[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6849 Reported in House (RH)]






                                                 Union Calendar No. 572
110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6849

                          [Report No. 110-881]

To amend the commodity provisions of the Food, Conservation, and Energy 
      Act of 2008 to permit producers to aggregate base acres and 
    reconstitute farms to avoid the prohibition on receiving direct 
 payments, counter-cyclical payments, or average crop revenue election 
payments when the sum of the base acres of a farm is 10 acres or less, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 9, 2008

  Mr. Etheridge (for himself and Mr. Moran of Kansas) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

                           September 24, 2008

 Additional sponsors: Mr. Holden, Mr. Hayes, Mr. Shuler, Mr. Bishop of 
Georgia, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. McIntyre, Mr. Butterfield, Mr. Childers, 
Mr. Johnson of Illinois, Mr. Walz of Minnesota, Mr. Mahoney of Florida, 
Mr. Boswell, Mrs. Boyda of Kansas, Mr. Kuhl of New York, Mr. Kagen, Mr. 
  Barrow, Mr. Skelton, Mr. Loebsack, Mr. Goodlatte, Mr. Shimkus, Mr. 
   Peterson of Minnesota, Mr. Latta, Mr. Whitfield of Kentucky, Mr. 
Lincoln Davis of Tennessee, Mr. Space, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Mr. 
 McHenry, Mr. Rogers of Alabama, Mr. Ellsworth, Mr. Terry, Mr. Lucas, 
 Mrs. Miller of Michigan, Mr. LaHood, Mrs. Myrick, Mr. Jones of North 
  Carolina, Mr. King of Iowa, Mr. Scott of Georgia, Mr. Courtney, Mr. 
 Davis of Kentucky, Mr. Ross, Mr. Boustany, Mr. Cuellar, Mr. Hare, Mr. 
   Everett, Mr. Chandler, Mr. Donnelly, Mr. Spratt, Mr. Walberg, Mr. 
  Cramer, Mr. Tiahrt, Mr. Braley of Iowa, Mr. Arcuri, Mr. Graves, Mr. 
Aderholt, Mr. Pomeroy, Mr. Carnahan, Mr. Hill, Mr. Souder, Mr. Hall of 
                  New York, and Mr. Lewis of Kentucky

                           September 24, 2008

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the commodity provisions of the Food, Conservation, and Energy 
      Act of 2008 to permit producers to aggregate base acres and 
    reconstitute farms to avoid the prohibition on receiving direct 
 payments, counter-cyclical payments, or average crop revenue election 
payments when the sum of the base acres of a farm is 10 acres or less, 
                        and for other purposes.

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

<DELETED>SECTION 1. AGGREGATION OF BASE ACRES AND RECONSTITUTION OF 
              FARMS TO ENSURE ELIGIBILITY FOR DIRECT PAYMENTS, COUNTER-
              CYCLICAL PAYMENTS, OR AVERAGE CROP REVENUE ELECTION 
              PAYMENTS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Section 1101(d) of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act 
of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8711(d)) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) by striking paragraph (2);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by redesignating paragraph (3) as paragraph 
        (4); and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following 
        new paragraphs:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Exceptions.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) to a farm owned by a socially 
                disadvantaged farmer or rancher (as defined in section 
                355(e) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 
                Act (7 U.S.C. 2003(e)));</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) to a farm owned by a limited 
                resource farmer or rancher, as defined by the 
                Secretary; or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(C) when the aggregate total base acres 
                of all farms of a producer are greater than 10 acres, 
                including farms--</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) owned by a producer; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) operated by a producer with 
                        the concurrence of the owners of the farm, 
                        including farms operated under a crop-share 
                        lease arrangement.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Reconstitutions.--In addition to other 
        actions the Secretary determines appropriate, the Secretary 
        shall permit a producer to reconstitute any farms of the 
        producer covered under paragraph (2)(C) to exceed the 10 base 
        acre minimum described in paragraph (1) through consolidation 
        of the base acreage of the farms.''.</DELETED>

SECTION 1. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF CERTAIN LIMITATIONS ON ELIGIBILITY 
              OF PRODUCERS FOR DIRECT PAYMENTS, COUNTER-CYCLICAL 
              PAYMENTS, OR AVERAGE CROP REVENUE ELECTION PAYMENTS.

    (a) Special Rule for 2008 and 2009 Crop Years.--Section 1101(d) of 
the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8711(d)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(4) Suspension.--Paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) shall not 
        apply during the 2008 and 2009 crop years.''.
    (b) Offsetting Reduction.--Section 515(k)(1) of the Federal Crop 
Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1515(k)(1)) is amended by striking ``not more 
than $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2011'' and 
inserting ``not more than $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, not more 
than $9,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, and not more than $8,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011''.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 572

110th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 6849

                          [Report No. 110-881]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend the commodity provisions of the Food, Conservation, and Energy 
      Act of 2008 to permit producers to aggregate base acres and 
    reconstitute farms to avoid the prohibition on receiving direct 
 payments, counter-cyclical payments, or average crop revenue election 
payments when the sum of the base acres of a farm is 10 acres or less, 
                        and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           September 24, 2008

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed