[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2263 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2263

 To compensate agricultural producers in the United States for damages 
   incurred as a result of trade embargoes that include agricultural 
   commodities and products produced in the United States among the 
                        prohibited trade items.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 6, 1995

Mrs. Chenoweth introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To compensate agricultural producers in the United States for damages 
   incurred as a result of trade embargoes that include agricultural 
   commodities and products produced in the United States among the 
                        prohibited trade items.
    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. COMPENSATION FOR FARMERS FOR DAMAGES FROM TRADE EMBARGOES.

    (a) Compensation Required.--In connection with any trade embargo 
imposed by the President after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
or any retaliatory embargo imposed by a foreign country in response to 
such an embargo, the Secretary of Agriculture shall compensate 
producers of each agricultural commodity produced in the United States 
and included among the prohibited trade items for damages incurred by 
the producers as a result of lost sales or reduced market price of the 
commodity due to the initial or retaliatory embargo. This section shall 
not apply in the case of a trade embargo imposed by the President that 
prohibits all trade with the country subject to the embargo, if the 
Congress passes a law approving of the embargo.
    (b) Filing of Claim.--To obtain compensation under subsection (a), 
a producer shall file a claim with the Secretary of Agriculture 
specifying the amount of the damages incurred by the producer as a 
result of an embargo described in subsection (a).
    (c) Calculation of Damages.--For each agricultural commodity 
produced in the United States and subject to an embargo described in 
subsection (a), the Secretary of Agriculture shall determine the 
difference, if any, between the average price of the agricultural 
commodity for the 12-month period ending on the date the agricultural 
commodity became subject to the embargo and the average price of the 
agricultural commodity for the 12-month period immediately after that 
date. The Secretary shall adjust the amount determined under the 
preceding sentence to reflect only the amount of the price reduction 
resulting from the embargo. Producers shall use the adjusted amount to 
calculate their damages. If the embargo extends beyond the first year, 
the Secretary shall redetermine the difference between the average 
prices during each subsequent 12-month period.
    (d) Payment.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall forward the 
producer's claim to the Commodity Credit Corporation, which shall pay 
the producer, from funds available to the Corporation, an amount equal 
to--
            (1) three times the amount of the damages determined under 
        subsection (c), in the case of an agricultural commodity 
        subject to a trade embargo imposed by the President; or
            (2) the amount of the damages determined under subsection 
        (c), in the case of an agricultural commodity subject to a 
        retaliatory embargo imposed by a foreign country in response to 
        the President's embargo.
    (e) Reimbursement.--The Secretary of the Treasury shall reimburse 
the Commodity Credit Corporation, from funds in the Treasury not 
otherwise appropriated, for all payments made by the Corporation under 
subsection (d).
    (f) Adjudication of Disputes.--In the case of a dispute arising in 
connection with a claim under this section, the United States Court of 
Federal Claims shall have jurisdiction to adjudicate the claim and 
enter judgment accordingly. If the Court enters judgment on behalf of 
the producer, the United States shall be responsible for the costs 
incurred by the producer to pursue the claim.
    (g) Notification of Congress.--As soon as possible after the 
President imposes an embargo described in subsection (a) or is informed 
of a retaliatory embargo, the President shall notify the Congress 
regarding--
            (1) the agricultural commodities subject to the embargo;
            (2) the amount of damages to agricultural producers 
        estimated as likely to result from the embargo; and
            (3) the source of funds to be used to provide compensation 
        to such producers under subsection (a).
    (h) Assistance Following Embargo.--During the one-year period 
following the lifting of any trade embargo described in subsection (a) 
with respect to an agricultural commodity, the Secretary of Agriculture 
shall provide assistance to producers of the agricultural commodity in 
order to assist such producers to regain market share lost as a result 
of the embargo. The Secretary shall provide such assistance in such 
manner and under such terms as the Secretary considers appropriate.
    (i) Agricultural Commodity Defined.--For purposes of this section, 
the term ``agricultural commodity'' means--
            (1) any agricultural commodity planted and produced in the 
        United States by annual tilling of the soil (including tilling 
        by one-trip planters), such as wheat, corn, grain sorghum, 
        barley, oats, rye, cotton, soybeans, peanuts, tobacco, sugar 
        beets, potatoes, and vegetables;
            (2) sugar cane and rice planted and produced in the United 
        States;
            (3) milk, fruits, and honey produced in the United States;
            (4) beef and other livestock, poultry, and aquacultural 
        species raised in the United States; and
            (5) timber and fiber crops produced in the United States.
Such term also includes any integral input into the production of an 
agricultural commodity, such as seed crops, crop nutrients, or crop 
protection products.
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