II

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1535

To provide marketing quotas and a market transition program for the 1997

through 2001 crops of quota and additional peanuts, to terminate marketing quotas for the 2002 and subsequent crops of peanuts, and to

make nonrecourse loans available to peanut producers for the 2002

and subsequent crops of peanuts, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 13, 1997

Mr. SANTORUM (for himself, Mr. LAUTENBERG, Mr. DEWINE, Mr. CHAFEE,

Mr. COATS, Mr. GREGG, Mr. FEINGOLD, and Mr. SPECTER) introduced

the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee

on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

A BILL

To provide marketing quotas and a market transition program for the 1997 through 2001 crops of quota and

additional peanuts, to terminate marketing quotas for

the 2002 and subsequent crops of peanuts, and to make

nonrecourse loans available to peanut producers for the

2002 and subsequent crops of peanuts, 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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

3 ‘‘Peanut Program Improvement Act of 1997’’.

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

5 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—MARKETING QUOTAS FOR PEANUTS

Sec. 101. Marketing quotas for 1997 through 2001 crops of peanuts.

Sec. 102. Termination of marketing quotas for 2002 and subsequent crops of

peanuts.

TITLE II—MARKET TRANSITION PROGRAMS FOR PEANUTS

Sec. 201. Market transition program for 1997 through 2001 crops of quota and

additional peanuts.

Sec. 202. Nonrecourse loans for 2002 and subsequent crops of peanuts.

TITLE III—IMPLEMENTATION

Sec. 301. Regulations.

Sec. 302. Application.

6 TITLE I—MARKETING QUOTAS

7 FOR PEANUTS

8 SEC. 101. MARKETING QUOTAS FOR 1997 THROUGH 2001

9 CROPS OF PEANUTS.

10 Effective beginning with the 1997 crop of peanuts,

11 part VI of subtitle B of title III of the Agricultural Adjust12 ment Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1357 et seq.) is amended to

13 read as follows:

14 ‘‘PART VI—MARKETING QUOTAS—PEANUTS

15 ‘‘SEC. 357. DEFINITIONS.

16 ‘‘In this part:

17 ‘‘(1) ADDITIONAL PEANUTS.—The term ‘addi18 tional peanuts’ means, for any marketing year—
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1 ‘‘(A) any peanuts—

2 ‘‘(i) that are marketed by a person

3 who possesses a poundage quota that has

4 been established; and

5 ‘‘(ii) that are in excess of the market6 ings of quota peanuts for the person for

7 the year; or

8 ‘‘(B) all peanuts marketed for which no

9 poundage quota has been established in accord10 ance with section 358(b).

11 ‘‘(2) CRUSHING.—The term ‘crushing’ means

12 the processing of peanuts to extract oil for food uses

13 and meal for feed uses, or the processing of peanuts

14 by crushing or otherwise when authorized by the

15 Secretary.

16 ‘‘(3) DOMESTIC EDIBLE USE.—The term ‘do17 mestic edible use’ means use for milling to produce

18 domestic food peanuts (other than a use described in

19 paragraph (2)) and for seed and use on a farm, ex20 cept that the Secretary may exempt from this para21 graph seeds of peanuts that—

22 ‘‘(A) are unique strains; and

23 ‘‘(B) are not commercially available.
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1 ‘‘(4) MARKETING YEAR.—The term ‘marketing

2 year’ means, in the case of peanuts, the 12-month

3 period beginning August 1 and ending July 31.

4 ‘‘(5) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ means a pro5 ducer, owner, or operator who possesses a quota es6 tablished under section 358(b) or who is involved in

7 the production of additional peanuts.

8 ‘‘(6) QUOTA PEANUTS.—The term ‘quota pea9 nuts’ means, for any marketing year, any peanuts

10 produced by a person who possesses a poundage

11 quota, as determined under section 358(b), that—

12 ‘‘(A) are eligible for domestic edible use as

13 determined by the Secretary;

14 ‘‘(B) are marketed or considered marketed

15 from a farm, excluding undermarketings; and

16 ‘‘(C) do not exceed the poundage quota for

17 the year.

18 ‘‘SEC. 358. NATIONAL POUNDAGE QUOTAS FOR 1997

19 THROUGH 2001 CROPS OF PEANUTS.

20 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL POUNDAGE QUOTAS.—

21 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es22 tablish the national poundage quota for peanuts for

23 each of the 1997 through 2001 marketing years.

24 ‘‘(2) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The Secretary

25 shall establish the national poundage quota after
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1 considering recommendations from an all-industry

2 advisory committee appointed by the Secretary.

3 ‘‘(3) LEVEL.—The Secretary shall establish the

4 national poundage quota at a level that is equal to

5 the quantity of peanuts (in tons) that the Secretary

6 estimates will be devoted in each marketing year re7 ferred to in paragraph (1) to domestic edible and

8 related uses, plus a reasonable quantity of peanuts,

9 as determined by the Secretary, for carryover to en10 sure continuity of supply between marketing years.

11 In establishing the quota, the Secretary shall take

12 into account—

13 ‘‘(A) any stocks of peanuts on hand in the

14 inventory of the Commodity Credit Corporation;

15 ‘‘(B) peanuts or products of peanuts im16 ported into the United States;

17 ‘‘(C) projected purchases of additional pea18 nuts by the Department of Defense and other

19 Federal and State agencies; and

20 ‘‘(D) additional peanuts used for domestic

21 edible use in a quantity equal to the projected

22 imports of peanuts, products of peanuts, and

23 peanut-containing products.

24 ‘‘(4) ANNOUNCEMENT.—The national poundage

25 quota for a marketing year shall be announced by
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1 the Secretary not later than the December 15 pre2 ceding the marketing year.

3 ‘‘(b) POUNDAGE QUOTAS.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

5 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—A poundage

6 quota for each of the 1997 through 2001 mar7 keting years shall be established—

8 ‘‘(i) for a person if—

9 ‘‘(I)(aa) the person held a quota

10 in the previous marketing year; or

11 ‘‘(bb) in the case of the 1995

12 marketing year, quota was assigned to

13 the farm of the person;

14 unless the quota was sold; and

15 ‘‘(II) the person has produced or

16 marketed, or is considered to have

17 produced or marketed, peanuts in at

18 least 2 of the 3 immediately preceding

19 marketing years, as determined by the

20 Secretary; or

21 ‘‘(ii) as approved and determined by

22 the Secretary for each person who pro23 duces peanuts in connection with experi24 mental and research programs.

25 ‘‘(B) QUANTITY.—
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The poundage

2 quota for each of the 1997 through 2001

3 marketing years shall not be increased—

4 ‘‘(I) for undermarketings from

5 any previous years; or

6 ‘‘(II) as the result of the alloca7 tion of quotas voluntarily released for

8 1 year under paragraph (6).

9 ‘‘(ii) INCREASED QUOTA.—The pound10 age quota, if any, for each of the 1997

11 through 2001 marketing years, shall be

12 equal to the quantity of peanuts allocated

13 under paragraph (2).

14 ‘‘(C) TRANSFERS.—For purposes of this

15 subsection, if the poundage quota, or any part

16 of the quota, is permanently transferred in ac17 cordance with this Act, the receiving person

18 shall be considered as possessing the poundage

19 quota (or part of the quota) of the transferring

20 person as of the date of the transfer and for all

21 subsequent marketing years.

22 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENTS.—

23 ‘‘(A) ALLOCATION OF INCREASED QUOTA

24 GENERALLY.—If the national poundage quota

25 for any of the 1997 through 2001 marketing
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1 years is increased over the national poundage

2 quota for the immediately preceding marketing

3 year, the increase shall be allocated, proportion4 ately, among persons who possess quota if the

5 persons produced peanuts in at least 2 of the

6 3 immediately preceding marketing years, as

7 determined by the Secretary.

8 ‘‘(B) DECREASE.—If the national pound9 age quota for any of the 1997 through 2001

10 marketing years is decreased from the national

11 poundage quota for the immediately preceding

12 marketing year, the decrease shall be allocated,

13 proportionately, among persons who possess a

14 quota if the persons produced peanuts in at

15 least 2 of the 3 immediately preceding market16 ing years, as determined by the Secretary.

17 ‘‘(3) QUOTA NOT PRODUCED.—

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Insofar as practicable

19 and on such fair and equitable basis as the Sec20 retary may by regulation prescribe, the pound21 age quota established for a person for any of

22 the 1997 through 2001 marketing years shall

23 be reduced to the extent that the Secretary de24 termines that the poundage quota established

25 for the person for any 2 of the 3 marketing
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1 years preceding the marketing year for which

2 the determination is being made was not pro3 duced, or considered produced.

4 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—For the purposes of

5 this paragraph, the poundage quota for any

6 such preceding marketing year shall not in7 clude—

8 ‘‘(i) any increases for undermarketing

9 of quota peanuts from previous years; or

10 ‘‘(ii) any increase resulting from the

11 allocation of quotas voluntarily released for

12 1 year under paragraph (6).

13 ‘‘(4) QUOTA CONSIDERED PRODUCED.—For

14 purposes of this subsection, the poundage quota

15 shall be considered produced by a person if—

16 ‘‘(A) the poundage quota was not produced

17 because of drought, flood, or any other natural

18 disaster, or any other condition beyond the con19 trol of the person, as determined by the Sec20 retary; or

21 ‘‘(B) the poundage quota for the person

22 was released voluntarily under paragraph (6)

23 for only 1 of the 3 marketing years immediately

24 preceding the marketing year for which the de25 termination is being made.
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1 ‘‘(5) QUOTA PERMANENTLY RELEASED.—

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The poundage quota

3 established for a person, or any part of the

4 quota, may be permanently released.

5 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENT OF QUOTA.—The

6 poundage quota for the person for which the

7 quota is released shall be adjusted downward to

8 reflect the quota that is released.

9 ‘‘(C) UNUSED QUOTA.—Any quota not

10 produced, considered produced, or not leased or

11 sold shall be considered permanently released.

12 ‘‘(6) QUOTA TEMPORARILY RELEASED.—

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The poundage quota,

14 or any portion of the quota, established for a

15 person for a marketing year may be voluntarily

16 released to the Secretary to the extent that the

17 quota, or any part of the quota, will not be pro18 duced by the person for the marketing year.

19 Any poundage quota so released shall be allo20 cated to other persons on such basis as the Sec21 retary may by regulation prescribe.

22 ‘‘(B) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—Except as oth23 erwise provided in this section, any adjustment

24 in the poundage quota for a person under sub25 paragraph (A) shall be effective only for the
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1 marketing year for which the adjustment is

2 made and shall not be taken into consideration

3 in establishing a poundage quota for the person

4 from which the quota was released for any sub5 sequent marketing year.

6 ‘‘(7) RELEASED QUOTA.—Any poundage quota

7 permanently released may not be reallocated in the

8 subsequent marketing year.

9 ‘‘(c) REFERENDUM RESPECTING POUNDAGE

10 QUOTAS.—

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December

12 15, 1997, the Secretary shall conduct a referendum

13 of all producers engaged in the production of pea14 nuts to determine whether the producers are in favor

15 of or opposed to poundage quotas with respect to the

16 crops of peanuts produced in the remaining market17 ing years authorized by this part, except that, if as

many as 2 18 ⁄3 of the producers voting in any referen19 dum vote in favor of poundage quotas, no referen20 dum shall be held with respect to quotas for the re21 maining marketing years authorized by this part.

22 Each producer voting in the referendum may cast 1

23 vote.
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1 ‘‘(2) PROCLAMATION.—The Secretary shall pro2 claim the result of the referendum within 30 days

3 after the date on which the referendum is held.

‘‘(3) VOTE AGAINST QUOTAS.—If more than 1 4 ⁄3

5 of the producers voting in the referendum vote

6 against quotas, the Secretary shall proclaim that

7 poundage quotas will not be in effect for the remain8 ing marketing years authorized by this part.

9 ‘‘SEC. 358A. SALE, LEASE, OR TRANSFER OF POUNDAGE

10 QUOTA FOR 1997 THROUGH 2001 CROPS OF

11 PEANUTS.

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to such terms and condi13 tions as the Secretary may prescribe, a person for which

14 a poundage quota has been established under this Act may

15 sell, lease, or transfer all or any part of the poundage

16 quota to any other owner, operator, or producer of peanuts

17 without geographic limitation. Sales, leases, or transfers

18 shall be allowed so as to rationalize production for owners,

19 operators, or producers in areas or regions that may be

20 the most efficient and productive.

21 ‘‘(b) TREATMENT OF LESSORS.—For purposes of

22 this part, a lessor who is a person who leases all or any

23 part of a poundage quota for a marketing year shall be

24 considered to have produced or marketed the quota for

25 that marketing year.
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1 ‘‘(c) LIMITS.—A sale, lease, or transfer of poundage

2 quotas under this section shall be subject to the following

3 conditions:

4 ‘‘(1) LIENHOLDERS.—No transfer of the

5 poundage quota from a farm subject to a mortgage

6 or other lien is effective unless the transfer is agreed

7 to by the lienholders.

8 ‘‘(2) RECORD.—No transfer of the poundage

9 quota shall be effective until the Secretary and all

10 lienholders are given notice of the transfer, as deter11 mined by the Secretary.

12 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not es13 tablish a limitation on the quantity or geographical

14 location of poundage quota that may be transferred.

15 ‘‘(4) OTHER TERMS.—The Secretary may es16 tablish by regulation other terms and conditions.

17 ‘‘SEC. 358B. MARKETING PENALTIES AND DISPOSITION OF

18 ADDITIONAL PEANUTS FOR 1997 THROUGH

19 2001 CROPS OF PEANUTS.

20 ‘‘(a) MARKETING PENALTIES.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—

22 ‘‘(A) MARKETING PEANUTS IN EXCESS OF

23 QUOTA.—The marketing of any peanuts for do24 mestic edible use in excess of the poundage

25 quota for a person shall be subject to a penalty
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1 at a rate equal to 140 percent of the support

2 price for quota peanuts for the marketing year

3 in which the marketing occurs. The penalty

4 shall not apply to the marketing of breeder or

5 Foundation seed peanuts grown and marketed

6 by a publicly owned agricultural experiment sta7 tion (including a State operated seed organiza8 tion), nor to additional peanuts marketed under

9 contracts between handlers and producers

10 under subsection (e).

11 ‘‘(B) MARKETING ADDITIONAL PEA12 NUTS.—The marketing of any additional pea13 nuts shall be subject to the same penalty as the

14 penalty prescribed in subparagraph (A) unless

15 the peanuts, in accordance with regulations es16 tablished by the Secretary, are—

17 ‘‘(i) placed under loan at the addi18 tional loan rate in effect for the peanuts

19 under section 155 of the Agricultural Mar20 ket Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7271) and

21 not redeemed by the producers;

22 ‘‘(ii) marketed or used for seed in ac23 cordance with regulations issued by the

24 Secretary, and under the supervision of

25 agents designated by the Secretary; or
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1 ‘‘(iii) marketed under contracts be2 tween handlers and producers pursuant to

3 subsection (e).

4 ‘‘(2) PAYER.—The penalty shall be paid by the

5 person who buys or otherwise acquires the peanuts

6 from the producer or, if the peanuts are marketed

7 by the producer through an agent, the penalty shall

8 be paid by the agent. The person or agent may de9 duct an amount equivalent to the penalty from the

10 price paid to the producer.

11 ‘‘(3) FAILURE TO COLLECT.—If the person re12 quired to collect the penalty fails to collect the pen13 alty, the person and all persons entitled to share in

14 the peanuts marketed from the farm or the proceeds

15 of the marketing shall be jointly and severally liable

16 with the person who failed to collect the penalty for

17 the amount of the penalty.

18 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION OF QUOTA.—Peanuts pro19 duced in a calendar year in which poundage quotas

20 are in effect for the marketing year beginning in the

21 calendar year shall be subject to the quotas even

22 though the peanuts are marketed prior to the date

23 on which the marketing year begins.

24 ‘‘(5) FALSE INFORMATION.—If any producer

25 falsely identifies, fails to accurately certify planted
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1 acres, or fails to account for the disposition of any

2 peanuts produced on the planted acres, a quantity of

3 peanuts equal to the greater of the average or actual

4 yield of the farm, as determined by the Secretary,

5 multiplied by the number of planted acres, shall be

6 deemed to have been marketed in violation of per7 missible uses of quota and additional peanuts. Any

8 penalty payable under this paragraph shall be paid

9 and remitted by the producer.

10 ‘‘(6) UNINTENTIONAL VIOLATIONS.—The Sec11 retary shall authorize, under such regulations as the

12 Secretary shall issue, the county committees estab13 lished under section 8(b) of the Soil Conservation

14 and Domestic Allotment Act (16 U.S.C. 590h(b)) to

15 waive or reduce marketing penalties provided for

16 under this subsection in cases which the committees

17 determine that the violations that were the basis of

18 the penalties were unintentional or without knowl19 edge on the part of the parties concerned.

20 ‘‘(7) DE MINIMIS VIOLATIONS.—An error in

weight that does not exceed 1 21 ⁄10 of 1 percent in the

22 case of any 1 marketing document shall not be con23 sidered to be a marketing violation except in a case

24 of fraud or conspiracy.

25 ‘‘(b) USE OF QUOTA AND ADDITIONAL PEANUTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) QUOTA PEANUTS.—Quota peanuts may be

2 retained for use on a farm. If the peanuts are used

3 on the farm, the peanuts shall be considered mar4 keted.

5 ‘‘(2) ADDITIONAL PEANUTS.—Additional pea6 nuts may be sold for seed or used on a farm and

7 may not be marketed for domestic edible use, except

8 as provided in subsection (e) and section 155(a)(5)

9 of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C.

10 7271(a)(5)). If the peanuts are used on the farm,

11 the peanuts shall be considered marketed.

12 ‘‘(c) MARKETING PEANUTS WITH EXCESS QUAN13 TITY, GRADE, OR QUALITY.—On a finding by the Sec14 retary that the peanuts marketed from any crop for do15 mestic edible use by a handler are larger in quantity or

16 higher in grade or quality than the peanuts that could rea17 sonably be produced from the quantity of peanuts having

18 the grade, kernel content, and quality of the quota peanuts

19 acquired by the handler from the crop for the marketing,

20 the handler shall be subject to a penalty equal to 140 per21 cent of the loan level for quota peanuts on the quantity

22 of peanuts that the Secretary determines are in excess of

23 the quantity, grade, or quality of the peanuts that could

24 reasonably have been produced from the peanuts so ac25 quired.
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1 ‘‘(d) HANDLING AND DISPOSAL OF ADDITIONAL

2 PEANUTS.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A handler who provides

4 adequate assurances to the Secretary under para5 graph (3) shall be eligible to handle, process, and ex6 port additional peanuts.

7 ‘‘(2) SUPERVISION BY HANDLERS.—

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Supervision of the

9 handling and disposal of additional peanuts by

10 a handler shall not be required if the handler

11 agrees in writing, prior to any handling or dis12 posal of the peanuts, to comply with regulations

13 that the Secretary shall issue.

14 ‘‘(B) REGULATIONS.—The regulations is15 sued by the Secretary shall include the follow16 ing:

17 ‘‘(i) TYPES OF EXPORTED OR

18 CRUSHED PEANUTS.—Handlers of shelled

19 or milled peanuts may export or crush—

20 ‘‘(I) sound split kernel additional

21 peanuts purchased by the handler

22 that are discounted due to the per23 centage of sound splits per pound;

24 ‘‘(II) sound mature kernel addi25 tional peanuts in an amount equal to
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1 the poundage of the additional pea2 nuts purchased by the handler, less

3 the total poundage of sound split ker4 nel peanuts; and

5 ‘‘(III) the remaining quantity of

6 additional peanuts purchased by the

7 handler.

8 ‘‘(ii) DOCUMENTATION.—A handler

9 shall ensure that any additional peanuts

10 exported or crushed are evidenced by on11 board bills of lading or other appropriate

12 documentation as may be required by the

13 Secretary.

14 ‘‘(iii) LOSS OF PEANUTS.—If a han15 dler suffers a loss of peanuts as a result of

16 fire, flood, or any other condition beyond

17 the control of the handler, the portion of

18 the loss allocated to contracted additional

19 peanuts shall not be greater than the por20 tion of the total peanut purchases of the

21 handler for the year for export or crushing.

22 ‘‘(iv) SHRINKAGE ALLOWANCE.—

23 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The obliga24 tion of a handler to export or crush

25 peanuts in quantities described in this
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1 subparagraph shall be reduced by a

2 shrinkage allowance, to be determined

3 by the Secretary, to reflect actual dol4 lar value shrinkage experienced by

5 handlers in commercial operations, ex6 cept that the allowance shall not be

7 less than 4 percent.

8 ‘‘(II) COMMON INDUSTRY PRAC9 TICES.—The Secretary may provide a

10 lower shrinkage allowance for a han11 dler who fails to comply with shrink12 age criteria specified by the Secretary,

13 taking into account common industry

14 practice.

15 ‘‘(3) ADEQUATE FINANCES AND FACILITIES.—A

16 handler shall submit to the Secretary adequate as17 surances that the handler is fiscally sound. The Sec18 retary shall not require proof of capacity to process

19 peanuts.

20 ‘‘(4) COMMINGLING OF LIKE PEANUTS.—Quota

21 and additional peanuts of like type and segregation

22 or quality may, under regulations issued by the Sec23 retary, be commingled and exchanged on a dollar

24 value basis to facilitate warehousing, handling, and

25 marketing.
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1 ‘‘(5) PENALTY.—

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

3 subparagraph (B), the failure by a handler to

4 comply with regulations issued by the Secretary

5 governing the disposition and handling of addi6 tional peanuts shall subject the handler to a

7 penalty at a rate equal to 140 percent of the

8 loan level for quota peanuts on the quantity of

9 peanuts involved in the violation.

10 ‘‘(B) NONDELIVERY.—A handler shall not

11 be subject to a penalty for failure to export ad12 ditional peanuts if the peanuts were not deliv13 ered to the handler.

14 ‘‘(6) REENTRY OF EXPORTED PEANUTS.—

15 ‘‘(A) PENALTY.—If any additional peanuts

16 exported by a handler are reentered into the

17 United States in commercial quantities as de18 termined by the Secretary, the importer of the

19 peanuts shall be subject to a penalty at a rate

20 equal to 140 percent of the loan level for quota

21 peanuts on the quantity of peanuts reentered.

22 ‘‘(B) RECORDS.—Each person, firm, or

23 handler who imports peanuts into the United

24 States shall maintain such records and docu-
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1 ments as are required by the Secretary to en2 sure compliance with this subsection.

3 ‘‘(e) CONTRACTS FOR PURCHASE OF ADDITIONAL

4 PEANUTS.—

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Handlers may, under such

6 regulations as the Secretary may issue, contract with

7 producers for the purchase of additional peanuts

8 for—

9 ‘‘(A) crushing;

10 ‘‘(B) export;

11 ‘‘(C) use as seed;

12 ‘‘(D) sale to the Department of Defense or

13 another agency of the Federal, State, or local

14 government;

15 ‘‘(E) domestic edible use in a quantity

16 equal to the projected imports of peanuts, prod17 ucts of peanuts, and peanut-containing prod18 ucts; or

19 ‘‘(F) any combination of the uses referred

20 to in subparagraphs (A) through (E).

21 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION FOR HANDLING AND PROC22 ESSING ADDITIONAL PEANUTS.—Any person wishing

23 to handle or process additional peanuts as a handler

24 shall submit to the Secretary such information as

25 the Secretary may require.
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1 ‘‘(3) SUSPENSION OF RESTRICTIONS ON IM2 PORTED PEANUTS.—Notwithstanding any other pro3 vision of this Act, if the President issues a proclama4 tion under section 404(b) of the Uruguay Round

5 Agreements Act (19 U.S.C. 3601(b)) expanding the

6 quantity of peanuts subject to the in-quota rate of

7 duty under a tariff-rate quota, or under section 22

8 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 624),

9 reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural

10 Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, temporarily sus11 pending restrictions on the importation of peanuts,

12 the Secretary shall, subject to such terms and condi13 tions as the Secretary may prescribe, permit a han14 dler, with the written consent of the producer, to

15 purchase additional peanuts from any producer who

16 contracted with the handler and to offer the peanuts

17 for sale for domestic edible use.

18 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATION.—

19 ‘‘(1) INTEREST.—The person liable for payment

20 or collection of any penalty provided for in this sec21 tion shall be liable also for interest on the penalty

22 at a rate per annum equal to the rate per annum

23 of interest that was charged the Commodity Credit

24 Corporation by the Treasury of the United States on

25 the date the penalty became due.
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1 ‘‘(2) DE MINIMIS QUANTITY.—This section shall

2 not apply to peanuts produced on any farm on which

3 the acreage harvested for peanuts is 1 acre or less

4 if the producers who share in the peanuts produced

5 on the farm do not share in the peanuts produced

6 on any other farm.

7 ‘‘(3) LIENS.—Until the amount of the penalty

8 provided by this section is paid, a lien on the crop

9 of peanuts with respect to which the penalty is in10 curred, and on any subsequent crop of peanuts sub11 ject to poundage quotas in which the person liable

12 for payment of the penalty has an interest, shall be

13 in effect in favor of the United States.

14 ‘‘(4) INFORMATION.—A person possessing a

15 poundage quota, and a producer of additional pea16 nuts, shall provide any information required by the

17 Secretary to carry out this section.

18 ‘‘(5) PENALTIES.—

19 ‘‘(A) PROCEDURES.—The liability for and

20 the amount of any penalty assessed under this

21 section shall be determined in accordance with

22 such procedures as the Secretary may prescribe

23 by regulation. The facts constituting the basis

24 for determining the liability for or amount of

25 any penalty assessed under this section, when
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1 officially determined in conformity with the ap2 plicable regulations prescribed by the Secretary,

3 shall be final and conclusive and shall not be

4 reviewable by any other officer or agency of the

5 Federal Government.

6 ‘‘(B) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Nothing in this

7 section prohibits any court of competent juris8 diction from reviewing any determination made

9 by the Secretary with respect to whether the de10 termination was made in conformity with the

11 applicable law.

12 ‘‘(6) REDUCTION OF PENALTIES.—The Sec13 retary may reduce the amount of any penalty as14 sessed against a handler under this section by any

15 appropriate amount, including, in an appropriate

16 case, eliminating the penalty entirely, if the Sec17 retary finds that the violation on which the penalty

18 is based was minor or inadvertent, and that the re19 duction of the penalty will not impair the operation

20 of the peanut program.

21 ‘‘SEC. 358C. EXPERIMENTAL AND RESEARCH PROGRAMS

22 FOR PEANUTS.

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may permit a por24 tion of the national poundage quota for peanuts estab25 lished under section 358(a) to be provided to land-grant
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1 institutions identified in the Act of May 8, 1914 (38 Stat.

2 372, chapter 79; 7 U.S.C. 341 et seq.), and colleges eligi3 ble to receive funds under the Act of August 30, 1890

4 (26 Stat. 419, chapter 841; 7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.), includ5 ing Tuskegee Institute and, as appropriate, the Agricul6 tural Research Service of the Department of Agriculture,

7 to be used for experimental and research purposes.

8 ‘‘(b) QUANTITY.—The quantity of the quota allocated

9 to an institution under this section shall not exceed the

10 quantity of the quota held by each such institution during

11 the 1995 marketing year.

12 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION.—The director of an agricultural

13 experiment station shall be required to ensure, to the ex14 tent practicable, that participating farm operators or pro15 ducers who do not produce quota peanuts under sub16 section (a) in excess of the quantity needed for experi17 mental and research purposes.

18 ‘‘SEC. 358D. CROPS.

19 ‘‘This part shall be effective only for the 1997

20 through 2001 crops of peanuts.’’.

21 SEC. 102. TERMINATION OF MARKETING QUOTAS FOR 2002

22 AND SUBSEQUENT CROPS OF PEANUTS.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective beginning with the 2002

24 crop of peanuts, part VI of subtitle B of title III of the
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1 Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1357 et

2 seq.) is repealed.

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

4 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—Section 361

5 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 (7

6 U.S.C. 1361) is amended by striking ‘‘peanuts,’’.

7 (2) ADJUSTMENT OF QUOTAS.—Section 371 of

8 the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C.

9 1371) is amended—

10 (A) in the first sentence of subsection (a),

11 by striking ‘‘peanuts,’’; and

12 (B) in the first sentence of subsection (b),

13 by striking ‘‘peanuts’’.

14 (3) REPORTS AND RECORDS.—Section 373 of

15 the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C.

16 1373) is amended—

17 (A) in the first sentence of subsection

18 (a)—

19 (i) by striking ‘‘peanuts,’’ each place

20 it appears;

21 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and’’ after ‘‘from

22 producers,’’; and

23 (iii) by striking ‘‘for producers, all’’

24 and all that follows through the period at
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1 the end of the sentence and inserting ‘‘for

2 producers.’’; and

3 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘pea4 nuts,’’.

5 (4) EMINENT DOMAIN.—Section 378(c) of the

6 Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C.

7 1378(c)) is amended in the first sentence—

8 (A) by striking ‘‘cotton,’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘cotton and’’; and

10 (B) by striking ‘‘and peanuts,’’.

11 (c) CROPS.—This section and the amendments made

12 by this section shall become effective beginning with the

13 2002 crop of peanuts.

14 TITLE II—MARKET TRANSITION

15 PROGRAMS FOR PEANUTS

16 SEC. 201. MARKET TRANSITION PROGRAM FOR 1997

17 THROUGH 2001 CROPS OF QUOTA AND ADDI18 TIONAL PEANUTS.

19 Effective beginning with the 1997 crop of peanuts,

20 section 155 of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7

21 U.S.C. 7271) is amended to read as follows:

22 ‘‘SEC. 155. PEANUT PROGRAM.

23 ‘‘(a) QUOTA PEANUTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make

2 nonrecourse loans available to producers of each of

3 the 1997 through 2001 crops of quota peanuts.

4 ‘‘(2) DISBURSEMENT.—The Secretary shall ini5 tially disburse only 85 percent of the loans required

6 under paragraph (1) to producers for the 1997 crop,

7 and 80 percent of the loans for each of the 1998,

8 1999, 2000, and 2001 crops, and provide for the

9 disbursement to producers at maturity of any bal10 ances due the producers on the loans that may re11 main to be settled at maturity. The remainder of

12 the loans shall be paid only if payment would result

13 in no net cost to the Commodity Credit Corporation

14 for the immediately preceding and current crops of

15 quota peanuts.

16 ‘‘(3) SUPPORT RATES.—The national average

17 quota support rate for quota peanuts shall not be

18 more than $610 per ton for the 1997 crop, $550 per

19 ton for the 1998 crop, $515 per ton for the 1999

20 crop, $480 per ton for the 2000 crop, and $445 per

21 ton for the 2001 crop.

22 ‘‘(4) INSPECTION, HANDLING, OR STORAGE.—

23 The levels of support determined under paragraph

24 (3) shall not be reduced by any deduction for inspec25 tion, handling, or storage.
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1 ‘‘(5) MARKETING OF PEANUTS OWNED OR CON2 TROLLED BY THE COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORA3 TION.—Any peanuts owned or controlled by the

4 Commodity Credit Corporation may be made avail5 able for domestic edible use, in accordance with reg6 ulations issued by the Secretary and sales price re7 strictions applicable to the Corporation.

8 ‘‘(6) LOCATION AND OTHER FACTORS.—The

9 Secretary may make adjustments for location of pea10 nuts and such other factors as are authorized by

11 section 403.

12 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL PEANUTS.—The Secretary shall

13 make nonrecourse loans available to producers of each of

14 the 1997 through 2001 crops of additional peanuts at

15 such levels as the Secretary considers appropriate, taking

16 into consideration the demand for peanut oil and peanut

17 meal, the expected prices of other vegetable oils and pro18 tein meals, and the demand for peanuts in foreign mar19 kets, except that the Secretary shall set the support rate

20 on additional peanuts at a level estimated by the Secretary

21 to ensure that there are no losses to the Commodity Credit

22 Corporation on the sale or disposal of the peanuts.

23 ‘‘(c) POOLS FOR QUOTA AND ADDITIONAL PEA24 NUTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require

2 a participating marketing association to establish

3 pools and maintain complete and accurate records

4 by area and segregation for quota peanuts handled

5 under loan and for additional peanuts placed under

6 loan, except that separate pools shall be established

7 for Valencia peanuts produced in New Mexico.

8 Bright hull and dark hull Valencia peanuts shall be

9 considered as separate types for the purpose of es10 tablishing the pools.

11 ‘‘(2) NET GAINS.—Net gains on peanuts in

12 each pool, unless otherwise approved by the Sec13 retary, shall be distributed only to producers who

14 placed peanuts in the pool and shall be distributed

15 in proportion to the value of the peanuts placed in

16 the pool by each producer. Net gains for peanuts in

17 each pool shall consist of the net gains over and

18 above the loan indebtedness and other costs or losses

19 incurred on peanuts placed in the pool.

20 ‘‘(3) LOSSES.—A loss in an area quota pool

21 shall be offset by any gain or profit from other area

22 quota pools (other than the quota pool for Valencia

23 peanuts for New Mexico). A quota pool shall be ad24 ministered at no cost to the Commodity Credit Cor25 poration.
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1 ‘‘(d) DISAPPROVAL OF QUOTAS.—No loan may be

2 made available by the Secretary for any crop of peanuts

3 with respect to which poundage quotas have been dis4 approved by producers, as provided for in section 358(c)

5 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C.

6 1358(c)).

7 ‘‘(e) MARKETING ASSESSMENT.—

8 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF FIRST PURCHASER.—In

9 this subsection, the term ‘first purchaser’ means a

10 person acquiring peanuts from a producer, except

11 that in the case of peanuts forfeited by a producer

12 to the Commodity Credit Corporation, the term

13 means the person acquiring the peanuts from the

14 Commodity Credit Corporation.

15 ‘‘(2) ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary shall pro16 vide, by regulation, for a nonrefundable marketing

17 assessment applicable to each of the 1997 through

18 2001 crops of peanuts. The assessment shall be

19 made in accordance with this subsection and shall be

20 on a per pound basis in an amount equal to 1.2 per21 cent of the national average quota or additional pea22 nut support rate per pound, as applicable, for the

23 applicable crop. No peanuts shall be assessed more

24 than 1.2 percent of the applicable support rate

25 under this subsection.
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1 ‘‘(3) FIRST PURCHASERS.—Except as provided

2 under paragraphs (4) and (5), the first purchaser of

3 peanuts shall—

4 ‘‘(A) collect from the producer a marketing

5 assessment equal to the quantity of peanuts ac6 quired multiplied by .65 percent of the applica7 ble national average support rate;

8 ‘‘(B) pay, in addition to the amount col9 lected under subparagraph (A), a marketing as10 sessment in an amount equal to the quantity of

11 peanuts acquired multiplied by .55 percent of

12 the applicable national average support rate;

13 and

14 ‘‘(C) remit the amounts required under

15 subparagraphs (A) and (B) to the Commodity

16 Credit Corporation in a manner specified by the

17 Secretary.

18 ‘‘(4) OTHER PRIVATE MARKETINGS.—In the

19 case of a private marketing by a producer directly

20 to a consumer through a retail or wholesale outlet

21 or in the case of a marketing by the producer out22 side of the continental United States, the producer

23 shall be responsible for the full amount of the as24 sessment and shall remit the assessment by such

25 time as is specified by the Secretary.
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1 ‘‘(5) LOAN PEANUTS.—In the case of peanuts

2 that are pledged as collateral for a loan made under

this section, 1 3 ⁄2 of the assessment shall be deducted

4 from the proceeds of the loan. The remainder of the

5 assessment shall be paid by the first purchaser of

6 the peanuts. For the purposes of computing net

7 gains on peanuts under this section, the reduction

8 in loan proceeds shall be treated as having been paid

9 to the producer.

10 ‘‘(6) PENALTIES.—If any person fails to collect

11 or remit the reduction required by this subsection or

12 fails to comply with such requirements for record13 keeping or otherwise as are required by the Sec14 retary to carry out this subsection, the person shall

15 be liable to the Secretary for a civil penalty up to

16 an amount determined by multiplying—

17 ‘‘(A) the quantity of peanuts involved in

18 the violation; by

19 ‘‘(B) the national average quota support

20 rate for the applicable crop year.

21 ‘‘(7) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary may en22 force this subsection in the courts of the United

23 States.
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1 ‘‘(f) COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION.—The Sec2 retary shall carry out the program authorized by this sec3 tion through the Commodity Credit Corporation.

4 ‘‘(g) CROPS.—This section shall be effective for the

5 1997 through 2001 crops of peanuts.’’.

6 SEC. 202. NONRECOURSE LOANS FOR 2002 AND SUBSE7 QUENT CROPS OF PEANUTS.

8 Effective beginning with the 2002 crop of peanuts,

9 section 155 of the Agricultural Market Transition Act (7

10 U.S.C. 7271) is amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘SEC. 155. PEANUT PROGRAM.

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—

13 ‘‘(1) LOANS.—The Secretary shall make non14 recourse loans available to producers of peanuts for

15 each of the 2002 and subsequent crops of peanuts.

16 ‘‘(2) RATE.—In carrying out paragraph (1), the

17 Secretary shall offer to all peanut producers non18 recourse loans at a level not less than 85 percent of

19 the simple average price received by producers for

20 peanuts, as determined by the Secretary, during the

21 marketing year for each of the immediately preced22 ing 5 crops of peanuts, excluding the year in which

23 the average price was the highest and the year in

24 which the average price was the lowest during the

25 period, but not more than $350 per ton. The loans
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1 shall be administered at no net cost to the Commod2 ity Credit Corporation.

3 ‘‘(3) INSPECTION, HANDLING, OR STORAGE.—

4 The levels of support determined under paragraph

5 (2) shall not be reduced by any deduction for inspec6 tion, handling, or storage.

7 ‘‘(4) MARKETING OF PEANUTS OWNED OR CON8 TROLLED BY THE COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORA9 TION.—Any peanuts owned or controlled by the

10 Commodity Credit Corporation may be made avail11 able for domestic edible use, in accordance with reg12 ulations issued by the Secretary, so long as doing so

13 results in no net cost to the Commodity Credit Cor14 poration.

15 ‘‘(5) LOCATION AND OTHER FACTORS.—The

16 Secretary may make adjustments for the location of

17 peanuts and such other factors as are authorized by

18 section 403.

19 ‘‘(6) ANNOUNCEMENT.—The Secretary shall

20 announce the level of support for each crop of pea21 nuts not later than the February 15 preceding the

22 marketing year for which the level of support is

23 being determined.
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1 ‘‘(b) COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION.—The Sec2 retary shall carry out the program authorized by this sec3 tion through the Commodity Credit Corporation.

4 ‘‘(c) CROPS.—This section shall be effective for each

5 of the 2002 and subsequent crops of peanuts.’’.

6 TITLE III—IMPLEMENTATION

7 SEC. 301. REGULATIONS.

8 The Secretary of Agriculture shall issue such regula9 tions as are necessary to carry out this Act and the

10 amendments made by this Act.

11 SEC. 302. APPLICATION.

12 (a) CROPS.—Except as otherwise specifically pro13 vided in this Act, this Act and the amendments made by

14 this Act shall apply beginning with the 1997 crop of pea15 nuts.

16 (b) PRIOR CROPS.—Except as otherwise specifically

17 provided and notwithstanding any other provision of law,

18 this Act and the amendments made by this Act shall not

19 affect the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to

20 carry out a market transition or production adjustment

21 program for any of the 1991 through 1996 crops of pea22 nuts established under a provision of law in effect imme23 diately before the enactment of this Act.

Æ