A bill to improve the Cotton Research and Promotion Program.
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Agriculture.
Amends the Cotton Research and Promotion Act to prohibit the Secretary of Agriculture from appointing to Cotton Board membership any person: (1) who has been convicted of any Federal or State offense carrying a penalty of imprisonment of more than one year; or (2) against whom any Federal or State agency has issued an order imposing sanctions for any violation of law relating to the buying, selling, handling, or transporting of agricultural commodities or contracts for the future delivery of such commodities. Prohibits the use of specified funds by a specified cotton producer organization to provide information to cotton producers concerning the activities of such organization or association or the Board under such Act, unless such information is specifically requested by a producer. Limits to ten percent of its budget for any fiscal period the amount which the Board may expend to provide such information to producers. Requires the Board to provide or direct any such information to all producers, unless specifically requested by a producer. Requires that all information with respect to refunds made to individual producers be kept confidential by all officers and employees of the Department of Agriculture and of the Board. Provides for criminal penalties and removal from office for convicted violators of such requirement. Prohibits the use of specified information, which has not been made public and which may affect or tend to affect prices, purchases, sales, or contracts for the future delivery of cotton, in any activity relating to such purchases, sales, or contracts. Prohibits specified communications or acquisitions to further such use. Provides penalties for violations of such prohibitions. Directs the Secretary to utilize a committee or committees of Department employees or officers with expertise in cotton marketing, production, processing and textile research, and administration, to establish guidelines governing legitimate expenditures by the cotton producer organization carrying out a program under such Act. Requires that such committee grant prior approval for all expenditures by such organization in excess of $7,500. Directs the Secretary to take actions to ensure: (1) that the Board or the Secretary budgets, audits, and approves all funds, incomes, and expenditures of such organization; and (2) that the Board obtains ownership of all technology, patents, copyrights, and other intellectual property which has been developed, maintained, or serviced in whole or part with funds collected pursuant to such Act. Directs the Secretary to report to the appropriate committees of Congress detailing such actions and recommending legislation relating to such matters.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 11, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on February 11, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Agriculture.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
PAUL FINDLEY (R-IL) introduced it on February 11, 1980. No cosponsors are recorded.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on February 11, 1980, 17060 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17060 days ago, on February 11, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers