strued as requiring comprehensive line-by-line analyses of all branch lines.

(b) The report authorized in section 3(a) shall, if published, be published not later than one hundred and eighty days after the date of enactment of this Act. The Task Force shall submit copies of such report, if published, to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and shall provide for the widespread public dissemination of such report throughout the United States as soon as practicable after its publication.

(c) Within ninety days after the publication of the initial report described in section 3(a), or if such report is not published, within two hundred and seventy days after enactment of this Act, the Task Force shall announce dates for and hold public hearings at various locations throughout the United States, take such testimony and receive such evidence as it considers advisable for the purpose of obtaining the views of interested persons on such initial report or, if such report is not published, on recommendations for the final report required under this Act.

(d) Within one hundred and twenty days after the publication of the initial report described in section 3(a) or, if such report is not published, within three hundred days after enactment of this Act, the Task Force shall prepare and publish a summary of the testimony presented at such hearings, and shall provide for the widespread public dissemination of such summary as soon as possible following the publication thereof.

SEC. 4. (a) The Task Force shall prepare and publish, within four hundred and twenty days after the date of enactment of this Act, a final report including recommendations for determining the essential needs of agriculture on a continuing basis, for establishing a national agricultural transportation policy, for methods of identifying impediments to a railroad transportation adequate to meet the essential needs of the agriculture industry, and containing specific recommendations for a railroad transportation system adequate to meet the essential needs of the agriculture industry of the United States. In preparing such final report, the Task Force shall take into consideration the testimony received at the public hearing required under this Act.

(b) Copies of such final report shall be submitted to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives, and the Chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission. The Task Force shall provide for the widespread public dissemination of such final report.

SEC. 5. The provisions of this Act shall become effective October 1, 1978.

UNITED STATES WAREHOUSE ACT 1

(7 U.S.C. 241-273)

That this Act shall be known by the short title of "United States Warehouse Act." (7 U.S.C. 241.)

SEC. 2.2 That the term "warehouse" as used in this Act shall be deemed to mean every building, structure, or other protected inclosure in which any agricultural product is or may be stored for interstate or foreign commerce, or, if located within any place under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, in which any agricultural product is or may be stored. As used in this Act, "person" includes a corporation or partnership or two or more persons having a joint or common interest; "warehouseman" means a person lawfully engaged in the business of storing agricultural products; and "receipt" means a warehouse receipt. (7 U.S.C. 242.)

SEC. 3. That the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to investigate the storage, warehousing, classifying according to grade and otherwise, weighing, and certification of agricultural products; upon application to him by any person applying for license to conduct a warehouse under this Act, to inspect such warehouse or cause it to be inspected; at any time, with or without application to him, to inspect or cause to be inspected all warehouses licensed under this Act; to determine whether warehouses for which licenses are applied for or have been issued under this Act are suitable for the proper storage of any agricultural product or products; to classify warehouses licensed or applying for a license in accordance with their ownership, location, surroundings, capacity, conditions, and other qualities, and as to the kinds of licenses issued or that may be issued for them pursuant to this Act; and to prescribe, within the limitations of this Act, the duties of the warehousemen conducting warehouses licensed under this Act with respect to their care of and responsibility for agricultural products stored therein. (7 U.S.C. 243.)

SEC. 4.3 That the Secretary of Agriculture, or his designated representative, is authorized, upon application to him, to issue to any warehouseman a license for the conduct of a warehouse or warehouses in accordance with this Act and such rules and regulations as may be made hereunder: Provided, That each such warehouse be found suitable for the proper storage of the particular agricultural product or products for which a license is applied for, and that such warehouseman agree, as a condition to the granting of the license, to comply with and abide by all the terms

1 This Act constitutes Part C of "An act making appropriations for the Department of Agriculture for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1917, and for other purposes,' approved August 11, 1916, 39 Stat. 486, as amended.

2 Section as amended by Act of February 23, 1923, 42 Stat. 1282, which omitted the second sentence defining “agricultural product" as "cotton, wool, grains, tobacco, and flaxseed, or any of them." Section as amended by Act of March 2, 1931, 46 Stat. 1463.

of this Act and the rules and regulations prescribed hereunder. (7 U.S.C. 244.)

SEC. 5. That each license issued under sections 4 and 9 of this Act shall terminate as therein provided, or in accordance with the terms of this Act and the regulations thereunder, and may from time to time be modified or extended by a written instrument. (7 U.S.C. 245.)

SEC. 6.5 That each warehouseman applying for a license to conduct a warehouse in accordance with this Act shall, as a condition to the granting thereof, execute and file with the Secretary of Agriculture a good and sufficient bond to the United States to secure the faithful performance of his obligations as a warehouseman under the terms of this Act and the rules and regulations prescribed hereunder, and of such additional obligations as a warehouseman as may be assumed by him under contracts with the respective depositors of agricultural products in such warehouse. Said bond shall be in such form and amount, shall have such surety or sureties, subject to service of process in suits on the bond within the State, District, or Territory in which the warehouse is located, and shall contain such terms and conditions as the Secretary of Agriculture may prescribe to carry out the purposes of this Act, and may, in the discretion of the Secretary of Agriculture, include the requirements of fire and/or other insurance. Whenever the Secretary of Agriculture, or his designated representative, shall determine that a previously approved bond is, or for any cause has become, insufficient, he may require an additional bond or bonds to be given by the warehouseman concerned, conforming with the requirements of this section, and unless the same be given within the time fixed by a written demand therefor the license of such warehouseman may be suspended or revoked. (7 U.S.C. 247.)

SEC. 7. That any person injured by the breach of any obligation to secure which a bond is given, under the provisions of sections 6 or 9, shall be entitled to sue on the bond in his own name in any court of competent jurisdiction to recover the damages he may have sustained by such breach. (7 U.S.C. 249.)

SEC. 8. That upon the filing with and approval by the Secretary of Agriculture, or his designated representative, of a bond, in compliance with this Act, for the conduct of a warehouse, such warehouse may be designated as bonded hereunder; but no warehouse shall be designated as bonded under this Act, and no name or description conveying the impression that it is so bonded shall be used until a bond, such as provided for in section 6, has been filed with and approved by the Secretary of Agriculture, or his designated representative, nor unless the license issued under this Act for the conduct of such warehouse remains unsuspended and unrevoked. (7 U.S.C. 250.)

SEC. 9. That the Secretary of Agriculture, or his designated representative, may, under such rules and regulations as he shall prescribe, issue a license to any person not a warehouseman to accept the custody of agricultural products, and to store the same in a warehouse or warehouses

Section as amended by Act of February 23, 1929, 42 Stat. 1282.

5 Section as amended by Act of July 24, 1919, 41 Stat. 266, Act of February 23, 1923, 42 Stat. 1283, and Act of March 2, 1931, 46 Stat. 1463. Act of February 23, 1923, added to the provision permitting the Secretary of agriculture, in his discretion, to include the requirements of fire insurance among the terms and conditions of the bonds. See also 46 Stat. 1463.

• Section as amended by Act of March 2, 1931, 46 Stat. 1463.

7 Section as amended by Act of March 2, 1931, 46 Stat. 1464.

owned, operated, or leased by any State, upon condition that such person agree to comply with and abide by the terms of this Act and the rules and regulations prescribed hereunder. Each person so licensed shall issue receipts for the agricultural products placed in his custody, and shall give bond, in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and the rules and regulations hereunder affecting warehousemen licensed under this Act, and shall otherwise be subject to this Act, and such rules and regulations, to the same extent as is provided for warehousemen licensed hereunder. (7 U.S.C. 248.)

SEC. 10. That the Secretary of Agriculture, or his designated representative, may charge, assess, and cause to be collected a reasonable fee for every examination or inspection of a warehouse under this Act when such examination or inspection is made upon application of a warehouseman, and for each license issued to a warehouseman or to any person to classify, inspect, grade, sample, and/or weigh agricultural products stored or to be stored under the provisions of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, or his designated representative, may charge, assess, and cause to be collected a reasonable fee. All such fees shall be deposited and covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. (7 U.S.C. 251.)

SEC. 11. That the Secretary of Agriculture, or his designated representative, may upon presentation of satisfactory proof of competency, issue to any person a license to inspect, sample, or classify any agricultural product or products, stored or to be stored in a warehouse licensed under this Act, according to condition, grade, or otherwise and to certificate the condition, grade, or other class thereof, or to weigh the same and certificate the weight thereof, or both to inspect, sample, or classify and weigh the same and to certificate the condition, grade, or other class and the weight thereof, upon condition that such person agree to comply with and abide by the terms of this Act and of the rules and regulations prescribed hereunder so far as the same relate to him. (7 U.S.C. 252.)

SEC. 12. That any license issued to any person to inspect, sample or classify, or to weigh any agricultural product or products under this Act may be suspended or revoked by the Secretary of Agriculture, or his designated representative, whenever he is satisfied, after opportunity afforded to the licensee concerned for a hearing, that such licensee has failed to inspect, sample, or classify, or to weigh any agricultural product or products correctly, or has violated any of the provisions of this Act or of the rules and regulations prescribed hereunder, so far as the same may relate to him, or that he has used his license or allowed it to be used for any improper purpose whatever. Pending investigation, the Secretary of Agriculture, or his designated representative, whenever he deems necessary may suspend a license temporarily without hearing. (7 U.S.C. 253.)

SEC. 13. That every warehouseman conducting a warehouse licensed under this Act shall receive for storage therein, so far as its capacity permits, any agricultural product of the kind customarily stored therein by him which may be tendered to him in a suitable condition for warehous

Section as amended by Act of March 2, 1931, 46 Stat. 1464, which, among other things, substituted "may" for "shall" where it appears for the first time, and substituted a provision authorizing a reasonable fee to be charged for licenses issued to warehousemen or other persons to classify, inspect, etc., agricultural products for the former provision requiring a fee of $2 per annum for each license or renewal thereof issued to a warehouseman.

Section as amended by Act of February 23, 1923, 42 Stat. 1283 and Act of March 2, 1931, 46 Stat. 1464.