[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 455 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 455

   To require the Secretary of Agriculture to use the Department of 
 Agriculture's preferred Option 1B as the price structure for Class I 
 fluid milk under Federal milk marketing orders, to provide emergency 
 market loss payments to dairy producers for any calendar year quarter 
 in which the national average price for Class III milk under Federal 
    milk marketing orders is less than a target price of $11.50 per 
                 hundredweight, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 29, 2003

    Mr. Green of Wisconsin (for himself and Mr. Ryan of Wisconsin) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                              Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Secretary of Agriculture to use the Department of 
 Agriculture's preferred Option 1B as the price structure for Class I 
 fluid milk under Federal milk marketing orders, to provide emergency 
 market loss payments to dairy producers for any calendar year quarter 
 in which the national average price for Class III milk under Federal 
    milk marketing orders is less than a target price of $11.50 per 
                 hundredweight, 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 ``National Dairy Policy Act of 
2003''.

SEC. 2. USE OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE'S PREFERRED OPTION 1B AS PRICE 
              STRUCTURE FOR CLASS I MILK UNDER FEDERAL MILK MARKETING 
              ORDERS.

     Section 1 of H.R. 3428 of the 106th Congress, as enacted into law 
by section 1000(a)(8) of Public Law 106-113 (Appendix H; 113 Stat. 
1501A-517; 7 U.S.C. 7253 note), is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b), by striking ``this Act'' and 
        inserting ``the National Dairy Policy Act of 2003''; and
            (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following 
        new subsection (c):
    ``(c) Use of Option 1B for Pricing Class I Milk.--As specified in 
the final rule, the Secretary of Agriculture shall price fluid or Class 
I milk under the Federal milk marketing orders using the Class I price 
differentials known as Option 1B.''.

SEC. 3. EMERGENCY MARKET LOSS PAYMENTS TO DAIRY PRODUCERS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Federal milk marketing order.--The term ``Federal milk 
        marketing order'' means a milk marketing order issued under 
        section 8c of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c), 
        reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing 
        Agreement Act of 1937.
            (2) Class iii milk.--The term ``Class III milk'' means milk 
        classified as Class III milk (milk used to produce cheese) 
        under a Federal milk marketing order.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture, acting through the Farm Service Agency.
    (b) Payments Required.--Using the funds, facilities, and 
authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall 
make an emergency market loss payment under this section to dairy 
producers on a farm in the 48 contiguous States, including producers on 
farms not covered by a Federal milk marketing order, whenever the 
national average price for Class III milk under Federal milk marketing 
orders for a calendar year quarter is less than a target price of 
$11.50 per hundredweight for milk containing 3.5 percent butterfat.
    (c) Payment Amounts.--
            (1) Basis for payment.--Subject to paragraph (2), payments 
        under subsection (b) to dairy producers on a farm for a 
        calendar year quarter shall be based on the total quantity of 
        milk marketed by the producers during that quarter and designed 
        to ensure that the producers receive not less than the target 
        price for that milk.
            (2) Payment and volume limitations.--The Secretary may 
        impose maximum payments per farm or volume limitations on the 
        quantity of the producers' quarterly production on which 
        payments will be made under this section.
    (d) Time for Payments.--Payments required under this section for a 
month shall be made not later than the 21st day after the end of a 
calendar year quarter for which payments are required.
    (e) Farm Reconstitution.--The Secretary shall carry out this 
section in such a manner that there are no additional outlays under 
this section as a result of the reconstitution of a farm that the 
Secretary determines occurred in whole or in part for the purpose of 
increasing the amounts received as payments under this section.
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