§ 1624. — Cooperation with Government and State agencies, private research organizations, etc.; rules and regulations.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 7USC1624]
TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER 38--DISTRIBUTION AND MARKETING OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS
SUBCHAPTER I--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 1624. Cooperation with Government and State agencies,
private research organizations, etc.; rules and regulations
(a) In carrying out the provisions of this chapter, the Secretary of
Agriculture may cooperate with other branches of the Government, State
agencies, private research organizations, purchasing and consuming
organizations, boards of trade, chambers of commerce, other associations
of business or trade organizations, transportation 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
jurisdictions. The Secretary of Agriculture shall have authority to
enter into contracts and agreements under the terms of regulations
promulgated by him with States and agencies of States, private firms,
institutions, and individuals for the purpose of conducting research and
service work, making and compiling reports and surveys, and carrying out
other functions relating 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
Agriculture. 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 section 3324(a) and (b) of title 31 and section 5 of title
41 shall not be applicable to contracts or agreements made under the
authority of this section. Any unexpended balances of appropriations
obligated by contracts as authorized by this section may,
notwithstanding the provisions 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 fiscal years before being carried to the surplus
fund and covered into the Treasury. Any contract made pursuant to this
section shall contain requirements making the result of such research
and investigations available to the public by such means as the
Secretary of Agriculture shall determine.
(b) The Secretary of Agriculture shall promulgate such orders,
rules, and regulations as he deems necessary to carry out the provisions
of this chapter.
(Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, Sec. 205, 60 Stat. 1090; Aug. 30,
1954, ch. 1076, Sec. 1(7), 68 Stat. 966.)
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, Sec. 3, 63 Stat. 407.
Codification
In subsec. (a), ``section 3324(a) and (b) of title 31'' substituted
for reference to section 3648 (31 U.S.C., sec. 529) of the Revised
Statutes on authority of Pub. L. 97-258, Sec. 4(b), Sept. 13, 1982, 96
Stat. 1067, the first section of which enacted Title 31, Money and
Finance.
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.
Distribution of Surplus Commodities
Pub. L. 97-253, title I, Sec. 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 appropriations 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 assistance 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 organizations which
provide food to the hungry report an astronomical increase in the
number of persons seeking the assistance of such organizations;
``(5) according to a study completed by the General Accounting
Office in 1977, one hundred and thirty-seven million tons of food,
or more than 20 per centum of this country's total annual food
production, is wasted or discarded in the United States each year;
``(6) at wholesale and retail food distributors, shipping
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 Americans
go to bed hungry and undernourished each night;
``(7) in these times of budget constraints and appeals 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 liability 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 Government 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
discarded;
``(2) State and local governments which have not yet enacted so-
called Good Samaritan or donor liability laws to encourage private
cooperative efforts to provide food for hungry people within their
respective 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.''
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in title 35 section 210; title 42
section 418.
