[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 26 (Friday, February 12, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S1649]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. GORTON:
  S. 428. A bill to amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to 
ensure that producers of all classes of soft white wheat (including 
club wheat) are permitted to repay marketing assistance loans, or 
receive loan deficiency payments, for the wheat at the same rate; to 
the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.


                 loan deficiency payment for club wheat

  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation that 
will restore payment equity to Pacific Northwest producers of club 
wheat.
  Last year, during the middle of the 1998 harvest season, the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture made a rule change regarding the Loan 
Deficiency Payment (LDP) club wheat, a member of the soft white wheat 
subclass. While I applaud USDA for its efforts in providing equal 
payments for club wheat and soft white wheat, by making the policy 
change in the middle of the production year, many club wheat producers 
had already contracted with the lower payment.
  In order to address the inequity between the 1998 club wheat LDP 
contracts, my colleagues and I requested that USDA make the policy 
retroactive. USDA claimed it does not have the authority to grant 
retroactivity, and as a result, I have introduced this legislation to 
provide the agency retroactive authority.
  At a time when commodity prices are at an all time low, it is my hope 
that the LDP inequity for club wheat will be resolved by passage of 
this legislation. I ask unanimous consent that the legislation be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 428

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

     SECTION 1. REPAYMENT RATE FOR MARKETING ASSISTANCE LOANS FOR 
                   WHEAT; LOAN PAYMENT RATE FOR LOAN DEFICIENCY 
                   PAYMENTS FOR WHEAT.

       (a) In General.--Section 134(a)(2) of the Agricultural 
     Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7234(a)(2)) is amended--
       (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (3) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(E) in the case of soft white wheat, be uniform for all 
     classes of the wheat, including club wheat.''.
       (b) Application.--The amendments made by subsection (a) 
     shall apply beginning with the 1997 crop of wheat.
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