I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4705 

To provide crop and livestock disaster assistance. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 24, 2004 

Mr. POMEROY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To provide crop and livestock disaster assistance. 

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 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY. 

7 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec8 retary of Agriculture. 

9 SEC. 3. CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE. 

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) ADDITIONAL COVERAGE.—The term ‘‘addi12 tional coverage’’ has the meaning given the term in 
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1 section 502(b) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

2 U.S.C. 1502(b)). 

3 (2) INSURABLE COMMODITY.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘insurable 

5 commodity’’ means an agricultural commodity 

6 for which the producers on a farm are eligible 

7 to obtain a policy or plan of insurance under 

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

9 et seq.). 

10 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘insurable 

11 commodity’’ does not include livestock. 

12 (3) NONINSURABLE COMMODITY.—The term 

13 ‘‘noninsurable commodity’’ means an eligible crop 

14 for which the producers on a farm are eligible to ob15 tain assistance under section 196 of the Federal Ag16 riculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 

17 U.S.C. 7333). 

18 (b) ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE.—The Secretary shall 

19 use such sums as are necessary of funds of the Commodity 

20 Credit Corporation to make emergency financial assist21 ance available to producers on a farm that have incurred 

22 qualifying losses for the 2004 crop of an agricultural com23 modity due to damaging weather or related condition, as 

24 determined by the Secretary. 

25 (c) ADMINISTRATION.— 
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1 (1) USE OF FORMER ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHOR2 ITY.—Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Sec3 retary shall make assistance available under this sec4 tion in the same manner as provided under section 

5 815 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food 

6 and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Ap7 propriations Act, 2001 (as enacted into law by Pub8 lic Law 106–387; 114 Stat. 1549A–55), including 

9 using the same loss thresholds for quantity and 

10 quality losses as were used in administering that 

11 section. 

12 (2) PAYMENT RATE.—The payment rate for a 

13 crop for assistance provided under this section to the 

14 producers on a farm shall be calculated as follows: 

15 (A) If the producers obtained a policy or 

16 plan of insurance, including a catastrophic risk 

17 protection plan, for the crop under the Federal 

18 Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.), 50 

19 percent of the applicable price for the crop. 

20 (B) If a policy or plan of insurance, includ21 ing a catastrophic risk protection plan, for the 

22 crop was not available to the producers under 

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

24 et seq.), 50 percent of the applicable price for 

25 the crop. 
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1 (C) Subject to subsections (d) and (e), if 

2 the producers did not obtain a policy or plan of 

3 insurance, including a catastrophic risk protec4 tion plan, available for the crop under the Fed5 eral Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et 

6 seq.), 40 percent of the applicable price for the 

7 crop. 

8 (d) INELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE.—Except as pro9 vided in subsection (e), the producers on a farm shall not 

10 be eligible for assistance under this section with respect 

11 to losses to an insurable commodity or noninsurable com12 modity if the producers on the farm— 

13 (1) in the case of an insurable commodity, did 

14 not obtain a policy or plan of insurance for the in15 surable commodity under the Federal Crop Insur16 ance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) for the crop incur17 ring the losses; and 

18 (2) in the case of a noninsurable commodity, 

19 did not file the required paperwork, and pay the ad20 ministrative fee by the applicable State filing dead21 line, for the noninsurable commodity under section 

22 196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and 

23 Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333) for the crop 

24 incurring the losses. 
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1 (e) CONTRACT WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 

2 subsection (d) with respect to the producers on a farm 

3 if the producers enter into a contract with the Secretary 

4 under which the producers agree— 

5 (1) in the case of an insurable commodity, to 

6 obtain a policy or plan of insurance under the Fed7 eral Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) 

8 providing additional coverage for the insurable com9 modity for each of the next 2 crops; and 

10 (2) in the case of a noninsurable commodity, to 

11 file the required paperwork, and pay the administra12 tive fee by the applicable State filing deadline, for 

13 the noninsurable commodity for each of the next 2 

14 crops under section 196 of the Federal Agriculture 

15 Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 

16 7333). 

17 (f) EFFECT OF VIOLATION.—In the event of the vio18 lation of a contract under subsection (e) by a producer, 

19 the producer shall reimburse the Secretary for the full 

20 amount of the assistance provided to the producer under 

21 this section. 

22 SEC. 4. LIVESTOCK ASSISTANCE. 

23 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 (1) DISASTER COUNTY.—The term ‘‘disaster 

25 county’’ means a county included in the geographic 
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1 area covered by a qualifying natural disaster dec2 laration for calendar year 2004. 

3 (2) QUALIFYING NATURAL DISASTER DECLARA4 TION.—The term ‘‘qualifying natural disaster dec5 laration’’ means— 

6 (A) a natural disaster declared by the Sec7 retary under section 321(a) of the Consolidated 

8 Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

9 1961(a)); or 

10 (B) a major disaster or emergency des11 ignated by the President under the Robert T. 

12 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist13 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.). 

14 (b) LIVESTOCK ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 

15 (1) ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection 

17 (c), the Secretary shall use such sums as are 

18 necessary of funds of the Commodity Credit 

19 Corporation to establish a program under which 

20 payments are made to livestock producers for 

21 losses in a disaster county. 

22 (B) CRITERIA.—To carry out the program, 

23 the Secretary shall use the criteria established 

24 to carry out the 1999 Livestock Assistance Pro25 gram, except that, in lieu of the gross revenue 
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1 criteria used for the 1999 Livestock Assistance 

2 Program, the Secretary shall use the adjusted 

3 gross income limitation contained in section 

4 1001D of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 

5 U.S.C. 1308–3a). 

6 (c) RELATIONSHIP OF LIVESTOCK ASSISTANCE PRO7 GRAMS.—The amount of assistance that the producers 

8 would otherwise receive for a loss under the livestock as9 sistance program shall be reduced by the amount of the 

10 assistance that the producers receive under any other live11 stock assistance program, as determined by the Secretary. 

12 SEC. 5. FUNDING. 

13 The Secretary shall use the funds, facilities, and au14 thorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry 

15 out this Act, and such funds shall remain available to 

16 carry out this Act until expended. 

17 SEC. 6. REGULATIONS. 

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

19 such regulations as are necessary to implement this Act. 

20 (b) PROCEDURE.—The promulgation of the regula21 tions and administration of this Act shall be made without 

22 regard to— 

23 (1) the notice and comment provisions of sec24 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code; 
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1 (2) the Statement of Policy of the Secretary of 

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

3 13804), relating to notices of proposed rulemaking 

4 and public participation in rulemaking; and 

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

6 (commonly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction 

7 Act’’). 

8 (c) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY RULE9 MAKING.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall 

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

11 United States Code. 

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