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“AMENDING PERISHABLE AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES ACT” mentioning the U.S. Dept of Agriculture was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H10002-H10003 on Oct. 17, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
AMENDING PERISHABLE AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES ACT
Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4965) to amend the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930, to extend the time period during which persons may file a complaint alleging the preparation of false inspection certificates at Hunts Point Terminal Market, Bronx, New York.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 4965
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. EXTENSION OF TIME PERIOD FOR FILING CERTAIN
COMPLAINTS UNDER PERISHABLE AGRICULTURAL
COMMODITIES ACT, 1930.
Section 6(a)(1) of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, 1930 (7 U.S.C. 499f(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, a person that desires to file a complaint under this section involving the allegation of false inspection certificates prepared by graders of the Department of Agriculture at Hunts Point Terminal Market, Bronx, New York, prior to October 27, 1999, may file the complaint until January 1, 2001.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert) and the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).
Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the bill, H.R. 4965, a bill to extend the time period to file a complaint arising from the incident at the Hunts Point Terminal Market.
I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Condit) for introducing this legislation. I also would like to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Livestock and Horticulture for holding a hearing on the Hunts Point matter on July 27. I thank my colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm) for his assistance in bringing this bill to the floor.
On October 27, 1999, eight USDA produce inspectors and individuals from 13 wholesale firms were arrested at the Hunts Point Terminal Market and charged with bribery. These arrests were the result of a 3-
year investigation by the USDA's Office of Inspector General. All total, Federal prosecutors were able to obtain convictions for nine USDA inspectors involved in this illegal activity, in addition to the charges filed against 14 wholesale firms.
The AMS inspectors were charged with accepting cash bribes in exchange for reducing the grade of the produce they inspected, which then allowed the wholesale company to purchase produce more cheaply at the expense of the farmer.
The Perishable Agriculture Commodities Act, PACA, enacted in 1930, governs the fair trade of fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. PACA guidelines provide a mechanism to resolve commercial disputes that arise in the produce trade. PACA also establishes a code of business practices and enables USDA to penalize violations of these practices.
Mr. Speaker, all who believe they suffered from the financial damages as a result of the fraudulent inspection at the Hunts Point Market may seek to recover these damages by filing a PACA complaint. However, PACA guidelines require all claims be filed within 9 months of the incident. In this case, any party seeking damages from the Hunts Point incident would have had to file a claim by July 27, 2000.
Mr. Speaker, it is my understanding that the earliest any producer received a copy of the fraudulent inspection certificates was March 21 and some did not receive theirs until June 23. These certificates, along with other records, are necessary to establish the amount of damages. As my colleagues can see, many did not have adequate time to assemble the required documentation to file a claim by the deadline. H.R. 4965 extends the deadline for filing the PACA claim resulting from the Hunts Point incident to January 1, 2001.
This will provide farmers and others with a claim to gather the information they need to present a claim for compensation resulting from illegal inspection activities.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4965, and I think the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert) has done a good job of laying out the situation. This bill is basically technical in nature.
Mr. Speaker, I am the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Livestock and Horticulture and I sat through the hearings regarding this Hunts Point situation and it is and was quite a mess, to say the least. What we are trying to accomplish here is merely a technical change to give these folks enough time so they can file these claims, as was indicated by the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).
Under the way the process works, they only had until July 27, some of them did not get notified until June, so this just merely extends it to January 1, 2001, which is appropriate. Basically, this is a technical bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson) for his assistance, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4965.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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