[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4979 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4979

     To amend the Agriculture Market Transition Act to extend the 
 availability of marketing assistance loans beyond the 2002 crop year, 
 to increase the loans rates for such loans, to extend the duration of 
   such loans, and to revise the limitations on the total amount of 
 marketing loan gains and loan deficiency payments that a producer may 
                                receive.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 26, 2000

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Agriculture Market Transition Act to extend the 
 availability of marketing assistance loans beyond the 2002 crop year, 
 to increase the loans rates for such loans, to extend the duration of 
   such loans, and to revise the limitations on the total amount of 
 marketing loan gains and loan deficiency payments that a producer may 
                                receive.

    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 ``Family Farm Safety 
Net Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Permanent availability of marketing assistance loans.
Sec. 3. Establishment of minimum loan rates for marketing assistance 
                            loans.
Sec. 4. Increase in duration of marketing assistance loans.
Sec. 5. Limitations on marketing loan gains and loan deficiency 
                            payments.

SEC. 2. PERMANENT AVAILABILITY OF MARKETING ASSISTANCE LOANS.

    Section 131(a) of the Agriculture Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 
7231(a)) is amended by striking ``through 2002'' and inserting ``and 
subsequent''.

SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF MINIMUM LOAN RATES FOR MARKETING ASSISTANCE 
              LOANS.

    (a) Wheat.--Subsection (a) of section 132 of the Agriculture Market 
Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7232) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ``not more than $2.58 
        per bushel'' and inserting ``not less than $3.40 per bushel for 
        each of the 2000 and subsequent crop years''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``If the Secretary'' and 
        inserting ``Subject to the minimum loan rate specified in 
        paragraph (1)(B), if the Secretary''.
    (b) Corn.--Subsection (b) of such section is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ``not more than $1.89 
        per bushel'' and inserting ``not less than $2.43 per bushel for 
        each of the 2000 and subsequent crop years''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``If the Secretary'' and 
        inserting ``Subject to the minimum loan rate specified in 
        paragraph (1)(B), if the Secretary''.
    (c) Grain Sorghum and Oats.--Subsection (b)(3) of such section is 
amended by adding at the end the following: ``Notwithstanding the 
preceding sentence, the loan rate for a marketing assistance loan under 
section 131 for each of the 2000 and subsequent crop years shall be not 
less than--
                    ``(A) $2.24 per bushel for grain sorghum; and
                    ``(B) $1.46 per bushel for oats.''.
    (d) Barley.--Subsection (b) of such section is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``, barley,''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(4) Barley.--For each of the 2000 and subsequent crop 
        years, the loan rate for a marketing assistance loan under 
        section 131 for barley shall be--
                    ``(A) not less than 85 percent of the simple 
                average price received by producers of malting or feed 
                barley, as determined by the Secretary, during the 
                marketing years for the immediately preceding 5 crops 
                of barley, excluding the year in which the all barley 
                average price was the highest and the year in which the 
                all barley average price was the lowest in the period; 
                but
                    ``(B) not less than $2.43 per bushel.''.
    (e) Upland Cotton.--Subsection (c)(2) of such section is amended by 
striking ``$0.50 per pound or more than $0.5192 per pound'' and 
inserting ``$0.61 per pound for each of the 2000 and subsequent crop 
years''.
    (f) Extra Long Staple Cotton.--Subsection (d)(2) of such section is 
amended by striking ``not more than $0.7965 per pound'' and inserting 
``not less than $0.887 per pound for each of the 2000 and subsequent 
crop years.
    (g) Rice.--Subsection (e) of such section is amended by striking 
``$6.50 per hundredweight'' and inserting ``$8.25 per hundredweight for 
each of the 2000 and subsequent crop years''.
    (h) Soybeans.--Subsection (f)(1)(B) of such section is amended by 
striking ``$4.92 or more than $5.26 per bushel'' and inserting ``$5.50 
per bushel for each of the 2000 and subsequent crop years''.
    (i) Other Oil Seeds.--Subsection (f)(2)(B) of such section is 
amended by striking ``$0.087 or more than $0.093 per pound'' and 
inserting ``$0.0972 per pound for each of the 2000 and subsequent crop 
years''.

SEC. 4. INCREASE IN DURATION OF MARKETING ASSISTANCE LOANS.

    Section 133 of the Agriculture Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 
7233) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 133. TERM OF LOANS.

    ``(a) Term of Loan.--In the case of each loan commodity, a 
marketing assistance loan under section 131 shall have a term of 20 
months beginning on the first day of the first month after the month in 
which the loan is made.
    ``(b) Extensions Authorized.--The Secretary may extend the term of 
a marketing assistance loan for any loan commodity.''.

SEC. 5. LIMITATIONS ON MARKETING LOAN GAINS AND LOAN DEFICIENCY 
              PAYMENTS.

    (a) Establishment of New Limitations.--Section 1001(2) of the Food 
Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308(2)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(A)'' before ``The total amount'';
            (2) by striking ``$75,000'' and inserting ``$100,000''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following new subparagraphs:
            ``(B) In addition to the limitation in subparagraph (A), if 
        the value of all contract commodities and oilseeds for which a 
        person obtains nonrecourse marketing loans under the 
        Agricultural Market Transition Act during any crop year, plus 
        the value of nonrecourse marketing loans forgone by the person 
        in return for loan deficiency payments during that crop year, 
        is more than $400,000, but less than or equal to $600,000, the 
        Secretary shall reduce--
                    ``(i) the amount of any payments specified in 
                paragraph (3) corresponding to the value in excess of 
                $400,000, but less than or equal to $500,000, by 10 
                percent; and
                    ``(ii) the amount of any payments specified in 
                paragraph (3) corresponding to the value in excess of 
                $500,000, but less than or equal to $600,000, by 20 
                percent.
            ``(C) Subject to subparagraph (A), the total value of all 
        contract commodities and oilseeds for which a person may obtain 
        nonrecourse marketing loans under the Agricultural Market 
        Transition Act during any crop year or forgo such loans in 
        return for loan deficiency payments during that crop year, or 
        both, may not exceed $600,000.
            ``(D) In this paragraph, the term `value' means the total 
        amount obtained by multiplying--
                    ``(i) the quantity of each contract commodity and 
                oilseed for which a person obtains a nonrecourse 
                marketing loan or forgoes such a loan in return for 
                loan deficiency payments; by
                    ``(ii) the loan rate applicable to the commodity 
                under section 132 of the Agricultural Market Transition 
                Act (7 U.S.C. 7232).''.
    (b) Availability of Recourse Loans for Additional Production.--
Section 137 of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7237) 
is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) Recourse Loans for Loan Commodities.--The Secretary shall 
make available recourse loans, as determined by the Secretary, to a 
producer of loan commodities who is prevented by section 1001(2) of the 
Food Security Act of 1985 from obtaining nonrecourse marketing loans 
under this subtitle during any crop year or forgoing nonrecourse 
marketing loans in return for loan deficiency payments.''.
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