H.R. 2088 would amend and extend, through 2020, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) authority to carry out activities under the United States Grain Standards Act. The bill would authorize annual appropriations of amounts necessary for the Grain Inspection, Packers, and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA, an agency of USDA) to carry out activities under that act and extend GIPSA’s authority to collect and spend fees for certain grain inspection and weighing services. H.R. 2088 also would allow the Secretary of Agriculture to authorize state agencies and private entities to perform export inspection and weighing services and would specify procedures whereby such activities would continue during disaster conditions or other disruptions in services.
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2088 would cost $106 million over the 2016-2020 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. Enacting the bill would affect direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that such effects would not be significant in any year. The bill would not affect revenues.
H.R. 2088 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
H.R. 2088 would impose a private-sector mandate, as defined in UMRA, on grain exporters by extending GIPSA’s authority to collect fees for grain inspection and weighing services. Based on information from GIPSA, CBO estimates that the cost of complying with the mandate would fall below the annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($154 million in 2015, adjusted annually for inflation).
