The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1929, under the administration of Herbert Hoover, established the Federal Farm Board from the Federal Farm Loan Board established by the Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916 with a revolving fund of half a billion dollars. The original act was sponsored by Hoover in an attempt to stop the downward spiral of crop prices by seeking to buy, sell and store agricultural surpluses or by generously lending money to farm organizations. Money was lent out to the farmers in order to buy seed and food for the livestock, which was especially important since there had previously been a drought in the Democratic South. However, Hoover refused to lend to the farmers themselves, as he thought that it would be unconstitutional to do so and if they were lent money, they would become dependent on government money.
The Mutual Security Act of 1951 launched a major American foreign aid program, 1951–61, of grants to numerous countries. It largely replaced the Marshall Plan. The main goal was to help poor countries develop and to contain the spread of communism. It was a signed on October 10, 1951 by President Harry S. Truman. Annual authorizations were about $7.5 billion, out of a GDP of $340bn in 1951, for military, economic, and technical foreign aid to American allies. The aid was aimed primarily at shoring up Western Europe, as the Cold War developed. In 1961 it was replaced by new foreign aid program. The Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, created the Agency for International Development (AID), which focused more on Latin America.
The United States Metric Board (USMB) was a United States government agency set up to encourage metrication. The United States Metric Board was commissioned by the Metric Conversion Act, 15 U.S.C. 205d, enacted on December 23, 1975. The Metric Conversion Act of 1975 mandated the presidential appointment of seventeen members for the "independent instrumentality".
The Johnson Doctrine, enunciated by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson after the United States' intervention in the Dominican Republic in 1965, declared that domestic revolution in the Western Hemisphere would no longer be a local matter when "the object is the establishment of a Communist dictatorship". It is an extension of the Eisenhower and Kennedy Doctrines.
The Psychotropic Substances Act of 1978 amended the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 and Controlled Substances Act to ensure compliance with the Convention on Psychotropic Substances. 21 U.S.C. § 801a notes, "It is the intent of the Congress that the amendments made by this Act, together with existing law, will enable the United States to meet all of its obligations under the Convention and that no further legislation will be necessary for that purpose." The Psychotropic Substances Act created mechanisms by which the U.S. Government would add substances to the Schedules of controlled substances as required by the Convention. It also established a framework for exercising the U.S.'s rights to influence drug scheduling at the international level. The Secretary of Health and Human Services was given the power to make scheduling recommendations that would be binding on the U.S. representative in discussions and negotiations related to drug scheduling proposals before the Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
The Farm Credit Act of 1933 established the Farm Credit System (FCS) as a group of cooperative lending institutions to provide short-, intermediate-, and long-term loans for agricultural purposes. Specifically, it authorized the Farm Credit Administration (FCA) to create 12 Production Credit Associations (PCAs) and 12 Banks for Cooperatives (BCs) alongside the 12 established Federal Land Banks (FLBs), as well as a Central Bank for Cooperatives.
The Emergency Relief and Construction Act, was the United States's first major-relief legislation, enabled under Herbert Hoover and later adopted and expanded by Franklin D. Roosevelt as part of his New Deal.
The Housing and Community Development Act of 1974,, is a United States federal law that, among other provisions, amended the Housing Act of 1937 to create Section 8 housing, authorizes "Entitlement Communities Grants" to be awarded by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, and created the National Institute of Building Sciences. Under Section 810 of the Act the first federal Urban Homesteading program was created.
The Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 was enacted following the release in 1919 of the Report of the Federal Trade Commission on the meatpacking industry.
The Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships is a United States law that implements the provisions of MARPOL and the annexes to which the United States is a party. The most recent U.S. action concerning MARPOL occurred in April 2006, when the U.S. Senate approved Annex VI, which regulates air pollution. Following that approval, in March 2007, the House of Representatives approved legislation to implement the standards in Annex VI, through regulations to be promulgated by Environmental Protection Agency in consultation with the U.S. Coast Guard.
In United States federal agriculture legislation, the Agricultural Adjustment Act Amendment of 1935 made several important and lasting changes to the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1933. Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Act into law on August 24, 1935.
The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1980 amended the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977, primarily to raise the target prices for wheat and corn.
The Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act of 1972 or Con Act authorized a major expansion of USDA lending activities, which at the time were administered by Farmers Home Administration (FmHA). The legislation was originally enacted as the Consolidated Farmers Home Administration Act of 1961. In 1972, this title was changed to the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, and is often referred to as the Con Act.
The National Aquaculture Act of 1980 is intended to promote and support the development of private aquaculture and to ensure coordination among the various federal agencies that have aquaculture programs and policies. It provided for a national aquaculture policy, including a formal National Aquaculture Development Plan; established a Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture on which officials of USDA, Commerce, the Interior, and nine other federal agencies sit; designated USDA as the lead agency for coordination; and authorized the National Aquaculture Information Center within the National Agricultural Library.
The Farm Labor Contractor Registration Act (FLCRA) — P.L. 88-582 — regulated the activities of farm labor contractors, that is, agents who recruit and are otherwise engaged in the transport, housing, and employment of migratory agricultural workers. Under FLCRA, farm labor contractors were required to secure certification through the United States Department of Labor.
The Arms Control and Disarmament Act of 1961, 22 U.S.C. § 2551, was created to establish a governing body for the control and reduction of apocalyptic armaments with regards to protect a world from the burdens of armaments and the scourge of war. The Act provided an important aspect for the Kennedy Administration's foreign policy which was coherent with the United States national security policy.
Helium Act of 1925, 50 USC § 161, is a United States statute drafted for the purpose of conservation, exploration, and procurement of helium gas. The Act of Congress authorized the condemnation, lease, or purchase of acquired lands bearing the potential of producing helium gas. The Act empowered the United States Department of the Interior and United States Bureau of Mines with the jurisdiction for the experimentation, production, repurification, and research of the lighter than air gas. The Title 50 codified law provided the authority for the creation of the National Helium Reserve.
Narcotics Manufacturing Act of 1960 is a federal declaration affirming the United States commitment to international convention protocols constricting the non-medical and non-scientific manufacturing of narcotic drugs. The Act of Congress recognizes the Convention for Limiting the Manufacture and Regulating the Distribution of Narcotic Drugs and 1948 Protocol establishing deterrents for the chemical synthesis and dispensation of illicit drugs. The public law exemplifies a scientific class of narcotic drugs produced from the natural product of the coca leaf and opium poppy.
Norbeck-Williamson Act of 1929 established the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Commission defining the powers and purpose of the twelve member committee. The Act of Congress authorized the Mount Harney Memorial Association of South Dakota to stone carve models of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt in the Harney National Forest. The granite sculpture was to be created in accordance with the rock relief designs by Gutzon Borglum.
