7 U.S.C. § 87e
The Secretary is authorized to conduct such investigations; hold such hearings; require such reports from any official agency, any State agency delegated authority under this chapter, licensee, or other person; and prescribe such rules, regulations, and instructions, as the Secretary deems necessary to effectuate the purposes or provisions of this chapter. Such regulations may require, as a condition for official inspection or official weighing or supervision of weighing, among other things, (1) that there be installed specified sampling, handling, weighing, and monitoring equipment in grain elevators, warehouses, and other grain storage or handling facilities, (2) that approval of the Secretary be obtained as to the condition of vessels and other carriers or receptacles for the transporting or storing of grain, and (3) that persons having a financial interest in the grain which is to be inspected (or their agents) shall be afforded an opportunity to observe the weighing, loading, and official inspection thereof, under conditions prescribed by the Secretary. Whether any certificate, other form, representation, designation, or other description is false, incorrect, or misleading within the meaning of this chapter shall be determined by tests made in accordance with such procedures as the Secretary may adopt to effectuate the objectives of this chapter, if the relevant facts are determinable by such tests. Proceedings under section 85 of this title for refusal to renew, or for suspension or revocation of, a license shall not, unless requested by the respondent, be subject to the administrative procedure provisions in sections 554, 556, and 557 of title 5.
The Secretary is authorized to investigate reports or complaints of discrepancies and abuses in the official inspection and weighing of grain under this chapter. The Secretary shall prescribe by regulation procedures for (1) promptly investigating (A) complaints of foreign grain purchasers regarding the official inspection or official weighing of grain shipped from the United States, (B) the cancellation of contracts for the export sale of grain required to be inspected or weighed under this chapter, and (C) any complaint regarding the operation or administration of this chapter or any official transaction with which this chapter is concerned; and (2) taking appropriate action on the basis of the findings of any investigation of such complaints.
The Secretary is authorized to cause official inspection personnel to monitor in foreign nations which are substantial importers of grain from the United States, grain imported from the United States upon its entry into the foreign nation, to determine whether such grain is of a comparable kind, class, quality, and condition after considering the handling methods and conveyance utilized at the time of loading, and the same quantity that it was certified to be upon official inspection and official weighing in the United States.
The Office of Investigation of the Department of Agriculture (or such other organization or agency within the Department of Agriculture which may be delegated the authority, in lieu thereof, to conduct investigations on behalf of the Department of Agriculture) shall conduct such investigations regarding the operation or administration of this chapter or any official transaction with which this chapter is concerned, as the Director thereof deems necessary to assure the integrity of official inspection and weighing under this chapter.
The Secretary is authorized to conduct, in cooperation with other agencies within the Department of Agriculture, a continuing research program for the purpose of developing methods to improve accuracy and uniformity in grading grain.
To assure the normal movement of grain at all inspection points in a timely manner consistent with the policy expressed in section 74 of this title, the Secretary shall, notwithstanding any other provision of law, provide adequate personnel to meet the inspection and weighing requirements of this chapter.
Fees collected under subsections (g), (h), and (i) shall be deposited into the fund created under section 79(j) of this title.
The Secretary may extend appropriate courtesies to official representatives of foreign countries in order to establish and maintain relationships to carry out the policy stated in section 74 of this title. No gift offered or accepted pursuant to this subsection shall exceed $20 in value.
7 U.S.C. § 87e
EDITORIAL NOTES
AMENDMENTS1994-Subsecs. (a) to (c), (e) to (i), (k). Pub. L. 103-354 substituted "Secretary" for "Administrator" wherever appearing.1993-Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103-156, §9(1), struck out at end "The Administrator shall report to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate at the end of every three-month period with respect to investigative action taken on complaints, during the immediately preceding three-month period." Subsecs. (g) to (k). Pub. L. 103-156, §9(2), added subsecs. (g) to (k).1991-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 102-237 substituted "Administrator" for "Administrtor" at end of second sentence.1977-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 95-113, §1604(k)(1), rearranged existing provisions and inserted references to the installation of handling and weighing equipment and to warehouses and other grain storage or handling facilities.Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 95-113, §1606(i), substituted "Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry" for "Committee on Agriculture and Forestry". Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 95-113, §1604(k)(2), struck out "additional" before "inspection and weighing requirements". 1976-Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94-582 substituted authorizations of "Administrator" for authorizations of "Secretary", "official agency" for "official inspection agency", and "other person" for "any person" respecting reporting requirement, required reports from State agencies delegated authority under this chapter and from licensees, inserted items (1) to (3) relating to conditions for official inspection, authorized issuance of instructions, and struck out reference to section 86 of this title, including proceedings for refusal of official inspection service not required by section 77 of this title, as not being subject to administrative procedure provisions.Subsecs. (b) to (f). Pub. L. 94-582 added subsecs. (b) to (f).
STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1977 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 95-113 effective Oct. 1, 1977, see section 1901 of Pub. L. 95-113 set out as a note under section 1307 of this title.
EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1976 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 94-582 effective 30 days after Oct. 21, 1976, see section 27 of Pub. L. 94-582 as amended, set out as a note under section 74 of this title.
EFFECTIVE DATEFor effective date of section, see section 2 of Pub. L. 90-487 set out as an Effective Date of 1968 Amendment note under section 78 of this title.
TEMPORARY EXERCISE BY SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE OF POWERS, DUTIES, AND AUTHORIZATIONS OF ADMINISTRATOR PENDING APPOINTMENT OF ADMINISTRATORPowers, duties, and authorizations of the Administrator of the Federal Grain Inspection Service to be exercised by the Secretary of Agriculture pending the appointment of the Administrator, see section 25 of Pub. L. 94-582 set out as a note under section 75a of this title.
- Department of Agriculture
- the term "Department of Agriculture" means the United States Department of Agriculture;
- Secretary
- the term "Secretary" means the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States or delegates of the Secretary;
- State
- the term "State" means any one of the States (including Puerto Rico) or territories or possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia);
- United States
- the term "United States" means the States (including Puerto Rico) and the territories and possessions of the United States (including the District of Columbia);
- grain
- the term "grain" means corn, wheat, rye, oats, barley, flaxseed, sorghum, soybeans, mixed grain, and any other food grains, feed grains, and oilseeds for which standards are established under section 76 of this title;
- official agency
- the term "official agency" means any State or local governmental agency, or any person, designated by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (f) of section 79 of this title for the conduct of official inspection (other than appeal inspection), or subsection (c) of section 79a of this title for the conduct of official weighing or supervision of weighing (other than appeal weighing);
- official inspection personnel
- the term "official inspection personnel" means persons licensed or otherwise authorized by the Secretary pursuant to section 84 of this title to perform all or specified functions involved in official inspection, official weighing, or supervision of weighing, or in the supervision of official inspection, official weighing or supervision of weighing;
- official inspection
- the term "official inspection" means the determination (by original inspection, and when requested, reinspection and appeal inspection) and the certification, by official inspection personnel of the kind, class, quality, or condition of grain, under standards provided for in this chapter, or the condition of vessels and other carriers or receptacles for the transportation of grain insofar as it may affect the quality or condition of such grain; or other facts relating to grain under other criteria approved by the Secretary under this chapter (the term "officially inspected" shall be construed accordingly);
- official weighing
- the term "official weighing" means the determination and certification by official inspection personnel of the quantity of a lot of grain under standards provided for in this chapter, based on the actual performance of weighing or the physical supervision thereof, including the physical inspection and testing for accuracy of the weights and scales and the physical inspection of the premises at which the weighing is performed and the monitoring of the discharge of grain into the elevator or conveyance (the terms "officially weigh" and "officially weighed" shall be construed accordingly);
- person
- the term "person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, or other business entity;
- supervision of weighing
- the term "supervision of weighing" means such supervision by official inspection personnel of the grain-weighing process as is determined by the Secretary to be adequate to reasonably assure the integrity and accuracy of the weighing and of certificates which set forth the weight of the grain and such physical inspection by such personnel of the premises at which the grain weighing is performed as will reasonably assure that all the grain intended to be weighed has been weighed and discharged into the elevator or conveyance; and