[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2213 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  1st Session
                                H. R. 2213


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 26, 2001

  Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, 
                        Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
   To respond to the continuing economic crisis adversely affecting 
                    American agricultural producers.

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

SECTION 1. MARKET LOSS ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Assistance Authorized.--The Secretary of Agriculture (referred 
to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall, to the maximum extent 
practicable, use $4,622,240,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit 
Corporation to make a market loss assistance payment to owners and 
producers on a farm that are eligible for a final payment for fiscal 
year 2001 under a production flexibility contract for the farm under 
the Agriculture Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.).
    (b) Amount.--The amount of assistance made available to owners and 
producers on a farm under this section shall be proportionate to the 
amount of the total contract payments received by the owners and 
producers for fiscal year 2001 under a production flexibility contract 
for the farm under the Agricultural Market Transition Act.

SEC. 2. SUPPLEMENTAL OILSEEDS PAYMENT.

    The Secretary shall use $423,510,000 of funds of the Commodity 
Credit Corporation to make a supplemental payment under section 202 of 
the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-224; 7 
U.S.C. 1421 note) to producers of the 2000 crop of oilseeds that 
previously received a payment under such section.

SEC. 3. SUPPLEMENTAL PEANUT PAYMENT.

    The Secretary shall use $54,210,000 of funds of the Commodity 
Credit Corporation to provide a supplemental payment under section 
204(a) of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-
224; 7 U.S.C. 1421 note) to producers of quota peanuts or additional 
peanuts for the 2000 crop year that previously received a payment under 
such section. The Secretary shall adjust the payment rate specified in 
such section to reflect the amount made available for payments under 
this section.

SEC. 4. SUPPLEMENTAL TOBACCO PAYMENT.

    (a) Supplemental Payment.--The Secretary shall use $129,000,000 of 
funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to provide a supplemental 
payment under section 204(b) of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 
2000 (Public Law 106-224; 7 U.S.C. 1421 note) to eligible persons (as 
defined in such section) that previously received a payment under such 
section.
    (b) Special Rule for Georgia.--The Secretary may make payments 
under this section to eligible persons in Georgia only if the State of 
Georgia agrees to use the sum of $13,000,000 to make payments at the 
same time, or subsequently, to the same persons in the same manner as 
provided for the Federal payments under this section, as required by 
section 204(b)(6) of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000.

SEC. 5. SUPPLEMENTAL WOOL AND MOHAIR PAYMENT.

    The Secretary shall use $16,940,000 of funds of the Commodity 
Credit Corporation to provide a supplemental payment under section 814 
of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, 
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (as enacted by Public Law 
106-387), to producers of wool, and producers of mohair, for the 2000 
marketing year that previously received a payment under such section. 
The Secretary shall adjust the payment rate specified in such section 
to reflect the amount made available for payments under this section.

SEC. 6. SUPPLEMENTAL COTTONSEED ASSISTANCE.

    The Secretary shall use $84,700,000 of funds of the Commodity 
Credit Corporation to provide supplemental assistance under section 
204(e) of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-
224; 7 U.S.C. 1421 note) to producers and first-handlers of the 2000 
crop of cottonseed that previously received assistance under such 
section.

SEC. 7. SPECIALTY CROPS.

    (a) Base State Grants.--The Secretary shall use $26,000,000 of 
funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to make grants to the several 
States and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to be used to support 
activities that promote agriculture. The amount of the grant shall be--
            (1) $500,000 to each of the several States; and
            (2) $1,000,000 to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
    (b) Grants for Value Of Production.--The Secretary shall use 
$133,400,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to make a 
grant to each of the several States in an amount that represents the 
proportion of the value of specialty crop production in the State in 
relation to the national value of specialty crop production, as 
follows:
            (1) California, $63,320,000.
            (2) Florida, $16,860,000.
            (3) Washington, $9,610,000.
            (4) Idaho, $3,670,000.
            (5) Arizona, $3,430,000.
            (6) Michigan, $3,250,000.
            (7) Oregon, $3,220,000.
            (8) Georgia, $2,730,000.
            (9) Texas, $2,660,000.
            (10) New York, $2,660,000.
            (11) Wisconsin, $2,570,000.
            (12) North Carolina, $1,540,000.
            (13) Colorado, $1,510,000.
            (14) North Dakota, $1,380,000.
            (15) Minnesota, $1,320,000.
            (16) Hawaii, $1,150,000.
            (17) New Jersey, $1,100,000.
            (18) Pennsylvania, $980,000.
            (19) New Mexico, $900,000.
            (20) Maine, $880,000.
            (21) Ohio, $800,000.
            (22) Indiana, $660,000.
            (23) Nebraska, $640,000.
            (24) Massachusetts,$640,000.
            (25) Virginia, $620,000.
            (26) Maryland, $500,000.
            (27) Louisiana, $460,000.
            (28) South Carolina, $440,000.
            (29) Tennessee, $400,000.
            (30) Illinois, $400,000.
            (31) Oklahoma, $390,000.
            (32) Alabama, $300,000.
            (33) Delaware, $290,000.
            (34) Mississippi, $250,000.
            (35) Kansas, $210,000.
            (36) Arkansas, $210,000.
            (37) Missouri, $210,000.
            (38) Connecticut, $180,000.
            (39) Utah, $140,000.
            (40) Montana, $140,000.
            (41) New Hampshire, $120,000.
            (42) Nevada, $120,000.
            (43) Vermont, $120,000.
            (44) Iowa, $100,000.
            (45) West Virginia, $90,000.
            (46) Wyoming, $70,000.
            (47) Kentucky, $60,000.
            (48) South Dakota, $40,000.
            (49) Rhode Island, $40,000.
            (50) Alaska, $20,000.
    (c) Specialty Crop Priority.--As a condition on the receipt of a 
grant under this section, a State shall agree to give priority to the 
support of specialty crops in the use of the grant funds.
    (d) Specialty Crop Defined.--In this section, the term ``specialty 
crop'' means any agricultural crop, except wheat, feed grains, 
oilseeds, cotton, rice, peanuts, and tobacco.

SEC. 8. COMMODITY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    The Secretary shall use $10,000,000 of funds of the Commodity 
Credit Corporation to make a grant to each of the several States to be 
used by the States to cover direct and indirect costs related to the 
processing, transportation, and distribution of commodities to eligible 
recipient agencies. The grants shall be allocated to States in the 
manner provided under section 204(a) of the Emergency Food Assistance 
Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7508(a)).

SEC. 9. TECHNICAL CORRECTION REGARDING INDEMNITY PAYMENTS FOR COTTON 
              PRODUCERS.

    (a) Conditions on Payment to State.--Subsection (b) of section 1121 
of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, 
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (as contained in section 
101(a) of division A of Public Law 105-277 (7 U.S.C. 1421 note), and as 
amended by section 754 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and 
Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (as 
enacted by Public Law 106-387; 114 Stat. 1549A-42), is amended to read 
as follows:
    ``(b) Conditions on Payment to State.--The Secretary of Agriculture 
shall make the payment to the State of Georgia under subsection (a) 
only if the State--
            ``(1) contributes $5,000,000 to the indemnity fund and 
        agrees to expend all amounts in the indemnity fund by not later 
        than January 1, 2002 (or as soon as administratively practical 
        thereafter), to provide compensation to cotton producers as 
        provided in such subsection;
            ``(2) requires the recipient of a payment from the 
        indemnity fund to repay the State, for deposit in the indemnity 
        fund, the amount of any duplicate payment the recipient 
        otherwise recovers for such loss of cotton, or the loss of 
        proceeds from the sale of cotton, up to the amount of the 
        payment from the indemnity fund; and
            ``(3) agrees to deposit in the indemnity fund the proceeds 
        of any bond collected by the State for the benefit of 
        recipients of payments from the indemnity fund, to the extent 
        of such payments.''.
    (b) Additional Disbursements From the Indemnity Fund.--Subsection 
(d) of such section is amended to read as follows:
    ``(d) Additional Disbursement to Cotton Ginners.--The State of 
Georgia shall use funds remaining in the indemnity fund, after the 
provision of compensation to cotton producers in Georgia under 
subsection (a) (including cotton producers who file a contingent claim, 
as defined and provided in section 5.1 of chapter 19 of title 2 of the 
Official Code of Georgia), to compensate cotton ginners (as defined and 
provided in such section) that--
            ``(1) incurred a loss as the result of--
                    ``(A) the business failure of any cotton buyer 
                doing business in Georgia; or
                    ``(B) the failure or refusal of any such cotton 
                buyer to pay the contracted price that had been agreed 
                upon by the ginner and the buyer for cotton grown in 
                Georgia on or after January 1, 1997, and had been 
                purchased or contracted by the ginner from cotton 
                producers in Georgia;
            ``(2) paid cotton producers the amount which the cotton 
        ginner had agreed to pay for such cotton received from such 
        cotton producers in Georgia; and
            ``(3) satisfy the procedural requirements and deadlines 
        specified in chapter 19 of title 2 of the Official Code of 
        Georgia applicable to cotton ginner claims.''.
    (c) Conforming Amendment.--Subsection (c) of such section is 
amended by striking ``Upon the establishment of the indemnity fund, and 
not later than October 1, 1999, the'' and inserting ``The''.

SEC. 10. INCREASE IN PAYMENT LIMITATIONS REGARDING LOAN DEFICIENCY 
              PAYMENTS AND MARKETING LOAN GAINS.

    Notwithstanding section 1001(2) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 
U.S.C. 1308(1)), the total amount of the payments specified in section 
1001(3) of that Act that a person shall be entitled to receive for one 
or more contract commodities and oilseeds under the Agricultural Market 
Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.) during the 2001 crop year may 
not exceed $150,000.

SEC. 11. TIMING OF, AND LIMITATION ON, EXPENDITURES.

    (a) Deadline for Expenditures.--All expenditures required by this 
Act shall be made not later than September 30, 2001. Any funds made 
available by this Act and remaining unexpended by October 1, 2001, 
shall be deemed to be unexpendable, and the authority provided by this 
Act to expend such funds is rescinded effective on that date.
    (b) Total Amount of Expenditures.--The total amount expended under 
this Act may not exceed $5,500,000,000. If the payments required by 
this Act would result in expenditures in excess of such amount, the 
Secretary shall reduce such payments on a pro rata basis as necessary 
to ensure that such expenditures do not exceed such amount.

SEC. 12. REGULATIONS.

    (a) Promulgation.--As soon as practicable after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Commodity Credit 
Corporation, as appropriate, shall promulgate such regulations as are 
necessary to implement this Act and the amendments made by this Act. 
The promulgation of the regulations and administration of this Act 
shall be made without regard to--
            (1) the notice and comment provisions of section 553 of 
        title 5, United States Code;
            (2) the Statement of Policy of the Secretary of Agriculture 
        effective July 24, 1971 (36 Fed. Reg. 13804), relating to 
        notices of proposed rulemaking and public participation in 
        rulemaking; and
            (3) chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (commonly 
        known as the ``Paperwork Reduction Act'').
    (b) Congressional Review of Agency Rulemaking.--In carrying out 
this section, the Secretary shall use the authority provided under 
section 808 of title 5, United States Code.

            Passed the House of Representatives June 26, 2001.

            Attest:

                                                 JEFF TRANDAHL,

                                                                 Clerk.