[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 977 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 977

    To amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to require the 
Secretary of Agriculture to make nonrecourse marketing assistance loans 
   and loan deficiency payments available to producers of dry peas, 
                        lentils, and chickpeas.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 25, 2001

   Mr. Craig (for himself, Mr. Burns, Mr. Baucus, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. 
   Conrad, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Daschle, Mr. Dorgan, Mr. Johnson, and Mrs. 
    Murray) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to require the 
Secretary of Agriculture to make nonrecourse marketing assistance loans 
   and loan deficiency payments available to producers of dry peas, 
                        lentils, and chickpeas.

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

SECTION 1. NONRECOURSE MARKETING ASSISTANCE LOANS AND LOAN DEFICIENCY 
              PAYMENTS FOR DRY PEAS, LENTILS, AND CHICKPEAS.

    (a) Definition of Loan Commodity.--Section 102(10) of the 
Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7202(10)) is amended by 
striking ``and oilseed'' and inserting ``oilseed, dry peas, lentils, 
and chickpeas''.
    (b) Availability of Nonrecourse Loans.--Section 131(a) of the 
Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7231(a)) is amended in the 
first sentence by inserting after ``each loan commodity'' the 
following: ``(other than dry peas, lentils, and chickpeas) and each of 
the 2001 and 2002 crops of dry peas, lentils, and chickpeas''.
    (c) Loan Rates.--Section 132 of the Agricultural Market Transition 
Act (7 U.S.C. 7232) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Dry Peas, Lentils, and Chickpeas.--The loan rate for a 
marketing assistance loan under section 131 for dry peas, lentils, 
large chickpeas, and small chickpeas shall be--
            ``(1) not less than 85 percent of the simple average price 
        received by producers of dry peas, lentils, large chickpeas, 
        and small chickpeas, individually, as determined by the 
        Secretary, during the marketing years for the immediately 
        preceding 5 crops of dry peas, lentils, large chickpeas, and 
        small chickpeas, individually, excluding the year in which the 
        average price was the highest and the year in which the average 
        price was the lowest in the period; but
            ``(2) not less than--
                    ``(A) in the case of dry peas--
                            ``(i) a loan rate established by the 
                        Secretary, taking into consideration the feed 
                        prices of dry peas; but
                            ``(ii) not less than $5.83 per 
                        hundredweight;
                    ``(B) in the case of lentils, $11.00 per 
                hundredweight;
                    ``(C) in the case of large chickpeas, $15.00 per 
                hundredweight; and
                    ``(D) in the case of small chickpeas, $7.00 per 
                hundredweight.''.
    (d) Repayment of Loans.--Section 134(a) of the Agricultural Market 
Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7234(a)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``and Oilseeds.--'' and inserting 
        ``Oilseeds, Dry Peas, Lentils, and Chickpeas.--''; and
            (2) by striking ``and oilseeds'' and inserting ``oilseeds, 
        dry peas, lentils, and chickpeas''.
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