[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2704 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2704

To amend the Agricultural Act of 1949 to restore and improve the farmer 
owned reserve program, to extend the term of marketing assistance loans 
   made under the Agricultural Market Transition Act, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 4, 1999

  Mr. Minge introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Agricultural Act of 1949 to restore and improve the farmer 
owned reserve program, to extend the term of marketing assistance loans 
   made under the Agricultural Market Transition Act, and for other 
                               purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Farmer Owned 
Reserve Restoration Act of 1999''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
                 TITLE I--FARMER OWNER RESERVE PROGRAM

Sec. 101. Restoration of farmer owner reserve program.
Sec. 102. Covered commodities.
Sec. 103. Interest charges.
Sec. 104. Storage payments.
Sec. 105. Quantity of commodities in program.
Sec. 106. Announcement of program.
Sec. 107. Withdrawal of commodities.
                       TITLE II--OTHER PROVISIONS

Sec. 201. Term of marketing assistance loans.
Sec. 202. Farm storage facility loans.

                 TITLE I--FARMER OWNER RESERVE PROGRAM

SEC. 101. RESTORATION OF FARMER OWNER RESERVE PROGRAM.

    (a) Repeal of Current Suspension of Program.--Section 171(b)(1) of 
the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7301(b)(1)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking subparagraph (E); and
            (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) through (L) as 
        subparagraphs (E) through (K), respectively.
    (b) Resumption of Program.--Subsection (p) of section 110 of the 
Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1445e) is amended to read as 
follows:
    ``(p) Resumption of Program.--This section shall take effect on the 
date of the enactment of the Farmer Owned Reserve Restoration Act of 
1999.''.
    (c) Relation to Current Commodity Loan Program.--Section 110(b) of 
the Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1445e(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``9-month price 
        support''; and
            (2) in paragraphs (1) and (2), by striking ``this title'' 
        both places it appears and inserting ``subtitle C of the 
        Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7231 et seq.)''.

SEC. 102. COVERED COMMODITIES.

    (a) Inclusion of Oilseeds.--Subsection (a) of section 110 of the 
Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1445e) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``wheat and feed grains'' both places it 
        appears and inserting ``covered commodities''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new sentence: ``In 
        this section, the term `covered commodity' means wheat, a feed 
        grain, or an oilseed (as defined in section 102 of the 
        Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7202).''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Such section is further amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``wheat and feed 
                grains'' and inserting ``covered commodities''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``under the wheat 
                and feed grain programs'' and inserting ``for the 
                covered commodity'';
            (2) in subsection (c), by striking ``wheat or feed grains'' 
        both places it appears and inserting ``the covered commodity'';
            (3) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ``wheat or feed 
        grains'' and inserting ``a covered commodity'';
            (4) in subsection (f), by striking ``wheat and feed 
        grains'' and inserting ``covered commodities''; and
            (5) in subsection (g)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``wheat and feed 
                grains'' and inserting ``a covered commodity'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by striking ``wheat or feed grains'' in 
                        the matter before the subparagraphs and 
                        inserting ``a covered commodity''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
                        ``wheat or corn'' both places it appears and 
                        inserting ``wheat, corn, or oilseeds'';
                    (C) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) by striking ``wheat or feed grains'' 
                        the first place it appears and inserting ``a 
                        covered commodity''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``wheat or feed grains, 
                        respectively'' and inserting ``that covered 
                        commodity''; and
                    (D) in paragraph (4), by striking ``wheat or feed 
                grains'' and inserting ``covered commodities''.

SEC. 103. INTEREST CHARGES.

    Section 110(c) of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1445e(c)) 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``105 percent of the then 
        current established price for the commodity'' and inserting 
        ``150 percent of the loan rate for the commodity under this 
        section''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``105 percent of the 
        established price for the commodities'' and inserting ``150 
        percent of the loan rate for the commodity under this 
        section''.

SEC. 104. STORAGE PAYMENTS.

    Section 110(d) of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1445e(d)) 
is amended by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and inserting the 
following:
            ``(2) Timing.--The Secretary shall make storage payments 
        available to participants in this program--
                    ``(A) at the end of each quarter; or
                    ``(B) at the option of the Secretary, not more than 
                1 year in advance of the date the payments would 
                otherwise be payable under subparagraph (A).
            ``(3) Duration.--The Secretary shall cease making storage 
        payments for a covered commodity whenever the price of the 
        commodity is equal to or exceeds 140 percent of loan rate for 
        the commodity under this section, and for any 90-day period 
        immediately following the last day on which the price of the 
        commodity was equal to or in excess of 140 percent of the loan 
        rate for the commodity under this section.''.

SEC. 105. QUANTITY OF COMMODITIES IN PROGRAM.

    Section 110(f) of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1445e(f)) 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``less than 300 million 
        bushels, nor more than 450 million bushels'' and inserting 
        ``more than 500,000,000 bushels'';
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``less than 600 million 
        bushels, nor more than 900 million bushels'' and inserting 
        ``more than 1,000,000,000 bushels''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3) The maximum quantities of all oilseeds may not be 
        established at more than 500,000,000 bushels.''.

SEC. 106. ANNOUNCEMENT OF PROGRAM.

    Section 110(g) of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1445e(g)) 
is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (A);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of 
                subparagraph (B) and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by inserting at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
                    ``(C) in the case of oilseeds, such date as the 
                Secretary considers to be appropriate.''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ``or 
                established pursuant to'' after ``specified in''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B)--
                            (i) in the matter before the clauses, by 
                        inserting ``or established pursuant to'' after 
                        ``specified in'';
                            (ii) by striking ``and'' at the end of 
                        clause (i);
                            (iii) by striking the period at the end of 
                        clause (ii) and inserting ``; and''; and
                            (iv) by inserting at the end the following 
                        new clause:
                            ``(iii) in the case of oilseeds, more than 
                        17.5 percent.'';

SEC. 107. WITHDRAWAL OF COMMODITIES.

    Subsection (h) of section 110 of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 
U.S.C. 1445e) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(h) Withdrawal of Covered Commodities.--In the case of a producer 
that has a covered commodity stored under this section, if the price of 
the covered commodity is--
            ``(1) less than 140 percent of the loan rate for that 
        covered commodity under this section, the producer may--
                    ``(A) withdraw the commodity from storage and repay 
                any loan made for the commodity under this section; or
                    ``(B) continue to store the commodity under this 
                section and receive storage payments for the commodity 
                under subsection (d);
            ``(2) at least 140 percent, but less than 150 percent, of 
        the loan rate for that covered commodity under this section, 
        the producer may continue to store the commodity under this 
        section, but shall not be eligible for storage payments for the 
        commodity under subsection (d); or
            ``(3) 150 percent or more of the loan rate for that covered 
        commodity under this section, the producer shall withdraw the 
        commodity from storage under this section and repay any loan 
        made for the commodity under this section.''.

                       TITLE II--OTHER PROVISIONS

SEC. 201. TERM OF MARKETING ASSISTANCE LOANS.

    Section 133(a) of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 
7233(a)) is amended by striking ``9 months'' and inserting ``21 
months''.

SEC. 202. FARM STORAGE FACILITY LOANS.

    (a) Loans for Construction or Remodeling.--To encourage the storage 
of dry or high moisture grain, soybeans, and rice, and high moisture 
forage and silage on farms, where the commodities can be stored at the 
lowest cost, the Commodity Credit Corporation shall make secured 
storage facility loans not to exceed $50,000 to growers of such 
commodities to cover not less than 75 percent of the total construction 
cost of such a facility, including the cost of structural and equipment 
foundations, electrical systems, grain handling systems, drying 
equipment, and site preparation. The Corporation may also make loans in 
such amounts not to exceed $50,000 to cover remodeling costs of 
existing storage facilities, as are set forth in regulations issued by 
the Secretary of Agriculture.
    (b) Facility Size.--The size of such a facility for which a loan is 
obtained shall be based upon the amount of space required to store the 
quantity of the commodity estimated to be produced by the borrower 
during a two-year period.
    (c) Loan Period.--Loans under this section shall be for a period 
not to exceed 10 years at an interest rate based upon the rate of 
interest charged the Corporation by the United States Treasury.
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