[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2810 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2810

 To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide emergency disaster 
   assistance to certain agricultural producers that suffered losses 
                     during the 2009 calendar year.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 20, 2009

Mr. Cochran (for himself, Mr. Wicker, and Mrs. Lincoln) 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 emergency disaster 
   assistance to certain agricultural producers that suffered losses 
                     during the 2009 calendar year.

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

SECTION 1. EMERGENCY DISASTER ASSISTANCE.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (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 2009 for which the request for such declaration 
                was approved by the Secretary as of November 17, 2009.
                    (B) Exclusion.--The term ``disaster county'' does 
                not include a contiguous county.
            (2) Eligible producer.--The term ``eligible producer'' 
        means an agricultural producer in a disaster county.
            (3) Eligible specialty crop producer.--The term ``eligible 
        specialty crop producer'' means an agricultural producer that, 
        during the 2009 calendar year, as determined by the Secretary--
                    (A) produced, or were prevented from planting, a 
                specialty crop in 1 or more disaster counties; and
                    (B) experienced crop losses associated with drought 
                or excessive rainfall.
            (4) Qualifying natural disaster declaration.--The term 
        ``qualifying natural disaster declaration'' means a natural 
        disaster declared by the Secretary for production losses under 
        section 321(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 
        Act (7 U.S.C. 1961(a)).
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
            (6) Specialty crop.--The term ``specialty crop'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 3 of the Specialty Crops 
        Competitiveness Act of 2004 (Public Law 108-465; 7 U.S.C. 1621 
        note).
    (b) Supplemental Direct Payment.--Of the funds of the Commodity 
Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use such sums as are necessary 
to make a supplemental payment under section 1103 of the Food, 
Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8713) to eligible 
producers that previously received a payment under that section.
    (c) Specialty Crop Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--Of the funds of the Commodity Credit 
        Corporation, the Secretary shall use not more than 
        $650,000,000, to remain available until September 30, 2011, to 
        carry out a program of grants to States to assist eligible 
        specialty crop producers for losses associated with drought or 
        excessive rainfall during the 2009 calendar year.
            (2) Notification.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall notify the State 
        department of agriculture (or similar entity) in each State of 
        the availability of funds to assist eligible specialty crop 
        producers, including such terms as are determined by the 
        Secretary to be necessary for the equitable treatment of 
        eligible specialty crop producers.
            (3) Provision of grants.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary shall make grants to 
                States under this subsection on a pro rata basis based 
                on the value of specialty crop production during the 
                2008 calendar year, as determined by the Secretary.
                    (B) Timing.--Not later than 120 days after the date 
                of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall make 
                grants to States to provide assistance under this 
                subsection.
                    (C) Maximum grant.--The maximum amount of a grant 
                made to a State under this subsection may not exceed 
                $40,000,000.
            (4) Requirements.--The Secretary shall make grants under 
        this subsection only to States that demonstrate to the 
        satisfaction of the Secretary that the State will--
                    (A) use grant funds to assist eligible specialty 
                crop producers;
                    (B) provide assistance to eligible specialty crop 
                producers not later than 60 days after the date on 
                which the State receives grant funds; and
                    (C) not later than 30 days after the date on which 
                the State provides assistance to eligible specialty 
                crop producers, submit to the Secretary a report that 
                describes--
                            (i) the manner in which the State provided 
                        assistance;
                            (ii) the amounts of assistance provided by 
                        type of specialty crop; and
                            (iii) the process by which the State 
                        determined the levels of assistance to eligible 
                        specialty crop producers.
    (d) Cottonseed Assistance.--
            (1) In general.--Of the funds of the Commodity Credit 
        Corporation, the Secretary shall use not more than $42,000,000 
        to provide supplemental assistance to eligible producers and 
        first-handlers of the 2009 crop of cottonseed in disaster 
        counties.
            (2) General terms.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
        subsection, the Secretary shall provide disaster assistance 
        under this subsection under the same terms and conditions as 
        assistance provided under section 3015 of the Emergency 
        Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2006 (title III of 
        Public Law 109-234; 120 Stat. 477).
            (3) Distribution of assistance.--The Secretary shall 
        distribute assistance to first handlers for the benefit of 
        eligible producers in a disaster county in an amount equal to 
        the product obtained by multiplying--
                    (A) the payment rate, as determined under paragraph 
                (4); and
                    (B) the county-eligible production, as determined 
                under paragraph (5).
            (4) Payment rate.--The payment rate shall be equal to the 
        quotient obtained by dividing--
                    (A) the sum of the county-eligible production, as 
                determined under paragraph (5); by
                    (B) the total funds made available to carry out 
                this subsection.
            (5) County-eligible production.--The county-eligible 
        production shall be equal to the product obtained by 
        multiplying--
                    (A) the number of acres planted to cotton in the 
                disaster county, as reported to the Secretary by first-
                handlers;
                    (B) the expected cotton lint yield for the disaster 
                county, as determined by the Secretary based on the 
                best available information; and
                    (C) the national average seed-to-lint ratio, as 
                determined by the Secretary based on the best available 
                information for the 5 crop years immediately preceding 
                the 2009 crop, excluding the year in which the average 
                ratio was the highest and the year in which the average 
                ratio was the lowest in such period.
    (e) Livestock Assistance.--
            (1) Continuation of assistance program.--
                    (A) In general.--Subject to paragraph (3), the 
                Secretary shall continue to carry out the 2002 
                Livestock Compensation Program announced by the 
                Secretary on October 10, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 63070) 
                (referred to in this paragraph as the ``Program'').
                    (B) Assistance.--In carrying out the Program, the 
                Secretary shall provide assistance to any applicant 
                that--
                            (i) conducts a livestock operation that is 
                        physically located in a disaster county and 
                        meets all other eligibility requirements 
                        established by the Secretary for the Program; 
                        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 meets all other eligibility 
                        requirements established by the Secretary for 
                        the Program.
                    (C) Use of commodity credit corporation funds.--
                Effective beginning on the date of enactment of this 
                Act, the Secretary shall carry out the Program using 
                funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation.
            (2) Livestock loss assistance program.--Subject to 
        paragraph (3), of the funds of the Commodity Credit 
        Corporation, the Secretary shall use $150,000,000 to carry out 
        a program to make payments to eligible producers for livestock 
        losses occurring in a disaster county under the same criteria 
        established to carry out the 1999 Livestock Assistance Program.
            (3) Relationship of livestock assistance programs.--The 
        amount of assistance that the eligible producers on a farm 
        would otherwise receive for a loss under a livestock assistance 
        program, except for the operation of this subsection, shall be 
        reduced by the amount of the assistance that the eligible 
        producers on the farm receive under any other livestock 
        assistance program.
    (f) Relation to Other Law.--An eligible producer or eligible 
specialty crop producer that receives assistance under this section 
shall be ineligible to receive assistance for the 2009 crop year under 
the program carried out under section 531 of the Federal Crop Insurance 
Act (7 U.S.C. 1531) and section 901 of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 
2497).
    (g) Administration.--
            (1) Regulations.--
                    (A) In general.--As soon as practicable after the 
                date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 
                promulgate such regulations as are necessary to 
                implement this section.
                    (B) Procedure.--The promulgation of the regulations 
                and administration of this section shall be made 
                without regard to--
                            (i) the notice and comment provisions of 
                        section 553 of title 5, United States Code;
                            (ii) 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
                            (iii) 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 paragraph, the Secretary shall use 
                the authority provided under section 808 of title 5, 
                United States Code.
            (2) Offset.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary of the Treasury 
                shall rescind such funds as are necessary of funds made 
                available under the Troubled Asset Relief Program 
                established under title I of division A of the 
                Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (12 U.S.C. 
                5211 et seq.) to reimburse the Commodity Credit 
                Corporation for expenditures under this Act.
                    (B) Administrative costs.--The Secretary may use up 
                to $5,000,000 of amounts made available under 
                subparagraph (A) to pay administrative costs incurred 
                by the Secretary that are directly related to carrying 
                out this Act.
                                 <all>