[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5203 Introduced in House (IH)]







108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5203

         To provide emergency agricultural disaster assistance.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 4, 2004

Mr. Stenholm (for himself, Mr. Rehberg, Mr. Etheridge, Mr. Everett, Mr. 
Berry, Mr. Boswell, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Osborne, Mr. Pomeroy, Mr. Davis of 
 Tennessee, Mr. Peterson of Minnesota, and Mr. Neugebauer) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
         To provide emergency agricultural disaster assistance.

    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 2004''.

SEC. 2. CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Additional coverage.--The term ``additional coverage'' 
        has the meaning given the term in section 502(b) of the Federal 
        Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1502(b)).
            (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) Emergency Financial Assistance.--Notwithstanding section 
508(b)(7) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(b)(7)), the 
Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') 
shall use such sums as are necessary of funds of the Commodity Credit 
Corporation to make emergency financial assistance authorized under 
this section available to producers on a farm that have incurred 
qualifying crop or quality losses for the 2003 or 2004 crop (as elected 
by a producer), but not both, due to damaging weather or related 
condition, as determined by the Secretary.
    (c) 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 and quality losses as were used in administering that section.
    (d) Reduction in Payments.--The amount of assistance that a 
producer would otherwise receive for a qualifying crop or quality loss 
under this section shall be reduced by the amount of assistance that 
the producer receives under the crop loss assistance program announced 
by the Secretary on August 27, 2004.
    (e) Ineligibility for Assistance.--Except as provided in subsection 
(f), the producers on a farm shall not be eligible for assistance under 
this section 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 (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) 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 (7 U.S.C. 7333) for the crop 
        incurring the losses.
    (f) Contract Waiver.--The Secretary may waive subsection (e) with 
respect to the producers on a farm if the producers enter into a 
contract with the Secretary under which the producers agree--
            (1) in the case of an insurable commodity, to obtain a 
        policy or plan of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance 
        Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) providing additional coverage for 
        the insurable commodity for each of the next 2 crops; 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 2 crops under section 196 of the 
        Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 
        U.S.C. 7333).
    (g) Effect of Violation.--In the event of the violation of a 
contract under subsection (f) by a producer, the producer shall 
reimburse the Secretary for the full amount of the assistance provided 
to the producer under this section.

SEC. 3. LIVESTOCK ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall use such sums as are necessary 
of funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to make and administer 
payments for livestock losses to producers for 2003 or 2004 losses (as 
elected by a producer), but not both, in a county that has received an 
emergency designation by the President or the Secretary after January 
1, 2003, of which an amount determined by the Secretary shall be made 
available for the American Indian livestock program 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).
    (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).
    (c) Mitigation.--In determining the eligibility for or amount of 
payments for which a producer is eligible under the livestock 
assistance program, the Secretary shall not penalize a producer that 
takes actions (recognizing disaster conditions) that reduce the average 
number of livestock the producer owned for grazing during the 
production year for which assistance is being provided.

SEC. 4. TREE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    The Secretary shall use such sums as are necessary of the funds of 
the Commodity Credit Corporation to provide assistance under the tree 
assistance program established under subtitle C of title X of the Farm 
Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to producers who suffered 
tree losses during the winter of 2003 through 2004.

SEC. 5. COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION.

    The Secretary 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 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.

    Amounts appropriated or otherwise made available in this Act are 
each designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 402 of 
S. Con. Res. 95 (108th Congress), as made applicable to the House of 
Representatives by H. Res. 649 (108th Congress) and applicable to the 
Senate by section 14007 of the Department of Defense Appropriations 
Act, 2005 (Public Law 108-287; 118 Stat. 1014). However, such amounts 
shall be available only to the extent that an official budget request, 
that includes designation of the entire amount of the request as an 
emergency requirement, is transmitted by the President to the Congress.
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