[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 195 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 195

    To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to establish permanent 
authority for the Secretary of Agriculture to quickly provide disaster 
relief to agricultural producers that incur crop or livestock losses as 
a result of damaging weather or related condition in federally declared 
                disaster areas, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 8, 2007

   Mr. Dorgan (for himself, Mr. Conrad, Mr. Thune, and Ms. Landrieu) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to establish permanent 
authority for the Secretary of Agriculture to quickly provide disaster 
relief to agricultural producers that incur crop or livestock losses as 
a result of damaging weather or related condition in federally declared 
                disaster areas, 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 ``Reliable Farm Safety Net Act''.

SEC. 2. CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR FUTURE CROP YEARS.

    The Federal Crop Insurance Act is amended by inserting after 
section 518 (7 U.S.C. 1518) the following:

``SEC. 519. PERMANENT AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY AGRICULTURAL 
              ASSISTANCE.

    ``(a) Definition of Federally Declared Disaster Area.--In this 
section, the term `federally declared disaster area' means--
            ``(1) a county covered by--
                    ``(A) a Presidential declaration of major disaster 
                issued under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford 
                Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 
                5170); or
                    ``(B) a declaration by the Secretary of a disaster 
                area under subpart A of part 1945 of title 7, Code of 
                Federal Regulations (or successor regulations); and
            ``(2) each county contiguous to a county described in 
        paragraph (1).
    ``(b) Crop Disaster Assistance.--
            ``(1) Authority to provide emergency assistance.--The 
        Secretary shall use the funds of the Commodity Credit 
        Corporation to make emergency financial assistance available to 
        producers on a farm that incur qualifying crop losses for an 
        insurable crop due to damaging weather or related condition, as 
        determined by the Secretary, that results in the designation of 
        the county in which the farm or ranch is located as a federally 
        declared disaster area.
            ``(2) Administration.--Except as provided in paragraphs (3) 
        and (4), the Secretary shall make assistance available under 
        this subsection 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.
            ``(3) Payment rate.--The Secretary shall make assistance 
        available to producers on a farm for a crop under this 
        subsection at a rate equal to 65 percent of the established 
        price for the crop for any deficiency in production of 35 
        percent or more for the crop.
            ``(4) Ineligibility for assistance.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in 
                subparagraph (B), the producers on a farm shall not be 
                eligible for assistance under this subsection with 
                respect to losses to an insurable commodity or 
                noninsurable commodity if the producers on the farm--
                            ``(i) in the case of an insurable 
                        commodity, did not obtain a policy or plan of 
                        insurance for the insurable commodity under 
                        this Act for the crop incurring the losses;
                            ``(ii) 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;
                            ``(iii) had adjusted gross incomes, as 
                        defined by section 1001D of the Food Security 
                        Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308-3a), of greater than 
                        $2,500,000 in 2003; or
                            ``(iv) were not in compliance with highly 
                        erodible land conservation and wetland 
                        conservation provisions.
                    ``(B) Contract waiver.--The Secretary may waive 
                subparagraph (A) with respect to the producers on a 
                farm if the producers enter into a contract with the 
                Secretary under which the producers agree--
                            ``(i) in the case of an insurable 
                        commodity, to obtain a policy or plan of 
                        insurance under this Act providing additional 
                        coverage for the insurable commodity for each 
                        of the next 2 crops, at a level of coverage 
                        equal to or greater than 60 percent; and
                            ``(ii) 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).
                    ``(C) Effect of violation.--In the event of the 
                violation of a contract under subparagraph (B) by a 
                producer, the producer shall reimburse the Secretary 
                for the full amount of the assistance provided to the 
                producer under this subsection.
    ``(c) Livestock Assistance Program.--
            ``(1) Emergency financial assistance.--The Secretary shall 
        use such sums as are necessary of funds of the Commodity Credit 
        Corporation to make and administer payments for livestock 
        losses of eligible applicants due to a disaster, as determined 
        by the Secretary.
            ``(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 federally declared disaster area, 
                including any applicant conducting a livestock 
                operation with 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) Administration.--The Secretary shall make assistance 
        available under this subsection 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).
            ``(4) 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.
    ``(d) Livestock Indemnity Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall use such sums as are 
        necessary of funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry 
        out a livestock indemnity program for livestock losses of 
        eligible applicants in federally declared disaster areas, as 
        determined by the Secretary.
            ``(2) Administration.--The Secretary shall make assistance 
        available under this subsection in the same manner as provided 
        under section 3012(b) of the Emergency Agricultural Disaster 
        Assistance Act of 2006 (Public Law 109-234; 120 Stat. 476).
            ``(3) Limitation on assistance.--A producer may apply for 
        assistance under this subsection or subsection (c), but not 
        both.
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated such amounts as are necessary to reimburse the Commodity 
Credit Corporation for funds expended by the Secretary under this 
section.
    ``(f) Effective Date.--This section applies to the 2007 and 
subsequent crop years.''.
                                 <all>