To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to establish a pilot program
in certain States to provide improved crop insurance options for producers.
(Introduced in the Senate)
S 357 IS
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 357
To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to establish a pilot program
in certain States to provide improved crop insurance options for producers.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
February 3, 1999
Mr. GRAMS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
A BILL
To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to establish a pilot program
in certain States to provide improved crop insurance options for producers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE IMPROVED CROP INSURANCE OPTIONS FOR
PRODUCERS.
The Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
`SEC. 522. PILOT PROGRAM TO PROVIDE IMPROVED CROP INSURANCE OPTIONS FOR
PRODUCERS.
`(a) DEFINITIONS- In this section:
`(1) COMMODITY- The term `commodity' means winter wheat, spring wheat,
corn, grain sorghum, barley, and soybeans.
`(2) ELIGIBLE STATE- The term `eligible State' means each of the States
of California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska,
North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas.
`(b) PILOT PROGRAM- The Corporation shall establish a pilot program
under which the Corporation shall offer producers of a commodity in an
eligible State the option to elect plans of insurance under this Act under
which--
`(1) the Corporation will provide a premium subsidy of 31 percent for
each level of coverage from 65 percent to 85 percent, in increments of
1 percent, involving a 100 percent price election; and
`(2) insurance is provided, at the election of the insured producer,
on the basis of a whole farm unit or 1 unit for each crop, with the option
to obtain insurance on combined acreage in eligible States, regardless
of State or county boundaries within eligible States, to achieve maximum
enterprise unit discounts;
`(3) the insured price is based, at the election of the insured producer,
on--
`(A) a market price, as determined by the Risk Management Agency; or
`(B) a price determined on the appropriate futures exchange;
`(4) a loss is indemnified by the Corporation when the actual production
of an insured commodity for a crop year is less than the guarantee for
the commodity for the crop year established using actual production history
procedures; and
`(5) the yield for a crop shall be determined in accordance with section
508(g), except that, if a crop was produced on a farm during each of the
5 actual production history crop years immediately preceding the crop year
for which actual production history is being established, a producer may
elect to have 1 crop year excluded from the production data base.
`(c) REPORT- Not later than 90 days after the termination of the pilot
program under subsection (d)(2), the Corporation shall submit to the Committee
on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that describes the results
of the pilot program.
`(d) DURATION- The pilot program established under this section shall--
`(1) apply commencing with the 2000 crop of each commodity of a State
covered by the pilot program; and
`(2) terminate 3 years after the date of commencement of the program.'.