[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5226 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5226

To respond to recent natural disasters adversely affecting agricultural 
                               producers.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 6, 2004

 Mr. Neugebauer (for himself, Mr. Burns, Mrs. Musgrave, Mr. Rogers of 
Alabama, Mr. Moran of Kansas, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Osborne, Mr. Rehberg, 
  Mr. Thornberry, Mr. Lucas of Oklahoma, Mr. Boehner, Mr. Terry, Mr. 
Everett, Mr. Simpson, and Mr. Alexander) introduced the following bill; 
           which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To respond to recent natural disasters adversely affecting agricultural 
                               producers.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. 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 agricultural commodity 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 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 crops, 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) Ineligibility for Assistance.--Except as provided in subsection 
(e), 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.
    (e) Contract Waiver.--The Secretary may waive subsection (d) 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).
    (f) Effect of Violation.--In the event of the violation of a 
contract under subsection (e) by a producer, the producer shall 
reimburse the Secretary for the full amount of the assistance provided 
to the producer under this section.
    (g) Payment Limitations.--
            (1) Limit on amount of assistance.--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 95 percent of 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 made under the 
                Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) 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.
            (3) Effect of florida disaster programs.--The amount of 
        assistance that a producer would otherwise receive under this 
        section shall be reduced by the amount of assistance that the 
        producer receives for the same loss under the Florida Disaster 
        Programs carried out pursuant to the Farm Service Agency notice 
        (DAP-203) released October 4, 2004.

SEC. 2. LIVESTOCK ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Emergency Financial Assistance.--The Secretary of Agriculture 
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. 3. TREE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Emergency Assistance.--The Secretary of Agriculture 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 sections 10201 through 10204 of the Farm Security and 
Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8201 et seq.) to producers who 
suffered tree losses during the period beginning on December 1, 2003, 
and ending on December 31, 2004.
    (b) Additional Assistance.--In addition to providing assistance to 
eligible orchardists under the tree assistance program, the Secretary 
shall use an additional $15,000,000 of the funds of the Commodity 
Credit Corporation to provide reimbursement under section 10203 of the 
Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8203) to 
eligible forest land owners who produce periodic crops of timber from 
trees for commercial purposes and who have suffered tree losses during 
the period specified in subsection (a).

SEC. 4. EMERGENCY CONSERVATION PROGRAM.

    The Secretary of Agriculture shall use an additional $50,000,000 of 
the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to provide assistance 
under the Emergency Conservation Program under title IV of the 
Agriculture Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.). Participants 
in the Emergency Conservation Program shall receive the maximum cost 
share percentage allowed under section 701.26 of title 7, Code of 
Federal Regulations.

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. OFFSET.

    Section 1241(a)(3) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 
3841(a)(3)) is amended by inserting before the period at the end the 
following: ``, using not more than $6,037,000,000 for the period of 
fiscal years 2005 through 2014''.
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