Permanent Emergency Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to use Commodity Credit Corporation funds for emergency financial assistance to: (1) crop producers who have suffered qualifying weather-caused crop losses in 2001, 2002, or 2003; and (2) livestock producers for losses in 2001, 2002, or 2003, including livestock under the American Indian livestock program, in a disaster-designated county. Reduces (other than crop insurance) other agricultural assistance by amounts received under this Act.
Directs the Secretary to make emergency financial assistance available after 2003 to producers with specified crop insurance coverage who have suffered qualifying weather-caused crop damage in a disaster-designated area.
[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3402 Introduced in House (IH)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3402
To establish permanent authority for the Secretary of Agriculture to
quickly assist agricultural producers who incur crop losses as a result
of damaging weather or related condition in federally declared disaster
areas, to provide emergency disaster assistance to agricultural
producers for qualifying crop losses for the 2001, 2002, or 2003 crops,
to continue the livestock assistance program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 29, 2003
Mr. Peterson of Minnesota (for himself, Mr. Janklow, and Mr. McIntyre)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish permanent authority for the Secretary of Agriculture to
quickly assist agricultural producers who incur crop losses as a result
of damaging weather or related condition in federally declared disaster
areas, to provide emergency disaster assistance to agricultural
producers for qualifying crop losses for the 2001, 2002, or 2003 crops,
to continue the livestock assistance program, 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 ``Permanent Emergency Agricultural
Assistance Act''.
SEC. 2. CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR 2001, 2002, AND 2003 CROP LOSSES.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall make emergency
financial assistance available to producers on a farm who have incurred
qualifying crop losses for the 2001, 2002, or 2003 crop, or any
combination of those crops, due to damaging weather or related
condition, as determined by the Secretary.
(b) Administration.--Except as provided in subsection (c), the
Secretary shall make assistance available under this section 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.
(c) Payment Rates.--The Secretary shall make a disaster payment
available to producers on a farm for a crop under this section at a
rate equal to--
(1) 40 percent of the established price for the crop for
any deficiency in production greater than 20 percent, but less
than 35 percent, for the crop; and
(2) 65 percent of the established price for the crop for
any deficiency in production of 35 percent or more for the
crop.
(d) Crop Insurance.--In carrying out this section, the Secretary
shall not discriminate against or penalize producers on a farm that
have purchased crop insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7
U.S.C. 1501 et seq.).
(e) Other Assistance.--Subject to subsection (d), the amount of
assistance that producers on a farm would otherwise receive under this
section shall be reduced by the amount of assistance provided to the
producers on the farm for crop losses described in subsection (a) under
any other Federal law.
SEC. 3. CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR FUTURE CROP YEARS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall make emergency
financial assistance available to producers on a farm who incur
qualifying crop losses for an insurable crop due to damaging weather or
related condition, as determined by the Secretary, which results in the
designation of the county in which the farm is located as a federally
declared disaster area.
(b) Administration.--Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d),
the Secretary shall make assistance available under this section 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.
(c) Payment Rate.--Subject to subsection (e), the Secretary shall
make assistance available to producers on a farm for a crop under this
section 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.
(d) Receipt Conditioned on Having Crop Insurance.--The producers on
a farm shall not be eligible for assistance under subsection (a) with
respect to losses to a crop unless the producers obtained, before the
losses were incurred, a policy or plan of insurance for the crop under
the Federal Crop Insurance Act that provided a level of coverage equal
to or greater than 60 percent.
(e) Payment Limitation.--
(1) Limitation.--Assistance provided under subsection (a)
to a producer for losses to a crop, together with the amounts
specified in paragraph (2) applicable to the same crop, may not
exceed 95 percent of what the value of the crop would have been
in the absence of the losses, as estimated by the Secretary.
(2) Other payments.--In applying the limitation in
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall include the following:
(A) Crop insurance payments made under the Federal
Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) that the
producer receives for losses to the same crop.
(B) The value of the crop that was not lost (if
any), as estimated by the Secretary.
(f) Definition.--In this section, the term ``federally declared
disaster area'' is a county covered by a Presidential declaration of
major disaster issued under section 301 of the Robert T. Stafford
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) or
determined to be a disaster area by the Secretary under subpart A of
part 1945 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations. The term does not
include a contiguous county.
(g) Effective Date.--This section applies to crop years after the
2003 crop year.
SEC. 4. LIVESTOCK ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall make and
administer payments for livestock losses to producers for 2001, 2002,
or 2003, or any combination of those years, in a county that has
received a corresponding emergency designation by the President or the
Secretary, of which an amount determined by the Secretary shall be made
available for the American Indian livestock program under section 806
of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration,
and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-387; 114
Stat. 1549, 1549A-51).
(b) Administration.--The Secretary shall make assistance available
under this section 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. 1549, 1549A-51).
(c) Other Assistance.--The amount of assistance that a producer
would otherwise receive under this section shall be reduced by the
amount of assistance provided to the producer for losses described in
subsection (a) under any other Federal law.
SEC. 5. FUNDING AND REIMBURSEMENT.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall use the funds
of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out this Act.
(b) Permanent Program.--There is hereby authorized to be
appropriated such amounts as may be necessary to reimburse the
Commodity Credit Corporation for funds expended by the Secretary under
section 3.
SEC. 6. EMERGENCY DESIGNATIONS.
(a) In General.--The amounts referred to in sections 2 and 4 are
designated by Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant to section
502 of H. Con. Res. 95 (108th Congress), the concurrent resolution on
the budget for fiscal year 2004.
(b) Permanent Program.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to the
authorization of appropriations in section 5(b) to reimburse the
Commodity Credit Corporation shall be treated as emergency spending.
The allocation for a fiscal year otherwise made to the Committees on
Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate pursuant
to section 302(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 shall be
increased by the amount appropriated pursuant to such authorization of
appropriations for the same fiscal year.
SEC. 7. REGULATIONS.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture may promulgate such
regulations as are necessary to carry out 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.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Executive Comment Requested from USDA.
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