H.R. 3323 (112th): Freeing Agriculture to Reap More Act

Introduced:
Nov 02, 2011 (112th Congress, 2011–2013)
Sponsor:
Rep. Tim Huelskamp [R-KS1]
Status:
Died (Referred to Committee)

The bill’s title was written by the bill’s sponsor. H.R. stands for House of Representatives bill.

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Status

This bill was introduced on November 2, 2011, in a previous session of Congress, but was not enacted.

Progress
Introduced Nov 02, 2011
Referred to Committee Nov 02, 2011
Cosponsors
7 cosponsors (7R) (show)
Committees

House Agriculture

House Education and the Workforce

House Energy and Commerce

House Transportation and Infrastructure

House Ways and Means

The committee chair determines whether a bill will move past the committee stage.

Full Title

To reduce the regulatory burden on the agricultural sector of the national economy.

Summary

No summaries available.

Text

Read Bill Text »

Last updated Nov 02, 2011.
21 pages

Primary Source

View on THOMAS (The Library of Congress)

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GovTrack’s Bill Summary

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Library of Congress Summary

The summary below was written by the Congressional Research Service, which is a nonpartisan division of the Library of Congress.

11/2/2011--Introduced.
Freeing Agriculture to Reap More Act - Amends the Clean Air Act to prohibit, subject to exemptions, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from promulgating any regulation concerning, taking action relating to, or taking into consideration the emission of a greenhouse gas (GHG) to address climate change.
Excludes GHGs from the definition of "air pollutant" for purposes of addressing climate change.
Repeals and makes ineffective specified rules and actions concerning permit requirements or emission standards for GHGs to address climate change.
Exempts covered farm vehicles and operators of such vehicles from specified requirements governing commercial motor vehicles and operators.
Prohibits the Administrator from proposing, finalizing, implementing, or enforcing any regulation that revises the national primary ambient air quality standard or the national secondary ambient air quality standard applicable to coarse particulate matter (generally referred to as PM10) and that is proposed or finalized on or after this Act's enactment if the Administrator determines that such regulation will incur compliance costs in the United States of more than $100 million annually.
Prohibits occupational safety and health standards from being construed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as prohibiting an employee from working inside a grain bin while a sweep auger is in operation.
Requires the Secretary of Transportation (DOT) to exclude a service vehicle carrying diesel fuel in quantities of 3,785 liters (1,000 gallons) or less from requirements concerning transporting hazardous material and obtaining a hazardous material endorsement if such vehicle is:
(1) driven by a class A commercial driver's license holder who is a custom harvester, an agricultural retailer, an agricultural business employee, an agricultural cooperative employee, or an agricultural producer; and
(2) clearly marked with a placard reading "Diesel Fuel." Prohibits the Administrator and the Secretary of the Army from altering the meaning of the terms "navigable waters" and "waters of the United States" in relation to regulations promulgated pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (commonly known as the Clean Water Act [CWA]). Prohibits federal agencies, in carrying out any Act or program to reduce the effects of GHG emissions on climate change, from imposing a fee or tax on gaseous emissions emitted directly by livestock.
Amends the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the CWA to prohibit the Administrator or a state from requiring a permit for a discharge of a pesticide authorized for sale, distribution, or use under such Acts from a point source into navigable waters.
Provides that such prohibition does not apply to specified discharges of pesticides, including stormwater discharges, manufacturing or industrial effluent, treatment works effluent, or discharges incidental to the normal operation of a vessel.
Amends the Animal Welfare Act to exclude from the meaning of "dealer" a person who does not sell wild animals, dogs, or cats, and who derives no more that $5,000 (currently $500) gross income from the sale of other animals.
Prohibits the Secretary of Agriculture from using funds made available to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide funds or administrative support for the White House Rural Council. Prohibits the Administrator from taking into consideration indirect emissions from land use changes while establishing or determining compliance with any requirement or limitation under the Clean Air Act. Excludes from the meaning of "lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions" indirect emissions from land use changes.
Amends the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to require the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the economic impact of derivatives regulations prior to implementing final regulations.
Amends the Motor Carrier Safety Improvement Act of 1999 to revise provisions concerning transportation of agricultural commodities and farm supplies by exempting areas within a 150 (currently 100) air-mile radius from the source of the commodities or the distribution point for the farm supplies from requirements regarding maximum driving and on-duty time for drivers used by motor carriers.
Prohibits the Secretary of Labor from initiating the rulemaking proposed and published in the Federal Register on September 2, 2011, and promulgating any regulations or revisions described in such proposed rulemaking related to permissible employment of minors in agricultural and nonagricultural occupations.

House Republican Conference Summary

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No summary available.

House Democratic Caucus Summary

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The bill contains the following citations to other parts of U.S. law:

Slip Laws

Slip laws refer to enacted bills and joint resolutions in their original form as enacted by Congress, that is, before other laws amend them. Slip laws are cited as “Public Law XXX-YYY”, where XXX is the number of the Congress in which the bill or resolution was introduced.

United States Code

The United States Code is the compilation of permanent laws enacted by Congress. Temporary and other non-permanent laws do not appear in the United States Code. (About half of the United States Code is the law itself, called positive law. The other half is merely a compilation of the laws but has no legal significance.)

Other Citations

  • 49 U.S.C. Chapter 311
  • 49 U.S.C. Chapter 313
  • 49 U.S.C. Chapter 315