I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4979

To amend the Agriculture Market Transition Act to extend the availability

of marketing assistance loans beyond the 2002 crop year, to increase

the loans rates for such loans, to extend the duration of such loans,

and to revise the limitations on the total amount of marketing loan

gains and loan deficiency payments that a producer may receive.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 26, 2000

Mr. POMEROY (for himself and Mr. MINGE) introduced the following bill;

which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

A BILL

To amend the Agriculture Market Transition Act to extend

the availability of marketing assistance loans beyond the

2002 crop year, to increase the loans rates for such

loans, to extend the duration of such loans, and to revise

the limitations on the total amount of marketing loan

gains and loan deficiency payments that a producer may

receive.

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Family Farm Safety Net Act’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Permanent availability of marketing assistance loans.

Sec. 3. Establishment of minimum loan rates for marketing assistance loans.

Sec. 4. Increase in duration of marketing assistance loans.

Sec. 5. Limitations on marketing loan gains and loan deficiency payments.

3 SEC. 2. PERMANENT AVAILABILITY OF MARKETING ASSIST4 ANCE LOANS.

5 Section 131(a) of the Agriculture Market Transition

6 Act (7 U.S.C. 7231(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘through

7 2002’’ and inserting ‘‘and subsequent’’.

8 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF MINIMUM LOAN RATES FOR

9 MARKETING ASSISTANCE LOANS.

10 (a) WHEAT.—Subsection (a) of section 132 of the

11 Agriculture Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7232) is

12 amended—

13 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘not more

14 than $2.58 per bushel’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than

15 $3.40 per bushel for each of the 2000 and subse16 quent crop years’’; and

17 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘If the Sec18 retary’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to the minimum loan

19 rate specified in paragraph (1)(B), if the Secretary’’.

20 (b) CORN.—Subsection (b) of such section is

21 amended—

22 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘not more

23 than $1.89 per bushel’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than
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1 $2.43 per bushel for each of the 2000 and subse2 quent crop years’’; and

3 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘If the Sec4 retary’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to the minimum loan

5 rate specified in paragraph (1)(B), if the Secretary’’.

6 (c) GRAIN SORGHUM AND OATS.—Subsection (b)(3)

7 of such section is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the loan

9 rate for a marketing assistance loan under section 131 for

10 each of the 2000 and subsequent crop years shall be not

11 less than—

12 ‘‘(A) $2.24 per bushel for grain sorghum;

13 and

14 ‘‘(B) $1.46 per bushel for oats.’’.

15 (d) BARLEY.—Subsection (b) of such section is

16 amended—

17 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘, barley,’’;

18 and

19 (2) by adding at the end the following new

20 paragraph:

21 ‘‘(4) BARLEY.—For each of the 2000 and sub22 sequent crop years, the loan rate for a marketing as23 sistance loan under section 131 for barley shall be—

24 ‘‘(A) not less than 85 percent of the simple

25 average price received by producers of malting
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1 or feed barley, as determined by the Secretary,

2 during the marketing years for the immediately

3 preceding 5 crops of barley, excluding the year

4 in which the all barley average price was the

5 highest and the year in which the all barley av6 erage price was the lowest in the period; but

7 ‘‘(B) not less than $2.43 per bushel.’’.

8 (e) UPLAND COTTON.—Subsection (c)(2) of such sec9 tion is amended by striking ‘‘$0.50 per pound or more

10 than $0.5192 per pound’’ and inserting ‘‘$0.61 per pound

11 for each of the 2000 and subsequent crop years’’.

12 (f) EXTRA LONG STAPLE COTTON.—Subsection

13 (d)(2) of such section is amended by striking ‘‘not more

14 than $0.7965 per pound’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than

15 $0.887 per pound for each of the 2000 and subsequent

16 crop years.

17 (g) RICE.—Subsection (e) of such section is amended

18 by striking ‘‘$6.50 per hundredweight’’ and inserting

19 ‘‘$8.25 per hundredweight for each of the 2000 and subse20 quent crop years’’.

21 (h) SOYBEANS.—Subsection (f)(1)(B) of such section

22 is amended by striking ‘‘$4.92 or more than $5.26 per

23 bushel’’ and inserting ‘‘$5.50 per bushel for each of the

24 2000 and subsequent crop years’’.
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1 (i) OTHER OIL SEEDS.—Subsection (f)(2)(B) of such

2 section is amended by striking ‘‘$0.087 or more than

3 $0.093 per pound’’ and inserting ‘‘$0.0972 per pound for

4 each of the 2000 and subsequent crop years’’.

5 SEC. 4. INCREASE IN DURATION OF MARKETING ASSIST6 ANCE LOANS.

7 Section 133 of the Agriculture Market Transition Act

8 (7 U.S.C. 7233) is amended to read as follows:

9 ‘‘SEC. 133. TERM OF LOANS.

10 ‘‘(a) TERM OF LOAN.—In the case of each loan com11 modity, a marketing assistance loan under section 131

12 shall have a term of 20 months beginning on the first day

13 of the first month after the month in which the loan is

14 made.

15 ‘‘(b) EXTENSIONS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary

16 may extend the term of a marketing assistance loan for

17 any loan commodity.’’.

18 SEC. 5. LIMITATIONS ON MARKETING LOAN GAINS AND

19 LOAN DEFICIENCY PAYMENTS.

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW LIMITATIONS.—Sec21 tion 1001(2) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C.

22 1308(2)) is amended—

23 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘The total

24 amount’’;
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1 (2) by striking ‘‘$75,000’’ and inserting

2 ‘‘$100,000’’; and

3 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub4 paragraphs:

5 ‘‘(B) In addition to the limitation in subpara6 graph (A), if the value of all contract commodities

7 and oilseeds for which a person obtains nonrecourse

8 marketing loans under the Agricultural Market

9 Transition Act during any crop year, plus the value

10 of nonrecourse marketing loans forgone by the per11 son in return for loan deficiency payments during

12 that crop year, is more than $400,000, but less than

13 or equal to $600,000, the Secretary shall reduce—

14 ‘‘(i) the amount of any payments specified

15 in paragraph (3) corresponding to the value in

16 excess of $400,000, but less than or equal to

17 $500,000, by 10 percent; and

18 ‘‘(ii) the amount of any payments specified

19 in paragraph (3) corresponding to the value in

20 excess of $500,000, but less than or equal to

21 $600,000, by 20 percent.

22 ‘‘(C) Subject to subparagraph (A), the total

23 value of all contract commodities and oilseeds for

24 which a person may obtain nonrecourse marketing

25 loans under the Agricultural Market Transition Act
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1 during any crop year or forgo such loans in return

2 for loan deficiency payments during that crop year,

3 or both, may not exceed $600,000.

4 ‘‘(D) In this paragraph, the term ‘value’ means

5 the total amount obtained by multiplying—

6 ‘‘(i) the quantity of each contract com7 modity and oilseed for which a person obtains

8 a nonrecourse marketing loan or forgoes such a

9 loan in return for loan deficiency payments; by

10 ‘‘(ii) the loan rate applicable to the com11 modity under section 132 of the Agricultural

12 Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7232).’’.

13 (b) AVAILABILITY OF RECOURSE LOANS FOR ADDI14 TIONAL PRODUCTION.—Section 137 of the Agricultural

15 Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7237) is amended by

16 adding at the end the following new subsection:

17 ‘‘(e) RECOURSE LOANS FOR LOAN COMMODITIES.—

18 The Secretary shall make available recourse loans, as de19 termined by the Secretary, to a producer of loan commod20 ities who is prevented by section 1001(2) of the Food Se21 curity Act of 1985 from obtaining nonrecourse marketing

22 loans under this subtitle during any crop year or forgoing

23 nonrecourse marketing loans in return for loan deficiency

24 payments.’’.

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