112 STAT. 2681-37 PUBLIC LAW 105-277—OCT. 21, 1998 42 USC 7671c. 16 USC 590h note. compliance with Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service requirements or with any international, Federal, State, or local sanitation or food protection standard. "(6) CRITICAL USES.— TO the extent consistent with the Montreal Protocol, the Administrator, after notice and the opportunity for public comment, and after consultation with other departments or instrumentalities of the Federal Government having regulatory authority related to methyl bromide, including the Secretary of Agriculture, may exempt the production, importation, and consumption of methyl bromide for critical uses.". (c) Section 604(e) of the Clean Air Act is amended by inserting at the end the following: "(3) METHYL BROMIDE.—Notwithstanding the phaseout and termination of production of methyl bromide pursuant to section 604(h), the Administrator may, consistent with the Montreal Protocol, authorize the production of limited quantities of methyl bromide, solely for use in developing countries that are Parties to the Copenhagen Amendments to the Montreal Protocol.". SEC. 765. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 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 Federed Civil Service status only for the purpose of applying for the United States Department of Agriculture Civil Service vacancies. SEC. 766. For grants for the rural empowerment zone and enterprise communities programs, an additional $15,000,000 is hereby appropriated, to remain available until expended, of which $10,000,000 is for grants for entities designated under section 1391(g) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 for the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a second round of the empowerment zone program in rural M-eas; and of which $5,000,000 is for grants for rural enterprise communities for the Secretary of Agriculture to designate not more than 20 additional rural enterprise communities provided that such commtmities meet the designation and eligibility reqmrements of part I of subchapter U of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986: Provided, That the designation of rural enterprise communities pursuant to this section shall be solely for the purpose of this section and not for tax treatment under the Internal Revenue Code: Provided further, That these funds are in addition to any other funds made available for empowerment zones and enterprise communities. TITLE VIII—AGRICULTURAL CREDIT SEC. 801. Section 373 of the ConsoUdated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2008h) is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following: "(b) PROHIBITION OF LOANS FOR BORROWERS THAT HAVE RECEIVED DEBT FORGIVENESS. — "(1) PROHIBITIONS.— Except as provided in paragraph (2)— "(A) the Secretary may not make a loan under this title to a borrower that has received debt forgiveness on a loan made or guaranteed under this title; and
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