[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3678 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3678

To provide crop insurance, marketing loan, and emergency operating loan 
relief for agricultural producers in certain counties in the States of 
  North Dakota and Minnesota that have been repeatedly designated as 
                        Federal disaster areas.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 1, 1998

Mr. Peterson of Minnesota (for himself and Mr. Pomeroy) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide crop insurance, marketing loan, and emergency operating loan 
relief for agricultural producers in certain counties in the States of 
  North Dakota and Minnesota that have been repeatedly designated as 
                        Federal disaster areas.

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

SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Covered county.--The term ``covered county'' means a 
        county in the State of North Dakota or the State of Minnesota 
        that, with respect to a particular crop year during the period 
        specified in section 5, was included in whole or in part in a 
        designated disaster area in at least three out of the preceding 
        five crop years.
            (2) Designated disaster area.--The term ``designated 
        disaster area'' means an area--
                    (A) covered by a Presidential declaration of major 
                disaster issued under section 401 of the Robert T. 
                Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
                (42 U.S.C. 5170) on account of damaging weather or a 
                related condition in the area; or
                    (B) determined to be a disaster area by the 
                Secretary of Agriculture under subpart A of part 1945 
                of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, on account of 
                damaging weather or a related condition in the area.

SEC. 2. SPECIAL CROP INSURANCE RULES FOR COVERED COUNTIES.

    (a) Multi-Peril Crop Insurance.--For purposes of administering the 
Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) for producers 
operating in a covered county, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation 
may not--
            (1) include the producer in any nonstandard classification 
        list; and
            (2) determine, without the consent of the producer, the 
        actual production history of the producer using production 
        records of any crop year during which the covered county was 
        included in a designated disaster area.
    (b) Farm Revenue Coverage Pilot Program.--In addition to the 
revenue insurance pilot program under section 508(h)(9) of the Federal 
Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(h)(9)), the Secretary of Agriculture 
shall provide producers operating in a covered county with the option 
of procuring insurance against loss of revenue. The revenue insurance 
provided shall be based on one or both of the following actuarially 
sound proposals:
            (1) Production area revenue.
            (2) Per acre input coverage.
    (c) Effective Date.--This section shall apply beginning with the 
1999 crop year for each commodity that is grown in a covered county and 
for which multi-peril crop insurance is generally available in the 
United States.

SEC. 3. SPECIAL MARKETING ASSISTANCE LOAN RULES FOR COVERED COUNTIES.

    (a) Loan Rates.--For purposes of determining the loan rate for a 
marketing assistance loan under section 131 of the Agricultural Market 
Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7231) for wheat, a feed grain, or an oilseed 
grown in a covered county, subsection (a)(1)(B), subsection (b)(1)(B), 
and the upper limits specified in paragraphs (1)(B) and (2)(B) of 
subsection (f) of section 132 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 7232) shall not 
apply.
    (b) Extension of Loans.--Notwithstanding section 133 of the 
Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7233), the Secretary of 
Agriculture may extend, for a period not to exceed 6 months, the term 
of a marketing assistance loan made under section 131 of such Act (7 
U.S.C. 7231) to a producer operating in a covered county.

SEC. 4. SPECIAL EMERGENCY OPERATING LOAN RULES FOR COVERED COUNTIES.

    For purposes of applying section 329 of the Consolidated Farm and 
Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1970) to determine the eligibility of a 
producer operating in a covered county for an emergency loan under 
subtitle C of such Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall not 
determine normal per acre or per animal production using any crop year 
during which the covered county was included in a designated disaster 
area.

SEC. 5. APPLICATION OF ACT.

    The special rules required by this Act shall apply in covered 
counties during the 1999 through 2002 crop years.
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