I 

108TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 307

To provide emergency disaster assistance to agricultural producers to respond 

to severe crop losses and livestock losses incurred in 2001 and 2002, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2003

Mr. MORAN of Kansas (for himself, Mr. OSBORNE, Mr. LUCAS of Oklahoma, 

Mr. JOHNSON of Illinois, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota, 

Mr. POMEROY, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. BEREUTER, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. 

SHIMKUS, Mr. GOODE, Mr. RYUN of Kansas, Mr. STUPAK, Mr. 

LATOURETTE, Mr. MOORE, Mr. WELLER, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, 

Mrs. MUSGRAVE, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. WALDEN of Oregon, Mr. REHBERG, 

and Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL

To provide emergency disaster assistance to agricultural producers to respond to severe crop losses and livestock 

losses incurred in 2001 and 2002, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Farm Disaster Emer5 gency Assistance Act of 2003’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 The Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) Due in large part to weather-related disas4 ters in 2001 and 2002, increases in commodity 

5 prices will result in cost savings under title I of the 

6 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 

7 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.) of approximately 

8 $5,600,000,000 in fiscal year 2003. 

9 (2) The amount of funds made available by this 

10 Act to compensate producers adversely impacted by 

11 weather-related disasters that occurred in 2001 and 

12 2002, together with actual expenditures under title 

13 I of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 

14 2002, will still be less than the amount allocated for 

15 agriculture in the budget baseline for fiscal year 

16 2002. 

17 SEC. 3. CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE. 

18 (a) ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE.—The Secretary of Agri19 culture (in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall 

20 use such sums as are necessary of funds of the Commodity 

21 Credit Corporation to make emergency financial assist22 ance available to producers on a farm that have incurred 

23 qualifying losses for the 2001 or 2002 crop of an agricul24 tural commodity due to damaging weather or related con25 dition, as determined by the Secretary. 
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1 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall make as2 sistance available under this section in the same manner 

3 as provided under section 815 of the Agriculture, Rural 

4 Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Re5 lated Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (as enacted into 

6 law by Public Law 106–387; 114 Stat. 1549A–55), includ7 ing using the same loss thresholds for quantity and quality 

8 losses as were used in administering that section. 

9 (c) ELECTION OF CROP YEAR.—If a producer in10 curred qualifying crop losses in both the 2001 and 2002 

11 crop years, the producer shall elect to receive assistance 

12 under this section for losses incurred in either the 2001 

13 crop year or the 2002 crop year, but not both. 

14 (d) PAYMENT LIMITATION.—

15 (1) LIMITATION.—Assistance provided under 

16 this section to a producer for losses to a crop, to17 gether with the amounts specified in paragraph (2) 

18 applicable to the same crop, may not exceed what 

19 the value of the crop would have been in the absence 

20 of the losses, as estimated by the Secretary. 

21 (2) OTHER PAYMENTS.—In applying the limita22 tion in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall include the 

23 following: 

24 (A) Any crop insurance payment or pay25 ment under section 196 of the Federal Agricul-
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1 tural Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 

2 U.S.C. 7333) that the producer receives for 

3 losses to the same crop. 

4 (B) The value of the crop that was not lost 

5 (if any), as estimated by the Secretary. 

6 SEC. 4. ASSISTANCE FOR LIVESTOCK PRODUCERS. 

7 (a) ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE.—The Secretary shall 

8 use such sums as are necessary of funds of the Commodity 

9 Credit Corporation to make emergency financial assist10 ance, as authorized in section 10104 of the Farm Security 

11 and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–171; 

12 7 U.S.C. 1472), available to livestock producers that have 

13 incurred losses in a county that received an emergency 

14 designation by the President or the Secretary in calendar 

15 year 2001 or 2002. The Secretary may reserve a portion 

16 of the funds available to carry out this section for the 

17 American Indian Livestock Feed Program. 

18 (b) ELECTION OF DISASTER YEARS.—If a producer 

19 incurred livestock losses in a county that received an emer20 gency designation by the President or Secretary in both 

21 calendar year 2001 and 2002, the producer shall elect to 

22 receive assistance under this section for losses incurred in 

23 either 2001 or 2002, but not both. 

24 (c) RELATION TO OTHER PAYMENTS.—Assistance 

25 provided under this section to a producer for livestock 
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1 losses shall be reduced (but not below zero) by any amount 

2 received by the producer for the same losses under the 

3 livestock loss compensation program announced by the 

4 Secretary on September 19, 2002. 

5 (d) ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME LIMITATION.—The 

6 Secretary shall apply the adjusted gross income limitation 

7 under section 1001D of the Food Security Act of 1985 

8 (7 U.S.C. 1308–3a) to the provision of assistance under 

9 this section in lieu of any other income limitation that the 

10 Secretary would otherwise apply to the provision of such 

11 assistance. 

12 SEC. 5. INELIGIBILITY FOR PAYMENTS. 

13 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 (1) INSURABLE COMMODITY.—The term ‘‘insur15 able commodity’’ means an agricultural commodity 

16 (excluding livestock) for which the producers on a 

17 farm are eligible to obtain a policy or plan of insur18 ance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

19 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.). 

20 (2) NONINSURABLE COMMODITY.—The term 

21 ‘‘noninsurable commodity’’ means an eligible crop 

22 for which the producers on a farm are eligible to ob23 tain assistance under section 196 of the Federal Ag24 riculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 

25 U.S.C. 7333). 
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1 (b) INELIGIBILITY.—Except as provided in sub2 section (c), the producers on a farm shall not be eligible 

3 for assistance under section 3 with respect to losses to 

4 an insurable commodity or noninsurable commodity if the 

5 producers on the farm—

6 (1) in the case of an insurable commodity, did 

7 not obtain a policy or plan of insurance for the in8 surable commodity under the Federal Crop Insur9 ance Act for the crop incurring the losses; and 

10 (2) in the case of a noninsurable commodity, 

11 did not file the required paperwork, and pay the ad12 ministrative fee by the applicable State filing dead13 line, for the noninsurable commodity under section 

14 196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and 

15 Reform Act of 1996 for the crop incurring the 

16 losses. 

17 (c) CONTRACT WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 

18 the application of subsection (b) to the producers on a 

19 farm if the producers on the farm enter into a contract 

20 with the Secretary under which the producers on the farm 

21 agree—

22 (1) in the case of an insurable commodity, to 

23 obtain a policy or plan of insurance under the Fed24 eral Crop Insurance Act for the insurable commodity 

25 for each of the next three crops that provides a level 
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1 of coverage at least equal to the level available under 

2 catastrophic risk protection; and 

3 (2) in the case of a noninsurable commodity, to 

4 file the required paperwork, and pay the administra5 tive fee by the applicable State filing deadline, for 

6 the noninsurable commodity for each of the next 

7 three crops under section 196 of the Federal Agri8 culture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996. 

9 (d) EFFECT OF VIOLATION.—On violation of a con10 tract under subsection (c) by a producer, the producer 

11 shall reimburse the Secretary for the full amount of the 

12 assistance provided to the producer under section 3. In 

13 the case of an insurable commodity, the Secretary shall 

14 also impose a civil money penalty for the violation in an 

15 amount equal to the producer-cost of a 65/100 crop insur16 ance policy on each crop for which the producer agreed 

17 to purchase crop insurance, but did not, in the three-year 

18 period. 

19 SEC. 6. REPLENISHMENT OF SECTION 32 FUNDS. 

20 The Secretary shall transfer $250,000,000 of funds 

21 of the Commodity Credit Corporation to the account avail22 able to the Secretary under section 32 of the Act of Au23 gust 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c). 
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1 SEC. 7. COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION. 

2 The Secretary shall use the funds, facilities, and au3 thorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry 

4 out this Act. 

5 SEC. 8. REGULATIONS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture may 

7 promulgate such regulations as are necessary to imple8 ment this Act. 

9 (b) PROCEDURE.—The promulgation of the regula10 tions and administration of this Act shall be made without 

11 regard to—

12 (1) the notice and comment provisions of sec13 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code; 

14 (2) the Statement of Policy of the Secretary of 

15 Agriculture effective July 24, 1971 (36 Fed. Reg. 

16 13804), relating to notices of proposed rulemaking 

17 and public participation in rulemaking; and 

18 (3) chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code 

19 (commonly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction 

20 Act’’). 

21 (c) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY RULE22 MAKING.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall 

23 use the authority provided under section 808 of title 5, 

24 United States Code.

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