[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 307 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 307

 To provide emergency disaster assistance to agricultural producers to 
respond to severe crop losses and livestock losses incurred in 2001 and 
                     2002, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 8, 2003

 Mr. Moran of Kansas (for himself, Mr. Osborne, Mr. Lucas of Oklahoma, 
 Mr. Johnson of Illinois, Mr. McIntyre, Mr. Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. 
Pomeroy, Mr. Boswell, Mr. Bereuter, Mr. LaHood, Mr. Shimkus, Mr. Goode, 
Mr. Ryun of Kansas, Mr. Stupak, Mr. LaTourette, Mr. Moore, Mr. Weller, 
   Mr. Udall of New Mexico, Mrs. Musgrave, Mrs. Cubin, Mr. Walden of 
 Oregon, Mr. Rehberg, and Mr. Peterson of Pennsylvania) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide emergency disaster assistance to agricultural producers to 
respond to severe crop losses and livestock losses incurred in 2001 and 
                     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 ``Farm Disaster Emergency Assistance 
Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Due in large part to weather-related disasters in 2001 
        and 2002, increases in commodity prices will result in cost 
        savings under title I of the Farm Security and Rural Investment 
        Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.) of approximately 
        $5,600,000,000 in fiscal year 2003.
            (2) The amount of funds made available by this Act to 
        compensate producers adversely impacted by weather-related 
        disasters that occurred in 2001 and 2002, together with actual 
        expenditures under title I of the Farm Security and Rural 
        Investment Act of 2002, will still be less than the amount 
        allocated for agriculture in the budget baseline for fiscal 
        year 2002.

SEC. 3. CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Assistance Available.--The Secretary of Agriculture (in this 
Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') 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 losses for the 2001 or 2002 crop of an 
agricultural commodity 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 quantity and quality losses as were used in 
administering that section.
    (c) Election of Crop Year.--If a producer incurred qualifying crop 
losses in both the 2001 and 2002 crop years, the producer shall elect 
to receive assistance under this section for losses incurred in either 
the 2001 crop year or the 2002 crop year, but not both.
    (d) Payment Limitation.--
            (1) Limitation.--Assistance provided under this section to 
        a producer for losses to a crop, together with the amounts 
        specified in paragraph (2) applicable to the same crop, may not 
        exceed what the value of the crop would have been in the 
        absence of the losses, as estimated by the Secretary.
            (2) Other payments.--In applying the limitation in 
        paragraph (1), the Secretary shall include the following:
                    (A) Any crop insurance payment or payment under 
                section 196 of the Federal Agricultural Improvement and 
                Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333) that the producer 
                receives for losses to the same crop.
                    (B) The value of the crop that was not lost (if 
                any), as estimated by the Secretary.

SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE FOR LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS.

    (a) Assistance Available.--The Secretary shall use such sums as are 
necessary of funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to make 
emergency financial assistance, as authorized in section 10104 of the 
Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-171; 7 
U.S.C. 1472), available to livestock producers that have incurred 
losses in a county that received an emergency designation by the 
President or the Secretary in calendar year 2001 or 2002. The Secretary 
may reserve a portion of the funds available to carry out this section 
for the American Indian Livestock Feed Program.
    (b) Election of Disaster Years.--If a producer incurred livestock 
losses in a county that received an emergency designation by the 
President or Secretary in both calendar year 2001 and 2002, the 
producer shall elect to receive assistance under this section for 
losses incurred in either 2001 or 2002, but not both.
    (c) Relation to Other Payments.--Assistance provided under this 
section to a producer for livestock losses shall be reduced (but not 
below zero) by any amount received by the producer for the same losses 
under the livestock loss compensation program announced by the 
Secretary on September 19, 2002.
    (d) Adjusted Gross Income Limitation.--The Secretary shall apply 
the adjusted gross income limitation under section 1001D of the Food 
Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308-3a) to the provision of assistance 
under this section in lieu of any other income limitation that the 
Secretary would otherwise apply to the provision of such assistance.

SEC. 5. INELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENTS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) 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.).
            (2) 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 assistance under section 
3 with respect to 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 under 
        the Federal Crop Insurance Act for the crop incurring the 
        losses; 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 for the crop incurring the 
        losses.
    (c) Contract Waiver.--The Secretary may waive the application of 
subsection (b) to the producers on a farm if the producers on the farm 
enter into a contract with the Secretary under which the producers on 
the farm agree--
            (1) in the case of an insurable commodity, to obtain a 
        policy or plan of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance 
        Act for the insurable commodity for each of the next three 
        crops that provides a level of coverage at least equal to the 
        level available under catastrophic risk protection; and
            (2) in the case of a noninsurable commodity, 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.
    (d) Effect of Violation.--On violation of a contract under 
subsection (c) by a producer, the producer shall reimburse the 
Secretary for the full amount of the assistance provided to the 
producer under section 3. In the case of an insurable commodity, the 
Secretary shall also impose a civil money penalty for the violation in 
an amount equal to the producer-cost of a 65/100 crop insurance policy 
on each crop for which the producer agreed to purchase crop insurance, 
but did not, in the three-year period.

SEC. 6. REPLENISHMENT OF SECTION 32 FUNDS.

    The Secretary shall transfer $250,000,000 of funds of the Commodity 
Credit Corporation to the account available to the Secretary under 
section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c).

SEC. 7. COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION.

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

SEC. 8. 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.
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