7 U.S.C. § 8314 — Enforcement

(a) Collection of information (1) In general: The Secretary may gather and compile information, and run any inspection or investigation the Secretary considers necessary to administer or enforce this chapter. (2) Subpoenas (A) In general: The Secretary can subpoena a witness's attendance and testimony, the production of evidence (including books, papers, documents, electronically stored information, and other tangible items), or require inspection of premises relating to enforcing this chapter or any matter under investigation in connection with it. (B) Location of production: A witness's attendance, and production of evidence relevant to the inquiry, can be required from anywhere in the United States. (C) Enforcement (i) In general: If someone disobeys a subpoena, the Secretary can ask the Attorney General to get the help of a U.S. court — in the district where the investigation is happening, or where the person lives, is found, does business, is licensed to do business, or is incorporated — to compel the witness's attendance and testimony, the production of evidence, or the inspection. (ii) Noncompliance: If someone refuses to obey a subpoena, a court can order them to appear before the Secretary and give evidence, produce evidence, or allow the inspection. (iii) Contempt: A court can punish any failure to obey its order as contempt of court. (D) Compensation (i) Witnesses: A witness the Secretary summons under this chapter gets the same fees and mileage pay as a witness in a U.S. court. (ii) Depositions: A witness giving a deposition, and the person taking it, get the same fees paid for similar services in a U.S. court. (E) Procedures (i) Publication: The Secretary must publish the procedures for issuing subpoenas under this section. (ii) Review: Those procedures must require every subpoena to be reviewed for legal sufficiency and, to be effective, signed by the Secretary. (iii) Delegation: If the authority to sign a subpoena is delegated to an agency other than the Office of Administrative Law Judges, that agency must have the subpoena's legal sufficiency reviewed outside itself. (b) Authority of Attorney General: The Attorney General may (1) prosecute, in the name of the United States, all criminal violations of this chapter the Secretary refers, or that anyone brings to the Attorney General's notice; (2) sue to enjoin a violation of this chapter, compel compliance with it, or stop any interference with the Secretary carrying it out, whenever the Secretary has reason to believe a person has violated, is about to violate, has interfered with, or is about to interfere with the Secretary's actions; or (3) sue to recover any unpaid civil penalty, funds owed under a reimbursable agreement, late payment penalty, or interest owed under this chapter. (c) Court jurisdiction (1) In general: U.S. district courts, the District Courts of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands, the highest court of American Samoa, and the U.S. courts of other territories and possessions all have jurisdiction over cases arising under this chapter. (2) Venue: A case under this chapter can be brought, and papers served, in the judicial district where a violation or interference happened or is about to happen, or where the person charged lives, is found, does business, is licensed to do business, or is incorporated. (3) Exception: Paragraphs (1) and (2) don't apply to sections 8309(c) and 8313(b) of this title.