II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 677 

To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to extend and improve the crop 

insurance program, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 9, 2013 

Mr. ROBERTS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to extend and 

improve the crop insurance program, 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 ‘‘Crop Insurance Im5 provement Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. INFORMATION SHARING. 

7 Section 502(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

8 U.S.C. 1502(c)) is amended by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(4) INFORMATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) REQUEST.—Subject to subparagraph 

2 (B), the Farm Service Agency shall, in a timely 

3 manner, provide to an agent or an approved in4 surance provider authorized by the producer 

5 any information (including Farm Service Agen6 cy Form 578s (or any successor form), maps, 

7 or any corrections to those forms or maps) that 

8 may assist the agent or approved insurance pro9 vider in insuring the producer under a policy or 

10 plan of insurance under this subtitle. 

11 ‘‘(B) PRIVACY.—Except as provided in 

12 subparagraph (C), an agent or approved insur13 ance provider that receives the information of a 

14 producer pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall 

15 treat the information in accordance with para16 graph (1). 

17 ‘‘(C) SHARING.—Nothing in this section 

18 prohibits the sharing of the information of a 

19 producer pursuant to subparagraph (A) be20 tween the agent and the approved insurance 

21 provider of the producer.’’. 

22 SEC. 3. SUPPLEMENTAL COVERAGE OPTION. 

23 (a) AVAILABILITY OF SUPPLEMENTAL COVERAGE

24 OPTION.—Section 508(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance 


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1 Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(c)) is amended by striking paragraph 

2 (3) and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(3) YIELD AND LOSS BASIS OPTIONS.—A pro4 ducer shall have the option of purchasing additional 

5 coverage based on— 

6 ‘‘(A)(i) an individual yield and loss basis; 

7 or 

8 ‘‘(ii) an area yield and loss basis; 

9 ‘‘(B) an individual yield and loss basis, 

10 supplemented with coverage based on an area 

11 yield and loss basis to cover a part of the de12 ductible under the individual yield and loss pol13 icy, as authorized in paragraph (4)(C); or 

14 ‘‘(C) a margin basis alone or in combina15 tion with— 

16 ‘‘(i) individual yield and loss coverage; 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(ii) area yield and loss coverage.’’. 

19 (b) LEVEL OF COVERAGE.—Section 508(c) of the 

20 Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(c)) is amend21 ed by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(4) LEVEL OF COVERAGE.— 

23 ‘‘(A) DOLLAR DENOMINATION AND PER24 CENTAGE OF YIELD.—Except as provided in 

25 subparagraph (C), the level of coverage— 


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1 ‘‘(i) shall be dollar denominated; and 

2 ‘‘(ii) may be purchased at any level 

3 not to exceed 85 percent of the individual 

4 yield or 95 percent of the area yield (as de5 termined by the Corporation). 

6 ‘‘(B) INFORMATION.—The Corporation 

7 shall provide producers with information on cat8 astrophic risk and additional coverage in terms 

9 of dollar coverage (within the allowable limits of 

10 coverage provided in this paragraph). 

11 ‘‘(C) SUPPLEMENTAL COVERAGE OP12 TION.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

14 subparagraph (A), in the case of the sup15 plemental coverage option described in 

16 paragraph (3)(B), the Corporation shall 

17 offer producers the opportunity to pur18 chase coverage in combination with a pol19 icy or plan of insurance offered under this 

20 subtitle that would allow indemnities to be 

21 paid to a producer equal to part of the de22 ductible under the policy or plan of insur23 ance, if sufficient area data is available (as 

24 determined by the Corporation). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) TRIGGER.—Coverage offered 

2 under this subparagraph shall be triggered 

3 only if the losses in the area exceed 10 per4 cent of normal levels (as determined by the 

5 Corporation). 

6 ‘‘(iii) COVERAGE.—Subject to the trig7 ger described in clause (ii) and the deduct8 ible imposed by clause (iv), coverage of9 fered under this subparagraph shall cover 

10 the first loss incurred by the producer, not 

11 to exceed the difference between— 

12 ‘‘(I) 100 percent; and 

13 ‘‘(II) the coverage level selected 

14 by the producer for the underlying 

15 policy or plan of insurance. 

16 ‘‘(iv) DEDUCTIBLE.—Coverage offered 

17 under this subparagraph shall be subject to 

18 a deductible in an amount equal to 10 per19 cent of the expected value of the crop of 

20 the producer covered by the underlying 

21 policy or plan of insurance, as determined 

22 by the Corporation. 

23 ‘‘(v) CALCULATION OF PREMIUM.— 

24 Notwithstanding subsection (d), the pre25 mium shall— 


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1 ‘‘(I) be sufficient to cover antici2 pated losses and a reasonable reserve; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(II) include an amount for oper5 ating and administrative expenses es6 tablished in accordance with sub7 section (k)(4)(F).’’. 

8 (c) PAYMENT OF PORTION OF PREMIUM BY COR9 PORATION.—Section 508(e)(2) of the Federal Crop Insur10 ance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(e)(2)) is amended by adding at 

11 the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(H) In the case of the supplemental cov13 erage option authorized in subsection (c)(4)(C), 

14 the amount shall be equal to the sum of— 

15 ‘‘(i) 70 percent of the additional pre16 mium associated with the coverage; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) the amount determined under 

18 subsection (c)(4)(C)(v)(II) for the coverage 

19 to cover operating and administrative ex20 penses.’’. 

21 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

22 508(k)(4)(F) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 

23 1508(k)(4)(F)) is amended by inserting ‘‘or authorized 

24 under subsection (c)(4)(C)’’ after ‘‘of this subparagraph’’. 


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1 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The Federal Crop Insurance 

2 Corporation shall begin to provide additional coverage 

3 based on an individual yield and loss basis, supplemented 

4 with coverage based on an area yield and loss basis, not 

5 later than for the 2014 crop year. 

6 SEC. 4. PERMANENT ENTERPRISE UNIT SUBSIDY. 

7 Section 508(e)(5) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

8 (7 U.S.C. 1508(e)(5)) is amended by striking subpara9 graph (A) and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation may 

11 pay a portion of the premiums for plans or poli12 cies of insurance for which the insurable unit is 

13 defined on a whole farm or enterprise unit basis 

14 that is higher than would otherwise be paid in 

15 accordance with paragraph (2).’’. 

16 SEC. 5. ENTERPRISE UNITS FOR IRRIGATED AND NONIRRI17 GATED CROPS. 

18 Section 508(e)(5) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

19 (7 U.S.C. 1508(e)(5)) is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(D) NONIRRIGATED CROPS.—Beginning 

22 with the 2014 crop year, the Corporation shall 

23 make available separate enterprise units for ir24 rigated and nonirrigated acreages of crops in 

25 counties.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6. DATA COLLECTION. 

2 Section 508(g)(2) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

3 (7 U.S.C. 1508(g)(2)) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(E) SOURCES OF YIELD DATA.—To deter6 mine yields under this paragraph, the Corpora7 tion— 

8 ‘‘(i) shall use data collected by the 

9 Risk Management Agency or the National 

10 Agricultural Statistics Service, or both; or 

11 ‘‘(ii) if sufficient county data is not 

12 available, may use other data considered 

13 appropriate by the Secretary.’’. 

14 SEC. 7. ADJUSTMENT IN ACTUAL PRODUCTION HISTORY TO 

15 ESTABLISH INSURABLE YIELDS. 

16 Section 508(g)(4)(B) of the Federal Crop Insurance 

17 Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(g)(4)(B)) is amended— 

18 (1) in the matter preceding clause (i), by insert19 ing ‘‘for the 2013 crop year or any prior crop year, 

20 or 70 percent of the applicable transitional yield for 

21 the 2014 or any subsequent crop year,’’ after ‘‘tran22 sitional yield’’; and 

23 (2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘60 percent of the 

24 applicable transitional yield’’ and inserting ‘‘the ap25 plicable percentage of the transitional yield described 

26 in this subparagraph’’. 


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1 SEC. 8. SUBMISSION AND REVIEW OF POLICIES. 

2 Section 508(h)(1) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

3 (7 U.S.C. 1508(h)(1)) is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 

5 (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and indent6 ing appropriately; 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition’’ 

8 and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION AND REVIEW OF POLICIES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) SUBMISSIONS.—In addition’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(B) REVIEW.—The Corporation shall re13 view any policy developed under section 522(c) 

14 or any pilot program developed under section 

15 523 and submit the policy or program to the 

16 Board under this subsection if the Corporation, 

17 at the sole discretion of the Corporation, finds 

18 that the policy or program— 

19 ‘‘(i) will likely result in a viable and 

20 marketable policy consistent with this sub21 section; 

22 ‘‘(ii) would provide crop insurance 

23 coverage in a significantly improved form; 

24 and 

25 ‘‘(iii) adequately protects the interests 

26 of producers.’’. 


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1 SEC. 9. BOARD REVIEW AND APPROVAL. 

2 Section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

3 U.S.C. 1508(h)) is amended by striking paragraph (3) and 

4 inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(3) REVIEW AND APPROVAL BY THE BOARD.— 

6 A policy, plan of insurance, or other material sub7 mitted to the Board under this subsection shall be 

8 reviewed by the Board and shall be approved by the 

9 Board for reinsurance and for sale by approved in10 surance providers to producers at actuarially appro11 priate rates and under appropriate terms and condi12 tions if the Board, in the sole discretion of the 

13 Board, determines that— 

14 ‘‘(A) the interests of producers are ade15 quately protected; 

16 ‘‘(B) the rates of premium and price elec17 tion methodology are actuarially appropriate; 

18 ‘‘(C) the terms and conditions for the pro19 posed policy or plan of insurance are appro20 priate and would not unfairly discriminate 

21 among producers; 

22 ‘‘(D) the proposed policy or plan of insur23 ance will, at the sole discretion of the Board— 

24 ‘‘(i) likely result in a viable and mar25 ketable policy that can reasonably attain 


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1 levels of participation similar to other like 

2 policies or plans of insurance; 

3 ‘‘(ii) provide crop insurance coverage 

4 in a significantly improved form or in a 

5 manner that addresses a recognized flaw 

6 or problem in an existing policy; or 

7 ‘‘(iii) provide a new kind of coverage 

8 for a commodity that previously had no 

9 available crop insurance, or has dem10 onstrated a low level of participation under 

11 existing coverage; 

12 ‘‘(E) the proposed policy or plan of insur13 ance will, at the sole discretion of the Board, 

14 not have a significant adverse impact on the 

15 crop insurance delivery system; and 

16 ‘‘(F) the proposed policy or plan of insur17 ance meets such other requirements as are de18 termined appropriate by the Board.’’. 

19 SEC. 10. BUDGET LIMITATIONS ON RENEGOTIATION OF 

20 THE STANDARD REINSURANCE AGREEMENT. 

21 Section 508(k)(8) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

22 (7 U.S.C. 1508(k)(8)) is amended by adding at the end 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(F) BUDGET.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Board shall 

2 ensure that any Standard Reinsurance 

3 Agreement negotiated under subparagraph 

4 (A)(ii), as compared to the previous Stand5 ard Reinsurance Agreement— 

6 ‘‘(I) to the maximum extent prac7 ticable, shall be budget neutral; and 

8 ‘‘(II) in no event, may signifi9 cantly depart from budget neutrality. 

10 ‘‘(ii) USE OF SAVINGS.—To the extent 

11 that any budget savings is realized in the 

12 renegotiation of a Standard Reinsurance 

13 Agreement under subparagraph (A)(ii), 

14 and the savings are determined not to be 

15 a significant departure from budget neu16 trality under clause (i), the savings shall 

17 be used for programs administered or 

18 managed by the Risk Management Agen19 cy.’’. 

20 SEC. 11. STACKED INCOME PROTECTION PLAN FOR PRO21 DUCERS OF UPLAND COTTON. 

22 (a) AVAILABILITY OF STACKED INCOME PROTECTION

23 PLAN.—The Federal Crop Insurance Act is amended by 

24 inserting after section 508A (7 U.S.C. 1508a) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 508B. STACKED INCOME PROTECTION PLAN FOR 

2 PRODUCERS OF UPLAND COTTON. 

3 ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY.—Beginning not later than the 

4 2014 crop of upland cotton, if practicable, the Corporation 

5 shall make available to producers of maximum eligible 

6 acres of upland cotton an additional policy (to be known 

7 as the ‘Stacked Income Protection Plan’), which shall pro8 vide coverage consistent with the Group Risk Income Pro9 tection Plan (and the associated Harvest Revenue Option 

10 Endorsement) offered by the Corporation for the 2012 

11 crop year. 

12 ‘‘(b) REQUIRED TERMS.—The Corporation may mod13 ify the Stacked Income Protection Plan on a program-wide 

14 basis, except that the Stacked Income Protection Plan 

15 shall comply with the following requirements: 

16 ‘‘(1)(A) Provide coverage for revenue loss of not 

17 more than 30 percent of expected county revenue, 

18 specified in increments of 5 percent. 

19 ‘‘(B) The deductible is the minimum percent of 

20 revenue loss at which indemnities are triggered 

21 under the plan, not to be less than 10 percent of the 

22 expected county revenue. 

23 ‘‘(C) Once the deductible is met, any losses in 

24 excess of the deductible will be paid up to the cov25 erage selected by the producer. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Be offered to producers of upland cotton 

2 in all counties with upland cotton production— 

3 ‘‘(A) at a county-wide level to the fullest 

4 extent practicable; or 

5 ‘‘(B) in counties that lack sufficient data, 

6 on the basis of such larger geographical area as 

7 the Corporation determines to provide sufficient 

8 data for purposes of providing the coverage. 

9 ‘‘(3) Be purchased in addition to any other in10 dividual or area coverage in effect on the producer’s 

11 acreage or as a stand-alone policy, except that if a 

12 producer has an individual or area coverage for the 

13 same acreage, the maximum coverage available 

14 under the Stacked Income Protection Plan shall not 

15 exceed the deductible for the individual or area cov16 erage. 

17 ‘‘(4) Establish coverage based on— 

18 ‘‘(A) an expected price that is the expected 

19 price established under existing Group Risk In20 come Protection or area-wide policy offered by 

21 the Corporation for the applicable county (or 

22 area) and crop year; and 

23 ‘‘(B) an expected county yield that is the 

24 higher of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the expected county yield estab2 lished for the existing area-wide plans of3 fered by the Corporation for the applicable 

4 county (or area) and crop year (or, in geo5 graphic areas where area-wide plans are 

6 not offered, an expected yield determined 

7 in a manner consistent with those of area8 wide plans); or 

9 ‘‘(ii)(I) the average of the applicable 

10 yield data for the county (or area) for the 

11 most recent 5 years, excluding the highest 

12 and lowest observations, from the Risk 

13 Management Agency or the National Agri14 cultural Statistics, or both; or 

15 ‘‘(II) if sufficient county data is not 

16 available, such other data considered ap17 propriate by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(5) Use a multiplier factor to establish max19 imum protection per acre (referred to as a ‘protec20 tion factor’) of not more than 120 percent. 

21 ‘‘(6)(A) Pay an indemnity based on the amount 

22 that the expected county revenue exceeds the actual 

23 county revenue, as applied to the individual coverage 

24 of the producer. 


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1 ‘‘(B) Indemnities under the Stacked Income 

2 Protection Plan shall not include or overlap the 

3 amount of the deductible selected under paragraph 

4 (1). 

5 ‘‘(7) To the maximum extent practicable, in all 

6 counties for which data are available, establish sepa7 rate coverage for irrigated and nonirrigated prac8 tices. 

9 ‘‘(8) Notwithstanding section 508(d), include a 

10 premium that— 

11 ‘‘(A) is sufficient to cover anticipated 

12 losses and a reasonable reserve; and 

13 ‘‘(B) includes an amount for operating and 

14 administrative expenses established in accord15 ance with section 508(k)(4)(F). 

16 ‘‘(c) RELATION TO OTHER COVERAGES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para18 graph (2), the Stacked Income Protection Plan is in 

19 addition to all other coverages available to producers 

20 of upland cotton. 

21 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Acreage of upland cotton 

22 insured under the supplemental coverage option de23 scribed in section 508(c)(4)(C) shall not be eligible 

24 for the Stacked Income Protection Plan. 


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1 ‘‘(d) PAYMENT OF PORTION OF PREMIUM BY COR2 PORATION.—Subject to section 508(e)(4), the amount of 

3 premium paid by the Corporation for all qualifying cov4 erage levels of the Stacked Income Protection Plan shall 

5 be— 

6 ‘‘(1) 80 percent of the amount of the premium 

7 established under subsection (b)(8)(A) for the cov8 erage level selected; and 

9 ‘‘(2) the amount determined under subsection 

10 (b)(8)(B) to cover administrative and operating ex11 penses.’’. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

13 508(k)(4)(F) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 

14 1508(k)(4)(F)) (as amended by section 3(d)) is amended 

15 by inserting ‘‘or under section 508B’’ after ‘‘subsection 

16 (c)(4)(C)’’. 

17 SEC. 12. AUTHORITY TO CORRECT ERRORS. 

18 Section 515(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

19 U.S.C. 1515(c)) is amended— 

20 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘The Sec21 retary’’ and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; 

23 (2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘Begin24 ning with’’ and inserting the following: 

25 ‘‘(2) FREQUENCY.—Beginning with’’; and 


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1 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(3) CORRECTIONS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall 

4 establish procedures that allow an agent and 

5 approved insurance provider within a reasonable 

6 amount of time following the applicable sales 

7 closing date to correct information regarding 

8 the entity name, social security number, tax 

9 identification number, or such other eligibility 

10 information as determined by the Corporation 

11 that is provided by a producer for the purpose 

12 of obtaining coverage under any policy or plan 

13 of insurance made available under this subtitle 

14 to ensure that the eligibility information is con15 sistent with the information reported by the 

16 producer to the Farm Service Agency. 

17 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—In accordance with the 

18 procedures of the Corporation, procedures 

19 under subparagraph (A) may include any subse20 quent correction to the eligibility information 

21 described in that subparagraph made by the 

22 Farm Service Agency if the corrections do not 

23 allow the producer— 

24 ‘‘(i) to obtain a disproportionate ben25 efit under the crop insurance program or 


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1 any related program of the Department of 

2 Agriculture; 

3 ‘‘(ii) to avoid ineligibility requirements 

4 for insurance; or 

5 ‘‘(iii) to avoid an obligation or re6 quirement under any Federal or State 

7 law.’’. 

8 SEC. 13. IMPLEMENTATION. 

9 Section 515 of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

10 U.S.C. 1515) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (j), by striking paragraph (1) 

12 and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(1) SYSTEMS MAINTENANCE AND UP14 GRADES.— 

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

16 maintain and upgrade the information manage17 ment systems of the Corporation used in the 

18 administration and enforcement of this subtitle. 

19 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In maintaining 

21 and upgrading the systems, the Secretary 

22 shall ensure that new hardware and soft23 ware are compatible with the hardware and 

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1 partment to maximize data sharing and 

2 promote the purposes of this section. 

3 ‘‘(ii) ACREAGE REPORT STREAM4 LINING INITIATIVE PROJECT.—As soon as 

5 practicable, the Secretary shall develop and 

6 implement an acreage report streamlining 

7 initiative project to allow producers to re8 port acreage and other information directly 

9 to the Department.’’; and 

10 (2) in subsection (k), by striking paragraph (1) 

11 and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of sub14 section (j)(1), the Corporation may use, from 

15 amounts made available from the insurance 

16 fund established under section 516(c), not more 

17 than— 

18 ‘‘(i)(I) for fiscal year 2014, 

19 $25,000,000; and 

20 ‘‘(II) for each of fiscal years 

21 2015 through 2018, $10,000,000; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) if the Acreage Crop Reporting 

23 Streamlining Initiative (ACRSI) project is 

24 substantially completed by September 30, 


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1 2014, not more than $15,000,000 for each 

2 of fiscal years 2015 through 2018. 

3 ‘‘(B) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than July 

4 1, 2014, the Secretary shall notify the Com5 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Rep6 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, 

7 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate on the 

8 status of the substantial completion of the 

9 Acreage Crop Reporting Streamlining Initiative 

10 (ACRSI) project.’’. 

11 SEC. 14. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 522(c) of the Federal 

13 Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1522(c)) is amended— 

14 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking 

15 ‘‘CONTRACTING’’; 

16 (2) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 

17 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘may enter into con18 tracts to carry out research and development to’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘may conduct activities or enter into 

20 contracts to carry out research and development to 

21 maintain or improve existing policies or develop new 

22 policies to’’; 

23 (3) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting ‘‘conduct 

24 research and development or’’ after ‘‘The Corpora25 tion may’’; 


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1 (4) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘after expert 

2 review in accordance with section 505(e) and proce3 dures of the Board’’ after ‘‘approved by the Board’’; 

4 and 

5 (5) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘a pasture, 

6 range, and forage program’’ and inserting ‘‘policies 

7 that increase participation by producers of under8 served agricultural commodities, including sweet sor9 ghum, sorghum for biomass, specialty crops, sugar10 cane, and dedicated energy crops’’. 

11 (b) FUNDING.—Section 522(e) of the Federal Crop 

12 Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1522(e)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY.—’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘(A) CONDUCTING AND CONTRACTING

16 FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.—’’; 

17 (B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

18 ‘‘conduct research and development and’’ after 

19 ‘‘the Corporation may use to’’; and 

20 (C) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

21 ‘‘conduct research and development and’’ after 

22 ‘‘for the fiscal year to’’; 

23 (2) in paragraph (3), in the matter preceding 

24 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘to provide either re25 imbursement payments or contract payments’’; and 


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1 (3) by striking paragraph (4). 

2 SEC. 15. BIOMASS AND SWEET SORGHUM ENERGY CROP IN3 SURANCE POLICIES. 

4 Section 522(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act of 

5 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1522(c)) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(18) BIOMASS AND SWEET SORGHUM ENERGY

8 CROP INSURANCE POLICIES.— 

9 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY.—The Corporation shall 

10 offer to enter into 1 or more contracts with 

11 qualified entities to carry out research and de12 velopment regarding— 

13 ‘‘(i) a policy to insure biomass sor14 ghum that is grown expressly for the pur15 pose of producing a feedstock for renew16 able biofuel, renewable electricity, or 

17 biobased products; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) a policy to insure sweet sorghum 

19 that is grown for a purpose described in 

20 clause (i). 

21 ‘‘(B) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

22 Research and development with respect to each 

23 of the policies required in subparagraph (A) 

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1 ghum or sweet sorghum, including policies and 

2 plans of insurance that— 

3 ‘‘(i) are based on market prices and 

4 yields; 

5 ‘‘(ii) to the extent that insufficient 

6 data exist to develop a policy based on 

7 market prices and yields, are based on the 

8 use of weather indices, including, at a min9 imum, excessive or inadequate rainfall, to 

10 protect the interests of crop producers; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) provide protection for production 

12 or revenue losses, or both.’’. 

13 SEC. 16. PILOT PROGRAMS. 

14 Section 523(a) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

15 U.S.C. 1523(a)) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, at the sole 

17 discretion of the Corporation,’’ after ‘‘may’’; and 

18 (2) by striking paragraph (5). 

19 SEC. 17. TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS. 

20 Section 508(b) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

21 U.S.C. 1508(b)) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking paragraph (7); and 

23 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (8) through 

24 (11) as paragraphs (7) through (10), respectively. 


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25 

•S 677 IS

1 SEC. 18. REPEAL OF DIRECT PAYMENTS. 

2 (a) REPEAL.—Sections 1103 and 1303 of the Food, 

3 Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8713, 

4 8753) are repealed. 

5 (b) CONTINUED APPLICATION FOR 2013 CROP

6 YEAR.—Sections 1103 and 1303 of the Food, Conserva7 tion, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8713, 8753), as 

8 in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this 

9 Act, shall continue to apply through the 2013 crop year 

10 with respect to all covered commodities (as defined in sec11 tion 1001 of that Act (7 U.S.C. 8702)) (except pulse 

12 crops) and peanuts on a farm. 

Æ 


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