Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1998

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Drought Relief Act of 
1998''.

SEC. 2. LOAN RATES FOR MARKETING ASSISTANCE LOANS FOR CERTAIN CROPS.

    (a) Wheat.--Subsection (a) of section 132 of the Agricultural 
Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7232) is amended by striking paragraph 
(1) and inserting the following new paragraph:
            ``(1) Loan rate.--Subject to paragraph (2), the loan rate 
        for a marketing assistance loan under section 131 for wheat 
        shall be equal to not less than 85 percent of the simple 
        average price received by producers of wheat, as determined by 
        the Secretary, during the marketing years for the immediately 
        preceding 5 crops of wheat, excluding the year in which the 
        average price was the highest and the year in which the average 
        price was the lowest in the period.''.
    (b) Feed Grains.--Subsection (b) of such section is amended by 
striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following new paragraph:
            ``(1) Loan rate for corn.--Subject to paragraph (2), the 
        loan rate for a marketing assistance loan under section 131 for 
        corn shall be equal to not less than 85 percent of the simple 
        average price received by producers of corn, as determined by 
        the Secretary, during the marketing years for the immediately 
        preceding 5 crops of corn, excluding the year in which the 
        average price was the highest and the year in which the average 
        price was the lowest in the period.''.
    (c) Upland Cotton.--Subsection (c)(2) of such section is amended by 
striking ``or more than $0.5192 per pound''.
    (d) Extra Long Staple Cotton.--Subsection (d) of such section is 
amended to read as follows:
    ``(d) Extra Long Staple Cotton.--The loan rate for a marketing 
assistance loan under section 131 for extra long staple cotton shall be 
equal to not less than 85 percent of the simple average price received 
by producers of extra long staple cotton, as determined by the 
Secretary, during 3 years of the 5-year period ending July 31 of the 
year preceding the year in which the crop is planted, excluding the 
year in which the average price was the highest and the year in which 
the average price was the lowest in the period.''.
    (e) Oilseeds.--Subsection (f) of such section is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ``or more than 
        $5.26''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ``or more than 
        $0.093''.

SEC. 3. COST-SHARE ASSISTANCE FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS PERFORMING 
              CERTAIN DROUGHT ALLEVIATION PROJECTS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Designated disaster area.--The term ``designated 
        disaster area'' means an area that is 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 determined to be a disaster area by the 
        Secretary of Agriculture under subpart A of part 1945 of title 
        7, Code of Federal Regulations, if the basis for the 
        Presidential declaration or Secretarial determination is at 
        least in part the result of drought conditions in the area.
            (2) Eligible land.--The term ``eligible land'' means 
        agricultural land, including cropland, rangeland, pasture, and 
        other land on which crops or livestock are produced, or land 
        used to support the production of crops or livestock.
            (3) Livestock.--The term ``livestock'' means dairy cattle, 
        beef cattle, laying hens, broilers, turkeys, swine, sheep, and 
        such other animals as determined by the Secretary.
            (4) Producer.--The term ``producer'' means a person who is 
        engaged in livestock or agricultural production (as defined by 
        the Secretary).
    (b) Authority To Provide Assistance.--During the 1999 through 2002 
fiscal years, the Secretary of Agriculture may provide technical 
assistance and cost-share payments to a producer who undertakes on 
eligible lands in a designated disaster area a project intended to 
alleviate or otherwise respond to the effects of drought on crop or 
livestock production. A producer may apply for cost-share payments 
under this section before undertaking an eligible project, during the 
course of the project, or within one year after completing the project. 
A project may be completed after the expiration of the designation of 
an area as a designated disaster area.
    (c) Eligible Projects.--The projects for which assistance may be 
provided under this section include--
            (1) the installation of water wells to be used primarily 
        for crop irrigation or livestock watering;
            (2) the dredging of ponds or other small bodies of water on 
        eligible lands; and
            (3) the extension of public water supply lines to serve 
        eligible lands.
    (d) Offer Selection Process.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall, 
to the maximum extent practicable, establish a process for selecting 
applications for financial assistance if there are numerous 
applications for assistance for eligible projects that would provide 
substantially the same level of benefits. The process shall be based 
on--
            (1) a reasonable estimate of the projected cost of the 
        proposals and other factors identified by the Secretary for 
        determining which applications will result in the least cost to 
        the program authorized by this section; and
            (2) such other factors determined by the Secretary that 
        maximize benefits in designated disaster areas per dollar 
        expended.
    (e) Concurrence of Owner.--If the producer making an offer to 
receive assistance is a tenant using the eligible land, for the offer 
to be acceptable, the producer shall obtain the concurrence of the 
owner of the eligible land with respect to the offer.
    (f) Amount of Cost-Share Payments.--The Federal share of cost-share 
payments to a producer proposing to implement one or more eligible 
project shall be not more than 75 percent of the projected cost of the 
project, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture, taking into 
consideration any payment received by the producer from a State or 
local government. A producer may not receive cost-share payments under 
this section for a project if the producer receives cost-share payments 
or other benefits for the same project under another provision of law.
    (g) Technical Assistance.--The receipt of technical assistance 
under this section shall not affect the eligibility of the producer to 
receive technical assistance under other authorities of law available 
to the Secretary of Agriculture.
    (h) Retroactive Effect.--This section shall apply to eligible 
projects commenced in designated disaster areas on or after January 1, 
1998.

SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE EMERGENCY LOANS BASED ON ESTIMATED LOSSES.

    Subtitle C of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 
U.S.C. 1961-1970) is amended by inserting after section 327 the 
following:
    ``Sec. 328. In this subtitle, the terms `actual loss' and `actual 
production loss' mean actual loss or (if greater) the estimated loss as 
determined by the relevant county committee.''.

SEC. 5. BORROWER ELECTION TO DEFER INTEREST PAYMENTS ON EMERGENCY 
              LOANS.

    Section 324 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 
U.S.C. 1964) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) A borrower of a loan made under this subtitle may elect to 
defer the payment of any or all interest on the loan until the end of 
the period for which the loan is made.''.

Summary: Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1998 - Amends the Agricultural Market Transition Act to eliminate marketing assistance loan rate caps for wheat, corn and feed grains, upland and extra long staple cotton, and oilseeds. Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to (temporarily) provide cost-share assistance for crop and livestock producers performing certain drought alleviation projects. Makes such assistance available retroactively to eligible projects begun as of January 1, 1998. Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize: (1) emergency loans based upon estimated losses, and (2) emergency loan interest deferral.