1-2. Functions of the Commission.

1-201. The Commission shall develop factual data as to the causes of world hunger and malnutrition. It shall review existing authorities and programs, public and private, national and international, which seek to address the problems of hunger and malnutrition; and, shall assess the extent to which those programs are meeting their objectives, and why.

1-202. In developing its data and assessing existing programs, the Commission shall review existing studies on world hunger and malnutrition, conduct additional studies where necessary, and hold such hearings or inquiries as may be helpful.

1-203. The Commission shall develop recommendations designed to significantly reduce world hunger and malnutrition; and, shall develop various options for harnessing available resources to carry out those recommendations, including policy options for improving the capacity of the United States to reduce the problems of world hunger and malnutrition.

1-204. In developing its recommendations, the Commission shall encourage public participation by holding hearings, issuing reports, and coordinating, sponsoring, or overseeing projects, studies, and other activities related to the understanding of the problems of world hunger and malnutrition. The maximum use shall be made of past and ongoing related government efforts of that nature.

1-205. The Commission shall coordinate its functions with local, State, national, and international agencies and organizations where appropriate.

1-206. An interim report on the status of its work and on its tentative recommendations shall be submitted to the President no later than July 31, 1979.

For the text of E.O. 12078, see Fed. Reg., Vol. 43, No. 174, Sept. 7, 1978, pp. 39741-39742, compiled in 3 CFR, 1978 Comp. (1979), at pp. 222–224; Weekly Comp. of Pres. Docs., Vol. 14, No. 36, Sept. 11, 1978, pp. 1498-1499.

The Commission was to terminate on June 30, 1980, or earlier as directed by the President (sec. 1-402).

See further, the 1977 Digest, pp. 818-821.

Agricultural Trade Act

On October 21, 1978, President Carter signed into law the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978, Public Law 95-501 (92 Stat. 1685), to strengthen the economy of the United States through increased sales abroad of American agricultural products.

Title I (section 101) of the Agricultural Trade Act amended section 4 of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1707a), which formerly had authorized only short-term Commodity Credit Corporation credit for commercial export sales of agricultural commodities from private stocks. Under the amendment additional authority was conferred upon the Corporation to finance export sales out of its own stocks, as well as out of private stocks, on "intermediate credit" terms (in excess of

three, but not more than ten, years), in order to: (1) develop, expand, or maintain the importing nation as a foreign market, on a long-term basis, for commercial sale and export of United States agricultural commodities without displacing normal commercial sales; or (2) otherwise improve the importing nation's capability, on a long-term basis, to purchase and use United States agricultural commodities (new section 4 (b) (2) of the Food for Peace Act).

New section 4(b) (3) of the Food for Peace Act provides that the intermediate export credit might be made available: (1) to establish reserve stocks consistent with international commodity agreements or other stock building plans acceptable to the United States; (2) for export sale of breeding animals, including but not limited to livestock and poultry, including freight costs; (3) to establish facilities in the importing nation to improve handling, marketing, processing, storage or distribution of imported agricultural commodities (through use of local currency generated from import and sale of United States. agricultural commodities to finance all or part of such facilities); and (4) to meet credit competition for agricultural export sales.

Under new section 4 (b) (4) of the Food for Peace Act, intermediate credit financing is prohibited from being used to encourage credit competition, or for the purpose of foreign aid or debt rescheduling.

New section 4(b)(5) requires repayment on intermediate credit sales to be in dollars with interest at a rate equal, as nearly as practicable, to the rate charged by the Commodity Credit Corporation for financing under its short-term export credit sales program (covered in renumbered section 4(a) of the Food for Peace Act). It also authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to require an initial payment from the purchaser at the time of sale or shipment, if he deems it appropriate to protect U.S. interests. New section 4(b) (6) directs the Secretary, wherever feasible, to obtain commitments from purchasers that will prevent resale or transshipment to other nations of agricultural commodities financed under the intermediate credit provisions. New section 4(b) (8) provides that the cargo preference laws shall not apply to export sales financed under intermediate credit terms.

Title II covered Commodity Credit Corporation financing of deferred payment sales, and credit sales to the People's Republic of China.

Section 201 authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to provide Commodity Credit Corporation short-term financing (not to exceed three years) to exporters of agricultural commodities who wish to offer deferred payment terms to buyers in other nations, in order to meet sales competition from other nations or to make additional export sales. Other than for credit sales to the People's Republic of China (post), financing under section 201 of the Agricultural Trade

Act is available only with respect to sales to nations which are eligible for short-term credit sales financing (section 4(a) of the Food for Peace Act). The short-term financing cannot be provided, however. until the Commodity Credit Corporation has approved the sales plan of the exporter applying for financing and the exporter has established to the Corporation's satisfaction that exports have been made thereunder. Repayment is required to be in dollars, and interest rates cannot exceed those charged for financing under the Corporation's short-term export credit sales program. The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to require a performance guarantee from the exporter. if he deems it necessary to protect the interests of the United States. Section 202 of the Agricultural Trade Act reads:

CREDIT SALES TO THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Sec. 202. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in order to expand and develop markets for United States agricultural commodities, the Commodity Credit Corporation may provide financing for commercial sales of agricultural commodities out of private stocks on terms of not to exceed three years to the People's Republic of China under (1) the short-term export credit sales program conducted by the Corporation, and (2) the deferred payment sales program for exporters established under section 201 of this title. Title III of Public Law 95-501 amended the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to authorize officers and employees, assigned or appointed to posts abroad to engage in foreign market development, to bear the designation of agricultural counselor. agricultural attaché, or such other titles or designations as may be agreed to by the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Agriculture. and required that they be accorded the same rank and privileges as those of other counselors or attachés in American embassies. It also required that an agricultural counselor be so appointed for any nation: (1) to which a substantial number of governments which compete directly with the United States for agricultural markets in that nation assign agricultural representatives having such diplomatic status or its equivalent; or (2) which has a great potential for longterm expansion as a market for United States agricultural commodities and which is the object of extremely intense competition between the United States and other nations as an existing and potential agricultural market.

Title IV of the Act amends the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to provide for establishment of United States Agricultural Trade Offices in other nations by the Secretary of Agriculture, after consultation with the Secretary of State. New section 605B of the 1954 Act (7 U.S.C. 1765b) prescribes the following functions for the Agricultural Trade Offices:

"Sec. 605B. The functions of each United States Agricultural Trade Office shall be to

"(1) increase the effectiveness of agricultural export promotion efforts through consolidation of activities, providing services and facilities for foreign buyers and United States trade representatives, and coordination of market development activities sponsored by the Department of Agriculture; "(2) establish goals by nation or region and agricultural commodity for developing, expanding, and maintaining markets for United States agricultural commodities;

"(3) initiate programs to achieve the export marketing goals approved by the Department of Agriculture;

"(4) maintain facilities for use by nonresident cooperators, private trade groups, and other individuals engaged in the import and export of United States agricultural commodities where the use of such facilities would aid in the conduct of market development activities, and cooperate, to the maximum extent practicable, with such cooperators, groups, and individuals to expand the level of United States agricultural exports;

"(5) develop and maintain a current listing of trade, government, and other appropriate organizations for each agricultural commodity area and make such listing available to persons with a bona fide interest in exporting or importing United States agricultural commodities;

"(6) originate and provide assistance for exhibits, sales teams, and other functions for the promotion of United States agricultural commodities;

"(7) provide practical assistance for the use of the programs under the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954, the export credit sales program, the export incentives program, and related programs of the United States Government where use of such programs will serve as a market development tool for United States agriculture;

"(8) supervise project agreements with United States cooperators, coordinate the activities of the United States Agricultural Trade Office with those of the cooperators, and submit annual recommendations to the Secretary of Agriculture on the efficacy of cooperator programs;

"(9) publicize the services offered by the United States Agricultural Trade Office through advertisements in trade journals or by other appropriate means; and

"(10) perform such other functions as the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of State, determines to be necessary and proper for achieving the purposes of this subtitle."

The International Development and Food Assistance Act of 1978, P.L. 95-424, approved October 6, 1978 (92 Stat. 937), provided in section 104 (a) for amendment of section 104 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, 22 U.S.C. 2151b, to read:

POPULATION AND HEALTH

Sec. 104. (a) Section 104 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 is amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 104. Population and Health.-(a) Findings.-The Congress recognizes that poor health conditions and uncontrolled population growth can vitiate otherwise successful development efforts.

"Large families in developing countries are the result of complex social and economic factors which change relatively slowly among the poor majority least affected by economic progress, as well as the result of a lack of effective birth control. Therefore, effective family

planning depends upon economic and social change as well as the delivery of services and is often a matter of political and religious sensitivity. While every country has the right to determine its own policies with respect to population growth, voluntary population planning programs can make a substantial contribution to economic development, higher living standards, and improved health and nutrition.

"Good health conditions are a principal element in improved quality of life and contribute to the individual's capacity to participate in the development process, while poor health and debilitating disease can limit productivity.

"(b) Assistance for Population Planning. In order to increase the opportunities and motivation for family planning and to reduce the rate of population growth, the President is authorized to furnish assistance, on such terms and conditions as he may determine, for voluntary population planning. In addition to the provision of family planning information and services and the conduct of directly relevant demographic research, population planning programs shall emphasize motivation for small families.

"(c) Assistance for Health and Disease Prevention.-In order to contribute to improvements in the health of the greatest number of poor people in developing countries, the President is authorized to furnish assistance, on such terms and conditions as he may determine, for health programs. Assistance under this subsection shall be used primarily for basic integrated health services, safe water and sanitation, disease prevention and control, and related health planning and research. This assistance shall emphasize self-sustaining community-based health programs, by means such as training of health auxiliary and other appropriate personnel, support for the establishment and evaluation of projects that can be replicated on a broader scale, measures to improve management of health programs. and other services and supplies to support health and disease prevention programs.

"(d) Integration of Assistance Programs.-(1) Assistance under this chapter shall be administered so as to give particular attention to the interrelationship between (A) population growth, and (B) development and overall improvement in living standards in devel oping countries, and to the impact of all programs, projects, and activities on population growth. All appropriate activities proposed for financing under this chapter shall be designed to build motivation for smaller families through modification of economic and social conditions supportive of the desire for large families, in progranis such as education in and out of school, nutrition, disease control, maternal and child health services, improvements in the status and employment of women, agricultural production, rural development, and assistance to the urban poor. Population planning programs shall be coordinated with other programs aimed at reducing the infant mortality rate, providing better nutrition for pregnant women and infants, and raising the standard of living of the poor. "(2) Since the problems of malnutrition, disease, and rapid population growth are closely related, planning for assistance to be provided under subsections (b) and (c) of this section and under section 103 shall be coordinated to the maximum extent practicable.