section 615 of this title, means any person (including a cooperative association of producers) engaged in the processing of rice on a commercial basis (including custom milling for toll as well as commercial milling).

(8) In the case of any other commodity, the term "processing" means any manufacturing or other processing involving a change in the form of the commodity or its preparation for distribution or use, as defined by regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture; and in prescribing such regulations the Secretary shall give due weight to the customs of the industry.

(e) When any processing tax, or increase or decrease therein, takes effect in respect of a commodity the Secretary of Agriculture, in order to prevent pyramiding of the processing tax and profiteering in the sale of the products derived from the commodity, shall make public such information as he deems necessary regarding (1) the relationship between the processing tax and the price paid to producers of the commodity, (2) the effect of the processing tax upon prices to consumers of products of the commodity, (3) the relationship, in previous periods, between prices paid to the producers of the commodity and prices to consumers of the products thereof, and (4) the situation in foreign countries relating to prices paid to producers of the commodity and prices to consumers of the products thereof.

(f) For the purposes of selections 608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title, processing shall be held to include manufacturing.

(g) Nothing contained in sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title shall be construed to authorize any tax upon the processing of any commodity which processing results in the production of newsprint. (May 12, 1933, ch. 25, title I, § 9, 48 Stat. 35; Apr. 7, 1934, ch. 103, § 3 (a), 48 Stat. 528; May 9, 1934, 11:23 a. m., ch. 263, §§ 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 48 Stat. 670, 671, 675, 676; June 26, 1934, ch. 759, § 2 (b), 48 Stat. 1242; Mar. 18, 1935, ch. 32, §§ 1-6, 49 Stat. 45, 46; Aug. 24, 1935, ch. 641, §§ 11-15, 49 Stat. 762-767.)

REPEALS

Subsection (d), paragraph (4) of this section was repealed by act June 26, 1934, ch. 759, § 2 (a), 48 Stat. 1242.

Subsection (d), paragraph (5) of this section was repealed by act August 24, 1935, ch. 641, § 14 (b), 49 Stat. 767.

UNCONSTITUTIONAL

This section may be obsolete in view of the Supreme Court's holding that the processing and floor stock taxes provided for by the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933 are unconstitutional. See U. S. v Butler, Mass. 1936, 56 S. Ct. 312, 297 U. S. 1, 80 L. Ed. 477, 102 A. L. R. 914.

CROSS REFERENCE

Processing and compensating taxes not to be levied or collected, see section 673 of this title.

TERMINATION OF APPLICATION TO SUGAR

Provisions of this section ceased to apply to sugar on Sept. 1, 1937. See section 1180 of this title.

650673°-46-24

§ 610. Powers of Secretary of Agriculture generally-(a) Appointment of officers and employees; exemption from civil service regulations; salaries; impounding appropriations.-The Secretary of Agriculture may appoint such officers and employees, subject to the provisions of sections 661-663, 664-673, 674 of Title 5, and such experts, as are necessary to execute the functions vested in him by sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title; and the Secretary may make such appointments without regard to the civil service laws or regulations: Provided, That no salary in excess of $10,000 per annum shall be paid to any officer, employee, or expert of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, which the Secretary shall establish in the Department of Agriculture for the administration of the functions vested in him by sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title: And provided further, That the State Administrator appointed to administer sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title in each State shall be apointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Section 8 of Title II of the Act entitled "An Act to maintain the credit of the United States Government," approved March 20, 1933, to the extent that it provides for the impoundment of appropriations on account of reductions in compensation, shall not operate to require such impoundment under appropriations contained in sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title.

(b) State and local committees or associations of producers; handlers' share of expenses of authority or agency.-(1) The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to establish, for the more effective administration of the functions vested in him by sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title, State and local committees, or associations of producers, and to permit cooperative associations of producers, when in his judgment they are qualified to do so, to act as agents of their members and patrons in connection with the distribution of payments authorized to be made under section 608 of this title. The Secretary, in the administration of sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title, shall accord such recognition and encouragement to producer-owned and producer-controlled cooperative associations as will be in harmony with the policy toward cooperative associations set forth in existing Acts of Congress, and as will tend to promote efficient methods of marketing and distribution.

(2) Each order issued by the Secretary under sections 601608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title shall provide that each handler subject thereto shall pay to any authority or agency established under such order such handler's pro rata share (as approved by the Secretary) of such expenses as the Secretary may find will necessarily be incurred by such authority or agency, during any period specified by him, for the maintenance and functioning of such authority or agency, other than expenses incurred in receiving, handling, holding, or disposing of any quantity of a commodity received, handled, held, or disposed of by such authority or agency for the benefit or account

of persons other than handlers subject to such order. The pro rata share of the expenses payable by a cooperative association of producers shall be computed on the basis of the quantity of the agricultural commodity or product thereof covered by such order which is distributed, processed, or shipped by such cooperative association of producers. Any such authority or agency may maintain in its own name, or in the names of its members, a suit against any handler subject to an order for the collection of such handler's pro rata share of expenses. The several District Courts of the United States are hereby vested with jurisdiction to entertain such suits regardless of the amount in controversy.

(c) Regulations; penalty for violation.-The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized, with the approval of the President, to make such regulations with the force and effect of law as may be necessary to carry out the powers vested in him by sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title. Any violation of any regulation shall be subject to such penalty, not in excess of $100, as may be provided therein.

(d) Regulations of Secretary of Treasury. The Secretary of Treasury is authorized to make such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the powers vested in him by section 601-608, 608a, 608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title.

(e) Review of official acts.-The action of any officer, employee, or agent in determining the amount of and in making any payment authorized to be made under section 608 of this title shall not be subject to review by any officer of the Government other than the Secretary of Agriculture or Secretary of the Treasury.

(f) Geographical application. The provisions of sections 601608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title shall be applicable to the United States and its possessions, except the Philippine Islands, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Canal Zone, and the island of Guam; except that, in the case of sugar beets and sugarcane, the President, if he finds it necessary in order to effectuate the declared policy of sections 601-608, 608a608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title, is authorized by proclamation to make the provisions of sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title applicable to the Philippine Islands, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Canal Zone, and/or the island of Guam.

(g) Officers; dealing or speculating in agricultural products; penalties. No person shall, while acting in any official capacity in the administration of sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title, speculate, directly or indirectly, in any agricultural commodity or product thereof, to which sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title apply, or in contracts relating thereto, or in the stock or membership interests of any association or corporation engaged in handling, processing, or disposing of any such commodity of product. Any person violating this subsection shall upon conviction thereof be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

(h) Provisions of Federal Trade Commission Act adopted; hearings, before whom held; report of violations to Attorney General. For the efficient administration of the provisions of sections 608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title, the provisions, including penalties, of sections 48, 49, and 50 of Title 15, are made applicable to the jurisdiction, powers, and duties of the Secretary in administering the provisions of sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title and to any person subject to the provisions of sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title, whether or not a corporation. Hearings authorized or required under sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title shall be conducted by the Secretary of Agriculture or such officer or employee of the Department as he may designate for the purpose. The Secretary may report any violation of any agreement entered into under sections 608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title, to the Attorney General of the United States, who shall cause appropriate proceedings to enforce such agreement to be commenced and prosecuted in the proper courts of the United States without delay.

(i) Cooperation with State authorities; imparting information. The Secretary of Agriculture upon the request of the duly constituted authorities of any State is directed, in order to effectuate the declared policy of sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title and in order to obtain uniformity in the formulation, administration, and enforcement of Federal and State programs relating to the regulation of the handling of agricultural commodities or products thereof, to confer with and hold joint hearings with the duly constituted authorities of any State, and is authorized to cooperate with such authorities; to accept and utilize, with the consent of the State, such State and local officers and employees as may be necessary; to avail himself of the records and facilities of such authorities; to issue orders (subject to the provisions of section 608c of this title) complementary to orders or other regulations issued by such authorities; and to make available to such State authorities the records and facilities of the Department of Agriculture: Provided, That information furnished to the Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to section 608d (1) of this title shall be made available only to the extent that such information is relevant to transactions within the regulatory jurisdiction of such authorities, and then only upon a written agreement by such authorities that the information so furnished shall be kept confidential by them in a manner similar to that required of Federal officers and employees under the provisions of section 608d (2) of this title.

(j) Definitions.-The term "interstate or foreign commerce" means commerce between any State, Territory, or possession, or the District of Columbia, and any place outside thereof; or between points within the same State, Territory, or possession, or the District of Columbia, but through any place outside thereof; or within any Territory or possession, or the District of Columbia. For the purpose of sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title (but in no wise limiting the

foregoing definition) a marketing transaction in respect to an agricultural commodity or the product thereof shall be considered in interstate or foreign commerce if such commodity or product is part of that current of interstate or foreign commerce usual in the handling of the commodity or product whereby they, or either of them, are sent from one State to end their transit, after purchase, in another, including all cases where purchase or sale is either for shipment to another State or for the processing within the State and the shipment outside the State of the products so processed. Agricultural commodities or products thereof normally in such current of interstate or foreign commerce shall not be considered out of such current through resort being had to any means or device intended to remove transactions in respect thereto from the provisions of sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title. As used herein, the word "State" includes Territory, the District of Columbia, possession of the United States, and foreign nations. (May 12, 1933, ch. 25, title I, § 10, 48 Stat. 37, June 16, 1933, ch. 98, title VIII, § 86, 48 Stat. 273; May 9, 1934, 11:23 a. m., ch. 263, § 7, 48 Stat. 675; Aug. 24, 1935, ch. 641, §§ 16-18, 49 Stat. 767; Aug. 26, 1935, ch. 685, 49 Stat. 801; June 22, 1936, 9:00 p. m., ch. 690, § 601 (a), 49 Stat. 1739; June 3, 1937, ch. 296, §§ 1, 2 (g-i), 50 Stat. 246, 248.)

APPROPRIATIONS FOR REFUNDS AND PAYMENTS OF PROCESSING AND RELATED TAXES AND LIMITATIONS THEREON

Acts June 25, 1938, ch. 681, 52 Stat. 1150; May 6, 1939, ch. 115, § 1, 53 Stat. 661, 662; February 12, 1940, ch. 28, § 1, 54 Stat. 36; March 25, 1940, ch. 71, title I, 54 Stat. 61.

Act May 31, 1941, ch. 156, title I, § 1, 55 Stat. 218; act Mar. 10, 1942, ch. 178, title I, § 1, 56 Stat. 156; June 30, 1943, ch. 179, title I, 57 Stat. 257.

TERMINATION OF APPLICATION TO SUGAR

Provisions of this section ceased to apply to sugar on Sept. 1, 1937. See section 1180 of this title.

CROSS REFERENCE

Applicability of this section to hog-cholera and virus provisions, see section 855 of this title.

TRANSFER OF FUNCTIONS

Agricultural Adjustment Administration consolidated with other agencies into Agricultural Conservation and Adjustment Administration for duration of war, see Ex. Ord. No. 9069, set out in note under section 601 of Appendix to Title 50, War.

§ 611. "Basic agricultural commodity" defined; exclusion of commodities.-As used in sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title, the term "basic agricultural commodity" means wheat, rye, flax, barley, cotton, field corn, grain sorghums, hogs, cattle, rice, potatoes, tobacco, peanuts, sugar beets and sugarcane, and milk and its products, and any regional or market classification, type, or grade thereof; but the Secretary of Agriculture shall exclude from the operation of the provisions of sections 601-608, 608a-608c, 608d-612, 613-619, 620, 623, 624 of this title, during any period, any such commodity or classification, type, or grade thereof if he finds, upon investiga