[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 165 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 165

  To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide compensation for 
                       certain livestock losses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 4, 2007

Mr. Allard (for himself, Mr. Roberts, Mr. Domenici, Mr. Inhofe, and Mr. 
Hagel) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 
        to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide compensation for 
                       certain livestock 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 ``Livestock Assistance Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Disaster county.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``disaster county'' means 
                a county included in the geographic area covered by a 
                qualifying natural disaster declaration for calendar 
                year 2006 or 2007, or both, for which the request for 
                the declaration was submitted during the period 
                beginning on January 1, 2006, and ending on the date of 
                enactment of this Act.
                    (B) Inclusion.--The term ``disaster county'' 
                includes a county contiguous to a county described in 
                subparagraph (A).
            (2) Qualifying natural disaster declaration.--The term 
        ``qualifying natural disaster declaration'' means--
                    (A) a natural disaster declared by the Secretary 
                under section 321(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 
                Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1961(a)); or
                    (B) a major disaster or emergency designated by the 
                President under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
                and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.

SEC. 3. LIVESTOCK ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Livestock Compensation Program.--
            (1) Use of commodity credit corporation funds.--Effective 
        beginning on the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
        shall use funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry 
        out the 2002 Livestock Compensation Program announced by the 
        Secretary on October 10, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 63070), to provide 
        compensation for livestock losses due to blizzard and drought 
        in the States of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, and 
        Oklahoma.
            (2) Eligible applicants.--In carrying out the program 
        described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide 
        assistance to any applicant that--
                    (A)(i) conducts a livestock operation that is 
                located in a disaster county, including any applicant 
                conducting a livestock operation involving eligible 
                livestock (within the meaning of the livestock 
                assistance program under section 101(b) of division B 
                of Public Law 108-324 (118 Stat. 1234)); or
                    (ii) produces an animal described in section 
                10806(a)(1) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment 
                Act of 2002 (21 U.S.C. 321d(a)(1)); and
                    (B) meets all other eligibility requirements 
                established by the Secretary for the program.
            (3) Mitigation.--In determining the eligibility for or 
        amount of payments for which a producer is eligible under the 
        livestock compensation 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.
    (b) Livestock Indemnity Payments.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall use such sums as are 
        necessary of funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to make 
        livestock indemnity payments to producers on farms that have 
        incurred livestock losses during calendar year 2006 or 2007, or 
        both, due to a disaster, as determined by the Secretary, 
        including losses due to blizzard and drought.
            (2) Payment rates.--Indemnity payments to a producer on a 
        farm under paragraph (1) shall be made at a rate of not less 
        than 30 percent of the market value of the applicable livestock 
        on the day before the date of death of the livestock, as 
        determined by the Secretary.
                                 <all>