[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 524 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 524

To provide emergency agricultural disaster assistance for agricultural 
   producers, manufacturers, and workers in the State of California.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 7, 2007

  Mrs. Boxer introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide emergency agricultural disaster assistance for agricultural 
   producers, manufacturers, and workers in the State of California.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Farm 
Assistance Act of 2007''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
                TITLE I--AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION LOSSES

Sec. 101. Specialty crops.
Sec. 102. Dairy assistance.
Sec. 103. Livestock indemnity payments.
Sec. 104. Payment limitation.
          TITLE II--SMALL BUSINESS ECONOMIC LOSS GRANT PROGRAM

Sec. 201. Small business economic loss grant program.
                          TITLE III--FORESTRY

Sec. 301. Tree assistance program.
        TITLE IV--ASSISTANCE FOR UNEMPLOYED AGRICULTURAL WORKERS

Sec. 401. Unemployment assistance.
Sec. 402. Food coupons and distribution.
Sec. 403. Emergency grants to assist low-income migrant and seasonal 
                            farmworkers.
Sec. 404. Temporary mortgage rental assistance.
                         TITLE V--MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 501. Limit on amount of assistance.
Sec. 502. Funding.
Sec. 503. Regulations.
                    TITLE VI--EMERGENCY DESIGNATION

Sec. 601. Emergency designation.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Disaster county.--The term ``disaster county'' means--
                    (A) a county included in the geographic area 
                covered by a natural disaster declaration; and
                    (B) each county contiguous to a county described in 
                subparagraph (A).
            (2) Livestock.--The term ``livestock'' includes--
                    (A) cattle (including dairy cattle);
                    (B) bison;
                    (C) sheep;
                    (D) swine;
                    (E) poultry; and
                    (F) other livestock, as determined by the 
                Secretary.
            (3) Natural disaster declaration.--The term ``natural 
        disaster declaration'' means 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)) during--
                    (A) calendar year 2005 due to flooding in the 
                State;
                    (B) calendar year 2006 due to heat or flooding in 
                the State; and
                    (C) calendar year 2007 due to freezing or extreme 
                low temperatures in the State.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
            (5) Specialty crop.--The term ``specialty crop'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 3 of the Specialty Crops 
        Competitiveness Act of 2004 (7 U.S.C. 1621 note; Public Law 
        108-465).
            (6) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of 
        California.

                TITLE I--AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION LOSSES

SEC. 101. SPECIALTY CROPS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall use, of funds of the Commodity 
Credit Corporation--
            (1) $100,000,000 to provide assistance to producers of 
        specialty crops in disaster counties that suffered losses in 
        calendar year 2005;
            (2) $400,000,000 to provide assistance to producers of 
        specialty crops in disaster counties that suffered losses in 
        calendar year 2006;
            (3) $420,000,000 to provide assistance to citrus producers 
        in disaster counties that suffered losses in calendar year 
        2007; and
            (4) $438,000,000 to provide assistance to producers of 
        other specialty crops in disaster counties that suffered losses 
        in calendar year 2007.
    (b) Administration.--Except as provided in subsection (c), 
assistance required by subsection (a) shall be carried out by the 
Secretary in the State under the same terms and conditions as the 
special disaster relief programs carried out for producers that 
suffered from crop damage and tree losses, and carried out related 
cleanup, in certain areas of Florida due to Hurricanes Charley, 
Frances, and Jeanne during August and September 2004, as described in 
the notice of program implementation relating to Florida citrus, fruit, 
vegetable, and nursery crop disaster programs (69 Fed. Reg. 63134 
(October 29, 2004)), with vegetable losses treated as citrus losses 
under this section for purposes of that program.
    (c) Uninsured Citrus Growers.--
            (1) Limited assistance.--Subject to paragraph (2), citrus 
        producers on a farm that did not obtain a policy or plan of 
        insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 
        et seq.) for the crop incurring the losses shall only be 
        eligible for assistance under this section if the producers 
        agree to obtain a policy or plan of insurance under the Federal 
        Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) not later than 180 
        days after the date of enactment of this Act providing 
        additional coverage for the citrus crop of the producers for 
        each of the next 3 crop years.
            (2) Amount of assistance.--Assistance under this section 
        provided for citrus producers on a farm described in paragraph 
        (1) shall not exceed 35 percent of the total amount of the 
        documented losses of the producers.
            (3) Effect of violation.--In the event that citrus 
        producers described in paragraph (1) fail to obtain a policy or 
        plan of insurance in accordance with that paragraph, the 
        producers shall reimburse the Secretary for the full amount of 
        the assistance provided to the producers under this section.

SEC. 102. DAIRY ASSISTANCE.

    The Secretary shall use $230,000,000 of funds of the Commodity 
Credit Corporation to make payments to dairy producers for dairy 
production losses during calendar year 2006 in disaster counties.

SEC. 103. LIVESTOCK INDEMNITY PAYMENTS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall use $80,000,000 of funds of 
the Commodity Credit Corporation to make livestock indemnity payments 
to producers on farms located in disaster counties that have incurred 
livestock losses during calendar year 2006 or 2007, or both, due to a 
disaster, as determined by the Secretary.
    (b) Payment Rates.--Indemnity payments to the producers on a farm 
under subsection (a) 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.

SEC. 104. PAYMENT LIMITATION.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, assistance provided 
under this section to the producers on a farm (as defined by the 
Secretary) may not exceed $125,000 for each farm, ranch, processing 
plant, or dairy operation of the producers.

          TITLE II--SMALL BUSINESS ECONOMIC LOSS GRANT PROGRAM

SEC. 201. SMALL BUSINESS ECONOMIC LOSS GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) Grants.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall use such funds as are 
        necessary of funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to make 
        a grant to the State.
            (2) Requirement.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
        this subsection, the State shall agree to carry out an 
        expedited disaster assistance program to provide grants to 
        qualified small businesses in accordance with subsection (b).
    (b) Grants to Qualified Small Businesses.--
            (1) In general.--In carrying out an expedited disaster 
        assistance program described in subsection (a)(2), the State 
        shall provide grants to eligible small businesses in the State 
        that suffered material economic losses during the 2005, 2006, 
        or 2007 crop year as a direct result of weather-related 
        agricultural losses to the specialty crop or livestock 
        production sectors of the State, as determined by the 
        Secretary.
            (2) Eligibility.--
                    (A) In general.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
                under paragraph (1), a small business shall--
                            (i) have less than $15,000,000 in average 
                        annual gross income from all business 
                        activities, at least 75 percent of which shall 
                        be directly related to production agriculture 
                        or agriculture support industries, as 
                        determined by the Secretary;
                            (ii) verify the amount of economic loss 
                        attributable to weather-related agricultural 
                        losses using such documentation as the 
                        Secretary and the State may require;
                            (iii) have suffered losses attributable to 
                        weather-related agricultural disasters that 
                        equal at least 15 percent of the total economic 
                        loss of the small business for each year a 
                        grant is requested; and
                            (iv) demonstrate that the grant will 
                        materially improve the likelihood the business 
                        will--
                                    (I) recover from the disaster;
                                    (II) continue to service and 
                                support production agriculture; and
                                    (III) replant agricultural 
                                production fields and groves.
            (3) Requirements.--A grant to a small business under this 
        subsection shall--
                    (A) be limited to not more than 2 years of 
                documented losses;
                    (B) be in an amount of not more than 75 percent of 
                the documented average economic loss attributable to 
                weather-related agriculture disasters for each eligible 
                year in the State; and
                    (C) not exceed a total amount of $250,000 for each 
                small business.
            (4) Insufficient funding.--If the grant funds received by 
        the State under subsection (a) are insufficient to fund the 
        grants of the State under this subsection, the State may apply 
        a proportional reduction to all of the grants.

                          TITLE III--FORESTRY

SEC. 301. TREE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

    (a) Definition of Tree.--In this section, the term ``tree'' 
includes--
            (1) a tree (including a Christmas tree, ornamental tree, 
        nursery tree, and potted tree);
            (2) a bush (including a shrub, nursery shrub, nursery bush, 
        ornamental bush, ornamental shrub, potted bush, and potted 
        shrub); and
            (3) a vine (including a nursery vine and ornamental vine).
    (b) Program.--Except as otherwise provided in this section, 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 (7 U.S.C. 8201 et seq.) to--
            (1) producers who suffered tree losses in disaster 
        counties; and
            (2) fruit and tree nut producers in disaster counties.
    (c) Costs.--Funds made available under this section shall also be 
made available to cover costs associated with tree pruning, tree 
rehabilitation, and other appropriate tree-related activities as 
determined by the Secretary.
    (d) Scope of Assistance.--Assistance under this section shall 
compensate for losses resulting from disasters during calendar year 
2005, 2006, or 2007, or any combination of those calendar years.

        TITLE IV--ASSISTANCE FOR UNEMPLOYED AGRICULTURAL WORKERS

SEC. 401. UNEMPLOYMENT ASSISTANCE.

    The Secretary of Homeland Security shall use such sums as are 
necessary to provide unemployment assistance in accordance with section 
410 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act (42 U.S.C. 5177) to agricultural workers in the State (including 
low-income migrant and seasonal farmworkers) who are unemployed due to 
disasters occurring in calendar year 2007, as determined by the 
Secretary.

SEC. 402. FOOD COUPONS AND DISTRIBUTION.

    The Secretary shall use such sums as are necessary of the funds of 
the Commodity Credit Corporation to provide food coupons and surplus 
commodities in accordance with section 412 of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5179) to 
agricultural workers in the State (including low-income migrant and 
seasonal farmworkers) who are unemployed due to disasters occurring in 
calendar year 2007, as determined by the Secretary.

SEC. 403. EMERGENCY GRANTS TO ASSIST LOW-INCOME MIGRANT AND SEASONAL 
              FARMWORKERS.

    The Secretary shall use such sums as are necessary of the funds of 
the Commodity Credit Corporation to provide emergency grants to assist 
low-income migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the State who are 
unemployed due to disasters occurring in calendar year 2007, as 
determined by the Secretary, in accordance with section 2281 of the 
Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 
5177a).

SEC. 404. TEMPORARY MORTGAGE RENTAL ASSISTANCE.

    For the period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and 
ending 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
of Homeland Security shall use such sums as are necessary to provide 
temporary mortgage rental assistance to agricultural workers in the 
State (including low-income migrant and seasonal farmworkers) who are 
unemployed due to disasters occurring in calendar year 2007 under the 
same terms and conditions as the temporary mortgage rental assistance 
program under section 408(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5174(b)) (as in effect on the 
day before the effective date of the amendment made by section 206(a) 
of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (42 U.S.C. 5174 note; Public Law 
106-390)).

                         TITLE V--MISCELLANEOUS

SEC. 501. LIMIT ON AMOUNT OF ASSISTANCE.

    The Secretary shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that 
no producers on a farm receive duplicative payments under this Act and 
any other Federal program for the same loss.

SEC. 502. FUNDING.

    The Secretary shall use the funds, facilities, and authorities of 
the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out this Act (other than 
sections 401 and 404), to remain available until expended.

SEC. 503. 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.

                    TITLE VI--EMERGENCY DESIGNATION

SEC. 601. EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.

    The amounts provided under this Act are designated as an emergency 
requirement pursuant to section 402 of H. Con. Res. 95 (109th 
Congress).
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