H.R. 9538 (IH) - Local Procurement Act

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9538 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9538

 To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish certain 
 requirements for meat, poultry, fruit, and vegetable purchases by the 
           Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 11, 2024

 Ms. DeLauro introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish certain 
 requirements for meat, poultry, fruit, and vegetable purchases by the 
           Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Local Procurement Act''.

SEC. 2. REQUIREMENTS FOR MEAT, POULTRY, FRUIT, AND VEGETABLE PURCHASES 
              BY DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

    (a) Clerical Amendments.--
            (1) Short title.--The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 is 
        amended, in the undesignated matter preceding subtitle A (7 
        U.S.C. 1621 et seq.), by striking ``This title'' and inserting 
        the following:

``SEC. 200. SHORT TITLE.

    ``This title''.
            (2) Declaration of policy.--Section 202 of the Agricultural 
        Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621) is amended by striking 
        the section designation and all that follows through ``hereby 
        declares'' in the first sentence and inserting the following:

``SEC. 201. DECLARATION OF POLICY.

    ``Congress declares''.
    (b) Duties of Secretary Relating to Agricultural Products.--Section 
203 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1622) is 
amended by striking the section designation and all that follows 
through ``Agriculture is directed'' in the matter preceding subsection 
(a) and inserting the following:

``SEC. 202. REQUIREMENTS FOR MEAT, POULTRY, FRUIT, AND VEGETABLE 
              PURCHASES BY DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

    ``(a) Meat and Poultry.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law 
(including regulations), effective beginning on the date of enactment 
of the Local Procurement Act, in purchasing any meat or poultry 
agricultural product pursuant to a purchasing authority of the 
Department of Agriculture, the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in 
this Act as the `Secretary') shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 
purchase such an agricultural product that bears a `Product of USA' or 
`Made in the USA' label, as described in the final rule of the Food 
Safety and Inspection Service entitled `Voluntary Labeling of FSIS-
Regulated Products With U.S.-Origin Claims' (89 Fed. Reg. 19470 (March 
18, 2024)).
    ``(b) Fruits and Vegetables.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law (including regulations), effective beginning on the date of 
enactment of the Local Procurement Act, in purchasing any fruit or 
vegetable agricultural product pursuant to a purchasing authority of 
the Department of Agriculture, the Secretary shall, to the maximum 
extent practicable, purchase such an agricultural product that is grown 
in--
            ``(1) the State in which the agricultural product will be 
        delivered; or
            ``(2) a State adjacent to the State described in paragraph 
        (1).
    ``(c) Contract Awards.--
            ``(1) Selection criteria.--In entering into contracts for 
        the purchase of any meat, poultry, fruit, or vegetable 
        agricultural product, the Secretary shall establish and utilize 
        selection criteria for consideration of whether a contract 
        proposal offers the Federal Government the overall best value, 
        without limiting evaluation factors to--
                    ``(A) lowest price; or
                    ``(B) highest technical rating.
            ``(2) Priority.--In entering into contracts for the 
        purchase of any meat, poultry, fruit, or vegetable agricultural 
        product, the Secretary shall give priority to purchasing from 
        vendors that source meat, poultry, fruit, or vegetable 
        agricultural products, as applicable, from small and mid-sized 
        farms.

``SEC. 203. DUTIES OF SECRETARY RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.

    ``The Secretary is directed''.
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