II

Calendar No. 102

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1246

To respond to the continuing economic crisis adversely affecting American

agricultural producers.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 25, 2001

Mr. HARKIN, from the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, reported the following original bill; which was read twice and placed on the

calendar

A BILL

To respond to the continuing economic crisis adversely

affecting American agricultural producers.

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 ‘‘Emergency Agricultural Assistance Act of 2001’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—MARKET LOSS ASSISTANCE
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Sec. 101. Market loss assistance.

Sec. 102. Oilseeds.

Sec. 103. Peanuts.

Sec. 104. Sugar.

Sec. 105. Honey.

Sec. 106. Wool and mohair.

Sec. 107. Cottonseed.

Sec. 108. Commodity purchases.

Sec. 109. Loan deficiency payments.

Sec. 110. Milk.

Sec. 111. Pulse crops.

Sec. 112. Tobacco.

Sec. 113. Apples.

TITLE II—CONSERVATION

Sec. 201. Conservation reserve program.

Sec. 202. Wetlands reserve program.

Sec. 203. Environmental quality incentives program.

Sec. 204. Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program.

Sec. 205. Farmland protection program.

Sec. 206. Risk management conservation assistance.

TITLE III—NUTRITION

Sec. 301. Bonus commodities.

Sec. 302. Information and assistance concerning reimbursement options.

Sec. 303. Distribution of commodities.

Sec. 304. Seniors Farmers’ Market Nutrition Pilot Program.

TITLE IV—CREDIT AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Subtitle A—Credit

Sec. 401. Farm energy emergency loans.

Sec. 402. Definition of rural area for community programs guaranteed loans.

Subtitle B—Rural Development

Sec. 411. Value-added intermediary relending program.

Sec. 412. Business and industry loans.

Sec. 413. Value-added agricultural product market development grants.

Sec. 414. Regulations; notice of acceptance of applications.

Sec. 415. Funding.

TITLE V—RESEARCH

Sec. 501. Sustainable agriculture technology development and transfer program.

Sec. 502. Senior Scientific Research Service.

TITLE VI—DISASTER ASSISTANCE

Sec. 601. Crop and pasture flood compensation program.

Sec. 602. Purchase of floodplain easements.

Sec. 603. Compensation of producers for forage losses due to army worms.

TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS
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Sec. 701. National organic certification cost-share program.

Sec. 702. Use of value-added commodities.

TITLE VII—ADMINISTRATION

Sec. 801. Obligation period.

Sec. 802. Commodity Credit Corporation.

Sec. 803. Regulations.

1 TITLE I—MARKET LOSS

2 ASSISTANCE

3 SEC. 101. MARKET LOSS ASSISTANCE.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture (re5 ferred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall use funds

6 of the Commodity Credit Corporation to provide assist7 ance in the form of a market loss assistance payment to

8 owners and producers on a farm that are eligible for a

9 final payment for fiscal year 2001 under a production

10 flexibility contract for the farm under the Agricultural

11 Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.).

12 (b) AMOUNT AND MANNER.—In providing payments

13 under this section, the Secretary shall—

14 (1) use the same contract payment rates as are

15 used under section 802(b) of the Agriculture, Rural

16 Development, Food and Drug Administration, and

17 Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 (7

18 U.S.C. 1421 note; Public Law 106–78); and

19 (2) provide the payments in a manner that is

20 consistent with section 802(c) of that Act.
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1 SEC. 102. OILSEEDS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use

3 $500,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora4 tion to make payments to producers of the 2001 crop of

5 oilseeds that are eligible to obtain a marketing assistance

6 loan under section 131 of the Agricultural Market Transi7 tion Act (7 U.S.C. 7231).

8 (b) COMPUTATION.—A payment to producers on a

9 farm under this section for an oilseed shall be equal to

10 the product obtained by multiplying—

11 (1) a payment rate determined by the Sec12 retary;

13 (2) the acreage of the producers on the farm

14 for the oilseed, as determined under subsection (c);

15 and

16 (3) the yield of the producers on the farm for

17 the oilseed, as determined under subsection (d).

18 (c) ACREAGE.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para20 graph (2), the acreage of the producers on the farm

21 for an oilseed under subsection (b)(2) shall be equal

22 to the number of acres planted to the oilseed by the

23 producers on the farm during the 1998, 1999, or

24 2000 crop year, whichever is greatest, as reported by

25 the producers on the farm to the Secretary (includ26 ing any acreage reports that are filed late).
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1 (2) NEW PRODUCERS.—In the case of pro2 ducers on a farm that planted acreage to an oilseed

3 during the 2001 crop year but not the 1998, 1999,

4 or 2000 crop year, the acreage of the producers for

5 the oilseed under subsection (b)(2) shall be equal to

6 the number of acres planted to the oilseed by the

7 producers on the farm during the 2001 crop year,

8 as reported by the producers on the farm to the Sec9 retary (including any acreage reports that are filed

10 late).

11 (d) YIELD.—

12 (1) SOYBEANS.—Except as provided in para13 graph (3), in the case of soybeans, the yield of the

14 producers on a farm under subsection (b)(3) shall be

15 equal to the greater of—

16 (A) the average county yield per harvested

17 acre for each of the 1996 through 2000 crop

18 years, excluding the crop year with the greatest

19 yield per harvested acre and the crop year with

20 the lowest yield per harvested acre; or

21 (B) the actual yield of the producers on

22 the farm for the 1998, 1999, or 2000 crop

23 year.

24 (2) OTHER OILSEEDS.—Except as provided in

25 paragraph (3), in the case of oilseeds other than soy-
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1 beans, the yield of the producers on a farm under

2 subsection (b)(3) shall be equal to the greater of—

3 (A) the average national yield per har4 vested acre for each of the 1996 through 2000

5 crop years, excluding the crop year with the

6 greatest yield per harvested acre and the crop

7 year with the lowest yield per harvested acre; or

8 (B) the actual yield of the producers on

9 the farm for the 1998, 1999, or 2000 crop

10 year.

11 (3) NEW PRODUCERS.—In the case of pro12 ducers on a farm that planted acreage to an oilseed

13 during the 2001 crop year but not the 1998, 1999,

14 or 2000 crop year, the yield of the producers on a

15 farm under subsection (b)(3) shall be equal to the

16 greater of—

17 (A) the average county yield per harvested

18 acre for each of the 1996 through 2000 crop

19 years, excluding the crop year with the greatest

20 yield per harvested acre and the crop year with

21 the lowest yield per harvested acre; or

22 (B) the actual yield of the producers on

23 the farm for the 2001 crop.

24 (4) DATA SOURCE.—To the maximum extent

25 available, the Secretary shall use data provided by
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1 the National Agricultural Statistics Service to carry

2 out this subsection.

3 SEC. 103. PEANUTS.

4 The Secretary shall use $55,210,000 of funds of the

5 Commodity Credit Corporation to provide a supplemental

6 payment under section 204(a) of the Agricultural Risk

7 Protection Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 1421 note; Public Law

8 106–224) to producers of quota peanuts or additional pea9 nuts for the 2000 crop year that received a payment under

10 that section.

11 SEC. 104. SUGAR.

12 (a) MARKETING ASSESSMENT.—Section 156(f) of the

13 Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7272(f))

14 shall not apply with respect to the 2001 crop of sugarcane

15 and sugar beets.

16 (b) EMERGENCY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR 2000

17 CROP OF SUGAR BEETS.—Notwithstanding section

18 815(d)(1) of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food

19 and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appro20 priations Act, 2001 (114 Stat. 1549, 1549A–56), in mak21 ing payments under that section for quality losses for the

22 2000 crop of sugar beets of producers on a farm in an

23 area covered by Manager’s Bulletin MGR–01–010 issued

24 by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation on March 2,

25 2001—
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1 (1) the Secretary shall calculate the amount of

2 a quality loss, regardless of whether the sugar beets

3 are processed, on an aggregate basis by cooperative;

4 (2) the Secretary shall make the quality loss

5 payments to a cooperative for distribution to cooper6 ative members; and

7 (3) the amount of a quality loss, regardless of

8 whether the sugar beets are processed, shall be equal

9 to the difference between—

10 (A) the per unit payment that the pro11 ducers on the farm would have received for the

12 crop from the cooperative if the crop had not

13 suffered a quality loss; and

14 (B) the average per unit payment that the

15 producers on the farm received from the cooper16 ative for the affected sugar beets.

17 SEC. 105. HONEY.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use funds of

19 the Commodity Credit Corporation to make nonrecourse

20 loans available to producers of the 2001 crop of honey on

21 fair and reasonable terms and conditions, as determined

22 by the Secretary.

23 (b) LOAN RATE.—The loan rate for a loan under sub24 section (a) for honey shall be equal to 85 percent of the

25 simple average price received by producers of honey, as
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1 determined by the Secretary, during the marketing years

2 for the immediately preceding 5 crops of honey, excluding

3 the year in which the average price was the highest and

4 the year in which the average price was the lowest.

5 SEC. 106. WOOL AND MOHAIR.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use

7 $16,940,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora8 tion to provide a supplemental payment under section 814

9 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug

10 Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act,

11 2001 (114 Stat. 1549, 1549A–55), to producers of wool,

12 and producers of mohair, for the 2000 marketing year

13 that received a payment under that section.

14 (b) PAYMENT RATE.—The Secretary shall adjust the

15 payment rate specified in that section to reflect the

16 amount made available for payments under this section.

17 SEC. 107. COTTONSEED.

18 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2001.—The Secretary shall use

19 $34,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora20 tion for fiscal year 2001 to provide assistance to producers

21 and first handlers of the 2000 crop of cottonseed.

22 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2002.—The Secretary shall use

23 $66,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora24 tion for fiscal year 2002 to provide assistance to producers

25 and first handlers of the 2001 crop of cottonseed.
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1 SEC. 108. COMMODITY PURCHASES.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use

3 $220,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora4 tion to purchase agricultural commodities, especially agri5 cultural commodities that have experienced low prices dur6 ing the 2000 or 2001 crop years, such as apples, apricots,

7 asparagus, bell peppers, bison meat, black beans, black8 eyed peas, blueberries (wild and cultivated), cabbage, can9 taloupe, cauliflower, chickpeas, cranberries, cucumbers,

10 dried plums, dry peas, eggplants, lemons, lentils, melons,

11 onions, peaches (including freestone), pears, potatoes

12 (summer and fall), pumpkins, raisins, raspberries, red tart

13 cherries, snap beans, spinach, strawberries, sweet corn, to14 matoes, and watermelons.

15 (b) GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.—The Secretary is en16 couraged to purchase agricultural commodities under this

17 section in a manner that reflects the geographic diversity

18 of agricultural production in the United States, particu19 larly agricultural production in the Northeast and Mid20 Atlantic States.

21 (c) OTHER PURCHASES.—The Secretary shall ensure

22 that purchases of agricultural commodities under this sec23 tion are in addition to purchases by the Secretary under

24 any other law.

25 (d) TRANSPORTATION AND DISTRIBUTION COSTS.—

26 The Secretary may use not more than $20,000,000 of the
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1 funds made available under subsection (a) to provide as2 sistance to States to cover costs incurred by the States

3 in transporting and distributing agricultural commodities

4 purchased under this section.

5 (e) PURCHASES FOR SCHOOL NUTRITION PRO6 GRAMS.—The Secretary shall use not less than

7 $55,000,000 of the funds made available under subsection

8 (a) to purchase agricultural commodities of the type dis9 tributed under section 6(a) of the Richard B. Russell Na10 tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1755(a)) for distribu11 tion to schools and service institutions in accordance with

12 section 6(a) of that Act.

13 SEC. 109. LOAN DEFICIENCY PAYMENTS.

14 Section 135(a)(2) of the Agricultural Market Transi15 tion Act (7 U.S.C. 7235(a)(2)) is amended by striking

16 ‘‘2000 crop year’’ and inserting ‘‘each of the 2000 and

17 2001 crop years’’.

18 SEC. 110. MILK.

19 (a) EXTENSION OF MILK PRICE SUPPORT PRO20 GRAM.—Section 141 of the Agricultural Market Transi21 tion Act (7 U.S.C. 7251) is amended by striking ‘‘2001’’

22 each place it appears in subsections (b)(4) and (h) and

23 inserting ‘‘2002’’.
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1 (b) REPEAL OF RECOURSE LOAN PROGRAM FOR

2 PROCESSORS.—Section 142 of the Agricultural Market

3 Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7252) is repealed.

4 SEC. 111. PULSE CROPS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use

6 $20,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora7 tion to provide assistance in the form of a market loss

8 assistance payment to owners and producers on a farm

9 that grow dry peas, lentils, or chickpeas (collectively re10 ferred to in this section as a ‘‘pulse crop’’).

11 (b) COMPUTATION.—A payment to owners and pro12 ducers on a farm under this section for a pulse crop shall

13 be equal to the product obtained by multiplying—

14 (1) a payment rate determined by the Sec15 retary; by

16 (2) the acreage of the producers on the farm

17 for the pulse crop determined under subsection (c).

18 (c) ACREAGE.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The acreage of the pro20 ducers on the farm for a pulse crop under subsection

21 (b)(2) shall be equal to the number of acres planted

22 to the pulse crop by the owners and producers on

23 the farm during the 1998, 1999, or 2000 crop year,

24 whichever is greatest.
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1 (2) BASIS.—For the purpose of paragraph (1),

2 the number of acres planted to a pulse crop by the

3 owners and producers on the farm for a crop year

4 shall be based on (as determined by the Sec5 retary)—

6 (A) the number of acres planted to the

7 pulse crop for the crop year, as reported to the

8 Secretary by the owners and producers on the

9 farm, including any acreage that is included in

10 reports that are filed late; or

11 (B) the number of acres planted to the

12 pulse crop for the crop year for the purpose of

13 the Federal crop insurance program established

14 under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7

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

16 SEC. 112. TOBACCO.

17 (a) TOBACCO PAYMENTS.—

18 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:

19 (A) ELIGIBLE PERSON.—The term ‘‘eligi20 ble person’’ means a person that—

21 (i) owns a farm for which, regardless

22 of temporary transfers or undermar23 ketings, a basic quota or allotment for eli24 gible tobacco is established for the 2001

25 crop year under part I of subtitle B of title
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1 III of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of

2 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1311 et seq.);

3 (ii) controls the farm from which,

4 under the quota or allotment for the rel5 evant period, eligible tobacco is marketed,

6 could have been marketed, or can be mar7 keted, taking into account temporary

8 transfers; or

9 (iii) grows, could have grown, or can

10 grow eligible tobacco that is marketed,

11 could have been marketed, or can be mar12 keted under the quota or allotment for the

13 2001 crop year, taking into account tem14 porary transfers.

15 (B) ELIGIBLE TOBACCO.—The term ‘‘eligi16 ble tobacco’’ means each of the following kinds

17 of tobacco:

18 (i) Flue-cured tobacco, comprising

19 types 11, 12, 13, and 14.

20 (ii) Fire-cured tobacco, comprising

21 types 21, 22, and 23.

22 (iii) Dark air-cured tobacco, com23 prising types 35 and 36.

24 (iv) Virginia sun-cured tobacco, com25 prising type 37.
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1 (v) Burley tobacco, comprising type

2 31.

3 (vi) Cigar-filler and cigar-binder to4 bacco, comprising types 42, 43, 44, 54,

5 and 55.

6 (2) PAYMENTS.—Not later than September 30,

7 2002, the Secretary shall use funds of the Com8 modity Credit Corporation to make payments under

9 this subsection.

10 (3) POUNDAGE PAYMENT QUANTITIES.—For

11 the purposes of this subsection, individual tobacco

12 quotas and allotments shall be converted to pound13 age payment quantities as follows:

14 (A) FLUE-CURED AND BURLEY TO15 BACCO.—In the case of Flue-cured tobacco

16 (types 11, 12, 13, and 14) and Burley tobacco

17 (type 31), the poundage payment quantity shall

18 equal the number of pounds of the basic pound19 age quota of the kind of tobacco, irrespective of

20 temporary transfers or undermarketings, under

21 part I of subtitle B of title III of the Agricul22 tural Adjustment Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1311

23 et seq.) for the 2001 crop year.

24 (B) OTHER KINDS OF ELIGIBLE TO25 BACCO.—In the case of each other kind of eligi-
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1 ble tobacco, individual allotments shall be con2 verted to poundage payment quantities by

3 multiplying—

4 (i) the number of acres that may, irre5 spective of temporary transfers or under6 marketings, be devoted, without penalty, to

7 the production of the kind of tobacco

8 under the allotment under part I of sub9 title B of title III of the Agricultural Ad10 justment Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1311 et

11 seq.) for the 2001 crop year; by

12 (ii)(I) in the case of fire-cured tobacco

13 (type 21), 1,630 pounds per acre;

14 (II) in the case of fire-cured tobacco

15 (types 22 and 23), 2,601 pounds per acre;

16 (III) in the case of dark air-cured to17 bacco (types 35 and 36), 2,337 pounds per

18 acre;

19 (IV) in the case of Virginia sun-cured

20 tobacco (type 37), 1,512 pounds per acre;

21 and

22 (V) in the case of cigar-filler and

23 cigar-binder tobacco (types 42, 43, 44, 54,

24 and 55), 2,165 pounds per acre.
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1 (4) AVAILABLE PAYMENT AMOUNTS.—The

2 available payment amount for pounds of a payment

3 quantity under paragraph (2) shall be equal to—

4 (A) in the case of fire-cured tobacco (types

5 21, 22, and 23) and dark air-cured tobacco

6 (types 35 and 36), 16.12 cents per pound; and

7 (B) in the case of each other kind of eligi8 ble tobacco not covered by subparagraph (A),

9 8.06 cents per pound.

10 (5) DIVISION OF PAYMENTS AMONG ELIGIBLE

11 PERSONS.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Payments available

13 with respect to a pound of payment quantity, as

14 determined under paragraph (4), shall be made

15 available to eligible persons in accordance with

16 this paragraph.

17 (B) FLUE-CURED AND CIGAR TOBACCO.—

18 In the case of payments made available in a

19 State under paragraph (2) for Flue-cured to20 bacco (types 11, 12, 13, and 14) and cigar-filler

21 and cigar-binder tobacco (types 42, 43, 44, 54,

22 and 55), the Secretary shall distribute (as de23 termined by the Secretary)—
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1 (i) 50 percent of the payments to eli2 gible persons that are owners described in

3 paragraph (1)(A)(i); and

4 (ii) 50 percent of the payments to eli5 gible persons that are growers described in

6 paragraph (1)(A)(iii).

7 (C) OTHER KINDS OF ELIGIBLE TO8 BACCO.—In the case of payments made avail9 able in a State under paragraph (2) for each

10 other kind of eligible tobacco not covered by

11 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall distribute

12 (as determined by the Secretary)—

(i) 331 13 ⁄3 percent of the payments to

14 eligible persons that are owners described

15 in paragraph (1)(A)(i);

(ii) 331 16 ⁄3 percent of the payments to

17 eligible persons that are controllers de18 scribed in paragraph (1)(A)(ii); and

(iii) 331 19 ⁄3 percent of the payments to

20 eligible persons that are growers described

21 in paragraph (1)(A)(iii).

22 (6) STANDARDS.—In carrying out this sub23 section, the Secretary shall use, to the maximum ex24 tent practicable, the same standards for payments

25 that were used for making payments under section
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1 204(b) of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of

2 2000 (7 U.S.C. 1421 note; Public Law 106–224).

3 (7) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A determination by the

4 Secretary under this subsection shall not be subject

5 to judicial review.

6 (b) GRADING OF PRICE-SUPPORT TOBACCO.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than November

8 30, 2001, the Secretary shall conduct a referendum

9 among producers of each kind of tobacco that is eli10 gible for price support under the Agricultural Act of

11 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.) to determine whether

12 the producers favor the mandatory grading of the

13 tobacco by the Secretary.

14 (2) MANDATORY GRADING.—If the Secretary

15 determines that mandatory grading of each kind of

16 tobacco described in paragraph (1) is favored by a

17 majority of the producers voting in the referendum,

18 effective for the 2002 and subsequent marketing

19 years, the Secretary shall ensure that all kinds of

20 the tobacco are graded at the time of sale.

21 (3) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A determination by the

22 Secretary under this subsection shall not be subject

23 to judicial review.
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1 SEC. 113. APPLES.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use

3 $150,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora4 tion to make payments to apple producers to provide relief

5 for the loss of markets during the 2000 crop year.

6 (b) PAYMENT QUANTITY.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

8 the payment quantity of apples for which the pro9 ducers on a farm are eligible for payments under

10 this section shall be equal to the quantity of the

11 2000 crop of apples produced by the producers on

12 the farm.

13 (2) MAXIMUM QUANTITY.—The payment quan14 tity of apples for which the producers on a farm are

15 eligible for payments under this section shall not ex16 ceed 5,000,000 pounds of apples produced on the

17 farm.

18 (c) LIMITATIONS.—Subject to subsection (b)(2), the

19 Secretary shall not establish a payment limitation, or

20 gross income eligibility limitation, with respect to pay21 ments made under this section.

22 (d) APPLICABILITY.—This section applies only with

23 respect to the 2000 crop of apples and producers of that

24 crop.
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1 TITLE II—CONSERVATION

2 SEC. 201. CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM.

3 (a) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Notwithstanding sec4 tion 11 of the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act

5 (15 U.S.C. 714i), in addition to amounts made available

6 under section 801 of the Agriculture, Rural Development,

7 Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Ap8 propriations Act, 2001 (114 Stat. 1549, 1549A–49), the

9 Secretary shall use $44,000,000 of funds of the Com10 modity Credit Corporation to provide technical assistance

11 under the conservation reserve program established under

12 subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of

13 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.).

14 (b) EXTENSION OF CONTRACTS.—Notwithstanding

15 section 1231(e)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16

16 U.S.C. 3831(e)(1)), an owner or operator that has entered

17 into a contract under the conservation reserve program

18 that would otherwise expire during calendar year 2001

19 may extend the contract for 1 year.

20 (c) PAYMENTS.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

22 during the 2001 and 2002 calendar years, the Sec23 retary shall include among practices that are eligible

24 for payments under the conservation reserve

25 program—
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1 (A) the preservation of shallow water areas

2 for wildlife;

3 (B) the establishment of permanent vege4 tative cover, such as contour grass strips and

5 cross-wind trap strips; and

6 (C) the preservation of wellhead protection

7 areas.

8 (2) OTHER PRACTICES.—The Secretary shall

9 administer paragraph (1) in a manner that does not

10 reduce the amount of payments made by the Sec11 retary for other practices under the conservation re12 serve program.

13 (d) PILOT PROGRAM FOR ENROLLMENT OF WET14 LAND AND BUFFER ACREAGE IN CONSERVATION RE15 SERVE.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1231(h)(4)(B) of

17 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C.

18 3831(h)(4)(B)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(which

19 may include emerging vegetation in water)’’ after

20 ‘‘vegetative cover’’.

21 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

22 1232(a)(4) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16

23 U.S.C. 3832(a)(4)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(which

24 may include emerging vegetation in water)’’ after

25 ‘‘vegetative cover’’.
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1 SEC. 202. WETLANDS RESERVE PROGRAM.

2 (a) MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT.—Notwithstanding sec3 tion 1237(b)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16

4 U.S.C. 3837(b)(1)) and section 808 of the Agriculture,

5 Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and

6 Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (114 Stat.

7 1549, 1549A–52), subject to subsection (b), the Secretary

8 shall use $200,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit

9 Corporation for enrollment of additional acres beginning

10 in fiscal year 2002 in the wetlands reserve program estab11 lished under subchapter C of chapter 1 of subtitle D of

12 title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C.

13 3837 et seq.).

14 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; MONITORING AND

15 MAINTENANCE EXPENSES.—Notwithstanding section 11

16 of the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act (15

17 U.S.C. 714i), of the funds made available under sub18 section (a), the Secretary shall use—

19 (1) not less than $12,000,000, but not more

20 than $15,000,000, to provide technical assistance

21 under the wetlands reserve program; and

22 (2) not less than $8,000,000, but not more

23 than $10,000,000, for monitoring and maintenance

24 expenses incurred by the Secretary for land enrolled

25 in the wetlands reserve program as of the date of

26 enactment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 203. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PRO2 GRAM.

3 In addition to amounts made available under section

4 1241 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841),

5 the Secretary shall use $250,000,000 of funds of the Com6 modity Credit Corporation to carry out the environmental

7 quality incentives program established under chapter 4 of

8 subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985

9 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.).

10 SEC. 204. WILDLIFE HABITAT INCENTIVE PROGRAM.

11 In addition to amounts made available under section

12 387(c) of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Re13 form Act of 1996 (16 U.S.C. 3836a(c)), the Secretary

14 shall use $7,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit

15 Corporation to carry out the Wildlife Habitat Incentive

16 Program established under section 387 of that Act.

17 SEC. 205. FARMLAND PROTECTION PROGRAM.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to amounts made

19 available under section 388(c) of the Federal Agriculture

20 Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (16 U.S.C. 3830

21 note; Public Law 104–127) and section 211(a) of the Ag22 ricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 3830

23 note; Public Law 106–224), the Secretary shall use

24 $40,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora25 tion to make payments under the farmland protection pro-
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1 gram established under section 388 of the Federal Agri2 culture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to—

3 (1) any agency of any State or local govern4 ment, or federally recognized Indian tribe, including

5 farmland protection boards and land resource coun6 cils established under State law; and

7 (2) any organization that—

8 (A) is organized for, and at all times since

9 the formation of the organization has been op10 erated principally for, 1 or more of the con11 servation purposes specified in clauses (i), (ii),

12 and (iii) of section 170(h)(4)(A) of the Internal

13 Revenue Code of 1986;

14 (B) is an organization described in section

15 501(c)(3) of that Code that is exempt from tax16 ation under section 501(a) of that Code;

17 (C) is described in section 509(a)(2) of

18 that Code; or

19 (D) is described in section 509(a)(3) of

20 that Code and is controlled by an organization

21 described in section 509(a)(2) of that Code.

22 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Notwithstanding sec23 tion 11 of the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act

24 (15 U.S.C. 714i), of the funds made available under sub25 section (a), the Secretary may use not more than
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1 $3,000,000 to provide technical assistance under the

2 farmland protection program.

3 SEC. 206. RISK MANAGEMENT CONSERVATION ASSISTANCE.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sections 201

5 through 205, subject to subsection (d), of the amount of

6 funds made available under this title (other than section

7 201(a)), the Secretary shall use $100,000,000 to address

8 critical risk management needs (including such needs

9 under programs specified in subsection (b)) in States that

10 are described in section 522(c)(1)(A) of the Federal Crop

11 Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1522(c)(1)(A)).

12 (b) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—Subject to subsection (d),

13 the minimum amount each State described in subsection

14 (a) shall receive under subsection (a) shall be $5,000,000.

15 (c) PROGRAMS.—For the purpose of subsection (a),

16 the programs specified in this subsection are—

17 (1) the wetlands reserve program established

18 under subchapter C of chapter 1 of subtitle D of

19 title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16

20 U.S.C. 3837 et seq.);

21 (2) the environmental quality incentives pro22 gram established under chapter 4 of subtitle D of

23 title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16

24 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.);
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1 (3) the Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program es2 tablished under section 387 of the Federal Agri3 culture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (16

4 U.S.C. 3836a); and

5 (4) the farmland protection program established

6 under section 388 of the Federal Agriculture Im7 provement and Reform Act of 1996 (16 U.S.C. 3830

8 note; Public Law 104–127).

9 (d) OTHER STATES.—The Secretary shall use any

10 funds made available under subsection (a) that have not

11 been obligated by June 1, 2002, to provide assistance

12 under the environmental quality incentives program estab13 lished under chapter 4 of subtitle D of title XII of the

14 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.)

15 in States that are not described in section 522(c)(1)(A)

16 of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C.

17 1522(c)(1)(A)).

18 TITLE III—NUTRITION

19 SEC. 301. BONUS COMMODITIES.

20 Section 6(e)(1)(B) of the Richard B. Russell National

21 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1755(e)(1)(B)) is amended

22 by striking ‘‘2001’’ and inserting ‘‘2002’’.
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1 SEC. 302. INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE CONCERNING

2 REIMBURSEMENT OPTIONS.

3 Section 11(f) of the Richard B. Russell National

4 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1759a(f)) is amended—

5 (1) in paragraph (1)(E), by striking ‘‘2001’’

6 and inserting ‘‘2003’’; and

7 (2) in paragraph (2)—

8 (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and in9 serting the following:

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

11 submit to the Committee on Education and the

12 Workforce of the House of Representatives and

13 the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and

14 Forestry of the Senate—

15 ‘‘(i) not later than January 1, 2003,

16 an interim report on the activities of the

17 State agencies receiving grants under this

18 subsection; and

19 ‘‘(ii) not later than January 1, 2004,

20 a final report on the activities of the State

21 agencies receiving grants under this sub22 section.’’; and

23 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘re24 port’’ and inserting ‘‘reports’’.
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1 SEC. 303. DISTRIBUTION OF COMMODITIES.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use

3 $10,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora4 tion to cover direct and indirect costs related to the proc5 essing, transportation, and distribution of commodities to

6 eligible recipient agencies under the Emergency Food As7 sistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7501 et seq.).

8 (b) ALLOCATION.—Funds made available under sub9 section (a) shall be allocated to States in accordance with

10 section 204(a) of the Emergency Food Assistance Act of

11 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7508(a)).

12 SEC. 304. SENIORS FARMERS’ MARKET NUTRITION PILOT

13 PROGRAM.

14 The Secretary shall use $20,000,000 of funds of the

15 Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out the Seniors

16 Farmers’ Market Nutrition Pilot Program announced on

17 November 2, 2000 (65 Fed. Reg. 65825).

18 TITLE IV—CREDIT AND RURAL

19 DEVELOPMENT

20 Subtitle A—Credit

21 SEC. 401. FARM ENERGY EMERGENCY LOANS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 321(a) of the Consoli23 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C.

24 1961(a)) is amended—

25 (1) in the first sentence—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘aquaculture operations

2 have’’ and inserting ‘‘aquaculture operations (i)

3 have’’; and

4 (B) by striking ‘‘the Disaster Relief and

5 Emergency Assistance Act:’’ and inserting ‘‘the

6 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer7 gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.),

8 or (ii) have suffered or are likely to suffer sub9 stantial economic injury on or after June 1,

10 2000, as the result of a sharp and significant

11 increase in energy costs or input costs from en12 ergy sources occurring on or after June 1,

13 2000, in connection with an energy emergency

14 declared by the President or the Secretary:’’;

15 (2) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘the Dis16 aster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act’’ and in17 serting ‘‘the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and

18 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.)

19 or by an energy emergency declared by the President

20 or the Secretary’’; and

21 (3) in the fourth sentence—

22 (A) by inserting ‘‘or energy emergency’’

23 after ‘‘natural disaster’’ each place it appears;

24 and
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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘or declaration’’ after

2 ‘‘emergency designation’’.

3 (b) FUNDING.—Funds available for emergency loans

4 under subtitle C of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De5 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1961 et seq.) to meet the needs

6 resulting from natural disasters shall be available to carry

7 out the amendments made by subsection (a).

8 (c) GUIDELINES.—Not later than 30 days after the

9 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue

10 such guidelines as the Secretary determines to be nec11 essary to carry out the amendments made by subsection

12 (a).

13 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after the

14 date of final publication by the Secretary of the guidelines

15 issued under subsection (c), the Secretary shall submit to

16 the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representa17 tives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and

18 Forestry of the Senate a report on the effectiveness of

19 loans made available as a result of the amendments made

20 by subsection (a), together with recommendations for im21 provements to the loans, if any.

22 SEC. 402. DEFINITION OF RURAL AREA FOR COMMUNITY

23 PROGRAMS GUARANTEED LOANS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 730 of the Agriculture,

25 Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and
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1 Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2000 (Public Law

2 106–78; 113 Stat. 1164; 7 U.S.C. 2009 note), is amended

3 by inserting ‘‘(other than the Community Programs Guar4 anteed Loans program)’’ after ‘‘Housing Service’’.

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 735 of the

6 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Adminis7 tration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999

8 (Public Law 105–277; 112 Stat. 2681–29), is repealed.

9 Subtitle B—Rural Development

10 SEC. 411. VALUE-ADDED INTERMEDIARY RELENDING

11 PROGRAM.

12 Section 310B of the Consolidated Farm and Rural

13 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932) is amended by adding

14 at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(h) VALUE-ADDED INTERMEDIARY RELENDING

16 PROGRAM.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with this

18 subsection, the Secretary shall make loans under the

19 intermediary relending program established under

20 section 1323(b)(2)(C) of the Food Security Act of

21 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1932 note; Public Law 99–198).

22 ‘‘(2) LOANS.—Using funds made available to

23 carry out this subsection, the Secretary shall make

24 loans to eligible intermediaries to make loans to ulti25 mate recipients, under the terms and conditions of
33

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1 the intermediary relending program, for projects to

2 establish, enlarge, and operate enterprises that add

3 value to agricultural commodities and products of

4 agricultural commodities.

5 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE INTERMEDIARIES.—Inter6 mediaries that shall be eligible to receive loans under

7 paragraph (2) shall include State agencies.

8 ‘‘(4) PREFERENCE FOR BIOENERGY

9 PROJECTS.—In making loans using loan funds made

10 available under paragraph (2), an eligible inter11 mediary shall give preference to bioenergy projects

12 in accordance with regulations promulgated by the

13 Secretary.

14 ‘‘(5) COMPOSITION OF CAPITAL.—The capital

15 for a project carried out by an ultimate recipient

16 and assisted with loan funds made available under

17 paragraph (2) shall be comprised of—

18 ‘‘(A) not more than 15 percent of the total

19 cost of a project; and

20 ‘‘(B) not less than 50 percent of the equity

21 funds provided by agricultural producers.

22 ‘‘(6) LOAN CONDITIONS.—

23 ‘‘(A) TERMS OF LOANS.—A loan made to

24 an intermediary using loan funds made avail-
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1 able under paragraph (2) shall have a term of

2 not exceed 30 years.

3 ‘‘(B) INTEREST.—The interest rate on

4 such a loan shall be—

5 ‘‘(i) in the case of each of the first 2

6 years of the loan period, 0 percent; and

7 ‘‘(ii) in the case of each of the re8 maining years of the loan period, 2 per9 cent.

10 ‘‘(7) LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF LOAN FUNDS

11 PROVIDED.—

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in

13 subparagraph (B), an intermediary or ultimate

14 recipient shall be eligible to receive not more

15 than $2,000,000 of the loan funds made avail16 able under paragraph (2).

17 ‘‘(B) STATE AGENCIES.—Subparagraph

18 (A) shall not apply in the case of a State agen19 cy with respect to loan funds provided to the

20 State agency as an intermediary.’’.

21 SEC. 412. BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY LOANS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use funds

23 made available under section 415(a)(2) to pay the cost of

24 business and industry guaranteed loans under section
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1 310B(a)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop2 ment Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(a)(1)).

3 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—To the maximum extent prac4 ticable, loan funds made available under subsection (a)

5 shall be used in conjunction with value-added intermediary

6 relending program loan funds made available by section

7 310B(h) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop8 ment Act (as added by section 411), except that the aggre9 gate of all such loan funds (including the amount of guar10 anteed loans) made available for a project shall comprise

11 not more than 65 percent of the cost of a project.

12 (c) FEES.—Section 310B(a) of the Consolidated

13 Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(a)) is

14 amended by adding at the end the following: ‘‘The amount

15 of a fee paid by a borrower to the Secretary for a business

16 and industry direct or guaranteed loan under paragraph

17 (1) shall not exceed 2 percent of the amount of the loan.’’.

18 SEC. 413. VALUE-ADDED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT MAR19 KET DEVELOPMENT GRANTS.

20 The Secretary shall use funds made available under

21 section 415(a)(3) to award grants for projects under the

22 terms and conditions provided in section 231(a) of the Ag23 ricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 (Public Law 106–

24 224; 7 U.S.C. 1621 note), except that the Secretary shall

25 give preference to bioenergy projects.
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1 SEC. 414. REGULATIONS; NOTICE OF ACCEPTANCE OF

2 APPLICATIONS.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 75 days after the

4 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promul5 gate final regulations to carry out this subtitle and the

6 amendments made by this subtitle.

7 (b) NOTICE OF ACCEPTANCE OF APPLICATIONS.—

8 Not later than 20 days after the date of promulgation of

9 regulations under subsection (a), the Secretary shall pub10 lish in the Federal Register a notice that the Secretary

11 is accepting applications for grants and loans for which

12 funds are made available under this subtitle and the

13 amendments made by this subtitle.

14 SEC. 415. FUNDING.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—On October 1, 2001, out of any

16 funds in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the Sec17 retary of the Treasury shall transfer to the Secretary—

18 (1) $18,000,000 for the cost of loans to carry

19 out section 310B(h) of the Consolidated Farm and

20 Rural Development Act (as added by section 411);

21 (2) $5,000,000 for the cost of loans to carry

22 out section 412; and

23 (3) $20,000,000 to carry out section 413.

24 (b) ENTITLEMENT.—The Secretary shall be entitled

25 to receive the funds transferred under subsection (a) and

26 shall accept the funds.
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1 (c) AVAILABILITY OF NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY.—

2 For the purposes of section 504(b)(1) of the Federal Cred3 it Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 661c(b)(1)), this section

4 shall be considered to be an appropriations Act.

5 TITLE V—RESEARCH

6 SEC. 501. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGY

7 DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSFER PROGRAM.

8 In addition to funds made available under section

9 1629(i) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade

10 Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5832(i)), the Secretary shall use

11 $3,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation

12 for fiscal year 2002 to make producer grants under chap13 ter 3 of subtitle B of title XVI of that Act (7 U.S.C. 5831

14 et seq.).

15 SEC. 502. SENIOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH SERVICE.

16 Subtitle B of title VI of the Agricultural Research,

17 Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C.

18 7651 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing:

20 ‘‘SEC. 620. SENIOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH SERVICE.

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the De22 partment of Agriculture the Senior Scientific Research

23 Service (referred to in this section as the ‘Service’).

24 ‘‘(b) MEMBERS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2)

2 through (4), the Secretary shall appoint the mem3 bers of the Service.

4 ‘‘(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—To be eligible for ap5 pointment to the Service, an individual shall—

6 ‘‘(A) have conducted outstanding research

7 in the field of agriculture or forestry;

8 ‘‘(B) have earned a doctoral level degree at

9 an institution of higher education (as defined in

10 section 101 of the Higher Education Act of

11 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); and

12 ‘‘(C) meet qualification standards pre13 scribed by the Director of the Office of Per14 sonnel Management for appointment to a posi15 tion at level GS–15 of the General Schedule.

16 ‘‘(3) NUMBER.—The Secretary shall appoint

17 not more than 100 individuals to serve as members

18 of the Service at any time.

19 ‘‘(4) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Subject to sub20 section (d)(2), the Secretary may appoint and em21 ploy a member of the Service without regard to—

22 ‘‘(A) the provisions of title 5, United

23 States Code, governing appointments in the

24 competitive service;
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1 ‘‘(B) the provisions of subchapter I of

2 chapter 35 of title 5, United States Code, relat3 ing to retention preference;

4 ‘‘(C) the provisions of chapter 43 of title 5,

5 United States Code, relating to performance ap6 praisal and performance actions;

7 ‘‘(D) the provisions of chapter 51 and sub8 chapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United

9 States Code, relating to classification and Gen10 eral Schedule pay rates; and

11 ‘‘(E) the provisions of chapter 75 of title

12 5, United States Code, relating to adverse ac13 tions.

14 ‘‘(c) PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL SYSTEM.—The Sec15 retary shall develop a performance appraisal system for

16 members of the Service that is designed to—

17 ‘‘(1) provide for the systematic appraisal of the

18 employment performance of the members; and

19 ‘‘(2) encourage excellence in employment per20 formance by the members.

21 ‘‘(d) COMPENSATION.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

23 the Secretary shall determine the compensation of

24 members of the Service.
40

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1 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—The rate of pay for a

2 member of the Service shall—

3 ‘‘(A) not be less than the minimum rate

4 payable for a position at level GS–15 of the

5 General Schedule; and

6 ‘‘(B) not be more than the rate payable for

7 a position at level I of the Executive Schedule,

8 unless the rate is approved by the President

9 under section 5377(d)(2) of title 5, United

10 States Code.

11 ‘‘(e) RETIREMENT CONTRIBUTIONS.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On the request of a mem13 ber of the Service who was an employee of an insti14 tution of higher education (as defined in section 101

15 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C.

16 1001)) immediately prior to appointment as a mem17 ber of the Service and who retains the right to con18 tinue to make contributions to the retirement system

19 of the institution, the Secretary may contribute an

20 amount not to exceed 10 percent of the basic pay of

21 the member to the retirement system of the institu22 tion on behalf of the member.

23 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL RETIREMENT SYSTEM.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara25 graph (B), a member for whom a contribution
41

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1 is made under paragraph (1) shall not, as a re2 sult of serving as a member of the Service, be

3 covered by, or earn service credit under, chapter

4 83 or 84 of title 5, United States Code.

5 ‘‘(B) ANNUAL LEAVE.—Service of a mem6 ber of the Service described in subparagraph

7 (A) shall be creditable for determining years of

8 service under section 6303(a) of title 5, United

9 States Code.

10 ‘‘(f) INVOLUNTARY SEPARATION.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2)

12 and notwithstanding the provisions of title 5, United

13 States Code, governing appointment in the competi14 tive service, in the case of an individual who is sepa15 rated from the Service involuntarily and without

16 cause—

17 ‘‘(A) the Secretary may appoint the indi18 vidual to a position in the competitive civil serv19 ice at level GS–15 of the General Schedule; and

20 ‘‘(B) the appointment shall be a career ap21 pointment.

22 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTED CIVIL SERVICE.—In the case of

23 an individual described in paragraph (1) who imme24 diately prior to appointment as a member of the

25 Service was not a career appointee in the civil serv-
42

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1 ice or the Senior Executive Service, the appointment

2 of the individual under paragraph (1)—

3 ‘‘(A) shall be to the excepted civil service;

4 and

5 ‘‘(B) may not exceed a period of 2 years.’’.

6 TITLE VI—DISASTER

7 ASSISTANCE

8 SEC. 601. CROP AND PASTURE FLOOD COMPENSATION

9 PROGRAM.

10 (a) DEFINITION OF COVERED LAND.—In this sec11 tion:

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered land’’

13 means land that—

14 (A) was unusable for agricultural produc15 tion during the 2001 crop year as the result of

16 flooding;

17 (B) was used for agricultural production

18 during at least 1 of the 1992 through 2000

19 crop years; and

20 (C) is a contiguous parcel of land of at

21 least 1 acre.

22 (2) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘covered land’’ ex23 cludes any land for which a producer is insured, en24 rolled, or assisted during the 2001 crop year

25 under—
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1 (A) a policy or plan of insurance author2 ized under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7

3 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.);

4 (B) the noninsured crop assistance pro5 gram operated under section 196 of the Agri6 cultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C.

7 7333);

8 (C) any crop disaster program established

9 for the 2001 crop year;

10 (D) the conservation reserve program es11 tablished under subchapter B of chapter 1 of

12 subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act

13 of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.);

14 (E) the wetlands reserve program estab15 lished under subchapter C of chapter 1 of sub16 title D of title XII of the Food Security Act of

17 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3837 et seq.);

18 (F) any emergency watershed protection

19 program or Federal easement program that

20 prohibits crop production or grazing; or

21 (G) any other Federal or State water stor22 age program, as determined by the Secretary.

23 (b) COMPENSATION.—The Secretary shall use not

24 more than $24,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit
44

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1 Corporation to compensate producers with covered land

2 for losses from long-term flooding.

3 (c) PAYMENT RATE.—The payment rate for com4 pensation provided to a producer under this section shall

5 be equal to the average county cash rental rate per acre

6 established by the National Agricultural Statistics Service

7 for the 2001 crop year.

8 (d) PAYMENT LIMITATION.—The total amount of

9 payments made to a person (as defined in section 1001(5)

10 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308(5)))

11 under this section may not exceed $40,000.

12 SEC. 602. PURCHASE OF FLOODPLAIN EASEMENTS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use

14 $10,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora15 tion for fiscal year 2002 to purchase permanent easements

16 under the emergency watershed protection program.

17 (b) PRIORITY.—In carrying out this section, the Sec18 retary shall provide a higher priority to the purchase of

19 easements on floodplains of the Mississippi River and the

20 Missouri River.

21 SEC. 603. COMPENSATION OF PRODUCERS FOR FORAGE

22 LOSSES DUE TO ARMY WORMS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use not more

24 than $25,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Cor-
45

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1 poration to provide payments to producers of forage crops

2 for losses due to army worms.

3 (b) AMOUNT.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a payment

5 made to a producer under this section shall be equal

6 to 65 percent of the average price received by pro7 ducers of a forage crop in the crop year (as deter8 mined under paragraph (2)) for any deficiency in

9 production greater than 35 percent of the estab10 lished yield for the crop for the crop year, as deter11 mined by the Secretary.

12 (2) AVERAGE PRICE.—For the purpose of para13 graph (1), the average price received by producers of

14 a forage crop shall be equal to the simple average

15 price received by producers of the crop, as deter16 mined by the Secretary, during the immediately pre17 ceding 5 crop years, excluding the year in which the

18 average price was the highest and the year in which

19 the average price was the lowest.

20 (3) ADMINISTRATION.—Except as provided in

21 paragraph (1), the amount of a payment made to a

22 producer under this section shall be made in accord23 ance with the terms and conditions specified in sec24 tion 196 of the Agricultural Market Transition Act

25 (7 U.S.C. 7333).
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1 TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS

2 SEC. 701. NATIONAL ORGANIC CERTIFICATION COST-SHARE

3 PROGRAM.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary (acting through the

5 Agricultural Marketing Service) shall use $3,500,000 of

6 funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation for fiscal year

7 2002 to establish a national organic certification cost8 share program to assist producers and handlers of agricul9 tural products in obtaining certification under the national

10 organic production program established under the Organic

11 Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.).

12 (b) FEDERAL SHARE.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

14 the Secretary shall pay under this section not more

15 than 75 percent of the costs incurred by a producer

16 or handler in obtaining certification under the na17 tional organic production program, as certified to

18 and approved by the Secretary.

19 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The maximum

20 amount of a payment made to a producer or handler

21 under this section shall be $500.

22 SEC. 702. USE OF VALUE-ADDED COMMODITIES.

23 Section 204(b)(1) of the Agricultural Trade Develop24 ment and Assistance Act of 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1724(b)(1))

25 is amended by inserting ‘‘(including crude degummed soy-
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1 bean oil and soybean meal)’’ after ‘‘processed, fortified,

2 or bagged commodities’’.

3 TITLE VII—ADMINISTRATION

4 SEC. 801. OBLIGATION PERIOD.

5 (a) FISCAL YEAR 2001.—Except as otherwise pro6 vided in this Act, the Secretary and the Commodity Credit

7 Corporation shall obligate and expend funds only during

8 fiscal year 2001 to carry out the following:

9 (1) Section 101.

10 (2) Section 107(a).

11 (b) FISCAL YEAR 2002.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro13 vided in this Act, the Secretary and the Commodity

14 Credit Corporation shall obligate and, to the max15 imum extent practicable, expend funds during fiscal

16 year 2002 to carry out the following:

17 (A) Title I (other than sections 101 and

18 107(a)).

19 (B) Title II.

20 (C) Sections 303 and 304.

21 (D) Subtitle B of title IV.

22 (E) Section 501.

23 (F) Title VI.

24 (G) Section 701.
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1 (2) AVAILABILITY.—Funds described in para2 graph (1) shall remain available until expended.

3 SEC. 802. COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION.

4 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the Sec5 retary shall use the funds, facilities, and authorities of the

6 Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out this Act.

7 SEC. 803. REGULATIONS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may promulgate

9 such regulations as are necessary to implement this Act

10 and the amendments made by this Act.

11 (b) PROCEDURE.—The promulgation of the regula12 tions and administration of the amendments made by this

13 Act shall be made without regard to—

14 (1) the notice and comment provisions of sec15 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code;

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

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

18 13804), relating to notices of proposed rulemaking

19 and public participation in rulemaking; and

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

21 (commonly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction

22 Act’’).

23 (c) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY RULE24 MAKING.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall
49

•S 1246 PCS

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

2 United States Code.
Calendar No. 102

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1246

A BILL

To respond to the continuing economic crisis

adversely affecting American agricultural producers.

JULY 25, 2001

Read twice and placed on the calendar