PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Sep 28, 2017
Organic Farmer and Consumer Protection Act of 2017
This bill amends the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 to reauthorize through FY2023 and modify the Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Organic Program (NOP).
USDA must modernize the international trade tracking and data collection systems of the NOP, which must include ensuring that trade and transaction certificates are fully traceable without unduly hindering trade. The bill authorizes mandatory funding to be used for this purpose and for maintaining previous database and technology upgrades.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The bill modifies requirements for recordkeeping, investigations, and enforcement with respect to the organic certification process to:
allow parties to an active investigation to share confidential business information with government officers or employees and certifying agents involved in the investigation,
require federal agencies that administer cross-border documentation systems to provide USDA with access to the data from the systems,
allow the NOP to grant an accredited certifying agent the authority to require additional documentation or verification before granting certification, and
require USDA to issue regulations limiting the type of operations that are excluded from certification.
With respect to the accreditation process for certifying agents, the bill: (1) authorizes USDA to oversee and approve certifying agents operating in a foreign country, and (2) requires certifying agents that intend to operate in a foreign country to be annually authorized.
People & committees
Rep. Faso, John J. [R-NY-19] · R–NY
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Aug 11, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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