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Title 7 — AgricultureRelease 119-73

§612 Appropriation; use of revenues; administrative expenses

Title 7 › Chapter CHAPTER 26— - AGRICULTURAL ADJUSTMENT › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - COMMODITY BENEFITS › § 612

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary of Agriculture is given $100,000,000 from Treasury money that is not already set aside. That money is for administrative costs under this law and for payments the law allows under section 608. The money stays available until it is spent. The law also allows up to $200,000,000 more to be used, on terms the Secretary sets, to reduce surpluses and to support and balance the dairy and beef-cattle markets. No more than 60 percent of that $200,000,000 may be used for either the dairy industry or the beef-cattle industry. In addition, the taxes collected under this chapter are set aside to give the Secretary extra funds. Those tax proceeds can be used to buy agricultural commodities that were pledged as loan security when the borrower agreed to join a production or marketing adjustment program. The tax money can also pay administrative costs, the payments under section 608, and tax refunds. The Agriculture and Treasury Secretaries will estimate how much is needed. Treasury will advance those amounts from available funds, and later subtract the advances from the tax proceeds when they come in. Administrative expenses include items like staff pay, rent, law books, stenographers, printing, and paper. The Secretary must transfer money to Treasury, and may transfer money to other agencies, to cover their costs and refunds in running these programs.

Full Legal Text

Title 7, §612

Agriculture — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)There is appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $100,000,000 to be available to the Secretary of Agriculture for administrative expenses under this chapter, and for payments authorized to be made under section 608 of this title. Such sum shall remain available until expended.To enable the Secretary of Agriculture to finance under such terms and conditions as he may prescribe, surplus reductions with respect to the dairy- and beef-cattle industries, and to carry out any of the purposes described in subsections (a) and (b) of this section and to support and balance the markets for the dairy and beef cattle industries, there is authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $200,000,000: Provided, That not more than 60 per centum of such amount shall be used for either of such industries.
(b)In addition to the foregoing, for the purpose of effectuating the declared policy of this chapter, a sum equal to the proceeds derived from all taxes imposed under this chapter is appropriated to be available to the Secretary of Agriculture for (1) the acquisition of any agricultural commodity pledged as security for any loan made by any Federal agency, which loan was conditioned upon the borrower agreeing or having agreed to cooperate with a program of production adjustment or marketing adjustment adopted under the authority of this chapter, and (2) the following purposes under this chapter: Administrative expenses, payments authorized to be made under section 608 of this title, and refunds on taxes. The Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Treasury shall jointly estimate from time to time the amounts, in addition to any money available under subsection (a), currently required for such purposes; and the Secretary of the Treasury shall, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, advance to the Secretary of Agriculture the amounts so estimated. The amount of any such advance shall be deducted from such tax proceeds as shall subsequently become available under this subsection.
(c)The administrative expenses provided for under this section shall include, among others, expenditures for personal services and rent in the District of Columbia and elsewhere, for law books and books of reference, for contract stenographic reporting services, and for printing and paper in addition to allotments under the existing law. The Secretary of Agriculture shall transfer to the Treasury Department, and is authorized to transfer to other agencies, out of funds available for administrative expenses under this chapter, such sums as are required to pay administrative expenses incurred and refunds made by such department or agencies in the administration of this chapter.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1937—Subsec. (a). Act June 3, 1937, § 2(j), struck out “and production adjustments” after “surplus reductions” in second par. 1935—Subsec. (a). Act Aug. 24, 1935, § 19, substituted “payments authorized to be made under section 608” for “rental and benefit payments made with respect to reduction in acreage or reduction in production for market under part 2 of this title”. Subsec. (b). Act Aug. 24, 1935, § 3, amended subsec. (b) generally. 1934—Subsec. (a). Act Apr. 7, 1934, added second par.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Validity of Section AffirmedAct
June 3, 1937, § 1, affirmed and validated, and reenacted without change the provisions of subsecs. (a) and (c) of this section, except for the amendment to subsec. (a) by section 2 of the act. See note set out under section 601 of this title. Settlement of Certain Claims and AccountsAct
June 5, 1942, ch. 349, §§ 2, 3, 56 Stat. 324, authorized Comptroller General to relieve disbursing and certifying officers from liability for payments made prior to
January 6, 1936, under Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 or

Amendments

thereto [this chapter] or under the appropriation “Payments for Agricultural Adjustment” in act Feb. 11, 1936, ch. 49, 49 Stat. 1116, upon certificate of Secretary of Agriculture that such payments were made in good faith, and also provided that no action should be taken to recover such excess payments, if the Secretary of Agriculture should further certify that in view of the good faith of the parties or other circumstances of the case, such attempt to recover them would be inadvisable or inequitable.

Executive Documents

Ex. Ord. No. 10914. Expanded Program of Food Distribution to Needy Families Ex. Ord. No. 10914, Jan. 21, 1961, 26 F.R. 639, provided: Whereas one of the most important and urgent problems confronting this Nation today is the development of a positive food and nutrition program for all Americans; Whereas I have received the report of the Task Force on Area Redevelopment under the chairmanship of Senator Douglas, in which special emphasis is placed upon the need for additional food to supplement the diets of needy persons in areas of chronic unemployment; Whereas I am also advised that there are now almost 7 million persons receiving some form of public assistance, that 4.5 million persons are reported as being unemployed and that a substantial number of needy persons are not recipients in the present food distribution program; Whereas the variety of foods currently being made available is limited and its nutritional content inadequate; and Whereas despite an abundance of food, farm income has been in a period of decline, and a strengthening of farm prices is desirable. NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows: The Secretary of Agriculture shall take immediate steps to expand and improve the program of food distribution throughout the United States, utilizing funds and existing statutory authority available to him, including section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935, as amended (7 U.S.C. 612) [this section], so as to make available for distribution, through appropriate State and local agencies, to all needy families a greater variety and quantity of food out of our agricultural abundance. John F. Kennedy.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

7 U.S.C. § 612

Title 7 — Agriculture

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73