HR 34 IH

To amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to provide for the payment of special loan deficiency payments to producers who are eligible for loan deficiency payments, but who suffered yield losses due to damaging weather or related condition in a federally declared disaster area.

To amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to provide for the payment of special loan deficiency payments to producers who are eligible for loan deficiency payments, but who suffered yield losses due to damaging weather or related condition in a federally declared disaster area.

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

SECTION 1. SPECIAL LOAN DEFICIENCY PAYMENTS IN FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTER AREAS.

(a) AVAILABILITY OF PAYMENTS- Section 135 of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7235) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

`(g) PAYMENTS IN FEDERAL DISASTER AREAS-

`(1) ELIGIBILITY- At the request of a producer eligible for a loan deficiency payment under subsection (a) for a loan commodity, the Secretary shall make a payment to the producer under this subsection if the producer--

`(A) insured the commodity under a federally-approved crop insurance policy;

`(B) planted the commodity in a county that, during that crop year, was included in a federally declared disaster area or in a contiguous county; and

`(C) suffered yield losses to the commodity due to damaging weather or related condition.

`(2) RELATION TO OTHER PAYMENT AUTHORITY- A payment under this subsection is in lieu of a payment under subsection (a).

`(3) PAYMENT CALCULATION- The payment under this subsection shall be calculated by multiplying--

`(A) the loan deficiency payment rate determined under subsection (c) in effect, as of the date of the agreement, in the county in which the acreage is located; by

`(B) the quantity of the loan commodity involved, which shall be determined by multiplying--

`(i) the total acreage on which the producer has a federally approved crop insurance policy; by

`(ii) the higher of the producer's established yield for the commodity or the county average yield for the commodity, as determined by the Secretary.

`(4) TIME FOR PAYMENT- A payment under this subsection shall be made as soon as practicable after the producer makes the request for the payment under paragraph (1).

`(5) FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTER AREA DEFINED- In this subsection, the term `federally declared disaster area' means an area--

`(A) covered by a Presidential declaration of major disaster issued under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170); or

`(B) determined to be a disaster area by the Secretary under subpart A of part 1945 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations.'.

(b) IMPLEMENTATION- Within 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall issue regulations to carry out the amendment made by subsection (a). The issuance of the regulations 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;

(3) chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code (commonly known as the `Paperwork Reduction Act'); and

(4) other provisions of law which would delay the implementation of the amendment made by subsection (a) beyond 90 days.