Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 104 Part 5.djvu/605

 PUBLIC LAW 101-624—NOV. 28, 1990 104 STAT. 3927 Subtitle I—Miscellaneous Provisions SEC. 1999S. PRODUCER RESEARCH AND PROMOTION BOARD ACCOUNT- ABILITY. (a) FINDINGS. —Congress finds that— (1) United States agricultural producers and importers contribute approximately $600,000,000 annually to support agricultural promotion and research, and consumer information relating to food and nutrition, under federally-authorized checkoff programs; (2) these federally-authorized checkoff programs are self-help efforts that enable the industry members that contribute to these checkoff programs to take an active role in enhancing the marketing of their farm products; (3) the federally-authorized checkoff programs, while relatively new, have substantially contributed to strengthening markets for the agricultural products covered by the programs; (4) the authorizing legislation for these agricultural check-off programs provides for the Secretary of Agriculture to appoint boards or councils comprised of producers and importers to assist the Secretary in administering the programs under the Secretary's oversight; (5) the boards and councils that participate in administering the federally-authorized checkoff programs, in each instance, have important responsibilities under, and make substantial contributions to the effective management of, the programs while serving as a valuable link between the industry members that are funding the promotion, research, and information activities under the programs and the Department of Agriculture; (6) the producers and importers that pay assessments to support the programs must have confidence in, and strongly support, the checkoff programs if these programs are to continue to succeed; and (7) the checkoff programs cannot operate efficiently and effectively, nor can producer confidence and support for these programs be maintained, unless the boards and councils faithfully and diligently perform the functions assigned to them under the authorizing legislation. (b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. —It is the sense of Congress that, to ensure the continued success of the federally-authorized checkoff programs, boards or councils that participate in the administration of the checkoff programs should take care to faithfully and diligently perform the functions assigned to them under the authorizing legislation and otherwise meet their crucial program responsibilities. It further is the sense of Congress that each of these boards and councils, in carrying out the responsibilities assigned to it, is accountable to the Secretary of Agriculture, Congress, and the industry contributing funds for the checkoff program involved, and that each currently operational checkoff board or council should review its charter and activities to ensure that its responsibilities and duties have not been inappropriately delegated or otherwise relinquished to another organization.

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