[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 257 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 257

To provide emergency disaster assistance to agricultural producers that 
incurred 2002 crop losses due to damaging weather or related condition 
and to provide emergency disaster assistance to livestock producers in 
counties that received a primary disaster designation by the Secretary 
 of Agriculture in calendar year 2001 or 2002, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 8, 2003

  Mr. Burns (for himself, Mr. Hayes, Mr. McIntyre, Mr. Pickering, Mr. 
Kingston, Mr. Rogers of Alabama, Mr. Goode, Mr. Cramer, and Mr. Bishop 
 of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide emergency disaster assistance to agricultural producers that 
incurred 2002 crop losses due to damaging weather or related condition 
and to provide emergency disaster assistance to livestock producers in 
counties that received a primary disaster designation by the Secretary 
 of Agriculture in calendar year 2001 or 2002, 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.

     This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Agricultural Disaster 
Assistance Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Assistance Available.--Notwithstanding section 508(b)(7) of the 
Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(b)(7)), the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall use such sums as are necessary of funds of the 
Commodity Credit Corporation to make emergency financial assistance 
available to producers on a farm that have incurred qualifying crop 
losses for the 2002 crop due to damaging weather or related condition, 
as determined by the Secretary.
    (b) Administration.--The Secretary shall make assistance available 
under this section in the same manner as provided under section 815 of 
the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and 
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (as enacted into law by 
Public Law 106-387; 114 Stat. 1549A-55), including using the same loss 
thresholds for the quantity and quality losses as were used in 
administering that section.

SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS.

    (a) Assistance Available.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall use 
such sums as are necessary of funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation 
to make and administer payments to livestock producers for losses in a 
county that received a primary disaster designation by the Secretary in 
calendar year 2001 or 2002.
    (b) Administration.--The Secretary shall make assistance available 
under this section using the criteria established to carry out the 2002 
Livestock Compensation Program.
    (c) Application.--During the 30-day period beginning on the date of 
the enactment of this Act, livestock producers in a county described in 
subsection (a) may submit an application for assistance under this 
section or renew an application previously submitted under the 2002 
Livestock Compensation Program.
    (d) Choice of Payments.--
            (1) Multiyear designation.--If a producer is on a farm 
        located in a county that received an emergency designation 
        described in subsection (a) in each of calendar years 2001 and 
        2002, the producer may receive payments under this section for 
        losses associated with the declaration in either calendar year 
        2001 or calendar year 2002, but not both.
            (2) Prior payments.--A producer may not receive a payment 
        under this section and under the 2002 Livestock Compensation 
        Program.

SEC. 4. INELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENTS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Additional coverage.--The term ``additional coverage'' 
        has the meaning given the term in section 502(b)(1) of the 
        Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1502(b)(1)).
            (2) Insurable commodity.--The term ``insurable commodity'' 
        means an agricultural commodity (excluding livestock) for which 
        the producers on a farm are eligible to obtain a policy or plan 
        of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 
        1501 et seq.).
            (3) Noninsurable commodity.--The term ``noninsurable 
        commodity'' means an eligible crop for which the producers on a 
        farm are eligible to obtain assistance under section 196 of the 
        Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 
        U.S.C. 7333).
    (b) Ineligibility.--Except as provided in subsection (c), the 
producers on a farm shall not be eligible for a payment under section 2 
with respect to 2002 losses to an insurable commodity or noninsurable 
commodity if the producers on the farm--
            (1) in the case of an insurable commodity, did not obtain a 
        policy or plan of insurance for the insurable commodity for the 
        crop under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et 
        seq.); and
            (2) in the case of a noninsurable commodity, did not file 
        the required paperwork, and pay the administrative fee by the 
        applicable State filing deadline, for the noninsurable 
        commodity under section 196 of the Federal Agriculture 
        Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333).
    (c) Waivers.--The Secretary of Agriculture may waive the 
application of subsection (b) to the producers on a farm if--
            (1) in the case of an insurable commodity, the producers on 
        the farm enter into a contract with the Secretary under which 
        the producers on the farm agree--
                    (A) to obtain additional coverage for the insurable 
                commodity for each of the next three crops under the 
                Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.); and
                    (B) on violation of the contract, to forfeit the 
                right to receive any payment, loan, or benefit under 
                title I of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act 
                of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.) for each of such crops; 
                and
            (2) in the case of a noninsurable commodity, the producers 
        on the farm enter into a contract with the Secretary under 
        which the producers on the farm agree--
                    (A) to file the required paperwork, and pay the 
                administrative fee by the applicable State filing 
                deadline, for the noninsurable commodity for each of 
                the next three crops under section 196 of the Federal 
                Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 
                U.S.C. 7333); and
                    (B) on violation of the contract, to forfeit the 
                right to receive any payment, loan, or benefit under 
                title I of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act 
                of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.) for each of such crops.

SEC. 5. COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION.

     The Secretary of Agriculture shall use the funds, facilities, and 
authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out this Act.

SEC. 6. REGULATIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture may promulgate such 
regulations as are necessary to implement this Act.
    (b) Procedure.--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'').
    (c) 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.

SEC. 7. EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.

    (a) In General.--The entire amount made available under this Act 
shall be available only to the extent that the President submits to 
Congress an official budget request for a specific dollar amount that 
includes designation of the entire amount of the request as an 
emergency requirement for the purposes of the Balanced Budget and 
Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900 et seq.).
    (b) Designation.--The entire amount made available under this 
section is designated by Congress as an emergency requirement under 
sections 251(b)(2)(A) and 252(e) of that Act (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A), 
902(e)).
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