II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1804 

To provide emergency assistance to agricultural producers who have suffered 

losses as a result of drought, Hurricane Katrina, and other natural 

disasters occurring during 2005, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 30, 2005 

Mrs. LINCOLN (for herself and Mr. TALENT) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To provide emergency assistance to agricultural producers 

who have suffered losses as a result of drought, Hurricane Katrina, and other natural disasters occurring during 2005, 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 ‘‘Agricultural Assistance 

5 Act of 2005’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 
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1 (1) COVERED COMMODITY.—The term ‘‘covered 

2 commodity’’ has the meaning given the term in sec3 tion 1001 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest4 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7901). 

5 (2) DISASTER COUNTY.—The term ‘‘disaster 

6 county’’ means— 

7 (A) a county included in the geographic 

8 area covered by a natural disaster declaration; 

9 and 

10 (B) each county contiguous to a county de11 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

12 (3) ELIGIBLE NONINSURABLE COMMODITY.— 

13 The term ‘‘eligible noninsurable commodity’’ means 

14 an eligible crop for which the producers on a farm 

15 are eligible to obtain assistance under section 196 of 

16 the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform 

17 Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333). 

18 (4) INSURABLE COMMODITY.—The term ‘‘insur19 able commodity’’ means an agricultural commodity 

20 (excluding livestock) produced in an area that is eli21 gible for coverage under a policy or plan of insur22 ance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

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

24 (5) LIVESTOCK ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—The 

25 term ‘‘livestock assistance program’’ means— 
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1 (A) the 2002 Cattle Feed Program an2 nounced by the Secretary on September 3, 2002 

3 (67 Fed. Reg. 56260), to the extent necessary 

4 to cover natural disaster declarations made dur5 ing calendar year 2005; 

6 (B) the 2002 Livestock Compensation Pro7 gram, as announced by the Secretary on Octo8 ber 10, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 63070), and modi9 fied in accordance with section 203(a) of the 

10 Agricultural Assistance Act of 2003 (title II of 

11 division N of the Consolidated Appropriations 

12 Resolution, 2003 (Public Law 108–7; 117 Stat. 

13 539) and section 5(a); and 

14 (C) the livestock loss assistance program 

15 required by section 5(b). 

16 (6) NATURAL DISASTER DECLARATION.—The 

17 term ‘‘natural disaster declaration’’ means— 

18 (A) a natural disaster declared by the Sec19 retary— 

20 (i) during calendar year 2005 under 

21 section 321(a) of the Consolidated Farm 

22 and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

23 1961(a)); or 
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1 (ii) during calendar year 2006 under 

2 that section, but for which a request was 

3 pending as of December 31, 2005; or 

4 (B) a major disaster or emergency des5 ignated by the President— 

6 (i) during calendar year 2005 under 

7 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

8 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 5121 et seq.); or 

10 (ii) during calendar year 2006 under 

11 that Act, but for which a request was 

12 pending as of December 31, 2005. 

13 (7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

15 SEC. 3. SUPPLEMENTAL DIRECT PAYMENTS FOR COVERED 

16 COMMODITIES. 

17 (a) PAYMENTS REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall 

18 make payments to producers on a farm eligible for direct 

19 payments for the 2005 crop of a covered commodity under 

20 section 1103 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment 

21 Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7913) if— 

22 (1) the farm is located in a disaster county; or 

23 (2) the producers on the farm have incurred 

24 qualifying crop losses with respect to the 2005 crop 

25 of a covered commodity due to damaging weather or 
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1 related condition, as determined by the Secretary, 

2 using the same loss thresholds for the quantity and 

3 quality losses as were used in administering section 

4 815 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food 

5 and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Ap6 propriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106–387; 114 

7 Stat. 1549, 1549A–55). 

8 (b) AMOUNT.—The amount of the payment made to 

9 the producers on a farm under this section shall be equal 

10 to 100 percent of the amount of the direct payment the 

11 producers on the farm are eligible to receive for the 2005 

12 crop under section 1103 of the Farm Security and Rural 

13 Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7913). 

14 (c) CROP INSURANCE.—As a condition of the receipt 

15 of a payment under this section, the producers on the farm 

16 shall enter into a contract with the Secretary under which 

17 the producers on the farm agree— 

18 (1) in the case of the covered commodity and 

19 all other insurable commodities produced on the 

20 farm for each of the next 2 crop years— 

21 (A) to obtain at least catastrophic risk pro22 tection coverage for those commodities under 

23 the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 

24 et seq.); and 
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1 (B) in the event of violation of the con2 tract, to repay to the Secretary any payment re3 ceived under this section; and 

4 (2) in the case of all eligible noninsurable com5 modities produced on the farm for each of the next 

6 2 crop or calendar years, as applicable— 

7 (A) to file the required paperwork, and pay 

8 the administrative fee by the applicable State 

9 filing deadline, for those commodities under sec10 tion 196 of the Federal Agriculture Improve11 ment and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333); 

12 and 

13 (B) in the event of violation of the con14 tract, to repay to the Secretary any payment re15 ceived under this section. 

16 (d) ADMINISTRATION.—For purposes of sections 

17 1001 through 1001F of the Food Security Act of 1985 

18 (7 U.S.C. 1308 et seq.), payments received under this sec19 tion shall be considered direct payments made to a person 

20 under subtitle A of title I of the Farm Security and Rural 

21 Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7911 et seq.). 

22 (e) RELATION TO OTHER ASSISTANCE.—A person 

23 that elects to receive payments under this section for a 

24 covered commodity is not eligible for crop loss assistance 

25 under section 4 for the same commodity. 
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1 (f) TIME FOR PAYMENT.—The Secretary shall make 

2 payments under this section as soon as practicable after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 4. CROP LOSS ASSISTANCE. 

5 (a) ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE.—The Secretary shall 

6 use such sums as are necessary of the funds of the Com7 modity Credit Corporation to make emergency financial 

8 assistance available to producers on a farm that have in9 curred losses in a disaster county as a result of a disaster 

10 for which a natural disaster declaration was made, as de11 termined by the Secretary. 

12 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—Subject to subsection (a), the 

13 Secretary shall make assistance available under this sec14 tion in the same manner as provided under section 1102 

15 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug 

16 Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 

17 1999 (7 U.S.C. 1421 note; Public Law 105–277), includ18 ing using the same loss thresholds as were used in admin19 istering that section. 

20 (c) QUALIFYING LOSSES.—Assistance under this sec21 tion may be made for losses associated with crops that 

22 are, as determined by the Secretary— 

23 (1) quantity losses; 

24 (2) quality losses; or 
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1 (3) severe economic losses due to damaging 

2 weather or related condition. 

3 (d) CROPS COVERED.—Assistance under this section 

4 shall be applicable to losses for all crops (including losses 

5 of trees from which a crop is harvested, livestock, and fish6 eries), as determined by the Secretary, due to the disaster 

7 for which the natural disaster declaration was made. 

8 (e) RELATION TO OTHER ASSISTANCE.—A person 

9 that elects to receive assistance under this section for a 

10 covered commodity is not eligible for supplemental direct 

11 payments for the same covered commodity under section 

12 3. 

13 (f) CROP INSURANCE.—In carrying out this section, 

14 the Secretary shall not discriminate against or penalize 

15 producers on a farm that have purchased crop insurance 

16 under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et 

17 seq.). 

18 SEC. 5. LIVESTOCK ASSISTANCE. 

19 (a) CONTINUATION OF ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 

20 Subject to subsection (c), the Secretary shall— 

21 (1) continue to carry out the 2002 Livestock 

22 Compensation Program announced by the Secretary 

23 on October 10, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 63070); and 

24 (2) under that Program, provide assistance to 

25 any applicant that— 
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1 (A) conducts a livestock operation that is 

2 physically located in a disaster county and 

3 meets all other eligibility requirements estab4 lished by the Secretary for the Program; or 

5 (B) produces an animal described in sec6 tion 10806(a)(1) of the Farm Security and 

7 Rural Investment Act of 2002 (21 U.S.C. 

8 321d(a)(1)) and meets all other eligibility re9 quirements established by the Secretary for the 

10 Program. 

11 (b) LIVESTOCK LOSS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—Sub12 ject to subsection (c), the Secretary shall use 

13 $250,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora14 tion to carry out a program to make payments to pro15 ducers for livestock losses occurring in a disaster county 

16 using the criteria established to carry out the 1999 Live17 stock Assistance Program. 

18 (c) RELATIONSHIP OF LIVESTOCK ASSISTANCE PRO19 GRAMS.—The amount of assistance that the producers on 

20 a farm would receive for a loss under a livestock assistance 

21 program, in the absence of the operation of this section, 

22 shall be reduced by the amount of the assistance that the 

23 producers on the farm receive under any other livestock 

24 assistance program. 
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1 (d) USE OF COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION

2 FUNDS.—Effective beginning on the date of enactment of 

3 this Act, the Secretary shall carry out the 2002 Livestock 

4 Compensation Program announced by the Secretary on 

5 October 10, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 63070) using funds of 

6 the Commodity Credit Corporation. 

7 SEC. 6. EMERGENCY SURPLUS REMOVAL. 

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

9 of the Commodity Credit Corporation to the fund estab10 lished by section 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 (7 

11 U.S.C. 612c), to carry out emergency surplus removal of 

12 agricultural commodities. 

13 SEC. 7. SPECIALTY CROPS. 

14 The Secretary shall use $50,000,000 of funds of the 

15 Commodity Credit Corporation to provide assistance to 

16 producers directly or through grants to States, or take 

17 such other action as the Secretary determines is appro18 priate, to assist producers of fruits and vegetables. 

19 SEC. 8. COTTONSEED. 

20 The Secretary shall use $50,000,000 of funds of the 

21 Commodity Credit Corporation to provide assistance to 

22 producers and first handlers of the 2005 crop of cotton23 seed. 
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1 SEC. 9. ADDITIONAL HURRICANE ASSISTANCE. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—In any State described in section 

3 359f(c)(1)(A) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 

4 (7 U.S.C. 1359ff(c)(1)(A)) in a which a natural disaster 

5 declaration is in effect, the Secretary shall make available 

6 to first processors that are eligible to obtain a loan under 

7 section 156(a) of the Federal Agriculture Improvement 

8 and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7272(a)) assistance 

9 in the form of payments, or commodities in the inventory 

10 of the Commodity Credit Corporation from carrying out 

11 that section, to partially compensate producers and first 

12 processors for crop and other losses that are related to 

13 the natural disaster declaration. 

14 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—Assistance under this section 

15 shall be— 

16 (1) shared by an affected first processor with 

17 affected producers that provide commodities to the 

18 processor in a manner that reflects contracts entered 

19 into between the processor and the producers; and 

20 (2) made available under such terms and condi21 tions as the Secretary determines are necessary to 

22 carry out this section. 

23 (c) QUANTITY.—To carry out this section, the Sec24 retary shall— 

25 (1) use 200,000 tons of commodities in the in26 ventory of the Commodity Credit Corporation under 
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1 section 156(a) of the Federal Agriculture Improve2 ment and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7272(a)); 

3 (2) make payments in an aggregate amount 

4 equal to the market value of 200,000 tons of com5 modities described in paragraph (1); or 

6 (3) take any combination of actions described in 

7 paragraphs (1) and (2) using commodities or pay8 ments with a total market value of 200,000 tons of 

9 commodities described in paragraph (1). 

10 SEC. 10. FUNDING. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use the funds, 

12 facilities, and authorities of the Commodity Credit Cor13 poration to carry out this Act. 

14 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary, acting 

15 through the Farm Service Agency, may use not more than 

16 $70,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora17 tion to cover administrative costs associated with the im18 plementation of this Act and title I of the Farm Security 

19 and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7901 et 

20 seq.). 

21 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds made available under 

22 this Act shall remain available until expended. 

23 SEC. 11. REGULATIONS. 

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

25 such regulations as are necessary to implement this Act. 
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1 (b) PROCEDURE.—The promulgation of the regula2 tions and administration of this Act shall be made without 

3 regard to— 

4 (1) the notice and comment provisions of sec5 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code; 

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

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

8 13804), relating to notices of proposed rulemaking 

9 and public participation in rulemaking; and 

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

11 (commonly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction 

12 Act’’). 

13 (c) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY RULE14 MAKING.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall 

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

16 United States Code. 

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