[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4523 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4523

To amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to permit a producer to 
    lock in a loan deficiency payment rate for a portion of a crop.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 23, 2000

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to permit a producer to 
    lock in a loan deficiency payment rate for a portion of a crop.

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

SECTION 1. FLEXIBLE LOAN PAYMENT RATE FOR LOAN DEFICIENCY PAYMENTS.

    Section 135 of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 
7235) is amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 
following:
    ``(b) Computation.--
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), a 
        loan deficiency payment under this section shall be computed by 
        multiplying--
                    ``(A) the loan payment rate determined under 
                subsection (c) for the loan commodity; by
                    ``(B) the quantity of the loan commodity that the 
                producers on a farm are eligible to place under loan 
                but for which the producers forgo obtaining the loan in 
                return for payments under this section.
            ``(2) Alternative computation.--
                    ``(A) In general.--During the period beginning on 
                the date on which the Secretary determines that a fall- 
                or spring-planted loan commodity is beginning to be 
                harvested in the United States and ending on the date 
                on which the producers on a farm begin harvesting the 
                loan commodity, the producers on the farm may make an 
                irrevocable election to have a loan deficiency payment 
                for the loan commodity under this section computed in 
                accordance with this paragraph on an amount not to 
                exceed 85 percent of the quantity of the loan commodity 
                for a crop year that the producers on the farm will be 
                eligible to place under loan for that crop year.
                    ``(B) Amount.--A loan deficiency payment under this 
                paragraph shall be computed by multiplying--
                            ``(i) the loan payment rate determined 
                        under subsection (c) for the loan commodity, as 
                        of the date of the election by the producers on 
                        a farm under subparagraph (A); by
                            ``(ii) the quantity of the loan commodity 
                        that the producers on the farm elect to have 
                        computed under subparagraph (A).
                    ``(C) Notice.--Not later than 10 days after making 
                the determination described in subparagraph (A), the 
                Secretary shall publicize the determination through 
                means determined appropriate by the Secretary.
                    ``(D) Timing of payment.--The producers on a farm 
                shall receive a loan payment under this paragraph 
                after--
                            ``(i) the total quantity of loan commodity 
                        on the farm is harvested; and
                            ``(ii) sufficient documentation regarding 
                        the total quantity of loan commodity harvested 
                        has been provided to the Secretary.''.
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