FOOD SECURITY COMMODITY RESERVE.

SEC. 225. FOOD SECURITY COMMODITY RESERVE. (a) In General.— Title III of the Agricultural Act of 1980 (7 U.S.C. 1736f—1 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: “TITLE III— FOOD SECURITY COMMODITY RESERVE “SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. “This title may be cited as the ‘Food Security Commodity Reserve Act of 1996’. “SEC. 302. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMODITY RESERVE. “(a) In General.— To provide for a reserve solely to meet emergency humanitarian food needs in developing countries, the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this title as the ‘Secretary’) shall establish a reserve stock of wheat, rice, corn, or sorghum, or any combination of the commodities, totaling not more than 4,000,000 metric tons for use as described in subsection (c). “(b) Commodities in Reserve.— “(1) In general.— The reserve established under this section shall consist of— “(A) wheat in the reserve established under the Food Security Wheat Reserve Act of 1980 as of the date of enactment of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996; “(B) wheat, rice, corn, and sorghum (referred to in this section as ‘eligible commodities’) acquired in accordance with paragraph (2) to replenish eligible commodities released from the reserve, including wheat to replenish wheat released from the reserve established under the Food Security Wheat Reserve Act of 1980 but not replen-110 STAT. 960ished as of the date of enactment of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996; and “(C) such rice, corn, and sorghum as the Secretary may, at such time and in such manner as the Secretary determines appropriate, acquire as a result of exchanging an equivalent value of wheat in the reserve established under this section. “(2) Replenishment of reserve.— “(A) In general.— Subject to subsection (h), commodities of equivalent value to eligible commodities in the reserve established under this section may be acquired— “(i) through purchases— “(I) from producers; or “(II) in the market, if the Secretary determines that the purchases will not unduly disrupt the market; or “(ii) by designation by the Secretary of stocks of eligible commodities of the Commodity Credit Corporation. “(B) Funds.— Any use of funds to acquire eligible commodities through purchases from producers or in the market to replenish the reserve must be authorized in an appropriations Act. “(c) Release of Eligible Commodities.— “(1) Emergency assistance.— “(A) In general.— Notwithstanding paragraph (2), to meet unanticipated need, the Secretary may release eligible commodities in any fiscal year, without regard to the availability of domestic supply of the commodities, to provide emergency assistance to developing countries under title II of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1721 et seq.). “(B) Release for emergency assistance.— If the eligible commodities needed to meet unanticipated need cannot be made available in a timely manner under normal means for obtaining eligible commodities for food assistance because of unanticipated need for emergency assistance as provided under section 202(a) of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1722(a)), the Secretary may in any fiscal year release from the reserve— “(i) up to 500,000 metric tons of wheat or the equivalent value of eligible commodities other than wheat; and “(ii) up to 500,000 metric tons of any eligible commodities under this paragraph that could have been released but were not released in prior fiscal years. “(C) Waiver of minimum tonnage requirements.— Nothing in this paragraph shall require a waiver under section 204(a)(3) of the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1724(a)(3)) as a prerequisite for the release of eligible commodities under this paragraph. “(2) Emergency food assistance.— Notwithstanding any other provision of law, eligible commodities designated or acquired for the reserve established under this section may 110 STAT. 961be released by the Secretary to provide, on a donation or sale basis, emergency food assistance to developing countries at such time as the domestic supply of the eligible commodities is so limited that quantities of the eligible commodities cannot be made available for disposition under the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.) (other than disposition for urgent humanitarian purposes under section 401 of the Act (7 U.S.C. 1731)). “(3) Processing of eligible commodities.— Eligible commodities that are released from the reserve established under this section may be processed in the United States and shipped to a developing country when conditions in the recipient country require processing. “(4) Exchange.— The Secretary may exchange an eligible commodity for another United States commodity of equal value, including powdered milk, pulses, and vegetable oil. “(5) Use of normal commercial practices.— To the maximum extent practicable consistent with the fulfillment of the purposes of this section and the effective and efficient administration of this section, the Secretary shall use the usual and customary channels, facilities, arrangements, and practices of trade and commerce to carry out this subsection. “(d) Management of Eligible Commodities.— The Secretary shall provide— “(1) for the management of eligible commodities in the reserve established under this section as to location and quality of eligible commodities needed to meet emergency situations; and “(2) for the periodic rotation or replacement of stocks of eligible commodities in the reserve to avoid spoilage and deterioration of the commodities. “(e) Treatment of Reserve Under Other Law.— Eligible commodities in the reserve established under this section shall not be— “(1) considered a part of the total domestic supply (including carryover) for the purpose of subsection (c) or for the purpose of administering the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.); and “(2) subject to any quantitative limitation on exports that may be imposed under section 7 of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2406). “(f) Use of Commodity Credit Corporation.— “(1) In general.— Subject to the limitations provided in this section, the funds, facilities, and authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation shall be used by the Secretary in carrying out this section, except that any restriction applicable to the acquisition, storage, or disposition of eligible commodities owned or controlled by the Commodity Credit Corporation shall not apply. “(2) Reimbursement.— “(A) In general.— The Commodity Credit Corporation shall be reimbursed for the release of eligible commodities from funds made available to carry out the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.). “(B) Basis for reimbursement.— The reimbursement shall be made on the basis of the lesser of— “(i) the actual costs incurred by the Commodity Credit Corporation with respect to the eligible commodity; or 110 STAT. 962 “(ii) the export market price of the eligible commodity (as determined by the Secretary) as of the time the eligible commodity is released from the reserve. “(C) Source of funds.— The reimbursement may be made from funds appropriated for subsequent fiscal years. “(g) Finality of Determination.— Any determination by the Secretary under this section shall be final. “(h) Termination of Authority.— “(1) In general.— The authority to replenish stocks of eligible commodities to maintain the reserve established under this section shall terminate on September 30, 2002. “(2) Disposal of eligible commodities.— Eligible commodities remaining in the reserve after September 30, 2002, shall be disposed of by release for use in providing for emergency humanitarian food needs in developing countries as provided in this section.”. (b) Conforming Amendment.— Section 208(d) of the Agricultural Trade Suspension Adjustment Act of 1980 (7 U.S.C. 4001(d)) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following: “(2) Applicability of certain provisions.— Subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f)(2) of section 302 of the Food Security Commodity Reserve Act of 1996 shall apply to commodities in any reserve established under paragraph (1), except that the references to ‘eligible commodities’ in the subsections shall be deemed to be references to ‘agricultural commodities’.”.