To require that United States contributions to the fund established by the United States and Brazil to provide technical assistance and capacity building be offset by reductions in direct payments for cotton producers under the Farm Bill.

Amends the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to reduce the upland cotton payment rate to offset the full cost of any U.S. contributions to the fund established by the United States and Brazil to provide technical assistance and capacity building as part of the resolution of the cotton dispute brought by Brazil against the United States in the World Trade Organization (WTO).

[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5439 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5439

To require that United States contributions to the fund established by 
   the United States and Brazil to provide technical assistance and 
capacity building be offset by reductions in direct payments for cotton 
                     producers under the Farm Bill.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 27, 2010

 Mr. Flake (for himself and Mr. Frank of Massachusetts) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require that United States contributions to the fund established by 
   the United States and Brazil to provide technical assistance and 
capacity building be offset by reductions in direct payments for cotton 
                     producers under the Farm Bill.

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

SECTION 1. OFFSETTING UNITED STATES CONTRIBUTIONS TO TECHNICAL 
              ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY BUILDING FUND WITH REDUCTIONS IN 
              COTTON DIRECT PAYMENTS.

    Section 1103 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 
U.S.C. 8713) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(6), by striking ``Upland'' and 
        inserting ``Subject to subsection (e), upland''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) Effect of WTO Cotton Dispute.--The Secretary shall reduce the 
payment rate for upland cotton under subsection (b) as necessary so 
that reductions in the amount of direct payments made to producers for 
upland cotton offset the full cost of any United States contributions 
to the fund established by the United States and Brazil to provide 
technical assistance and capacity building, as part of the resolution 
of the cotton dispute brought by Brazil against the United States in 
the World Trade Organization.''.
                                 <all>