I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2081

To amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to convert the price support

program for sugarcane and sugar beets into a system of solely recourse

loans, to gradually reduce the level of price support available for sugarcane and sugar beets, and to eliminate the program after the 2004

crops of sugarcane and sugar beets.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 6, 2001

Mr. MILLER of Florida (for himself, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr.

DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. FRANK, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. GOSS, Mr. KOLBE, Mr.

SHAYS, Mr. KIRK, Mrs. NORTHUP, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BASS, Mr. ROYCE,

Mr. ENGLISH, Mr. PORTMAN, Mrs. BIGGERT, Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. ALLEN,

Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, Mr. LOBIONDO, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mr. WAMP,

Mr. FERGUSON, Mr. HOLT, Mr. CLAY, Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr.

BLAGOJEVICH, Mrs. LOWEY, Mrs. ROUKEMA, Mr. SUNUNU, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. SCARBOROUGH, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr.

SOUDER, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. HORN, Mr.

BORSKI, Mr. SHAW, Mr. MEEHAN, Mr. GEKAS, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. CRANE, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr. HUTCHINSON,

Mr. TOOMEY, Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin, and Mr. RUSH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

A BILL

To amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to convert

the price support program for sugarcane and sugar beets

into a system of solely recourse loans, to gradually reduce

the level of price support available for sugarcane and

sugar beets, and to eliminate the program after the

2004 crops of sugarcane and sugar beets.
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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sugar Program Re5 form Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. RECOURSE LOANS FOR PROCESSORS OF SUGAR7 CANE AND SUGAR BEETS AND REDUCTION IN

8 LOAN RATES.

9 (a) GRADUAL REDUCTION IN LOAN RATES.—

10 (1) SUGARCANE PROCESSOR LOANS.—Sub11 section (a) of section 156 of the Agricultural Market

12 Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7272) is amended by strik13 ing ‘‘equal to 18 cents per pound for raw cane

14 sugar.’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘, per pound for

15 raw cane sugar, equal to the following:

16 ‘‘(1) In the case of raw cane sugar processed

17 from the 1996 through 2000 crops, $0.18.

18 ‘‘(2) In the case of raw cane sugar processed

19 from the 2001 crop, $0.17.

20 ‘‘(3) In the case of raw cane sugar processed

21 from the 2002 crop, $0.16.

22 ‘‘(4) In the case of raw cane sugar processed

23 from the 2003 crop, $0.15.

24 ‘‘(5) In the case of raw cane sugar processed

25 from the 2004 crop, $0.14.’’.
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1 (2) SUGAR BEET PROCESSOR LOANS.—Sub2 section (b) of such section is amended by striking

3 ‘‘equal to 22.9 cents per pound for refined beet

4 sugar.’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘, per pound of

5 refined beet sugar, that reflects—

6 ‘‘(1) an amount that bears the same relation to

7 the loan rate in effect under subsection (a) for a

8 crop as the weighted average of producer returns for

9 sugar beets bears to the weighted average of pro10 ducer returns for sugarcane, expressed on a cents

11 per pound basis for refined beet sugar and raw cane

12 sugar, for the most recent five-year period for which

13 data are available; plus

14 ‘‘(2) an amount that covers sugar beet proc15 essor fixed marketing expenses.’’.

16 (b) CONVERSION TO RECOURSE LOANS.—Subsection

17 (e) of such section is amended to read as follows:

18 ‘‘(1) RECOURSE LOANS.—The Secretary shall

19 carry out this section only through the use of non20 recourse loans.

21 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL LOAN RATES.—Recourse loans

22 under this section shall be made available at all loca23 tions nationally at the rates specified in this section,

24 without adjustment to provide regional differen25 tials.’’.
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1 (c) TERMINATION OF PRICE SUPPORT PROGRAM.—

2 Such section is further amended—

3 (1) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection

4 (j);

5 (2) by inserting after subsection (h) the fol6 lowing new subsection:

7 ‘‘(i) CONVERSION TO PRIVATE SECTOR FINANC8 ING.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no

9 processor of the 2005 or subsequent crops of sugarcane

10 or sugar beets shall be eligible for loans under this section

11 with respect to such crops, and the Secretary of Agri12 culture may not make price support available, whether in

13 the form of loans, payments, purchases, or other oper14 ations, for the 2005 and subsequent crops of sugar beets

15 and sugarcane by using the funds of the Commodity Cred16 it Corporation or other funds available to the Secretary.’’;

17 and

18 (3) in subsection (j), as redesignated by para19 graph (1)—

20 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘subsections (f) and (i)’’; and

22 (B) by striking ‘‘2002’’ and inserting

23 ‘‘2004’’.

24 (d) TERMINATION OF MARKETING QUOTAS AND AL25 LOTMENTS.—
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1 (1) TERMINATION.—Part VII of subtitle B of

2 title III of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938

3 (7 U.S.C. 1359aa–1359jj) is repealed.

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section

5 344(f)(2) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1344(f)(2)) is

6 amended by striking ‘‘sugar cane for sugar, sugar

7 beets for sugar,’’.

8 (e) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—

9 (1) ELIMINATION OF PRICE SUPPORT UNDER

10 NONBASIC AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES AUTHOR11 ITY.—The Agricultural Act of 1949 is amended—

12 (A) in section 201(a) (7 U.S.C. 1446(a)),

13 by striking ‘‘milk, sugar beets, and sugarcane’’

14 and inserting ‘‘, and milk’’; and

15 (B) in section 301 (7 U.S.C. 1447), by in16 serting ‘‘(other than sugarcane and sugar

17 beets)’’ after ‘‘title II’’.

18 (2) POWERS OF COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORA19 TION.—Section 5(a) of the Commodity Credit Cor20 poration Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 714c(a)) is amend21 ed by inserting ‘‘(except for sugarcane and sugar

22 beets of the 2005 and subsequent crops)’’ after ‘‘ag23 ricultural commodities’’.

24 (3) SECTION 32 ACTIVITIES.—The second sen25 tence of the first paragraph of section 32 of the Act
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1 of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c), is amended by

2 inserting ‘‘(other than sugarcane and sugar beets)’’

3 after ‘‘commodity’’ the last place it appears.

4 (f) ASSURANCE OF ADEQUATE SUPPLIES OF

5 SUGAR.—Subsection (a) of section 902 of the Food Secu6 rity Act of 1985 (Public Law 99–198; 7 U.S.C. 1446g

7 note) is amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘(a) Beginning with the quota year for sugar imports

9 which begins after the 2000/2001 quota year, the Presi10 dent shall use all authorities available to the President as

11 may be necessary to enable the Secretary of Agriculture

12 to ensure that adequate supplies of raw cane sugar are

13 made available to the United States market at prices no

14 greater than the higher of—

15 ‘‘(1) the world sugar price (adjusted to a deliv16 ered basis); or

17 ‘‘(2) the raw cane sugar loan rate in effect

18 under section 156 of the Agricultural Market Tran19 sition Act (7 U.S.C. 7272), plus interest.’’.

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