Agricultural Conservation Program Service

Agricultural Conservation Program Service For necessary expenses to carry into effect the provisions of section 7 to 17, inclusive, of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, approved February 29, 1936, as amended (16 U. S. C. 590g–590q), including not to exceed $6,000 for the preparation and display of exhibits, including such displays at State, interstate and international fairs within the United States; $191,700,000, to remain available until December 31 of the next succeeding fiscal year for compliance with the program of soil-building practices and soil-and water-con-serving practices authorized under this head in the Department of Agriculture Appropriation Act, 1954, carried out during the period July 1, 1953, to December 31, 1954, inclusive: Provided, That not to exceed $22,500,000 of the total sum provided under this head shall be available during the current fiscal year for salaries and other administrative expenses for carrying out such program, the cost of aerial photographs, however, not to be charged to such limitation; but not more than $4,020,000 shall be transferred to the appropriation account, “Administrative expenses, section 392, Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938”: Provided further, That payments to claimants hereunder may be made upon the certificate of the claimant, which certificate shall be in such form as the Secretary may prescribe, that he has carried out the conservation practice or practices and has complied with all other requirements as conditions for such payments and that the statements68 Stat. 312 and information contained in the application for payment are correct and true, to the best of his knowledge and belief, under the penalties of title 18, United States Code: Provided further, That none of the funds herein appropriated or made available for the functions assigned to the Agricultural Adjustment Agency pursuant to the Executive Order Numbered 9069, of February 23, 1942, shall be used to pay the salaries or expenses of any regional information employees or any State information employees, but this shall not preclude the answering of inquiries or supplying of information at the county level to individual farmers: Provided further, That such amount shall be available for salaries and other administrative expenses in connection with the formulation and administration of the 1955 program of soil-building practices and soil-and water-conserving practices, under the Act of February 29, 1936, as amended (amounting to $250,000,000, including administration, but of this amount not more than $195,000,000 may be used until a final program has been adopted relative to the use of acreage diverted from production, and formulated on the basis of a distribution of the funds available for payments and grants among the several States in accordance with their conservation needs as determined by the Secretary, except that the proportion allocated to any State shall not be reduced more than 15 per centum from the distribution for the next preceding program year, and no participant shall receive more than $1,500: Provided, That the funds available for payments and grants from said sum of $195,000,000 shall be distributed among the several States in the same proportion as the original allocation of funds for payments and grants for the 1954 agricultural conservation program); but the payments or giants under such programs shall be conditioned upon the utilization of land with respect to which such payments or grants are to be made in conformity with farming practices which will encourage and provide for soil-building and soil-and water-conserving practices in the most practical and effective manner and adapted to conditions in the several States, as determined and approved by the State committees appointed pursuant to section 8 (b) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, as amended (16 U. S. C. 590h (b)), for the respective States: Provided further, That not to exceed 5 per centum of the allocation for the 1955 agricultural conservation program for any county may, on the recommendation of such county committee and approval of the State committee, be withheld and allotted to the Soil Conservation Service for services of its technicians in formulating and carrying out the agricultural conservation program in the participating counties, and the funds so allotted may be placed in a single account for each State, and shall not be utilized by the Soil Conservation Service for any purpose other than technical and other assistance in such counties: Provided further, That for the 1955 program $2,500,000 shall be available for technical assistance in formulating and carrying out agricultural conservation practices and $1,000,000 shall be available for conservation practices related directly to flood prevention work in approved watersheds: Provided further, That in carrying out the 1955 program the Secretary shall give particular consideration to the conservation problems on farm lands diverted from crops under acreage-allotment programs: Provided further, That such amounts shall be available for the purchase of seeds, fertilizers, lime, trees, or any other farming material, or any soil-terracing services, and making grants thereof to agricultural producers to aid them in carrying out farming practices approved by the Secretary under programs provided for herein: Provided further, That no part of any funds available to the Depart-68 Stat. 313ment, or any bureau, office, corporation, or other agency constituting a part of such Department, shall be used in the current fiscal year for the payment of salary or travel expenses of any person who has been convicted of violating the Act entitled “An Act to prevent pernicious political activities”, approved August 2, 1939, as amended, or who has been found in accordance with the provisions of title 18, United States Code, section 1913, to have violated or attempted to violate such section which prohibits the use of Federal appropriations for the payment of personal services or other expenses designed to influence in any manner a Member of Congress to favor or oppose any legislation or appropriation by Congress except upon request of any Member or through the proper official channels.