COMMODITY TRANSPORTATION AND TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT AND REPORT.

SEC. 1553. COMMODITY TRANSPORTATION AND TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT AND REPORT. (a) Assessment.— The Secretary of Agriculture shall conduct an assessment of the impact upon prices received by producers, costs to consumers, and the overall effect upon the ability of the United States to fulfill export goals and expand foreign markets for domestic commodities, of the current agricultural transportation situation, focusing especially on rail transportation capabilities including rail abandonments, periodic shortages of adequate rail car equipment suitable for transporting agricultural commodities, and the practice of rail carriers selling in advance certificates of transportation. (b) Additional Requirements.— In preparing the assessment required by this section, the Secretary shall consult with rail, truck, and waterborne carriers who have experience in the transportation of agricultural commodities, and shall also examine the feasibility of— (1) providing technical and financial assistance to producers, marketers, and exporters in the design and construction of alternatives to covered rail hopper cars (such as freight containers which could be carried aboard flatbed trucks, flatbed rail cars, river barges, and oceangoing container vessels) for the purpose of transporting bulk commodities to appropriate terminal market facilities; and (2) encouraging the establishment of a computerized network which would assist producers, marketers, exporters, and carriers in identifying, matching, and coordinating potential cargoes of agricultural commodities with carriers having proper104 STAT. 3697 capabilities and equipment in an effort to expedite transportation needs. (c) Report.— Within 240 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall report to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives the results of the assessment conducted under this section, and any recommendations the Secretary may have as a result of such assessment.