HR 480 IH

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to make emergency loans under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act and to provide emergency assistance to greenhouse farming operations whose energy costs have escalated sharply.

To require the Secretary of Agriculture to make emergency loans under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act and to provide emergency assistance to greenhouse farming operations whose energy costs have escalated sharply.

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 `Greenhouse Farming Emergency Energy Assistance Act of 2001'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

The Congress finds that--

(1) sudden and dramatic increases in energy prices have caused an economic disaster for greenhouse farming operations; and

(2) such an economic disaster is as devastating to a community as a natural disaster and should be regarded as such.

SEC. 3. EMERGENCY LOANS FOR GREENHOUSE FARMING OPERATIONS WHOSE ENERGY COSTS HAVE ESCALATED SHARPLY.

A qualified energy price increase found by the Secretary of Agriculture to have been experienced by a greenhouse farming operation shall be considered a natural disaster for purposes of subtitle C of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act, but only with respect to such an operation.

SEC. 4. IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOR GREENHOUSE FARMING OPERATIONS WHOSE ENERGY COSTS HAVE ESCALATED SHARPLY.

(a) AVAILABILITY OF ASSISTANCE- As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall provide financial assistance directly to greenhouse farming operations that the Secretary finds had a qualified energy price increase to assist the operations in covering all or a portion of the higher operating costs incurred as a result of the increase in energy prices.

(b) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION- The eligibility of a greenhouse farming operation for assistance under this section does not require either the existence of a natural disaster in the county in which the greenhouse farming operation is located or an emergency designation by the President or the Secretary.

(c) FUNDING- The Secretary shall use funds made available under section 815 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (as enacted by Public Law 106-387; 114 Stat. 1549A-55), to provide assistance to greenhouse farming operations under this section.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:

(1) GREENHOUSE FARMING OPERATION- The term `greenhouse farming operation' means a farming operation that produces nursery or other horticultural commodities in a greenhouse or similar enclosed structure for commercial purposes.

(2) QUALIFIED ENERGY PRICE INCREASE- The term `qualified energy price increase' means, with respect to a greenhouse farming operation, that the average price paid for energy supplies for the operation during the period that began on January 1, 2000, and ended on the date of the enactment of this Act is at least 25 percent greater than the average price paid for energy supplies for the operation during the period that began on January 1, 1997, and ended on December 31, 1999.