TALMID CHACHAM

Jean-Philippe Prays For Humanity Live From Jekyll Island, Ga (YOM KIPPUR 2011)

2011-10-10T16:30:00.000-04:00

Jean-Philippe Prays For Humanity Live From Jekyll Island, Ga (YOM KIPPUR 2011)

http://youtu.be/-YvpxwP9_3M

Jean-Philippe travels to Jekyll Island, Ga to pray for all of humanity on YOM KIPPUR. He does so as all of mankind faces a perilous hour. He encourages every Man, Woman, & child to get in to the best Spiritual, Emotional, Intellectual, Physical, & Financial Shape of their Lives.

http://www.twitter.com/ahava78

http://www.vladtv.com/video/65989/jean-philippe-prays-for-humanity-live-from-jekyll-island-ga-yom-kippur-2011/

Yom Kippur

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur

Yom Kippur (Hebrew: יוֹם כִּפּוּר or יום הכיפורים‎, IPA: [ˈjom kiˈpur]), Also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services. Yom Kippur completes the annual period known in Judaism as the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im ("Days of Awe").

Yom Kippur is the tenth day of the month of Tishrei. According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a book, the Book of Life, on Rosh Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. During the Days of Awe, a Jew tries to amend his or her behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God (bein adam leMakom) and against other human beings (bein adam lechavero). The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt (Vidui). At the end of Yom Kippur, one considers oneself absolved by God.

The Yom Kippur prayer service includes several unique aspects. One is the actual number of prayer services. Unlike a regular day, which has three prayer services (Ma'ariv, the evening prayer; Shacharit, the morning prayer; and Mincha, the afternoon prayer), or a Shabbat or Yom Tov, which have four prayer services (Ma'ariv; Shacharit; Mussaf, the additional prayer; and Mincha), Yom Kippur has five prayer services (Ma'ariv; Shacharit; Musaf; Mincha; and Ne'ilah, the closing prayer). The prayer services also include a public confession of sins (Vidui) and a unique prayer dedicated to the special Yom Kippur avodah (service) of the Kohen Gadol in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

As one of the most culturally significant Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur is observed by many secular Jews who may not observe other holidays. Many secular Jews attend synagogue on Yom Kippur—for many secular Jews the High Holy Days are the only recurring times of the year in which they attend synagogue,[1]—causing synagogue attendance to soar.

Lil' Wayne - How To Love vs. Shagg Colie Feat. HardHead Jacob - Get Lost

2011-05-30T04:46:00.000-04:00

Lil' Wayne - How To Love vs. Shagg Colie Feat. HardHead Jacob - Get Lost

Lil' Wayne of Cash Money/ Young Money & Shagg Colie & HardHead Jacob of Dark House 415 make their lastest contribution to what promises to be a memorable Summer of Music in 2011.

Dark House 415 Biography

Dark House 415 is a record label consisting of numerous artists & groups, based out of Macon, GA. The label is headlined by the group Dark House 415 (DJ ReUp tha Boss, AK Dre, D-Boi, Shagg Colie, & HardHead Jacob). The group has performed in North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, & all over the state of Georgia.

Dark House 415 has worked with Cynamin Jones, DJ Smallz, The Raw Report, Dame Grease, DJ Tremayne, Coast 2 Coast Mixtapes, Rocharder DJs, Anthony "Rumble" Johnson, DJ Toomp, Zaytoven, Drummer Boy, & many more.

Members of Dark House 415 has been featured in numerous media publications and featured on a phletora of websites to include: GREENHITZ.COM, VLADTV.COM, SOULPITCHSTREETWIRE.COM, ILPTUBE.COM, MACON TELEGRAPH, 11TH HOUR MAGAZINE, & HOT BLOCK MAGAZINE.

DARK HOUSE 415 IS POISED TO TAKE THE BUSINESS WORLD BY STORM WITH THEIR MUSIC, CLOTHING LINE, PEOPLE APPEAL, & REVENUE GENERATING INTANGIBLES!!!!!!!!!

Dark House 415/Artist website(s)

reverbnation.com/darkhouse415

facebook.com/DarkHouse415

facebook.com/pages/Dark-House-415/96011523730

twitter.com/dark_house_415

myspace.com/dhc415

youtube.com/rtb527

E-mail

darkhouse415@gmail.com

Ahmadinejad: Global Mahdi Revolution Has Begun

2011-02-14T15:49:00.000-05:00

Ahmadinejad: Global Mahdi Revolution Has Begun

In his Revolution Day address, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared the beginning of the Mahdi Revolution, that he said would not be limited to the region but would spread across the globe:

Ahmadinejad : The revolution of 12 Imam is not limited to the region but the world

He added that Iran was determined to complete its nuclear program, and that "the new Middle East would be a region without the U.S. and without the Zionist regime, and the world will taste the sweetness of a world without Zionists and bullies" (for more on Ahmadinejad's address, see Ahmadinejad In Iranian Revolution Day Address: Iran Is Firm In Continuing Nuclear Path – We Don't Need World Powers; There Will Be A New Middle East – Without The U.S. And Israel).

He said that by the end of his presidency, unemployment would be wiped out in Iran; that within a year, Iran would launch a live animal into space; and within a decade, it would do the same with Iranian astronauts.

It was reported that participants at the rally called "Death to Mubarak" and burned him in effigy, and that across the country fundraising drives to aid residents of Gaza and Palestine are underway.

Sources: Lenziran.com, IRIBnews.ir, Fars, Mehr, Press TV, Iran, February 11, 2011

Ahmadinejad In Iranian Revolution Day Address: A New Middle East

2011-02-14T15:27:00.000-05:00

Ahmadinejad In Iranian Revolution Day Address: Iran Is Firm In Continuing Nuclear Path – We Don't Need World Powers; There Will Be A New Middle East – Without The U.S. And Israel

In his address marking the 32nd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insists that the nation remains determined to continue its nuclear path, as it marks the 32nd anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution. He also stressed that a new Middle East will be created in the near future without the U.S. or Israel.

"The Iranian nation will continue its way and it does not need the world powers to complete its nuclear program," he told tens of thousands of demonstrators at Tehran's Azadi Square today. He added that the Western countries should adopt a coordination policy instead of a confrontation policy.
(For more on address, see Ahmadinejad: Global Mahdi Revolution Has Begun)

"I assure you that despite all the evil and complicated plans, and thanks to the resistance of the nations, there will be a new Middle East but without the U.S. and Israel," he said.

He urged the arrogant powers not to interfere in the internal affairs of the region's countries, such as Egypt and Tunisia.

"What are you doing in Afghanistan? What are these military bases in the region for? Are you compassionate or hypocrite?" Ahmadinejad asked.

He also argued that the West is deceitful in claiming that with the two-state slogan it can pave the way for Israel to dominate the region.

Hailing the revolution in Egypt, the Iranian president warned the Egyptian people to be vigilant, insisting that "It is your right to be free. It is your right to decide your government, and it is your right to freely express yourself about your country and global issues."

"Be united and do not fear corrupt governments, and victory is near," he added.
The masses of demonstrators carried placards in support of the popular uprising of the Egyptian and Tunisian nations.

"Iran is now the most independent and dignified nation," he said. "Iran's revolution was a great event in moving towards summits of perfection."

The Iranian nation toppled the U.S.-backed regime of former dictator Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in 1979, ending the 2,500 years of monarchic rule in the country. Every year, Iranians mark the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, which begins with the anniversary of the return to Iran of the late founder of the Islamic Republic Imam, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, on February 1, 1979. February 1 marks the beginning of 10 days of celebrations the "10-Day Dawn," which culminate on February 11 – the anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

Source: Press TV, Iran, February 11, 2011

Hosni Mubarak's 'stolen' $70 billion fortune

2011-02-14T15:10:00.001-05:00

Hosni Mubarak's 'stolen' $70 billion fortune

Now that Egypt's longtime president has stepped down, attention turns to the wealth he allegedly piled up over three decades in power

Now that Egyptian protesters have pushed Hosni Mubarak into relinquishing power, they want him to return the fortune he and his family allegedly amassed during his 30-year reign. "If we can get back some of the billions stolen, I will be satisfied with our revolution," one 29-year-old Egyptian told The Washington Post. How much money does Mubarak have — and do the Egyptian people really have a shot at getting it back? Here, a quick guide to the fight over Mubarak's money:

How much money are we talking about?

Nobody knows for sure. Estimates of the Mubarak family's wealth go as high as $70 billion — more than Microsoft founder Bill Gates is worth. The breakdown, according to ABC News, includes $17 billion for Mubarak, $10 billion for his second son, Gamal, and $40 billion for the rest of the family. (Watch a Bloomberg report about Mubarak's great wealth)

Where's the loot?

Some of it's tied up in real estate. Mubarak and his sons own property not only in Egypt, but also London, Los Angeles and New York, according to reports cited in The Washington Post. In London, Gamal Mubarak, 47, owns a house in a neighborhood where homes sell for as much as $20 million. As for the rest of the fortune, the family reportedly has billions stashed in foreign banks and offshore accounts.

How did Mubarak get so rich?

He didn't do it by squirreling away his salary. As president, Mubarak made just $808 per month in 2007 and 2008, according to a Cairo think tank. Mubarak reportedly made his first millions through military contracts during his earlier career as an air force officer. Later his sons allegedly took huge cuts from businesses investing in Egypt, giving favored entrepreneurs virtual monopolies in return, according to The Sunday Telegraph. Other possible sources of wealth: Government corruption and the sale of state companies and land.

Will Egypt be able to get the money back?

Maybe. Switzerland has frozen whatever assets the Mubaraks and their associates still have there, and other countries are under pressure to do the same. Anti-corruption watchdogs are calling for criminal charges against the Mubaraks. A conviction would help banks return the cash. But, according to Britain's Sunday Telegraph, Mubarak scrambled in his last days in office to hide his assets. "We think their financial advisers have moved some of the money around," a senior Western intelligence source told the Telegraph. "If he had real money in Zurich, it may be gone by now."

Ezekiel 30:4 - A sword shall come upon Egypt, and anguish shall be in Cush

2011-02-14T14:49:00.000-05:00

Ezekiel 30:4

"A sword shall come upon Egypt,
   and anguish shall be inCush,
when the slain fall in Egypt,
   andher wealthis carried away,
   andher foundations are torn down."

Southern Sudan Suffers a Blow as Fighting Ends a Truce

2011-02-14T14:39:00.000-05:00

Southern Sudan Suffers a Blow as Fighting Ends a Truce

By JOSH KRON

KAMPALA, Uganda — Fresh battles between renegade soldiers and the southern Sudanese military in recent days have left more than 100 people dead in southern Sudan, sending tremors through a heavily militarized region that only days ago celebrated the final results of a referendum to separate from the rest of the country.

The southern Sudanese military clashed on Wednesday and Thursday with hundreds of rebel fighters loyal to a renegade general, George Athor; the fighting killed 105 people in the state of Jonglei and broke a one-month armistice. The military said Friday that the fighting had dissipated, but it remained unclear how long the calm would last.

“The cease-fire is broken,” said a spokesman for the southern Sudanese army, Philip Aguer. “This was a surprise move.”

The fighting comes less than a week after official results of the southern referendum were announced, with more than 98 percent of the nearly four million voters choosing to separate from northern Sudan after decades of civil war. During the war, rebels fought together in a coalition against the north but have at times turned against one another.

This vast region is considered to be one of the poorest, least-developed places in the world, and it is teeming with soldiers. Security is routinely singled out as the most important priority in southern Sudan right now.

According to the 2005 peace treaty that brought the civil war between the north and the south to an end, a total of 180,000 soldiers from north and south Sudan were supposed to demobilize and reintegrate into society. But so far only about 400 soldiers across the entire country have completed that process, and the United Nations has been blamed for hindering the country’s demobilization program through fiscal mismanagement.

While the southern Sudanese government and military have expressed confidence about their grip on the region in the period before independence — expected to be declared on July 9 — there are a number of signs that the fragile status quo could crumble.

Last weekend, a rebellion by southern Sudanese soldiers in Sudan’s joint-integrated units in Upper Nile State left 50 people dead, including children and a United Nations employee.

Then on Wednesday, near the town of Fangak in neighboring Jonglei, two southern Sudanese army trucks were patrolling a road when they were destroyed by mines; 16 soldiers were killed in the blast and the ensuing battle. The southern Sudanese military said the mines were laid by rebel soldiers loyal to General Athor, who led a rebellion last year when he was not elected governor of Jonglei.

He signed a cease-fire with the southern Sudanese government in January, just days before the referendum, paving the way for what international election observers called a free, fair and peaceful vote.

Under the terms of the cease-fire, General Athor’s men were expected to assemble at agreed-upon points, including one near Fangak, and rejoin the military. But the fighting reignited on Wednesday, catching the southern Sudanese military off guard.

By Thursday afternoon, the rebels had captured the town, and they held it for a number of hours before being driven out. When the fighting finally stopped, the southern Sudanese military said, 50 soldiers and 39 civilians had been killed, and 65 people had been wounded.

The fighting kept medical aid workers from helping the victims. “It is imperative that immediate access to urgent lifesaving medical care is granted by the relevant authorities to both civilians and all parties to the conflict,” the aid group Doctors Without Borders said in a statement.

The southern Sudanese army said that it did not know why its forces had been attacked, but that it did not want a return to war.

“We still want reconciliation with George Athor,” said Mr. Aguer, the southern military spokesman. “We want people to start reconstructing their lives.”

Gerald Celente: Top 11 Trends of 2011

2011-02-10T20:43:00.000-05:00

Top 11 Trends of 2011

The mid-January issue of the Trends Journal will feature our "Top Trends 2011" — The Trends Research Institute’s compendium of the dominant trends for the year ahead. The following synopses of these trends provide insights into some of what to expect. After the tumultuous years of the Great Recession, a battered people may wish that 2011 will bring a return to kinder, gen-tler times. But that is not what we are predicting. Instead, the fruits of government and institutional action – and inaction – on many fronts will ripen in unplanned-for fashions. Trends we have previously identified, and that have been brewing for some time, will reach maturity in 2011, impacting just about everyone in the world.

1. Wake-Up Call In 2011, the people of all nations will fully recognize how grave economic conditions have become, how ineffectual and self-serving the so-called solutions have been, and how dire the con-sequences will be. Having become convinced of the inability of leaders and know-it-all "arbiters of every-thing" to fulfill their promises, the people will do more than just question authority, they will defy authority. The seeds of revolu-tion will be sown….

2. Crack-Up 2011 Among our Top Trends for last year was the "Crash of 2010." What happened? The stock market didn’t crash. We know. We made it clear in our Autumn Trends Journal that we were not forecasting a stock market crash – the equity markets were no longer a legitimate indicator of recovery or the real state of the economy. Yet the reliable indicators (employment num-bers, the real estate market, currency pres-sures, sovereign debt problems) all bordered between crisis and disaster. In 2011, with the arsenal of schemes to prop them up depleted, we predict "Crack- Up 2011": teetering economies will collapse, currency wars will ensue, trade barriers will be erected, economic unions will splinter, and the onset of the "Greatest Depression" will be recognized by everyone….

3. Screw the People As times get even tougher and people get even poorer, the "au-thorities" will intensify their efforts to extract the funds needed to meet fiscal obligations. While there will be variations on the theme, the governments’ song will be the same: cut what you give, raise what you take.

4. Crime Waves No job + no money + compounding debt = high stress, strained relations, short fuses. In 2011, with the fuse lit, it will be prime time for Crime Time. As Gerald Celente says, "When people lose everything and they have nothing left to lose, they lose it." Hardship-driven crimes will be committed across the socioeconomic spectrum by legions of the on-the-edge desperate who will do whatever they must to keep a roof over their heads and put food on the table….

5.Crackdown on Liberty As crime rates rise, so will the voices demand-ing a crackdown. A national crusade to "Get Tough on Crime" will be waged against the citizenry. And just as in the "War on Terror," where "suspected ter-rorists" are killed before proven guilty or jailed without trial, in the "War on Crime" everyone is a suspect until proven innocent….

6. Alternative Energy In laboratories and workshops unnoticed by main-stream analysts, scientific visionaries and entrepreneurs are forging a new physics incorporating principles once thought impossible, working to cre-ate devices that liberate more energy than they consume. What are they, and how long will it be before they can be brought to market? Shrewd investors will ignore the "can’t be done" skepti-cism, and examine the newly emerging energy trend opportunities that will come of age in 2011….

7. Journalism 2.0 Though the trend has been in the making since the dawn of the Internet Revolution, 2011 will mark the year that new methods of news and information distribution will render the 20th century model obsolete. With its unparalleled reach across borders and language barriers, "Jour-nalism 2.0" has the potential to influ-ence and educate citizens in a way that governments and corporate media moguls would never permit. Of the hundreds of trends we have forecast over three decades, few have the pos-sibility of such far-reaching effects….

8. Cyberwars Just a decade ago, when the digital age was blooming and hackers were looked upon as annoying geeks, we forecast that the intrinsic fragility of the Internet and the vulnerability of the data it carried made it ripe for cyber-crime and cyber- warfare to flourish. In 2010, every major government ac-knowledged that Cyberwar was a clear and present danger and, in fact, had already be-gun. The demonstrable effects of Cyberwar and its companion, Cybercrime, are already significant – and will come of age in 2011. Equally disruptive will be the harsh mea-sures taken by global governments to control free access to the web, identify its users, and literally shut down computers that it consid-ers a threat to national security….

9. Youth of the World Unite University degrees in hand yet out of work, in debt and with no prospects on the horizon, feeling betrayed and angry, forced to live back at home, young adults and 20-somethings are mad as hell, and they’re not going to take it anymore. Filled with vigor, rife with pas-sion, but not mature enough to control their impulses, the confrontations they engage in will often escalate disproportionately. Government efforts to exert control and return the youth to quiet complacency will be ham-fisted and ineffectual. The Revolu-tion will be televised … blogged, YouTubed, Twittered and….

10. End of The World! The closer we get to 2012, the louder the calls will be that the "End is Near!" There have always been sects, at any time in history, that saw signs and portents proving the end of the world was imminent. But 2012 seems to hold a special meaning across a wide segment of "End-time" believers. Among the Armageddonites, the actual end of the world and annihilation of the Earth in 2012 is a matter of certainty. Even the rational and informed that carefully follow the news of never-ending global crises, may sometimes feel the world is in a perilous state. Both streams of thought are leading many to reevaluate their chances for personal survival, be it in heaven or on earth….

11. The Mystery Trend ... will be revealed upon publication of the Trends Journal in mid-January.

Are you ready for the future?

Is flotilla battle signaling start of 'Gog and Magog'?

2011-02-04T19:14:00.001-05:00

Is flotilla battle signaling start of 'Gog and Magog'?

Council of Judea announces result will be 'third and final redemption'

Posted: June 04, 2010

12:35 am Eastern

By Bob Unruh

A council of rabbis in Israel says their nation's conflict with Turkey over a flotilla of "aid" ships headed for the blockaded Gaza Strip controlled by the terrorist Hamas organization just may be the beginning of the "Gog and Magog process where the world is against us, but which ends with the third and final redemption."

The announcement comes today from the Rabbinical Council of Judea and Samaria, whose statement was reported by Israel National News.

WND columnist Greg Laurie just months ago explained the biblical reference to Gog and Magog, in the book of Ezekiel, as a prophecy that a "large force," will attack Israel from the north.

"We don't know why or exactly when this will take place. But this much I know: There is a lot going on in our current headlines that leads me to believe it could happen at any time," he wrote then, at the end of 2009.

"What does this mean to us? A lot. When Magog and her allies attack Israel, God will intervene and decimate the armies of Magog and its allies. Because of this, the Bible tells us, the Jewish people will give glory to God. Today, many Israelis are atheists. Certainly you will find very few Jewish people who believe in Jesus as their Messiah, although there are some. But they do have a determination to return to their homeland. They realize that they can look to no other nation for their protection or security and have returned to Israel, thus fulfilling prophecy from Scripture. But when the Holy Spirit is poured out on Israel after God drives back the invading armies of Magog, the Bible predicts there will be a revival in which numerous Jewish people will come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah," Laurie explained.

According to the INN, the council stated, "the legitimacy of our people is not derived from the nations of the world and their poisonous traditions, rather from the Torah of Israel which teaches us that [Israel] 'is a people that shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations.'"

The council, which was assembled by Rabbi Zalman Melamed of Beit El and is supported by religious Zionist rabbis in the regions of Samaria and Judea, included a blessing for soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces.

It also suggested an emergency government be developed to lead during a time of conflict.

INN explained it interprets the "Gog and Magog" reference as a "vision of a war where the world is united against Israel that will precede the final redemption of Israel and the world."

The explanation continues, "The prophecy's symbolism involves a prince called Gog of Magog, leader of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, who leads a coalition that includes Persia (Iran), Cush, Phut, Gomer, and Beit Togarmah against Israel."

According to Ezekiel 39, Israel is successful against the attackers:

And thou, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal; and I will turn thee about and lead thee on, and will cause thee to come up from the uttermost parts of the north; and I will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel; and I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand. Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the peoples that are with thee; I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort and to the beasts of the field, to be devoured.

The INN report continued with quotes that God will have compassion on Israel, "and they shall dwell safely in their land, and none shall make them afraid."

Laurie explains that the existence of the nation of Israel, created on May 14, 1948, is a miracle in itself.

"Never has a nation been able to maintain its national identity 300 to 500 years after being from its homeland – until Israel," he wrote. "Today, one will look in vain for the descendants of the Hittite nation or the Babylonian nation, although they were major powers in the ancient world. In fact, were it not for the Bible, the Hittites never would have been remembered by history, having sunk deep into the sands of time. There was a time that scoffers ridiculed the Bible for even mentioning the Hittites, as it was thought they were a fictional people. But in the 19th century, archaeologists confirmed the accuracy of Scripture when they uncovered irrefutable evidence of the extensive Hittite empire," he said.

"You won't find any Hittites today – or Babylonians, for that matter. But not so with Israel. How did the nation survive when the mighty Hittites, Babylonians and others vanished? Because God promised they would. In his book, 'What in the World Is Going On?' David Jeremiah writes, 'The return of the Jews to Israel in 1948 was an astounding event unprecedented in world history. Never had a decimated ancient people managed to retain their individual identity through almost 20 centuries and re-establish their nation in their original homeland. This event was specifically prophesied, and it happened exactly as foretold.'"

Laurie called it a "super-sign" in history.

"Events predicted in the Bible that have already transpired include Israel's scattering; Israel's regathering; Israel's regaining of Jerusalem; Israel's isolation; and Israel's being attacked. The Bible tells us that the final conflict of humanity will be centered on Jerusalem and the Middle East," he said.

"It is really amazing when you think about the fascination with Jerusalem and Israel, yet it was predicted long ago. God has promised a blessing for those who bless Israel, and a curse on those who don't," Laurie said.

"Could these events from our headlines of today explode and culminate in the scenario we read about in the Bible? Yes, they could. Will they? I don't know. We have to be very careful in interpreting current events," Laurie said.

"But this I do know: Jesus Christ is coming back. It could happen at any time. It could happen this year or this month or this week. It could happen today," said Laurie, the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., which is one of the largest churches in America.

Israel's conflict with a Turkish fleet sailing for the blockaded Gaza has turned largely around the world on reports of the "massacre" by Israelis against the "peace" activists aboard the flotilla, even though video of the event reveals otherwise.

'Al-Qaida on brink of using nuclear bomb'

2011-02-04T18:54:00.000-05:00

'Al-Qaida on brink of using nuclear bomb'

By Heidi Blake and Christopher Hope, The Daily Telegraph

Al-Qaida members participate in military training in Afghanistan in this file photo.

Photograph by: Agence France-Presse Files, National Post, With Files From News Services

Al-Qaida is on the verge of producing radioactive weapons after sourcing nuclear material and recruiting rogue scientists to build "dirty" bombs, according to leaked diplomatic documents.

A leading atomic regulator has privately warned that the world stands on the brink of a "nuclear 9/11".

Security briefings suggest that jihadi groups are also close to producing "workable and efficient" biological and chemical weapons that could kill thousands if unleashed in attacks on the West.

Thousands of classified American cables obtained by the WikiLeaks website and passed to The Daily Telegraph detail the international struggle to stop the spread of weapons-grade nuclear, chemical and biological material around the globe.

At a Nato meeting in January 2009, security chiefs briefed member states that al-Qaida was plotting a program of "dirty radioactive IEDs", makeshift nuclear roadside bombs that could be used against British troops in Afghanistan.

As well as causing a large explosion, a "dirty bomb" attack would contaminate the area for many years.

The briefings also state that al-Qaida documents found in Afghanistan in 2007 revealed that "greater advances" had been made in bioterrorism than was previously realized. An Indian national security adviser told American security personnel in June 2008 that terrorists had made a "manifest attempt to get fissile material" and "have the technical competence to manufacture an explosive device beyond a mere dirty bomb".

Alerts about the smuggling of nuclear material, sent to Washington from foreign U.S. embassies, document how criminal and terrorist gangs were trafficking large amounts of highly radioactive material across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

The alerts explain how customs guards at remote border crossings used radiation alarms to identify and seize cargoes of uranium and plutonium.

Freight trains were found to be carrying weapons-grade nuclear material across the Kazakhstan-Russia border, highly enriched uranium was transported across Uganda by bus, and a "small time hustler" in Lisbon offered to sell radioactive plates stolen from Chernobyl.

In one incident in September 2009, two employees at the Rossing Uranium Mine in Namibia smuggled almost half a ton of uranium concentrate powder - yellowcake - out of the compound in plastic bags.

"Acute safety and security concerns" were even raised in 2008 about the uranium and plutonium laboratory of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the nuclear safety watchdog.

Tomihiro Taniguchi, the deputy director general of the IAEA, has privately warned America that the world faces the threat of a "nuclear 9/11" if stores of uranium and plutonium were not secured against terrorists.

But diplomats visiting the IAEA's Austrian headquarters in April 2008 said that there was "no way to provide perimeter security" to its own laboratory because it has windows that leave it vulnerable to break-ins.

Senior British defence officials have raised "deep concerns" that a rogue scientist in the Pakistani nuclear program "could gradually smuggle enough material out to make a weapon", according to a document detailing official talks in London in February 2009.

Agricultural stores of deadly biological pathogens in Pakistan are also vulnerable to "extremists" who could use supplies of anthrax, foot and mouth disease and avian flu to develop lethal biological weapons.

Anthrax and other biological agents including smallpox, and avian flu could be sprayed from a shop-bought aerosol can in a crowded area, leaked security briefings warn.

The security of the world's only two declared smallpox stores in Atlanta, America, and Novosibirsk, Russia, has repeatedly been called into doubt by "a growing chorus of voices" at meetings of the World Health Assembly documented in the leaked cables.

The alarming disclosures come after Barack Obama, the U.S. president, last year declared nuclear terrorism "the single biggest threat" to international security with the potential to cause "extraordinary loss of life".

America's Real Most Wanted : Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah

2011-02-02T09:52:00.002-05:00

America's Real Most Wanted : Adnan Gulshair el Shukrijumah

by Jean Philippe Gibson

Adnan G. El Shukrijumah must be found
Or else he'll redefine the word hellhound
And truly shake disbelief down to the ground.
Adnan aims to cause much more than bloodshed.
The carnage that his hostility treads
Seeks to make nine eleven a watershed.
America this nuclear technician
Will use his knowledge with evil precision.
Large scale mass murder is his profession.
Locating Jafar the Pilot is a must.
We can't let him indulge in his bloody lust.
He has two choices: Mass Murderer or bust.
In our search for Osama we must remain undaunted,
But Adnan has become America's real most wanted.

Jean Philippe Gibson wrote this poem in the year 2006. Read more of his poetry at http://www.poetrypoem.com/ahava or if you have any question, comments, or inquiries for Jean Philippe Gibson e-mail him at jpg527@gmail.com

Here are 5 foreign-policy stories to watch in 2011:

2011-01-22T21:30:00.000-05:00

The Stories to Watch in 2011

For every totally out-of-the-blue crisis that seizes the international agenda, there are some that everyone should have seen coming. Here are five foreign-policy stories to watch in 2011.

BY CAMERON ABADI

Triple-digit oil prices strangle the economic recovery

The global economy seems to be moving in the right direction, but that tenuous recovery could come quickly undone if the price of oil continues to rise. The price of a barrel of oil has been trending steadily upward at the conclusion of 2010: It stood at $91 as of Wednesday, Dec. 29, up 22 percent from a year earlier. With memories still fresh of the slowdown that accompanied the oil shock in 2008 -- when the price of a single barrel shot up to $145 and gasoline cost $4 a gallon in the United States -- you can bet that political leaders around the world will be keeping a close eye on the natural resource markets.

There's good reason to believe that prices won't rise quite as high as they did two years ago. Unlike then, a cushion of surplus oil wells stand ready in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere to fill almost any demand spurt in the coming year. In addition, oil companies are currently working furiously to expand the total supply of available oil even further: As FP's Steve LeVine has pointed out, the world's biggest oil companies are increasing their spending on international projects in 2011 by 17 percent. And according to the Wall Street Journal, the price increases are being driven less by insatiable economies than by financial investors, who are betting on higher future prices. Those speculators say they'll have a stabilizing effect on potential oil shocks, since they've created an incentive to buy oil now and store it for future use.

Still, energy costs are taking an ever-larger bite out of Americans' pockets, accounting for 5.5 percent of personal budgets in October 2010 -- up from 4.8 percent a year earlier, and uncomfortably close to the 6 percent share that's generally acknowledged to have a negative effect on consumer spending.

Merkel grabs final, destructive control over the euro

That the euro currency didn't entirely dissolve this past year is largely due to the monetary heroics of Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank. But with his final term coming to a close in October of next year, he won't be around much longer to defend his legacy. In fact, it increasingly seems that the greatest repudiator of that legacy, Bundesbank chief Axel Weber, will be the person tapped to replace him. That could spell renewed and deepened turbulence in the European Union, and might even trigger a second global recession and an unraveling of the eurozone.

Trichet was quick to realize that the nature of the crisis -- and the nature of the continent's byzantine political arrangements -- demanded that he unilaterally broaden his institution's narrow mandate: Rather than simply "maintain price stability," the Frenchman worked feverishly to keep Greece, Ireland, and other debtor nations from defaulting by keeping interest rates low, buying bonds from beleaguered countries, and contributing to a massive ad hoc bailout fund.

Those maneuvers may have kept the continent's currency from falling off the precipice, but they were controversial among the orthodox monetarists who have their base in Germany, and from among whom Angela Merkel is likely to select a candidate to become the new ECB chief. The favorite is assumed to be Weber, an academic economist who has been advising Merkel for years and was her choice to lead Germany's national bank. Weber has been running an unusually undiplomatic campaign for higher office, mincing few words in stating his opposition to Trichet's loose-money policies of the past several years.

Expect smaller European countries -- which stand to lose out if Weber were in a position to push through higher interest rates on the euro -- to put up a fight against his nomination. (The ECB president is selected in a majority vote by the leaders of those countries that use the euro.) And even some Germans have made it clear they think it would be a mistake: Former chancellor Helmut Schmidt recently warned that German central bankers were dangerous dogmatists. "In their innermost heart, they are reactionaries. They are against European integration," he told German newspaper Handelsblatt.

But Weber may be coming regardless: By continental convention, it's Germany's "turn" for a high-level European post. We should begin preparing to hear a lot more nein coming from Frankfurt next year.

The rise of the rest at the IMF: Strauss-Kahn moves out, emerging economies move in

Polls show that only one prominent figure in French public life could handily defeat sitting president Nicolas Sarkozy in his re-election bid in 2012. Fortunately for Sarkozy, that person is otherwise occupied, for now: Dominique Strauss-Kahn is busy running the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington, D.C., where his term as managing director runs until late 2012 -- after the conclusion of the French vote.

And it's an especially hectic time at the IMF. The organization has been called in to help keep a growing number of countries from going bankrupt, including Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Pakistan, and Ukraine. Strauss-Kahn is generally acknowledged to have done a commendable job throughout the crisis; whereas earlier IMF interventions routinely triggered protests, the most recent bailouts have been generally been embraced by the bailed-out countries.

If Strauss-Kahn does indeed depart the IMF next year, whoever takes over won't only be responsible for overseeing the organization's active programs around the world -- he or she would also be responsible for managing the delicate negotiations over the political composition of the multilateral institution. Over the past year, emerging economies have expressed their intent to challenge Europe's dominance over the 24-member board that governs the IMF. Indeed, if the top slot is open next year, other countries may formally object to Europe's traditional, informal prerogative to name a replacement. (Strauss-Kahn has acknowledged that such a challenge is inevitable, saying at the beginning of December that "the so-called agreement between the US and Europe whereby the IMF head was European and World Bank president was an American is over.")

Economists have warned that given the continued fragility of the international economy, this is no time for a succession crisis. "If turmoil continues on the markets, it won't be the time to have a huge diplomatic debate in the midst of a financial crisis," says Adam Lerrick of the American Enterprise Institute. That's why Strauss-Kahn may be under pressure from his fellow Europeans to stay put, the better to forestall institutional upheaval.

Strauss-Kahn has so far given few clear signs that he's decided to run against Sarkozy. But it's no secret that he's previously had the ambition to sit in Elysee Palace, and he has coyly declined to deny he's considering it this time around. ("It's not a given that the day when I have an answer to this question, I'm going to give it through the media," he told French public radio France Inter on November 15.) To take on Sarkozy though, he'd have to convince France's Socialist Party to select him as its candidate. That may be the toughest challenge of all: Though he's a long-time Socialist Party member, it won't be easy to convince the French left to vote for someone who has spent the last several years working to save the reigning capitalist order.

Cuba's Iron Curtain slips

Next year may bring perestroika to one of the world's final communist holdouts. Or not. But at its April 2011 meeting, the Cuban Communist Party is expected to approve a 32-page document that describes "guidelines for economic policy" in the face of Cuba's wealth of problems, which include a heavy reliance on food and energy imports, an inefficient export sector, crumbling infrastructure and a rampant black market. President Raúl Castro has already announced that the country should expect state-worker layoffs, agricultural reforms, and the creation of new licenses for some types of self-employment.

The Cuban government will also be looking to attract new foreign investors -- not least, so that the country's creaking energy and transportation infrastructure can be refurbished. Already countries like Brazil, China, and Venezuela have responded with bids to upgrade Cuba's ports and oil refineries. Other countries are also trying to get a head start in the new Cuban market: South Africa has forgiven $137 million in debt in order to improve relations, and France has restored its bilateral cooperation with Cuba after a seven-year freeze. (The United States, however, is unlikely to get in on the act: The incoming Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, has made it clear she intends to work to further isolate Cuba.)

It's an open question whether the Cuban government, much less Cuban society, is really ready for a major shift in the economic status quo. Foreign investment will pose a challenge to the autocracy that has reigned in Cuba for decades, as investors inevitably work to shape Cuba's future policy decisions. And after decades of being entirely dependent on the state for jobs (as well as nearly everything else, including food, education, and health care), Cubans may not make the transition to market-based thinking entirely seamlessly. Indeed, it's easy to imagine that they will respond to government layoffs not with entrepreneurial verve but with angry protests.

Iran races toward Israel's deadline

According to Jeffrey Goldberg's September 2010 cover story in The Atlantic, next year could very well be a decisive one in the protracted Iran nuclear crisis. Israeli officials told Goldberg that their deadline for seeking a peaceable end to the Iranian enrichment program is the middle of 2011 -- after which they will presumably set into motion a series of military air strikes to destroy Iran's nuclear infrastructure. And that, Goldberg writes, could easily lead to "a full-blown regional war that could lead to the deaths of thousands of Israelis and Iranians, and possibly Arabs and Americans as well." With Iran showing little inclination of arriving at a negotiated solution, that ominous result may not be far off.

Of course, that fate may still be avoided. The sanctions regime organized by the United States might convince Tehran to change its strategic calculus; Israel might eschew military attacks in favor of a combination of cyber warfare and covert operations, which seem to have proven successful over the past year; or it might be the White House that insists on conducting a military campaign of its own against Iran. What's clear is that in the year ahead leaders in Israel will be keeping a close eye on both Tehran and Washington.

Tunisian Wikileaks Putsch: CIA Touts Mediterranean Tsunami of Coups; Libya, Egypt, Syria, Algeria, Jordan, Italy All Targeted; US-UK Want New Puppets to Play Against Iran, China, Russia; Obama Retainers Cass Sunstein, Samantha Power, Robert Malley, International Crisis Group Implicated in Destabilizations

2011-01-18T22:09:00.000-05:00

Tunisian Wikileaks Putsch: CIA Touts Mediterranean Tsunami of Coups; Libya, Egypt, Syria, Algeria, Jordan, Italy All Targeted; US-UK Want New Puppets to Play Against Iran, China, Russia; Obama Retainers Cass Sunstein, Samantha Power, Robert Malley, International Crisis Group Implicated in Destabilizations

[Translate]

Webster G. Tarpley

TARPLEY.net

January 16, 2011

Washington DC, January 16, 2011 – The US intelligence community is now in a manic fit of gloating over this weekend’s successful overthrow of the Tunisian government of President Ben Ali. The State Department and the CIA, through media organs loyal to them, are mercilessly hyping the Tunisian putsch of the last few days as the prototype of a new second generation of color revolutions, postmodern coups, and US-inspired people power destabilizations. At Foggy Bottom and Langley, feverish plans are being made for a veritable Mediterranean tsunami designed to topple most existing governments in the Arab world, and well beyond. The imperialist planners now imagine that they can expect to overthrow or weaken the governments of Libya, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Algeria, Yemen, and perhaps others, while the CIA’s ongoing efforts to remove Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi (because of his friendship with Putin and support for the Southstream pipeline) make this not just an Arab, but rather a pan-Mediterranean, orgy of destabilization.

Hunger revolution, not Jasmine revolution

Washington’s imperialist planners now believe that they have successfully refurbished their existing model of CIA color revolution or postmodern coup. This method of liquidating governments had been losing some of its prestige after the failure of the attempted plutocratic Cedars revolution in Lebanon, the rollback of the hated IMF-NATO Orange revolution in Ukraine, the ignominious collapse of June 2009 Twitter revolution in Iran, and the widespread discrediting of the US-backed Roses revolution in Georgia because of the warmongering and oppressive activities of fascist madman Saakashvili. The imperialist consensus is now that the Tunisian events prefigure a new version of people power coup specifically adapted to today’s reality, specifically that of a world economic depression, breakdown crisis, and disintegration of the globalized casino economy.

The Tunisian tumults are being described in the US press as the “Jasmine revolution,” but it is far more accurate to regard them as a variation on the classic hunger revolution. The Tunisian ferment was not primarily a matter of the middle class desire to speak out, vote, and blog. It started from the Wall Street depredations which are ravaging the entire planet: outrageously high prices for food and fuel caused by derivatives speculation, high levels of unemployment and underemployment, and general economic despair. The detonator was the tragic suicide of a vegetable vendor in Sidi Bouzid who was being harassed by the police. As Ben Ali fought to stay in power, he recognized what was causing the unrest by his gesture of lowering food prices. The Jordanian government for its part has lowered food prices there by about 5%.

Assange and Wikileaks, Key CIA Tools to Dupe Youth Bulge

The economic nature of the current unrest poses a real problem for the Washington imperialists, since the State Department line tends to define human rights exclusively in political and religious terms, and never as a matter of economic or social rights. Price controls, wages, jobless benefits, welfare payments, health care, housing, trade union rights, banking regulation, protective tariffs, and other tools of national economic self-defense have no place whatsoever in the Washington consensus mantra. Under these circumstances, what can be done to dupe the youth bulge of people under 30 who now represents the central demographic reality of most of the Arab world?

In this predicament, the CIA’s cyberspace predator drone Julian Assange and Wikileaks are providing an indispensable service to the imperialist cause. In Iceland in the autumn of 2009, Assange was deployed by his financier backers to hijack and disrupt a movement for national economic survival through debt moratorium, the rejection of interference by the International Monetary Fund, and re-launching the productive economy through an ambitious program of national infrastructure and the export of high technology capital goods, in particular in the field of geothermal energy. Assange was able to convince many in Iceland that these causes were not nearly radical enough, and that they needed to devote their energies instead to publishing a series of carefully pre-selected US government and other documents, all of which somehow targeted governments and political figures which London and Washington had some interest in embarrassing and weakening. In other words, Assange was able to dupe honest activists into going to work for the imperialist financiers. Assange has no program except “transparency,” which is a constant refrain of the US UK human rights mafia as it attempts to topple targeted governments across the developing sector in particular.

“Yes we can” or “Food prices are too damn high!”

Tunisia is perhaps the first case in which Assange and Wikileaks can make a credible claim to have detonated the coup. Most press accounts agree that certain State Department cables which were part of the recent Wikileaks document dumps and which focused on the sybaritic excess and lavish lifestyle of the Ben Ali clan played a key role in getting the Tunisian petit bourgeoisie into the streets. Thanks in part to Assange, Western television networks were thus able to show pictures of the Tunisian crowds holding up signs saying “Yes we can” rather than a more realistic and populist “Food prices are too damn high!”

Ben Ali had been in power for 23 years. In Egypt, President Mubarak has been in power for almost 30 years. The Assad clan in Syria have also been around for about three decades. In Libya, Colonel Gaddafi has been in power for almost 40 years. Hafez Assad was able to engineer a monarchical succession to his son when he died 10 years ago, and Mubarak and Gaddafi are trying to do the same thing today. Since the US does not want these dynasties, The obvious CIA tactic is to deploy assets like Twitter, Google, Facebook, Wikileaks, etc., to turn key members of the youth bulge into swarming mobs to bring down the gerontocratic regimes.

CIA Wants Aggressive New Puppets to Play Against Iran, China, Russia

All of these countries do of course require serious political as well as economic reform, but what the CIA is doing with the current crop of destabilizations has nothing to do with any positive changes in the countries involved. Those who doubt this should remember the horrendous economic and political record of the puppets installed in the wake of recent color revolutions – people like the IMF-NATO kleptocrat agents Yushchenko and Timoshenko in Ukraine, the mentally unstable warmongering dictator Saakashvili in Georgia, and so forth. Political forces that are foolish enough to accept the State Department’s idea of hope and change will soon find themselves under the yoke of new oppressors of this type. The danger is very great in Tunisia, since the forces which ousted Ben Ali have no visible leader and no visible mass political organization which could help them fight off foreign interference in the way that Hezbollah was able to do in checkmating the Lebanese Cedars putsch. In Tunis, the field is wide open for the CIA to install a candidate of its own choosing, preferably under the cover of “elections.” Twenty-three years of Ben Ali have unfortunately left Tunisia in a more atomized condition.

Why is official Washington so obsessed with the idea of overthrowing these governments? The answer has everything to do with Iran, China, and Russia. As regards Iran, the State Department policy is notoriously the attempt to assemble a united front of the entrenched Arab and Sunni regimes to be played against Shiite Iran and its various allies across the region. This had not been going well, as shown by the inability of the US to install its preferred puppet Allawi in Iraq, where the pro-Iranian Maliki seems likely to hold onto power for the foreseeable future. The US desperately wants a new generation of unstable “democratic” demagogues more willing to lead their countries against Iran than the current immobile regimes have proved to be. There is also the question of Chinese economic penetration. We can be confident that any new leaders installed by the US will include in their program a rupture of economic relations with China, including especially a cutoff of oil and raw material shipments, along the lines of what Twitter revolution honcho Mir-Hossein Mousavi was reliably reported to be preparing for Iran if he had seized power there in the summer of 2009 at the head of his “Death to Russia, death to China” rent-a-mob. In addition, US hostility against Russia is undiminished, despite the cosmetic effects of the recent ratification of START II. If for example a color revolution were to come to Syria, we could be sure that the Russian naval presence at the port Tartus, which so disturbs NATO planners, would be speedily terminated. If the new regimes demonstrate hostility against Iran, China, and Russia, we would soon find that internal human rights concerns would quickly disappear from the US agenda.

Key Destabilization Operatives of the Obama Regime

For those who are keeping score, it may be useful to pinpoint some of the destabilization operatives inside the current US regime. It is of course obvious that the current wave of subversion against the Arab countries was kicked off by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in her much touted speech last week in Doha, Qatar last week, when she warned assembled Arab leaders to reform their economies ( according to IMF rules) and stamp out corruption, or else face ouster.

Given the critical role of Assange and Wikileaks in the current phase, White House regulations czar Cass Sunstein must also be counted among the top putschists. We should recall that on February 24, 2007 Sunstein contributed an article entitled “A Brave New Wikiworld” to the Washington Post, in which he crowed that “Wikileaks.org, founded by dissidents in China and other nations, plans to post secret government documents and to protect them from censorship with coded software.” This was in fact the big publicity breakthrough for Assange and the debut of Wikileaks in the US mainstream press — all thanks to current White House official Sunstein. May we not assume that Sunstein represents the White House contact man and controller for the Wikileaks operation?

Every Tree in the Arab Forest Might Fall

Another figure worthy of mention is Robert Malley, a well-known US left-cover operative who currently heads the Middle East and North Africa program at the International Crisis Group (ICG), an organization reputed to run on money coughed up by George Soros and tactics dreamed up from Zbigniew Brzezinski. Malley was controversial during the 2008 presidential campaign because of the anti-Israeli posturing he affects, the better to dupe the Arab leaders he targets. Malley told the Washington Post of January 16, 2011 that every tree in the Arab forest could now be about to fall: “We could go through the list of Arab leaders looking in the mirror right now and very few would not be on the list.” Arab governments would be well advised to keep an eye on ICG operatives in their countries.

Czar Cass Sunstein is now married to Samantha Power, who currently works in the White House National Security Council as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director (boss) of the Office of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights – the precise bureaucratic home of destabilization operations like the one in Tunisia. Power, like Malley, is a veteran of the US intelligence community’s “human rights” division, which is a past master of using legitimate beefs about repression to to replace old US clients with new puppets in a never-ending process of restless subversion. Both Malley and Power were forced to tender pro forma resignations during the Obama presidential campaign of 2008 – Malley for talking to Hamas, and Power for an obscene tirade against Hillary Clinton, who is now her bureaucratic rival.

Advice to Arab Governments, Political Forces, Trade Unions

The Arab world needs to learn a few fundamental lessons about the mechanics of CIA color revolutions, lest they replicate the tragic experience of Georgia, Ukraine, and so many others. In today’s impoverished world of economic depression, a reform program capable of defending national interests against the rapacious forces of financial globalization is the number one imperative.

Accordingly, Arab governments must immediately expel all officials of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and their subset of lending institutions. Arab countries which are currently under the yoke of IMF conditionalities (notably Egypt and Jordan among the Arabs, and Pakistan among the Moslem states) must unilaterally and immediately throw them off and reassert their national sovereignty. Every Arab state should unilaterally and immediately declare a debt moratorium in the form of an open-ended freeze on all payments of interest and principal of international financial debt in the Argentine manner, starting with sums allegedly owed to the IMF-World Bank. The assets of foreign multinational monopolistic firms, especially oil companies, should be seized as the situation requires. Basic food staples and fuels should be subjected to price controls, with draconian penalties for speculation, including by way of derivatives. Dirigist measures such as protective tariffs and food price subsidies can be quickly introduced. Food production needs to be promoted by production and import bounties, as well as by international barter deals. National grain stockpiles must be quickly constituted. Capital controls and exchange controls are likely to be needed to prevent speculative attacks on national currencies by foreign hedge funds acting with the ulterior political motives of overthrowing national governments. Most important, central banks must be nationalized and reconverted to a policy of 0% credit for domestic infrastructure, agriculture, housing, and physical commodity production, with special measures to enhance exports. Once these reforms have been implemented, it may be time to consider the economic integration of the Arab world as an economic development community in which the foreign exchange earnings of the oil-producing states can be put to work on the basis of mutual advantage for infrastructure and hard commodity capital investment across the entire Arab world.

The alternative is an endless series of destabilizations masterminded by foreigners, and, quite possibly, terminal chaos.

Think Again: American Decline? THIS TIME IT IS FOR REAL!

2011-01-16T21:24:00.000-05:00

Think Again: American Decline

This time it's for real.

BY GIDEON RACHMAN

"We've Heard All This About American Decline Before."

This time it's different. It's certainly true that America has been through cycles of declinism in the past. Campaigning for the presidency in 1960, John F. Kennedy complained, "American strength relative to that of the Soviet Union has been slipping, and communism has been advancing steadily in every area of the world." Ezra Vogel's Japan as Number One was published in 1979, heralding a decade of steadily rising paranoia about Japanese manufacturing techniques and trade policies.

In the end, of course, the Soviet and Japanese threats to American supremacy proved chimerical. So Americans can be forgiven if they greet talk of a new challenge from China as just another case of the boy who cried wolf. But a frequently overlooked fact about that fable is that the boy was eventually proved right. The wolf did arrive -- and China is the wolf.

The Chinese challenge to the United States is more serious for both economic and demographic reasons. The Soviet Union collapsed because its economic system was highly inefficient, a fatal flaw that was disguised for a long time because the USSR never attempted to compete on world markets. China, by contrast, has proved its economic prowess on the global stage. Its economy has been growing at 9 to 10 percent a year, on average, for roughly three decades. It is now the world's leading exporter and its biggest manufacturer, and it is sitting on more than $2.5 trillion of foreign reserves. Chinese goods compete all over the world. This is no Soviet-style economic basket case.

Japan, of course, also experienced many years of rapid economic growth and is still an export powerhouse. But it was never a plausible candidate to be No. 1. The Japanese population is less than half that of the United States, which means that the average Japanese person would have to be more than twice as rich as the average American before Japan's economy surpassed America's. That was never going to happen. By contrast, China's population is more than four times that of the United States. The famous projection by Goldman Sachs that China's economy will be bigger than that of the United States by 2027 was made before the 2008 economic crash. At the current pace, China could be No. 1 well before then.

China's economic prowess is already allowing Beijing to challenge American influence all over the world. The Chinese are the preferred partners of many African governments and the biggest trading partner of other emerging powers, such as Brazil and South Africa. China is also stepping in to buy the bonds of financially strapped members of the eurozone, such as Greece and Portugal.

And China is only the largest part of a bigger story about the rise of new economic and political players. America's traditional allies in Europe -- Britain, France, Italy, even Germany -- are slipping down the economic ranks. New powers are on the rise: India, Brazil, Turkey. They each have their own foreign-policy preferences, which collectively constrain America's ability to shape the world. Think of how India and Brazil sided with China at the global climate-change talks. Or the votes by Turkey and Brazil against America at the United Nations on sanctions against Iran. That is just a taste of things to come.

"China Will Implode Sooner or Later."

Don't count on it. It is certainly true that when Americans are worrying about national decline, they tend to overlook the weaknesses of their scariest-looking rival. The flaws in the Soviet and Japanese systems became obvious only in retrospect. Those who are confident that American hegemony will be extended long into the future point to the potential liabilities of the Chinese system. In a recent interview with the Times of London, former U.S. President George W. Bush suggested that China's internal problems mean that its economy will be unlikely to rival America's in the foreseeable future. "Do I still think America will remain the sole superpower?" he asked. "I do."

But predictions of the imminent demise of the Chinese miracle have been a regular feature of Western analysis ever since it got rolling in the late 1970s. In 1989, the Communist Party seemed to be staggering after the Tiananmen Square massacre. In the 1990s, economy watchers regularly pointed to the parlous state of Chinese banks and state-owned enterprises. Yet the Chinese economy has kept growing, doubling in size roughly every seven years.

Of course, it would be absurd to pretend that China does not face major challenges. In the short term, there is plenty of evidence that a property bubble is building in big cities like Shanghai, and inflation is on the rise. Over the long term, China has alarming political and economic transitions to navigate. The Communist Party is unlikely to be able to maintain its monopoly on political power forever. And the country's traditional dependence on exports and an undervalued currency are coming under increasing criticism from the United States and other international actors demanding a "rebalancing" of China's export-driven economy. The country also faces major demographic and environmental challenges: The population is aging rapidly as a result of the one-child policy, and China is threatened by water shortages and pollution.

Yet even if you factor in considerable future economic and political turbulence, it would be a big mistake to assume that the Chinese challenge to U.S. power will simply disappear. Once countries get the hang of economic growth, it takes a great deal to throw them off course. The analogy to the rise of Germany from the mid-19th century onward is instructive. Germany went through two catastrophic military defeats, hyperinflation, the Great Depression, the collapse of democracy, and the destruction of its major cities and infrastructure by Allied bombs. And yet by the end of the 1950s, West Germany was once again one of the world's leading economies, albeit shorn of its imperial ambitions.

In a nuclear age, China is unlikely to get sucked into a world war, so it will not face turbulence and disorder on remotely the scale Germany did in the 20th century. And whatever economic and political difficulties it does experience will not be enough to stop the country's rise to great-power status. Sheer size and economic momentum mean that the Chinese juggernaut will keep rolling forward, no matter what obstacles lie in its path.

"America Still Leads Across the Board."

For now. As things stand, America has the world's largest economy, the world's leading universities, and many of its biggest companies. The U.S. military is also incomparably more powerful than any rival. The United States spends almost as much on its military as the rest of the world put together. And let's also add in America's intangible assets. The country's combination of entrepreneurial flair and technological prowess has allowed it to lead the technological revolution. Talented immigrants still flock to U.S. shores. And now that Barack Obama is in the White House, the country's soft power has received a big boost. For all his troubles, polls show Obama is still the most charismatic leader in the world; Hu Jintao doesn't even come close. America also boasts the global allure of its creative industries (Hollywood and all that), its values, the increasing universality of the English language, and the attractiveness of the American Dream.

All true -- but all more vulnerable than you might think. American universities remain a formidable asset. But if the U.S. economy is not generating jobs, then those bright Asian graduate students who fill up the engineering and computer-science departments at Stanford University and MIT will return home in larger numbers. Fortune's latest ranking of the world's largest companies has only two American firms in the top 10 -- Walmart at No. 1 and ExxonMobil at No. 3. There are already three Chinese firms in the top 10: Sinopec, State Grid, and China National Petroleum. America's appeal might also diminish if the country is no longer so closely associated with opportunity, prosperity, and success. And though many foreigners are deeply attracted to the American Dream, there is also a deep well of anti-American sentiment in the world that al Qaeda and others have skillfully exploited, Obama or no Obama.

As for the U.S. military, the lesson of the Iraq and Afghan wars is that America's martial prowess is less useful than former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and others imagined. U.S. troops, planes, and missiles can overthrow a government on the other side of the world in weeks, but pacifying and stabilizing a conquered country is another matter. Years after apparent victory, America is still bogged down by an apparently endless insurgency in Afghanistan.

Not only are Americans losing their appetite for foreign adventures, but the U.S. military budget is clearly going to come under pressure in this new age of austerity. The present paralysis in Washington offers little hope that the United States will deal with its budgetary problems swiftly or efficiently. The U.S. government's continuing reliance on foreign lending makes the country vulnerable, as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's humbling 2009 request to the Chinese to keep buying U.S. Treasury bills revealed. America is funding its military supremacy through deficit spending, meaning the war in Afghanistan is effectively being paid for with a Chinese credit card. Little wonder that Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has identified the burgeoning national debt as the single largest threat to U.S. national security.

Meanwhile, China's spending on its military continues to grow rapidly. The country will soon announce the construction of its first aircraft carrier and is aiming to build five or six in total. Perhaps more seriously, China's development of new missile and anti-satellite technology threatens the command of the sea and skies on which the United States bases its Pacific supremacy. In a nuclear age, the U.S. and Chinese militaries are unlikely to clash. A common Chinese view is that the United States will instead eventually find it can no longer afford its military position in the Pacific. U.S. allies in the region -- Japan, South Korea, and increasingly India -- may partner more with Washington to try to counter rising Chinese power. But if the United States has to scale back its presence in the Pacific for budgetary reasons, its allies will start to accommodate themselves to a rising China. Beijing's influence will expand, and the Asia-Pacific region -- the emerging center of the global economy -- will become China's backyard.

"Globalization Is Bending the World the Way of the West."

Not really. One reason why the United States was relaxed about China's rise in the years after the end of the Cold War was the deeply ingrained belief that globalization was spreading Western values. Some even thought that globalization and Americanization were virtually synonymous.

Pundit Fareed Zakaria was prescient when he wrote that the "rise of the rest" (i.e., non-American powers) would be one of the major features of a "post-American world." But even Zakaria argued that this trend was essentially beneficial to the United States: "The power shift … is good for America, if approached properly. The world is going America's way. Countries are becoming more open, market-friendly, and democratic."

Both George W. Bush and Bill Clinton took a similar view that globalization and free trade would serve as a vehicle for the export of American values. In 1999, two years before China's accession to the World Trade Organization, Bush argued, "Economic freedom creates habits of liberty. And habits of liberty create expectations of democracy.… Trade freely with China, and time is on our side."

There were two important misunderstandings buried in this theorizing. The first was that economic growth would inevitably -- and fairly swiftly -- lead to democratization. The second was that new democracies would inevitably be more friendly and helpful toward the United States. Neither assumption is working out.

In 1989, after the Tiananmen Square massacre, few Western analysts would have believed that 20 years later China would still be a one-party state -- and that its economy would also still be growing at phenomenal rates. The common (and comforting) Western assumption was that China would have to choose between political liberalization and economic failure. Surely a tightly controlled one-party state could not succeed in the era of cell phones and the World Wide Web? As Clinton put it during a visit to China in 1998, "In this global information age, when economic success is built on ideas, personal freedom is … essential to the greatness of any modern nation."

In fact, China managed to combine censorship and one-party rule with continuing economic success over the following decade. The confrontation between the Chinese government and Google in 2010 was instructive. Google, that icon of the digital era, threatened to withdraw from China in protest at censorship, but it eventually backed down in return for token concessions. It is now entirely conceivable that when China becomes the world's largest economy -- let us say in 2027 -- it will still be a one-party state run by the Communist Party.

And even if China does democratize, there is absolutely no guarantee that this will make life easier for the United States, let alone prolong America's global hegemony. The idea that democracies are liable to agree on the big global issues is now being undermined on a regular basis. India does not agree with the United States on climate change or the Doha round of trade talks. Brazil does not agree with the United States on how to handle Venezuela or Iran. A more democratic Turkey is today also a more Islamist Turkey, which is now refusing to take the American line on either Israel or Iran. In a similar vein, a more democratic China might also be a more prickly China, if the popularity of nationalist books and Internet sites in the Middle Kingdom is any guide.

"Globalization Is Not a Zero-Sum Game."

Don't be too sure. Successive U.S. presidents, from the first Bush to Obama, have explicitly welcomed China's rise. Just before his first visit to China, Obama summarized the traditional approach when he said, "Power does not need to be a zero-sum game, and nations need not fear the success of another.… We welcome China's efforts to play a greater role on the world stage."

But whatever they say in formal speeches, America's leaders are clearly beginning to have their doubts, and rightly so. It is a central tenet of modern economics that trade is mutually beneficial for both partners, a win-win rather than a zero-sum. But that implies the rules of the game aren't rigged. Speaking before the 2010 World Economic Forum, Larry Summers, then Obama's chief economic advisor, remarked pointedly that the normal rules about the mutual benefits of trade do not necessarily apply when one trading partner is practicing mercantilist or protectionist policies. The U.S. government clearly thinks that China's undervaluation of its currency is a form of protectionism that has led to global economic imbalances and job losses in the United States. Leading economists, such as New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and the Peterson Institute's C. Fred Bergsten, have taken a similar line, arguing that tariffs or other retaliatory measures would be a legitimate response. So much for the win-win world.

And when it comes to the broader geopolitical picture, the world of the future looks even more like a zero-sum game, despite the gauzy rhetoric of globalization that comforted the last generation of American politicians. For the United States has been acting as if the mutual interests created by globalization have repealed one of the oldest laws of international politics: the notion that rising players eventually clash with established powers.

In fact, rivalry between a rising China and a weakened America is now apparent across a whole range of issues, from territorial disputes in Asia to human rights. It is mercifully unlikely that the United States and China would ever actually go to war, but that is because both sides have nuclear weapons, not because globalization has magically dissolved their differences.

At the G-20 summit in November, the U.S. drive to deal with "global economic imbalances" was essentially thwarted by China's obdurate refusal to change its currency policy. The 2009 climate-change talks in Copenhagen ended in disarray after another U.S.-China standoff. Growing Chinese economic and military clout clearly poses a long-term threat to American hegemony in the Pacific. The Chinese reluctantly agreed to a new package of U.N. sanctions on Iran, but the cost of securing Chinese agreement was a weak deal that is unlikely to derail the Iranian nuclear program. Both sides have taken part in the talks with North Korea, but a barely submerged rivalry prevents truly effective Sino-American cooperation. China does not like Kim Jong Il's regime, but it is also very wary of a reunified Korea on its borders, particularly if the new Korea still played host to U.S. troops. China is also competing fiercely for access to resources, in particular oil, which is driving up global prices.

American leaders are right to reject zero-sum logic in public. To do anything else would needlessly antagonize the Chinese. But that shouldn't obscure this unavoidable fact: As economic and political power moves from West to East, new international rivalries are inevitably emerging.

The United States still has formidable strengths. Its economy will eventually recover. Its military has a global presence and a technological edge that no other country can yet match. But America will never again experience the global dominance it enjoyed in the 17 years between the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 and the financial crisis of 2008. Those days are over.

Chinese President Hu Jintao highlighted moves to turn the "yuan" into a Global Currency

2011-01-16T20:19:00.000-05:00

Chinese President Hu Jintao Highlights Need for U.S.-China Cooperation, Questions Dollar

By ANDREW BROWNE

BEIJING—Chinese President Hu Jintao emphasized the need for cooperation with the U.S. in areas from new energy to space ahead of his visit to Washington this week, but he called the present U.S. dollar-dominated currency system a "product of the past" and highlighted moves to turn the yuan into a global currency.

"We both stand to gain from a sound China-U.S. relationship, and lose from confrontation," Mr. Hu said in written answers to questions from The Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.

Mr. Hu acknowledged "some differences and sensitive issues between us," but his tone was generally compromising, and he avoided specific mention of some of the controversial issues that have dogged relations with the U.S. over the past year or so—including U.S. arms sales to Taiwan that led to a freeze in military relations between the world's sole superpower and its rising Asian rival.

On the economic front, Mr. Hu played down one of the main U.S. arguments for why China should appreciate its currency—that it will help China tame inflation. That is likely to disappoint Washington, which accuses China of unfairly boosting its exports by undervaluing the yuan, making its products cheaper overseas. The topic is expected to be high on U.S. President Barack Obama's agenda when he meets Mr. Hu at the White House on Wednesday.

Mr. Hu also offered a veiled criticism of efforts by the U.S. Federal Reserve to stimulate growth through huge bond purchases to keep down long-term interest rates, a strategy that China has loudly complained about in the past as fueling inflation in emerging economies, including its own. He said that U.S. monetary policy "has a major impact on global liquidity and capital flows and therefore, the liquidity of the U.S. dollar should be kept at a reasonable and stable level."

Mr. Hu's responses reflect a China that has grown more confident in recent years—especially in the wake of the global financial crisis, from which it emerged relatively unscathed.

Mr. Hu reiterated China's belief that the crisis reflected "the absence of regulation in financial innovation" and the failure of international financial institutions "to fully reflect the changing status of developing countries in the world economy and finance." He called for an international financial system that is more "fair, just, inclusive and well-managed."

Mr. Hu, who also heads China's ruling Communist Party, rarely interacts with the international media. The Wall Street Journal submitted a series of questions to China's Foreign Ministry for Mr. Hu to answer. The Washington Post also submitted questions. The Foreign Ministry supplied Mr. Hu's responses to seven questions—but did not address questions about imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, China's growing naval power and complaints about alleged Chinese cyberattacks, among others.

Mr. Hu's veiled criticism of the Fed reflects widespread feelings among developing nations that U.S. interest-rate policy is devaluing the dollar, prompting flows of capital overseas and creating inflation elsewhere. China and other developing countries would like the Fed to factor in those consequences when it makes decisions. Fed officials counter that their mandate is to bolster the U.S. economy and that a stronger U.S. economy is in the interests of China and other countries, which depend heavily on trade and investment from the U.S.

This could be a major issue of contention between Messrs. Hu and Obama. The U.S. blames Chinese currency undervaluation—not Fed policy making—for worsening competitive and inflation problems overseas.

Some of Mr. Hu's most significant comments dealt with the future of the dollar and currency exchange rates.

"The current international currency system is the product of the past," he said, noting the primacy of the U.S. dollar as a reserve currency and its use in international trade and investment.

The comment is the latest sign that the dollar's future continues to concern the most senior levels of the Chinese government. Beijing fears not only that loose U.S. monetary policy is fueling inflation, but that it will erode the value of China's holdings of dollars within its vast foreign-exchange reserves, which reached $2.85 trillion at the end of 2010.

China's central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, created an international stir in March 2009 by calling for the creation of a new synthetic reserve currency as an alternative to the dollar. Mr. Hu's comments add to the sense that China intends to challenge the post-World War II financial order largely created by the U.S. and dominated by the dollar.

Mr. Hu called attention to China's accelerating effort to expand the role of its own currency, describing recent moves to allow greater use of the yuan in cross-border trade and investment—while acknowledging that making it a fully fledged international currency "will be a fairly long process."

China's moves already have spawned a thriving market for offshore trading of yuan in Hong Kong, and are widely seen as first steps toward making the yuan an international currency in line with China's new prominence as the world's second largest economy. Mr. Hu offered an enthusiastic endorsement of what are officially described as currency "pilot programs." They "fit in well with market demand as evidenced by the rapidly expanding scale of these transactions," he said.

Mr. Hu didn't signal any changes on the most sensitive aspect of China's currency policy: the exchange rate.
Last week, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner reiterated the U.S. position that a stronger yuan is in China's own best interests, because it would help tame rising inflation that has become a key risk to China's rapid growth, which is underpinning the global economic recovery. A stronger yuan would reduce the price of imports in local-currency terms.

But Mr. Hu shrugged off the U.S. argument, saying that China is fighting inflation with a whole package of policies, including interest-rate increases, and "inflation can hardly be the main factor in determining the exchange rate policy."

Further, Mr. Hu suggested that inflation was not a big worry, saying prices were "on the whole moderate and controllable." He added: "We have the confidence, conditions and ability to stabilize the overall price level."

The U.S. argues that the yuan's real exchange rate—that is, the exchange rate as adjusted for the higher inflation level in China than the U.S.—is rising at a 10% annual rate. Treasury officials have argued to China that its policy options are limited—either it can boost the exchange rate to fight inflation, or inflation will effectively boost the value of China's currency.

While the U.S. says some Chinese economic officials buy that argument, it hasn't been widely adopted within China, as Mr. Hu's comments illustrate. But the U.S. feels that economics and time are on its side. Even so, the administration and Congress will continue to press China to boost the pace of its currency appreciation.
Mr. Hu renewed a Chinese pledge to offer a level playing field in China for U.S. companies, which have complained about aggressive Chinese moves to usurp their technology and shut them out of massive government-procurement contracts.

"All foreign companies registered in China are Chinese enterprises," Mr. Hu said, responding to concerns that China discriminates in government procurement against foreign businesses as part of its drive to encourage so-called indigenous innovation.

He added: "Their innovation, production and business operations in China enjoy the same treatment as Chinese enterprises."

The U.S. has been pressing China to revamp its plans for indigenous innovation, which foreign companies say put them at a disadvantage in competition with China's state-owned firms, which limits the types of government development projects and requires that companies get government approval to participate. China has pledged to join the World Trade Organization's government procurement agreement, which limits a country's ability to discriminate. But the U.S. and other countries say that so far China's WTO offer is inadequate because it exempts provinces, municipalities and state-owned enterprises. Last month China pledged to amend a buy-Chinese provision. During the Hu visit, the U.S. hopes to see some other commitments on this front from China.

Mr. Hu began his answers with a relatively upbeat assessment of China-U.S. relations, which he said had "on the whole enjoyed steady growth" since the start of this century.

He spoke of expanding cooperation from economy and trade into new areas like energy, infrastructure development and aviation and space. "We should abandon the zero-sum Cold War mentality," he said, and "respect each other's choice of development path."

On the diplomatic front, Mr. Hu entirely glossed over what has been one of the most dramatic developments of the past year—a series of disputes between a more assertive China and its neighbors that has given the U.S. an opening to shore up its relations with a part of the world that felt neglected by Washington while it fought wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In the past year, China has feuded with Japan over the seizure of a Chinese fishing boat and its crew off disputed islands; opened deep differences with South Korea because of its subdued response to military provocations by North Korea; and alarmed countries in Southeast Asia by declaring the South China Sea and its energy and mineral riches one of its "core interests."

"Mutual trust between China and other countries in this region has deepened in our common response to tough challenges, and our cooperation has continuously expanded in our pursuit of mutual benefit and win-win outcomes," Mr. Hu said, ignoring the regional turmoil.

—Jason Dean in Beijing
and Bob Davis in Washington
contributed to this article.

Julian Assange: The Founder of WikiLeaks and His Secret Life

2010-12-02T22:24:00.000-05:00

Julian Assange: The Founder of WikiLeaks and His Secret Life

by John Perazzo

WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange, previously famous for leaking a video of an American helicopter attack in Baghdad that killed several people (with a scene showing one of them carrying a rocket-propelled grenade edited out), is making headlines again — this time for his data dump of classified material about the war in Afghanistan. His supporters like to think of him as “an Internet freedom fighter.” Assange himself has collaborated with this image by making pious assertions about the value of “transparency” — of the sort WikiLeaks has produced — for reducing international corruption and creating better government. But Assange’s own profile, far from that of a conscientious moral critic bent on revealing unethical behavior, shows the evolution of an information vandal sublimely indifferent to those who might be put at risk by his behavior.

Born in Australia in 1971, Assange grew up in an unanchored family which had moved 37 times by the time he was 14. His cheap teenage thrills involved invading the secure worlds that others created. By 1987, Assange had established a reputation as a sophisticated computer programmer who could break into even the most well-protected networks. But he indicated his real intentions by joining with two fellow hackers to form a group that became known as the International Subversives. They broke into computer systems from Europe to North America, including, most notably, networks belonging to the U.S. Defense Department and the Los Alamos National Laboratory. In a book to which he contributed – Underground: Tales of Hacking, Madness and Obsession on the Electronic Frontier – Assange tried to create an aura of morality around this activity, defining what he called the Golden Rules of the hacker subculture: “Don’t damage computer systems you break into (including crashing them); don’t change the information in those systems (except for altering logs to cover your tracks); and share information.”

Hacking remained an obsession for Assange throughout his late teens; the excitement he derived from it was only amplified by his knowledge that federal authorities were doggedly trying to catch him and his fellow “Subversives.” This self-dramatization continues today, as Assange constantly moves from place to place, maintaining no real home, because he fears that international governmental agencies, particularly those in the U.S., may have targeted him for reprisal for the leaks he has orchestrated.

In September 1991, Assange hacked into the master terminal that the Canadian telecom company Nortel maintained in Melbourne. Soon thereafter, he was caught by federal investigators and was charged with 31 counts of hacking and related offenses. Facing a potential sentence of a decade behind bars, Assange pled guilty to 25 charges and 6 were dropped. At his final sentencing, the judge went easy on him: “There is just no evidence that there was anything other than sort of intelligent inquisitiveness and the pleasure of being able to—what’s the expression—surf through these various computers.” Thus Assange escaped with the lightest of penalties — the payment of a small fine.

After the hacking trial, Assange lived below the radar in Melbourne for a number of years, working variously as a computer programmer and software developer, among other pursuits. He also studied physics and math at the University of Melbourne. Then, in 2006, he began the process of creating WikiLeaks, a website that would publish confidential government documents and images. His inspiration for this brainstorm was the infamous Daniel Ellsberg, who in 1971 — the year of Assange’s birth — had published the Pentagon Papers.

Shortly after getting WikiLeaks off the ground, Assange flew to Kenya to attend the World Social Forum — a yearly symposium dedicated to the redistribution of wealth and the eradication of capitalism — where he delivered a presentation about his new website.

Steadfastly contending that his primary objective vis-à-vis WikiLeaks was to expose injustice wherever it might reside, Assange told potential collaborators in 2006: “Our primary targets are those highly oppressive regimes in China, Russia and Central Eurasia, but we also expect to be of assistance to those in the West who wish to reveal illegal or immoral behavior in their own governments and corporations.” Assange also suggested that a “social movement” to expose incriminating classified information had the potential to “bring down many administrations that rely on concealing reality—including the U.S. administration.” Indeed, it has been the U.S.—rather than Russia and China—that WikiLeaks has targeted.

Recently, Assange posted military documents that included the Social Security numbers of American soldiers. While acknowledging that leaks like these could harm innocent people, he rationalized such possibilities as mere “collateral damage, if you will” and added airily that he could not be expected to calculate, in advance, the importance of every bit of information that might eventually find its way onto WikiLeaks.

On another occasion, WikiLeaks published the results of an Army test which found that certain electromagnetic devices designed to prevent IED explosives from detonating, also tended to compromise the performance of communication systems used by American soldiers. When asked if he would consider not releasing this information, given its potential for being exploited by terrorists intent on killing U.S. troops, Assange replied lamely that in spite of his “harm-minimization policy,” his uncompromising commitment to transparency might ultimately cause him and his fellow WikiLeaks insiders to get “blood on our hands.”
Assange has also published thousands of pages of secret military information detailing Army purchases in Iraq and Afghanistan; the Standard Operating Procedures manual for Camp Delta (in Guantánamo Bay); NATO’s secret plan for the Afghan war; and the contents of Sarah Palin’s private Yahoo account.

With the release of 92,000 military field reports, Assange has now made a serious bid to equal what his imagined mentor Daniel Ellsberg accomplished in 1971. While there are actually few similarities between the Pentagon Papers (a detailed narrative of U.S. involvement in Vietnam that gave a wholly different view than the one offered by the war’s defenders in the White House) and the WikiLeak Papers (random documents), one common thread unites the two men associated with these leaks: Ellsberg intended to help our enemies defeat us 40 years ago, and Assange hopes to accomplish exactly the same thing today.

Pastor Dowell: Senate Bill S 510 Passes Procedural Vote 74-25

2010-11-29T20:32:00.000-05:00

Pastor Dowell: Senate Bill S 510 Passes Procedural Vote 74-25

S. 510: FDA Food Safety Modernization Act Summary

2010-11-29T20:25:00.001-05:00

S. 510:

FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

Summary

__________________________________________________

Title I - Improving Capacity to Prevent Food Safety Problems

Section 101 -

Amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) to expand the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to inspect records related to food, including to: (1) allow the inspection of records of food that the Secretary reasonably believes is likely to be affected in a similar manner as an adulterated food; and (2) require that each person (excluding farms and restaurants) who manufactures, processes, packs, distributes, receives, holds, or imports an article of food permit inspection of his or her records if the Secretary believes that there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to such food will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.

Section 102 -

Authorizes the Secretary to suspend the registration of a food facility if the food manufactured, processed, packed, or held by a facility has a reasonable probability of causing serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.

Section 103 -

Requires each owner, operator, or agent in charge of a food facility to: (1) evaluate the hazards that could affect food; (2) identify and implement preventive controls; (3) monitor the performance of those controls; and (4) maintain records of such monitoring. Deems facilities required to comply with certain food-specific standards to be in compliance with this section. Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations to establish science-based minimum standards for conducting a hazard analysis, documenting hazards, implementing preventive controls, and documenting such implementation. Prohibits the operation of a facility that manufactures, processes, packs, or holds food for sale in the United States if the owner, operator, or agent in charge of such facility is not in compliance with this section. Delays implementation of this section for small businesses.

Section 104 -

Directs the Secretary to: (1) review and evaluate relevant health data and other information to determine the most significant foodborne contaminants; and (2) issue contaminant-specific and science-based guidance documents, action levels, or regulations.

Section 105 -

Sets forth provisions related to produce safety, including to require the Secretary to: (1) establish science-based minimum standards for the safe production and harvesting of those types of fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities to minimize the risk of serious adverse health consequences or death; and (2) publish updated good agricultural practices and guidance for the safe production and harvesting of specific types of fresh produce.

Section 106 -

Requires the Secretary to promulgate regulations to protect against the intentional adulteration of food.

Section 107 -

Directs the Secretary to assess and collect fees related to: (1) food facility reinspection; (2) food recalls; (3) the voluntary qualified importer program; and (4) importer reinspection. Applies export certification provisions to food.

Section 108 -

Requires the Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to prepare and submit to the relevant congressional committees and make public the National Agriculture and Food Defense Strategy, which shall include: (1) an implementation plan; (2) a coordinated research agenda; and (3) a process to achieve, and evaluate progress towards, goals.

Section 109 -

Directs the Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) to report annually on the activities of the Food and Agriculture Government Coordinating Council and the Food and Agriculture Sector Coordinating Council.

Section 110 -

Requires the HHS Secretary to submit to Congress: (1) a comprehensive report that identifies programs and practices that are intended to promote the safety and supply chain security of food and to prevent outbreaks of foodborne illness and other food-related hazards that can be addressed through preventive activities; and (2) biennial reports on food safety programs and practices following the submission of the comprehensive report. Requires the HHS Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture to submit to Congress, biennially, a joint food safety and food defense research plan.

Section 111 -

Requires the HHS Secretary to promulgate regulations on sanitary transportation practices for the transportation of food.

Section 112 -

Requires the Secretary to develop and make available to local educational agencies, schools, early childhood education programs, and interested entities and individuals guidelines for developing plans for individuals to manage the risk of food allergy and anaphylaxis in schools and early childhood education programs, to be implemented on a voluntary basis. Sets forth issues for such guidelines to address, including: (1) parental obligation to provide documentation of their child's food allergy; (2) the creation of an individual plan for food allergy management; (3) communication strategies between schools or childhood education programs and providers of emergency medical services; and (4) strategies to reduce the risk of exposure to anaphylactic causative agents in classrooms and common school or early childhood education program areas, such as cafeterias. Allows the Secretary to award matching grants to assist local educational agencies in implementing such food allergy and anaphylaxis management guidelines.

Title II - Improving Capacity to Detect and Respond to Food Safety Problems

Section 201 -

Requires the Secretary to: (1) allocate resources to inspect facilities and articles of food imported into the United States based on their risk profiles; (2) increase the frequency of inspection of all facilities; and (3) report to the appropriate congressional committees annually on food facility and food import inspections.

Section 202 -

Requires the Secretary to: (1) recognize bodies that accredit laboratories with a demonstrated capability to conduct analytical testing of food products; (2) establish a publicly available registry of accreditation bodies; (3) develop model standards that an accreditation body shall require laboratories to meet; and (4) periodically reevaluate accreditation bodies and revoke recognition of any not in compliance with this section. Sets forth requirements for mandatory testing, including that: (1) testing be conducted by federal laboratories or accredited nonfederal laboratories; and (2) results of such testing be sent directly to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Requires the Secretary to review results from any sampling and testing that lead to a state or locality issuing a food recall to evaluate the need for a national recall or other compliance and enforcement activities. Requires the Secretary to report to the relevant congressional committees on the progress in implementing a national food emergency response laboratory network.

Section 203 -

Directs the DHS Secretary to maintain an agreement through which relevant laboratory network members will: (1) agree on common laboratory methods in order to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and information; (2) identify means by which each member could work cooperatively to optimize national laboratory preparedness and provide surge capacity during emergencies; and (3) engage in ongoing dialogue and build relationships that will support a more effective and integrated response during emergencies. Sets forth reporting requirements.

Section 204 -

Requires the HHS Secretary to: (1) improve tracking and tracing of fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities in the event of a foodborne illness outbreak; and (2) establish standards for the type of information, format, and timeframe for persons to submit records to aid the Secretary in such tracking and tracing.

Section 205 -

Requires the Secretary to establish a pilot project to explore and evaluate methods for rapidly and effectively tracking and tracing processed food so that the Secretary may quickly identify the source of an outbreak involving such a processed food and the recipients of the contaminated food.

Section 206 -

Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to enhance foodborne illness surveillance systems to improve the collection, analysis, reporting, and usefulness of data on foodborne illnesses. Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop and implement strategies to leverage and enhance the food safety and defense capacities of state and local agencies to achieve specified goals, including improving foodborne illness outbreak response and containment; and (2) complete a review of state and local capacities and needs for enhancement not later than one year after enactment of this Act. Reauthorizes appropriations for grants to states and Indian tribes to expand participation in networks to enhance federal, state, and local food safety efforts, including meeting the costs of establishing and maintaining the food safety surveillance, technical, and laboratory capacity needed for such participation.

Section 207 -

Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) provide a responsible party with an opportunity to cease distribution and recall an adulterated or misbranded article of food if the use of or exposure to such article will cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals; (2) order a responsible party to immediately cease distribution and provide notice to relevant persons if the responsible party does not voluntarily cease distribution of or recall such article of food; and (3) order a recall if the Secretary determines that removal of the article from commerce is necessary, but only after providing an opportunity for a hearing.

Section 208 -

Revises the standard for the administrative detention of food to allow such a detention if the FDA has reason to believe that such article is adulterated or misbranded.

Section 209 -

Requires the Administration of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to provide support for, and technical assistance to, state, local, and tribal governments in preparing for, assessing, decontaminating, and recovering from an agriculture or food emergency.

Section 210 -

Requires the Secretary to set standards and administer training and education programs for the employees of state, local, territorial, and tribal food safety officials relating to the regulatory responsibilities and policies established by this Act. Authorizes and encourages the Secretary to conduct examinations, testing, and investigations for the purposes of determining compliance with the food safety provisions of this Act through the officers and employees of such state, local, territorial, or tribal agency.

Section 211 -

Expands the program for grants to states, territories, and Indian tribes for inspections to include grants to: (1) train to HHS standards for the examination, inspection, and investigation of food manufacturing, processing, packing, holding, distribution, and importation; (2) build the capacity of the laboratories for food safety; (3) build the infrastructure and capacity of the food safety programs; and (4) take appropriate action to protect the public health in response to a recall of food under the FFDCA.

Title III - Improving the Safety of Imported Food

Section 301 -

Requires U.S. importers to perform risk-based foreign supplier verification activities to verify that imported food is produced in compliance with applicable requirements related to hazard analysis and standards for produce safety and is not adulterated or misbranded. Requires the Secretary to issue guidance to assist U.S. importers in developing foreign supplier verification programs.

Section 302 -

Requires the Secretary to: (1) establish a program to provide for the expedited review and importation of food offered for importation by U.S. importers who have voluntarily agreed to participate in such program; and (2) issue a guidance document related to participation and compliance with such program.

Section 303 -

Requires imported food that fails to meet requirements for a certification or other assurance that the food meets applicable FFDCA requirements to be refused admission. Authorizes the Secretary to require, as a condition of granting admission to an article of food into the United States, that an entity provide a certification or other assurances that the article of food complies with applicable FFDCA requirements.

Section 304 -

Directs the Secretary to require, prior to importation of an article of food, notice of any country to which such article has been refused entry.

Section 305 -

Requires the Secretary to determine whether a country can provide reasonable assurances that the food supply of the country meets or exceeds the safety of food manufactured, processed, packed, or held in the United States.

Section 306 -

Directs the Secretary to develop a comprehensive plan to expand the technical, scientific, and regulatory capacity of foreign governments and food industries from which foods are exported to the United States.

Section 307 -

Authorizes the Secretary to enter into arrangements and agreements with foreign governments to facilitate the inspection of registered foreign facilities. Requires the Secretary to direct resources to inspections of foreign facilities, supplies, and food types to help ensure the safety and security of the U.S. food supply. Requires food to be refused admission into the United States if permission to inspect the food facility is denied by the facility owner, operator, or agent or the foreign country.

Section 308 -

Sets forth provisions governing the establishment of a system to recognize bodies that accredit third-party auditors and audit agents to certify that eligible entities meet applicable FFDCA requirements for importation of food into the United States.

Section 309 -

Requires the Secretary to establish offices of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in foreign countries to provide assistance to the appropriate governmental entities with respect to measures to provide for the safety of articles of food and other products regulated by the FDA that are exported by such countries to the United States.

Section 310 -

Requires the Secretary to: (1) develop and implement a strategy to better identify sand prevent entry into the United States of smuggled food; and (2) notify the DHS Secretary not later than ten days after identifying a smuggled food that would cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals. Requires a press release to warn consumers and vendors about a potential threat from smuggled food if certain requirements are met.

Title IV - Miscellaneous Provisions

Section 401 -

Authorizes appropriations for FY2010-FY2014 for the activities of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, the Center for Veterinary Medicine, and related field activities in the Office of Regulatory Affairs of the FDA. Directs the HHS Secretary to increase the field staff of such Centers and Office.

Section 402 -

Establishes whistleblower protections for employees of entities involved in the manufacturing, processing, packing, transporting, distribution, reception, holding, or importation of food who provide information relating to any violation of the FFDCA.

Section 404 -

Declares that nothing in this Act shall be construed in a manner inconsistent with the agreement establishing the World Trade Organization or any other treaty or international agreement to which the United States is a party.

Section 405 -

Requires the Secretary to update the Fish and Fisheries Products Hazards and Control Guidance to take into account advances in technology.

Section 406 -

Requires the Secretary, acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, to study the transportation of food for consumption in the United States, including an examination of the unique needs of rural and frontier areas with regard to the delivery of safe food.

Organic Farms and Back Yard Gardens Will become illegal via S 510

2010-11-29T20:20:00.000-05:00

Organic Farms and Back Yard Gardens Will become illegal via S 510

"Section 3 which is the definitions portion of the bill-read in it's entirety. section 103, 206 and 207- read in it's entirety.
Legally binds state agriculture depts to enforcing federal guidelines effectively taking away the states power to do anything other than being food police for the federal dept.

Effectively criminalizes organic farming but doesn't actually use the word organic.
Effects anyone growing food even if they are not selling it but consuming it.
Effects anyone producing meat of any kind including wild game.

Legislation is so broad based that every aspect of growing or producing food can be made illegal. There are no specifics which is bizarre considering how long the legislation is.
Section 103 is almost entirely about the administrative aspect of the legislation. It will allow the appointing of officials from the factory farming corporations and lobbyists and classify them as experts and allow them to determine and interpret the legislation. Who do you think they are going to side with? [italics mine]
Section 206 defines what will be considered a food production facility and what will be enforced up all food production facilities. The wording is so broad based that a backyard gardener could be fined and more.
Section 207 requires that the state's agriculture dept act as the food police and enforce the federal requirements. This takes away the states power and is in violation of the 10th amendment."

Local farms could be illegal

2010-11-29T20:08:00.000-05:00

Local farms could be illegal

RT America has been discussing obesity in America and the effects of the mass consumption of genetically altered food. What are the risks and what can be done about it? George Hemminger says that as many people are feeling the economic downturn hit them, they are growing their own food. However, the government might try to take that choice away from the people as well by passing a bill that would make it illegal to clean and store seeds.

Senate Bill S 510: FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

2010-11-29T19:51:00.000-05:00

SENATE BILL S 510 : 'FDA Food Safety Modernization Act'

S 510 RS

Calendar No. 247
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to the safety of the food supply.

March 3, 2009

Mr. DURBIN (for himself, Mr. GREGG, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. BURR, Mr. DODD, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. ISAKSON, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. CHAMBLISS, Mr. BURRIS, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. HATCH, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. HARKIN, and Mr. ENZI) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

December 18, 2009

Reported by Mr. HARKIN, with an amendment
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
S. 510

______________________________________________________________________

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) Short Title- This Act may be cited as the `FDA Food Safety Modernization Act'.

(b) References- Except as otherwise specified, whenever in this Act an amendment is expressed in terms of an amendment to a section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or other provision of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.).

(c) Table of Contents- The table of contents for this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; references; table of contents.

TITLE I--IMPROVING CAPACITY TO PREVENT FOOD SAFETY PROBLEMS

Sec. 101. Inspections of records.

Sec. 102. Registration of food facilities.

Sec. 103. Hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls.

Sec. 104. Performance standards.

Sec. 105. Standards for produce safety.

Sec. 106. Protection against intentional adulteration.

Sec. 107. Authority to collect fees.

Sec. 108. National agriculture and food defense strategy.

Sec. 109. Food and Agriculture Coordinating Councils.

Sec. 110. Building domestic capacity.

Sec. 111. Sanitary transportation of food.

Sec. 112. Food allergy and anaphylaxis management.

TITLE II--IMPROVING CAPACITY TO DETECT AND RESPOND TO FOOD SAFETY PROBLEMS

Sec. 201. Targeting of inspection resources for domestic facilities, foreign facilities, and ports of entry; annual report.

Sec. 202. Recognition of laboratory accreditation for analyses of foods.

Sec. 203. Integrated consortium of laboratory networks.

Sec. 204. Enhancing traceback and recordkeeping.

Sec. 205. Pilot project to enhance traceback and recordkeeping with respect to processed food.

Sec. 206. Surveillance.

Sec. 207. Mandatory recall authority.

Sec. 208. Administrative detention of food.

Sec. 209. Decontamination and disposal standards and plans.

Sec. 210. Improving the training of State, local, territorial, and tribal food safety officials.

Sec. 211. Grants to enhance food safety.

TITLE III--IMPROVING THE SAFETY OF IMPORTED FOOD

Sec. 301. Foreign supplier verification program.

Sec. 302. Voluntary qualified importer program.

Sec. 303. Authority to require import certifications for food.

Sec. 304. Prior notice of imported food shipments.

Sec. 305. Review of a regulatory authority of a foreign country.

Sec. 306. Building capacity of foreign governments with respect to food.

Sec. 307. Inspection of foreign food facilities.

Sec. 308. Accreditation of third-party auditors and audit agents.

Sec. 309. Foreign offices of the Food and Drug Administration.

Sec. 310. Smuggled food.

TITLE IV--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 401. Funding for food safety.

Sec. 402. Whistleblower protections.

Sec. 403. Jurisdiction; authorities.

Sec. 404. Compliance with international agreements.

TITLE I--IMPROVING CAPACITY TO PREVENT FOOD SAFETY PROBLEMS

SEC. 101. INSPECTIONS OF RECORDS.

(a) In General- Section 414(a) (21 U.S.C. 350c(a)) is amended--

(1) by striking the heading and all that follows through `of food is' and inserting the following: `Records Inspection-

`(1) ADULTERATED FOOD- If the Secretary has a reasonable belief that an article of food, and any other article of food that the Secretary reasonably believes is likely to be affected in a similar manner, is';

(2) by inserting `, and to any other article of food that the Secretary reasonably believes is likely to be affected in a similar manner,' after `relating to such article';

(3) by striking the last sentence; and

(4) by inserting at the end the following:

`(2) USE OF OR EXPOSURE TO FOOD OF CONCERN- If the Secretary believes that there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to an article of food, and any other article of food that the Secretary reasonably believes is likely to be affected in a similar manner, will cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals, each person (excluding farms and restaurants) who manufactures, processes, packs, distributes, receives, holds, or imports such article shall, at the request of an officer or employee duly designated by the Secretary, permit such officer or employee, upon presentation of appropriate credentials and a written notice to such person, at reasonable times and within reasonable limits and in a reasonable manner, to have access to and copy all records relating to such article and to any other article of food that the Secretary reasonably believes is likely to be affected in a similar manner, that are needed to assist the Secretary in determining whether there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to the food will cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.

`(3) APPLICATION- The requirement under paragraphs (1) and (2) applies to all records relating to the manufacture, processing, packing, distribution, receipt, holding, or importation of such article maintained by or on behalf of such person in any format (including paper and electronic formats) and at any location.'.

(b) Conforming Amendment- Section 704(a)(1)(B) (21 U.S.C. 374(a)(1)(B)) is amended by striking `section 414 when' and all that follows through `subject to' and inserting `section 414, when the standard for records inspection under paragraph (1) or (2) of section 414(a) applies, subject to'.

SEC. 102. REGISTRATION OF FOOD FACILITIES.

(a) Updating of Food Category Regulations; Biennial Registration Renewal- Section 415(a) (21 U.S.C. 350d(a)) is amended--

(1) in paragraph (2), by--

(A) striking `conducts business and' and inserting `conducts business, the e-mail address for the contact person of the facility or, in the case of a foreign facility, the United States agent for the facility, and'; and

(B) inserting `, or any other food categories as determined appropriate by the Secretary, including by guidance' after `Code of Federal Regulations';

(2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and

(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:

`(3) BIENNIAL REGISTRATION RENEWAL- During the period beginning on October 1 and ending on December 31 of each even-numbered year, a registrant that has submitted a registration under paragraph (1) shall submit to the Secretary a renewal registration containing the information described in paragraph (2). The Secretary shall provide for an abbreviated registration renewal process for any registrant that has not had any changes to such information since the registrant submitted the preceding registration or registration renewal for the facility involved.'.

(b) Suspension of Registration-

(1) IN GENERAL- Section 415 (21 U.S.C. 350d) is amended--

(A) in subsection (a)(2), by inserting after the first sentence the following: `The registration shall contain an assurance that the Secretary will be permitted to inspect such facility at the times and in the manner permitted by this Act.';

(B) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and

(C) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:

`(b) Suspension of Registration-

`(1) IN GENERAL- If the Secretary determines that food manufactured, processed, packed, or held by a facility registered under this section has a reasonable probability of causing serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals, the Secretary may by order suspend the registration of the facility under this section in accordance with this subsection.

`(2) HEARING ON SUSPENSION- The Secretary shall provide the registrant subject to an order under paragraph (1) with an opportunity for an informal hearing, to be held as soon as possible but not later than 2 business days after the issuance of the order or such other time period, as agreed upon by the Secretary and the registrant, on the actions required for reinstatement of registration and why the registration that is subject to suspension should be reinstated. The Secretary shall reinstate a registration if the Secretary determines, based on evidence presented, that adequate grounds do not exist to continue the suspension of the registration.

`(3) POST-HEARING CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN; VACATING OF ORDER-

`(A) CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN- If, after providing opportunity for an informal hearing under paragraph (2), the Secretary determines that the suspension of registration remains necessary, the Secretary shall require the registrant to submit a corrective action plan to demonstrate how the registrant plans to correct the conditions found by the Secretary. The Secretary shall review such plan in a timely manner.

`(B) VACATING OF ORDER- Upon a determination by the Secretary that adequate grounds do not exist to continue the suspension actions required by the order, or that such actions should be modified, the Secretary shall vacate the order or modify the order.

`(4) EFFECT OF SUSPENSION- If the registration of a facility is suspended under this subsection, such facility shall not import food or offer to import food into the United States, or otherwise introduce food into interstate or intrastate commerce in the United States.

`(5) REGULATIONS- The Secretary shall promulgate regulations that describe the standards the Commissioner will use in making a determination to suspend a registration, and the format the Commissioner will use to explain to the registrant the conditions found at the facility. The Secretary may promulgate such regulations on an interim final basis.

`(6) APPLICATION DATE- Facilities shall be subject to the requirements of this subsection beginning on the earlier of--

`(A) the date on which the Secretary issues regulations under paragraph (5); or

`(B) 180 days after the date of enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act.

`(7) NO DELEGATION- The authority conferred by this subsection to issue an order to suspend a registration or vacate an order of suspension shall not be delegated to any officer or employee other than the Commissioner.'.

(2) IMPORTED FOOD- Section 801(l) (21 U.S.C. 381(l)) is amended by inserting `(or for which a registration has been suspended under such section)' after `section 415'.

(c) Conforming Amendments-

(1) Section 301(d) (21 U.S.C. 331(d)) is amended by inserting `415,' after `404,'.

(2) Section 415(d), as redesignated by subsection (b), is amended by adding at the end before the period `for a facility to be registered, except with respect to the reinstatement of a registration that is suspended under subsection (b)'.

SEC. 103. HAZARD ANALYSIS AND RISK-BASED PREVENTIVE CONTROLS.

(a) In General- Chapter IV (21 U.S.C. 341 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`SEC. 418. HAZARD ANALYSIS AND RISK-BASED PREVENTIVE CONTROLS.

`(a) In General- The owner, operator, or agent in charge of a facility shall, in accordance with this section, evaluate the hazards that could affect food manufactured, processed, packed, or held by such facility, identify and implement preventive controls to significantly minimize or prevent the occurrence of such hazards and provide assurances that such food is not adulterated under section 402 or misbranded under section 403(w), monitor the performance of those controls, and maintain records of this monitoring as a matter of routine practice.

`(b) Hazard Analysis- The owner, operator, or agent in charge of a facility shall--

`(1) identify and evaluate known or reasonably foreseeable hazards that may be associated with the facility, including--

`(A) biological, chemical, physical, and radiological hazards, natural toxins, pesticides, drug residues, decomposition, parasites, allergens, and unapproved food and color additives; and

`(B) hazards that occur naturally, may be unintentionally introduced, or may be intentionally introduced, including by acts of terrorism; and

`(2) develop a written analysis of the hazards.

`(c) Preventive Controls- The owner, operator, or agent in charge of a facility shall identify and implement preventive controls, including at critical control points, if any, to provide assurances that--

`(1) hazards identified in the hazard analysis conducted under subsection (b) will be significantly minimized or prevented; and

`(2) the food manufactured, processed, packed, or held by such facility will not be adulterated under section 402 or misbranded under section 403(w).

`(d) Monitoring of Effectiveness- The owner, operator, or agent in charge of a facility shall monitor the effectiveness of the preventive controls implemented under subsection (c) to provide assurances that the outcomes described in subsection (c) shall be achieved.

`(e) Corrective Actions- The owner, operator, or agent in charge of a facility shall establish procedures that a facility will implement if the preventive controls implemented under subsection (c) are found to be ineffective through monitoring under subsection (d).

`(f) Verification- The owner, operator, or agent in charge of a facility shall verify that--

`(1) the preventive controls implemented under subsection (c) are adequate to control the hazards identified under subsection (b);

`(2) the owner, operator, or agent is conducting monitoring in accordance with subsection (d);

`(3) the owner, operator, or agent is making appropriate decisions about corrective actions taken under subsection (e);

`(4) the preventive controls implemented under subsection (c) are effectively and significantly minimizing or preventing the occurrence of identified hazards, including through the use of environmental and product testing programs and other appropriate means; and

`(5) there is documented, periodic reanalysis of the plan under subsection (i) to ensure that the plan is still relevant to the raw materials, conditions and processes in the facility, and new and emerging threats.

`(g) Recordkeeping- The owner, operator, or agent in charge of a facility shall maintain, for not less than 2 years, records documenting the monitoring of the preventive controls implemented under subsection (c), instances of nonconformance material to food safety, the results of testing and other appropriate means of verification under subsection (f)(4), instances when corrective actions were implemented, and the efficacy of preventive controls and corrective actions.

`(h) Written Plan and Documentation- The owner, operator, or agent in charge of a facility shall prepare a written plan that documents and describes the procedures used by the facility to comply with the requirements of this section, including analyzing the hazards under subsection (b) and identifying the preventive controls adopted under subsection (c) to address those hazards. Such written plan, together with the documentation described in subsection (g), shall be made promptly available to a duly authorized representative of the Secretary upon oral or written request.

`(i) Requirement To Reanalyze- The owner, operator, or agent in charge of a facility shall conduct a reanalysis under subsection (b) whenever a significant change is made in the activities conducted at a facility operated by such owner, operator, or agent if the change creates a reasonable potential for a new hazard or a significant increase in a previously identified hazard or not less frequently than once every 3 years, whichever is earlier. Such reanalysis shall be completed and additional preventive controls needed to address the hazard identified, if any, shall be implemented before the change in activities at the facility is operative. Such owner, operator, or agent shall revise the written plan required under subsection (h) if such a significant change is made or document the basis for the conclusion that no additional or revised preventive controls are needed. The Secretary may require a reanalysis under this section to respond to new hazards and developments in scientific understanding.

`(j) Deemed Compliance of Seafood, Juice, and Low-acid Canned Food Facilities Subject to HACCP- The owner, operator, or agent in charge of a facility required to comply with 1 of the following standards and regulations with respect to such facility shall be deemed to be in compliance with this section, with respect to such facility:

`(1) The Seafood Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points Program of the Food and Drug Administration.

`(2) The Juice Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points Program of the Food and Drug Administration.

`(3) The Thermally Processed Low-Acid Foods Packaged in Hermetically Sealed Containers standards of the Food and Drug Administration (or any successor standards).

`(k) Exception for Facilities Subject to Section 419- This section shall not apply to a facility that is subject to section 419.

`(l) Authority With Respect to Certain Facilities- The Secretary may, by regulation, exempt or modify the requirements for compliance under this section with respect to facilities that are solely engaged in the production of food for animals other than man, the storage of raw agricultural commodities (other than fruits and vegetables) intended for further distribution or processing, or the storage of packaged foods that are not exposed to the environment.

`(m) Definitions- For purposes of this section:

`(1) CRITICAL CONTROL POINT- The term `critical control point' means a point, step, or procedure in a food process at which control can be applied and is essential to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard or reduce such hazard to an acceptable level.

`(2) FACILITY- The term `facility' means a domestic facility or a foreign facility that is required to register under section 415.

`(3) PREVENTIVE CONTROLS- The term `preventive controls' means those risk-based, reasonably appropriate procedures, practices, and processes that a person knowledgeable about the safe manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding of food would employ to significantly minimize or prevent the hazards identified under the hazard analysis conducted under subsection (a) and that are consistent with the current scientific understanding of safe food manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding at the time of the analysis. Those procedures, practices, and processes may include the following:

`(A) Sanitation procedures for food contact surfaces and utensils and food-contact surfaces of equipment.

`(B) Supervisor, manager, and employee hygiene training.

`(C) An environmental monitoring program to verify the effectiveness of pathogen controls in processes where a food is exposed to a potential contaminant in the environment.

`(D) A food allergen control program.

`(E) A recall plan.

`(F) Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs).

`(G) Supplier verification activities.'.

(b) Regulations-

(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this Act as the `Secretary') shall promulgate regulations to establish science-based minimum standards for conducting a hazard analysis, documenting hazards, implementing preventive controls, and documenting the implementation of the preventive controls under section 418 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (as added by subsection (a)).

(2) CONTENT- The regulations promulgated under paragraph (1) shall provide sufficient flexibility to be applicable in all situations, including in the operations of small businesses.

(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION- Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to provide the Secretary with the authority to apply specific technologies, practices, or critical controls to an individual facility.

(4) REVIEW- In promulgating the regulations under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall review regulatory hazard analysis and preventive control programs in existence on the date of enactment of this Act to ensure that the program under such section 418 is consistent, to the extent practicable, with applicable domestic and internationally-recognized standards in existence on such date.

(c) Guidance Document- The Secretary shall issue a guidance document related to hazard analysis and preventive controls related to the regulations promulgated under section 418 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (as added by subsection (a)).

(d) Prohibited Acts- Section 301 (21 U.S.C. 331) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(uu) The operation of a facility that manufacturers, processes, packs, or holds food for sale in the United States if the owner, operator, or agent in charge of such facility is not in compliance with section 418.'.

(e) No Effect on HACCP Authorities- Nothing in the amendments made by this section limits the authority of the Secretary under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) or the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) to revise, issue, or enforce product and category-specific regulations, such as the Seafood Hazard Analysis Critical Controls Points Program, the Juice Hazard Analysis Critical Control Program, and the Thermally Processed Low-Acid Foods Packaged in Hermetically Sealed Containers standards.

(f) Dietary Supplements- Nothing in the amendments made by this section shall apply to any dietary supplement that is in compliance with the requirements of sections 402(g)(2) and 761 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 342(g)(2), 379aa-1).

(g) No Effect on Alcohol-related Facilities-

(1) IN GENERAL- Nothing in the amendments made by this section shall apply to a facility that--

(A) under the Federal Alcohol Administration Act (27 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) or chapter 51 of subtitle E of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 5291 et seq.) is required to obtain a permit or to register with the Secretary of the Treasury as a condition of doing business in the United States; and

(B) is required to register as a facility under section 415 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 350d) because such facility is engaged in manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding 1 or more alcoholic beverages,

with respect to the activities of such facility that relate to the manufacturing, processing, packing, or holding of alcoholic beverages.

(2) LIMITED RECEIPT AND DISTRIBUTION OF NON-ALCOHOL FOOD- Paragraph (1) shall not apply to a facility engaged in the receipt or distribution of any non-alcohol food, except that such paragraph shall apply to a facility described in such paragraph that receives and distributes non-alcohol food, provided such food is received and distributed--

(A) in a prepackaged form that prevents any direct human contact with such food; and

(B) in amounts that constitute not more than 5 percent of the overall sales of such facility, as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury.

(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION- Except as provided in paragraphs (1) and (2), this subsection shall not be construed to exempt any food, other than distilled spirits, wine, and malt beverages, as defined in section 211 of the Federal Alcohol Administration Act (27 U.S.C. 211), from the requirements of this Act (including the amendments made by this Act).

(h) Effective Date-

(1) GENERAL RULE- The amendments made by this section shall take effect 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act.

(2) EXCEPTIONS- Notwithstanding paragraph (1)--

(A) the amendments made by this section shall apply to a small business (as defined by the Secretary for purposes of this section, not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act) after the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act; and

(B) the amendments made by this section shall apply to a very small business (as defined by the Secretary for purposes of this section, not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act) after the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 104. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.

The Secretary shall, not less frequently than every 2 years, review and evaluate relevant health data and other relevant information, including from toxicological and epidemiological studies and analyses, to determine the most significant foodborne contaminants. Based on such review and evaluation, and when appropriate to reduce the risk of serious illness or death to humans or animals or to prevent adulteration of the food under section 402 of the Federal Food, Drug, or Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 342) or to prevent the spread of communicable disease under section 361 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 264), the Secretary shall issue contaminant-specific and science-based guidance documents, action levels, or regulations. Such guidance, action levels, or regulations shall apply to products or product classes and shall not be written to be facility-specific.

SEC. 105. STANDARDS FOR PRODUCE SAFETY.

(a) In General- Chapter IV (21 U.S.C. 341 et seq.), as amended by section 103, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`SEC. 419. STANDARDS FOR PRODUCE SAFETY.

`(a) Proposed Rulemaking-

`(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture and representatives of State departments of agriculture (including with regard to the national organic program established under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.)), shall publish a notice of proposed rulemaking to establish science-based minimum standards for the safe production and harvesting of those types of fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities for which the Secretary has determined that such standards minimize the risk of serious adverse health consequences or death.

`(2) PUBLIC INPUT- During the comment period on the notice of proposed rulemaking under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall conduct not less than 3 public meetings in diverse geographical areas of the United States to provide persons in different regions an opportunity to comment.

`(3) CONTENT- The proposed rulemaking under paragraph (1) shall--

`(A) provide sufficient flexibility to be applicable to various types of entities engaged in the production and harvesting of raw agricultural commodities, including small businesses and entities that sell directly to consumers, and be appropriate to the scale and diversity of the production and harvesting of such commodities;

`(B) include, with respect to growing, harvesting, sorting, packing, and storage operations, minimum standards related to soil amendments, hygiene, packaging, temperature controls, animal encroachment, and water;

`(C) consider hazards that occur naturally, may be unintentionally introduced, or may be intentionally introduced, including by acts of terrorism;

`(D) take into consideration, consistent with ensuring enforceable public health protection, conservation and environmental practice standards and policies established by Federal natural resource conservation, wildlife conservation, and environmental agencies; and

`(E) in the case of production that is certified organic, not include any requirements that conflict with or duplicate the requirements of the national organic program established under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.), while providing for public health protection consistent with the requirements of this Act.

`(4) PRIORITIZATION- The Secretary shall prioritize the implementation of the regulations for specific fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities that have been associated with foodborne illness outbreaks.

`(b) Final Regulation-

`(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 1 year after the close of the comment period for the proposed rulemaking under subsection (a), the Secretary shall adopt a final regulation to provide for minimum standards for those types of fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities for which the Secretary has determined that such standards minimize the risk of serious adverse health consequences or death.

`(2) FINAL REGULATION- The final regulation shall--

`(A) provide a reasonable period of time for compliance, taking into account the needs of small businesses for additional time to comply;

`(B) provide for coordination of education and enforcement activities by State and local officials, as designated by the Governors of the respective States; and

`(C) include a description of the variance process under subsection (c) and the types of permissible variances the Secretary may grant.

`(c) Criteria-

`(1) IN GENERAL- The regulations adopted under subsection (b) shall--

`(A) set forth those procedures, processes, and practices as the Secretary determines to be reasonably necessary to prevent the introduction of known or reasonably foreseeable biological, chemical, and physical hazards, including hazards that occur naturally, may be unintentionally introduced, or may be intentionally introduced, including by acts of terrorism, into fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities and to provide reasonable assurances that the produce is not adulterated under section 402; and

`(B) permit States and foreign countries from which food is imported into the United States, subject to paragraph (2), to request from the Secretary variances from the requirements of the regulations, where upon approval of the Secretary, the variance is considered permissible under the requirements of the regulations adopted under subsection (b)(2)(C) and where the State or foreign country determines that the variance is necessary in light of local growing conditions and that the procedures, processes, and practices to be followed under the variance are reasonably likely to ensure that the produce is not adulterated under section 402 to the same extent as the requirements of the regulation adopted under subsection (b).

`(2) APPROVAL OF VARIANCES- A State or foreign country from which food is imported into the United States shall request a variance from the Secretary in writing. The Secretary may deny such a request as not reasonably likely to ensure that the produce is not adulterated under section 402 to the same extent as the requirements of the regulation adopted under subsection (b).

`(d) Enforcement- The Secretary may coordinate with the Secretary of Agriculture and, as appropriate, shall contract and coordinate with the agency or department designated by the Governor of each State to perform activities to ensure compliance with this section.

`(e) Guidance-

`(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the Secretary shall publish, after consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, representatives of State departments of agriculture, farmer representatives, and various types of entities engaged in the production and harvesting of fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities, including small businesses, updated good agricultural practices and guidance for the safe production and harvesting of specific types of fresh produce.

`(2) PUBLIC MEETINGS- The Secretary shall conduct not fewer than 3 public meetings in diverse geographical areas of the United States as part of an effort to conduct education and outreach regarding the guidance described in paragraph (1) for persons in different regions who are involved in the production and harvesting of fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities, including persons that sell directly to consumers and farmer representatives.

`(f) Exception for Facilities Subject to Section 418- This section shall not apply to a facility that is subject to section 418.'.

(b) Prohibited Acts- Section 301 (21 U.S.C. 331), as amended by section 103, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(vv) The failure to comply with the requirements under section 419.'.

(c) No Effect on HACCP Authorities- Nothing in the amendments made by this section limits the authority of the Secretary under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) or the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 201 et seq.) to revise, issue, or enforce product and category-specific regulations, such as the Seafood Hazard Analysis Critical Controls Points Program, the Juice Hazard Analysis Critical Control Program, and the Thermally Processed Low-Acid Foods Packaged in Hermetically Sealed Containers standards.

SEC. 106. PROTECTION AGAINST INTENTIONAL ADULTERATION.

(a) In General- Chapter IV (21 U.S.C. 341 et seq.), as amended by section 105, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`SEC. 420. PROTECTION AGAINST INTENTIONAL ADULTERATION.

`(a) In General- Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall promulgate regulations to protect against the intentional adulteration of food subject to this Act.

`(b) Applicability- Regulations under subsection (a) shall apply only to food--

`(1) for which the Secretary has identified clear vulnerabilities (including short shelf-life or susceptibility to intentional contamination at critical control points);

`(2) in bulk or batch form, prior to being packaged for the final consumer; and

`(3) for which there is a high risk of intentional contamination, as determined by the Secretary, that could cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals.

`(c) Determinations- In making the determination under subsection (b)(3), the Secretary shall--

`(1) conduct vulnerability assessments of the food system;

`(2) consider the best available understanding of uncertainties, risks, costs, and benefits associated with guarding against intentional adulteration at vulnerable points; and

`(3) determine the types of science-based mitigation strategies or measures that are necessary to protect against the intentional adulteration of food.

`(d) Content of Regulations- Regulations under subsection (a) shall--

`(1) specify how a person shall assess whether the person is required to implement mitigation strategies or measures intended to protect against the intentional adulteration of food; and

`(2) specify appropriate science-based mitigation strategies or measures to prepare and protect the food supply chain at specific vulnerable points, as appropriate.

`(e) Exception- This section shall not apply to farms, except for those that produce milk.

`(f) Definition- For purposes of this section, the term `farm' has the meaning given that term in section 1.227 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation).'.

(b) Guidance Documents-

(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall issue guidance documents related to protection against the intentional adulteration of food, including mitigation strategies or measures to guard against such adulteration as required under section 420 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as added by subsection (a).

(2) CONTENT- The guidance documents issued under paragraph (1) shall--

(A) include a model assessment for a person to use under subsection (d)(1) of section 420 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as added by subsection (a);

(B) include examples of mitigation strategies or measures described in subsection (d)(2) of such section; and

(C) specify situations in which the examples of mitigation strategies or measures described in subsection (d)(2) of such section are appropriate.

(3) LIMITED DISTRIBUTION- In the interest of national security, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, may determine the time and manner in which the guidance documents issued under paragraph (1) are made public, including by releasing such documents to targeted audiences.

(c) Periodic Review- The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall periodically review and, as appropriate, update the regulations under subsection (a) and the guidance documents under subsection (b).

(d) Prohibited Acts- Section 301 (21 U.S.C. 331 et seq.), as amended by section 105, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(ww) The failure to comply with section 420.'.

SEC. 107. AUTHORITY TO COLLECT FEES.

(a) Fees for Reinspection, Recall, and Importation Activities- Subchapter C of chapter VII (21 U.S.C. 379f et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`PART 6--FEES RELATED TO FOOD

`SEC. 743. AUTHORITY TO COLLECT AND USE FEES.

`(a) In General-

`(1) PURPOSE AND AUTHORITY- For fiscal year 2010 and each subsequent fiscal year, the Secretary shall, in accordance with this section, assess and collect fees from--

`(A) the responsible party for each domestic facility (as defined in section 415(b)) and the United States agent for each foreign facility subject to a reinspection in such fiscal year, to cover reinspection-related costs for such year;

`(B) the responsible party for a domestic facility (as defined in section 415(b)) and an importer who does not comply with a recall order under section 423 or under section 412(f) in such fiscal year, to cover food recall activities associated with such order performed by the Secretary, including technical assistance, follow-up effectiveness checks, and public notifications, for such year;

`(C) each importer participating in the voluntary qualified importer program under section 806 in such year, to cover the administrative costs of such program for such year; and

`(D) each importer subject to a reinspection in such fiscal year, to cover reinspection-related costs for such year.

`(2) DEFINITIONS- For purposes of this section--

`(A) the term `reinspection' means--

`(i) with respect to domestic facilities (as defined in section 415(b)), 1 or more inspections conducted under section 704 subsequent to an inspection conducted under such provision which identified noncompliance materially related to a food safety requirement of this Act, specifically to determine whether compliance has been achieved to the Secretary's satisfaction; and

`(ii) with respect to importers, 1 or more examinations conducted under section 801 subsequent to an examination conducted under such provision which identified noncompliance materially related to a food safety requirement of this Act, specifically to determine whether compliance has been achieved to the Secretary's satisfaction;

`(B) the term `reinspection-related costs' means all expenses, including administrative expenses, incurred in connection with--

`(i) arranging, conducting, and evaluating the results of reinspections; and

`(ii) assessing and collecting reinspection fees under this section; and

`(C) the term `responsible party' has the meaning given such term in section 417(a)(1).

`(b) Establishment of Fees-

`(1) IN GENERAL- Subject to subsections (c) and (d), the Secretary shall establish the fees to be collected under this section for each fiscal year specified in subsection (a)(1), based on the methodology described under paragraph (2), and shall publish such fees in a Federal Register notice not later than 60 days before the start of each such year.

`(2) FEE METHODOLOGY-

`(A) FEES- Fees amounts established for collection--

`(i) under subparagraph (A) of subsection (a)(1) for a fiscal year shall be based on the Secretary's estimate of 100 percent of the costs of the reinspection-related activities (including by type or level of reinspection activity, as the Secretary determines applicable) described in such subparagraph (A) for such year;

`(ii) under subparagraph (B) of subsection (a)(1) for a fiscal year shall be based on the Secretary's estimate of 100 percent of the costs of the activities described in such subparagraph (B) for such year;

`(iii) under subparagraph (C) of subsection (a)(1) for a fiscal year shall be based on the Secretary's estimate of 100 percent of the costs of the activities described in such subparagraph (C) for such year; and

`(iv) under subparagraph (D) of subsection (a)(1) for a fiscal year shall be based on the Secretary's estimate of 100 percent of the costs of the activities described in such subparagraph (D) for such year.

`(B) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS-

`(i) VOLUNTARY QUALIFIED IMPORTER PROGRAM-

`(I) PARTICIPATION- In establishing the fee amounts under subparagraph (A)(iii) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall provide for the number of importers who have submitted to the Secretary a notice under section 806(e) informing the Secretary of the intent of such importer to participate in the program under section 806 in such fiscal year.

`(II) RECOUPMENT- In establishing the fee amounts under subparagraph (A)(iii) for the first 5 fiscal years after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall include in such fee a reasonable surcharge that provides a recoupment of the costs expended by the Secretary to establish and implement the first year of the program under section 806.

`(ii) CREDITING OF FEES- In establishing the fee amounts under subparagraph (A) for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall provide for the crediting of fees from the previous year to the next year if the Secretary overestimated the amount of fees needed to carry out such activities, and consider the need to account for any adjustment of fees and such other factors as the Secretary determines appropriate.

`(iii) PUBLISHED GUIDELINES- Not later than June 30, 2010, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register a proposed set of guidelines in consideration of the burden of fee amounts on small business. Such consideration may include reduced fee amounts for small businesses. The Secretary shall provide for a period of public comment on such guidelines. The Secretary shall adjust the fee schedule for small businesses subject to such fees only through notice and comment rulemaking.

`(3) USE OF FEES- The Secretary shall make all of the fees collected pursuant to clause (i), (ii), (iii), and (iv) of paragraph (2)(A) available solely to pay for the costs referred to in such clause (i), (ii), (iii), and (iv) of paragraph (2)(A), respectively.

`(c) Limitations-

`(1) IN GENERAL- Fees under subsection (a) shall be refunded for a fiscal year beginning after fiscal year 2010 unless the amount of the total appropriations for food safety activities at the Food and Drug Administration for such fiscal year (excluding the amount of fees appropriated for such fiscal year) is equal to or greater than the amount of appropriations for food safety activities at the Food and Drug Administration for fiscal year 2009 (excluding the amount of fees appropriated for such fiscal year), multiplied by the adjustment factor under paragraph (3).

`(2) AUTHORITY- If--

`(A) the Secretary does not assess fees under subsection (a) for a portion of a fiscal year because paragraph (1) applies; and

`(B) at a later date in such fiscal year, such paragraph (1) ceases to apply,

the Secretary may assess and collect such fees under subsection (a), without any modification to the rate of such fees, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) relating to the date fees are to be paid.

`(3) ADJUSTMENT FACTOR-

`(A) IN GENERAL- The adjustment factor described in paragraph (1) shall be the total percentage change that occurred in the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers (all items; United States city average) for the 12-month period ending June 30 preceding the fiscal year, but in no case shall such adjustment factor be negative.

`(B) COMPOUNDED BASIS- The adjustment under subparagraph (A) made each fiscal year shall be added on a compounded basis to the sum of all adjustments made each fiscal year after fiscal year 2009.

`(4) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF CERTAIN FEES-

`(A) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding any other provision of this section and subject to subparagraph (B), the Secretary may not collect fees in a fiscal year such that the amount collected--

`(i) under subparagraph (B) of subsection (a)(1) exceeds $20,000,000; and

`(ii) under subparagraphs (A) and (D) of subsection (a)(1) exceeds $25,000,000 combined.

`(B) EXCEPTION- If a domestic facility (as defined in section 415(b)) or an importer becomes subject to a fee described in subparagraph (A), (B), or (D) of subsection (a)(1) after the maximum amount of fees has been collected by the Secretary under subparagraph (A), the Secretary may collect a fee from such facility or importer.

`(d) Crediting and Availability of Fees- Fees authorized under subsection (a) shall be collected and available for obligation only to the extent and in the amount provided in appropriations Acts. Such fees are authorized to remain available until expended. Such sums as may be necessary may be transferred from the Food and Drug Administration salaries and expenses account without fiscal year limitation to such appropriation account for salaries and expenses with such fiscal year limitation. The sums transferred shall be available solely for the purpose of paying the operating expenses of the Food and Drug Administration employees and contractors performing activities associated with these food safety fees.

`(e) Collection of Fees-

`(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall specify in the Federal Register notice described in subsection (b)(1) the time and manner in which fees assessed under this section shall be collected.

`(2) COLLECTION OF UNPAID FEES- In any case where the Secretary does not receive payment of a fee assessed under this section within 30 days after it is due, such fee shall be treated as a claim of the United States Government subject to provisions of subchapter II of chapter 37 of title 31, United States Code.

`(f) Annual Report to Congress- Not later than 120 days after each fiscal year for which fees are assessed under this section, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, to include a description of fees assessed and collected for each such year and a summary description of the entities paying such fees and the types of business in which such entities engage.

`(g) Authorization of Appropriations- For fiscal year 2010 and each fiscal year thereafter, there is authorized to be appropriated for fees under this section an amount equal to the total revenue amount determined under subsection (b) for the fiscal year, as adjusted or otherwise affected under the other provisions of this section.'.

(b) Export Certification Fees for Foods and Animal Feed-

(1) AUTHORITY FOR EXPORT CERTIFICATIONS FOR FOOD, INCLUDING ANIMAL FEED- Section 801(e)(4)(A) (21 U.S.C. 381(e)(4)(A)) is amended--

(A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking `a drug' and inserting `a food, drug';

(B) in clause (i) by striking `exported drug' and inserting `exported food, drug'; and

(C) in clause (ii) by striking `the drug' each place it appears and inserting `the food, drug'.

(2) CLARIFICATION OF CERTIFICATION- Section 801(e)(4) (21 U.S.C. 381(e)(4)) is amended by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new subparagraph:

`(C) For purposes of this paragraph, a certification by the Secretary shall be made on such basis, and in such form (including a publicly available listing) as the Secretary determines appropriate.'.

SEC. 108. NATIONAL AGRICULTURE AND FOOD DEFENSE STRATEGY.

(a) Development and Submission of Strategy-

(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall prepare and submit to the relevant committees of Congress, and make publicly available on the Internet Web sites of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Agriculture, the National Agriculture and Food Defense Strategy.

(2) IMPLEMENTATION PLAN- The strategy shall include an implementation plan for use by the Secretaries described under paragraph (1) in carrying out the strategy.

(3) RESEARCH- The strategy shall include a coordinated research agenda for use by the Secretaries described under paragraph (1) in conducting research to support the goals and activities described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (b).

(4) REVISIONS- Not later than 4 years after the date on which the strategy is submitted to the relevant committees of Congress under paragraph (1), and not less frequently than every 4 years thereafter, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall revise and submit to the relevant committees of Congress the strategy.

(5) CONSISTENCY WITH EXISTING PLANS- The strategy described in paragraph (1) shall be consistent with--

(A) the National Incident Management System;

(B) the National Response Framework;

(C) the National Infrastructure Protection Plan;

(D) the National Preparedness Goals; and

(E) other relevant national strategies.

(b) Components-

(1) IN GENERAL- The strategy shall include a description of the process to be used by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Homeland Security--

(A) to achieve each goal described in paragraph (2); and

(B) to evaluate the progress made by Federal, State, local, and tribal governments towards the achievement of each goal described in paragraph (2).

(2) GOALS- The strategy shall include a description of the process to be used by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Homeland Security to achieve the following goals:

(A) PREPAREDNESS GOAL- Enhance the preparedness of the agriculture and food system by--

(i) conducting vulnerability assessments of the agriculture and food system;

(ii) mitigating vulnerabilities of the system;

(iii) improving communication and training relating to the system;

(iv) developing and conducting exercises to test decontamination and disposal plans;

(v) developing modeling tools to improve event consequence assessment and decision support; and

(vi) preparing risk communication tools and enhancing public awareness through outreach.

(B) DETECTION GOAL- Improve agriculture and food system detection capabilities by--

(i) identifying contamination in food products at the earliest possible time; and

(ii) conducting surveillance to prevent the spread of diseases.

(C) EMERGENCY RESPONSE GOAL- Ensure an efficient response to agriculture and food emergencies by--

(i) immediately investigating animal disease outbreaks and suspected food contamination;

(ii) preventing additional human illnesses;

(iii) organizing, training, and equipping animal, plant, and food emergency response teams of--

(I) the Federal Government; and

(II) State, local, and tribal governments;

(iv) designing, developing, and evaluating training and exercises carried out under agriculture and food defense plans; and

(v) ensuring consistent and organized risk communication to the public by--

(I) the Federal Government;

(II) State, local, and tribal governments; and

(III) the private sector.

(D) RECOVERY GOAL- Secure agriculture and food production after an agriculture or food emergency by--

(i) working with the private sector to develop business recovery plans to rapidly resume agriculture, food production, and international trade;

(ii) conducting exercises of the plans described in subparagraph (C) with the goal of long-term recovery results;

(iii) rapidly removing, and effectively disposing of--

(I) contaminated agriculture and food products; and

(II) infected plants and animals; and

(iv) decontaminating and restoring areas affected by an agriculture or food emergency.

(c) Limited Distribution- In the interest of national security, the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security, may determine the manner and format in which the National Agriculture and Food Defense strategy established under this section is made publicly available on the Internet Web sites of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Agriculture, as described in subsection (a)(1).

SEC. 109. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE COORDINATING COUNCILS.

The Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Agriculture, shall within 180 days of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, submit to the relevant committees of Congress, and make publicly available on the Internet Web site of the Department of Homeland Security, a report on the activities of the Food and Agriculture Government Coordinating Council and the Food and Agriculture Sector Coordinating Council, including the progress of such Councils on--

(1) facilitating partnerships between public and private entities to help coordinate and enhance the protection of the agriculture and food system of the United States;

(2) providing for the regular and timely interchange of information between each council relating to the security of the agriculture and food system (including intelligence information);

(3) identifying best practices and methods for improving the coordination among Federal, State, local, and private sector preparedness and response plans for agriculture and food defense; and

(4) recommending methods by which to protect the economy and the public health of the United States from the effects of--

(A) animal or plant disease outbreaks;

(B) food contamination; and

(C) natural disasters affecting agriculture and food.

SEC. 110. BUILDING DOMESTIC CAPACITY.

(a) In General-

(1) INITIAL REPORT- The Secretary shall, not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, submit to Congress a comprehensive report that identifies programs and practices that are intended to promote the safety and supply chain security of food and to prevent outbreaks of foodborne illness and other food-related hazards that can be addressed through preventive activities. Such report shall include a description of the following:

(A) Analysis of the need for further regulations or guidance to industry.

(B) Outreach to food industry sectors, including through the Food and Agriculture Coordinating Councils referred to in section 109, to identify potential sources of emerging threats to the safety and security of the food supply and preventive strategies to address those threats.

(C) Systems to ensure the prompt distribution to the food industry of information and technical assistance concerning preventive strategies.

(D) Communication systems to ensure that information about specific threats to the safety and security of the food supply are rapidly and effectively disseminated.

(E) Surveillance systems and laboratory networks to rapidly detect and respond to foodborne illness outbreaks and other food-related hazards, including how such systems and networks are integrated.

(F) Outreach, education, and training provided to States and local governments to build State and local food safety and food defense capabilities, including progress implementing strategies developed under sections 108 and 206.

(G) The estimated resources needed to effectively implement the programs and practices identified in the report developed in this section over a 5-year period.

(H) The impact of requirements under this Act (including amendments made by this Act) on certified organic farms and facilities (as defined in section 415 (21 U.S.C. 350d).

(2) BIENNIAL REPORTS- On a biennial basis following the submission of the report under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that--

(A) reviews previous food safety programs and practices;

(B) outlines the success of those programs and practices;

(C) identifies future programs and practices; and

(D) includes information related to any matter described in subparagraphs (A) through (H) of paragraph (1), as necessary.

(b) Risk-based Activities- The report developed under subsection (a)(1) shall describe methods that seek to ensure that resources available to the Secretary for food safety-related activities are directed at those actions most likely to reduce risks from food, including the use of preventive strategies and allocation of inspection resources. The Secretary shall promptly undertake those risk-based actions that are identified during the development of the report as likely to contribute to the safety and security of the food supply.

(c) Capability for Laboratory Analyses; Research- The report developed under subsection (a)(1) shall provide a description of methods to increase capacity to undertake analyses of food samples promptly after collection, to identify new and rapid analytical techniques, including commercially-available techniques that can be employed at ports of entry and by Food Emergency Response Network laboratories, and to provide for well-equipped and staffed laboratory facilities.

(d) Information Technology- The report developed under subsection (a)(1) shall include a description of such information technology systems as may be needed to identify risks and receive data from multiple sources, including foreign governments, State, local, and tribal governments, other Federal agencies, the food industry, laboratories, laboratory networks, and consumers. The information technology systems that the Secretary describes shall also provide for the integration of the facility registration system under section 415 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 350d), and the prior notice system under section 801(m) of such Act (21 U.S.C. 381(m)) with other information technology systems that are used by the Federal Government for the processing of food offered for import into the United States.

(e) Automated Risk Assessment- The report developed under subsection (a)(1) shall include a description of progress toward developing and improving an automated risk assessment system for food safety surveillance and allocation of resources.

(f) Traceback and Surveillance Report- The Secretary shall include in the report developed under subsection (a)(1) an analysis of the Food and Drug Administration's performance in foodborne illness outbreaks during the 5-year period preceding the date of enactment of this Act involving fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities (as defined in section 201(r) (21 U.S.C. 321(r)) and recommendations for enhanced surveillance, outbreak response, and traceability. Such findings and recommendations shall address communication and coordination with the public, industry, and State and local governments, as such communication and coordination relates to outbreak identification and traceback.

(g) Biennial Food Safety and Food Defense Research Plan- The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall, on a biennial basis, submit to Congress a joint food safety and food defense research plan which may include studying the long-term health effects of foodborne illness. Such biennial plan shall include a list and description of projects conducted during the previous 2-year period and the plan for projects to be conducted during the subsequent 2-year period.

SEC. 111. SANITARY TRANSPORTATION OF FOOD.

Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations described in section 416(b) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 350e(b)).

SEC. 112. FOOD ALLERGY AND ANAPHYLAXIS MANAGEMENT.

(a) Definitions- In this section:

(1) EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION PROGRAM- The term `early childhood education program' means--

(A) a Head Start program or an Early Head Start program carried out under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.);

(B) a State licensed or regulated child care program or school; or

(C) a State prekindergarten program that serves children from birth through kindergarten.

(2) ESEA DEFINITIONS- The terms `local educational agency', `secondary school', `elementary school', and `parent' have the meanings given the terms in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).

(3) SCHOOL- The term `school' includes public--

(A) kindergartens;

(B) elementary schools; and

(C) secondary schools.

(4) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

(b) Establishment of Voluntary Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Guidelines-

(1) ESTABLISHMENT-

(A) IN GENERAL- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Education, shall--

(i) develop guidelines to be used on a voluntary basis to develop plans for individuals to manage the risk of food allergy and anaphylaxis in schools and early childhood education programs; and

(ii) make such guidelines available to local educational agencies, schools, early childhood education programs, and other interested entities and individuals to be implemented on a voluntary basis only.

(B) APPLICABILITY OF FERPA- Each plan described in subparagraph (A) that is developed for an individual shall be considered an education record for the purpose of section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act (commonly referred to as the `Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974') (20 U.S.C. 1232g).

(2) CONTENTS- The voluntary guidelines developed by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall address each of the following and may be updated as the Secretary determines necessary:

(A) Parental obligation to provide the school or early childhood education program, prior to the start of every school year, with--

(i) documentation from their child's physician or nurse--

(I) supporting a diagnosis of food allergy, and any risk of anaphylaxis, if applicable;

(II) identifying any food to which the child is allergic;

(III) describing, if appropriate, any prior history of anaphylaxis;

(IV) listing any medication prescribed for the child for the treatment of anaphylaxis;

(V) detailing emergency treatment procedures in the event of a reaction;

(VI) listing the signs and symptoms of a reaction; and

(VII) assessing the child's readiness for self-administration of prescription medication; and

(ii) a list of substitute meals that may be offered to the child by school or early childhood education program food service personnel.

(B) The creation and maintenance of an individual plan for food allergy management, in consultation with the parent, tailored to the needs of each child with a documented risk for anaphylaxis, including any procedures for the self-administration of medication by such children in instances where--

(i) the children are capable of self-administering medication; and

(ii) such administration is not prohibited by State law.

(C) Communication strategies between individual schools or early childhood education programs and providers of emergency medical services, including appropriate instructions for emergency medical response.

(D) Strategies to reduce the risk of exposure to anaphylactic causative agents in classrooms and common school or early childhood education program areas such as cafeterias.

(E) The dissemination of general information on life-threatening food allergies to school or early childhood education program staff, parents, and children.

(F) Food allergy management training of school or early childhood education program personnel who regularly come into contact with children with life-threatening food allergies.

(G) The authorization and training of school or early childhood education program personnel to administer epinephrine when the nurse is not immediately available.

(H) The timely accessibility of epinephrine by school or early childhood education program personnel when the nurse is not immediately available.

(I) The creation of a plan contained in each individual plan for food allergy management that addresses the appropriate response to an incident of anaphylaxis of a child while such child is engaged in extracurricular programs of a school or early childhood education program, such as non-academic outings and field trips, before- and after-school programs or before- and after-early child education program programs, and school-sponsored or early childhood education program-sponsored programs held on weekends.

(J) Maintenance of information for each administration of epinephrine to a child at risk for anaphylaxis and prompt notification to parents.

(K) Other elements the Secretary determines necessary for the management of food allergies and anaphylaxis in schools and early childhood education programs.

(3) RELATION TO STATE LAW- Nothing in this section or the guidelines developed by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall be construed to preempt State law, including any State law regarding whether students at risk for anaphylaxis may self-administer medication.

(c) School-based Food Allergy Management Grants-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary may award grants to local educational agencies to assist such agencies with implementing voluntary food allergy and anaphylaxis management guidelines described in subsection (b).

(2) APPLICATION-

(A) IN GENERAL- To be eligible to receive a grant under this subsection, a local educational agency shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and including such information as the Secretary may reasonably require.

(B) CONTENTS- Each application submitted under subparagraph (A) shall include--

(i) an assurance that the local educational agency has developed plans in accordance with the food allergy and anaphylaxis management guidelines described in subsection (b);

(ii) a description of the activities to be funded by the grant in carrying out the food allergy and anaphylaxis management guidelines, including--

(I) how the guidelines will be carried out at individual schools served by the local educational agency;

(II) how the local educational agency will inform parents and students of the guidelines in place;

(III) how school nurses, teachers, administrators, and other school-based staff will be made aware of, and given training on, when applicable, the guidelines in place; and

(IV) any other activities that the Secretary determines appropriate;

(iii) an itemization of how grant funds received under this subsection will be expended;

(iv) a description of how adoption of the guidelines and implementation of grant activities will be monitored; and

(v) an agreement by the local educational agency to report information required by the Secretary to conduct evaluations under this subsection.

(3) USE OF FUNDS- Each local educational agency that receives a grant under this subsection may use the grant funds for the following:

(A) Purchase of materials and supplies, including limited medical supplies such as epinephrine and disposable wet wipes, to support carrying out the food allergy and anaphylaxis management guidelines described in subsection (b).

(B) In partnership with local health departments, school nurse, teacher, and personnel training for food allergy management.

(C) Programs that educate students as to the presence of, and policies and procedures in place related to, food allergies and anaphylactic shock.

(D) Outreach to parents.

(E) Any other activities consistent with the guidelines described in subsection (b).

(4) DURATION OF AWARDS- The Secretary may award grants under this subsection for a period of not more than 2 years. In the event the Secretary conducts a program evaluation under this subsection, funding in the second year of the grant, where applicable, shall be contingent on a successful program evaluation by the Secretary after the first year.

(5) LIMITATION ON GRANT FUNDING- The Secretary may not provide grant funding to a local educational agency under this subsection after such local educational agency has received 2 years of grant funding under this subsection.

(6) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF ANNUAL AWARDS- A grant awarded under this subsection may not be made in an amount that is more than $50,000 annually.

(7) PRIORITY- In awarding grants under this subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to local educational agencies with the highest percentages of children who are counted under section 1124(c) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6333(c)).

(8) MATCHING FUNDS-

(A) IN GENERAL- The Secretary may not award a grant under this subsection unless the local educational agency agrees that, with respect to the costs to be incurred by such local educational agency in carrying out the grant activities, the local educational agency shall make available (directly or through donations from public or private entities) non-Federal funds toward such costs in an amount equal to not less than 25 percent of the amount of the grant.

(B) DETERMINATION OF AMOUNT OF NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTION- Non-Federal funds required under subparagraph (A) may be cash or in kind, including plant, equipment, or services. Amounts provided by the Federal Government, and any portion of any service subsidized by the Federal Government, may not be included in determining the amount of such non-Federal funds.

(9) ADMINISTRATIVE FUNDS- A local educational agency that receives a grant under this subsection may use not more than 2 percent of the grant amount for administrative costs related to carrying out this subsection.

(10) PROGRESS AND EVALUATIONS- At the completion of the grant period referred to in paragraph (4), a local educational agency shall provide the Secretary with information on how grant funds were spent and the status of implementation of the food allergy and anaphylaxis management guidelines described in subsection (b).

(11) SUPPLEMENT, NOT SUPPLANT- Grant funds received under this subsection shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, non-Federal funds and any other Federal funds available to carry out the activities described in this subsection.

(12) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and such sums as may be necessary for each of the 4 succeeding fiscal years.

(d) Voluntary Nature of Guidelines-

(1) IN GENERAL- The food allergy and anaphylaxis management guidelines developed by the Secretary under subsection (b) are voluntary. Nothing in this section or the guidelines developed by the Secretary under subsection (b) shall be construed to require a local educational agency to implement such guidelines.

(2) EXCEPTION- Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Secretary may enforce an agreement by a local educational agency to implement food allergy and anaphylaxis management guidelines as a condition of the receipt of a grant under subsection (c).

TITLE II--IMPROVING CAPACITY TO DETECT AND RESPOND TO FOOD SAFETY PROBLEMS

SEC. 201. TARGETING OF INSPECTION RESOURCES FOR DOMESTIC FACILITIES, FOREIGN FACILITIES, AND PORTS OF ENTRY; ANNUAL REPORT.

(a) Targeting of Inspection Resources for Domestic Facilities, Foreign Facilities, and Ports of Entry- Chapter IV (21 U.S.C. 341 et seq.), as amended by section 106, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`SEC. 421. TARGETING OF INSPECTION RESOURCES FOR DOMESTIC FACILITIES, FOREIGN FACILITIES, AND PORTS OF ENTRY; ANNUAL REPORT.

`(a) Identification and Inspection of Facilities-

`(1) IDENTIFICATION- The Secretary shall allocate resources to inspect facilities according to the risk profile of the facilities, which shall be based on the following factors:

`(A) The risk profile of the food manufactured, processed, packed, or held at the facility.

`(B) The facility's compliance history, including with regard to food recalls, outbreaks, and violations of food safety standards.

`(C) The rigor and effectiveness of the facility's hazard analysis and risk-based preventive controls.

`(D) Whether the food manufactured, processed, packed, handled, prepared, treated, distributed, or stored at the facility meets the criteria for priority under section 801(h)(1).

`(E) Whether the facility has received a certificate as described in section 809(b).

`(F) Any other criteria deemed necessary and appropriate by the Secretary for purposes of allocating inspection resources.

`(2) INSPECTIONS-

`(A) IN GENERAL- Beginning on the date of enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the Secretary shall increase the frequency of inspection of all facilities.

`(B) HIGH-RISK FACILITIES- The Secretary shall increase the frequency of inspection of facilities identified under paragraph (1) as high-risk facilities such that--

`(i) for the first 2 years after the date of enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, each high-risk facility is inspected not less often than once every 2 years; and

`(ii) for each succeeding year, each high-risk facility is inspected not less often than once each year.

`(C) NON-HIGH-RISK FACILITIES- The Secretary shall ensure that each facility that is not identified under paragraph (1) as a high-risk facility is inspected not less often than once every 4 years.

`(b) Identification and Inspection at Ports of Entry- The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall allocate resources to inspect articles of food imported into the United States according to the risk profile of the article of food, which shall be based on the following factors:

`(1) The risk profile of the food imported.

`(2) The risk profile of the countries or regions of origin and countries of transport of the food imported.

`(3) The compliance history of the importer, including with regard to food recalls, outbreaks, and violations of food safety standards.

`(4) The rigor and effectiveness of the foreign supplier verification program under section 805.

`(5) Whether the food importer participates in the voluntary qualified importer program under section 806.

`(6) Whether the food meets the criteria for priority under section 801(h)(1).

`(7) Whether the food is from a facility that has received a certificate as described in section 809(b).

`(8) Any other criteria deemed appropriate by the Secretary for purposes of allocating inspection resources.

`(c) Coordination- The Secretary shall improve coordination and cooperation with the Secretary of Agriculture to target food inspection resources.

`(d) Facility- For purposes of this section, the term `facility' means a domestic facility or a foreign facility that is required to register under section 415.'.

(b) Annual Report- Section 1003 (21 U.S.C. 393) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(h) Annual Report Regarding Food- Not later than February 1 of each year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report regarding--

`(1) information about food facilities including--

`(A) the appropriations used to inspect facilities registered pursuant to section 415 in the previous fiscal year;

`(B) the average cost of both a non-high-risk food facility inspection and a high-risk food facility inspection, if such a difference exists, in the previous fiscal year;

`(C) the number of domestic facilities and the number of foreign facilities registered pursuant to section 415 that the Secretary inspected in the previous fiscal year;

`(D) the number of domestic facilities and the number of foreign facilities registered pursuant to section 415 that were scheduled for inspection in the previous fiscal year and which the Secretary did not inspect in such year;

`(E) the number of high-risk facilities identified pursuant to section 421 that the Secretary inspected in the previous fiscal year; and

`(F) the number of high-risk facilities identified pursuant to section 421 that were scheduled for inspection in the previous fiscal year and which the Secretary did not inspect in such year.

`(2) information about food imports including--

`(A) the number of lines of food imported into the United States that the Secretary physically inspected or sampled in the previous fiscal year;

`(B) the number of lines of food imported into the United States that the Secretary did not physically inspect or sample in the previous fiscal year; and

`(C) the average cost of physically inspecting or sampling a food line subject to this Act that is imported or offered for import into the United States; and

`(3) information on the foreign offices of the Food and Drug Administration including--

`(A) the number of foreign offices established; and

`(B) the number of personnel permanently stationed in each foreign office.

`(i) Public Availability of Annual Food Reports- The Secretary shall make the reports required under subsection (h) available to the public on the Internet Web site of the Food and Drug Administration.'.

SEC. 202. RECOGNITION OF LABORATORY ACCREDITATION FOR ANALYSES OF FOODS.

(a) In General- Chapter IV (21 U.S.C. 341 et seq.), as amended by section 201, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`SEC. 422. RECOGNITION OF LABORATORY ACCREDITATION FOR ANALYSES OF FOODS.

`(a) Recognition of Laboratory Accreditation-

`(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the Secretary shall--

`(A) provide for the recognition of accreditation bodies that accredit laboratories, including laboratories run and operated by a State or locality, with a demonstrated capability to conduct sampling and analytical testing of food products; and

`(B) establish a publicly available registry of accreditation bodies, including the name of, contact information for, and other information deemed necessary by the Secretary about such bodies.

`(2) FOREIGN LABORATORIES- Accreditation bodies recognized by the Secretary under paragraph (1) may accredit laboratories that operate outside the United States, so long as such laboratories meet the accreditation standards applicable to domestic laboratories accredited under this section.

`(3) MODEL ACCREDITATION STANDARDS- The Secretary shall develop model standards that an accreditation body shall require laboratories to meet in order to be included in the registry provided for under paragraph (1). In developing the model standards, the Secretary shall look to existing standards for guidance. The model standards shall include methods to ensure that--

`(A) appropriate sampling and rapid analytical procedures and commercially available techniques are followed and reports of analyses are certified as true and accurate;

`(B) internal quality systems are established and maintained;

`(C) procedures exist to evaluate and respond promptly to complaints regarding analyses and other activities for which the laboratory is recognized;

`(D) individuals who conduct the sampling and analyses are qualified by training and experience to do so; and

`(E) any other criteria determined appropriate by the Secretary.

`(4) REVIEW OF ACCREDITATION- To ensure compliance with the requirements of this section, the Secretary shall--

`(A) periodically, or at least every 5 years, reevaluate accreditation bodies recognized under paragraph (1); and

`(B) promptly revoke the recognition of any accreditation body found not to be in compliance with the requirements of this section, specifying, as appropriate, any terms and conditions necessary for laboratories accredited by such body to continue to perform testing as described in this section.

`(b) Testing Procedures-

`(1) IN GENERAL- Food testing shall be conducted by Federal laboratories or non-Federal laboratories that have been accredited by an accreditation body on the registry established by the Secretary under subsection (a)(1)(B) whenever such testing is conducted--

`(A) by or on behalf of an owner or consignee--

`(i) in response to a specific testing requirement under this Act or implementing regulations, when applied to address an identified or suspected food safety problem; and

`(ii) as required by the Secretary, as the Secretary deems appropriate, to address an identified or suspected food safety problem; and

`(B) on behalf of an owner or consignee--

`(i) in support of admission of an article of food under section 801(a); and

`(ii) under an Import Alert that requires successful consecutive tests.

`(2) RESULTS OF TESTING- The results of any such testing shall be sent directly to the Food and Drug Administration, except the Secretary may by regulation exempt test results that do not have to be so submitted if the Secretary determines that such results do not contribute to the protection of public health. Test results required to be submitted may be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration through electronic means.

`(c) Review by Secretary- If food sampling and testing performed by a laboratory run and operated by a State or locality that is accredited by an accreditation body on the registry established by the Secretary under subsection (a) result in a State recalling a food, the Secretary shall review the sampling and testing results for the purpose of determining the need for a national recall or other compliance and enforcement activities.

`(d) No Limit on Secretarial Authority- Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the ability of the Secretary to review and act upon information from food testing, including determining the sufficiency of such information and testing.'.

(b) Food Emergency Response Network- The Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and State, local, and tribal governments shall, not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and biennially thereafter, submit to the relevant committees of Congress, and make publicly available on the Internet Web site of the Department of Health and Human Services, a report on the progress in implementing a national food emergency response laboratory network that--

(1) provides ongoing surveillance, rapid detection, and surge capacity for large-scale food-related emergencies, including intentional adulteration of the food supply;

(2) coordinates the food laboratory capacities of State, local, and private food laboratories, including the sharing of data between State laboratories to develop national situational awareness;

(3) provides accessible, timely, accurate, and consistent food laboratory services throughout the United States;

(4) develops and implements a methods repository for use by Federal, State, and local officials;

(5) responds to food-related emergencies; and

(6) is integrated with relevant laboratory networks administered by other Federal agencies.

SEC. 203. INTEGRATED CONSORTIUM OF LABORATORY NETWORKS.

(a) In General- The Secretary of Homeland Security, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall maintain an agreement through which relevant laboratory network members, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall--

(1) agree on common laboratory methods in order to facilitate the sharing of knowledge and information relating to animal health, agriculture, and human health;

(2) identify means by which each laboratory network member could work cooperatively--

(A) to optimize national laboratory preparedness; and

(B) to provide surge capacity during emergencies; and

(3) engage in ongoing dialogue and build relationships that will support a more effective and integrated response during emergencies.

(b) Reporting Requirement- The Secretary of Homeland Security shall, on a biennial basis, submit to the relevant committees of Congress, and make publicly available on the Internet Web site of the Department of Homeland Security, a report on the progress of the integrated consortium of laboratory networks, as established under subsection (a), in carrying out this section.

SEC. 204. ENHANCING TRACEBACK AND RECORDKEEPING.

(a) In General- The Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture and representatives of State departments of health and agriculture, shall improve the capacity of the Secretary to effectively and rapidly track and trace, in the event of an outbreak, fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities.

(b) Pilot Projects-

(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 9 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish at least 3 pilot projects in coordination with the produce industry to explore and evaluate methods for rapidly and effectively tracking and tracing fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities so that, if an outbreak occurs involving such a fruit or vegetable, the Secretary may quickly identify, as soon as practicable, the source of the outbreak and the recipients of the contaminated food.

(2) CONTENT- The Secretary shall select participants from the produce industry to run projects which overall shall include at least 3 different types of fruits or vegetables that have been the subject of outbreaks during the 5-year period preceding the date of enactment of this Act, and shall be selected in order to develop and demonstrate--

(A) methods that are applicable and appropriate for small businesses; and

(B) technologies, including existing technologies, that enhance traceback and trace forward.

(c) Report- Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall report to Congress on the findings of the pilot projects under subsection (b) together with recommendations for establishing more effective traceback and trace forward procedures for fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities.

(d) Traceback Performance Requirements-

(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish a notice of proposed rulemaking to establish standards for the type of information, format, and timeframe for persons to submit records to aid the Secretary in effectively and rapidly tracking and tracing, in the event of a foodborne illness outbreak, fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities. In promulgating the regulations under this paragraph, the Secretary shall consider--

(A) the impact of such regulations on farms and small businesses;

(B) the findings in the report submitted under subsection (c); and

(C) existing international trade obligations.

(2) LIMITATIONS-

(A) TYPE OF RECORDS- The Secretary shall not require an entity that is subject to the requirements of section 419 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (as added by section 105), but which is not a facility (as such term is defined by section 415 of such Act), to submit to the Secretary distribution records under this section other than distribution records that are kept in the normal course of business and that show the immediate subsequent recipient, other than a consumer.

(B) MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS- Nothing in this section shall be construed as giving the Secretary the authority to prescribe specific technologies for the maintenance of records.

(e) Public Input- During the comment period in the notice of proposed rulemaking under subsection (d), the Secretary shall conduct not less than 3 public meetings in diverse geographical areas of the United States to provide persons in different regions an opportunity to comment.

(f) Raw Agricultural Commodity- In this section, the term `raw agricultural commodity' has the meaning given that term in section 201(r) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(r)).

SEC. 205. PILOT PROJECT TO ENHANCE TRACEBACK AND RECORDKEEPING WITH RESPECT TO PROCESSED FOOD.

(a) In General- As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a pilot project to explore and evaluate methods for rapidly and effectively tracking and tracing processed food so that, if an outbreak occurs involving such a processed food, the Secretary may quickly identify the source of the outbreak and the recipients of the contaminated food.

(b) Consultation- In establishing the pilot project under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with food processors and relevant businesses of varying size.

(c) Content- The Secretary shall select participants from the processed food industry to run a project which overall shall include 1 or more different types of processed food that have been the subject of outbreaks during the 5-year period preceding the date of enactment of this Act and shall be selected in order to develop and demonstrate--

(1) methods that are applicable and appropriate for small businesses; and

(2) technologies, including existing technologies, that enhance traceback and trace forward.

(d) Report- The Secretary shall report to Congress on the findings of the pilot project under this section, together with recommendations for establishing more effective traceback and trace forward procedures for processed food.

(e) Processed Food- In this section, the term `processed food' has the meaning given such term in section 201(gg) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321(gg)).

SEC. 206. SURVEILLANCE.

(a) Definition of Foodborne Illness Outbreak- In this section, the term `foodborne illness outbreak' means the occurrence of 2 or more cases of a similar illness resulting from the ingestion of a food.

(b) Foodborne Illness Surveillance Systems-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall enhance foodborne illness surveillance systems to improve the collection, analysis, reporting, and usefulness of data on foodborne illnesses by--

(A) coordinating Federal, State and local foodborne illness surveillance systems, including complaint systems, and increasing participation in national networks of public health and food regulatory agencies and laboratories;

(B) facilitating sharing of findings on a more timely basis among governmental agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Agriculture, and State and local agencies, and with the public;

(C) developing improved epidemiological tools for obtaining quality exposure data and microbiological methods for classifying cases;

(D) augmenting such systems to improve attribution of a foodborne illness outbreak to a specific food;

(E) expanding capacity of such systems, including working toward automatic electronic searches, for implementation of identification practices, including fingerprinting strategies, for foodborne infectious agents, in order to identify new or rarely documented causes of foodborne illness and submit standardized information to a centralized database;

(F) allowing timely public access to aggregated, de-identified surveillance data;

(G) at least annually, publishing current reports on findings from such systems;

(H) establishing a flexible mechanism for rapidly initiating scientific research by academic institutions;

(I) integrating foodborne illness surveillance systems and data with other biosurveillance and public health situational awareness capabilities at the Federal, State, and local levels; and

(J) other activities as determined appropriate by the Secretary.

(2) PARTNERSHIPS- The Secretary shall support and maintain a diverse working group of experts and stakeholders from Federal, State, and local food safety and health agencies, the food and food testing industries, consumer organizations, and academia. Such working group shall provide the Secretary, through at least annual meetings of the working group and an annual public report, advice and recommendations on an ongoing and regular basis regarding the improvement of foodborne illness surveillance and implementation of this section, including advice and recommendations on--

(A) the priority needs of regulatory agencies, the food industry, and consumers for information and analysis on foodborne illness and its causes;

(B) opportunities to improve the effectiveness of initiatives at the Federal, State, and local levels, including coordination and integration of activities among Federal agencies, and between the Federal, State, and local levels of government;

(C) improvement in the timeliness and depth of access by regulatory and health agencies, the food industry, academic researchers, and consumers to foodborne illness aggregated, de-identified surveillance data collected by government agencies at all levels, including data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;

(D) key barriers to improvement in foodborne illness surveillance and its utility for preventing foodborne illness at Federal, State, and local levels;

(E) the capabilities needed for establishing automatic electronic searches of surveillance data; and

(F) specific actions to reduce barriers to improvement, implement the working group's recommendations, and achieve the purposes of this section, with measurable objectives and timelines, and identification of resource and staffing needs.

(c) Improving Food Safety and Defense Capacity at the State and Local Level-

(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall develop and implement strategies to leverage and enhance the food safety and defense capacities of State and local agencies in order to achieve the following goals:

(A) Improve foodborne illness outbreak response and containment.

(B) Accelerate foodborne illness surveillance and outbreak investigation, including rapid shipment of clinical isolates from clinical laboratories to appropriate State laboratories, and conducting more standardized illness outbreak interviews.

(C) Strengthen the capacity of State and local agencies to carry out inspections and enforce safety standards.

(D) Improve the effectiveness of Federal, State, and local partnerships to coordinate food safety and defense resources and reduce the incidence of foodborne illness.

(E) Share information on a timely basis among public health and food regulatory agencies, with the food industry, with health care providers, and with the public.

(F) Strengthen the capacity of State and local agencies to achieve the goals described in section 108.

(2) REVIEW- In developing of the strategies required by paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, complete a review of State and local capacities, and needs for enhancement, which may include a survey with respect to--

(A) staffing levels and expertise available to perform food safety and defense functions;

(B) laboratory capacity to support surveillance, outbreak response, inspection, and enforcement activities;

(C) information systems to support data management and sharing of food safety and defense information among State and local agencies and with counterparts at the Federal level; and

(D) other State and local activities and needs as determined appropriate by the Secretary.

(d) Food Safety Capacity Building Grants- Section 317R(b) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247b-20(b)) is amended--

(1) by striking `2002' and inserting `2010'; and

(2) by striking `2003 through 2006' and inserting `2011 through 2014'.

SEC. 207. MANDATORY RECALL AUTHORITY.

(a) In General- Chapter IV (21 U.S.C. 341 et seq.), as amended by section 202, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`SEC. 423. MANDATORY RECALL AUTHORITY.

`(a) Voluntary Procedures- If the Secretary determines, based on information gathered through the reportable food registry under section 417 or through any other means, that there is a reasonable probability that an article of food (other than infant formula) is adulterated under section 402 or misbranded under section 403(w) and the use of or exposure to such article will cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals, the Secretary shall provide the responsible party (as defined in section 417) with an opportunity to cease distribution and recall such article.

`(b) Prehearing Order To Cease Distribution and Give Notice- If the responsible party refuses to or does not voluntarily cease distribution or recall such article within the time and in the manner prescribed by the Secretary (if so prescribed), the Secretary may, by order require, as the Secretary deems necessary, such person to--

`(1) immediately cease distribution of such article; and

`(2) as applicable, immediately notify all persons--

`(A) manufacturing, processing, packing, transporting, distributing, receiving, holding, or importing and selling such article; and

`(B) to which such article has been distributed, transported, or sold, to immediately cease distribution of such article.

`(c) Hearing on Order- The Secretary shall provide the responsible party subject to an order under subsection (b) with an opportunity for an informal hearing, to be held as soon as possible, but not later than 2 days after the issuance of the order, on the actions required by the order and on why the article that is the subject of the order should not be recalled.

`(d) Post-hearing Recall Order and Modification of Order-

`(1) AMENDMENT OF ORDER- If, after providing opportunity for an informal hearing under subsection (c), the Secretary determines that removal of the article from commerce is necessary, the Secretary shall, as appropriate--

`(A) amend the order to require recall of such article or other appropriate action;

`(B) specify a timetable in which the recall shall occur;

`(C) require periodic reports to the Secretary describing the progress of the recall; and

`(D) provide notice to consumers to whom such article was, or may have been, distributed.

`(2) VACATING OF ORDER- If, after such hearing, the Secretary determines that adequate grounds do not exist to continue the actions required by the order, or that such actions should be modified, the Secretary shall vacate the order or modify the order.

`(e) Cooperation and Consultation- The Secretary shall work with State and local public health officials in carrying out this section, as appropriate.

`(f) Public Notification- In conducting a recall under this section, the Secretary shall--

`(1) ensure that a press release is published regarding the recall, as well as alerts and public notices, as appropriate, in order to provide notification--

`(A) of the recall to consumers and retailers to whom such article was, or may have been, distributed; and

`(B) that includes, at a minimum--

`(i) the name of the article of food subject to the recall; and

`(ii) a description of the risk associated with such article;

`(2) consult the policies of the Department of Agriculture regarding providing to the public a list of retail consignees receiving products involved in a Class I recall and shall consider providing such a list to the public, as determined appropriate by the Secretary; and

`(3) if available, publish on the Internet Web site of the Food and Drug Administration an image of the article that is the subject of the press release described in (1).

`(g) No Delegation- The authority conferred by this section to order a recall or vacate a recall order shall not be delegated to any officer or employee other than the Commissioner.

`(h) Effect- Nothing in this section shall affect the authority of the Secretary to request or participate in a voluntary recall.'.

(b) Search Engine- Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall modify the Internet Web site of the Food and Drug Administration to include a search engine that--

(1) is consumer-friendly, as determined by the Secretary; and

(2) provides a means by which an individual may locate relevant information regarding each article of food subject to a recall under section 420 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the status of such recall (such as whether a recall is ongoing or has been completed).

(c) Civil Penalty- Section 303(f)(2)(A) (21 U.S.C. 333(f)(2)(A)) is amended by inserting `or any person who does not comply with a recall order under section 423' after `section 402(a)(2)(B)'.

(d) Prohibited Acts- Section 301 (21 U.S.C. 331 et seq.), as amended by section 106, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(xx) The refusal or failure to follow an order under section 423.'.

SEC. 208. ADMINISTRATIVE DETENTION OF FOOD.

(a) In General- Section 304(h)(1)(A) (21 U.S.C. 334(h)(1)(A)) is amended by--

(1) striking `credible evidence or information indicating' and inserting `reason to believe'; and

(2) striking `presents a threat of serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals' and inserting `is adulterated or misbranded'.

(b) Regulations- Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue an interim final rule amending subpart K of part 1 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, to implement the amendment made by this section.

(c) Effective Date- The amendment made by this section shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 209. DECONTAMINATION AND DISPOSAL STANDARDS AND PLANS.

(a) In General- The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (referred to in this section as the `Administrator'), in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Homeland Security, and Secretary of Agriculture, shall provide support for, and technical assistance to, State, local, and tribal governments in preparing for, assessing, decontaminating, and recovering from an agriculture or food emergency.

(b) Development of Standards- In carrying out subsection (a), the Administrator, in coordination with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Secretary of Homeland Security, Secretary of Agriculture, and State, local, and tribal governments, shall develop and disseminate specific standards and protocols to undertake clean-up, clearance, and recovery activities following the decontamination and disposal of specific threat agents and foreign animal diseases.

(c) Development of Model Plans- In carrying out subsection (a), the Administrator, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Secretary of Agriculture shall jointly develop and disseminate model plans for--

(1) the decontamination of individuals, equipment, and facilities following an intentional contamination of agriculture or food; and

(2) the disposal of large quantities of animals, plants, or food products that have been infected or contaminated by specific threat agents and foreign animal diseases.

(d) Exercises- In carrying out subsection (a), the Administrator, in coordination with the entities described under subsection (b), shall conduct exercises at least annually to evaluate and identify weaknesses in the decontamination and disposal model plans described in subsection (c). Such exercises shall be carried out, to the maximum extent practicable, as part of the national exercise program under section 648(b)(1) of the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 (6 U.S.C. 748(b)(1)).

(e) Modifications- Based on the exercises described in subsection (d), the Administrator, in coordination with the entities described in subsection (b), shall review and modify as necessary the plans described in subsection (c) not less frequently than biennially.

(f) Prioritization- The Administrator, in coordination with the entities described in subsection (b), shall develop standards and plans under subsections (b) and (c) in an identified order of priority that takes into account--

(1) highest-risk biological, chemical, and radiological threat agents;

(2) agents that could cause the greatest economic devastation to the agriculture and food system; and

(3) agents that are most difficult to clean or remediate.

SEC. 210. IMPROVING THE TRAINING OF STATE, LOCAL, TERRITORIAL, AND TRIBAL FOOD SAFETY OFFICIALS.

Chapter X (21 U.S.C.391 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`SEC. 1011. IMPROVING THE TRAINING OF STATE, LOCAL, TERRITORIAL, AND TRIBAL FOOD SAFETY OFFICIALS.

`(a) Training- The Secretary shall set standards and administer training and education programs for the employees of State, local, territorial, and tribal food safety officials relating to the regulatory responsibilities and policies established by this Act, including programs for--

`(1) scientific training;

`(2) training to improve the skill of officers and employees authorized to conduct inspections under sections 702 and 704;

`(3) training to achieve advanced product or process specialization in such inspections;

`(4) training that addresses best practices;

`(5) training in administrative process and procedure and integrity issues;

`(6) training in appropriate sampling and laboratory analysis methodology; and

`(7) training in building enforcement actions following inspections, examinations, testing, and investigations.

`(b) Partnerships With State and Local Officials-

`(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary, pursuant to a contract or memorandum of understanding between the Secretary and the head of a State, local, territorial, or tribal department or agency, is authorized and encouraged to conduct examinations, testing, and investigations for the purposes of determining compliance with the food safety provisions of this Act through the officers and employees of such State, local, territorial, or tribal department or agency.

`(2) CONTENT- A contract or memorandum described under paragraph (1) shall include provisions to ensure adequate training of such officers and employees to conduct such examinations, testing, and investigations. The contract or memorandum shall contain provisions regarding reimbursement. Such provisions may, at the sole discretion of the head of the other department or agency, require reimbursement, in whole or in part, from the Secretary for the examinations, testing, or investigations performed pursuant to this section by the officers or employees of the State, territorial, or tribal department or agency.

`(3) EFFECT- Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to limit the authority of the Secretary under section 702.

`(c) Extension Service- The Secretary shall ensure coordination with the extension activities of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the Department of Agriculture in advising producers and small processors transitioning into new practices required as a result of the enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act and assisting regulated industry with compliance with such Act.

`(d) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section for fiscal years 2011 through 2015.'.

SEC. 211. GRANTS TO ENHANCE FOOD SAFETY.

Section 1009 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 399) is amended to read as follows:

`SEC. 1009. GRANTS TO ENHANCE FOOD SAFETY.

`(a) In General- The Secretary is authorized to make grants to States, localities, territories, and Indian tribes (as defined in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e))) to--

`(1) undertake examinations, inspections, and investigations, and related food safety activities under section 702;

`(2) train to the standards of the Secretary for the examination, inspection, and investigation of food manufacturing, processing, packing, holding, distribution, and importation, including as such examination, inspection, and investigation relate to retail food establishments;

`(3) build the capacity of the laboratories of such State, locality, territory, or Indian tribe for food safety;

`(4) build the infrastructure and capacity of the food safety programs of such State, locality, territory, or Indian tribe to meet the standards as outlined in the grant application; and

`(5) take appropriate action to protect the public health in response to--

`(A) a notification under section 1008, including planning and otherwise preparing to take such action; or

`(B) a recall of food under this Act.

`(b) Application-

`(1) IN GENERAL- To be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a State, locality, territory, or Indian tribe shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and including such information as the Secretary may reasonably require.

`(2) CONTENTS- Each application submitted under paragraph (1) shall include--

`(A) an assurance that the State, locality, territory, or Indian tribe has developed plans to engage in the types of activities described in subsection (a);

`(B) a description of the types of activities to be funded by the grant;

`(C) an itemization of how grant funds received under this section will be expended;

`(D) a description of how grant activities will be monitored; and

`(E) an agreement by the State, locality, territory, or Indian tribe to report information required by the Secretary to conduct evaluations under this section.

`(c) Limitations- The funds provided under subsection (a) shall be available to a State, locality, territory, or Indian tribe only to the extent such State, locality, territory, or Indian tribe funds its food safety programs independently of any grant under this section in each year of the grant at a level equal to the level of such funding in the previous year, increased by the Consumer Price Index.

`(d) Additional Authority- The Secretary may--

`(1) award a grant under this section in each subsequent fiscal year without reapplication for a period of not more than 3 years, provided the requirements of subsection (c) are met for the previous fiscal year; and

`(2) award a grant under this section in a fiscal year for which the requirement of subsection (c) has not been met only if such requirement was not met because such funding was diverted for response to 1 or more natural disasters or in other extenuating circumstances that the Secretary may determine appropriate.

`(e) Duration of Awards- The Secretary may award grants to an individual grant recipient under this section for a period of not more than 3 years. In the event the Secretary conducts a program evaluation, funding in the second year or third year of the grant, where applicable, shall be contingent on a successful program evaluation by the Secretary after the first year.

`(f) Progress and Evaluation- A grant recipient shall at the end of each year provide the Secretary with information on how grant funds were spent and the status of the efforts by such recipient to enhance food safety.

`(g) Supplement Not Supplant- Grant funds received under this section shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, non-Federal funds and any other Federal funds available to carry out the activities described in this section.

`(h) Authorization of Appropriations- For the purpose of making grants under this section, there are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2011 through 2015.'.

TITLE III--IMPROVING THE SAFETY OF IMPORTED FOOD

SEC. 301. FOREIGN SUPPLIER VERIFICATION PROGRAM.

(a) In General- Chapter VIII (21 U.S.C. 381 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`SEC. 805. FOREIGN SUPPLIER VERIFICATION PROGRAM.

`(a) In General-

`(1) VERIFICATION REQUIREMENT- Each importer shall perform risk-based foreign supplier verification activities for the purpose of verifying that the food imported by the importer or its agent is--

`(A) produced in compliance with the requirements of section 418 or 419, as appropriate; and

`(B) is not adulterated under section 402 or misbranded under section 403(w).

`(2) IMPORTER DEFINED- For purposes of this section, the term `importer' means, with respect to an article of food--

`(A) the United States owner or consignee of the article of food at the time of entry of such article into the United States; or

`(B) in the case when there is no United States owner or consignee as described in subparagraph (A), the United States agent or representative of a foreign owner or consignee of the article of food at the time of entry of such article into the United States.

`(b) Guidance- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the Secretary shall issue guidance to assist importers in developing foreign supplier verification programs.

`(c) Regulations-

`(1) IN GENERAL- Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the Secretary shall promulgate regulations to provide for the content of the foreign supplier verification program established under subsection (a). Such regulations shall, as appropriate, include a process for verification by an importer, with respect to each foreign supplier from which it obtains food, that the imported food is produced in compliance with the requirements of section 418 or 419, as appropriate, and is not adulterated under section 402 or misbranded under section 403(w).

`(2) VERIFICATION- The regulations under paragraph (1) shall require that the foreign supplier verification program of each importer be adequate to provide assurances that each foreign supplier to the importer produces the imported food employing processes and procedures, including risk-based reasonably appropriate preventive controls, equivalent in preventing adulteration and reducing hazards to those required by section 418 or section 419, as appropriate.

`(3) ACTIVITIES- Verification activities under a foreign supplier verification program under this section may include monitoring records for shipments, lot-by-lot certification of compliance, annual on-site inspections, checking the hazard analysis and risk-based preventive control plan of the foreign supplier, and periodically testing and sampling shipments.

`(d) Record Maintenance and Access- Records of an importer related to a foreign supplier verification program shall be maintained for a period of not less than 2 years and shall be made available promptly to a duly authorized representative of the Secretary upon request.

`(e) Deemed Compliance of Seafood, Juice, and Low-acid Canned Food Facilities in Compliance With HACCP- The owner, operator, or agent in charge of a facility required to comply with 1 of the following standards and regulations with respect to such facility shall be deemed to be in compliance with this section with respect to such facility:

`(1) The Seafood Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points Program of the Food and Drug Administration.

`(2) The Juice Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points Program of the Food and Drug Administration.

`(3) The Thermally Processed Low-Acid Foods Packaged in Hermetically Sealed Containers standards of the Food and Drug Administration (or any successor standards).

`(f) Publication of List of Participants- The Secretary shall publish and maintain on the Internet Web site of the Food and Drug Administration a current list that includes the name of, location of, and other information deemed necessary by the Secretary about, importers participating under this section.'.

(b) Prohibited Act- Section 301 (21 U.S.C. 331), as amended by section 207, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(yy) The importation or offering for importation of a food if the importer (as defined in section 805) does not have in place a foreign supplier verification program in compliance with such section 805.'.

(c) Imports- Section 801(a) (21 U.S.C. 381(a)) is amended by adding `or the importer (as defined in section 805) is in violation of such section 805' after `or in violation of section 505'.

(d) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall take effect 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 302. VOLUNTARY QUALIFIED IMPORTER PROGRAM.

Chapter VIII (21 U.S.C. 381 et seq.), as amended by section 301, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`SEC. 806. VOLUNTARY QUALIFIED IMPORTER PROGRAM.

`(a) In General- Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the Secretary shall--

`(1) establish a program, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, to provide for the expedited review and importation of food offered for importation by importers who have voluntarily agreed to participate in such program; and

`(2) issue a guidance document related to participation and compliance with such program.

`(b) Voluntary Participation- An importer may request the Secretary to provide for the expedited review and importation of designated foods in accordance with the program procedures established by the Secretary.

`(c) Eligibility- Eligibility shall be limited to an importer offering food for importation from a facility that has a certification described in section 809(b). In reviewing the applications and making determinations on such requests, the Secretary shall consider the risk of the food to be imported based on factors, such as the following:

`(1) The nature of the food to be imported.

`(2) The compliance history of the foreign supplier.

`(3) The capability of the regulatory system of the country of export to ensure compliance with United States food safety standards.

`(4) The compliance of the importer with the requirements of section 805.

`(5) The recordkeeping, testing, inspections and audits of facilities, traceability of articles of food, temperature controls, and sourcing practices of the importer.

`(6) The potential risk for intentional adulteration of the food.

`(7) Any other factor that the Secretary determines appropriate.

`(d) Review and Revocation- Any importer qualified by the Secretary in accordance with the eligibility criteria set forth in this section shall be reevaluated not less often than once every 3 years and the Secretary shall promptly revoke the qualified importer status of any importer found not to be in compliance with such criteria.

`(e) Notice of Intent To Participate- An importer that intends to participate in the program under this section in a fiscal year shall submit a notice to the Secretary of such intent at time and in a manner established by the Secretary.

`(f) False Statements- Any statement or representation made by an importer to the Secretary shall be subject to section 1001 of title 18, United States Code.

`(g) Definition- For purposes of this section, the term `importer' means the person that brings food, or causes food to be brought, from a foreign country into the customs territory of the United States.'.

SEC. 303. AUTHORITY TO REQUIRE IMPORT CERTIFICATIONS FOR FOOD.

(a) In General- Section 801(a) (21 U.S.C. 381(a)) is amended by inserting after the third sentence the following: `With respect to an article of food, if importation of such food is subject to, but not compliant with, the requirement under subsection (q) that such food be accompanied by a certification or other assurance that the food meets some or all applicable requirements of this Act, then such article shall be refused admission.'.

(b) Addition of Certification Requirement- Section 801 (21 U.S.C. 381) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

`(q) Certifications Concerning Imported Foods-

`(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary, based on public health considerations, including risks associated with the food or its place of origin, may require as a condition of granting admission to an article of food imported or offered for import into the United States, that an entity specified in paragraph (2) provide a certification or such other assurances as the Secretary determines appropriate that the article of food complies with some or all applicable requirements of this Act, as specified by the Secretary. Such certification or assurances may be provided in the form of shipment-specific certificates, a listing of certified entities, or in such other form as the Secretary may specify. Such certification shall be used for designated food imported from countries with which the Food and Drug Administration has an agreement to establish a certification program.

`(2) CERTIFYING ENTITIES- For purposes of paragraph (1), entities that shall provide the certification or assurances described in such paragraph are--

`(A) an agency or a representative of the government of the country from which the article of food at issue originated, as designated by such government or the Secretary; or

`(B) such other persons or entities accredited pursuant to section 809 to provide such certification or assurance.

`(3) RENEWAL AND REFUSAL OF CERTIFICATIONS- The Secretary may--

`(A) require that any certification or other assurance provided by an entity specified in paragraph (2) be renewed by such entity at such times as the Secretary determines appropriate; and

`(B) refuse to accept any certification or assurance if the Secretary determines that such certification or assurance is not valid or reliable.

`(4) ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION- The Secretary shall provide for the electronic submission of certifications under this subsection.

`(5) FALSE STATEMENTS- Any statement or representation made by an entity described in paragraph (2) to the Secretary shall be subject to section 1001 of title 18, United States Code.'.

(c) Conforming Technical Amendment- Section 801(b) (21 U.S.C. 381(b)) is amended in the second sentence by striking `with respect to an article included within the provision of the fourth sentence of subsection (a)' and inserting `with respect to an article described in subsection (a) relating to the requirements of sections 760 or 761,'.

(d) No Limit on Authority- Nothing in the amendments made by this section shall limit the authority of the Secretary to conduct inspections of imported food or to take such other steps as the Secretary deems appropriate to determine the admissibility of imported food.

SEC. 304. PRIOR NOTICE OF IMPORTED FOOD SHIPMENTS.

(a) In General- Section 801(m)(1) (21 U.S.C. 381(m)(1)) is amended by inserting `any country to which the article has been refused entry;' after `the country from which the article is shipped;'.

(b) Regulations- Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue an interim final rule amending subpart I of part 1 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, to implement the amendment made by this section.

(c) Effective Date- The amendment made by this section shall take effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 305. REVIEW OF A REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF A FOREIGN COUNTRY.

Chapter VIII (21 U.S.C. 381 et seq.), as amended by section 302, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`SEC. 807. REVIEW OF A REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF A FOREIGN COUNTRY.

`The Secretary may review information from a country outlining the statutes, regulations, standards, and controls of such country, and conduct on-site audits in such country to verify the implementation of those statutes, regulations, standards, and controls. Based on such review, the Secretary shall determine whether such country can provide reasonable assurances that the food supply of the country meets or exceeds the safety of food manufactured, processed, packed, or held in the United States.'.

SEC. 306. BUILDING CAPACITY OF FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS WITH RESPECT TO FOOD.

(a) In General- The Secretary shall, not later than 2 years of the date of enactment of this Act, develop a comprehensive plan to expand the technical, scientific, and regulatory capacity of foreign governments, and their respective food industries, from which foods are exported to the United States.

(b) Consultation- In developing the plan under subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Agriculture, Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, the United States Trade Representative, and the Secretary of Commerce, representatives of the food industry, appropriate foreign government officials, nongovernmental organizations that represent the interests of consumers, and other stakeholders.

(c) Plan- The plan developed under subsection (a) shall include, as appropriate, the following:

(1) Recommendations for bilateral and multilateral arrangements and agreements, including provisions to provide for responsibility of exporting countries to ensure the safety of food.

(2) Provisions for secure electronic data sharing.

(3) Provisions for mutual recognition of inspection reports.

(4) Training of foreign governments and food producers on United States requirements for safe food.

(5) Recommendations on whether and how to harmonize requirements under the Codex Alimentarius.

(6) Provisions for the multilateral acceptance of laboratory methods and detection techniques.

(d) Rule of Construction- Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect the regulation of dietary supplements under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-417).

SEC. 307. INSPECTION OF FOREIGN FOOD FACILITIES.

Chapter VIII (21 U.S.C. 381 et seq.), as amended by section 305, is amended by inserting at the end the following:

`SEC. 808. INSPECTION OF FOREIGN FOOD FACILITIES.

`(a) Inspection- The Secretary--

`(1) may enter into arrangements and agreements with foreign governments to facilitate the inspection of foreign facilities registered under section 415; and

`(2) shall direct resources to inspections of foreign facilities, suppliers, and food types, especially such facilities, suppliers, and food types that present a high risk (as identified by the Secretary), to help ensure the safety and security of the food supply of the United States.

`(b) Effect of Inability To Inspect- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, food shall be refused admission into the United States if it is from a foreign facility registered under section 415 of which the owner, operator, or agent in charge of the facility, or the government of the foreign country, refuses to permit entry of United States inspectors, upon request, to inspect such facility. For purposes of this subsection, such an owner, operator, or agent in charge shall be considered to have refused an inspection if such owner, operator, or agent in charge refuses such a request to inspect a facility more than 2 business days after such request is submitted.'.

SEC. 308. ACCREDITATION OF THIRD-PARTY AUDITORS AND AUDIT AGENTS.

Chapter VIII (21 U.S.C. 381 et seq.), as amended by section 307, is amended by adding at the end the following:

`SEC. 809. ACCREDITATION OF THIRD-PARTY AUDITORS AND AUDIT AGENTS.

`(a) Definitions- In this section:

`(1) ACCREDITED AUDIT AGENT- The term `accredited audit agent' means an audit agent accredited by an accreditation body under this section.

`(2) AUDIT AGENT- The term `audit agent' means an individual who is qualified to conduct food safety audits, and who may be an employee or an agent of a third-party auditor.

`(3) ACCREDITATION BODY- The term `accreditation body' means a recognized authority that performs accreditation of third-party auditors and audit agents.

`(4) ACCREDITED THIRD-PARTY AUDITOR- The term `accredited third-party auditor' means a third-party auditor accredited by an accreditation body under this section.

`(5) CONSULTATIVE AUDIT- The term `consultative audit' means an audit of an eligible entity--

`(A) to determine whether such entity is in compliance with the provisions of this Act and with applicable industry standards and practices; and

`(B) the results of which are for internal facility purposes only.

`(6) ELIGIBLE ENTITY- The term `eligible entity' means a foreign entity, including a foreign facility registered under section 415, in the food import supply chain that chooses to be audited by an accredited third-party auditor or audit agent.

`(7) REGULATORY AUDIT- The term `regulatory audit' means an audit of an eligible entity--

`(A) to determine whether such entity is in compliance with the provisions of this Act; and

`(B) the results of which determine--

`(i) whether an entity is eligible to receive a certification under section 801(q); and

`(ii) whether the entity is eligible to participate in the voluntary qualified importer program under section 806.

`(8) THIRD-PARTY AUDITOR- The term `third-party auditor' means a foreign government, foreign cooperative, or any other qualified third party, as the Secretary determines appropriate, that conducts audits of eligible entities to certify that such eligible entities meet the applicable requirements of this section.

`(b) Accreditation System-

`(1) ACCREDITATION BODIES-

`(A) RECOGNITION OF ACCREDITATION BODIES-

`(i) IN GENERAL- Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, the Secretary shall establish a system for the recognition of accreditation bodies that accredit third-party auditors and audit agents to certify that eligible entities meet the applicable requirements of this Act.

`(ii) DIRECT ACCREDITATION- If, by the date that is 1 year after the date of establishment of the system described in clause (i), the Secretary has not identified and recognized an accreditation body to meet the requirements of this section, the Secretary may directly accredit third-party auditors and audit agents.

`(B) NOTIFICATION- Each accreditation body recognized by the Secretary shall submit to the Secretary a list of all accredited third-party auditors and audit agents accredited by such body.

`(C) REVOCATION OF RECOGNITION AS AN ACCREDITATION BODY- The Secretary shall promptly revoke the recognition of any accreditation body found not to be in compliance with the requirements of this section.

`(2) MODEL ACCREDITATION STANDARDS- The Secretary shall develop model standards, including audit report requirements, and each recognized accreditation body shall ensure that third-party auditors and audit agents meet such standards in order to qualify as an accredited third-party auditor or audit agent under this section. In developing the model standards, the Secretary shall look to standards in place on the date of the enactment of this section for guidance, to avoid unnecessary duplication of efforts and costs.

`(c) Third-party Auditors and Audit Agencies-

`(1) REQUIREMENTS FOR ACCREDITATION AS A THIRD-PARTY AUDITOR OR AUDIT AGENT-

`(A) FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS- Prior to accrediting a foreign government as an accredited third-party auditor, the accreditation body (or, in the case of direct accreditation under subsection (b)(1)(A)(ii), the Secretary) shall perform such reviews and audits of food safety programs, systems, and standards of the government as the Secretary deems necessary to determine that the foreign government is capable of adequately ensuring that eligible entities certified by such government meet the requirements of this Act with respect to food manufactured, processed, packed, or held for import into the United States.

`(B) FOREIGN COOPERATIVES AND OTHER THIRD PARTIES- Prior to accrediting a foreign cooperative that aggregates the products of growers or processors, or any other third party that the Secretary determines appropriate to be an accredited third-party auditor or audit agent, the accreditation body (or, in the case of direct accreditation under subsection (b)(1)(A)(ii), the Secretary) shall perform such reviews and audits of the training and qualifications of auditors used by that cooperative or party and conduct such reviews of internal systems and such other investigation of the cooperative or party as the Secretary deems necessary to determine that each eligible entity certified by the cooperative or party has systems and standards in use to ensure that such entity meets the requirements of this Act.

`(2) REQUIREMENT TO ISSUE CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES-

`(A) IN GENERAL- An accreditation body (or, in the case of direct accreditation under subsection (b)(1)(A)(ii), the Secretary) may not accredit a third-party auditor or audit agent unless such third-party auditor or audit agent agrees to issue a written and electronic certification to accompany each food shipment for import into the United States from an eligible entity certified by the third-party auditor or audit agent, subject to requirements set forth by the Secretary. Such written certification may be included with other documentation regarding such food shipment. The Secretary shall consider such certificates when targeting inspection resources under section 421.

`(B) PURPOSE OF CERTIFICATION- The Secretary shall use evidence of certification provided by accredited third-party auditors and audit agents to--

`(i) determine the eligibility of an importer to receive a certification under section 801(q); and

`(ii) determine the eligibility of an importer to participate in the voluntary qualified importer program under section 806.

`(3) AUDIT REPORT REQUIREMENTS-

`(A) REQUIREMENTS IN GENERAL- As a condition of accreditation, an accredited third-party auditor or audit agent shall prepare the audit report for an audit, in a form and manner designated by the Secretary, which shall include--

`(i) the identity of the persons at the audited eligible entity responsible for compliance with food safety requirements;

`(ii) the dates of the audit;

`(iii) the scope of the audit; and

`(iv) any other information required by the Secretary that relate to or may influence an assessment of compliance with this Act.

`(B) SUBMISSION OF REPORTS TO THE SECRETARY-

`(i) IN GENERAL- Following any accreditation of a third-party auditor or audit agent, the Secretary may, at any time, require the accredited third-party auditor or audit agent to submit to the Secretary an onsite audit report and such other reports or documents required as part of the audit process, for any eligible entity certified by the third-party auditor or audit agent. Such report may include documentation that the eligible entity is in compliance with any applicable registration requirements.

`(ii) LIMITATION- The requirement under clause (i) shall not include any report or other documents resulting from a consultative audit by the accredited third-party auditor or audit agent, except that the Secretary may access the results of a consultative audit in accordance with section 414.

`(4) REQUIREMENTS OF AUDIT AGENTS-

`(A) RISKS TO PUBLIC HEALTH- If, at any time during an audit, an accredited audit agent discovers a condition that could cause or contribute to a serious risk to the public health, the audit agent shall immediately notify the Secretary of--

`(i) the identification of the eligible entity subject to the audit; and

`(ii) such condition.

`(B) TYPES OF AUDITS- An accredited audit agent may perform consultative and regulatory audits of eligible entities.

`(C) LIMITATIONS- An accredited audit agent may not perform a regulatory audit of an eligible entity if such agent has performed a consultative audit or a regulatory audit of such eligible entity during the previous 24-month period.

`(5) CONFLICTS OF INTEREST-

`(A) THIRD-PARTY AUDITORS- An accredited third-party auditor shall--

`(i) not be owned, managed, or controlled by any person that owns or operates an eligible entity to be certified by such auditor;

`(ii) in carrying out audits of eligible entities under this section, have procedures to ensure against the use of any officer or employee of such auditor that has a financial conflict of interest regarding an eligible entity to be certified by such auditor; and

`(iii) annually make available to the Secretary disclosures of the extent to which such auditor and the officers and employees of such auditor have maintained compliance with clauses (i) and (ii) relating to financial conflicts of interest.

`(B) AUDIT AGENTS- An accredited audit agent shall--

`(i) not own or operate an eligible entity to be certified by such agent;

`(ii) in carrying out audits of eligible entities under this section, have procedures to ensure that such agent does not have a financial conflict of interest regarding an eligible entity to be certified by such agent; and

`(iii) annually make available to the Secretary disclosures of the extent to which such agent has maintained compliance with clauses (i) and (ii) relating to financial conflicts of interest.

`(C) REGULATIONS- The Secretary shall promulgate regulations not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act to ensure that there are protections against conflicts of interest between an accredited third-party auditor or audit agent and the eligible entity to be certified by such auditor or audit agent. Such regulations shall include--

`(i) requiring that audits performed under this section be unannounced;

`(ii) a structure to decrease the potential for conflicts of interest, including timing and public disclosure, for fees paid by eligible entities to accredited third-party auditors or audit agents; and

`(iii) appropriate limits on financial affiliations between an accredited third-party auditor or audit agent and any person that owns or operates an eligible entity to be certified by such auditor or audit agent.

`(6) WITHDRAWAL OF ACCREDITATION- The Secretary shall withdraw accreditation from an accredited third-party auditor or audit agent--

`(A) if food from an eligible entity certified by such third-party auditor or audit agent is linked to an outbreak of human or animal illness;

`(B) following a performance audit and finding by the Secretary that the third-party auditor or audit agent no longer meets the requirements for accreditation; or

`(C) following a refusal to allow United States officials to conduct such audits and investigations as may be necessary to ensure continued compliance with the requirements set forth in this section.

`(7) NEUTRALIZING COSTS- The Secretary shall establish a method, similar to the method used by the Department of Agriculture, by which accredited third-party auditors and audit agents reimburse the Food and Drug Administration for the work performed to establish and administer the accreditation system under this section. The Secretary shall make operating this program revenue-neutral and shall not generate surplus revenue from such a reimbursement mechanism.

`(d) Recertification of Eligible Entities- An eligible entity shall apply for annual recertification by an accredited third-party auditor or audit agent if such entity--

`(1) intends to participate in voluntary qualified importer program under section 806; or

`(2) must provide to the Secretary a certification under section 801(q) for any food from such entity.

`(e) False Statements- Any statement or representation made--

`(1) by an employee or agent of an eligible entity to an accredited third-party auditor or audit agent; or

`(2) by an accredited third-party auditor or an audit agent to the Secretary,

shall be subject to section 1001 of title 18, United States Code.

`(f) Monitoring- To ensure compliance with the requirements of this section, the Secretary shall--

`(1) periodically, or at least once every 4 years, reevaluate the accreditation bodies described in subsection (b)(1);

`(2) periodically, or at least once every 4 years, audit the performance of each accredited third-party auditor and audit agent, through the review of audit reports by such auditors and audit agents, the compliance history as available of eligible entities certified by such auditors and audit agents, and any other measures deemed necessary by the Secretary;

`(3) at any time, conduct an onsite audit of any eligible entity certified by an accredited third-party auditor or audit agent, with or without the auditor or audit agent present; and

`(4) take any other measures deemed necessary by the Secretary.

`(g) Publicly Available Registry- The Secretary shall establish a publicly available registry of accreditation bodies and of accredited third-party auditors and audit agents, including the name of, contact information for, and other information deemed necessary by the Secretary about such bodies, auditors, and agents.

`(h) Limitations-

`(1) NO EFFECT ON SECTION 704 INSPECTIONS- The audits performed under this section shall not be considered inspections under section 704.

`(2) NO EFFECT ON INSPECTION AUTHORITY- Nothing in this section affects the authority of the Secretary to inspect any eligible entity pursuant to this Act.'.

SEC. 309. FOREIGN OFFICES OF THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION.

(a) In General- The Secretary shall establish offices of the Food and Drug Administration in foreign countries selected by the Secretary, to provide assistance to the appropriate governmental entities of such countries with respect to measures to provide for the safety of articles of food and other products regulated by the Food and Drug Administration exported by such country to the United States, including by directly conducting risk-based inspections of such articles and supporting such inspections by such governmental entity.

(b) Consultation- In establishing the foreign offices described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of State and the United States Trade Representative.

(c) Report- Not later than October 1, 2011, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the basis for the selection by the Secretary of the foreign countries in which the Secretary established offices, the progress which such offices have made with respect to assisting the governments of such countries in providing for the safety of articles of food and other products regulated by the Food and Drug Administration exported to the United States, and the plans of the Secretary for establishing additional foreign offices of the Food and Drug Administration, as appropriate.

SEC. 310. SMUGGLED FOOD.

(a) In General- Not later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Commissioner of Customs and Border Patrol, and the Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, develop and implement a strategy to better identify smuggled food and prevent entry of such food into the United States.

(b) Notification to Homeland Security- Not later than 10 days after the Secretary identifies a smuggled food that the Secretary believes would cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals, the Secretary shall provide to the Secretary of Homeland Security a notification under section 417(k) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 350f(k)) describing the smuggled food and, if available, the names of the individuals or entities that attempted to import such food into the United States.

(c) Public Notification- If the Secretary--

(1) identifies a smuggled food;

(2) reasonably believes exposure to the food would cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals; and

(3) reasonably believes that the food has entered domestic commerce and is likely to be consumed,

the Secretary shall promptly issue a press release describing that food and shall use other emergency communication or recall networks, as appropriate, to warn consumers and vendors about the potential threat.

(d) Definition- In this subsection, the term `smuggled food' means any food that a person introduces into the United States through fraudulent means or with the intent to defraud or mislead.

TITLE IV--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

SEC. 401. FUNDING FOR FOOD SAFETY.

(a) In General- There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the activities of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, the Center for Veterinary Medicine, and related field activities in the Office of Regulatory Affairs of the Food and Drug Administration--

(1) $825,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and

(2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal years 2011 through 2014.

(b) Increased Number of Field Staff-

(1) IN GENERAL- To carry out the activities of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, the Center for Veterinary Medicine, and related field activities of the Office of Regulatory Affairs of the Food and Drug Administration, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall increase the field staff of such Centers and Office with a goal of not fewer than--

(A) 3,800 staff members in fiscal year 2010;

(B) 4,000 staff members in fiscal year 2011;

(C) 4,200 staff members in fiscal year 2012;

(D) 4,600 staff members in fiscal year 2013; and

(E) 5,000 staff members in fiscal year 2014.

(2) FIELD STAFF FOR FOOD DEFENSE- The goal under paragraph (1) shall include an increase of 150 employees by fiscal year 2011 to--

(A) provide additional detection of and response to food defense threats; and

(B) detect, track, and remove smuggled food (as defined in section 310) from commerce.

SEC. 402. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS.

Chapter X of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 391 et seq.), as amended by section 210, is further amended by adding at the end the following:

`SEC. 1012. WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS.

`(a) In General- No entity engaged in the manufacture, processing, packing, transporting, distribution, reception, holding, or importation of food may discharge an employee or otherwise discriminate against an employee with respect to compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges of employment because the employee, whether at the employee's initiative or in the ordinary course of the employee's duties (or any person acting pursuant to a request of the employee)--

`(1) provided, caused to be provided, or is about to provide or cause to be provided to the employer, the Federal Government, or the attorney general of a State information relating to any violation of, or any act or omission the employee reasonably believes to be a violation of any provision of this Act or any order, rule, regulation, standard, or ban under this Act, or any order, rule, regulation, standard, or ban under this Act;

`(2) testified or is about to testify in a proceeding concerning such violation;

`(3) assisted or participated or is about to assist or participate in such a proceeding; or

`(4) objected to, or refused to participate in, any activity, policy, practice, or assigned task that the employee (or other such person) reasonably believed to be in violation of any provision of this Act, or any order, rule, regulation, standard, or ban under this Act.

`(b) Process-

`(1) IN GENERAL- A person who believes that he or she has been discharged or otherwise discriminated against by any person in violation of subsection (a) may, not later than 180 days after the date on which such violation occurs, file (or have any person file on his or her behalf) a complaint with the Secretary of Labor (referred to in this section as the `Secretary') alleging such discharge or discrimination and identifying the person responsible for such act. Upon receipt of such a complaint, the Secretary shall notify, in writing, the person named in the complaint of the filing of the complaint, of the allegations contained in the complaint, of the substance of evidence supporting the complaint, and of the opportunities that will be afforded to such person under paragraph (2).

`(2) INVESTIGATION-

`(A) IN GENERAL- Not later than 60 days after the date of receipt of a complaint filed under paragraph (1) and after affording the complainant and the person named in the complaint an opportunity to submit to the Secretary a written response to the complaint and an opportunity to meet with a representative of the Secretary to present statements from witnesses, the Secretary shall initiate an investigation and determine whether there is reasonable cause to believe that the complaint has merit and notify, in writing, the complainant and the person alleged to have committed a violation of subsection (a) of the Secretary's findings.

`(B) REASONABLE CAUSE FOUND; PRELIMINARY ORDER- If the Secretary concludes that there is reasonable cause to believe that a violation of subsection (a) has occurred, the Secretary shall accompany the Secretary's findings with a preliminary order providing the relief prescribed by paragraph (3)(B). Not later than 30 days after the date of notification of findings under this paragraph, the person alleged to have committed the violation or the complainant may file objections to the findings or preliminary order, or both, and request a hearing on the record. The filing of such objections shall not operate to stay any reinstatement remedy contained in the preliminary order. Any such hearing shall be conducted expeditiously. If a hearing is not requested in such 30-day period, the preliminary order shall be deemed a final order that is not subject to judicial review.

`(C) DISMISSAL OF COMPLAINT-

`(i) STANDARD FOR COMPLAINANT- The Secretary shall dismiss a complaint filed under this subsection and shall not conduct an investigation otherwise required under subparagraph (A) unless the complainant makes a prima facie showing that any behavior described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (a) was a contributing factor in the unfavorable personnel action alleged in the complaint.

`(ii) STANDARD FOR EMPLOYER- Notwithstanding a finding by the Secretary that the complainant has made the showing required under clause (i), no investigation otherwise required under subparagraph (A) shall be conducted if the employer demonstrates, by clear and convincing evidence, that the employer would have taken the same unfavorable personnel action in the absence of that behavior.

`(iii) VIOLATION STANDARD- The Secretary may determine that a violation of subsection (a) has occurred only if the complainant demonstrates that any behavior described in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (a) was a contributing factor in the unfavorable personnel action alleged in the complaint.

`(iv) RELIEF STANDARD- Relief may not be ordered under subparagraph (A) if the employer demonstrates by clear and convincing evidence that the employer would have taken the same unfavorable personnel action in the absence of that behavior.

`(3) FINAL ORDER-

`(A) IN GENERAL- Not later than 120 days after the date of conclusion of any hearing under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall issue a final order providing the relief prescribed by this paragraph or denying the complaint. At any time before issuance of a final order, a proceeding under this subsection may be terminated on the basis of a settlement agreement entered into by the Secretary, the complainant, and the person alleged to have committed the violation.

`(B) CONTENT OF ORDER- If, in response to a complaint filed under paragraph (1), the Secretary determines that a violation of subsection (a) has occurred, the Secretary shall order the person who committed such violation--

`(i) to take affirmative action to abate the violation;

`(ii) to reinstate the complainant to his or her former position together with compensation (including back pay) and restore the terms, conditions, and privileges associated with his or her employment; and

`(iii) to provide compensatory damages to the complainant.

`(C) PENALTY- If such an order is issued under this paragraph, the Secretary, at the request of the complainant, shall assess against the person against whom the order is issued a sum equal to the aggregate amount of all costs and expenses (including attorneys' and expert witness fees) reasonably incurred, as determined by the Secretary, by the complainant for, or in connection with, the bringing of the complaint upon which the order was issued.

`(D) BAD FAITH CLAIM- If the Secretary finds that a complaint under paragraph (1) is frivolous or has been brought in bad faith, the Secretary may award to the prevailing employer a reasonable attorneys' fee, not exceeding $1,000, to be paid by the complainant.

`(4) ACTION IN COURT-

`(A) IN GENERAL- If the Secretary has not issued a final decision within 210 days after the filing of the complaint, or within 90 days after receiving a written determination, the complainant may bring an action at law or equity for de novo review in the appropriate district court of the United States with jurisdiction, which shall have jurisdiction over such an action without regard to the amount in controversy, and which action shall, at the request of either party to such action, be tried by the court with a jury. The proceedings shall be governed by the same legal burdens of proof specified in paragraph (2)(C).

`(B) RELIEF- The court shall have jurisdiction to grant all relief necessary to make the employee whole, including injunctive relief and compensatory damages, including--

`(i) reinstatement with the same seniority status that the employee would have had, but for the discharge or discrimination;

`(ii) the amount of back pay, with interest; and

`(iii) compensation for any special damages sustained as a result of the discharge or discrimination, including litigation costs, expert witness fees, and reasonable attorney's fees.

`(5) REVIEW-

`(A) IN GENERAL- Unless the complainant brings an action under paragraph (4), any person adversely affected or aggrieved by a final order issued under paragraph (3) may obtain review of the order in the United States Court of Appeals for the circuit in which the violation, with respect to which the order was issued, allegedly occurred or the circuit in which the complainant resided on the date of such violation. The petition for review must be filed not later than 60 days after the date of the issuance of the final order of the Secretary. Review shall conform to chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code. The commencement of proceedings under this subparagraph shall not, unless ordered by the court, operate as a stay of the order.

`(B) NO JUDICIAL REVIEW- An order of the Secretary with respect to which review could have been obtained under subparagraph (A) shall not be subject to judicial review in any criminal or other civil proceeding.

`(6) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH ORDER- Whenever any person has failed to comply with an order issued under paragraph (3), the Secretary may file a civil action in the United States district court for the district in which the violation was found to occur, or in the United States district court for the District of Columbia, to enforce such order. In actions brought under this paragraph, the district courts shall have jurisdiction to grant all appropriate relief including, but not limited to, injunctive relief and compensatory damages.

`(7) CIVIL ACTION TO REQUIRE COMPLIANCE-

`(A) IN GENERAL- A person on whose behalf an order was issued under paragraph (3) may commence a civil action against the person to whom such order was issued to require compliance with such order. The appropriate United States district court shall have jurisdiction, without regard to the amount in controversy or the citizenship of the parties, to enforce such order.

`(B) AWARD- The court, in issuing any final order under this paragraph, may award costs of litigation (including reasonable attorneys' and expert witness fees) to any party whenever the court determines such award is appropriate.

`(c) Effect of Section-

`(1) OTHER LAWS- Nothing in this section preempts or diminishes any other safeguards against discrimination, demotion, discharge, suspension, threats, harassment, reprimand, retaliation, or any other manner of discrimination provided by Federal or State law.

`(2) RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES- Nothing in this section shall be construed to diminish the rights, privileges, or remedies of any employee under any Federal or State law or under any collective bargaining agreement. The rights and remedies in this section may not be waived by any agreement, policy, form, or condition of employment.

`(d) Enforcement- Any nondiscretionary duty imposed by this section shall be enforceable in a mandamus proceeding brought under section 1361 of title 28, United States Code.

`(e) Limitation- Subsection (a) shall not apply with respect to an employee of an entity engaged in the manufacture, processing, packing, transporting, distribution, reception, holding, or importation of food who, acting without direction from such entity (or such entity's agent), deliberately causes a violation of any requirement relating to any violation or alleged violation of any order, rule, regulation, standard, or ban under this Act.'.

SEC. 403. JURISDICTION; AUTHORITIES.

Nothing in this Act, or an amendment made by this Act, shall be construed to--

(1) alter the jurisdiction between the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, under applicable statutes, regulations, or agreements regarding products eligible for voluntary inspection under the Agricultural Marketing Act (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.);

(2) alter the jurisdiction between the Administration of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, under applicable statutes and regulations;

(3) limit the authority of the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue regulations related to the safety of food under--

(A) the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act; or

(B) the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 301 et seq.) as in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act; or

(4) impede, minimize, or affect the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to prevent, control, or mitigate a plant or animal health emergency, or a food emergency or foodborne illness outbreak involving products regulated under the Federal Meat Inspection Act, the Poultry Products Inspection Act, the Egg Products Inspection Act, or agreements regarding voluntary inspection under the Agricultural Marketing Act (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.).

SEC. 404. COMPLIANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS.

Nothing in this Act (or an amendment made by this Act) shall be construed in a manner inconsistent with the agreement establishing the World Trade Organization or any other treaty or international agreement to which the United States is a party.

SEC. 405. UPDATING GUIDANCE RELATING TO FISH AND FISHERIES PRODUCTS HAZARDS AND CONTROLS.

The Secretary shall, not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, update the Fish and Fisheries Products Hazards and Control Guidance to take into account advances in technology that have occurred since the previous publication of such Guidance by the Secretary.

SEC. 406. FOOD TRANSPORTATION STUDY.

The Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, shall conduct a study of the transportation of food for consumption in the United States, including transportation by air, that includes an examination of the unique needs of rural and frontier areas with regard to the delivery of safe food.

Calendar No. 247

111th CONGRESS
1st Session

To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to the safety of the food supply.

Sponsor: Sen. Richard Durbin [D-IL]

Co-Sponsors (20):

Lamar Alexander [R-TN]

Jeff Bingaman [D-NM]

Richard Burr [R-NC]

Roland Burris [D-IL]

Robert Casey [D-PA]

Saxby Chambliss [R-GA]

Christopher Dodd [D-CT]

Michael Enzi [R-WY]

Kirsten Gillibrand [D-NY]

Judd Gregg [R-NH]

Thomas Harkin [D-IA]

Orrin Hatch [R-UT]

John Isakson [R-GA]

Edward Kaufman [D-DE]

Edward Kennedy [D-MA]

Amy Klobuchar [D-MN]

Robert Menéndez [D-NJ]

Ben Nelson [D-NE]

Tom Udall [D-NM]

David Vitter [R-LA]

A BILL
S. 510

A.D. Feat. Jean-Philippe, 2pac, Niall Ferugson, Webster Tarpley, Dick Gregory, Drake, & More Present the American Renaissance

2010-11-26T19:34:00.000-05:00

A.D. Feat. Jean-Philippe, 2pac, Niall Ferugson, Webster Tarpley, Dick Gregory, Drake, & More Present the American Renaissance

Graphic Barber, Aaron "A.D." Daniels Joins forces with his brother Jean-Philippe to emphasize the importance of voting.

They get some strong supporting cast reinforcement from Niall Ferguson, Webster Tarpley, Dick Gregory, Tupac Amaru Shakur, Aubrey "Drake" Graham, Waka Flocka Flame, Alex Jones, Laurence J. Kotlikoff, James Weldon Johnson, Alcee Hastings, & USDebtClock.Org to usher in the "American Renaissance"

Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, Tea Party, & Independents get out and Vote, Vote, & Vote Some More.

"Lift Every Voice & Sing, 'Til Earth and Heaven Ring, Ring With The Harmonies of Liberty"

**WE THE PEOPLE** MUST JOIN FORCES AND DEFEAT NEW WORLD ORDER ECONOMIC TERRORISM TODAY!!!!!!!!

FDIC FAILED BANK LIST

2010-11-24T20:22:00.000-05:00

Failed Bank List

http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/banklist.html

The FDIC is often appointed as receiver for failed banks. This page contains useful information for the customers and vendors of these banks. This includes information on the acquiring bank (if applicable), how your accounts and loans are affected, and how vendors can file claims against the receivership. Failed Financial Institution Contact Search
displays point of contact information related to failed banks.

This list includes banks which have failed since October 1, 2000. To search for banks that failed prior to those on this page, visit this link: Failures and Assistance Transactions

Failed Bank List - CSV file (Updated on Mondays. Also opens in Excel - Excel
Help)

Bank Name	City	State	CERT #	Acquiring Institution	Closing Date	Updated Date
First Banking Center	Burlington	WI	5287	First Michigan Bank	November 19, 2010	November 23, 2010
Allegiance Bank of North America	Bala Cynwyd	PA	35078	VIST Bank	November 19, 2010	November 23, 2010
Gulf State Community Bank	Carrabelle	FL	20340	Centennial Bank	November 19, 2010	November 23, 2010
Copper Star Bank	Scottsdale	AZ	35463	Stearns Bank, N.A.	November 12, 2010	November 19, 2010
Darby Bank & Trust Co.	Vidalia	GA	14580	Ameris Bank	November 12, 2010	November 19, 2010
Tifton Banking Company	Tifton	GA	57831	Ameris Bank	November 12, 2010	November 19, 2010
First Vietnamese American Bank In Vietnamese	Westminster	CA	57885	Grandpoint Bank	November 5, 2010	November 12, 2010
Pierce Commercial Bank	Tacoma	WA	34411	Heritage Bank	November 5, 2010	November 12, 2010
Western Commercial Bank	Woodland Hills	CA	58087	First California Bank	November 5, 2010	November 12, 2010
K Bank	Randallstown	MD	31263	Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company	November 5, 2010	November 12, 2010
First Arizona Savings, A FSB	Scottsdale	AZ	32582	No Acquirer	October 22, 2010	October 27, 2010
Hillcrest Bank	Overland Park	KS	22173	Hillcrest Bank, N.A.	October 22, 2010	October 27, 2010
First Suburban National Bank	Maywood	IL	16089	Seaway Bank and Trust Company	October 22, 2010	October 27, 2010
The First National Bank of Barnesville	Barnesville	GA	2119	United Bank, Zebulon	October 22, 2010	October 22, 2010
The Gordon Bank	Gordon	GA	33904	Morris Bank	October 22, 2010	October 27, 2010
Progress Bank of Florida	Tampa	FL	32251	Bay Cities Bank	October 22, 2010	October 27, 2010
First Bank of Jacksonville	Jacksonville	FL	27573	Ameris Bank	October 22, 2010	October 27, 2010
Premier Bank	Jefferson City	MO	34016	Providence Bank	October 15, 2010	October 20, 2010
WestBridge Bank and Trust Company	Chesterfield	MO	58205	Midland States Bank	October 15, 2010	October 20, 2010
Security Savings Bank, F.S.B.	Olathe	KS	30898	Simmons First National Bank	October 15, 2010	October 20, 2010
Shoreline Bank	Shoreline	WA	35250	GBC International Bank	October 1, 2010	October 7, 2010
Wakulla Bank	Crawfordville	FL	21777	Centennial Bank	October 1, 2010	October 7, 2010
North County Bank	Arlington	WA	35053	Whidbey Island Bank	September 24, 2010	September 29, 2010
Haven Trust Bank Florida	Ponte Vedra Beach	FL	58308	First Southern Bank	September 24, 2010	October 28, 2010
Maritime Savings Bank	West Allis	WI	28612	North Shore Bank, FSB	September 17, 2010	September 29, 2010
Bramble Savings Bank	Milford	OH	27808	Foundation Bank	September 17, 2010	October 22, 2010
The Peoples Bank	Winder	GA	182	Community & Southern Bank	September 17, 2010	October 29, 2010
First Commerce Community Bank	Douglasville	GA	57448	Community & Southern Bank	September 17, 2010	September 22, 2010
Bank of Ellijay	Ellijay	GA	58197	Community & Southern Bank	September 17, 2010	September 23, 2010
ISN Bank	Cherry Hill	NJ	57107	Customers Bank	September 17, 2010	September 21, 2010
Horizon Bank	Bradenton	FL	35061	Bank of the Ozarks	September 10, 2010	November 1, 2010
Sonoma Valley Bank	Sonoma	CA	27259	Westamerica Bank	August 20, 2010	August 26, 2010
Los Padres Bank	Solvang	CA	32165	Pacific Western Bank	August 20, 2010	October 22, 2010
Butte Community Bank	Chico	CA	33219	Rabobank, N.A.	August 20, 2010	October 28, 2010
Pacific State Bank	Stockton	CA	27090	Rabobank, N.A.	August 20, 2010	August 24, 2010
ShoreBank	Chicago	IL	15640	Urban Partnership Bank	August 20, 2010	October 22, 2010
Imperial Savings and Loan Association	Martinsville	VA	31623	River Community Bank, N.A.	August 20, 2010	October 22, 2010
Independent National Bank	Ocala	FL	27344	CenterState Bank of Florida, N.A.	August 20, 2010	August 24, 2010
Community National Bank at Bartow	Bartow	FL	25266	CenterState Bank of Florida, N.A.	August 20, 2010	October 22, 2010
Palos Bank and Trust Company	Palos Heights	IL	17599	First Midwest Bank	August 13, 2010	November 1, 2010
Ravenswood Bank	Chicago	IL	34231	Northbrook Bank and Trust Company	August 6, 2010	October 29, 2010
LibertyBank	Eugene	OR	31964	Home Federal Bank	July 30, 2010	August 6, 2010
The Cowlitz Bank	Longview	WA	22643	Heritage Bank	July 30, 2010	November 1, 2010
Coastal Community Bank	Panama City Beach	FL	9619	Centennial Bank	July 30, 2010	October 29, 2010
Bayside Savings Bank	Port Saint Joe	FL	57669	Centennial Bank	July 30, 2010	October 22, 2010
Northwest Bank & Trust	Acworth	GA	57658	State Bank and Trust Company	July 30, 2010	August 6, 2010
Home Valley Bank	Cave Junction	OR	23181	South Valley Bank & Trust	July 23, 2010	October 29, 2010
SouthwestUSA Bank	Las Vegas	NV	35434	Plaza Bank	July 23, 2010	October 29, 2010
Community Security Bank	New Prague	MN	34486	Roundbank	July 23, 2010	November 17, 2010
Thunder Bank	Sylvan Grove	KS	10506	The Bennington State Bank	July 23, 2010	October 22 2010
Williamsburg First National Bank	Kingstree	SC	17837	First Citizens Bank and Trust Company, Inc.	July 23, 2010	October 22, 2010
Crescent Bank and Trust Company	Jasper	GA	27559	Renasant Bank	July 23, 2010	September 13, 2010
Sterling Bank	Lantana	FL	32536	IBERIABANK	July 23, 2010	July 30, 2010
Mainstreet Savings Bank, FSB	Hastings	MI	28136	Commercial Bank	July 16, 2010	July 22, 2010
Olde Cypress Community Bank	Clewiston	FL	28864	CenterState Bank of Florida	July 16, 2010	July 26, 2010
Turnberry Bank	Aventura	FL	32280	NAFH National Bank	July 16, 2010	October 22, 2010
Metro Bank of Dade County	Miami	FL	25172	NAFH National Bank	July 16, 2010	October 29, 2010
First National Bank of the South	Spartanburg	SC	35383	NAFH National Bank	July 16, 2010	November 1, 2010
Woodlands Bank	Bluffton	SC	32571	Bank of the Ozarks	July 16, 2010	November 1, 2010
Home National Bank	Blackwell	OK	11636	RCB Bank	July 9, 2010	November 4, 2010
USA Bank	Port Chester	NY	58072	New Century Bank	July 9, 2010	October, 2010
Ideal Federal Savings Bank	Baltimore	MD	32456	No Acquirer	July 9, 2010	July 12, 2010
Bay National Bank	Baltimore	MD	35462	Bay Bank, FSB	July 9, 2010	July 19, 2010
High Desert State Bank	Albuquerque	NM	35279	First American Bank	June 25, 2010	November 1, 2010
First National Bank	Savannah	GA	34152	The Savannah Bank, N.A.	June 25, 2010	October 21, 2010
Peninsula Bank	Englewood	FL	26563	Premier American Bank, N.A.	June 25, 2010	September 22, 2010
Nevada Security Bank	Reno	NV	57110	Umpqua Bank	June 18, 2010	October 22, 2010
Washington First International Bank	Seattle	WA	32955	East West Bank	June 11, 2010	August 26, 2010
TierOne Bank	Lincoln	NE	29341	Great Western Bank	June 4, 2010	September 10, 2010
Arcola Homestead Savings Bank	Arcola	IL	31813	No Acquirer	June 4, 2010	August 26, 2010
First National Bank	Rosedale	MS	15814	The Jefferson Bank	June 4, 2010	August 26, 2010
Sun West Bank	Las Vegas	NV	34785	City National Bank	May 28, 2010	November 1, 2010
Granite Community Bank, NA	Granite Bay	CA	57315	Tri Counties Bank	May 28, 2010	November 1, 2010
Bank of Florida - Tampa	Tampa	FL	57814	EverBank	May 28, 2010	August 26, 2010
Bank of Florida - Southwest	Naples	FL	35106	EverBank	May 28, 2010	August 26, 2010
Bank of Florida - Southeast	Fort Lauderdale	FL	57360	EverBank	May 28, 2010	August 26, 2010
Pinehurst Bank	Saint Paul	MN	57735	Coulee Bank	May 21, 2010	August 26, 2010
Midwest Bank and Trust Company	Elmwood Park	IL	18117	FirstMerit Bank, N.A.	May 14, 2010	August 26, 2010
Southwest Community Bank	Springfield	MO	34255	Simmons First National Bank	May 14, 2010	October 28, 2010
New Liberty Bank	Plymouth	MI	35586	Bank of Ann Arbor	May 14, 2010	August 26, 2010
Satilla Community Bank	Saint Marys	GA	35114	Ameris Bank	May 14, 2010	August 26, 2010
1st Pacific Bank of California	San Diego	CA	35517	City National Bank	May 7, 2010	August 26, 2010
Towne Bank of Arizona	Mesa	AZ	57697	Commerce Bank of Arizona	May 7, 2010	August 26, 2010
Access Bank	Champlin	MN	16476	PrinsBank	May 7, 2010	August 26, 2010
The Bank of Bonifay	Bonifay	FL	14246	First Federal Bank of Florida	May 7, 2010	August 26, 2010
Frontier Bank	Everett	WA	22710	Union Bank, N.A.	April 30, 2010	August 26, 2010
BC National Banks	Butler	MO	17792	Community First Bank	April 30, 2010	November 4, 2010
Champion Bank	Creve Coeur	MO	58362	BankLiberty	April 30, 2010	August 26, 2010
CF Bancorp	Port Huron	MI	30005	First Michigan Bank	April 30, 2010	August 26, 2010
Westernbank Puerto Rico En Español	Mayaguez	PR	31027	Banco Popular de Puerto Rico	April 30, 2010	August 26, 2010
R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico En Español	Hato Rey	PR	32185	Scotiabank de Puerto Rico	April 30, 2010	August 26, 2010
Eurobank En Español	San Juan	PR	27150	Oriental Bank and Trust	April 30, 2010	August 26, 2010
Wheatland Bank	Naperville	IL	58429	Wheaton Bank & Trust	April 23, 2010	August 26, 2010
Peotone Bank and Trust Company	Peotone	IL	10888	First Midwest Bank	April 23, 2010	August 26, 2010
Lincoln Park Savings Bank	Chicago	IL	30600	Northbrook Bank and Trust Company	April 23, 2010	August 26, 2010
New Century Bank	Chicago	IL	34821	MB Financial Bank, N.A.	April 23, 2010	August 26, 2010
Citizens Bank and Trust Company of Chicago	Chicago	IL	34658	Republic Bank of Chicago	April 23, 2010	November 4, 2010
Broadway Bank	Chicago	IL	22853	MB Financial Bank, N.A.	April 23, 2010	November 03, 2010
Amcore Bank, National Association	Rockford	IL	3735	Harris N.A.	April 23, 2010	August 26, 2010
City Bank	Lynnwood	WA	21521	Whidbey Island Bank	April 16, 2010	August 26, 2010
Tamalpais Bank	San Rafael	CA	33493	Union Bank, N.A.	April 16, 2010	August 26, 2010
Innovative Bank	Oakland	CA	23876	Center Bank	April 16, 2010	August 26, 2010
Butler Bank	Lowell	MA	26619	People's United Bank	April 16, 2010	November 4, 2010
Riverside National Bank of Florida	Fort Pierce	FL	24067	TD Bank, N.A.	April 16, 2010	August 26, 2010
AmericanFirst Bank	Clermont	FL	57724	TD Bank, N.A.	April 16, 2010	November 8, 2010
First Federal Bank of North Florida	Palatka	FL	28886	TD Bank, N.A.	April 16, 2010	August 27, 2010
Lakeside Community Bank	Sterling Heights	MI	34878	No Acquirer	April 16, 2010	August 27, 2010
Beach First National Bank	Myrtle Beach	SC	34242	Bank of North Carolina	April 9, 2010	August 27, 2010
Desert Hills Bank	Phoenix	AZ	57060	New York Community Bank	March 26, 2010	August 27, 2010
Unity National Bank	Cartersville	GA	34678	Bank of the Ozarks	March 26, 2010	August 27, 2010
Key West Bank	Key West	FL	34684	Centennial Bank	March 26, 2010	November 3, 2010
McIntosh Commercial Bank	Carrollton	GA	57399	CharterBank	March 26, 2010	August 27, 2010
State Bank of Aurora	Aurora	MN	8221	Northern State Bank	March 19, 2010	August 27, 2010
First Lowndes Bank	Fort Deposit	AL	24957	First Citizens Bank	March 19, 2010	November 03, 2010
Bank of Hiawassee	Hiawassee	GA	10054	Citizens South Bank	March 19, 2010	August 27, 2010
Appalachian Community Bank	Ellijay	GA	33989	Community & Southern Bank	March 19, 2010	August 27, 2010
Advanta Bank Corp.	Draper	UT	33535	No Acquirer	March 19, 2010	September 16, 2010
Century Security Bank	Duluth	GA	58104	Bank of Upson	March 19, 2010	August 27, 2010
American National Bank	Parma	OH	18806	The National Bank and Trust Company	March 19, 2010	November 4, 2010
Statewide Bank	Covington	LA	29561	Home Bank	March 12, 2010	August 27, 2010
Old Southern Bank	Orlando	FL	58182	Centennial Bank	March 12, 2010	August 27, 2010
The Park Avenue Bank	New York	NY	27096	Valley National Bank	March 12, 2010	August 27, 2010
LibertyPointe Bank	New York	NY	58071	Valley National Bank	March 11, 2010	August 27, 2010
Centennial Bank	Ogden	UT	34430	No Acquirer	March 5, 2010	August 27, 2010
Waterfield Bank	Germantown	MD	34976	No Acquirer	March 5, 2010	August 27, 2010
Bank of Illinois	Normal	IL	9268	Heartland Bank and Trust Company	March 5, 2010	August 27, 2010
Sun American Bank	Boca Raton	FL	27126	First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company	March 5, 2010	August 27, 2010
Rainier Pacific Bank	Tacoma	WA	38129	Umpqua Bank	February 26, 2010	August 27, 2010
Carson River Community Bank	Carson City	NV	58352	Heritage Bank of Nevada	February 26, 2010	August 27, 2010
La Jolla Bank, FSB	La Jolla	CA	32423	OneWest Bank, FSB	February 19, 2010	August 27, 2010
George Washington Savings Bank	Orland Park	IL	29952	FirstMerit Bank, N.A.	February 19, 2010	August 27, 2010
The La Coste National Bank	La Coste	TX	3287	Community National Bank	February 19, 2010	November 3, 2010
Marco Community Bank	Marco Island	FL	57586	Mutual of Omaha Bank	February 19, 2010	August 27, 2010
1st American State Bank of Minnesota	Hancock	MN	15448	Community Development Bank, FSB	February 5, 2010	November 8, 2010
American Marine Bank	Bainbridge Island	WA	16730	Columbia State Bank	January 29, 2010	August 26, 2010
First Regional Bank	Los Angeles	CA	23011	First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company	January 29, 2010	August 26, 2010
Community Bank and Trust	Cornelia	GA	5702	SCBT National Association	January 29, 2010	August 26, 2010
Marshall Bank, N.A.	Hallock	MN	16133	United Valley Bank	January 29, 2010	August 26, 2010
Florida Community Bank	Immokalee	FL	5672	Premier American Bank, N.A.	January 29, 2010	August 26, 2010
First National Bank of Georgia	Carrollton	GA	16480	Community and Southern Bank	January 29, 2010	November 3, 2010
Columbia River Bank	The Dalles	OR	22469	Columbia State Bank	January 22, 2010	November 2, 2010
Evergreen Bank	Seattle	WA	20501	Umpqua Bank	January 22, 2010	August 26, 2010
Charter Bank	Santa Fe	NM	32498	Charter Bank	January 22, 2010	August 26, 2010
Bank of Leeton	Leeton	MO	8265	Sunflower Bank, N.A.	January 22, 2010	August 26, 2010
Premier American Bank	Miami	FL	57147	Premier American Bank, N.A.	January 22, 2010	August 26, 2010
Barnes Banking Company	Kaysville	UT	1252	No Acquirer	January 15, 2010	August 26, 2010
St. Stephen State Bank	St. Stephen	MN	17522	First State Bank of St. Joseph	January 15, 2010	November 2, 2010
Town Community Bank & Trust	Antioch	IL	34705	First American Bank	January 15, 2010	August 26, 2010
Horizon Bank	Bellingham	WA	22977	Washington Federal Savings and Loan Association	January 8, 2010	November 04, 2010
First Federal Bank of California, F.S.B.	Santa Monica	CA	28536	OneWest Bank	December 18, 2009	August 26, 2010
Imperial Capital Bank	La Jolla	CA	26348	City National Bank	December 18, 2009	August 27, 2010
Independent Bankers' Bank	Springfield	IL	26820	The Independent BankersBank (TIB)	December 18, 2009	August 27, 2010
New South Federal Savings Bank	Irondale	AL	32276	Beal Bank	December 18, 2009	August 27, 2010
Citizens State Bank	New Baltimore	MI	1006	No Acquirer	December 18, 2009	August 27, 2010
Peoples First Community Bank	Panama City	FL	32167	Hancock Bank	December 18, 2009	August 27, 2010
RockBridge Commercial Bank	Atlanta	GA	58315	No Acquirer	December 18, 2009	August 27, 2010
SolutionsBank	Overland Park	KS	4731	Arvest Bank	December 11, 2009	August 27, 2010
Valley Capital Bank, N.A.	Mesa	AZ	58399	Enterprise Bank & Trust	December 11, 2009	August 27, 2010
Republic Federal Bank, N.A.	Miami	FL	22846	1st United Bank	December 11, 2009	August 27, 2010
Greater Atlantic Bank	Reston	VA	32583	Sonabank	December 4, 2009	August 27, 2010
Benchmark Bank	Aurora	IL	10440	MB Financial Bank, N.A.	December 4, 2009	August 27, 2010
AmTrust Bank	Cleveland	OH	29776	New York Community Bank	December 4, 2009	August 27, 2010
The Tattnall Bank	Reidsville	GA	12080	Heritage Bank of the South	December 4, 2009	August 27, 2010
First Security National Bank	Norcross	GA	26290	State Bank and Trust Company	December 4, 2009	August 27, 2010
The Buckhead Community Bank	Atlanta	GA	34663	State Bank and Trust Company	December 4, 2009	August 27, 2010
Commerce Bank of Southwest Florida	Fort Myers	FL	58016	Central Bank	November 20, 2009	August 27, 2010
Pacific Coast National Bank	San Clemente	CA	57914	Sunwest Bank	November 13, 2009	August 27, 2010
Orion Bank	Naples	FL	22427	IBERIABANK	November 13, 2009	August 27, 2010
Century Bank, F.S.B.	Sarasota	FL	32267	IBERIABANK	November 13, 2009	August 27, 2010
United Commercial Bank	San Francisco	CA	32469	East West Bank	November 6, 2009	August 27, 2010
Gateway Bank of St. Louis	St. Louis	MO	19450	Central Bank of Kansas City	November 6, 2009	August 27, 2010
Prosperan Bank	Oakdale	MN	35074	Alerus Financial, N.A.	November 6, 2009	August 27, 2010
Home Federal Savings Bank	Detroit	MI	30329	Liberty Bank and Trust Company	November 6, 2009	August 27, 2010
United Security Bank	Sparta	GA	22286	Ameris Bank	November 6, 2009	August 27, 2010
North Houston Bank	Houston	TX	18776	U.S. Bank N.A.	October 30, 2009	August 26, 2010
Madisonville State Bank	Madisonville	TX	33782	U.S. Bank N.A.	October 30, 2009	August 26, 2010
Citizens National Bank	Teague	TX	25222	U.S. Bank N.A.	October 30, 2009	August 26, 2010
Park National Bank	Chicago	IL	11677	U.S. Bank N.A.	October 30, 2009	August 26, 2010
Pacific National Bank	San Francisco	CA	30006	U.S. Bank N.A.	October 30, 2009	August 26, 2010
California National Bank	Los Angeles	CA	34659	U.S. Bank N.A.	October 30, 2009	August 26, 2010
San Diego National Bank	San Diego	CA	23594	U.S. Bank N.A.	October 30, 2009	August 26, 2010
Community Bank of Lemont	Lemont	IL	35291	U.S. Bank N.A.	October 30, 2009	August 26, 2010
Bank USA, N.A.	Phoenix	AZ	32218	U.S. Bank N.A.	October 30, 2009	August 26, 2010
First DuPage Bank	Westmont	IL	35038	First Midwest Bank	October 23, 2009	August 26, 2010
Riverview Community Bank	Otsego	MN	57525	Central Bank	October 23, 2009	August 26, 2010
Bank of Elmwood	Racine	WI	18321	Tri City National Bank	October 23, 2009	August 26, 2010
Flagship National Bank	Bradenton	FL	35044	First Federal Bank of Florida	October 23, 2009	August 26, 2010
Hillcrest Bank Florida	Naples	FL	58336	Stonegate Bank	October 23, 2009	August 26, 2010
American United Bank	Lawrenceville	GA	57794	Ameris Bank	October 23, 2009	August 26, 2010
Partners Bank	Naples	FL	57959	Stonegate Bank	October 23, 2009	August 26, 2010
San Joaquin Bank	Bakersfield	CA	23266	Citizens Business Bank	October 16, 2009	August 26, 2010
Southern Colorado National Bank	Pueblo	CO	57263	Legacy Bank	October 2, 2009	August 26, 2010
Jennings State Bank	Spring Grove	MN	11416	Central Bank	October 2, 2009	August 26, 2010
Warren Bank	Warren	MI	34824	The Huntington National Bank	October 2, 2009	August 26, 2010
Georgian Bank	Atlanta	GA	57151	First Citizens Bank and Trust Company, Inc.	September 25, 2009	August 26, 2010
Irwin Union Bank, F.S.B.	Louisville	KY	57068	First Financial Bank, N.A.	September 18, 2009	August 26, 2010
Irwin Union Bank and Trust Company	Columbus	IN	10100	First Financial Bank, N.A.	September 18, 2009	August 26, 2010
Venture Bank	Lacey	WA	22868	First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company	September 11, 2009	August 26, 2010
Brickwell Community Bank	Woodbury	MN	57736	CorTrust Bank N.A.	September 11, 2009	August 26, 2010
Corus Bank, N.A.	Chicago	IL	13693	MB Financial Bank, N.A.	September 11, 2009	August 26, 2010
First State Bank	Flagstaff	AZ	34875	Sunwest Bank	September 4, 2009	August 26, 2010
Platinum Community Bank	Rolling Meadows	IL	35030	No Acquirer	September 4, 2009	August 26, 2010
Vantus Bank	Sioux City	IA	27732	Great Southern Bank	September 4, 2009	August 26, 2010
InBank	Oak Forest	IL	20203	MB Financial Bank	September 4, 2009	August 26, 2010
First Bank of Kansas City	Kansas City	MO	25231	Great American Bank	September 4, 2009	August 26, 2010
Affinity Bank	Ventura	CA	27197	Pacific Western Bank	August 28, 2009	August 26, 2010
Mainstreet Bank	Forest Lake	MN	1909	Central Bank	August 28, 2009	August 26, 2010
Bradford Bank	Baltimore	MD	28312	Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company (M&T Bank)	August 28, 2009	August 26, 2010
Guaranty Bank	Austin	TX	32618	BBVA Compass	August 21, 2009	August 26, 2010
CapitalSouth Bank	Birmingham	AL	22130	IBERIABANK	August 21, 2009	August 26, 2010
First Coweta Bank	Newnan	GA	57702	United Bank	August 21, 2009	August 26, 2010
ebank	Atlanta	GA	34682	Stearns Bank, N.A.	August 21, 2009	August 26, 2010
Community Bank of Nevada	Las Vegas	NV	34043	No Acquirer	August 14, 2009	August 26, 2010
Community Bank of Arizona	Phoenix	AZ	57645	MidFirst Bank	August 14, 2009	August 26, 2010
Union Bank, National Association	Gilbert	AZ	34485	MidFirst Bank	August 14, 2009	August 26, 2010
Colonial Bank	Montgomery	AL	9609	Branch Banking and Trust Company, (BB&T)	August 14, 2009	August 26, 2010
Dwelling House Savings and Loan Association	Pittsburgh	PA	31559	PNC Bank, N.A.	August 14, 2009	August 26, 2010
Community First Bank	Prineville	OR	23268	Home Federal Bank	August 7, 2009	August 26, 2010
Community National Bank of Sarasota County	Venice	FL	27183	Stearns Bank, N.A.	August 7, 2009	August 26, 2010
First State Bank	Sarasota	FL	27364	Stearns Bank, N.A.	August 7, 2009	September 23, 2010
Mutual Bank	Harvey	IL	18659	United Central Bank	July 31, 2009	August 27, 2010
First BankAmericano	Elizabeth	NJ	34270	Crown Bank	July 31, 2009	August 27, 2010
Peoples Community Bank	West Chester	OH	32288	First Financial Bank, N.A.	July 31, 2009	August 27, 2010
Integrity Bank	Jupiter	FL	57604	Stonegate Bank	July 31, 2009	August 27, 2010
First State Bank of Altus	Altus	OK	9873	Herring Bank	July 31, 2009	August 27, 2010
Security Bank of Jones County	Gray	GA	8486	State Bank and Trust Company	July 24, 2009	August 27, 2010
Security Bank of Houston County	Perry	GA	27048	State Bank and Trust Company	July 24, 2009	August 27, 2010
Security Bank of Bibb County	Macon	GA	27367	State Bank and Trust Company	July 24, 2009	August 27, 2010
Security Bank of North Metro	Woodstock	GA	57105	State Bank and Trust Company	July 24, 2009	August 27, 2010
Security Bank of North Fulton	Alpharetta	GA	57430	State Bank and Trust Company	July 24, 2009	August 27, 2010
Security Bank of Gwinnett County	Suwanee	GA	57346	State Bank and Trust Company	July 24, 2009	August 27, 2010
Waterford Village Bank	Williamsville	NY	58065	Evans Bank, N.A.	July 24, 2009	August 27, 2010
Temecula Valley Bank	Temecula	CA	34341	First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company	July 17, 2009	August 27, 2010
Vineyard Bank	Rancho Cucamonga	CA	23556	California Bank & Trust	July 17, 2009	August 27, 2010
BankFirst	Sioux Falls	SD	34103	Alerus Financial, N.A.	July 17, 2009	August 27, 2010
First Piedmont Bank	Winder	GA	34594	First American Bank and Trust Company	July 17, 2009	August 27, 2010
Bank of Wyoming	Thermopolis	WY	22754	Central Bank & Trust	July 10, 2009	August 27, 2010
Founders Bank	Worth	IL	18390	The PrivateBank and Trust Company	July 2, 2009	August 27, 2010
Millennium State Bank of Texas	Dallas	TX	57667	State Bank of Texas	July 2, 2009	August 27, 2010
First National Bank of Danville	Danville	IL	3644	First Financial Bank, N.A.	July 2, 2009	August 27, 2010
Elizabeth State Bank	Elizabeth	IL	9262	Galena State Bank and Trust Company	July 2, 2009	August 27, 2010
Rock River Bank	Oregon	IL	15302	The Harvard State Bank	July 2, 2009	August 27, 2010
First State Bank of Winchester	Winchester	IL	11710	The First National Bank of Beardstown	July 2, 2009	August 27, 2010
John Warner Bank	Clinton	IL	12093	State Bank of Lincoln	July 2, 2009	August 27, 2010
Mirae Bank	Los Angeles	CA	57332	Wilshire State Bank	June 26, 2009	August 27, 2010
MetroPacific Bank	Irvine	CA	57893	Sunwest Bank	June 26, 2009	August 27, 2010
Horizon Bank	Pine City	MN	9744	Stearns Bank N.A.	June 26, 2009	August 27, 2010
Neighborhood Community Bank	Newnan	GA	35285	CharterBank	June 26, 2009	August 27, 2010
Community Bank of West Georgia	Villa Rica	GA	57436	No Acquirer	June 26, 2009	August 27, 2010
First National Bank of Anthony	Anthony	KS	4614	Bank of Kansas	June 19, 2009	August 27, 2010
Cooperative Bank	Wilmington	NC	27837	First Bank	June 19, 2009	August 27, 2010
Southern Community Bank	Fayetteville	GA	35251	United Community Bank	June 19, 2009	August 27, 2010
Bank of Lincolnwood	Lincolnwood	IL	17309	Republic Bank of Chicago	June 5, 2009	August 27, 2010
Citizens National Bank	Macomb	IL	5757	Morton Community Bank	May 22, 2009	August 27, 2010
Strategic Capital Bank	Champaign	IL	35175	Midland States Bank	May 22, 2009	August 27, 2010
BankUnited, FSB	Coral Gables	FL	32247	BankUnited	May 21, 2009	November 12, 2010
Westsound Bank	Bremerton	WA	34843	Kitsap Bank	May 8, 2009	August 26, 2010
America West Bank	Layton	UT	35461	Cache Valley Bank	May 1, 2009	August 26, 2010
Citizens Community Bank	Ridgewood	NJ	57563	North Jersey Community Bank	May 1, 2009	August 27, 2010
Silverton Bank, NA	Atlanta	GA	26535	No Acquirer	May 1, 2009	August 27, 2010
First Bank of Idaho	Ketchum	ID	34396	U.S. Bank, N.A.	April 24, 2009	August 27, 2010
First Bank of Beverly Hills	Calabasas	CA	32069	No Acquirer	April 24, 2009	August 27, 2010
Michigan Heritage Bank	Farmington Hills	MI	34369	Level One Bank	April 24, 2009	August 27, 2010
American Southern Bank	Kennesaw	GA	57943	Bank of North Georgia	April 24, 2009	August 27, 2010
Great Basin Bank of Nevada	Elko	NV	33824	Nevada State Bank	April 17, 2009	October 14, 2010
American Sterling Bank	Sugar Creek	MO	8266	Metcalf Bank	April 17, 2009	August 27, 2010
New Frontier Bank	Greeley	CO	34881	No Acquirer	April 10, 2009	August 27, 2010
Cape Fear Bank	Wilmington	NC	34639	First Federal Savings and Loan Association	April 10, 2009	August 27, 2010
Omni National Bank	Atlanta	GA	22238	No Acquirer	March 27, 2009	August 27, 2010
TeamBank, NA	Paola	KS	4754	Great Southern Bank	March 20, 2009	August 27, 2010
Colorado National Bank	Colorado Springs	CO	18896	Herring Bank	March 20, 2009	August 27, 2010
FirstCity Bank	Stockbridge	GA	18243	No Acquirer	March 20, 2009	August 27, 2010
Freedom Bank of Georgia	Commerce	GA	57558	Northeast Georgia Bank	March 6, 2009	August 27, 2010
Security Savings Bank	Henderson	NV	34820	Bank of Nevada	February 27, 2009	August 27, 2010
Heritage Community Bank	Glenwood	IL	20078	MB Financial Bank, N.A.	February 27, 2009	August 27, 2010
Silver Falls Bank	Silverton	OR	35399	Citizens Bank	February 20, 2009	August 27, 2010
Pinnacle Bank of Oregon	Beaverton	OR	57342	Washington Trust Bank of Spokane	February 13, 2009	August 27, 2010
Corn Belt Bank & Trust Co.	Pittsfield	IL	16500	The Carlinville National Bank	February 13, 2009	August 27, 2010
Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast	Cape Coral	FL	34563	TIB Bank	February 13, 2009	August 27, 2010
Sherman County Bank	Loup City	NE	5431	Heritage Bank	February 13, 2009	August 27, 2010
County Bank	Merced	CA	22574	Westamerica Bank	February 6, 2009	August 27, 2010
Alliance Bank	Culver City	CA	23124	California Bank & Trust	February 6, 2009	August 27, 2010
FirstBank Financial Services	McDonough	GA	57017	Regions Bank	February 6, 2009	August 27, 2010
Ocala National Bank	Ocala	FL	26538	CenterState Bank of Florida	January 30, 2009	August 27, 2010
Suburban FSB	Crofton	MD	30763	Bank of Essex	January 30, 2009	August 27, 2010
MagnetBank	Salt Lake City	UT	58001	No Acquirer	January 30, 2009	September 22, 2010
1st Centennial Bank	Redlands	CA	33025	First California Bank	January 23, 2009	August 27, 2010
Bank of Clark County	Vancouver	WA	34959	Umpqua Bank	January 16, 2009	August 27, 2010
National Bank of Commerce	Berkeley	IL	19733	Republic Bank of Chicago	January 16, 2009	August 27, 2010
Sanderson State Bank En Español	Sanderson	TX	11568	The Pecos County State Bank	December 12, 2008	August 27, 2010
Haven Trust Bank	Duluth	GA	35379	Branch Banking & Trust Company, (BB&T)	December 12, 2008	August 27, 2010
First Georgia Community Bank	Jackson	GA	34301	United Bank	December 5, 2008	August 27, 2010
PFF Bank & Trust	Pomona	CA	28344	U.S. Bank, N.A.	November 21, 2008	August 27, 2010
Downey Savings & Loan	Newport Beach	CA	30968	U.S. Bank, N.A.	November 21, 2008	August 27, 2010
Community Bank	Loganville	GA	16490	Bank of Essex	November 21, 2008	August 27, 2010
Security Pacific Bank	Los Angeles	CA	23595	Pacific Western Bank	November 7, 2008	August 27, 2010
Franklin Bank, SSB	Houston	TX	26870	Prosperity Bank	November 7, 2008	August 27, 2010
Freedom Bank	Bradenton	FL	57930	Fifth Third Bank	October 31, 2008	August 27, 2010
Alpha Bank & Trust	Alpharetta	GA	58241	Stearns Bank, N.A.	October 24, 2008	August 27, 2010
Meridian Bank	Eldred	IL	13789	National Bank	October 10, 2008	August 27, 2010
Main Street Bank	Northville	MI	57654	Monroe Bank & Trust	October 10, 2008	August 27, 2010
Washington Mutual Bank (Including its subsidiary Washington Mutual Bank FSB)	Henderson	NV	32633	JP Morgan Chase Bank	September 25, 2008	November 9, 2010
Ameribank	Northfork	WV	6782	The Citizens Savings Bank Pioneer Community Bank, Inc.	September 19, 2008	August 27, 2010
Silver State Bank En Español	Henderson	NV	34194	Nevada State Bank	September 5, 2008	August 27, 2010
Integrity Bank	Alpharetta	GA	35469	Regions Bank	August 29, 2008	August 27, 2010
Columbian Bank & Trust	Topeka	KS	22728	Citizens Bank & Trust	August 22, 2008	August 27, 2010
First Priority Bank	Bradenton	FL	57523	SunTrust Bank	August 1, 2008	August 27, 2010
First Heritage Bank, NA	Newport Beach	CA	57961	Mutual of Omaha Bank	July 25, 2008	August 27, 2010
First National Bank of Nevada	Reno	NV	27011	Mutual of Omaha Bank	July 25, 2008	August 27, 2010
IndyMac Bank	Pasadena	CA	29730	OneWest Bank, FSB.	July 11, 2008	August 27, 2010
First Integrity Bank, NA	Staples	MN	12736	First International Bank and Trust	May 30, 2008	August 27, 2010
ANB Financial, NA	Bentonville	AR	33901	Pulaski Bank and Trust Company	May 9, 2008	August 27, 2010
Hume Bank	Hume	MO	1971	Security Bank	March 7, 2008	August 27, 2010
Douglass National Bank	Kansas City	MO	24660	Liberty Bank and Trust Company	January 25, 2008	August 27, 2010
Miami Valley Bank	Lakeview	OH	16848	The Citizens Banking Company	October 4, 2007	August 27, 2010
NetBank	Alpharetta	GA	32575	ING DIRECT	September 28, 2007	August 27, 2010
Metropolitan Savings Bank	Pittsburgh	PA	35353	Allegheny Valley Bank of Pittsburgh	February 2, 2007	August 27, 2010
Bank of Ephraim	Ephraim	UT	1249	Far West Bank	June 25, 2004	April 9, 2008
Reliance Bank	White Plains	NY	26778	Union State Bank	March 19, 2004	April 9, 2008
Guaranty National Bank of Tallahassee	Tallahassee	FL	26838	Hancock Bank of Florida	March 12, 2004	August 30, 2010
Dollar Savings Bank	Newark	NJ	31330	No Acquirer	February 14, 2004	April 9, 2008
Pulaski Savings Bank	Philadelphia	PA	27203	Earthstar Bank	November 14, 2003	July 22, 2005
First National Bank of Blanchardville	Blanchardville	WI	11639	The Park Bank	May 9, 2003	September 21, 2010
Southern Pacific Bank	Torrance	CA	27094	Beal Bank, SSB.	February 7, 2003	October 20, 2008
Farmers Bank of Cheneyville	Cheneyville	LA	16445	Sabine State Bank & Trust	December 17, 2002	October 20, 2004
Bank of Alamo	Alamo	TN	9961	No Acquirer	November 8, 2002	March 18, 2005
AmTrade International Bank En Español	Atlanta	GA	33784	No Acquirer	September 30, 2002	September 11, 2006
Universal Federal Savings Bank	Chicago	IL	29355	Chicago Community Bank	June 27, 2002	April 9, 2008
Connecticut Bank of Commerce	Stamford	CT	19183	Hudson United Bank	June 26, 2002	August 27, 2010
New Century Bank	Shelby Township	MI	34979	No Acquirer	March 28, 2002	March 18, 2005
Net 1st National Bank	Boca Raton	FL	26652	Bank Leumi USA	March 1, 2002	April 9, 2008
NextBank, NA	Phoenix	AZ	22314	No Acquirer	February 7, 2002	August 27, 2010
Oakwood Deposit Bank Co.	Oakwood	OH	8966	The State Bank & Trust Company	February 1, 2002	August 27, 2010
Bank of Sierra Blanca	Sierra Blanca	TX	22002	The Security State Bank of Pecos	January 18, 2002	November 6, 2003
Hamilton Bank, NA En Español	Miami	FL	24382	Israel Discount Bank of New York	January 11, 2002	August 27, 2010
Sinclair National Bank	Gravette	AR	34248	Delta Trust & Bank	September 7, 2001	February 10, 2004
Superior Bank, FSB	Hinsdale	IL	32646	Superior Federal, FSB	July 27, 2001	August 27, 2010
Malta National Bank	Malta	OH	6629	North Valley Bank	May 3, 2001	November 18, 2002
First Alliance Bank & Trust Co.	Manchester	NH	34264	Southern New Hampshire Bank & Trust	February 2, 2001	February 18, 2003
National State Bank of Metropolis	Metropolis	IL	3815	Banterra Bank of Marion	December 14, 2000	March 17, 2005
Bank of Honolulu	Honolulu	HI	21029	Bank of the Orient	October 13, 2000	March 17, 2005

cservicefdicdal@fdic.gov

Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura: Tours FEMA DEATH CAMPS

2010-11-24T11:37:00.000-05:00

Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura: Tours FEMA DEATH CAMPS

H.R. 645: National Emergency Centers Establishment Act FEMA DEATH CAMPS

2010-11-19T20:58:00.062-05:00

HR 645 IH

111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 645

To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish national emergency centers on military installations.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 22, 2009

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

___________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish national

emergency centers on military installations.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the

United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘National Emergency Centers Establishment Act’.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS.

(a) In General- In accordance with the requirements of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish not fewer than 6 national emergency centers on military installations.

(b) Purpose of National Emergency Centers- The purpose of a national emergency center shall be to use existing infrastructure--
(1) to provide temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to individuals and families dislocated due to an emergency or major disaster;

(2) to provide centralized locations for the purposes of training and ensuring the coordination of Federal, State, and local first responders;

(3) to provide centralized locations to improve the coordination of preparedness, response, and recovery efforts of government, private, and not-for-profit entities and faith-based organizations; and

(4) to meet other appropriate needs, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF MILITARY INSTALLATIONS AS NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS.

(a) In General- Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall designate not fewer than 6 military installations as sites for the establishment of national emergency centers.

(b) Minimum Requirements- A site designated as a national emergency center shall be--

(1) capable of meeting for an extended period of time the housing, health, transportation, education, public works, humanitarian and other transition needs of a large number of individuals affected by an emergency or major disaster;

(2) environmentally safe and shall not pose a health risk to individuals who may use the center;

(3) capable of being scaled up or down to accommodate major disaster preparedness and response drills, operations, and procedures;

(4) capable of housing existing permanent structures necessary to meet training and first responders coordination requirements during nondisaster periods;

(5) capable of hosting the infrastructure necessary to rapidly adjust to temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance needs;

(6) required to consist of a complete operations command center, including 2 state-of-the art command and control centers that will comprise a 24/7 operations watch center as follows:

(A) one of the command and control centers shall be in full ready mode; and

(B) the other shall be used daily for training; and

(7) easily accessible at all times and be able to facilitate handicapped and medical facilities, including during an emergency or major disaster.

(c) Location of National Emergency Centers- There shall be established not fewer than one national emergency center in each of the following areas:

(1) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions I, II, and III.

(2) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region IV.

(3) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions V and VII.

(4) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region VI.

(5) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions VIII and X.

(6) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region IX.

(d) Preference for Designation of Closed Military Installations- Wherever possible, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall designate a closed military installation as a site for a national emergency center. If the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense jointly determine that there is not a sufficient number of closed military installations that meet the requirements of subsections (b) and (c), the Secretaries shall jointly designate portions of existing military installations other than closed military installations as national emergency centers.

(e) Transfer of Control of Closed Military Installations- If a closed military installation is designated as a national emergency center, not later than 180 days after the date of designation, the Secretary of Defense shall transfer to the Secretary of Homeland Security administrative jurisdiction over such closed military installation.

(f) Cooperative Agreement for Joint Use of Existing Military Installations- If an existing military installation other than a closed military installation is designated as a national emergency center, not later than 180 days after the date of designation, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Defense shall enter into a cooperative agreement to provide for the establishment of the national emergency center.

(g) Reports-

(1) PRELIMINARY REPORT- Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report that contains for each designated site--

(A) an outline of the reasons why the site was selected;

(B) an outline of the need to construct, repair, or update any existing infrastructure at the site;

(C) an outline of the need to conduct any necessary environmental clean-up at the site;

(D) an outline of preliminary plans for the transfer of control of the site from the Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of Homeland Security, if necessary under subsection (e); and

(E) an outline of preliminary plans for entering into a cooperative agreement for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site, if necessary under subsection (f).

(2) UPDATE REPORT- Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report that contains for each designated site--

(A) an update on the information contained in the report as required by paragraph (1);

(B) an outline of the progress made toward the transfer of control of the site, if necessary under subsection (e);

(C) an outline of the progress made toward entering a cooperative agreement for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site, if necessary under subsection (f); and

(D) recommendations regarding any authorizations and appropriations that may be necessary to provide for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site.

(3) FINAL REPORT- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report that contains for each designated site--

(A) finalized information detailing the transfer of control of the site, if necessary under subsection (e);

(B) the finalized cooperative agreement for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site, if necessary under subsection (f); and

(C) any additional information pertinent to the establishment of a national emergency center at the site.

(4) ADDITIONAL REPORTS- The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, may submit to Congress additional reports as necessary to provide updates on steps being taken to meet the requirements of this Act.

SEC. 4. LIMITATIONS ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

This Act does not affect--

(1) the authority of the Federal Government to provide emergency or major disaster assistance or to implement any disaster mitigation and response program, including any program authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.); or

(2) the authority of a State or local government to respond to an emergency.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There is authorized to be appropriated $180,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010 to carry out this Act. Such funds shall remain available until expended.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act, the following definitions apply:

(1) CLOSED MILITARY INSTALLATION- The term ‘closed military installation’ means a military installation, or portion thereof, approved for closure or realignment under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101-510; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note) that meet all, or 2 out of the 3 following requirements:

(A) Is located in close proximity to a transportation corridor.

(B) Is located in a State with a high level or threat of disaster related activities.

(C) Is located near a major metropolitan center.

(2) EMERGENCY- The term ‘emergency’ has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).

(3) MAJOR DISASTER- The term ‘major disaster’ has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).

(4) MILITARY INSTALLATION- The term ‘military installation’ has the meaning given such term in section 2910 of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101-510; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note).

TALMID CHACHAM

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Senate Bill S 510: FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

SENATE BILL S 510 : 'FDA Food Safety Modernization Act' S 510 RS Calendar No. 247 111th CONGRESS 1st Session To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to the safety of the food supply.

March 3, 2009

December 18, 2009

______________________________________________________________________

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

TITLE I--IMPROVING CAPACITY TO PREVENT FOOD SAFETY PROBLEMS

TITLE II--IMPROVING CAPACITY TO DETECT AND RESPOND TO FOOD SAFETY PROBLEMS

TITLE III--IMPROVING THE SAFETY OF IMPORTED FOOD

TITLE IV--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

TITLE I--IMPROVING CAPACITY TO PREVENT FOOD SAFETY PROBLEMS

SEC. 101. INSPECTIONS OF RECORDS.

SEC. 102. REGISTRATION OF FOOD FACILITIES.

SEC. 103. HAZARD ANALYSIS AND RISK-BASED PREVENTIVE CONTROLS.

`SEC. 418. HAZARD ANALYSIS AND RISK-BASED PREVENTIVE CONTROLS.

SEC. 104. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS.

SEC. 105. STANDARDS FOR PRODUCE SAFETY.

`SEC. 419. STANDARDS FOR PRODUCE SAFETY.

SEC. 106. PROTECTION AGAINST INTENTIONAL ADULTERATION.

`SEC. 420. PROTECTION AGAINST INTENTIONAL ADULTERATION.

SEC. 107. AUTHORITY TO COLLECT FEES.

`PART 6--FEES RELATED TO FOOD

`SEC. 743. AUTHORITY TO COLLECT AND USE FEES.

SEC. 108. NATIONAL AGRICULTURE AND FOOD DEFENSE STRATEGY.

SEC. 109. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE COORDINATING COUNCILS.

SEC. 110. BUILDING DOMESTIC CAPACITY.

SEC. 111. SANITARY TRANSPORTATION OF FOOD.

SEC. 112. FOOD ALLERGY AND ANAPHYLAXIS MANAGEMENT.

TITLE II--IMPROVING CAPACITY TO DETECT AND RESPOND TO FOOD SAFETY PROBLEMS

SEC. 201. TARGETING OF INSPECTION RESOURCES FOR DOMESTIC FACILITIES, FOREIGN FACILITIES, AND PORTS OF ENTRY; ANNUAL REPORT.

`SEC. 421. TARGETING OF INSPECTION RESOURCES FOR DOMESTIC FACILITIES, FOREIGN FACILITIES, AND PORTS OF ENTRY; ANNUAL REPORT.

SEC. 202. RECOGNITION OF LABORATORY ACCREDITATION FOR ANALYSES OF FOODS.

`SEC. 422. RECOGNITION OF LABORATORY ACCREDITATION FOR ANALYSES OF FOODS.

SEC. 203. INTEGRATED CONSORTIUM OF LABORATORY NETWORKS.

SEC. 204. ENHANCING TRACEBACK AND RECORDKEEPING.

SEC. 205. PILOT PROJECT TO ENHANCE TRACEBACK AND RECORDKEEPING WITH RESPECT TO PROCESSED FOOD.

SEC. 206. SURVEILLANCE.

SEC. 207. MANDATORY RECALL AUTHORITY.

`SEC. 423. MANDATORY RECALL AUTHORITY.

SEC. 208. ADMINISTRATIVE DETENTION OF FOOD.

SEC. 209. DECONTAMINATION AND DISPOSAL STANDARDS AND PLANS.

SENATE BILL S 510 : 'FDA Food Safety Modernization Act'

S 510 RS

Calendar No. 247
111th CONGRESS
1st Session
To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act with respect to the safety of the food supply.

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