I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2010

To reduce target prices for wheat, feed grains, rice, and cotton, to provide

for the termination of deficiency payments and marketing loans for

these crops, to abandon the use of acreage reduction programs regarding

these crops, to prohibit the provision of deficiency payments for acreage

diverted from these crops, to impose income limitations on participation

in programs regarding these crops, and to limit Commodity Credit Corporation outlays on behalf of these crops.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 11, 1995

Mr. ZIMMER (for himself, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. MILLER of Florida, Mr. FRANK

of Massachusetts, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. JACOBS, Mr. PORTER, Mr.

ROHRABACHER, Mr. ANDREWS, Mr. SAXTON, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. SALMON, Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey, Mr. GREENWOOD, Mr. HORN, Mr. ENSIGN, and Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN) introduced the following bill; which was

referred to the Committee on Agriculture

A BILL

To reduce target prices for wheat, feed grains, rice, and

cotton, to provide for the termination of deficiency payments and marketing loans for these crops, to abandon

the use of acreage reduction programs regarding these

crops, to prohibit the provision of deficiency payments

for acreage diverted from these crops, to impose income

limitations on participation in programs regarding these

crops, and to limit Commodity Credit Corporation outlays on behalf of these crops.
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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 Freedom Act

5 of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. REDUCTION IN TARGET PRICES AND TERMINATION

7 OF DEFICIENCY PAYMENTS AND MARKETING

8 LOANS FOR WHEAT, FEED GRAINS, RICE, AND

9 COTTON.

10 (a) WHEAT.—

11 (1) REDUCTION IN TARGET PRICES.—In the

12 case of any price support program for wheat admin13 istered by the Secretary of Agriculture, the estab14 lished price for wheat for a crop year shall not ex15 ceed—

16 (A) for the 1996 crop of wheat, $3.84 per

17 bushel; and

18 (B) for the 1997 through 2000 crops of

19 wheat, an amount that is four percent less than

20 the established price for wheat for the preced21 ing crop year.

22 (2) TERMINATION OF DEFICIENCY PAYMENT

23 AND MARKETING LOANS.—Notwithstanding any

24 other provision of law, for the 2001 and subsequent

25 crops of wheat, the Secretary of Agriculture shall
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1 not make deficiency payments available to producers

2 of wheat or permit producers to repay a price sup3 port loan at a rate below the original loan rate.

4 (b) CORN.—

5 (1) REDUCTION IN TARGET PRICES.—In the

6 case of any price support program for corn adminis7 tered by the Secretary of Agriculture, the established

8 price for corn for a crop year shall not exceed—

9 (A) for the 1996 crop of corn, $2.64 per

10 bushel; and

11 (B) for the 1997 through 2000 crops of

12 corn, an amount that is four percent less than

13 the established price for corn for the preceding

14 crop year.

15 (2) TERMINATION OF DEFICIENCY PAYMENT

16 AND MARKETING LOANS.—Notwithstanding any

17 other provision of law, for the 2001 and subsequent

18 crops of corn, the Secretary of Agriculture shall not

19 make deficiency payments available to producers of

20 corn or permit producers to repay a price support

21 loan at a rate below the original loan rate.

22 (c) OATS.—

23 (1) REDUCTION IN TARGET PRICES.—In the

24 case of any price support program for oats adminis-
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1 tered by the Secretary of Agriculture, the established

2 price for oats for a crop year shall not exceed—

3 (A) for the 1996 crop of oats, $1.39 per

4 bushel; and

5 (B) for the 1997 through 2000 crops of

6 oats, an amount that is four percent less than

7 the established price for oats for the preceding

8 crop year.

9 (2) TERMINATION OF DEFICIENCY PAYMENT

10 AND MARKETING LOANS.—Notwithstanding any

11 other provision of law, for the 2001 and subsequent

12 crops of oats, the Secretary of Agriculture shall not

13 make deficiency payments available to producers of

14 oats or permit producers to repay a price support

15 loan at a rate below the original loan rate.

16 (d) GRAIN SORGHUMS.—

17 (1) REDUCTION IN TARGET PRICES.—In the

18 case of any price support program for grain sor19 ghums administered by the Secretary of Agriculture,

20 the established price for grain sorghums for a crop

21 year shall not exceed—

22 (A) for the 1996 crop of grain sorghums,

23 $2.51 per bushel; and

24 (B) for the 1997 through 2000 crops of

25 grain sorghums, an amount that is four percent
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1 less than the established price for grain sor2 ghums for the preceding crop year.

3 (2) TERMINATION OF DEFICIENCY PAYMENT

4 AND MARKETING LOANS.—Notwithstanding any

5 other provision of law, for the 2001 and subsequent

6 crops of grain sorghums, the Secretary of Agri7 culture shall not make deficiency payments available

8 to producers of grain sorghums or permit producers

9 to repay a price support loan at a rate below the

10 original loan rate.

11 (e) BARLEY.—

12 (1) REDUCTION IN TARGET PRICES.—In the

13 case of any price support program for barley admin14 istered by the Secretary of Agriculture, the estab15 lished price for barley for a crop year shall not ex16 ceed—

17 (A) for the 1996 crop of barley, $2.27 per

18 bushel; and

19 (B) for the 1997 through 2000 crops of

20 barley, an amount that is four percent less than

21 the established price for barley for the preced22 ing crop year.

23 (2) TERMINATION OF DEFICIENCY PAYMENT

24 AND MARKETING LOANS.—Notwithstanding any

25 other provision of law, for the 2001 and subsequent
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1 crops of barley, the Secretary of Agriculture shall

2 not make deficiency payments available to producers

3 of barley or permit producers to repay a price sup4 port loan at a rate below the original loan rate.

5 (f) RICE.—

6 (1) REDUCTION IN TARGET PRICES.—In the

7 case of any price support program for rice adminis8 tered by the Secretary of Agriculture, the established

9 price for rice for a crop year shall not exceed—

10 (A) for the 1996 crop of rice, $10.28 per

11 hundredweight; and

12 (B) for the 1997 through 2000 crops of

13 rice, an amount that is four percent less than

14 the established price for rice for the preceding

15 crop year.

16 (2) TERMINATION OF DEFICIENCY PAYMENT

17 AND MARKETING LOANS.—Notwithstanding any

18 other provision of law, for the 2001 and subsequent

19 crops of rice, the Secretary of Agriculture shall not

20 make deficiency payments available to producers of

21 rice or permit producers to repay a price support

22 loan at a rate below the original loan rate.

23 (g) UPLAND COTTON.—

24 (1) REDUCTION IN TARGET PRICES.—In the

25 case of any price support program for upland cotton
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1 administered by the Secretary of Agriculture, the es2 tablished price for upland cotton for a crop year

3 shall not exceed—

4 (A) for the 1996 crop of upland cotton,

5 $0.70 per hundredweight; and

6 (B) for the 1997 through 2000 crops of

7 upland cotton, an amount that is four percent

8 less than the established price for upland cotton

9 for the preceding crop year.

10 (2) TERMINATION OF DEFICIENCY PAYMENT

11 AND MARKETING LOANS.—Notwithstanding any

12 other provision of law, for the 2001 and subsequent

13 crops of upland cotton, the Secretary of Agriculture

14 shall not make deficiency payments available to pro15 ducers of upland cotton or permit producers to repay

16 a price support loan at a rate below the original loan

17 rate.

18 (h) EXTRA LONG STAPLE COTTON.—

19 (1) REDUCTION IN TARGET PRICES.—In the

20 case of any price support program for extra long

21 staple cotton administered by the Secretary of Agri22 culture, the established price for extra long staple

23 cotton for a crop year shall not exceed—

24 (A) for the 1996 crop of extra long staple

25 cotton, $0.918 per hundredweight; and
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1 (B) for the 1997 through 2000 crops of

2 extra long staple cotton, an amount that is four

3 percent less than the established price for extra

4 long staple cotton for the preceding crop year.

5 (2) TERMINATION OF DEFICIENCY PAYMENT

6 AND MARKETING LOANS.—Notwithstanding any

7 other provision of law, for the 2001 and subsequent

8 crops of extra long staple cotton, the Secretary of

9 Agriculture shall not make deficiency payments

10 available to producers of extra long staple cotton or

11 permit producers to repay a price support loan at a

12 rate below the original loan rate.

13 (i) FUTURE REPEAL OF CURRENT PROVISIONS RE14 GARDING PRICE SUPPORT.—Effective October 1, 2000,

15 the following provisions of the Agricultural Act of 1949,

16 if still in effect on such date, are repealed:

17 (1) Section 101 (7 U.S.C. 1441) regarding

18 price support levels generally.

19 (2) Section 101B (7 U.S.C. 1441–2) regarding

20 loans, deficiency payments, and acreage reduction

21 programs for rice.

22 (3) Section 103(h) (7 U.S.C. 1444(h)) regard23 ing loans, deficiency payments, and acreage reduc24 tion programs for extra long staple cotton.
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1 (4) Section 103B (7 U.S.C. 1444–2) regarding

2 loans, deficiency payments, and acreage reduction

3 programs for upland cotton.

4 (5) Section 105B (7 U.S.C. 1444f) regarding

5 loans, deficiency payments, and acreage reduction

6 programs for feed grains.

7 (6) Section 107B (7 U.S.C. 1445–3a) regarding

8 loans, deficiency payments, and acreage reduction

9 programs for wheat.

10 (7) Any similar provisions of law, enacted after

11 the date of the enactment of this Act, relating to

12 loans, deficiency payments, and acreage reduction

13 programs for the crops referred to in the preceding

14 paragraphs.

15 SEC. 3. ABANDONMENT OF ACREAGE REDUCTION PRO16 GRAMS AND 0/85 AND 50/85 PROGRAMS.

17 (a) ABANDONMENT.—The Agricultural Act of 1949

18 is amended by inserting after section 115 (7 U.S.C.

19 1445k) the following new section:

20 ‘‘SEC. 116. ABANDONMENT OF RELIANCE ON ACREAGE RE21 DUCTION PROGRAMS AND 0/85 AND 50/85 PRO22 GRAMS AFTER THE 1998 CROP YEAR.

23 ‘‘(a) ZERO PERCENTAGE ARP.—Beginning with the

24 1999 crops of rice, cotton, feed grains, and wheat, in oper25 ating any acreage reduction program on the production
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1 of such crops, the Secretary shall impose a uniform per2 centage reduction of zero percent to the applicable crop

3 acreage base.

4 ‘‘(b) EFFECT ON 0/85 AND 50/85 PROGRAMS.—Be5 cause operation of the 0/85 and 50/85 programs for rice,

6 cotton, feed grains, and wheat for a crop year are condi7 tioned on implementation of an acreage reduction program

8 for that crop year, the Secretary shall not conduct 0/85

9 and 50/85 programs for such crops after the 1998 crop

10 year.

11 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:

12 ‘‘(1) The term ‘feed grains’ means corn, oats,

13 grain sorghums, and barley.

14 ‘‘(2) The term ‘acreage reduction program’

15 means a program to reduce the crop acreage base

16 for rice, cotton, feed grains, or wheat by an an17 nounced acreage reduction requirement, in the man18 ner provided by—

19 ‘‘(A) section 107B(e) of this Act, in the

20 case of wheat;

21 ‘‘(B) section 105B(e) of this Act, in the

22 case of feed grains;

23 ‘‘(C) section 103(h) of this Act, in the case

24 of extra long staple cotton;
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1 ‘‘(D) section 103B(e) of this Act, in the

2 case of upland cotton; and

3 ‘‘(E) section 101B(e) of this Act, in the

4 case of rice.

5 ‘‘(3) The term ‘0/85 and 50/85 programs’

6 means a program that authorizes deficiency pay7 ments on a certain percentage of the maximum pay8 ment acres of a program crop even though the crop

9 is not actually planted on such acres, in the manner

10 provided by—

11 ‘‘(A) section 107B(c)(1)(E) of this Act, in

12 the case of wheat;

13 ‘‘(B) section 105B(c)(1)(E) of this Act, in

14 the case of feed grains;

15 ‘‘(C) section 103B(c)(1)(D) of this Act, in

16 the case of upland cotton; and

17 ‘‘(D) section 101B(c)(1)(D) of this Act, in

18 the case of rice.’’.

19 (b) PRESERVATION OF FLEX ACRE PLANTING

20 FLEXIBILITY.—Beginning with the 1999 crops of rice,

21 cotton, feed grains, and wheat, the Secretary of Agri22 culture may not impose any restriction on the types of

23 crops a producer may plant on that percentage of the pro24 ducer’s crop acreage base that is excluded from payment

25 acres and ineligible for target price deficiency payments.
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1 SEC. 4. INCOME LIMITATIONS ON PARTICIPATION IN COM2 MODITY PRICE SUPPORT PROGRAMS.

3 (a) INCOME LIMITATIONS ON PARTICIPATION.—Sec4 tion 1001 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C.

5 1308) is amended by adding at the end the following new

6 paragraph:

7 ‘‘(8) ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME LIMITATION.—

8 ‘‘(A) LIMITATION.—Subject to subparagraph

9 (B), a person who has an adjusted gross income, as

10 defined in section 62 of the Internal Revenue Code

11 of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 62), of more than $100,000 an12 nually shall not be eligible to receive deficiency pay13 ments and land diversion payments described in

14 paragraph (1) or other payments described in para15 graph (2)(B).

16 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN REVENUE.—Rev17 enues from the farming, ranching, and forestry oper18 ations of a person shall be excluded from the cal19 culation of the person’s adjusted gross income under

20 subparagraph (A).’’.

21 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by sub22 section (a) shall apply to crop years beginning after the

23 date of the enactment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 5. REDUCTION IN TOTAL AMOUNT OF AUTHORIZED

2 DEFICIENCY PAYMENTS AND ACREAGE DI3 VERSION PAYMENTS.

4 (a) $10,000 REDUCTION.—Section 1001(1)(A) of the

5 Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308) is amended

6 by striking ‘‘$50,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$40,000’’.

7 (b) APPLICATION.—The amendment made by sub8 section (a) shall apply to crop years beginning after the

9 date of the enactment of this Act.

10 SEC. 6. BUDGETARY LIMITATIONS ON OUTLAYS FOR DEFI11 CIENCY PAYMENTS FOR WHEAT, FEED,

12 GRAINS, RICE, AND COTTON.

13 (a) LIMITATION.—The total Commodity Credit Cor14 poration outlays for deficiency payments for wheat, feed,

15 grains, rice and cotton for the crop year 1996 through

16 2000 may not exceed—

17 (1) for fiscal year 1996, 88 percent of the pro18 jected Congressional Budget Office baseline of

19 $6,556,000,000;

20 (2) for fiscal year 1997, 70 percent of the pro21 jected Congressional Budget Office baseline of

22 $6,525,000,000;

23 (3) for fiscal year 1998, 53 percent of the pro24 jected Congressional Budget Office baseline of

25 $6,936,000,000;
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1 (4) for fiscal year 1999, 40 percent of the pro2 jected Congressional Budget Office baseline of

3 $6,921,000,000;

4 (5) for fiscal year 2000, 23 percent of the pro5 jected Congressional Budget Office baseline of

6 $6,671,000,000;

7 (b) PRORATION OF PAYMENTS.—In any crop year be8 fore deficiency payments are terminated under section 2,

9 if the total Commodity Credit Corporation obligations for

10 such payments are projected to exceed the applicable

11 spending limit specified in subsection (a), the Secretary

12 of Agriculture shall prorate deficiency payments to recipi13 ents to meet such spending limit.

14 SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING INCLUSION OF

15 AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES AND PROD16 UCTS IN TRADE EMBARGOES.

17 It is the sense of Congress that trade embargoes,

18 which include agricultural commodities and products pro19 duced in the United States among the prohibited items,

20 should not used as a tool of United States foreign policy

21 unless the embargo is directed against a country, the gov22 ernment of which the Secretary of State has determined,

23 for purposes of section 6(j)(1) of the Export Administra24 tion Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2405(6)(j)(1)), has re-
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1 peatedly provided support for acts of international terror2 ism.

3 SEC. 8. REPORT ON FEASIBILITY OF PRIVATE REVENUE IN4 SURANCE.

5 Not later than six months after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit

7 to Congress a report evaluating the feasibility of using rev8 enue insurance for agricultural producers provided

9 through the private sector as an alternative to the contin10 ued use of price support loans, deficiency payments, and

11 other methods to provide income support to producers.

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