,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #aaai  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,march #be1    
#bjbe,mr4 ,banks 7for himself and ,mr4  
,fetterman7 introduced the following    
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,agriculture1      
,nutrition1 and ,forestry  ,a ,,bill    
,to provide technical assistance to     
improve infrastructure in foreign       
markets for ,united ,states agricultural
 commodities4  #a4 ,short title ,this   
,act may be cited as the ,fortifying    
,refrigeration ,infrastructure and      
,developing ,global ,exports ,act of    
#bjbe or the ,,fridge ,act of #bjbe4    
#b4 ,findings ,congress finds the       
following3 7#a7 ,one of the largest     
limiting factors to growing export      
markets for ,united ,states food and    
agriculture products is insufficient    
infrastructure capabilities4  7#b7      
,current trade programs are focused on  
promoting specific commodities or       
products1 all of which are reliant on a 

functioning supply chain4  7#c7 ,there  
is a need for dedicated resources to    
focus on supply chain enhancement in    
developing countries to enable market   
expansion and diversification4  7#d7    
,each year1 billions of tons of fresh   
and frozen food products and millions of
 dollars' worth of ,united ,states      
exports are lost due to poor cold chain 
systems in developing markets4  7#e7    
,strengthening global infrastructure    
plays an important role in promoting    
trade1 reducing food loss and waste1 and
 improving nutrition4  #c4 ,technical   
assistance to improve infrastructure in 
foreign markets for ,united ,states     
agricultural commodities ,section       
#bjc7;c7 of the ,agricultural ,trade    
,act of #aigh 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #efbc7;c77  
is amended by adding at the end the     
following3  7#d7 ,technical assistance  
to improve infrastructure in foreign    
markets for ,united ,states agricultural
 commodities  7,a7 ,in general ,as part 
of the program established under this   

subsection1 the ,secretary shall enter  
into contracts or other agreements with 
eligible trade organizations to provide 
needs assessments1 training1 and other  
technical assistance to enhance the     
capabilities of infrastructure in new   
and developing foreign markets1         
including infrastructure relating to    
cold chain capacity1 port improvements1 
and other developments1 to ensure       
,united ,states agricultural commodities
 are not damaged or lost due to         
deficiencies of such infrastructure4    
7,b7 ,authorization of appropriations   
7i7 ,in general ,there is authorized to 
be appropriated to carry out this       
paragraph #a1jjj1jjj for each of the    
fiscal years #bjbf through #bjcj4  7ii7 
,rule of construction ,amounts          
authorized to be appropriated under this
 subparagraph may be used only for the  
purposes described in subparagraph 7,a74
  7iii7 ,availability ,amounts          
authorized to be appropriated under this
 subparagraph that are not used to carry

 out this paragraph are authorized to be
 made available to carry out the program
 established under this subsection4  4