agricultural exports.

(b) The Commission shall submit to the President and Congress

(1) a report containing its initial findings and recommendations by March 31, 1985,

(2) such additional interim reports on its work as may be requested by the chairman of any of the Committees set forth in section 1219(c) of this subtitle, and

(3) a report containing the final results of its study and its recommendations therefrom by July 1, 1986.

ADMINISTRATION

Sec. 1222.9 (a) The heads of Executive agencies, the General Accounting Office, 10 the International Trade Commission, and the Congressional Budget Office shall, to the extent permitted by law, provide the Commission such information as it may require in carrying out its duties and functions.

(b) Members of the Commission shall serve without any additional compensation for work on the Commission. However, members appointed from among private citizens of the United States may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by law for persons serving intermittently in the government service under sections 5701 through 5707 of title 5, United States Code.

(c) To the extent there are sufficient funds available to the Commission in advance under section 1223 of this subtitle, and subject to such rules as may be adopted by the Commission, the chairman, without regard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relating to classification and General Schedule pay rates, shall have the power to

(1) appoint and fix the compensation of a director; and

(2) appoint and fix the compensation of such additional staff personnel as the Commission determines necessary to carry out its duties and functions.

(d) Upon request of the Commission, the Secretary of Agriculture shall furnish the Commission with such personnel and support services as are necessary to assist the Commission in carrying out its duties and functions.

(e) Upon request of the Commission, the heads of other Executive agencies and the General Accounting Office 10 are each authorized to furnish the Commission with such personnel and support services as the head of the agency or office and the chairman of the Commission agree are necessary to assist the Commission in carrying out its duties and functions.

(f) The Commission shall not be required to pay or reimburse any agency or office for personnel and support services provided under this section.

(g) In accordance with section 12 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall maintain such financial records as will fully disclose the disposition of any funds that may be at the disposal of the Commission and the nature and extent of its activities, and the Comptroller General of the United States, or any of the Comptroller General's authorized representatives, shall have access to such records for the purpose of audit and examination.

(h) The Commission shall be exempt from section 7(d), section 10(e), section 10(f), and section 14 of the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

10 Sec. 8 of the GAO Human Capital Reform Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-271; 118 Stat. 814) redesignated the "General Accounting Office" as the "Government Accountability Office" and provided that "Any reference to the General Accounting Office in any law, rule, regulations, certificate, directive, instruction, or other official paper in force on the date of enactment of this Act shall be considered to refer and apply to the Government Accountability Office.".

(i) The Commission shall be exempt from the requirements of sections 4301 through 4305 of title 5, United States Code.

PUBLIC SUPPORT

Sec. 1223.9 (a) Following the appointment or designation of the members of the Commission, notwithstanding the provisions of section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, the Secretary of Agriculture may receive, from persons, corporations, foundations, and all other groups and entities within the United States, contributions of money and services to assist the Commission in carrying out its duties and functions. Any money contributed under this section shall be available to the Commission for the payment of salaries, travel expenses, per diem, and other expenses incurred by the Commission under this subtitle. In no event may the contributions from any one person, corporation, foundation, or other group or entity exceed 5 per centum of the Commission's total budget.

(b) If the contributions provided under subsection (a) are insufficient for payment of Commission salaries, travel expenses, per diem, and other expenses incurred by the Commission under this subtitle, the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to use the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation for such purposes in an amount not to exceed a total of $1,000,000.

(c) The Secretary of Agriculture shall keep, and shall make available for public inspection during normal business hours, records that fully disclose a complete list of every person, group, and entity making a contribution under this section, the address of the contributor, the amount and type of each such contribution, and the date the contribution was made.

(d) Any amount of money available to the Commission under this section that remains unobligated upon termination of the Commission shall be deposited in the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.

TERMINATION

Sec. 1224.9 The Commission shall terminate sixty days after the transmission of its final report to the President and Congress.

6. International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs Act

Public Law 97-325 [H.R. 6164], 96 Stat. 1603, approved October 15, 1982; amended by Public Law 103–354 [Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994; H.R. 4217], 108 Stat. 3178, approved October 13, 1994

AN ACT To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to implement the Agreement on the International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs and on the Special Equipment to be Used for Such Carriage (ATP), and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs Act".

FINDINGS AND PURPOSE

Sec. 2.1 Congress hereby finds and declares that

(1) the United States, as a member of the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations, participated in development by that Commission of the Agreement on the International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs and on the Special Equipment to be Used for Such Carriage;

(2) the agreement requires that equipment involved in the international carriage of perishable foodstuffs be inspected, tested, and certified to specified standards;

(3) this Act will make it possible for equipment in the United States to be inspected, tested, and certified in accordance with the agreement and the standards specified therein; and

(4) this Act will improve the conditions for the movement of perishable foodstuffs in international carriage in equipment owned or operated by United States firms, which will serve to protect existing trade and promote expansion of trade in perishable foodstuffs, and will improve the sale of United States manufactured equipment for use in international carriage.

DEFINITIONS

Sec. 3.2 As used in this Act

(1) The term "agreement" means the Agreement on the International Carriage of Perishable Foodstuffs and on the Special Equipment to be Used for Such Carriage, and the annexes and the appendices thereto, done at Geneva, September 1, 1970, under the auspices of the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations.

(2) The term "contracting party" means any country that is eligible under article 9 of the agreement and that has complied with the terms of such article.

17 U.S.C. 4401. 27 U.S.C. 4402.

(3) The term "equipment" means the special transport equipment that complies with the definitions and standards set forth in annex 1 to the agreement, including, but not limited to, railway cars, trucks, trailers, semitrailers, and intermodal freight containers that are insulated only, or insulated and equipped with a refrigerating, mechanically refrigerating, or heating appliance.

(4) The term "perishable foodstuffs" means quick deep-frozen and frozen food products listed in annex 2 and food products listed in annex 3 to the agreement.

(5) The term "international carriage" means transportation of perishable foodstuffs if such foodstuffs are loaded in equipment or the equipment containing them is loaded onto a rail or road vehicle, in the territory of any country and such foodstuffs are, or the equipment containing them is, unloaded in the territory of another country that is a contracting party, where such transportation is by

(A) rail,

(B) road,

(C) any combination of rail and road, or

(D) any sea crossing of less than one hundred and fifty kilometers, if preceded or followed by one or more land journeys as referred to in clauses (A), (B), and (C) of this paragraph, and the perishable foodstuffs are shipped in the same equipment used for such land journeys without transloading of such foodstuffs.

In the case of any transportation that involves one or more sea crossings other than as specified in clause (D) of this paragraph, each land journey shall be considered separately.

(6) The term "United States" means the fifty States of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands of the United States, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and any other territory or possession of the United States.

DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE

Sec. 4.3 The Secretary of Agriculture of the United States shall be the competent authority to implement the agreement. To ensure compliance with the standards specified in the agreement, the Secretary of Agriculture may

(1) designate appropriate organizations to inspect or test equipment, or both;

(2) issue certificates of compliance in accordance with annex 1, appendix 1, paragraph 4 of the agreement;

(3) prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to implement the agreement and administer this Act, including, but not limited to, provision for suspending or denying the designation of any organization to inspect or test equipment and for denying the issuance of certificates of compliance as may be necessary to ensure compliance with the provisions of this Act and the regulations issued thereunder;