[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1342 Reported in House (RH)]





                                                  Union Calendar No. 53

105th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 1342

                          [Report No. 105-80]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To provide for a one-year enrollment in the conservation reserve of 
    land covered by expiring conservation reserve program contracts.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             April 29, 1997

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed





                                                  Union Calendar No. 53
105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1342

                          [Report No. 105-80]

  To provide for a one-year enrollment in the conservation reserve of 
    land covered by expiring conservation reserve program contracts.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 16, 1997

 Mr. Smith of Oregon introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                    to the Committee on Agriculture

                             April 29, 1997

Additional sponsors: Mr. Nethercutt, Mr. Hill, Mr. Moran of Kansas, Mr. 
 Barrett of Nebraska, Mr. Bob Schaffer of Colorado, Mr. Chambliss, Mr. 
     Lucas of Oklahoma, Mr. Thune, Mr. Combest, and Mrs. Chenoweth

                             April 29, 1997

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for a one-year enrollment in the conservation reserve of 
    land covered by expiring conservation reserve program contracts.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. ONE-YEAR ENROLLMENT OF LAND COVERED BY EXPIRING 
              CONSERVATION RESERVE CONTRACTS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Eligible Lands.--This section applies with respect to 
land on a farm covered by a conservation reserve program contract 
expiring during fiscal year 1997 if--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the farm had a crop acreage base for wheat, 
        oats, or barley at the time the conservation reserve program 
        contract was executed or had a fall-seeded crop during the 1996 
        crop year;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the land covered by the expiring conservation 
        reserve program contract is the subject of a bid to reenroll 
        the land in the conservation reserve; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) the land satisfies eligibility criteria in 
        effect during fiscal year 1997 for the enrollment of the land 
        in the conservation reserve.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) One-Year Enrollment Authorized.--The owner of land 
described in subsection (a) (or the operator of a farm containing such 
land, with the consent of the owner) may enroll the land covered by the 
expiring conservation reserve program contract in the conservation 
reserve for a one-year period beginning on October 1, 1997, if--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the Secretary of Agriculture does not notify 
        the owner or operator, not later than May 2, 1997, that the 
        Secretary accepts or rejects the bid for reenrollment of the 
        land in the conservation reserve; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the owner or operator notifies the Secretary, 
        not later than May 16, 1997, that the owner or operator desires 
        to enroll the land in the conservation reserve for one year 
        under this subsection.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Rental Rate.--The rental rate for a one-year 
conservation reserve program contract under subsection (b) shall be 
equal to the lesser of--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) the maximum county rental rate established for 
        the county in which the land covered by the contract is 
        located; or</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the amount of the bid referred to in 
        subsection (a)(2) that was submitted by the owner or operator 
        to reenroll the land in the conservation reserve.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Effect of Subsequent Long-Term Enrollment.--If, before 
a one-year conservation reserve program contract entered into under 
subsection (b) takes effect on October 1, 1997, the Secretary accepts 
the bid of the owner or operator of the land covered by the contract to 
enroll the land in the conservation reserve under section 1231 of the 
Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831), the one-year contract shall 
be void. The existence of the one-year contract shall not affect the 
duration or terms of the new conservation reserve program contract 
executed by the owner or operator and the Secretary under such 
section.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Limitation on Expenditures.--Notwithstanding the 
authorization of one-year conservation reserve program contracts under 
subsection (b), the total amount of funds expended during fiscal year 
1998 for all conservation reserve program contracts, including such 
one-year contracts, may not exceed the amount of funds that would have 
been expended during that fiscal year for conservation reserve program 
contracts in the absence of this section.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (f) Conservation Reserve Program Contract Defined.--In 
this section, the term ``conservation reserve program contract'' means 
a contract authorized under subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D of 
title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.) for 
the enrollment of farm acreage in the conservation reserve established 
under such subchapter.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. ONE-YEAR ENROLLMENT OF LAND COVERED BY EXPIRING CONSERVATION 
              RESERVE PROGRAM CONTRACTS.

    (a) Eligible Farm Lands.--This section applies with respect to a 
farm containing land covered by a conservation reserve program contract 
expiring during fiscal year 1997 if--
            (1) the farm had a crop acreage base for wheat, oats, or 
        barley at the time the conservation reserve program contract 
        was executed;
            (2) the farm is located in an area in which fall-seeded 
        crops are regularly planted, as determined by the Secretary of 
        Agriculture;
            (3) the owner of the farm (or the operator with the consent 
        of the owner) submitted, during the enrollment period that 
        ended on March 28, 1997, an eligible bid to enroll all or part 
        of the land covered by the expiring contract in the 
        conservation reserve established under subchapter B of chapter 
        1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 
        (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.); and
            (4) the land designated in the bid satisfies the 
        eligibility criteria in effect for enrollment of land in the 
        conservation reserve.
    (b) One-Year Enrollment Authorized.--
            (1) Authority of owner or operator.--Except as provided in 
        subsection (g), the owner or operator of a farm described in 
        subsection (a) may enroll in the conservation reserve for a 
        one-year term to begin on October 1, 1997, the land covered by 
        the expiring conservation reserve program contract and included 
        in the owner's or operator's enrollment bid (as described in 
        subsection (a)(3)) if--
                    (A) the owner or operator notifies the Secretary in 
                writing, during the special notification period 
                required under paragraph (2), that the owner or 
                operator desires to enroll the land in the conservation 
                reserve for one year under this section; and
                    (B) the Secretary does not accept, before October 
                1, 1997, the owner's or operator's enrollment bid (as 
                described in subsection (a)(3)) to enroll the land in a 
                long-term conservation reserve program contract.
            (2) Special notification period.--Promptly upon the 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall provide a special 
        period for owners and operators of farms described in 
        subsection (a) to permit the owners and operators to provide 
        the notification required under paragraph (1)(A) to enter into 
        one-year conservation reserve program contracts under this 
        section.
    (c) Rental Rate.--The rental rate for a one-year conservation 
reserve program contract under subsection (b) shall be equal to the 
amount of the bid (as described in subsection (a)(3)) that the owner or 
operator submitted with respect to the land to be covered by the one-
year contract.
    (d) Effect of One-Year Contract on Subsequent Enrollment.--If an 
owner or operator who enrolls eligible farm land in a one-year 
conservation reserve program contract under subsection (b) submits a 
bid to enroll the same land in the conservation reserve under a long-
term conservation reserve program contract that would commence on 
October 1, 1998, and the Secretary accepts the bid and enters into a 
long-term conservation reserve program contract with the owner or 
operator, then the one-year contract shall be considered to be the 
first year of that long-term conservation reserve program contract.
    (e) Maximum Enrollment.--The maximum number of acres in the 
conservation reserve during fiscal year 1998, including land enrolled 
by the Secretary under one-year conservation reserve program contracts 
under subsection (b), may not exceed 30,000,000 acres.
    (f) Application of Conservation Reserve Laws.--Except as 
specifically provided in this section, the terms and conditions of 
subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food 
Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.) shall apply with respect 
to one-year conservation reserve program contracts authorized by this 
section.
    (g) Effect of Completion of 15th Enrollment.--If, as of the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary has already acted on the bids 
submitted during the enrollment period that ended on March 28, 1997, to 
enroll land in the conservation reserve, either by accepting or 
rejecting the bids, then the authority provided by this section for 
special one-year conservation reserve program contracts shall not take 
effect.

SEC. 2. SPECIAL EARLY TERMINATION AUTHORITY FOR CERTAIN CONSERVATION 
              RESERVE PROGRAM CONTRACTS EXPIRING IN 1997.

    (a) Early Termination Authority.--A farm owner or operator 
described in subsection (b) who is a party to a conservation reserve 
program contract expiring during fiscal year 1997 may terminate the 
contract at any time after June 30, 1997. Notwithstanding section 
1235(e) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3835(e)), the 
termination shall take effect immediately upon submission of notice of 
the termination to the Secretary of Agriculture and shall not result in 
a reduction in the amount of the rental payment due under the 
conservation reserve program contract for fiscal year 1997.
    (b) Eligible Owners and Operators.--A farm owner or operator 
referred to in subsection (a) is a farm owner or operator with respect 
to whom one of the following circumstances apply:
            (1) Neither the owner, operator, nor any other eligible 
        person submitted, during the enrollment period that ended on 
        March 28, 1997, an eligible bid to enroll all or part of the 
        land covered by the expiring conservation reserve program 
        contract in the conservation reserve established under 
        subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the 
        Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.).
            (2) An eligible bid was submitted during the enrollment 
        period to enroll all or part of the land covered by the 
        expiring contract in the conservation reserve, but the 
        Secretary of Agriculture rejected the bid and the owner or 
        operator did not notify the Secretary, in the manner provided 
        in section 1(b), that the owner or operator desired a one-year 
        contract under section 1.
    (c) Conservation Reserve Program Contract Defined.--In this 
section, the term ``conservation reserve program contract'' means a 
contract entered into under subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D of 
title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.) for 
enrollment of farm acreage in the conservation reserve established 
under such subchapter.