§1636. General provisions

(a) Confidentiality

The Secretary shall make available to the public information, statistics, and documents obtained from, or submitted by, packers, retail entities, and other persons under this subchapter in a manner that ensures that confidentiality is preserved regarding-

(1) the identity of persons, including parties to a contract; and

(2) proprietary business information.

(b) Disclosure by Federal Government employees

(1) In general

Subject to paragraph (2), no officer, employee, or agent of the United States shall, without the consent of the packer or other person concerned, divulge or make known in any manner, any facts or information regarding the business of the packer or other person that was acquired through reporting required under this subchapter.

(2) Exceptions

Information obtained by the Secretary under this subchapter may be disclosed-

(A) to agents or employees of the Department of Agriculture in the course of their official duties under this subchapter;

(B) as directed by the Secretary or the Attorney General, for enforcement purposes; or

(C) by a court of competent jurisdiction.

(3) Disclosure under Freedom of Information Act

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no facts or information obtained under this subchapter shall be disclosed in accordance with section 552 of title 5.

(c) Reporting by packers

A packer shall report all information required under this subchapter on an individual lot basis.

(d) Regional reporting and aggregation

The Secretary shall make information obtained under this subchapter available to the public only in a manner that-

(1) ensures that the information is published on a national and a regional or statewide basis as the Secretary determines to be appropriate;

(2) ensures that the identity of a reporting person is not disclosed; and

(3) conforms to aggregation guidelines established by the Secretary.

(e) Adjustments

Prior to the publication of any information required under this subchapter, the Secretary may make reasonable adjustments in information reported by packers to reflect price aberrations or other unusual or unique occurrences that the Secretary determines would distort the published information to the detriment of producers, packers, or other market participants.

(f) Verification

The Secretary shall take such actions as the Secretary considers necessary to verify the accuracy of the information submitted or reported under part B, C, or D of this subchapter.

(g) Electronic reporting and publishing

The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, provide for the reporting and publishing of the information required under this subchapter by electronic means.

(h) Reporting of activities on weekends and holidays

(1) In general

Livestock committed to a packer, or purchased, sold, or slaughtered by a packer, on a weekend day or holiday shall be reported by the packer to the Secretary (to the extent required under this subchapter), and reported by the Secretary, on the immediately following reporting day.

(2) Limitation on reporting by packers

A packer shall not be required to report actions under paragraph (1) more than once on the immediately following reporting day.

(i) Effect on other laws

Nothing in this subchapter, the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999, or amendments made by that Act restricts or modifies the authority of the Secretary to-

(1) administer or enforce the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.);

(2) administer, enforce, or collect voluntary reports under this chapter or any other law; or

(3) access documentary evidence as provided under sections 49 and 50 of title 15.

(Aug. 14, 1946, ch. 966, title II, §251, as added Pub. L. 106–78, title IX, §911(2), Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1200 .)

Termination of Section

For termination of section by section 942 of Pub. L. 106–78, see Livestock Mandatory Reporting note set out under section 1635 of this title.

References in Text

The Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999, referred to in subsec. (i), is title IX of Pub. L. 106–78, Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1188 , which is set out as a note under section 1635 of this title.

The Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, referred to in subsec. (i)(1), is act Aug. 15, 1921, ch. 64, 42 Stat. 159 , as amended, which is classified generally to chapter 9 (§181 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 181 of this title and Tables.

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 198a of this title.