| HR 257 IH
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 257
To provide emergency
disaster assistance to agricultural producers that incurred 2002 crop losses
due to damaging weather or related condition and to provide emergency disaster
assistance to livestock producers in counties that received a primary disaster
designation by the Secretary of Agriculture in calendar year 2001 or 2002,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 8, 2003
Mr. BURNS (for himself, Mr.
HAYES, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. PICKERING, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. ROGERS of Alabama,
Mr. GOODE, Mr. CRAMER, and Mr. BISHOP of Georgia) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To provide emergency
disaster assistance to agricultural producers that incurred 2002 crop losses
due to damaging weather or related condition and to provide emergency disaster
assistance to livestock producers in counties that received a primary disaster
designation by the Secretary of Agriculture in calendar year 2001 or 2002,
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 `Emergency Agricultural Disaster Assistance Act of 2003'.
SEC. 2. CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE.
(a) ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE-
Notwithstanding section 508(b)(7) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7
U.S.C. 1508(b)(7)), the Secretary of Agriculture shall use such sums as
are necessary of funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to make emergency
financial assistance available to producers on a farm that have incurred
qualifying crop losses for the 2002 crop due to damaging weather or related
condition, as determined by the Secretary.
(b) ADMINISTRATION- 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 (as enacted into law by 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.
SEC. 3. ASSISTANCE FOR LIVESTOCK
PRODUCERS.
(a) ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE-
The Secretary of Agriculture shall use such sums as are necessary of funds
of the Commodity Credit Corporation to make and administer payments to
livestock producers for losses in a county that received a primary disaster
designation by the Secretary in calendar year 2001 or 2002.
(b) ADMINISTRATION- The
Secretary shall make assistance available under this section using the
criteria established to carry out the 2002 Livestock Compensation Program.
(c) APPLICATION- During
the 30-day period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, livestock
producers in a county described in subsection (a) may submit an application
for assistance under this section or renew an application previously submitted
under the 2002 Livestock Compensation Program.
(1) MULTIYEAR DESIGNATION-
If a producer is on a farm located in a county that received an emergency
designation described in subsection (a) in each of calendar years 2001
and 2002, the producer may receive payments under this section for losses
associated with the declaration in either calendar year 2001 or calendar
year 2002, but not both.
(2) PRIOR PAYMENTS- A producer
may not receive a payment under this section and under the 2002 Livestock
Compensation Program.
SEC. 4. INELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENTS.
(a) DEFINITIONS- In this
section:
(1) ADDITIONAL COVERAGE-
The term `additional coverage' has the meaning given the term in section
502(b)(1) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1502(b)(1)).
(2) INSURABLE COMMODITY-
The term `insurable commodity' means an agricultural commodity (excluding
livestock) for which the producers on a farm are eligible to obtain a policy
or plan of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501
et seq.).
(3) NONINSURABLE COMMODITY-
The term `noninsurable commodity' means an eligible crop for which the
producers on a farm are eligible to obtain assistance under section 196
of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C.
7333).
(b) INELIGIBILITY- Except
as provided in subsection (c), the producers on a farm shall not be eligible
for a payment under section 2 with respect to 2002 losses to an insurable
commodity or noninsurable commodity if the producers on the farm--
(1) in the case of an insurable
commodity, did not obtain a policy or plan of insurance for the insurable
commodity for the crop under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501
et seq.); and
(2) in the case of a noninsurable
commodity, did not file the required paperwork, and pay the administrative
fee by the applicable State filing deadline, for the noninsurable commodity
under section 196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act
of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333).
(c) WAIVERS- The Secretary
of Agriculture may waive the application of subsection (b) to the producers
on a farm if--
(1) in the case of an insurable
commodity, the producers on the farm enter into a contract with the Secretary
under which the producers on the farm agree--
(A) to obtain additional
coverage for the insurable commodity for each of the next three crops under
the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.); and
(B) on violation of the
contract, to forfeit the right to receive any payment, loan, or benefit
under title I of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7
U.S.C. 7901 et seq.) for each of such crops; and
(2) in the case of a noninsurable
commodity, the producers on the farm enter into a contract with the Secretary
under which the producers on the farm agree--
(A) to file the required
paperwork, and pay the administrative fee by the applicable State filing
deadline, for the noninsurable commodity for each of the next three crops
under section 196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act
of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333); and
(B) on violation of the
contract, to forfeit the right to receive any payment, loan, or benefit
under title I of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7
U.S.C. 7901 et seq.) for each of such crops.
SEC. 5. COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION.
The Secretary of Agriculture
shall use the funds, facilities, and authorities of the Commodity Credit
Corporation to carry out this Act.
SEC. 6. REGULATIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL- The Secretary
of Agriculture may promulgate such regulations as are necessary to implement
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.
SEC. 7. EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.
(a) IN GENERAL- The entire
amount made available under this Act shall be available only to the extent
that the President submits to Congress an official budget request for a
specific dollar amount that includes designation of the entire amount of
the request as an emergency requirement for the purposes of the Balanced
Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900 et seq.).
(b) DESIGNATION- The entire
amount made available under this section is designated by Congress as an
emergency requirement under sections 251(b)(2)(A) and 252(e) of that Act
(2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(A), 902(e)).
END
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