[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 376 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 376

   To provide emergency livestock assistance and emergency crop loss 
  assistance to agricultural producers who suffered 2001 or 2002 crop 
                              year losses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 27, 2003

Mrs. Musgrave introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To provide emergency livestock assistance and emergency crop loss 
  assistance to agricultural producers who suffered 2001 or 2002 crop 
                              year losses.

    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 Farmer and Rancher 
Assistance Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Under title I of the Food Security and Rural Investment 
        Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-171), the majority of projected 
        commodity program spending depends on market prices for the 
        major agricultural commodities.
            (2) Changes in actual market prices for these commodities 
        can significantly alter the costs incurred by the Commodity 
        Credit Corporation to fund these commodity programs.
            (3) According to a recent comparison of the July 2002 Food 
        and Agriculture Policy Research Institute baseline estimate and 
        actual mid-July 2002 market prices, recent increases in market 
        prices for certain agricultural commodities are projected to 
        reduce commodity program costs for the 2002 crop year by more 
        than $6,000,000,000.
            (4) As a result of these commodity program cost savings, 
        Commodity Credit Corporation funds are available to provide 
        direct assistance to American farmers and ranchers who suffered 
        2001 or 2002 crop year losses due to natural disasters.
            (5) Crop insurance is an important risk management tool 
        that is available to American farmers and ranchers and should 
        be fully utilized in order to limit financial exposure to 
        weather-related crop losses.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to direct the Secretary 
of Agriculture to use unspent loan deficiency payment and counter-
cyclical payment funds to provide emergency livestock assistance and 
emergency crop loss assistance to American farmers and ranchers who 
suffered 2001 or 2002 crop year losses due to natural disasters.

SEC. 3. LIVESTOCK ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Availability.--Subject to section 5, the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall use the funds, facilities, and authorities of the 
Commodity Credit Corporation to make and administer payments for 
livestock losses to producers for 2001 or 2002 losses in a county that 
has received an emergency designation by the President or the Secretary 
in calendar year 2001 or 2002. The Secretary may reserve for the 
American Indian Livestock Feed Program a portion of the funds available 
to carry out this section.
    (b) Administration.--The Secretary shall make assistance available 
under this section in the same manner as provided under section 806 of 
the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and 
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-387; 114 
Stat. 1549A-51).

SEC. 4. CROP LOSS ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Availability.--Subject to section 5, the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall use the funds, facilities, and authorities of the 
Commodity Credit Corporation to make emergency financial assistance 
available to producers on a farm that have incurred qualifying crop 
losses for the 2001 or 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 (Public Law 106-387; 114 
Stat. 1549A-55), including using the same loss thresholds for the 
quantity, quality, and economic losses as were used in administering 
that section.

SEC. 5. SOURCE OF FUNDING.

    (a) Estimation of Farm Program Savings.--The Secretary of 
Agriculture shall estimate the savings to the Commodity Credit 
Corporation to be derived during the 2002 crop year as a result of the 
lower-than-anticipated costs of the marketing loan program and counter-
cyclical payment program of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act 
of 2002 (Public Law 107-171).
    (b) Use of Savings.--An amount of Commodity Credit Corporation 
funds equal to the savings estimated under subsection (a) shall be 
available to the Secretary to carry out sections 3 and 4.
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