113 STAT. 1166 PUBLIC LAW 106-78—OCT. 22, 1999 16 USC 590h note. Deadline. Contracts. Hawaii. Mail. Termination date. Deadline. SEC. 740. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in fiscal year 2000 and thereafter, permanent employees of county committees employed on or after October 1, 1998, pursuant to 8(b) of the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590h(b)) shall be considered as having Federal Civil Service status only for the purpose of applying for United States Department of Agriculture Civil Service vacancies. SEC. 741. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used to declare excess or surplus all or part of the lands and facilities owned by the Federal Government and administered by the Secretary of Agriculture at Fort Reno, Oklahoma, or to transfer or convey such lands or facilities, without the specific authorization of Congress. SEC. 742. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service shall provide funds, within discretionary amounts available, for the settlement of claims associated with the Chuquatonchee Watershed Project in Mississippi to close out this project. SEC. 743. (a) Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall offer to enter into an agreement with the Governor of the State of Hawaii to conduct a pilot program to inspect mail entering the State of Hawaii for any plant, plant product, plant pest, or other organism that is subject to Federal quarantine laws. (b) The agreement described in subsection (a) shall contain the same terms and conditions as are contained in the memorandum of understanding entered into between the Secretary and the State of California, dated February 1, 1999, unless the Secretary and the Governor agree to different terms or conditions. (c) Unless the Secretary and the Governor agree otherwise, the agreement described in subsection (b) shall terminate on the later of— (1) the date that is 1 year after the date the agreement becomes effective; or (2) the date that the February 1, 1999 memorandum of understanding terminates. SEC. 744. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary is authorized under section 306 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1926), to provide guaranteed lines of credit, including working capital loans, for health care facilities, to address Year 2000 computer conversion issues. SEC. 745. After taking any action involving the seizure, quarantine, treatment, destruction, or disposal of wheat infested with kamal bunt, the Secretary of Agriculture shall compensate the producers and handlers for economic losses incurred as the result of the action not later than 45 days after receipt of a claim that includes all appropriate paperwork. SEC. 746. In addition to amounts otherwise appropriated or made available by this Act, $2,000,000 is appropriated for the purpose of providing Bill Emerson and Mickey Leland Hunger Fellowships through the Congressional Hunger Center, which is an organization described in subsection (c)(3) of section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under subsection (a) of such section. SEC. 747. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, there are hereby appropriated $250,000 for the program authorized under
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