69–006 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 110–881 

TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF CERTAIN LIMITATIONS ON ELIGIBILITY OF 

PRODUCERS FOR DIRECT PAYMENTS, COUNTER-CYCLICAL PAYMENTS, 

OR AVERAGE CROP REVENUE ELECTION PAYMENTS 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2008.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, from the Committee on Agriculture, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 6849] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Agriculture, to whom was referred the bill 

(H.R. 6849) to amend the commodity provisions of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to permit producers to aggregate 

base acres and reconstitute farms to avoid the prohibition on receiving direct payments, counter-cyclical payments, or average crop 

revenue election payments when the sum of the base acres of a 

farm is 10 acres or less, and for other purposes, having considered 

the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: 

SECTION 1. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF CERTAIN LIMITATIONS ON ELIGIBILITY OF PRODUCERS FOR DIRECT PAYMENTS, COUNTER-CYCLICAL PAYMENTS, OR AVERAGE 

CROP REVENUE ELECTION PAYMENTS. 

(a) SPECIAL RULE FOR 2008 AND 2009 CROP YEARS.—Section 1101(d) of the Food, 

Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8711(d)) is amended by adding at 

the end the following new paragraph: 

‘‘(4) SUSPENSION.—Paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) shall not apply during the 2008 

and 2009 crop years.’’. 

(b) OFFSETTING REDUCTION.—Section 515(k)(1) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

(7 U.S.C. 1515(k)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘not more than $15,000,000 for each 

of fiscal years 2008 through 2011’’ and inserting ‘‘not more than $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, not more than $9,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, and not more than 

$8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011’’. 

BRIEF EXPLANATION

H.R. 6849 suspends, for the 2008 and 2009 crop years, the provisions of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 that prohibit receipt of direct payments, counter-cyclical payments, or averVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:37 Sep 28, 2008 Jkt 069006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR881.XXX HR881

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age crop revenue election payments when the sum of the base acres 

of a farm is 10 acres or less. Also reduces by $20 million the funds 

available under section 515(k)(1) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

for Federal Crop Insurance Corporation information management 

systems upgrades. 

PURPOSE AND NEED

The Department of Agriculture published a notice stating their 

intent to ‘‘not approve requests for farm combination reconstitutions of farms having base acres of 10 acres or less if the request 

was received after the date of enactment of the 2008 Farm Bill’’. 

The Department’s notice is a substantial change from what was 

in place prior to the most recent Farm Bill and runs contrary to 

what Congress intended when it drafted section 1101(d) of the farm 

bill. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1(a) suspends, for the 2008 and 2009 crop years, the farm 

bill provisions that prohibit receipt of direct payments, counter-cyclical payments, or average crop revenue election payments when 

the sum of the base acres of a farm is 10 acres or less. 

Section 1(b) provides an offset of $20 million by reducing funds 

available under section 515(k)(1) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

for Federal Crop Insurance Corporation information management 

systems upgrades. 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

The Committee on Agriculture met, pursuant to notice, with a 

quorum present, on September 18, 2008, to consider H.R. 6849. 

Members were recognized and each made a statement in support 

of the legislation and Counsel was also recognized for a brief explanation of the bill. 

Chairman Peterson offered an amendment in the nature of a 

substitute to the bill. Discussion occurred and without objection, 

the amendment was adopted by a voice vote. 

There being no more amendments, Mr. Goodlatte moved that 

H.R. 6849 be reported favorably to the House with the recommendation that it do pass. 

By a voice vote, and in the presence of a quorum, H.R. 6849 was 

ordered favorably reported to the House. 

Chairman Peterson then advised Members that pursuant to the 

rules of the House of Representatives that Members have 2 calendar days to file such views with the Committee. No Members 

came forth with intent to file additional views. 

Without objection, staff was given permission to make any necessary clerical, technical or conforming changes to reflect the intent 

of the Committee. 

Chairman Peterson thanked all the Members and adjourned the 

meeting subject to the call of the chair. 


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REPORTING THE BILL—ROLLCALL VOTES

In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the House of Representatives, H.R. 6849 was reported by voice vote with a majority 

quorum present. There was no request for a recorded vote. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS

Pursuant to clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee on Agriculture’s oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

BUDGET ACT COMPLIANCE (SECTIONS 308, 402, AND 423) 

The provisions of clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives and section 308(a)(1) of the Congressional 

Budget Act of 1974 (relating to estimates of new budget authority, 

new spending authority, new credit authority, or increased or decreased revenues or tax expenditures) are not considered applicable. The estimate and comparison required to be prepared by the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office under clause 3(c)(3) of 

rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and sections 

402 and 423 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 submitted to 

the Committee prior to the filing of this report are as follows: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, September 22, 2008. 

Hon. COLLIN C. PETERSON, 

Chairman, Committee on Agriculture, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 6849, a bill to amend the 

commodity provisions of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 

2008 to permit producers to aggregate base acres and reconstitute 

farms to avoid the prohibition on receiving direct payments, 

counter-cyclical payments, or average crop revenue election payments when the sum of the base acres of a farm is 10 acres or less, 

and for other purposes. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jim Langley. 

Sincerely, 

ROBERT A. SUNSHINE

(For Peter R. Orszag, Director). 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 6849—A bill to amend the commodity provisions of the Food, 

Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to permit producers to 

aggregate base acres and reconstitute farms to avoid the prohibition on receiving direct payments, counter-cyclical payments, 

or average crop revenue election payments when the sum of the 

base acres of a farm is 10 acres or less, and for other purposes 

Summary: H.R. 6849 would suspend a prohibition on the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture’s (USDA’s) authority to make payments 

to certain farmers and ranchers for 2008 and 2009 crops. It also 

would reduce funds appropriated to USDA, under the Food, EnVerDate Aug 31 2005 20:37 Sep 28, 2008 Jkt 069006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR881.XXX HR881

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ergy, and Conservation Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Act), for information technology equipment for the federal crop insurance program. 

CBO estimates that suspending the prohibition on payments 

would increase direct spending for agricultural income protection 

programs by $20 million over the 2009–2018 period. We also estimate that reducing funds for information technology would reduce 

spending by $20 million over the same period. Thus, CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 6849 would have no significant impact on 

direct spending over the 2009–2018 period. Enacting the bill would 

not affect revenues or discretionary spending. 

H.R. 6849 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

Estimated Cost to the Federal Government: For this estimate, 

CBO assumes that H.R. 6849 will be enacted near the start of 

2009. The bill’s estimated budgetary impact is shown in the following table. The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 350 (agriculture). 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2009– 

2013 

2009– 

2018 

CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING 

Suspend Prohibition on Payments to Farms of 10 

Acres or Less: 

Estimated Budget Authority ..................... 11 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 20 

Estimated Outlays ...... 11 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 20 

Reduce Information Technology Funding: 

Estimated Budget Authority ..................... ¥6 ¥7 ¥7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ¥20 ¥20 

Estimated Outlays ...... ¥2 ¥6 ¥7 ¥5 0 0 0 0 0 0 ¥20 ¥20 

Total: 

Estimated Budget Authority ... 5 2 ¥7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Estimated Outlays ................ 9 3 ¥7 ¥5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Basis of estimate: CBO estimates that suspending a prohibition 

on certain agricultural income support payments would increase direct spending. We also estimate that reducing funds available to 

USDA for information technology would reduce direct spending. 

Taken as a whole, CBO estimates that those effects would fully offset each other, resulting in no significant net change in direct 

spending over the next 10 years. 

Increased payments to certain farmers and ranchers 

The Food, Energy, and Conservation Act of 2008 prohibits direct, 

counter-cyclical, or average crop revenue election payments to producers of 20082012 crops if the sum of base acres on the farm is 

10 acres or less, unless the farm is owned by a socially disadvantaged or limited resource farmer or rancher, as determined by the 

Secretary of Agriculture. (The Farm Act defines ‘‘socially disadvantaged or limited resource’’ farmers or ranchers as those who have 

suffered certain kinds of discrimination.) Each farm’s base acres 


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are an average of the number of acres planted in each crop (feed 

grains, oilseeds, wheat, rice, cotton, and pulse crops) over a specified historical period. A farm’s base acres do not increase or decrease over time. 

According to USDA, about 255,000 farms in 2006 with total crop 

base of 10 acres or less received about $23 million in payments. Information from USDA also indicates that about one-third of those 

payments were made to farms owned by socially disadvantaged or 

limited resource farmers or ranchers. CBO estimates that suspending the prohibition on payments to such producers would increase direct spending by a total of $11 million for the 2008 crops 

and $9 million for the 2009 crops, for a total of $20 million over 

the 2009–2018 period. 

Reduced funding for information technology 

Section 12021 of the 2008 Farm Act provided $15 million for each 

of fiscal years 2008 through 2011 to purchase information technology equipment for the federal crop insurance program. H.R. 

6849 would reduce the amount available to $9 million for 2009 and 

$8 million for each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011. Based on historical spending patterns for such activities, CBO estimates enacting 

this provision would reduce direct spending by $20 million over the 

2009–2018 period. 

Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: H.R. 6849 contains 

no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in 

UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Jim Langley. Impact on 

State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Burke Doherty. Impact on 

the Private Sector: Amy Petz. 

Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

With respect to the requirement of clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives, the performance goals 

and objections of this legislation are to amend the commodity provisions of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to permit 

producers to aggregate base acres and reconstitute farms to avoid 

the prohibition on receiving direct payments, counter-cyclical payments, or average crop revenue election payments when the sum 

of the base acres of a farm is 10 acres or less, and for other purposes. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee finds the Constitutional authority for this legislation in article I, clause 8, section 18, that grants 

Congress the power to make all laws necessary and proper for carrying out the powers vested by Congress in the Constitution of the 

United States or in any department or officer thereof. 


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COMMITTEE COST ESTIMATE

Pursuant to clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House 

of Representatives, the Committee report incorporates the cost estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 

pursuant to sections 402 and 423 of the Congressional Budget Act 

of 1974. 

ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT

No advisory committee within the meaning of section 5(b) of the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act was created by this legislation. 

APPLICABILITY TO THE LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the 

terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or 

accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act (Public Law 104–1). 

FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

The Committee adopted as its own the estimate of Federal mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office 

pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

(Public Law 104–4). 

EARMARK STATEMENT REQUIRED BY CLAUSE 9 OF RULE XXI OF THE

RULES OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. 6849 does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(d), 9(e), 

or 9(f) of rule XXI of the rules of the House Representatives. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW MADE BY THE BILL, AS REPORTED

In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 

House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, 

as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italic, 

existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): 

SECTION 1101 OF THE FOOD, CONSERVATION, AND 

ENERGY ACT OF 2008 

SEC. 1101. BASE ACRES. 

(a) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(d) TREATMENT OF FARMS WITH LIMITED BASE ACRES.— 

(1) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(4) SUSPENSION.—Paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) shall not apply 

during the 2008 and 2009 crop years. 


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SECTION 515 OF THE FEDERAL CROP INSURANCE ACT 

SEC. 515. PROGRAM COMPLIANCE AND INTEGRITY. 

(a) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(k) FUNDING.— (1) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.—To carry out subsection 

(j)(1), the Corporation may use, from amounts made available 

from the insurance fund established under section 516(c), ønot 

more than $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 

2011¿ not more than $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, not more than $9,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, and not more than 

$8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 and 2011. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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