§ 74. — Congressional findings and declaration of policy.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 7USC74]
TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
CHAPTER 3--GRAIN STANDARDS
Sec. 74. Congressional findings and declaration of policy
(a) Grain is an essential source of the world's total supply of
human food and animal feed and is merchandised in interstate and foreign
commerce. It is declared to be the policy of the Congress, for the
promotion and protection of such commerce in the interests of producers,
merchandisers, warehousemen, processors, and consumers of grain, and the
general welfare of the people of the United States, to provide for the
establishment of official United States standards for grain, to promote
the uniform application thereof by official inspection personnel, to
provide for an official inspection system for grain, and to regulate the
weighing and the certification of the weight of grain shipped in
interstate or foreign commerce in the manner hereinafter provided; with
the objectives that grain may be marketed in an orderly and timely
manner and that trading in grain may be facilitated. It is hereby found
that all grain and other articles and transactions in grain regulated
under this chapter are either in interstate or foreign commerce or
substantially affect such commerce and that regulation thereof as
provided in this chapter is necessary to prevent or eliminate burdens on
such commerce and to regulate effectively such commerce.
(b) It is also declared to be the policy of Congress--
(1) to promote the marketing of grain of high quality to both
domestic and foreign buyers;
(2) that the primary objective of the official United States
standards for grain is to certify the quality of grain as accurately
as practicable; and
(3) that official United States standards for grain shall--
(A) define uniform and accepted descriptive terms to
facilitate trade in grain;
(B) provide information to aid in determining grain
storability;
(C) offer users of such standards the best possible
information from which to determine end-product yield and
quality of grain;
(D) provide the framework necessary for markets to establish
grain quality improvement incentives;
(E) reflect the economic value-based characteristics in the
end uses of grain; and
(F) accommodate scientific advances in testing and new
knowledge concerning factors related to, or highly correlated
with, the end use performance of grain.
(Aug. 11, 1916, ch. 313, pt. B, Sec. 2, 39 Stat. 482; July 18, 1940, ch.
636, 54 Stat. 765; Pub. L. 90-487, Sec. 1, Aug. 15, 1968, 82 Stat. 761;
Pub. L. 94-582, Sec. 2, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2867; Pub. L. 99-641,
title III, Sec. 302, Nov. 10, 1986, 100 Stat. 3564; Pub. L. 101-624,
title XX, Sec. 2004, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3929.)
Amendments
1990--Subsec. (b)(3)(E), (F). Pub. L. 101-624 added subpars. (E) and
(F).
1986--Pub. L. 99-641 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a)
and added subsec. (b).
1976--Pub. L. 94-582 expressed the policy of Congress to regulate
the weighing and the certification of the weight of grain shipped in
interstate or foreign commerce and the finding of Congress of the
necessity to regulate grain transactions to prevent or eliminate burdens
on commerce and to regulate effectively such interstate or foreign
commerce, and provided that the grain be marketed in a timely manner.
1968--Pub. L. 90-487 substituted a declaration of policy by the
Congress for provisions authorizing promulgation and establishment of
grain standards by Secretary of Agriculture.
1940--Act July 18, 1940, inserted ``soybeans,'' after ``flaxseed,''.
Effective Date of 1976 Amendment
Section 27 of Pub. L. 94-582, as amended by Pub. L. 95-113, title
XVI, Secs. 1602(d), 1605(b), 1607(b), 1608, Sept. 29, 1977, 91 Stat.
1025, 1030, 1031; Pub. L. 106-472, title I, Sec. 110(c), Nov. 9, 2000,
114 Stat. 2061, provided that: ``This Act [see Short Title of 1976
Amendment note set out under section 71 of this title] shall become
effective thirty days after enactment hereof [Oct. 21, 1976].
Effective Date of 1968 Amendment
For effective date of amendment by Pub. L. 90-487, see section 2 of
Pub. L. 90-487, set out as a note under section 78 of this title.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 79, 79a, 86, 87e, 87f-2, 87j
of this title.
