Division A — Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2018

For necessary expenses of the Office of the Secretary, $46,532,000, of which not to exceed $5,051,000 shall be available for the immediate Office of the Secretary; not to exceed $800,000 shall be available for the Office of the Assistant to the Secretary for Rural Development: Provided, That funds made available by this Act to an agency in the Rural Development mission area for salaries and expenses are available to fund up to one administrative support staff for the Office; not to exceed $1,496,000 shall be available for the Office of Homeland Security; not to exceed $4,711,000 shall be available for the Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement; not to exceed $23,105,000 shall be available for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration, of which $22,301,000 shall be available for Departmental Administration to provide for necessary expenses for management support services to offices of the Department and for general administration, security, repairs and alterations, and other miscellaneous supplies and expenses not otherwise provided for and necessary for the practical and efficient work of the Department: Provided further, That funds made available by this Act to an agency in the Administration mission area for salaries and expenses are available to fund up to one administrative support staff for the Office; not to exceed $3,869,000 shall be available for the Office of Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations to carry out the programs funded by this Act, including programs involving intergovernmental affairs and liaison within the executive branch; and not to exceed $7,500,000 shall be available for the Office of Communications: Provided further, That the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to transfer funds appropriated for any office of the Office of the Secretary to any other office of the Office of the Secretary: Provided further, That no appropriation for any office shall be increased or decreased by more than 5 percent: Provided further, That not to exceed $11,000 of the amount made available under this paragraph for the immediate Office of the Secretary shall be available for official reception and representation expenses, not otherwise provided for, as determined by the Secretary: Provided further, That the amount made available under this heading for Departmental Administration shall be reimbursed from applicable appropriations in this Act for travel expenses incident to the holding of hearings as required by 5 U.S.C. 551–558: Provided further, That funds made available under this heading for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations may be transferred to agencies of the Department of Agriculture funded by this Act to maintain personnel at the agency level: Provided further, That no funds made available under this heading for the Office of Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations may be obligated after 30 days from the date of enactment of this Act, unless the Secretary has notified the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress on the allocation of these funds by USDA agency.

For necessary expenses of the Office of the Chief Information Officer, $58,950,000, of which not less than $33,000,000 is for cybersecurity requirements of the department.

For necessary expenses of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, $6,028,000.

For necessary expenses of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, $901,000: Provided, That funds made available by this Act to an agency in the Civil Rights mission area for salaries and expenses are available to fund up to one administrative support staff for the Office.

For necessary expenses of the Office of Civil Rights, $24,206,000.

For payment of space rental and related costs pursuant to Public Law 92–313, including authorities pursuant to the 1984 delegation of authority from the Administrator of General Services to the Department of Agriculture under 40 U.S.C. 121, for programs and activities of the Department which are included in this Act, and for alterations and other actions needed for the Department and its agencies to consolidate unneeded space into configurations suitable for release to the Administrator of General Services, and for the operation, maintenance, improvement, and repair of Agriculture buildings and facilities, and for related costs, $64,414,000, to remain available until expended.

For necessary expenses of the Department of Agriculture, to comply with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), $3,503,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That appropriations and funds available herein to the Department for Hazardous Materials Management may be transferred to any agency of the Department for its use in meeting all requirements pursuant to the above Acts on Federal and non-Federal lands.

For necessary expenses of the Office of Inspector General, including employment pursuant to the Inspector General Act of 1978 (Public Law 95–452; 5 U.S.C. App.), $98,208,000, including such sums as may be necessary for contracting and other arrangements with public agencies and private persons pursuant to section 6(a)(9) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (Public Law 95–452; 5 U.S.C. App.), and including not to exceed $125,000 for certain confidential operational expenses, including the payment of informants, to be expended under the direction of the Inspector General pursuant to the Inspector General Act of 1978 (Public Law 95–452; 5 U.S.C. App.) and section 1337 of the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 (Public Law 97–98).

For necessary expenses of the Office of the General Counsel, $44,546,000.

For necessary expenses of the Office of Ethics, $4,136,000.

For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics, $800,000: Provided, That funds made available by this Act to an agency in the Research, Education, and Economics mission area for salaries and expenses are available to fund up to one administrative support staff for the Office.

For necessary expenses of the Economic Research Service, $86,757,000.

For necessary expenses of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, $191,717,000, of which up to $63,350,000 shall be available until expended for the Census of Agriculture: Provided, That amounts made available for the Census of Agriculture may be used to conduct Current Industrial Report surveys subject to 7 U.S.C. 2204g(d) and (f).

For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under Secretary for Marketing and Regulatory Programs, $901,000: Provided, That funds made available by this Act to an agency in the Marketing and Regulatory Programs mission area for salaries and expenses are available to fund up to one administrative support staff for the Office.

For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, $800,000: Provided, That funds made available by this Act to an agency in the Food Safety mission area for salaries and expenses are available to fund up to one administrative support staff for the Office.

For necessary expenses to carry out services authorized by the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, and the Egg Products Inspection Act, including not to exceed $50,000 for representation allowances and for expenses pursuant to section 8 of the Act approved August 3, 1956 (7 U.S.C. 1766), $1,056,844,000; and in addition, $1,000,000 may be credited to this account from fees collected for the cost of laboratory accreditation as authorized by section 1327 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 138f): Provided, That funds provided for the Public Health Data Communication Infrastructure system shall remain available until expended: Provided further, That no fewer than 148 full-time equivalent positions shall be employed during fiscal year 2018 for purposes dedicated solely to inspections and enforcement related to the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act (7 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.): Provided further, That not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Food Safety and Inspection Service shall issue equivalence determinations for all countries wishing to continue exporting Siluriformes to the United States: Provided further, That unless the requirements pursuant to the previous proviso have been met, thereafter, none of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to inspect, at point of entry, Siluriformes from countries exporting to the United States until all requirements under section 557.2 of title 9, Code of Federal Regulations have been met and a final determination of equivalence final rule has been published in the Federal Register adding such countries to the list under section 327.2 of title 9, Code of Federal Regulations: Provided further, That of the funds made available under this heading, $7,500,000 shall remain available until expended for public health veterinarian recruitment and retention incentives: Provided further, That this appropriation shall be available pursuant to law (7 U.S.C. 2250) for the alteration and repair of buildings and improvements, but the cost of altering any one building during the fiscal year shall not exceed 10 percent of the current replacement value of the building.

For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, $901,000: Provided, That funds made available by this Act to an agency in the Farm Production and Conservation mission area for salaries and expenses are available to fund up to one administrative support staff for the Office.

For necessary expenses of the Farm Production and Conservation Business Center, $1,028,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That $145,000 of amounts appropriated for the current fiscal year pursuant to section 1241(a) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)) shall be transferred to and merged with this account.

The following corporations and agencies are hereby authorized to make expenditures, within the limits of funds and borrowing authority available to each such corporation or agency and in accord with law, and to make contracts and commitments without regard to fiscal year limitations as provided by section 104 of the Government Corporation Control Act as may be necessary in carrying out the programs set forth in the budget for the current fiscal year for such corporation or agency, except as hereinafter provided.

For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services, $800,000: Provided, That funds made available by this Act to an agency in the Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services mission area for salaries and expenses are available to fund up to one administrative support staff for the Office.

For necessary expenses of the Office of the Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, $875,000: Provided, That funds made available by this Act to any agency in the Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs mission area for salaries and expenses are available to fund up to one administrative support staff for the Office.

Within the unit limit of cost fixed by law, appropriations and authorizations made for the Department of Agriculture for the current fiscal year under this Act shall be available for the purchase, in addition to those specifically provided for, of not to exceed 71 passenger motor vehicles of which 68 shall be for replacement only, and for the hire of such vehicles: Provided, That notwithstanding this section, the only purchase of new passenger vehicles shall be for those determined by the Secretary to be necessary for transportation safety, to reduce operational costs, and for the protection of life, property, and public safety.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture may transfer unobligated balances of discretionary funds appropriated by this Act or any other available unobligated discretionary balances that are remaining available of the Department of Agriculture to the Working Capital Fund for the acquisition of plant and capital equipment necessary for the delivery of financial, administrative, and information technology services of primary benefit to the agencies of the Department of Agriculture, such transferred funds to remain available until expended: Provided, That none of the funds made available by this Act or any other Act shall be transferred to the Working Capital Fund without the prior approval of the agency administrator: Provided further, That none of the funds transferred to the Working Capital Fund pursuant to this section shall be available for obligation without written notification to and the prior approval of the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress: Provided further, That none of the funds appropriated by this Act or made available to the Department’s Working Capital Fund shall be available for obligation or expenditure to make any changes to the Department’s National Finance Center without written notification to and prior approval of the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress as required by section 717 of this Act: Provided further, That none of the funds appropriated by this Act or made available to the Department’s Working Capital Fund shall be available for obligation or expenditure to initiate, plan, develop, implement, or make any changes to remove or relocate any systems, missions, or functions of the offices of the Chief Financial Officer or any personnel from the National Finance Center prior to written notification to and prior approval of the Committee on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress and in accordance with the requirements of section 717 of this Act: Provided further, That the Secretary of Agriculture and the offices of the Chief Financial Officer shall actively market to existing and new Departments and other government agencies National Finance Center shared services including, but not limited to, payroll, financial management, and human capital shared services and allow the National Finance Center to perform technology upgrades: Provided further, That of annual income amounts in the Working Capital Fund of the Department of Agriculture attributable to the amounts in excess of the true costs of the shared services provided by the National Finance Center and budgeted for the National Finance Center, the Secretary shall reserve not more than 4 percent for the replacement or acquisition of capital equipment, including equipment for the improvement, delivery, and implementation of financial, administrative, and information technology services, and other systems of the National Finance Center or to pay any unforeseen, extraordinary cost of the National Finance Center: Provided further, That none of the amounts reserved shall be available for obligation unless the Secretary submits written notification of the obligation to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress: Provided further, That the limitations on the obligation of funds pending notification to Congressional Committees shall not apply to any obligation that, as determined by the Secretary, is necessary to respond to a declared state of emergency that significantly impacts the operations of the National Finance Center; or to evacuate employees of the National Finance Center to a safe haven to continue operations of the National Finance Center: Provided further, That the Secretary of Agriculture shall conduct and submit a detailed cost benefit analysis to the Committees on Appropriations that includes a complete analysis of the National Finance Center data center and two other operationally comparable data centers in both size and complexity in supported applications that details and provides: (1) the cost effectiveness of each center; (2) a security analysis of each center; and (3) each center’s Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) certifications status and the center’s demonstrated history record and ability for maintaining Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) functions and not miss critical operations: Provided further, That the cost-benefit analysis shall be submitted no later than 90 days after enactment of this Act to the Committees on Appropriations: Provided further, That not later than 90 days after submission of the cost-benefit analysis, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations a sufficiency review of the cost-benefit analysis, including any findings and recommendations relating to such review.

No part of any appropriation contained in this Act shall remain available for obligation beyond the current fiscal year unless expressly so provided herein.

No funds appropriated by this Act may be used to pay negotiated indirect cost rates on cooperative agreements or similar arrangements between the United States Department of Agriculture and nonprofit institutions in excess of 10 percent of the total direct cost of the agreement when the purpose of such cooperative arrangements is to carry out programs of mutual interest between the two parties. This does not preclude appropriate payment of indirect costs on grants and contracts with such institutions when such indirect costs are computed on a similar basis for all agencies for which appropriations are provided in this Act.

Appropriations to the Department of Agriculture for the cost of direct and guaranteed loans made available in the current fiscal year shall remain available until expended to disburse obligations made in the current fiscal year for the following accounts: the Rural Development Loan Fund program account, the Rural Electrification and Telecommunication Loans program account, and the Rural Housing Insurance Fund program account.

None of the funds made available to the Department of Agriculture by this Act may be used to acquire new information technology systems or significant upgrades, as determined by the Office of the Chief Information Officer, without the approval of the Chief Information Officer and the concurrence of the Executive Information Technology Investment Review Board: Provided, That notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be transferred to the Office of the Chief Information Officer without written notification to and the prior approval of the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress: Provided further, That, notwithstanding section 11319 of title 40, United States Code, none of the funds available to the Department of Agriculture for information technology shall be obligated for projects, contracts, or other agreements over $25,000 prior to receipt of written approval by the Chief Information Officer: Provided further, That the Chief Information Officer may authorize an agency to obligate funds without written approval from the Chief Information Officer for projects, contracts, or other agreements up to $250,000 based upon the performance of an agency measured against the performance plan requirements described in the explanatory statement accompanying Public Law 113–235.

Funds made available under section 524(b) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1524(b)) in the current fiscal year shall remain available until expended to disburse obligations made in the current fiscal year.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any former RUS borrower that has repaid or prepaid an insured, direct or guaranteed loan under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936, or any not-for-profit utility that is eligible to receive an insured or direct loan under such Act, shall be eligible for assistance under section 313(b)(2)(B) of such Act in the same manner as a borrower under such Act.

Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, not more than $20,000,000 in unobligated balances from appropriations made available for salaries and expenses in this Act for the Farm Service Agency shall remain available through September 30, 2019, for information technology expenses: Provided, That except as otherwise specifically provided by law, unobligated balances from appropriations made available for salaries and expenses in this Act for the Rural Development mission area shall remain available through September 30, 2019, for information technology expenses.

None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for first-class travel by the employees of agencies funded by this Act in contravention of sections 301–10.122 through 301–10.124 of title 41, Code of Federal Regulations.

In the case of each program established or amended by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–79), other than by title I or subtitle A of title III of such Act, or programs for which indefinite amounts were provided in that Act, that is authorized or required to be carried out using funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation—

Of the funds made available by this Act, not more than $2,000,000 shall be used to cover necessary expenses of activities related to all advisory committees, panels, commissions, and task forces of the Department of Agriculture, except for panels used to comply with negotiated rule makings and panels used to evaluate competitively awarded grants.

None of the funds in this Act shall be available to pay indirect costs charged against any agricultural research, education, or extension grant awards issued by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture that exceed 30 percent of total Federal funds provided under each award: Provided, That notwithstanding section 1462 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3310), funds provided by this Act for grants awarded competitively by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture shall be available to pay full allowable indirect costs for each grant awarded under section 9 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638).

Notwithstanding subsection (b) of section 14222 of Public Law 110–246 (7 U.S.C. 612c–6; in this section referred to as “section 14222”), none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this or any other Act shall be used to pay the salaries and expenses of personnel to carry out a program under section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c; in this section referred to as “section 32”) in excess of $1,266,582,000 (exclusive of carryover appropriations from prior fiscal years), as follows: Child Nutrition Programs Entitlement Commodities—$465,000,000; State Option Contracts— $5,000,000; Removal of Defective Commodities— $2,500,000; Administration of Section 32 Commodity Purchases—$35,853,000: Provided, That of the total funds made available in the matter preceding this proviso that remain unobligated on October 1, 2018, such unobligated balances shall carryover into the next fiscal year and shall remain available until expended for any of the three stated purposes of section 32, except that any such carryover funds used in accordance with clause (3) of section 32 may not exceed $350,000,000 and may not be obligated until the Secretary of Agriculture provides written notification of the expenditures to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress at least two weeks in advance: Provided further, That, with the exception of any available carryover funds authorized in the first proviso of this section to be used for the purposes of clause (3) of section 32, none of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this or any other Act shall be used to pay the salaries or expenses of any employee of the Department of Agriculture to carry out clause (3) of section 32.

None of the funds appropriated by this or any other Act shall be used to pay the salaries and expenses of personnel who prepare or submit appropriations language as part of the President’s budget submission to the Congress for programs under the jurisdiction of the Appropriations Subcommittees on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies that assumes revenues or reflects a reduction from the previous year due to user fees proposals that have not been enacted into law prior to the submission of the budget unless such budget submission identifies which additional spending reductions should occur in the event the user fees proposals are not enacted prior to the date of the convening of a committee of conference for the fiscal year 2019 appropriations Act.

Notwithstanding section 310B(g)(5) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(g)(5)), the Secretary may assess a one-time fee for any guaranteed business and industry loan in an amount that does not exceed 3 percent of the guaranteed principal portion of the loan.

None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or the Farm Credit Administration shall be used to transmit or otherwise make available reports, questions, or responses to questions that are a result of information requested for the appropriations hearing process to any non-Department of Agriculture, non-Department of Health and Human Services, non-Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or non-Farm Credit Administration employee.

Unless otherwise authorized by existing law, none of the funds provided in this Act, may be used by an executive branch agency to produce any prepackaged news story intended for broadcast or distribution in the United States unless the story includes a clear notification within the text or audio of the prepackaged news story that the prepackaged news story was prepared or funded by that executive branch agency.

No employee of the Department of Agriculture may be detailed or assigned from an agency or office funded by this Act or any other Act to any other agency or office of the Department for more than 60 days in a fiscal year unless the individual’s employing agency or office is fully reimbursed by the receiving agency or office for the salary and expenses of the employee for the period of assignment.

Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Chairman of the Farm Credit Administration shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a detailed spending plan by program, project, and activity for all the funds made available under this Act including appropriated user fees, as defined in the explanatory statement described in section 4 (in the matter preceding division A of this consolidated Act).

Of the unobligated balances from amounts made available for the supplemental nutrition program as authorized by section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786), $800,000,000 are hereby rescinded.

The Secretary shall continue an intermediary loan packaging program based on the pilot program in effect for fiscal year 2013 for packaging and reviewing section 502 single family direct loans. The Secretary shall continue agreements with current intermediary organizations and with additional qualified intermediary organizations. The Secretary shall work with these organizations to increase effectiveness of the section 502 single family direct loan program in rural communities and shall set aside and make available from the national reserve section 502 loans an amount necessary to support the work of such intermediaries and provide a priority for review of such loans.

For loans and loan guarantees that do not require budget authority and the program level has been established in this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture may increase the program level for such loans and loan guarantees by not more than 25 percent: Provided, That prior to the Secretary implementing such an increase, the Secretary notifies, in writing, the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress at least 15 days in advance.

None of the credit card refunds or rebates transferred to the Working Capital Fund pursuant to section 729 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002 (7 U.S.C. 2235a; Public Law 107–76) shall be available for obligation without written notification to, and the prior approval of, the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress: Provided, That the refunds or rebates so transferred shall be available for obligation only for the acquisition of plant and capital equipment necessary for the delivery of financial, administrative, and information technology services of primary benefit to the agencies of the Department of Agriculture.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to implement, administer, or enforce the “variety” requirements of the final rule entitled “Enhancing Retailer Standards in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)” published by the Department of Agriculture in the Federal Register on December 15, 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 90675) until the Secretary of Agriculture amends the definition of the term “variety” as de fined in section 278.1(b)(1)(ii)(C) of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, and “variety” as applied in the definition of the term “staple food” as defined in section 271.2 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, to increase the number of items that qualify as acceptable varieties in each staple food category so that the total number of such items in each staple food category exceeds the number of such items in each staple food category included in the final rule as published on December 15, 2016: Provided, That until the Secretary promulgates such regulatory amendments, the Secretary shall apply the requirements regarding acceptable varieties and breadth of stock to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program retailers that were in effect on the day before the date of the enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–79).

None of the funds made available by this Act or any other Act may be used—

Funds provided by this or any prior Appropriations Act for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative under 7 U.S.C. 450i(b) shall be made available without regard to section 7128 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 3371 note), under the matching requirements in laws in effect on the date before the date of enactment of such section: Provided, That the requirements of 7 U.S.C. 450i(b)(9) shall continue to apply.

For tree assistance payments under section 1501(e) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081(e)) to eligible orchardists or nursery tree growers (as defined in such section) of pecan trees with a tree mortality rate that exceeds 7.5 percent (adjusted for normal mortality) and is less than 15 percent (adjusted for normal mortality), $15,000,000, to be available until expended, for losses incurred during the period beginning January 1, 2017 and ending December 31, 2017.

In carrying out subsection (h) of section 502 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1472), the Secretary of Agriculture shall have the same authority with respect to loans guaranteed under such section and eligible lenders for such loans as the Secretary has under subsections (h) and (j) of section 538 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1490p–2) with respect to loans guaranteed under such section 538 and eligible lenders for such loans.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to propose, promulgate, or implement any rule, or take any other action with respect to, allowing or requiring information intended for a prescribing health care professional, in the case of a drug or biological product subject to section 503(b)(1) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 353(b)(1)), to be distributed to such professional electronically (in lieu of in paper form) unless and until a Federal law is enacted to allow or require such distribution.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to notify a sponsor or otherwise acknowledge receipt of a submission for an exemption for investigational use of a drug or biological product under section 505(i) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 355(i)) or section 351(a)(3) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 262(a)(3)) in research in which a human embryo is intentionally created or modified to include a heritable genetic modification. Any such submission shall be deemed to have not been received by the Secretary, and the exemption may not go into effect.

None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to carry out the final rule promulgated by the Food and Drug Administration and put into effect November 16, 2015, in regards to the hazard analysis and risk-based preventive control requirements of the current good manufacturing practice, hazard analysis, and risk-based preventive controls for food for animals rule with respect to the regulation of the production, distribution, sale, or receipt of dried spent grain byproducts of the alcoholic beverage production process.

Funds made available under title II of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1721 et seq.) may only be used to provide assistance to recipient nations if adequate monitoring and controls, as determined by the Administrator, are in place to ensure that emergency food aid is received by the intended beneficiaries in areas affected by food shortages and not diverted for unauthorized or inappropriate purposes.

There is hereby appropriated $1,996,000 to carry out section 1621 of Public Law 110–246.

No partially hydrogenated oils as defined in the order published by the Food and Drug Administration in the Federal Register on June 17, 2015 (80 Fed. Reg. 34650 et seq.) shall be deemed unsafe within the meaning of section 409(a) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 348(a)) and no food that is introduced or delivered for introduction into interstate commerce that bears or contains a partially hydrogenated oil shall be deemed adulterated under sections 402(a)(1) or 402(a)(2)(C)(i) of this Act by virtue of bearing or containing a partially hydrogenated oil until the compliance date as specified in such order (June 18, 2018).

For the cost of refinancing a loan pursuant to section 749 of division A of Public Law 115–31, and in addition to amounts provided by that section, for any borrower identified by the Federal Financing Bank for refinancing a loan where the modification calculation methodology used for such refinancing pursuant to section 185 of Office of Management and Budget Circular No. A–11 results in a cost to the pilot program, $5,000,000, to remain available until expended: Provided, That these funds shall also be available for refinancing a loan pursuant to any extension or expansion of this pilot program that is enacted subsequent to this Act for those same borrowers.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used by the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Food and Nutrition Service, to commence any new research and evaluation projects until the Secretary submits to the Committees on Appropriations of both Houses of Congress a research and evaluation plan for fiscal year 2018, prepared in coordination with the Research, Education, and Economics mission area of the Department of Agriculture, and a period of 30 days beginning on the date of the submission of the plan expires to permit Congressional review of the plan.

There is hereby appropriated $8,000,000, to remain available until expended, to carry out section 6407 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8107a): Provided, That the Secretary may allow eligible entities to offer loans to customers in any part of their service territory and to offer loans to replace a manufactured housing unit with another manufactured housing unit, if replacement would be more cost effective in saving energy: Provided further, That funds provided in section 769 of division A, Public Law 115–31, shall remain available until September 30, 2019.

There is hereby appropriated $1,000,000 for the Secretary to carry out a pilot program that provides forestry inventory analysis, forest management and economic outcomes modelling for certain currently enrolled Conservation Reserve Program participants. The Secretary shall allow the Commodity Credit Corporation to enter into agreements with and provide grants to qualified non-profit organizations dedicated to conservation, forestry and wildlife habitats, that also have experience in conducting accurate forest inventory analysis through the use of advanced, cost-effective technology. The Secretary shall focus the analysis on lands enrolled for at least eight years and located in areas with a substantial concentration of acres enrolled under conservation practices devoted to multiple bottomland hardwood tree species including CP03, CP03A, CP11, CP22, CP31 and CP40.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to carry out any activities or incur any expense related to the issuance of licenses under section 3 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2133), or the renewal of such licenses, to class B dealers who sell dogs and cats for use in research, experiments, teaching, or testing.

In addition to amounts otherwise made available by this Act and notwithstanding the last sentence of 16 U.S.C. 1310, there is appropriated $4,000,000, to remain available until expended, to implement non-renewable agreements on eligible lands, including flooded agricultural lands, as determined by the Secretary, under the Water Bank Act (16 U.S.C. 1301–1311).

The Secretary shall set aside for Rural Economic Area Partnership (REAP) Zones, until August 15, 2018, an amount of funds made available in title III under the headings of Rural Housing Insurance Fund Program Account, Mutual and Self-Help Housing Grants, Rural Housing Assistance Grants, Rural Community Facilities Program Account, Rural Business Program Account, Rural Development Loan Fund Program Account, and Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program Account, equal to the amount obligated in REAP Zones with respect to funds provided under such headings in the most recent fiscal year any such funds were obligated under such headings for REAP Zones.

For the purposes of determining eligibility or level of program assistance for Rural Development programs the Secretary shall not include incarcerated prison populations.

There is hereby appropriated $1,000,000, to remain available until expended, for a pilot program for the Secretary to provide grants to qualified non-profit organizations and public housing authorities to provide technical assistance, including financial and legal services, to RHS multi-family housing borrowers to facilitate the acquisition of RHS multi-family housing properties in areas where the Secretary determines a risk of loss of affordable housing, by non-profit housing organizations and public housing authorities as authorized by law that commit to keep such properties in the RHS multi-family housing program for a period of time as determined by the Secretary.

Beginning on the date of enactment of this Act through fiscal year 2019, notwithstanding any other provision of law, any fee issued by the State’s Electronic Benefit Transfer contractor and subcontractors, including Affiliates of the contractor or subcontractor, related to the switching or routing of benefits for Department of Agriculture domestic food assistance programs shall be prohibited: Provided, That for purposes of this provision, the term “switching” means the routing of an intrastate or interstate transaction that consists of transmitting the details of a transaction electronically recorded through the use of an electronic benefit transfer card in one State to the issuer of the card that may be in the same or different State.

None of the funds appropriated by this Act may be used in any way, directly or indirectly, to influence congressional action on any legislation or appropriation matters pending before Congress, other than to communicate to Members of Congress as described in 18 U.S.C. 1913.

For an additional amount for “National Institute of Food and Agriculture—Research and Education Activities”, $6,000,000, to be available until expended, for relocation expenses and for the alteration and repair of leased buildings and improvements pursuant to 7 U.S.C. 2250: Provided, That not later than 60 days after enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate detailing the planned uses of this funding.

The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary’s designees are hereby granted the same access to information and subject to the same requirements applicable to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development as provided in section 453 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 653) and section 6103(1)(7)(D)(ix) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 1603(1)(7)(D)(ix)) to verify the income for individuals participating in sections 502, 504, 521, and 524 of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1972, 1474, 1490a, and 1490r), notwithstanding section 453(l)(1) of the Social Security Act.

In addition to amounts otherwise made available by this Act under the heading “Domestic Food Programs—Food and Nutrition Services—Child Nutrition Programs”, there is appropriated $2,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2019, to allow allied professional associations to develop a training program for school nutrition personnel that focuses on school food service meal preparation and workforce development.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to procure raw or processed poultry products imported into the United States from the People’s Republic of China for use in the school lunch program under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.), the Child and Adult Care Food Program under section 17 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1766), the Summer Food Service Program for Children under section 13 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1761), or the school breakfast program under the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.).

In response to an eligible community where the drinking water supplies are inadequate due to a natural disaster, as determined by the Secretary, including drought or severe weather, the Secretary may provide potable water through the Emergency Community Water Assistance Grant Program for an additional period of time not to exceed 120 days beyond the established period provided under the Program in order to protect public health.

Section 502(i) of the Housing Act of 1949 (42 U.S.C. 1472(i)), is amended by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:

Of the total amounts made available by this Act for direct loans and grants in the following headings: “Rural Housing Service—Rural Housing Insurance Fund Program Account”; “Rural Housing Service—Mutual and Self-Help Housing Grants”; “Rural Economic Infrastructure Grants”; “Rural Housing Service—Rural Community Facilities Program Account”; “Rural Business-Cooperative Service—Rural Business Program Account”; “Rural Business-Cooperative Service—Rural Economic Development Loans Program Account”; “Rural Business-Cooperative Service—Rural Cooperative Development Grants”; “Rural Utilities Service—Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program Account”; and “Rural Utilities Service—Rural Electrification and Telecommunications Loans Program Account”, at least 10 percent of the funds shall be allocated for assistance in persistent poverty counties under this section, including, notwithstanding any other provision regarding population limits, any county seat of such a persistent poverty county that has a population that does not exceed the authorized population limit by more than 10 percent: Provided, That for purposes of this section, the term “persistent poverty counties” means any county that has had 20 percent or more of its population living in poverty over the past 30 years, as measured by the 1980, 1990, and 2000 decennial censuses, and 2007–2011 American Community Survey 5-year average: Provided further, That with respect to specific activities for which program levels have been made available by this Act that are not supported by budget authority, the requirements of this section shall be applied to such program level.

In addition to funds appropriated in this Act, there is hereby appropriated $116,000,000, to remain available until expended, under the heading “Food for Peace Title II Grants”: Provided, That the funds made available under this section shall be used for the purposes set forth in the Food for Peace Act for both emergency and non-emergency purposes.

In addition to any other funds made available in this Act or any other Act, there is appropriated $5,000,000 to carry out section 18(g)(8) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769(g)), to remain available until expended.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used by the Food and Drug Administration to develop, issue, promote, or advance any regulations applicable to food manufacturers for population-wide sodium reduction actions or to develop, issue, promote or advance final guidance applicable to food manufacturers for long term population-wide sodium reduction actions until the date on which a dietary reference intake report with respect to sodium is completed.

Pursuant to section 185 of Public Law 114–223 (as added by Public Law 114–254 (130 Stat. 1018)), the Secretary of Agriculture may provide financial and technical assistance to remove and dispose of debris and sediment that could adversely affect health and safety on non-Federal land in a flood-affected county or parish: Provided, That such assistance may be used to restore pre-disaster hydraulic capacity of the watershed: Provided further, That such assistance may not be used to correct an operation and maintenance issue that existed prior to the disaster.

Section 1244 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3844) is amended by adding at the end the following:

There is hereby appropriated $600,000 for the purposes of section 727 of division A of Public Law 112–55.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used in contravention of—

There is hereby appropriated $1,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2019, for the cost of loans and grants that is consistent with section 4206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014, for necessary expenses of the Secretary to support projects that provide access to healthy food in underserved areas, to create and preserve quality jobs, and to revitalize low-income communities.

During fiscal year 2018, the Food and Drug Administration shall not allow the introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of any food that contains genetically engineered salmon until the FDA publishes final labeling guidelines for informing consumers of such content.

For an additional amount for “Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service—Salaries and Expenses”, $7,500,000, to remain available until September 30, 2019, for one-time control and management and associated activities directly related to the multiple-agency response to citrus greening.

None of the funds made available by this or any other Act may be used to enforce the final rule promulgated by the Food and Drug Administration entitled “Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption,” and published on November 27, 2015, with respect to the regulation of the production, distribution, sale, or receipt of grape varietals that are grown, harvested and used solely for wine and receive commercial processing that adequately reduces the presence of microorganisms of public health significance.

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to revoke an exception made—

There is hereby appropriated $20,000,000, to remain available until expended, for an additional amount for telemedicine and distance learning services in rural areas, as authorized by 7 U.S.C 950aaa et seq., to help address the opioid epidemic in rural America.

For school year 2018–2019, only a school food authority that had a negative balance in the nonprofit school food service account as of January 31, 2018, shall be required to establish a price for paid lunches in accordance with Section 12(p) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act, 42 U.S.C. 1760(p).

There is hereby appropriated $5,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2019, for a pilot program for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to provide grants to nonprofit organizations for programs and services to establish and enhance farming and ranching opportunities for military veterans.

For an additional amount for “Department of Health and Human Services—Food and Drug Administration—Salaries and Expenses”, $94,000,000, to remain available until expended, in addition to amounts otherwise made available for necessary expenses of processing opioid and other articles imported or offered for import through international mail facilities of the U.S. Postal Service: Provided, That such additional amounts shall also be available for expanding and enhancing inspection capacity related to such processing activity (including but not limited to increasing staffing, obtaining necessary equipment and supplies, and expanding and upgrading infrastructure, laboratory facilities, and data libraries): Provided further, That amounts appropriated under this section shall be in addition to amounts otherwise made available for research and criminal investigations related to such import articles, and be available for enhancing such research and investigations: Provided further, That the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall provide quarterly reports to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate on the obligation of amounts appropriated under this section.

For an additional amount for “Rural Utilities Service—Distance Learning, Telemedicine, and Broadband Program”, $600,000,000, to remain available until expended, for the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a new broadband loan and grant pilot program under the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.): Provided, That for the purpose of the new pilot program, the authorities provided in such Act shall include the authority to make grants for such purposes, as described in section 601(a) of such Act: Provided further, That the cost of direct loans shall be as defined in section 502 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974: Provided further, That at least 90 percent of the households to be served by a project receiving a loan or grant under the pilot program shall be in a rural area without sufficient access to broadband, defined for this pilot program as 10 Mbps downstream, and 1 Mbps upstream, which shall be reevaluated and redetermined, as necessary, on an annual basis by the Secretary of Agriculture: Provided further, That an entity to which a loan or grant is made under the pilot program shall not use the loan or grant to overbuild or duplicate broadband expansion efforts made by any entity that has received a broadband loan from the Rural Utilities Service: Provided further, That in addition to other available funds, not more than four percent of the funds can be used for administrative costs to carry out this pilot program and up to three percent may be utilized for technical assistance and pre-development planning activities to support the most rural communities, which shall be transferred to and merged with the appropriation for “Rural Development, Salaries and Expenses”: Provided further, That the Rural Utility Service is directed to expedite program delivery methods that would implement this section: Provided further, That for purposes of this section, the Secretary shall adhere to the notice, reporting and service area assessment requirements set forth in sections 6104(a)(2)(D) and 6104(a)(2)(E) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 950bb(d)(5), and 950bb(d)(8) and 950bb(d)(10)).

For an additional amount for the cost of direct loans and grants made under the “Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program Account”, $500,000,000, to remain available until expended, of which not to exceed $495,000,000 shall be for grants.

The Secretary of Agriculture and the Commissioner of Food and Drugs shall—

None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to pay the salaries or expenses of personnel—

None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this or any other Act shall be used to pay the salaries and expenses of personnel to carry out the Biomass Crop Assistance Program authorized by section 9011 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8111).