I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3111 

To reform and reauthorize agricultural programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 5, 2011 

Mr. STUTZMAN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and 

Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To reform and reauthorize agricultural programs, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Rural Economic Farm and Ranch Sustainability and 

6 Hunger Act of 2011’’ or the ‘‘REFRESH Act of 2011’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definition of Secretary. 


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TITLE I—PRODUCER SAFETY NET 

Subtitle A—Revenue-Based Safety Net 

Sec. 1001. Aggregate risk and revenue management program. 

Sec. 1002. Supplemental insurance. 

Subtitle B—Federal Crop Insurance Program 

Sec. 1201. Whole farm revenue insurance tools. 

Sec. 1202. Insurance availability. 

Sec. 1203. Crop insurance education assistance. 

Subtitle C—Sugar Program Repeal 

Sec. 1301. Repeal of sugar program. 

Sec. 1302. Elimination of sugar price support and production adjustment programs. 

Sec. 1303. Elimination of sugar tariff and over-quota tariff rate. 

Sec. 1304. Application. 

Subtitle D—Dairy Program Reform 

PART I—DAIRY PRODUCER MARGIN PROTECTION AND DAIRY MARKET

STABILIZATION PROGRAMS

Sec. 1401. Definitions. 

Sec. 1402. Calculation of average feed cost and actual dairy producer margins. 

SUBPART A—DAIRY PRODUCER MARGIN PROTECTION PROGRAM

Sec. 1411. Establishment of dairy producer margin protection program. 

Sec. 1412. Eligibility and registration of dairy producers for margin protection 

program. 

Sec. 1413. Production history and annual production quantity of participating 

dairy producers. 

Sec. 1414. Basic margin protection. 

Sec. 1415. Supplemental margin protection. 

Sec. 1416. Effect of failure to pay administrative fees or premiums. 

Sec. 1417. No payment limitations. 

SUBPART B—DAIRY MARKET STABILIZATION PROGRAM

Sec. 1431. Establishment of dairy market stabilization program. 

Sec. 1432. Threshold for implementation and reduction in dairy producer payments. 

Sec. 1433. Producer milk marketings information. 

Sec. 1434. Calculation and collection of reduced dairy producer payments. 

Sec. 1435. Remitting monies to Commodity Credit Corporation. 

Sec. 1436. Suspension of reduced payment requirement. 

Sec. 1437. Audit requirements. 

Sec. 1438. Board of directors. 

SUBPART C—COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION

Sec. 1451. Use of Commodity Credit Corporation. 

SUBPART D—DURATION


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Sec. 1461. Duration. 

PART II—FEDERAL MILK MARKETING ORDER REFORM

Sec. 1471. Required amendments to Federal milk marketing orders. 

Sec. 1472. Amendment process. 

Sec. 1473. Development of effective balancing programs for milk markets. 

Sec. 1474. Study on elimination of milk marketing orders. 

PART III—REPEAL OF SUPERSEDED PROVISIONS

Sec. 1481. Repeal of dairy product price support and milk income loss contract 

programs. 

Sec. 1482. Repeal of permanent price support authority for milk. 

Sec. 1483. Repeal of dairy export incentive program. 

Sec. 1484. Effective date. 

TITLE II—CONSERVATION 

Subtitle A—Conservation Reserve Program 

Sec. 2001. Conservation reserve program. 

Sec. 2002. Pilot program for enrollment of wetland and buffer acreage in conservation reserve. 

Sec. 2003. Duties of owners and operators. 

Sec. 2004. Payments. 

Sec. 2005. Contracts. 

Sec. 2006. Conversion of land subject to contract to other conserving uses. 

Subtitle B—Easement Benefits Program 

Sec. 2101. Easement benefits program. 

Subtitle C—Working Land Program 

Sec. 2201. Working land program. 

Subtitle D—Other Conservation Programs 

Sec. 2301. Other conservation programs of the Food Security Act of 1985. 

Sec. 2302. Funding of conservation programs under Food Security Act of 

1985. 

Sec. 2303. Cooperative conservation partnership initiative. 

Sec. 2304. Administrative requirements for conservation programs. 

Sec. 2305. Repeal of healthy forests reserve program. 

TITLE III—NUTRITION 

Subtitle A—Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 

Sec. 3001. Categorical eligibility limitations. 

Sec. 3002. Repeal of funding for employment and training programs. 

Sec. 3003. Repeal of incentive payments to States with low SNAP benefit allocation error rates. 

Sec. 3004. Quality control. 

Subtitle B—Extensions 

Sec. 3101. Supplemental nutrition assistance program. 


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Sec. 3102. Commodity distribution programs. 

Sec. 3103. Miscellaneous. 

TITLE IV—ENERGY FROM RURAL AMERICA 

Sec. 4001. Definitions. 

Sec. 4002. Biobased markets program. 

Sec. 4003. Biorefinery assistance. 

Sec. 4004. Rural Energy for America Program. 

Sec. 4005. Repeal of feedstock flexibility program for bioenergy producers. 

Sec. 4006. Biomass Crop Assistance Program. 

Sec. 4007. Rural energy savings program. 

TITLE V—TECHNICAL IMPROVEMENTS TO RESEARCH 

Sec. 5001. Matching fund requirement under McIntire-Stennis Cooperative 

Forestry Act. 

Sec. 5002. Matching fund requirement under Hatch Act of 1887. 

Sec. 5003. Matching fund requirement under Smith-Lever Act. 

Sec. 5004. Biomass Research and Development Initiative. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec3 retary of Agriculture. 

4 TITLE I—PRODUCER SAFETY 

5 NET 

6 Subtitle A—Revenue-Based Safety 

7 Net 

8 SEC. 1001. AGGREGATE RISK AND REVENUE MANAGEMENT 

9 PROGRAM. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1105 of the Food, Con11 servation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8715) is 

12 amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 1105. AGGREGATE RISK AND REVENUE MANAGEMENT 

14 PROGRAM. 

15 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 ‘‘(1) ALTERNATIVE PRICE.—The term ‘alter2 native price’ means an average of the price for each 

3 of the immediately preceding 4 years, as determined 

4 by the National Agricultural Statistics Service, for 

5 each crop for which the harvest price is unavailable. 

6 ‘‘(2) ARRM.—The term ‘ARRM’ means the ag7 gregate risk and revenue management program es8 tablished under this section. 

9 ‘‘(3) CRD.—The term ‘CRD’ means a crop re10 porting district, as determined by the National Agri11 cultural Statistics Service. 

12 ‘‘(4) HARVEST PRICE.—The term ‘harvest 

13 price’ means the harvest price determined by the 

14 Risk Management Agency. 

15 ‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY AND ELECTION OF ALTERNATIVE

16 APPROACH.— 

17 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF AGGREGATE RISK AND

18 REVENUE MANAGEMENT PAYMENTS.—With respect 

19 to all covered commodities and peanuts on a farm, 

20 during each of the 2013 through 2017 crop years, 

21 the Secretary shall give the operator, tenant, or 

22 sharecropper, as appropriate, on the farm an oppor23 tunity to make an annual election for all producers 

24 on the farm to receive aggregate risk and revenue 


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1 management payments under this section for the 

2 crop year for which the election is made. 

3 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The total number of 

5 planted acres for which the producers on a farm 

6 may receive ARRM payments under this section 

7 shall be equal to the total number of acres 

8 planted to all covered commodities and peanuts 

9 on the farm. 

10 ‘‘(B) NATIVE SOD.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Native sod (as de12 fined in section 508(o)(1) of the Federal 

13 Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(o)(1))) 

14 acreage that is tilled for the purpose of 

15 producing an annual crop after the date of 

16 enactment of the Rural Economic Farm 

17 and Ranch Sustainability and Hunger Act 

18 of 2011 shall not be considered acreage 

19 planted to the covered commodity or pea20 nuts for harvest on a farm in a crop year 

21 for purposes of making ARRM payments 

22 under this section during the first 5 crop 

23 years of planting. 

24 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.—Ineligibility 

25 under clause (i) shall only apply to the acVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:33 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3111.IH H3111

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1 tual acreage of native sod that was con2 verted to crop production. 

3 ‘‘(3) ELECTION; TIME FOR ELECTION.— 

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

5 provide notice to the operators, tenants, or 

6 sharecroppers, as appropriate regarding the op7 portunity to make each of the elections de8 scribed in paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(B) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.—The notice 

10 shall include— 

11 ‘‘(i) notice of the opportunity of the 

12 operator, tenant, or sharecropper, as ap13 propriate, on a farm to make the election; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(ii) information regarding the man16 ner in which the election must be made 

17 and the time periods and manner in which 

18 notice of the election must be submitted to 

19 the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(4) ELECTION DEADLINE.—Within the time 

21 period and in the manner prescribed pursuant to 

22 paragraph (3), the operator, tenant, or sharecropper, 

23 as appropriate, on a farm shall submit to the Sec24 retary notice of an election made under paragraph 

25 (1). 


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1 ‘‘(5) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO MAKE ELEC2 TION.—If the operators, tenants, or sharecroppers, 

3 as appropriate, on a farm fail to make an election 

4 under paragraph (1) or fail to timely notify the Sec5 retary of the election made, as required by para6 graph (4), all of the producers on the farm shall be 

7 deemed to not have made the election described in 

8 paragraph (1), for the applicable crop years. 

9 ‘‘(c) PAYMENTS REQUIRED.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of producers on 

11 a farm who make an election under subsection (b) 

12 to receive ARRM payments for any of the 2013 

13 through 2017 crop years for all covered commodities 

14 and peanuts, the Secretary shall make ARRM pay15 ments available to the producers on a farm in ac16 cordance with this subsection. 

17 ‘‘(2) ARRM PAYMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph 

19 (3), in the case of producers on a farm de20 scribed in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

21 make ARRM payments available to the pro22 ducers on a farm for each crop year if— 

23 ‘‘(i) the actual CRD revenue for the 

24 crop year for the covered commodity or 


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1 peanuts in the CRD determined under sub2 section (e); is less than 

3 ‘‘(ii) the ARRM program guarantee 

4 for the crop year for the covered com5 modity or peanuts in the CRD determined 

6 under subsection (d). 

7 ‘‘(B) INDIVIDUAL LOSS.—The Secretary 

8 shall make ARRM payments available to the 

9 producers on a farm in a CRD for a crop year 

10 only if (as determined by the Secretary)— 

11 ‘‘(i) the actual farm revenue for the 

12 crop year for the covered commodity or 

13 peanuts, as determined under subsection 

14 (g); is less than 

15 ‘‘(ii) the farm ARRM revenue guar16 antee for the crop year for the covered 

17 commodity or peanuts, as determined 

18 under subsection (f). 

19 ‘‘(3) TIME FOR PAYMENTS.—In the case of 

20 each of the 2013 through 2017 crop years, the Sec21 retary shall make ARRM payments beginning Octo22 ber 1, or as soon as practicable thereafter, after the 

23 date of determination of the harvest price for the 

24 covered commodity or peanuts. 

25 ‘‘(d) ARRM PROGRAM GUARANTEE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) CRD AMOUNT.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of sub3 section (c)(2)(A) and subject to subparagraphs 

4 (B) and (C), the ARRM program guarantee for 

5 a crop year for a covered commodity or peanuts 

6 in a CRD shall equal 90 percent of the CRD 

7 average revenue, as determined under subpara8 graph (B). 

9 ‘‘(B) CRD AVERAGE REVENUE.—For pur10 poses of subparagraph (A), the CRD average 

11 revenue shall be the average during the mar12 keting years for the immediately preceding 5 

13 crops of a covered commodity and peanuts, ex14 cluding the year in which the CRD revenue was 

15 the highest and the year in which the CRD rev16 enue was the lowest in the period, of the prod17 uct obtained by multiplying— 

18 ‘‘(i) the CRD yield for the covered 

19 commodity or peanuts in a CRD deter20 mined under paragraph (2); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the harvest price or alternative 

22 price for the covered commodity or pea23 nuts. 

24 ‘‘(C) MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM GUAR25 ANTEE.—The ARRM program guarantee for a 


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1 crop year for a covered commodity or peanuts 

2 under subparagraph (A) shall not decrease or 

3 increase more than 10 percent from the guar4 antee for the preceding crop year. 

5 ‘‘(D) DOUBLE-CROPPED ACREAGE.—Any 

6 crop subsequently planted on land determined 

7 for purposes of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

8 (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) to be prevented planted 

9 acreage shall not be included in calculating the 

10 ARRM program guarantee under subparagraph 

11 (A) or the actual farm revenue under subsection 

12 (g) unless the farm has a history of double13 cropping and is located in a region in which 

14 double-cropping is an acceptable farming prac15 tice, as determined by the Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(2) ASSIGNED CRD YIELD.—If the Secretary 

17 cannot establish the CRD yield for each planted acre 

18 for a crop year for a covered commodity or peanuts 

19 in a CRD in accordance with subparagraph (A) or 

20 if the yield determined under subparagraph (A) is 

21 an unrepresentative average yield for the CRD (as 

22 determined by the Secretary), the Secretary shall as23 sign a CRD yield for each planted acre for the crop 

24 year for the covered commodity or peanuts in the 

25 CRD on the basis of— 


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1 ‘‘(A) previous average yields for a period of 

2 5 crop years, excluding each of the crop years 

3 with the highest and lowest yields; or 

4 ‘‘(B) CRD yields for planted acres for the 

5 crop year for the covered commodity or peanuts 

6 in similar CRDs. 

7 ‘‘(3) CRDS WITH IRRIGATED AND NONIRRI8 GATED LAND.—In the case of a CRD in which at 

9 least 25 percent of the acreage planted to a covered 

10 commodity or peanuts in the CRD is irrigated and 

11 at least 25 percent of the acreage planted to the cov12 ered commodity or peanuts in the CRD is not irri13 gated, the Secretary shall calculate a separate 

14 ARRM program guarantee for the irrigated and 

15 nonirrigated areas of the CRD for the covered com16 modity or peanuts. 

17 ‘‘(e) ACTUAL CRD REVENUE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

19 (c)(2)(A), the amount of the actual CRD revenue for 

20 a crop year of a covered commodity or peanuts shall 

21 equal the product obtained by multiplying— 

22 ‘‘(A) the actual CRD yield for each planted 

23 acre for the crop year for the covered com24 modity or peanuts determined under paragraph 

25 (2); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the national average harvest price or 

2 alternative price received by producers for the 

3 crop year for the covered commodity or peanuts 

4 as determined by the Risk Management Agen5 cy. 

6 ‘‘(2) ACTUAL CRD YIELD.—For purposes of 

7 paragraph (1)(A), the actual CRD yield for each 

8 planted acre for a crop year for a covered commodity 

9 or peanuts in a CRD shall equal (as determined by 

10 the Secretary)— 

11 ‘‘(A) the quantity of the covered com12 modity or peanuts that is produced in the CRD 

13 during the crop year; divided by 

14 ‘‘(B) the number of acres that are planted 

15 to the covered commodity or peanuts in the 

16 CRD during the crop year. 

17 ‘‘(f) FARM ARRM REVENUE GUARANTEE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of subsection 

19 (c)(2)(B), the farm ARRM revenue guarantee for 

20 the crop year for a covered commodity or peanuts 

21 shall equal 90 percent of the average farm revenue 

22 as determined under paragraph (2). 

23 ‘‘(2) AVERAGE FARM REVENUE.—The average 

24 farm revenue shall be equal to the sum obtained by 

25 adding— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the average during the marketing 

2 years for the immediately preceding 5 crops of 

3 a covered commodity and peanuts, excluding 

4 the year in which the farm revenue was the 

5 highest and the year in which the farm revenue 

6 was the lowest in the period, of the product ob7 tained by multiplying— 

8 ‘‘(i) the actual production history, as 

9 determined using production records and 

10 data of the Risk Management Agency; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the harvest price or alternative 

12 price for the covered commodity or peanuts 

13 in a CRD; and 

14 ‘‘(B) the amount of the per acre crop in15 surance premium required to be paid by the 

16 producers on the farm for the applicable crop 

17 year for the covered commodity or peanuts on 

18 the farm. 

19 ‘‘(g) ACTUAL FARM REVENUE.—For purposes of 

20 subsection (c)(2)(B) and except as provided in subsection 

21 (d)(1)(C), the amount of the actual farm revenue for a 

22 crop year for a covered commodity or peanuts shall equal 

23 the amount determined by multiplying— 

24 ‘‘(1) the actual yield for the covered commodity 

25 or peanuts of the producers on the farm; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) the national average harvest price or alter2 native price for the crop year for the covered com3 modity or peanuts. 

4 ‘‘(h) PAYMENT AMOUNT.—If ARRM payments are 

5 required to be paid for any of the 2013 through 2017 crop 

6 years of a covered commodity or peanuts under this sec7 tion, the amount of the ARRM payment to be paid to the 

8 producers on the farm for the crop year under this section 

9 shall be equal to the product obtained by multiplying— 

10 ‘‘(1) the lesser of— 

11 ‘‘(A) the difference between— 

12 ‘‘(i) the ARRM program guarantee 

13 for the crop year for the covered com14 modity or peanuts in the CRD determined 

15 under subsection (d); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the actual CRD revenue from the 

17 crop year for the covered commodity or 

18 peanuts in the CRD determined under sub19 section (e); and 

20 ‘‘(B) 15 percent of the ARRM program 

21 guarantee for the crop year for the covered 

22 commodity or peanuts in the CRD determined 

23 under subsection (d); 


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1 ‘‘(2) 85 percent of the acreage planted to the 

2 covered commodity or peanuts for harvest on the 

3 farm in the crop year; and 

4 ‘‘(3) the quotient obtained by dividing— 

5 ‘‘(A) the actual production history for the 

6 covered commodity or peanuts of the producers 

7 on the farm, as determined using production 

8 records and data of the Risk Management 

9 Agency; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the assigned CRD yield for each 

11 planted acre for the crop year for the covered 

12 commodity or peanuts in a CRD, as determined 

13 under subsection (d)(2). 

14 ‘‘(i) CROP REPORTING DISTRICT ASSESSMENT.—The 

15 Secretary shall review CRDs in western States that have 

16 7 or fewer CRDs to assess whether additional CRDs in 

17 the States are necessary.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (1) REPEAL OF DIRECT AND COUNTER-CYCLI20 CAL PAYMENTS FOR COVERED COMMODITIES AND

21 PEANUTS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Sections 1103, 1104, 

23 1303, and 1304 of the Food, Conservation, and 

24 Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8713, 8714, 

25 8753, 8754) are repealed. 


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1 (B) APPLICATION.—The amendments 

2 made by paragraph (1) apply beginning with 

3 the 2013 crop year. 

4 (2) PERIOD OF EFFECTIVENESS.—Section 1109 

5 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 

6 (7 U.S.C. 8719) is amended by striking ‘‘2012’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

8 (3) SUSPENSION OF PERMANENT PRICE SUP9 PORT AUTHORITY.—Section 1602 of the Food, Con10 servation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8782) 

11 is amended— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘through 2012’’ each place 

13 it appears and inserting ‘‘through 2017’’; and 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘December 31, 2012’’ each 

15 place it appears and inserting ‘‘December 31, 

16 2017’’. 

17 (4) TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

18 (A) Section 1001 of the Food, Conserva19 tion, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8702) 

20 is amended by striking paragraph (1) and in21 serting the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) AGGREGATE RISK AND REVENUE MANAGE23 MENT PAYMENT.—The term ‘aggregate risk and rev24 enue management payment’ means a payment made 

25 to producers on a farm under section 1105.’’ 


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1 (B) Section 1101(d)(1) of the Food, Con2 servation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

3 8711(d)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘average 

4 crop revenue election’’ and inserting ‘‘aggregate 

5 risk and revenue management’’. 

6 (C) Section 1106 of the Food, Conserva7 tion, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8716) 

8 is amended by striking ‘‘average crop revenue 

9 election’’ each place it appears in subsections 

10 (a)(1), (b), and (e) and inserting ‘‘aggregate 

11 risk and revenue management’’. 

12 (D) Section 1302(d)(1) of the Food, Con13 servation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

14 8752(d)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘average 

15 crop revenue election’’ and inserting ‘‘aggregate 

16 risk and revenue management’’. 

17 (E) Section 1305 of the Food, Conserva18 tion, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8755) 

19 is amended by striking ‘‘average crop revenue 

20 election’’ each place it appears in subsections 

21 (a)(1), (b), and (e) and inserting ‘‘aggregate 

22 risk and revenue management’’. 

23 (F) Section 1001 of the Food Security Act 

24 of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308) is amended— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘ACRE’’ each place it 

2 appears in the headings of subsections (b) 

3 and (c) and inserting ‘‘ARRM’’; 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘ACRE’’ each place it 

5 appears in the headings of paragraph (3) 

6 of subsections (b) and (c) and inserting 

7 ‘‘ARRM’’; and 

8 (iii) by striking ‘‘average crop revenue 

9 election’’ each place it appears in sub10 sections (b) and (c) and inserting ‘‘aggre11 gate risk and revenue management’’. 

12 (G) Section 1001D of the Food Security 

13 Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308–3a) is amended— 

14 (i) in subsection (b)(C)(i), by striking 

15 ‘‘average crop revenue election’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘aggregate risk and revenue manage17 ment’’; and 

18 (ii) in subsection (f), by striking 

19 ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

20 SEC. 1002. SUPPLEMENTAL INSURANCE. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 508(c)(4) of the Federal 

22 Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(c)(4)) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘The level of coverage’’ and in24 serting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) BASIC COVERAGE.—The level of cov2 erage’’; 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘Not later than’’ and inserting 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(B) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—Not 

6 later than’’; and 

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

8 ‘‘(C) SUPPLEMENTAL COVERAGE.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

10 paragraph (3) and subparagraph (A), the 

11 Corporation may offer supplemental cov12 erage, based on an area yield and loss 

13 basis, to cover that portion of a crop loss 

14 not covered under the individual yield and 

15 loss basis plan of insurance of a producer, 

16 including any revenue plan of insurance 

17 with coverage based in part on individual 

18 yield and loss. 

19 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—The sum of the 

20 indemnity paid to the producer under the 

21 individual yield and loss plan of insurance 

22 and the supplemental coverage may not ex23 ceed 100 percent of the loss incurred by 

24 the producer for the crop. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) ADMINISTRATIVE AND OPER2 ATING EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENT.—Not3 withstanding subsection (k)(4), the reim4 bursement rate for approved insurance 

5 providers for the supplemental coverage 

6 shall equal 6 percent of the premium used 

7 to define the loss ratio. 

8 ‘‘(iv) DIRECT COVERAGE.—If the Cor9 poration determines that it is in the best 

10 interests of producers, the Corporation 

11 may offer supplemental coverage as a Cor12 poration endorsement to existing plans and 

13 policies of crop insurance authorized under 

14 this title. 

15 ‘‘(v) PAYMENT OF PORTION OF PRE16 MIUM BY CORPORATION.—Notwithstanding 

17 subsection (e), the amount of the premium 

18 to be paid by the Corporation for supple19 mental coverage offered pursuant to this 

20 subparagraph shall be determined by the 

21 Corporation, but may not exceed the sum 

22 of— 

23 ‘‘(I) 50 percent of the amount of 

24 premium established under subsection 


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1 (d)(2)(C)(i) for the coverage level se2 lected; and 

3 ‘‘(II) the amount determined 

4 under subsection (d)(2)(C)(ii) for the 

5 coverage level selected to cover oper6 ating and administrative expenses.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 508(d)(2) 

8 of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(d)(2)) 

9 is amended— 

10 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

11 by striking ‘‘additional coverage’’ and inserting ‘‘ad12 ditional and supplemental coverages’’; and 

13 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(C) In the case of supplemental coverage 

15 offered under subsection (c)(4)(C), the amount 

16 of the premium shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) be sufficient to cover anticipated 

18 losses and a reasonable reserve; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) include an amount for operating 

20 and administrative expenses, as determined 

21 by the Corporation on an industry-wide 

22 basis as a percentage of the amount of the 

23 premium used to define loss ratio.’’. 


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1 Subtitle B—Federal Crop 

2 Insurance Program 

3 SEC. 1201. WHOLE FARM REVENUE INSURANCE TOOLS. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 508(c) of the Federal 

5 Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(c)) is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(11) WHOLE FARM INSURANCE PLAN.—The 

8 Corporation shall offer a whole farm insurance plan 

9 that allows a producer to qualify for an indemnity 

10 if actual gross farm revenue is below 80 percent of 

11 the average gross farm revenue of the producer.’’. 

12 (b) ADJUSTED GROSS REVENUE INSURANCE PILOT

13 PROGRAM.—Section 523(e) of the Federal Crop Insurance 

14 Act (7 U.S.C. 1523(e)) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2004’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘2014’’; 

17 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking subparagraph 

18 (A) and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to coun20 ties otherwise included in the pilot program, the 

21 Corporation shall include in the pilot program 

22 for each of the 2010 through 2014 reinsurance 

23 years all States and counties that meet the cri24 teria for selection (pending required rating), as 

25 determined by the Corporation.’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PRODUCERS.—The Corporation 

3 shall permit the producer of any type of agricultural 

4 commodity (including a producer of specialty crops, 

5 floricultural, ornamental nursery, and Christmas 

6 tree crops, turfgrass sod, seed crops, aquacultural 

7 products (including ornamental fish), sea grass and 

8 sea oats, and industrial crops) to participate in a 

9 pilot program established under this subsection.’’. 

10 SEC. 1202. INSURANCE AVAILABILITY. 

11 (a) CONDUCTING RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

12 Section 522(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

13 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 paragraph (A), by striking ‘‘enter into contracts to 

18 carry out research and development to’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘conduct activities or enter into contracts to 

20 carry out research and development to maintain or 

21 improve existing policies or develop new policies to’’; 

22 (3) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

24 ‘‘conduct research and development or’’ after 

25 ‘‘The Corporation may’’; and 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

2 ‘‘conducting research and development or’’ after 

3 ‘‘Before’’; and 

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

5 review in accordance with section 505(e)’’ after ‘‘ap6 proved by the Board’’. 

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

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

9 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

11 ‘‘CONTRACTING’’ and inserting ‘‘CONDUCTING

12 AND CONTRACTING FOR RESEARCH AND DEVEL13 OPMENT’’; 

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

15 ‘‘conduct research and development and’’ after 

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

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

18 ‘‘conduct research and development and’’ after 

19 ‘‘for the fiscal year to’’; 

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

21 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘to provide either re22 imbursement payments or contract payments under 

23 this section for a fiscal year is not needed for such 

24 purposes’’ and inserting ‘‘for a fiscal year is not 


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1 needed for the purposes for which the amount was 

2 made available’’; and 

3 (3) by striking paragraph (4). 

4 SEC. 1203. CROP INSURANCE EDUCATION ASSISTANCE. 

5 Section 524(a)(3) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

6 (7 U.S.C. 1524(a)(3)) is amended— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘A grant’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘Subject to subparagraph (E), a 

9 grant’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(E) ALLOCATION TO STATES.—The Sec12 retary shall allocate funds made available to 

13 carry out this subsection for each fiscal year in 

14 a manner that ensures that grants are provided 

15 to eligible entities in States based on the ratio 

16 that the value of agricultural production of each 

17 State bears to the total value of agricultural 

18 production in all States, as determined by the 

19 Secretary.’’. 

20 Subtitle C—Sugar Program Repeal 

21 SEC. 1301. REPEAL OF SUGAR PROGRAM. 

22 Section 156 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement 

23 and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7272) is repealed. 


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1 SEC. 1302. ELIMINATION OF SUGAR PRICE SUPPORT AND 

2 PRODUCTION ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi4 sion of law— 

5 (1) a processor of any of the 2013 or subse6 quent crops of sugarcane or sugar beets shall not be 

7 eligible for a loan under any provision of law with 

8 respect to the crop; and 

9 (2) the Secretary of Agriculture may not make 

10 price support available, whether in the form of a 

11 loan, payment, purchase, or other operation, for any 

12 of the 2013 and subsequent crops of sugar beets and 

13 sugarcane by using the funds of the Commodity 

14 Credit Corporation or other funds available to the 

15 Secretary. 

16 (b) TERMINATION OF MARKETING QUOTAS AND AL17 LOTMENTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Part VII of subtitle B of 

19 title III of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 

20 (7 U.S.C. 1359aa et seq.) is repealed. 

21 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

22 344(f)(2) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 

23 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1344(f)(2)) is amended by striking 

24 ‘‘sugar cane for sugar, sugar beets for sugar,’’. 

25 (c) GENERAL POWERS.— 


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1 (1) SECTION 32 ACTIVITIES.—Section 32 of the 

2 Act of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c), is amended 

3 in the second sentence of the first paragraph— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(other 

5 than sugar beets and sugarcane)’’ after ‘‘com6 modities’’; and 

7 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘(other 

8 than sugar beets and sugarcane)’’ after ‘‘com9 modity’’. 

10 (2) POWERS OF COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORA11 TION.—Section 5(a) of the Commodity Credit Cor12 poration Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 714c(a)) is amend13 ed by inserting ‘‘, sugar beets, and sugarcane’’ after 

14 ‘‘tobacco’’. 

15 (3) PRICE SUPPORT FOR NONBASIC AGRICUL16 TURAL COMMODITIES.—Section 201(a) of the Agri17 cultural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1446(a)) is amended 

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

19 inserting ‘‘, and milk’’. 

20 (4) COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION STOR21 AGE PAYMENTS.—Section 167 of the Federal Agri22 culture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 

23 U.S.C. 7287) is repealed. 

24 (5) SUSPENSION AND REPEAL OF PERMANENT

25 PRICE SUPPORT AUTHORITY.—Section 171(a)(1) of 


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1 the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform 

2 Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7301(a)(1)) is amended— 

3 (A) by striking subparagraph (E); and 

4 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) 

5 through (I) as subparagraphs (E) through (H), 

6 respectively. 

7 (6) STORAGE FACILITY LOANS.—Section 

8 1402(c) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment 

9 Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7971) is repealed. 

10 (d) TRANSITION PROVISIONS.—This section and the 

11 amendments made by this section shall not affect the li12 ability of any person under any provision of law as in ef13 fect before the application of this section and the amend14 ments made by this section. 

15 SEC. 1303. ELIMINATION OF SUGAR TARIFF AND OVER16 QUOTA TARIFF RATE. 

17 (a) ELIMINATION OF TARIFF ON RAW CANE

18 SUGAR.—Chapter 17 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 

19 of the United States is amended by striking subheadings 

20 1701.11 through 1701.11.50 and inserting in numerical 

21 sequence the following new subheading, with the article 

22 description for such subheading having the same degree 

23 of indentation as the article description for subheading 

24 1701.11, as in effect on the day before the date of the 

25 enactment of this section: 


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‘‘ 1701.11.00 Cane sugar ...................................... Free 39.85¢/kg ’’. 

1 (b) ELIMINATION OF TARIFF ON BEET SUGAR.— 

2 Chapter 17 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the 

3 United States is amended by striking subheadings 

4 1701.12 through 1701.12.50 and inserting in numerical 

5 sequence the following new subheading, with the article 

6 description for such subheading having the same degree 

7 of indentation as the article description for subheading 

8 1701.12, as in effect on the day before the date of the 

9 enactment of this section: 

‘‘ 1701.12.00 Beet sugar ....................................... Free 42.05¢/kg ’’. 

10 (c) ELIMINATION OF TARIFF ON CERTAIN REFINED

11 SUGAR.—Chapter 17 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule 

12 of the United States is amended— 

13 (1) by striking the superior text immediately 

14 preceding subheading 1701.91.05 and by striking 

15 subheadings 1701.91.05 through 1701.91.30 and in16 serting in numerical sequence the following new sub17 heading, with the article description for such sub18 heading having the same degree of indentation as 

19 the article description for subheading 1701.12.05, as 

20 in effect on the day before the date of the enactment 

21 of this section: 

‘‘ 1701.91.02 Containing added coloring but not 

containing added flavoring matter .. Free 42.05¢/kg ’’; 


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1 (2) by striking subheadings 1701.99 through 

2 1701.99.50 and inserting in numerical sequence the 

3 following new subheading, with the article descrip4 tion for such subheading having the same degree of 

5 indentation as the article description for subheading 

6 1701.99, as in effect on the day before the date of 

7 the enactment of this section: 

‘‘ 1701.99.00 Other ............................................... Free 42.05¢/kg ’’; 

8 (3) by striking the superior text immediately 

9 preceding subheading 1702.90.05 and by striking 

10 subheadings 1702.90.05 through 1702.90.20 and in11 serting in numerical sequence the following new sub12 heading, with the article description for such sub13 heading having the same degree of indentation as 

14 the article description for subheading 1702.60.22: 

‘‘ 1702.90.02 Containing soluble non-sugar solids 

(excluding any foreign substances, 

including but not limited to molasses, that may have been added to or 

developed in the product) equal to 6 

percent or less by weight of the 

total soluble solids ........................... Free 42.05¢/kg ’’; 

15 and 

16 (4) by striking the superior text immediately 

17 preceding subheading 2106.90.42 and by striking 

18 subheadings 2106.90.42 through 2106.90.46 and in19 serting in numerical sequence the following new sub20 heading, with the article description for such subVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:33 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3111.IH H3111

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1 heading having the same degree of indentation as 

2 the article description for subheading 2106.90.39: 

‘‘ 2106.90.40 Syrups derived from cane or beet 

sugar, containing added coloring 

but not added flavoring matter ....... Free 42.50¢/kg ’’. 

3 (d) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Chapter 17 of the 

4 Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States is 

5 amended by striking additional U.S. note 5. 

6 (e) ADMINISTRATION OF TARIFF-RATE QUOTAS.— 

7 Section 404(d)(1) of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act 

8 (19 U.S.C. 3601(d)(1)) is amended— 

9 (1) by inserting ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara10 graph (B); 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘; or’’ at the end of subpara12 graph (C) and inserting a period; and 

13 (3) by striking subparagraph (D). 

14 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

15 this section apply with respect to goods entered, or with16 drawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after the 

17 15th day after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 1304. APPLICATION. 

19 Except as otherwise provided in this subtitle, this 

20 subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle shall 

21 apply beginning with the 2013 crop of sugar beets and 

22 sugarcane. 


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1 Subtitle D—Dairy Program Reform 

2 PART I—DAIRY PRODUCER MARGIN PROTECTION 

3 AND DAIRY MARKET STABILIZATION PROGRAMS 

4 SEC. 1401. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this part: 

6 (1) ACTUAL DAIRY PRODUCER MARGIN.—The 

7 term ‘‘actual dairy producer margin’’ means the dif8 ference between the all-milk price and the average 

9 feed cost, as calculated under section 1402. 

10 (2) ALL-MILK PRICE.—The term ‘‘all-milk 

11 price’’ means the average price received, per hun12 dredweight of milk, by dairy producers for all milk 

13 sold to plants and dealers in the United States, as 

14 reported by the National Agricultural Statistics 

15 Service. 

16 (3) ANNUAL PRODUCTION QUANTITY.—The 

17 term ‘‘annual production quantity’’ means the quan18 tity of annual milk marketings determined for a 

19 dairy producer under section 1413(b) for each year 

20 in which the dairy producer participates in the mar21 gin protection program. 

22 (4) AVERAGE FEED COST.—The term ‘‘average 

23 feed cost’’ means the average cost of feed used by 

24 a dairy operation to produce a hundredweight of 


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1 milk, determined under section 1402 using the sum 

2 of the following: 

3 (A) The product determined by multiplying 

4 1.192 by the price of corn per bushel. 

5 (B) The product determined by multiplying 

6 0.00817 by the price of soybean meal per ton. 

7 (C) The product determined by multiplying 

8 0.0152 by the price of alfalfa hay per ton. 

9 (5) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—The term ‘‘board 

10 of directors’’ means the board of directors appointed 

11 by the Secretary under section 1438. 

12 (6) CONSECUTIVE TWO-MONTH PERIOD.—The 

13 term ‘‘consecutive two-month period’’ refers to the 

14 two-month period consisting of the months of Janu15 ary and February, March and April, May and June, 

16 July and August, September and October, or No17 vember and December, respectively. 

18 (7) DAIRY PRODUCER.—The term ‘‘dairy pro19 ducer’’ means an individual or entity that directly or 

20 indirectly (as determined by the Secretary)— 

21 (A) shares in the risk of producing milk; 

22 and 

23 (B) makes contributions (including land, 

24 labor, management, equipment, or capital) to 

25 the dairy operation of the individual or entity 


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1 that are at least commensurate with the share 

2 of the individual or entity of the proceeds of the 

3 operation. 

4 (8) HANDLER.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘handler’’ 

6 means a person making payment to a dairy pro7 ducer for milk produced in the United States 

8 and marketed for commercial use. 

9 (B) PRODUCER-HANDLER.—The term in10 cludes a producer-handler. 

11 (9) MARGIN PROTECTION PROGRAM.—The term 

12 ‘‘margin protection program’’ means the dairy pro13 ducer margin protection program required by sub14 part A. 

15 (10) PARTICIPATING DAIRY PRODUCER.—The 

16 term ‘‘participating dairy producer’’ means a dairy 

17 producer that— 

18 (A) registers under section 1412(b) to par19 ticipate in the margin protection program under 

20 subpart A; and 

21 (B) as a result of such registration, also 

22 participates in the stabilization program under 

23 subpart B. 

24 (11) PRODUCTION HISTORY.—The term ‘‘pro25 duction history’’ means the quantity of annual milk 


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1 marketings determined for a dairy producer under 

2 section 1413(a). 

3 (12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

4 means the Secretary of Agriculture. 

5 (13) STABILIZATION PROGRAM.—The term 

6 ‘‘stabilization program’’ means the dairy market sta7 bilization program required by subpart B for all par8 ticipating dairy producers. 

9 (14) STABILIZATION PROGRAM BASE.—The 

10 term ‘‘stabilization program base’’, with respect to a 

11 participating dairy producer, means the stabilization 

12 program base calculated for the producer under sec13 tion 1431(b). 

14 (15) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

15 States’’, in a geographical sense, means the 50 

16 States. 

17 SEC. 1402. CALCULATION OF AVERAGE FEED COST AND AC18 TUAL DAIRY PRODUCER MARGINS. 

19 (a) CALCULATION OF AVERAGE FEED COST.—The 

20 Secretary shall calculate the national average feed cost for 

21 each month using the following data: 

22 (1) The price of corn for a month shall be the 

23 price received during that month by farmers in the 

24 United States for corn, as reported by the National 

25 Agricultural Statistics Service. 


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1 (2) The price of soybean meal for a month shall 

2 be the central Illinois price for soybean meal, as re3 ported by the Agricultural Marketing Service. 

4 (3) The price of alfalfa hay for a month shall 

5 be the price received during that month by farmers 

6 in the United States for alfalfa hay, as reported by 

7 the National Agricultural Statistics Service. 

8 (b) CALCULATION OF ACTUAL DAIRY PRODUCER

9 MARGINS.— 

10 (1) MARGIN PROTECTION PROGRAM.—For use 

11 in the margin protection program under subpart A, 

12 the Secretary shall calculate the actual dairy pro13 ducer margin for each consecutive two-month period 

14 by subtracting— 

15 (A) the average feed cost for that consecu16 tive two-month period, determined in accord17 ance with subsection (a); from 

18 (B) the all-milk price for that consecutive 

19 two-month period. 

20 (2) STABILIZATION PROGRAM.—For use in the 

21 stabilization program under subpart B, the Sec22 retary shall calculate (not later than 20th of each 

23 month) the actual dairy producer margin for the 

24 preceding month by subtracting— 


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1 (A) the average feed cost for that pre2 ceding month, determined in accordance with 

3 subsection (a); from 

4 (B) the all-milk price for that preceding 

5 month. 

6 Subpart A—Dairy Producer Margin Protection 

7 Program 

8 SEC. 1411. ESTABLISHMENT OF DAIRY PRODUCER MARGIN 

9 PROTECTION PROGRAM. 

10 The Secretary shall establish and administer a dairy 

11 producer margin protection program for the purpose of 

12 protecting dairy producer income by paying participating 

13 dairy producers— 

14 (1) basic margin protection payments when ac15 tual dairy producer margins are less than the 

16 threshold levels for such payments; and 

17 (2) supplemental margin protection payments if 

18 purchased by a participating dairy producer. 

19 SEC. 1412. ELIGIBILITY AND REGISTRATION OF DAIRY PRO20 DUCERS FOR MARGIN PROTECTION PRO21 GRAM. 

22 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—All dairy producers in the United 

23 States are eligible to participate in the margin protection 

24 program, except that a dairy producer must be registered 

25 with the Secretary before the producer may receive— 


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1 (1) basic margin protection payments under 

2 section 1414; and 

3 (2) if the dairy producer purchases supple4 mental margin protection under section 1415, sup5 plemental margin protection payments under such 

6 section. 

7 (b) REGISTRATION PROCESS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall register 

9 all interested dairy producers in the margin protec10 tion program. The Secretary shall specify the man11 ner and form by which a dairy producer must reg12 ister. 

13 (2) TREATMENT OF MULTI-PRODUCER OPER14 ATIONS.—If a dairy operation consists of more than 

15 one dairy producer, all of the dairy producers of the 

16 operation shall be treated as a single dairy producer 

17 for purposes of— 

18 (A) registration to receive basic margin 

19 protection and purchase supplemental margin 

20 protection; 

21 (B) payment of the administrative fee 

22 under subsection (d) and producer premiums 

23 under section 1415; and 

24 (C) participation in the stabilization pro25 gram under subpart B. 


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1 (3) TREATMENT OF PRODUCERS WITH MUL2 TIPLE DAIRY OPERATIONS.—If a dairy producer op3 erates two or more dairy operations, each dairy op4 eration of the producer shall require a separate reg5 istration to receive basic margin protection and pur6 chase supplemental margin protection. Only those 

7 dairy operations so registered shall be subject to the 

8 stabilization program. 

9 (c) TIME FOR REGISTRATION.— 

10 (1) EXISTING DAIRY PRODUCERS.—During the 

11 one-year period beginning on the date of the enact12 ment of this Act, a dairy producer that is actively 

13 engaged in a dairy operation as of such date may 

14 register with the Secretary— 

15 (A) to receive basic margin protection; and 

16 (B) if the producer elects, to purchase sup17 plemental margin protection. 

18 (2) NEW ENTRANTS.—A dairy producer that 

19 has no existing interest in a dairy operation as of 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act, but that, after 

21 such date, establishes a new dairy operation, may 

22 register with the Secretary during the 180-day pe23 riod beginning on the date on which the dairy oper24 ation first markets milk commercially— 

25 (A) to receive basic margin protection; and 


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1 (B) if the producer elects, to purchase sup2 plemental margin protection. 

3 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE FEE FOR REGISTRATION.— 

4 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE FEE REQUIRED.—A dairy 

5 producer shall pay an administrative fee under this 

6 subsection to register for the margin protection pro7 gram. The participating dairy producer shall pay the 

8 administrative fee annually thereafter to remain reg9 istered for the margin protection program. 

10 (2) FEE AMOUNT.—The administrative fee for 

11 a dairy producer shall be as follows: 

12 (A) If the dairy producer marketed less 

13 than 10 million pounds of milk in the previous 

14 calendar year, the administrative fee shall be 

15 equal to $100. 

16 (B) If the dairy producer marketed be17 tween 10 million and 40 million pounds of milk 

18 in the previous calendar year, the administra19 tive fee shall be equal to $400. 

20 (C) If the dairy producer marketed more 

21 than 40 million pounds of milk in the previous 

22 calendar year, the administrative fee shall be 

23 equal to $1,000. 

24 (e) RECONSTITUTION.—The Secretary shall ensure 

25 that a dairy producer does not reconstitute a dairy operVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:33 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00041 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3111.IH H3111

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1 ation for the sole purpose of receiving basic margin protec2 tion, purchasing supplemental margin protection, or avoid3 ing participation in the stabilization program. 

4 SEC. 1413. PRODUCTION HISTORY AND ANNUAL PRODUC5 TION QUANTITY OF PARTICIPATING DAIRY 

6 PRODUCERS. 

7 (a) DETERMINATION OF PRODUCTION HISTORY.— 

8 (1) DETERMINATION REQUIRED.—The Sec9 retary shall determine the production history of the 

10 dairy operation of each participating dairy producer 

11 in the margin protection program. 

12 (2) CALCULATION.—Except as provided in 

13 paragraph (3), the production history of a partici14 pating dairy producer is equal to the highest annual 

15 milk marketings of the dairy producer during any 

16 one of the three calendar years immediately pre17 ceding the dairy producer’s registration for partici18 pation in the margin protection program. 

19 (3) NEW PRODUCERS.—If a dairy producer has 

20 been in operation for less than a year, the Secretary 

21 shall determine the production history of the dairy 

22 producer by extrapolating the actual milk mar23 ketings for the months the dairy producer has been 

24 in operation to a yearly amount. 


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1 (4) NO CHANGE IN PRODUCTION HISTORY FOR

2 BASIC MARGIN PROTECTION.—Once the production 

3 history of a participating dairy producer is deter4 mined under paragraph (2) or (3), the production 

5 history shall not be subsequently changed for pur6 poses of determining the amount of any basic mar7 gin protection payments for the dairy producer made 

8 under section 1414. 

9 (b) DETERMINATION OF ANNUAL PRODUCTION

10 QUANTITY FOR SUPPLEMENTAL MARGIN PROTECTION.— 

11 (1) DETERMINATION REQUIRED.—If a dairy 

12 producer selects the growth option when purchasing 

13 supplemental margin protection under section 1415, 

14 the Secretary shall determine the annual production 

15 quantity of the dairy operation of the dairy producer 

16 under paragraph (2). 

17 (2) CALCULATION.—The annual production 

18 quantity of a participating dairy producer is equal to 

19 the actual milk marketings of the dairy producer 

20 during each calendar year in which the dairy pro21 ducer purchases supplemental margin protection, in22 cluding the calendar year during which the dairy 

23 producer first purchases such supplemental margin 

24 protection. 


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1 (c) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—A participating dairy 

2 producer shall provide all information that the Secretary 

3 may require in order to establish— 

4 (1) the production history of the dairy oper5 ation of the dairy producer; and 

6 (2) the annual production quantity of the dairy 

7 operation of the dairy producer if the dairy producer 

8 selects the growth option when purchasing supple9 mental margin protection under section 1415. 

10 (d) TRANSFER OF PRODUCTION HISTORY OR AN11 NUAL PRODUCTION QUANTITY.— 

12 (1) TRANSFER BY SALE.— 

13 (A) REQUEST FOR TRANSFER.—If an ex14 isting dairy producer, as described in section 

15 1412(c)(1), sells an entire dairy operation to 

16 another party, the seller and purchaser may 

17 jointly request that the Secretary transfer to 

18 the purchaser the seller’s interest in— 

19 (i) production history of the dairy op20 eration; and 

21 (ii) if applicable, the annual produc22 tion quantity of the dairy operation for 

23 each year in which the margin protection 

24 program has been in effect. 


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1 (B) TRANSFER.—If the Secretary deter2 mines that the seller has sold the entire dairy 

3 operation to the purchaser, the Secretary shall 

4 approve the transfer described in subparagraph 

5 (A), and, thereafter, the seller shall have no in6 terest in— 

7 (i) the production history of the sold 

8 dairy operation; or 

9 (ii) if applicable, the annual produc10 tion quantity of the dairy operation. 

11 (2) TRANSFER BY LEASE.— 

12 (A) REQUEST FOR TRANSFER.—If an ex13 isting dairy producer, as described in section 

14 1412(c)(1), leases an entire dairy operation to 

15 another party, the lessor and lessee may jointly 

16 request that the Secretary transfer to the lessee 

17 for the duration of the term of the lease the les18 sor’s interest in— 

19 (i) production history of the dairy op20 eration; and 

21 (ii) if applicable, the annual produc22 tion quantity of the dairy operation for 

23 each year in which the margin protection 

24 program has been in effect. 


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1 (B) TRANSFER.—If the Secretary deter2 mines that the lessor has leased the entire dairy 

3 operation to the lessee, the Secretary shall ap4 prove the transfer described in subparagraph 

5 (A), and, thereafter, the lessor shall have no in6 terest for the duration of the term of the lease 

7 in— 

8 (i) the production history of the leased 

9 dairy operation; or 

10 (ii) if applicable, the annual produc11 tion quantity of the dairy operation. 

12 (3) COVERAGE LEVEL.— 

13 (A) BASIC MARGIN PROTECTION.—A pur14 chaser or lessee to whom the Secretary trans15 fers a production history or annual production 

16 quantity under this subsection may not obtain 

17 a different level of basic margin protection than 

18 the basic margin protection coverage held by 

19 the seller or lessor from whom the transfer was 

20 obtained. 

21 (B) SUPPLEMENTAL MARGIN PROTEC22 TION.—A purchaser or lessee to whom the Sec23 retary transfers a production history or annual 

24 production quantity under this subsection may 

25 not obtain a different level of supplemental 


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1 margin protection coverage than the supple2 mental margin protection coverage held by the 

3 seller or lessor from whom the transfer was ob4 tained. 

5 (4) NEW ENTRANTS.—The Secretary may not 

6 transfer the production history or annual production 

7 quantity determined for a dairy producer described 

8 in section 1412(c)(2) to another person. 

9 (e) MOVEMENT AND TRANSFER OF PRODUCTION

10 HISTORY OR ANNUAL PRODUCTION QUANTITY.— 

11 (1) MOVEMENT AND TRANSFER AUTHOR12 IZED.—Subject to paragraph (2), if a dairy producer 

13 moves from one location to another location, the 

14 dairy producer may maintain the production history 

15 and annual production quantity associated with the 

16 operation. 

17 (2) NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENT.—A dairy 

18 producer shall notify the Secretary of any move of 

19 a dairy operation under paragraph (1). 

20 (3) SUBSEQUENT OCCUPATION OF VACATED LO21 CATION.—A party subsequently occupying a dairy 

22 operation location vacated as described in paragraph 

23 (1) shall have no interest in the production history 

24 or annual production quantity previously associated 

25 with the operation at such location. 


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1 SEC. 1414. BASIC MARGIN PROTECTION. 

2 (a) ELIGIBILITY.—All participating dairy producers 

3 are eligible to receive basic margin protection under the 

4 margin protection program. 

5 (b) PAYMENT THRESHOLD.—Participating dairy pro6 ducers shall receive a basic margin protection payment 

7 whenever the average actual dairy producer margin for a 

8 consecutive two-month period is less than $4.00 per hun9 dredweight of milk. 

10 (c) BASIC MARGIN PROTECTION PAYMENT.— 

11 (1) PAYMENT REQUIRED.—The Secretary shall 

12 make a basic margin protection payment to each 

13 participating dairy producer for a consecutive two14 month period whenever such a payment is required 

15 by subsection (b) for that period. 

16 (2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The basic margin 

17 protection payment for the dairy operation of a par18 ticipating dairy producer for a consecutive two19 month period shall be determined as follows: 

20 (A) The Secretary shall calculate the dif21 ference between the average actual dairy pro22 ducer margin for the consecutive two-month pe23 riod and $4.00, except that, if the difference is 

24 more than $4.00, the Secretary shall use $4.00. 


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1 (B) The Secretary shall multiply the 

2 amount under subparagraph (A) by of the less3 er of the following: 

4 (i) 80 percent of the production his5 tory of the dairy producer, divided by six. 

6 (ii) The actual amount of milk mar7 keted by the dairy operation of the dairy 

8 producer during the consecutive two-month 

9 period. 

10 SEC. 1415. SUPPLEMENTAL MARGIN PROTECTION. 

11 (a) ELECTION OF SUPPLEMENTAL MARGIN PROTEC12 TION.—At the time of the registration of a dairy producer 

13 in the margin protection program under section 1412, the 

14 dairy producer may purchase supplemental margin protec15 tion to protect a higher level of the income of a partici16 pating dairy producer than the income level guaranteed 

17 by basic margin protection under section 1414. 

18 (b) SELECTION OF PAYMENT THRESHOLD.—A par19 ticipating dairy producer purchasing supplemental margin 

20 protection shall elect a coverage level that is higher, in 

21 any increment of $0.50, than the payment threshold for 

22 basic margin protection specified in section 1414(b), but 

23 not to exceed $8.00. 

24 (c) SELECTION OF COVERAGE PERCENTAGE.—A par25 ticipating dairy producer purchasing supplemental margin 


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1 protection shall elect a percentage of coverage, equal to 

2 not more than 90 percent nor less than 25 percent, of— 

3 (1) the production history of the dairy oper4 ation of the participating dairy producer; or 

5 (2) if the participating dairy producer elects the 

6 growth option under subsection (d)— 

7 (A) the production history of the dairy op8 eration of the dairy producer, to be used for the 

9 calendar year during which the dairy producer 

10 registers for participation in the margin protec11 tion program; and 

12 (B) for subsequent calendar years in which 

13 the margin protection program is in effect, the 

14 greater of— 

15 (i) the production history of the dairy 

16 operation of the dairy producer; or 

17 (ii) the highest annual production 

18 quantity of the dairy operation of the dairy 

19 producer during any previous calendar 

20 year in which the margin protection pro21 gram was in effect. 

22 (d) AVAILABILITY OF GROWTH OPTION.—When a 

23 dairy producer purchases supplemental margin protection, 

24 the dairy producer may elect a growth option that author25 izes the use of the annual production quantity of the dairy 


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1 operation of the dairy producer, in lieu of production his2 tory, as provided in subsection (c)(2) to determine supple3 mental margin protection payments for the dairy producer 

4 under subsection (h). 

5 (e) PRODUCER PREMIUMS.— 

6 (1) PREMIUMS REQUIRED.—A participating 

7 dairy producer that purchases supplemental margin 

8 protection shall pay an annual premium equal to the 

9 product obtained by multiplying— 

10 (A) the percentage selected by the dairy 

11 producer under subsection (c); 

12 (B) the production history or annual pro13 duction quantity applicable to the dairy pro14 ducer under such subsection; and 

15 (C) the premium per hundredweight of 

16 milk, as follows: 

Coverage Level Premium per Cwt. 

$4.50 $0.015

$5.00 $0.036

$5.50 $0.081

$6.00 $0.155

$6.50 $0.230

$7.00 $0.434

$7.50 $0.590

$8.00 $0.922. 

17 (2) TIME FOR PAYMENT.— 

18 (A) FIRST YEAR.—As soon as practicable 

19 after a dairy producer registers to participate in 

20 the margin protection program and purchases 


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1 supplemental margin protection, the dairy pro2 ducer shall pay the premium determined under 

3 paragraph (1) for the dairy producer for the 

4 first calendar year of such supplemental margin 

5 protection. 

6 (B) SUBSEQUENT YEARS.—When the dairy 

7 producer first purchases supplemental margin 

8 protection, the dairy producer shall also elect 

9 the method by which the dairy producer will 

10 pay premiums under this subsection for subse11 quent years in accordance with one of the fol12 lowing schedules: 

13 (i) SINGLE ANNUAL PAYMENT.—The 

14 participating dairy producer may elect to 

15 pay 100 percent of the annual premium 

16 determined under paragraph (1) for the 

17 dairy producer for a calendar year not 

18 later than January 15 of the calendar 

19 year. 

20 (ii) SEMI-ANNUAL PAYMENT.—The 

21 participating dairy producer may elect to 

22 pay 50 percent of the annual premium de23 termined under paragraph (1) for the 

24 dairy producer for a calendar year not 

25 later than January 15 of the calendar year 


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1 and the remaining 50 percent of the pre2 mium not later than June 15 of the cal3 endar year. 

4 (f) PRODUCER’S PREMIUM OBLIGATIONS.— 

5 (1) PRO-RATION OF FIRST YEAR PREMIUM.—A 

6 participating dairy producer that purchases supple7 mental margin protection after initial registration in 

8 the margin protection program shall pay a pro-rated 

9 premium for the first calendar year based on the 

10 date on which the producer purchases the coverage. 

11 (2) SUBSEQUENT PREMIUMS.—Other than as 

12 provided in paragraph (1), the annual premium for 

13 a participating dairy producer shall be determined 

14 under subsection (e) for each year in which the mar15 gin protection program is in effect. 

16 (3) LEGAL OBLIGATION.—A participating dairy 

17 producer that purchases supplemental margin pro18 tection shall be legally obligated to pay the applica19 ble premiums for the entire period of the margin 

20 protection program (as provided in the payment 

21 schedule elected under subsection (e)(2)), and may 

22 not opt out of the margin protection program, ex23 cept— 

24 (A) if the dairy producer dies, the estate of 

25 the deceased may cancel the supplemental marVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:33 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00053 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3111.IH H3111

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1 gin protection and shall not be responsible for 

2 any further premium payments; or 

3 (B) if the dairy producer retires, the pro4 ducer may request that Secretary cancel the 

5 supplemental margin protection if the producer 

6 has terminated the dairy operation entirely and 

7 certifies under oath that the producer will not 

8 be actively engaged in any dairy operation for 

9 at least the next seven years. 

10 (g) SUPPLEMENTAL PAYMENT THRESHOLD.—A par11 ticipating dairy producer with supplemental margin pro12 tection shall receive a supplemental margin protection 

13 payment whenever the average actual dairy producer mar14 gin for a consecutive two-month period is less than the 

15 coverage level threshold selected by the dairy producer 

16 under subsection (b). 

17 (h) SUPPLEMENTAL MARGIN PROTECTION PAY18 MENTS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The supplemental margin 

20 protection payment for a participating dairy pro21 ducer is in addition to the basic margin protection 

22 payment. 

23 (2) AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—The supplemental 

24 margin protection payment for the dairy operation 


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1 of a participating dairy producer shall be determined 

2 as follows: 

3 (A) The Secretary shall calculate the dif4 ference between the coverage level threshold se5 lected by the dairy producer under subsection 

6 (b) and the greater of— 

7 (i) the average actual dairy producer 

8 margin for the consecutive two-month pe9 riod; or 

10 (ii) $4.00. 

11 (B) The amount determined under sub12 paragraph (A) shall be multiplied by the per13 centage selected by the dairy producer under 

14 subsection (c) and by the lesser of the following: 

15 (i) The production history or annual 

16 production quantity applicable to the pro17 ducer under subsection (c), divided by six. 

18 (ii) The actual amount of milk mar19 keted by the dairy operation of the dairy 

20 producer during the consecutive two-month 

21 period. 

22 SEC. 1416. EFFECT OF FAILURE TO PAY ADMINISTRATIVE 

23 FEES OR PREMIUMS. 

24 (a) LOSS OF BENEFITS.—A participating dairy pro25 ducer that fails to pay the required administrative fee 


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1 under section 1412 or is in arrears on premium payments 

2 for supplemental margin protection under section 1415— 

3 (1) remains legally obligated to pay the admin4 istrative fee or premiums, as the case may be; and 

5 (2) may not receive basic margin protection 

6 payments or supplemental margin protection pay7 ments until the fees or premiums are fully paid. 

8 (b) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary may take such 

9 action as necessary to collect administrative fees and pre10 mium payments for supplemental margin protection. 

11 SEC. 1417. NO PAYMENT LIMITATIONS. 

12 Notwithstanding any other provision of law (except 

13 section 1416), basic margin protection payments and sup14 plemental margin protection payments received by a par15 ticipating dairy producer shall not be subject to limitations 

16 for any reason. 

17 Subpart B—Dairy Market Stabilization Program 

18 SEC. 1431. ESTABLISHMENT OF DAIRY MARKET STABILIZA19 TION PROGRAM. 

20 (a) PROGRAM REQUIRED; PURPOSE.—The Secretary 

21 shall establish and administer a dairy market stabilization 

22 program applicable to participating dairy producers for 

23 the purpose of assisting in balancing the supply of milk 

24 with demand when dairy producers are experiencing low 

25 or negative operating margins. 


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1 (b) ELECTION OF STABILIZATION PROGRAM BASE

2 CALCULATION METHOD.— 

3 (1) DEADLINE FOR ELECTION.—Not later than 

4 January 15, 2012, each participating dairy producer 

5 shall inform the Secretary of the method by which 

6 the stabilization program base for the dairy producer 

7 for 2012 will be calculated under paragraph (3). 

8 (2) CHANGE IN CALCULATION METHOD.—A 

9 participating dairy producer may change the sta10 bilization program base calculation method to be 

11 used for a calendar year by notifying the Secretary 

12 of the change not later than January 15 of that 

13 year. 

14 (3) CALCULATION METHODS.—A participating 

15 dairy producer may elect either of the following 

16 methods for calculation of the stabilization program 

17 base for the producer: 

18 (A) The volume of the average monthly 

19 milk marketings of the dairy producer for the 

20 three months immediately preceding the an21 nouncement by the Secretary that the stabiliza22 tion program will become effective. 

23 (B) The volume of the monthly milk mar24 ketings of the dairy producer for the same 

25 month in the preceding year as the month for 


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1 which the Secretary has announced the sta2 bilization program will become effective. 

3 (c) TREATMENT OF MULTI-PRODUCER OPER4 ATIONS.—As provided in section 1412(b)(2), if a dairy op5 eration consists of more than one dairy producer, all of 

6 the dairy producers of the operation shall be treated as 

7 a single participating dairy producer for purposes of oper8 ation of the stabilization program with respect to the pro9 ducers. 

10 (d) TREATMENT OF PRODUCERS WITH MULTIPLE

11 DAIRY OPERATIONS.—As provided in section 1412(b)(3), 

12 if a participating dairy producer operates two or more 

13 dairy operations, only those dairy operations of the dairy 

14 producer registered under section 1412 shall be subject 

15 to the stabilization program. 

16 SEC. 1432. THRESHOLD FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND RE17 DUCTION IN DAIRY PRODUCER PAYMENTS. 

18 (a) WHEN STABILIZATION PROGRAM REQUIRED.— 

19 The Secretary shall announce that the stabilization pro20 gram is in effect and order reduced payments for any par21 ticipating dairy producer that exceeds the applicable per22 centage of the producer’s stabilization program base when23 ever— 


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1 (1) the actual dairy producer margin has been 

2 $6.00 or less per hundredweight of milk for the im3 mediately preceding two months; or 

4 (2) the actual dairy producer margin has been 

5 $4.00 or less per hundredweight of milk for the im6 mediately preceding month. 

7 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF

8 PAYMENT REDUCTIONS.—Reductions in dairy producer 

9 payments shall commence beginning on the first day of 

10 the month immediately following the announcement by the 

11 Secretary under subsection (a). 

12 SEC. 1433. PRODUCER MILK MARKETINGS INFORMATION. 

13 (a) COLLECTION OF MILK MARKETING DATA.—For 

14 each month during which the stabilization program is in 

15 effect, each handler shall calculate the following: 

16 (1) The volume of milk marketings the handler 

17 has received from each participating dairy producer 

18 during that month. 

19 (2) The volume of milk marketings the handler 

20 has received from each participating dairy producer 

21 during the same month of the preceding year. 

22 (3) The volume of milk marketings the handler 

23 has received from each participating dairy producer 

24 during each of the three months preceding the 


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1 month in which the Secretary makes the announce2 ment that the stabilization program will be in effect. 

3 (b) EFFECT OF CHANGING HANDLERS.—If a partici4 pating dairy producer changes handlers, the producer shall 

5 ensure that milk marketings data required to make the 

6 calculations under subsection (a) is provided to the new 

7 handler. 

8 SEC. 1434. CALCULATION AND COLLECTION OF REDUCED 

9 DAIRY PRODUCER PAYMENTS. 

10 (a) REDUCED PRODUCER PAYMENTS REQUIRED.— 

11 During any month in which payment reductions are in ef12 fect under the stabilization program, each handler shall 

13 reduce payments to each participating dairy producer 

14 from whom the handler receives milk. 

15 (b) REDUCTIONS BASED ON ACTUAL DAIRY PRO16 DUCER MARGIN.— 

17 (1) REDUCTION REQUIREMENT 1.—Unless the 

18 reduction required by paragraph (2) or (3) applies, 

19 when the actual dairy producer margin has been 

20 $6.00 or less per hundredweight of milk for two con21 secutive months, the handler shall make payments to 

22 a participating dairy producer for a month based on 

23 the greater of the following: 

24 (A) 98 percent of the stabilization program 

25 base of the dairy producer. 


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1 (B) 94 percent of the marketings of milk 

2 for the month by the producer. 

3 (2) REDUCTION REQUIREMENT 2.—Unless the 

4 reduction required by paragraph (3) applies, when 

5 the actual dairy producer margin has been $5.00 or 

6 less per hundredweight of milk for two consecutive 

7 months, the handler shall make payments to a par8 ticipating dairy producer for a month based on the 

9 greater of the following: 

10 (A) 97 percent of the stabilization program 

11 base of the dairy producer. 

12 (B) 93 percent of the marketings of milk 

13 for the month by the producer. 

14 (3) REDUCTION REQUIREMENT 3.—When the 

15 actual dairy producer margin has been $4.00 or less 

16 for any one month, the handler shall make payments 

17 to a participating dairy producer for a month based 

18 on the greater of the following: 

19 (A) 96 percent of the stabilization program 

20 base of the dairy producer. 

21 (B) 92 percent of the marketings of milk 

22 for the month by the producer. 

23 (c) CONTINUATION OF REDUCTIONS.—The largest 

24 level of payment reduction required under paragraph (1), 

25 (2), or (3) of subsection (b) shall be continued for each 


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1 month until the Secretary suspends the stabilization pro2 gram and terminates payment reductions in accordance 

3 with section 1436. 

4 (d) PAYMENT REDUCTION EXCEPTION.—Notwith5 standing any preceding subsection of this section, a han6 dler shall make no payment reductions for a dairy pro7 ducer for a month if the producer’s milk marketings for 

8 the month are equal to or less than the percentage of the 

9 stabilization program base applicable to the producer 

10 under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (b). 

11 SEC. 1435. REMITTING MONIES TO COMMODITY CREDIT 

12 CORPORATION. 

13 (a) REMITTING MONIES.—As soon as practicable 

14 after the end of each month during which payment reduc15 tions are in effect under the stabilization program, each 

16 handler shall remit to the Commodity Credit Corporation 

17 an amount equal to the amount by which payments to par18 ticipating dairy producers are reduced by the handler 

19 under section 1434. 

20 (b) AVAILABILITY OF MONIES.—As soon as prac21 ticable after receipt of monies under subsection (a), the 

22 Commodity Credit Corporation shall make the monies 

23 available to the board of directors under section 1438. 


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1 SEC. 1436. SUSPENSION OF REDUCED PAYMENT REQUIRE2 MENT. 

3 (a) SUSPENSION THRESHOLDS.—The Secretary shall 

4 suspend the stabilization program whenever the Secretary 

5 determines that— 

6 (1) the actual dairy producer margin is greater 

7 than $6.00 per hundredweight of milk for 2 consecu8 tive months; 

9 (2)(A) the price for cheddar cheese or non-fat 

10 dry milk in the United States, as determined by the 

11 National Agricultural Statistics Service, is not less 

12 than 97 percent of the world price of cheddar cheese 

13 or skim milk powder in Oceania, as determined by 

14 the Secretary, for 2 consecutive months; and 

15 (B) the dairy producer margin is equal to or 

16 less than $6 for the same 2 consecutive months; 

17 (3)(A) the price for cheddar cheese or non-fat 

18 dry milk in the United States, as determined by the 

19 National Agricultural Statistics Service, is more 

20 than 3 percent higher than the world price of ched21 dar cheese or skim milk powder in Oceania, as de22 termined by the Secretary, for 2 consecutive months; 

23 and 

24 (B) the dairy producer margin is equal to or 

25 less than $5 for the same 2 consecutive months; or 


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1 (4)(A) the price for cheddar cheese or non-fat 

2 dry milk in the United States, as determined by the 

3 National Agricultural Statistics Service, is more 

4 than 6 percent higher than the world price of ched5 dar cheese or skim milk powder in Oceania, as de6 termined by the Secretary, for 2 consecutive months; 

7 and 

8 (B) the dairy producer margin is equal to or 

9 less than $4 for the same 2 consecutive months. 

10 (b) IMPLEMENTATION BY HANDLERS.—Handlers 

11 shall cease reducing payments to participating dairy pro12 ducers under the stabilization program upon receiving no13 tice of the suspension of the stabilization program from 

14 the Secretary. 

15 SEC. 1437. AUDIT REQUIREMENTS. 

16 (a) AUDITS OF PRODUCER AND HANDLER COMPLI17 ANCE.— 

18 (1) AUDITS AUTHORIZED.—If determined by 

19 the Secretary to be necessary to ensure compliance 

20 by participating dairy producers and handlers with 

21 the stabilization program, the Secretary may con22 duct periodic audits of participating dairy producers 

23 and handlers. 

24 (2) SAMPLE OF DAIRY PRODUCERS.—Any audit 

25 conducted under this subsection shall include, at a 


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1 minimum, investigation of a statistically valid and 

2 random sample of participating dairy producers. 

3 (b) AUDIT BY INSPECTOR GENERAL.— 

4 (1) AUDIT REQUIRED.—At the end of the sec5 ond year of operation of the stabilization program, 

6 the Inspector General of the Department of Agri7 culture shall audit and evaluate the effectiveness of 

8 the stabilization program. In conducting the audit 

9 and evaluation, the Inspector General shall include 

10 the use of established dairy economic models to as11 certain the effectiveness, operation, and administra12 tion of the program. 

13 (2) SUBMISSION OF RESULTS.—The Inspector 

14 General shall submit the results of the audit and 

15 evaluation conducted under paragraph (1) to the 

16 Secretary, who shall make such recommendations to 

17 Congress as the Secretary considers appropriate re18 garding the stabilization program. 

19 SEC. 1438. BOARD OF DIRECTORS. 

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE.—The Secretary 

21 shall establish a board of directors for the stabilization 

22 program for the purpose of— 

23 (1) administering the monies made available to 

24 the board of directors under section 1435; and 


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1 (2) determining the most effective use of such 

2 monies. 

3 (b) APPOINTMENT OF DIRECTORS.— 

4 (1) NUMBER AND QUALIFICATIONS.—The Sec5 retary shall appoint 15 members to serve on the 

6 board of directors, who shall be representative of the 

7 United States dairy producer community, taking 

8 into account geographical diversity, cooperative 

9 membership, and volumes of milk produced in var10 ious States and regions. 

11 (2) REIMBURSEMENT OF EXPENSES.—Monies 

12 made available to the board of directors under sec13 tion 1435 may be used to reimburse a member of 

14 the board of directors for reasonable and appro15 priate costs incurred by the member to serve on the 

16 board of directors. 

17 (c) DECISIONMAKING.—The board of directors shall 

reach decisions by an affirmative vote of 2 18 ⁄3 of its mem19 bers. 

20 (d) REMOVAL OF DAIRY PRODUCTS AND EXPANSION

21 OF DEMAND.— 

22 (1) SPENDING AUTHORITY.—The board of di23 rectors shall have the authority to use monies made 

24 available to the board of directors under section 

25 1435— 


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1 (A) to purchase dairy products through 

2 commercial sources for donation to food banks 

3 and other food programs that the Board deter4 mines appropriate, within three months of col5 lecting the funds; and 

6 (B) to expand consumption and build de7 mand for dairy products. 

8 (2) NO DUPLICATION OF EFFORT.—The board 

9 of directors shall ensure that projects supported 

10 under paragraph (1) are compatible with, and do not 

11 duplicate, programs supported by the dairy research 

12 and promotion activities conducted under the Dairy 

13 Production Stabilization Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 4501 

14 et seq.). 

15 (3) MANAGEMENT CONTRACT.—The board of 

16 directors may enter into a contract with a managing 

17 entity to carry out this subsection. 

18 (e) ACCOUNTING AND REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

19 (1) ACCOUNTING.—The board of directors shall 

20 keep an accurate account of all monies made avail21 able to the board of directors under section 1435. 

22 (2) REPORTING.—Not later than December 31 

23 of each year that the stabilization program is in ef24 fect, the board of directors shall provide to the Com25 mittee on Agriculture of the House of RepresentaVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:33 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00067 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3111.IH H3111

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1 tives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

2 and Forestry of the Senate a report that provides an 

3 accurate accounting of the monies received by the 

4 board of directors during that year and all expendi5 tures made by the board of directors during that 

6 year. 

7 Subpart C—Commodity Credit Corporation 

8 SEC. 1451. USE OF COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION. 

9 The Secretary shall use the funds, facilities, and the 

10 authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry 

11 out this part. 

12 Subpart D—Duration 

13 SEC. 1461. DURATION. 

14 The Secretary shall conduct the margin protection 

15 program and the stabilization program during the period 

16 beginning on January 1, 2012, and ending on December 

17 31, 2017. 

18 PART II—FEDERAL MILK MARKETING ORDER 

19 REFORM 

20 SEC. 1471. REQUIRED AMENDMENTS TO FEDERAL MILK 

21 MARKETING ORDERS. 

22 (a) AMENDMENTS REQUIRED.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

24 shall amend each Federal milk marketing order 

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1 ment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c), reenacted with amend2 ments by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act 

3 of 1937 (in this part referred to as a ‘‘milk mar4 keting order’’), as required by this section. 

5 (2) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.—Except as 

6 provided in section 1472, the Secretary shall execute 

7 the amendments required by this section without re8 gard to any provision of section 8c of the Agricul9 tural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c), reenacted 

10 with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing 

11 Agreement Act of 1937, as in effect on the day be12 fore the date of the enactment of this Act. 

13 (b) USE OF END-PRODUCT PRICE FORMULAS.—The 

14 Secretary shall eliminate the use of end-product price for15 mulas for setting prices for Class III milk, and instead 

16 use a competitive price for setting prices for Class III 

17 milk. 

18 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE AUTHORITY.—In addition to 

19 and notwithstanding the authority provided under section 

20 8d of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608d), 

21 reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing 

22 Agreement Act of 1937, the Secretary may— 

23 (1) require handlers to report, maintain, and 

24 make available all information and records as the 


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1 Secretary considers necessary for the administration 

2 of any milk marketing order; and 

3 (2) adopt only such conforming amendments to 

4 milk marketing orders as the Secretary determines 

5 to be necessary to implement the amendments re6 quired by this section. 

7 SEC. 1472. AMENDMENT PROCESS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The amendments to milk mar9 keting orders required to be made by section 1471 shall 

10 be subject to the provisions of sections 8c(17) and 8c(19) 

11 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(17) 

12 and (19)), reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural 

13 Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, except as follows: 

14 (1) NOTICE OF FINAL DECISION ON PROPOSED

15 AMENDMENTS.—Not later than 270 days after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

17 Agriculture shall publish in the Federal Register no18 tice of a final decision on the proposed amendments 

19 to be made to milk marketing orders in order to 

20 comply with the requirements of section 1471. 

21 (2) PRODUCER REFERENDUM.— 

22 (A) REFERENDUM REQUIRED.—As soon as 

23 practicable after publication of the final deci24 sion on the proposed amendments under para25 graph (1), the Secretary shall conduct a proVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:33 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3111.IH H3111

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1 ducer referendum regarding the final decision 

2 on the proposed amendments. 

3 (B) TERMS OF REFERENDUM; EXCEP4 TIONS.—The producer referendum shall be con5 ducted in the manner provided by section 

6 8c(19) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 

7 U.S.C. 608c(19)), reenacted with amendments 

8 by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act 

9 of 1937, except that— 

10 (i) the referendum shall be a single 

11 referendum upon which approval or failure 

12 of the proposed amendments to all milk 

13 marketing orders shall depend; and 

14 (ii) the proposed amendments shall require approval by 1 15 ⁄2 of participating pro16 ducers or by volume of production (rather 

than 2 17 ⁄3) in order for the referendum to 

18 pass and the proposed amendments to take 

19 effect. 

20 (C) EFFECT OF FAILURE.—If the ref21 erendum fails, the milk marketing orders shall 

22 remain in force as in effect before the proposed 

23 amendments were published. 

24 (b) EFFECT OF COURT ORDER.—In the event that 

25 the Secretary is enjoined or otherwise restrained by a 


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1 court order from executing the amendments to milk mar2 keting orders required by section 1471, the length of time 

3 for which that injunction or other restraining order is ef4 fective shall be added to any time limitation in effect under 

5 paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a), thereby extending 

6 those time limitations by a period of time equal to the 

7 period of time for which the injunction or other restraining 

8 order is in effect. 

9 (c) RELATION TO OTHER AMENDMENT AUTHOR10 ITY.—Nothing in this part affects the authority of the Sec11 retary to subsequently amend milk marketing orders, or 

12 the ability of producers or other persons to seek such 

13 amendments, in accordance with the rulemaking process 

14 provided by section 8c(17) of the Agricultural Adjustment 

15 Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(17)), reenacted with amendments by 

16 the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937. 

17 SEC. 1473. DEVELOPMENT OF EFFECTIVE BALANCING PRO18 GRAMS FOR MILK MARKETS. 

19 (a) ADVANCED NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE20 MAKING.—Not later than 90 days after the enactment of 

21 this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall publish in the 

22 Federal Register an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule23 making seeking public comment on, and proposals recom24 mending, effective programs that address the issues of the 

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1 and intra-marketing transportation credits. The Secretary 

2 shall solicit comments and proposals that— 

3 (1) address the market’s balancing needs; 

4 (2) target support to those producers and han5 dlers who provide balancing services; and 

6 (3) provide compensation that is in line with 

7 the costs of providing the services and with the bene8 fits to the market of the services. 

9 (b) TIMELINESS OF RULEMAKING.—Not later than 

10 one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

11 Secretary shall— 

12 (1) initiate formal rulemaking (by publishing in 

13 the Federal Register a hearing notice) in response to 

14 the public comments received under subsection (a); 

15 or 

16 (2) publish notice of the reasons that such a 

17 rulemaking is not to be initiated. 

18 SEC. 1474. STUDY ON ELIMINATION OF MILK MARKETING 

19 ORDERS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall study the ef21 fects on the marketplace associated with the elimination 

22 of the Federal milk marketing orders. 

23 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The study under this section 

24 shall, at a minimum, address— 


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1 (1) the regional differences in milk prices that 

2 would result from the elimination of the Federal 

3 milk marketing orders, compared to the regional dif4 ferences derived from the order system in effect on 

5 the day before the date of enactment of this Act; 

6 (2) shifts in milk production patterns and prod7 uct use that would derive from the elimination; 

8 (3) an examination of changes in the flow of 

9 milk and what would be required for milk to move 

10 from surplus to deficit regions in the absence of the 

11 orders; 

12 (4) the potential for any premiums to be paid 

13 for milk in fluid use form and what, if any, regional 

14 differences in those premiums might exist; 

15 (5) the potential impact on export markets; and 

16 (6) potential changes in market price volatility. 

17 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

18 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to 

19 the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representa20 tives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 

21 Forestry of the Senate a report on the results of the study 

22 conducted under this section, including any recommenda23 tions. 


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1 PART III—REPEAL OF SUPERSEDED PROVISIONS 

2 SEC. 1481. REPEAL OF DAIRY PRODUCT PRICE SUPPORT 

3 AND MILK INCOME LOSS CONTRACT PRO4 GRAMS. 

5 (a) REPEAL OF DAIRY PRODUCT PRICE SUPPORT

6 PROGRAM.—Section 1501 of the Food, Conservation, and 

7 Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8771) is repealed. 

8 (b) REPEAL OF MILK INCOME LOSS CONTRACT PRO9 GRAM.—Section 1506 of the Food, Conservation, and En10 ergy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8773) is repealed. 

11 SEC. 1482. REPEAL OF PERMANENT PRICE SUPPORT AU12 THORITY FOR MILK. 

13 (a) REPEAL.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 201 of the Agricul15 tural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1446) is amended— 

16 (A) in subsection (a) (as amended by sec17 tion 1302(c)(3)), by striking ‘‘honey, and milk,’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘and honey’’; and 

19 (B) by striking subsections (c) and (d). 

20 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

21 256(j) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Def22 icit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 906(j)) is amend23 ed— 

24 (A) by striking paragraph (5); and 

25 (B) redesignating paragraph (6) as para26 graph (5). 


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1 (b) EXCLUSION FROM PRICE SUPPORT FOR OTHER

2 NONBASIC AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES.—Section 301 

3 of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1447) is amend4 ed by inserting ‘‘(other than milk)’’ after ‘‘agricultural 

5 commodity’’. 

6 SEC. 1483. REPEAL OF DAIRY EXPORT INCENTIVE PRO7 GRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 153 of the Food Security 

9 Act of 1985 (15 U.S.C. 713a–14) is repealed. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 902(2) of 

11 the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement 

12 Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7201(2)) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking subparagraph (D); and 

14 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) and 

15 (F) as subparagraphs ((D) and (E). 

16 SEC. 1484. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

17 The amendments made by this part shall take effect 

18 on January 1, 2012. 

19 TITLE II—CONSERVATION 

20 Subtitle A—Conservation Reserve 

21 Program 

22 SEC. 2001. CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1231(a) of the Food Se24 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(a)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Through 

2 the 2012 fiscal year’’ and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Through the 2017 fiscal 

5 year’’; and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(2) RELATIONSHIP TO EASEMENT BENEFITS

8 PROGRAM.— 

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

10 administer the conservation reserve program in 

11 conjunction with the easement benefits program 

12 under subchapter C in a manner that encour13 ages landowners to enroll land in the easement 

14 benefits program to maximize the long-term 

15 benefits of fiscal outlay. 

16 ‘‘(B) TRANSFER.—The Secretary shall 

17 make available to all owners and operators en18 rolled in the conservation reserve program the 

19 option to transfer the enrolled land into the 

20 easement benefits program under subchapter C. 

21 ‘‘(3) MINIMIZATION OF COSTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) NEW CONTRACTS.—In entering into 

23 contracts under the conservation reserve pro24 gram, the Secretary shall seek to minimize cost 

25 by allowing limited commercial use of land 


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1 under contract, as authorized under section 

2 1232(a)(3) and subparagraphs (A) through (D) 

3 of section 1232(a)(8). 

4 ‘‘(B) EXISTING CONTRACTS.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 

6 years after the date of enactment of the 

7 Rural Economic Farm and Ranch Sustain8 ability and Hunger Act of 2011, the Sec9 retary shall make available a revision of 

10 contracts in existence on the date of enact11 ment of this subsection to allow limited 

12 commercial usage under the contracts of 

13 not less than 5,000,000 acres of land (such 

14 as for prescribed or routing grazing and 

15 managed harvesting), subject to conditions 

16 in section 1232. 

17 ‘‘(ii) USE OF SAVINGS.—Any amounts 

18 saved through contract revisions described 

19 in clause (i) may, as determined the Sec20 retary, be used— 

21 ‘‘(I) to expand the provision of 

22 technical assistance; and 

23 ‘‘(II) to provide incentives for 

24 owners or operators to shift land into 

25 the easement benefits program.’’. 


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1 (b) ELIGIBLE LAND.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1231(b) of the Food 

3 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(b)) is amend4 ed— 

5 (A) in paragraph (4)— 

6 (i) in subparagraph (B)— 

7 (I) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

8 at the end; 

9 (II) in clause (ii), by adding ‘‘or’’ 

10 at the end; and 

11 (III) by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(iii) riparian buffer or filter strip 

14 planted to grass, shrubs, trees or other ap15 propriate vegetation, as determined by the 

16 Secretary;’’; and 

17 (ii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

18 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

19 (B) in subparagraph (5)(B)(ii), by striking 

20 the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

21 and 

22 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(6) subject to subsection (j), land— 

24 ‘‘(A) that is wetland (including a converted 

25 wetland described in section 1222(b)(1)(A)) 


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1 that had a cropping history during at least 3 of 

2 the immediately preceding 10 crop years; 

3 ‘‘(B) on which a constructed wetland is to 

4 be developed that will receive flow from a row 

5 crop agriculture drainage system and is de6 signed to provide nitrogen removal in addition 

7 to other wetland functions; 

8 ‘‘(C) that was devoted to commercial pond9 raised aquaculture in any year during the pe10 riod of calendar years 2002 through 2007; or 

11 ‘‘(D) that, after January 1, 1990, and be12 fore December 31, 2002, was— 

13 ‘‘(i) cropped during at least 3 of 10 

14 crop years; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) subject to the natural overflow of 

16 a prairie wetland; or 

17 ‘‘(7) subject to subsection (j), buffer acreage 

18 that— 

19 ‘‘(A) with respect to land described in sub20 paragraph (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (6)— 

21 ‘‘(i) is contiguous to such land; 

22 ‘‘(ii) is used to protect such land; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) is of such width as the Secretary 

24 determines is necessary to protect such 

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1 modating the farming practices (including 

2 the straightening of boundaries to accom3 modate machinery) used with respect to 

4 the cropland that surrounds such land; and 

5 ‘‘(B) with respect to land described in sub6 paragraph (D) of paragraph (6), enhances a 

7 wildlife benefit.’’. 

8 (2) LIMITATIONS AND DUTIES RELATING TO

9 ENROLLED WETLAND AND BUFFER ACREAGE.—Sec10 tion 1231 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

11 U.S.C. 3831) is amended by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(j) LIMITATIONS AND DUTIES RELATING TO EN14 ROLLED WETLAND AND BUFFER ACREAGE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) ENROLLMENT LIMITATIONS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) WETLAND AND RELATED LAND.— 

17 ‘‘(i) WETLANDS AND CONSTRUCTED

18 WETLANDS.—The maximum size of any 

19 land described in subparagraph (A) or (B) 

20 of subsection (b)(6) that an owner or oper21 ator may enroll in the conservation reserve 

22 shall be 40 contiguous acres. 

23 ‘‘(ii) FLOODED FARMLAND.—The 

24 maximum size of any land described in 

25 subparagraph (D) of subsection (b)(6) that 


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1 an owner or operator may enroll in the 

2 conservation reserve shall be 20 contiguous 

3 acres. 

4 ‘‘(iii) COVERAGE.—All acres described 

5 in clause (i) or (ii), including acres that 

6 are ineligible for payment, shall be covered 

7 by the conservation contract. 

8 ‘‘(B) BUFFER ACREAGE.—The maximum 

9 size of any buffer acreage described in sub10 section (b)(7) that an owner or operator may 

11 enroll in the conservation reserve shall be deter12 mined by the Secretary, in consultation with the 

13 State Technical Committee. 

14 ‘‘(C) TRACTS.—Except for land described 

15 in subsection (b)(6)(C) and buffer acreage re16 lating to that land, the maximum size of any el17 igible acreage described in subsection (b)(6) in 

18 a tract of an owner or operator enrolled in the 

19 conservation reserve under this section shall be 

20 40 acres. 

21 ‘‘(2) DUTIES OF OWNERS AND OPERATORS.— 

22 During the term of a contract entered into involving 

23 land described in paragraph (6) or (7) of subsection 

24 (b), an owner or operator shall agree to a prohibi25 tion of commercial use except for activities conducive 


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1 to conservation of the enrolled land, as determined 

2 by the Secretary.’’. 

3 (c) MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT.—Section 1231 of the 

4 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831) is amended 

5 by striking subsection (d) and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(d) MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may main8 tain in the conservation reserve at any 1 time, not 

9 more than— 

10 ‘‘(A) during fiscal year 2012, 30,000,000 

11 acres; 

12 ‘‘(B) during fiscal year 2013, 26,000,000 

13 acres; and 

14 ‘‘(C) during each of fiscal years 2014 

15 through 2017, 24,000,000 acres. 

16 ‘‘(2) TRANSFER OF ENROLLMENT.—The Sec17 retary may transfer enrolled acre allowance from the 

18 conservation reserve program to the easement bene19 fits program established under subchapter C.’’. 

20 (d) CONSERVATION PRIORITY AREAS.—Section 

21 1231(f)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

22 3831(f)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘areas of the Chesa23 peake Bay Region, the Great Lakes Region, the Long Is24 land Sound Region, and other’’. 


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1 SEC. 2002. PILOT PROGRAM FOR ENROLLMENT OF WET2 LAND AND BUFFER ACREAGE IN CONSERVA3 TION RESERVE. 

4 Section 1231B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

5 U.S.C. 3831b) is repealed. 

6 SEC. 2003. DUTIES OF OWNERS AND OPERATORS. 

7 Section 1232(a)(8)(C) of the Food Security Act of 

8 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3832(a)(8)(C)) is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘for the control of invasive species’’. 

10 SEC. 2004. PAYMENTS. 

11 Section 1234 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

12 U.S.C. 3834) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (b)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘not 

15 more than’’ before ‘‘50 percent’’; 

16 (B) in paragraph (3)(B)(i), by inserting 

17 ‘‘not more than’’ before ‘‘50 percent’’; 

18 (C) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 

19 paragraph (6); and 

20 (D) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(5) PRESCRIBED BURNING.—Notwithstanding 

23 any other provision of this section, in making cost24 sharing payments to an owner or operator under a 

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1 retary shall pay not more than 75 percent of the 

2 cost of prescribed burning.’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (c)(5), by adding at the end 

4 the following: 

5 ‘‘(C) REVIEW REQUIRED.—The Secretary 

6 shall periodically review the competitiveness of 

7 rental rates for land that— 

8 ‘‘(i) provides substantial environ9 mental benefits consistent with the pur10 poses of this subchapter; 

11 ‘‘(ii) provides critical habitat to spe12 cies of concern; or 

13 ‘‘(iii) meets other ecological priorities, 

14 as determined by the Secretary.’’. 

15 SEC. 2005. CONTRACTS. 

16 Section 1235 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

17 U.S.C. 3835) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)(1)— 

19 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

20 at the end; 

21 (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the 

22 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(E) the new ownership was acquired by 

2 the sibling, parent, child, or grandchild of the 

3 previous owner.’’; and 

4 (2) in subsection (f)(1)(D), by striking ‘‘con5 servation stewardship program or the environmental 

6 quality incentives program’’ and inserting ‘‘working 

7 land program’’. 

8 SEC. 2006. CONVERSION OF LAND SUBJECT TO CONTRACT 

9 TO OTHER CONSERVING USES. 

10 Section 1235A of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

11 U.S.C. 3835a) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (2)(B), by inserting ‘‘not 

14 more than’’ before ‘‘50’’; 

15 (B) striking ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Sec16 retary’’ and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(1) NOVEMBER 28, 1990.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; 

19 (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

20 and (B) of paragraph (2) as clauses (i) and (ii), 

21 respectively, and indenting appropriately; 

22 (D) by redesignating paragraph (2) as sub23 paragraph (B) and indenting appropriately; and 

24 (E) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) OCTOBER 1, 2011.—The Secretary shall 

2 permit an owner or operator that has entered into 

3 a contract under this subchapter that is in effect on 

4 October 1, 2011, to convert areas of highly erodible 

5 cropland that are subject to the contract, and that 

6 are devoted to vegetative cover, from that use to for7 est land if— 

8 ‘‘(A) the areas are prior converted forest 

9 land; 

10 ‘‘(B) the owner or operator of the areas 

11 enters into an agreement to provide the Sec12 retary with a long-term or permanent easement 

13 under the easement benefits program under 

14 subchapter C covering the areas; 

15 ‘‘(C) there is a high probability that the 

16 prior converted area can be successfully re17 stored to forest land status; and 

18 ‘‘(D) the restoration of the areas otherwise 

19 meets the requirements the easement benefits 

20 program.’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘November 

22 28, 1990’’ and inserting ‘‘October 1, 2011’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘(e) EARLY CONTRACT OPT-OUT.— 

25 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) make available a no-penalty early 

2 contract opt-out for not less than 8,000,000 

3 acres enrolled under contracts in existence on 

4 the date of enactment of this subsection; 

5 ‘‘(B) not later than 1 year after the date 

6 of enactment of this subsection, ensure that not 

less than 1 7 ⁄2 of the required acreage has been 

8 made available to be opted-out of the conserva9 tion reserve program; 

10 ‘‘(C) not later than 2 years after the date 

11 of enactment of this subsection, ensure that the 

12 entire amount of required acreage has been 

13 made available to opt-out; and 

14 ‘‘(D) terminate a contract entered into 

15 with an owner or operator offered an early opt16 out under this subchapter if the owner or oper17 ator agrees to the termination. 

18 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining land to 

19 offer for opt-out under this subsection, the Secretary 

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) make available for opt-out those acres 

22 offering the least environmental benefit, as de23 termined by the Secretary; 

24 ‘‘(B) consider the need to protect critical 

25 habitat (including nesting areas for birds); and 


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1 ‘‘(C) maintain in the conservation reserve 

2 land of high environmental value (including 

3 wetland), as determined by the Secretary, and 

4 including— 

5 ‘‘(i) riparian buffers; 

6 ‘‘(ii) wildlife habitat buffers; 

7 ‘‘(iii) wetland buffers; 

8 ‘‘(iv) filter strips; 

9 ‘‘(v) grass waterways; 

10 ‘‘(vi) wetland restoration areas; 

11 ‘‘(vii) shelterbelts; 

12 ‘‘(viii) living snow fences; 

13 ‘‘(ix) contour grass strips; 

14 ‘‘(x) land with a high erodibility index; 

15 ‘‘(xi) salt-tolerant vegetation; and 

16 ‘‘(xii) shallow-water areas for wildlife. 

17 ‘‘(3) SUBDIVISION.—In carrying out this sub18 section, the Secretary may subdivide leased acres en19 rolled in the conservation reserve under the same 

20 contract. 

21 ‘‘(4) CONDITIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) COMMODITY PRODUCTION.—If land 

23 that was subject to a contract under this sub24 chapter is converted to production of an agri25 cultural commodity through the opt-out under 


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1 this subsection, the land shall be subject to a 

2 conservation plan determined by the Secretary 

3 in coordination with the State technical com4 mittee for the duration of what would have been 

5 the full term of the conservation reserve con6 tract of the land, if not for opt-out. 

7 ‘‘(B) GRAZING AND MANAGED HAR8 VESTING.—If land that was subject to a con9 tract under this subchapter is converted to 

10 grazing and managed harvesting through the 

11 opt-out under this subsection, the land shall be 

12 subject to environmental management criteria 

13 pursuant section 1232(a)(8) for the duration of 

14 what would have been the full term of the con15 servation reserve contract of the land, if not for 

16 opt-out. 

17 ‘‘(C) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Sec18 retary shall make available conservation tech19 nical assistance to owners and operators that 

20 opt-out of the conservation reserve under this 

21 subsection. 

22 ‘‘(5) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Contract termination 

23 under the opt-out shall become effective 60 days 

24 after the date on which the owner or operator ac25 cepts the opt-off offer of the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(6) PRORATED RENTAL PAYMENT.—If a con2 tract entered into under this subchapter is termi3 nated under this subsection before the end of the fis4 cal year for which a rental payment is due, the Sec5 retary shall provide a prorated rental payment cov6 ering the portion of the fiscal year during which the 

7 contract was in effect.’’. 

8 Subtitle B—Easement Benefits 

9 Program 

10 SEC. 2101. EASEMENT BENEFITS PROGRAM. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XII of the Food Security 

12 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking subchapters C and D of chapter 

14 2 of subtitle D (16 U.S.C. 3838h et seq.); and 

15 (2) by striking subchapter C of chapter 1 of 

16 subtitle D (16 U.S.C. 3837 et seq.) and inserting 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘Subchapter C—Easement Benefits Program 

19 ‘‘SEC. 1237. EASEMENT BENEFITS PROGRAM. 

20 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab21 lish an easement benefits program (referred to in this sub22 chapter as the ‘program’)— 

23 ‘‘(1) to protect land (including wildlife re24 sources of the land) and water; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) to address issues raised by State, regional, 

2 and national conservation initiatives. 

3 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The purposes of the pro5 gram are— 

6 ‘‘(A) to restore, enhance, conserve, and 

7 protect land (including wildlife resources of the 

8 land) and water; 

9 ‘‘(B) to protect vulnerable and ecologically 

10 important land; 

11 ‘‘(C) to restore, protect, and enhance wet12 land and grassland; 

13 ‘‘(D) to promote wildlife habitat; 

14 ‘‘(E) to protect the agricultural use and re15 lated conservation values of prime and other 

16 productive agricultural land by limiting the 

17 nonagricultural uses of the land; 

18 ‘‘(F) to restore and enhance forest eco19 systems, including the recovery of threatened 

20 and endangered species and improving biodiver21 sity; 

22 ‘‘(G) to provide assistance to owners to en23 sure the economic use of enrolled land by own24 ers consistent with long-term conservation funcVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:33 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00092 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3111.IH H3111

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1 tions and values, including wildlife resources of 

2 the land; and 

3 ‘‘(H) to address issues of restoration, con4 servation, and protection of land (including 

5 wildlife resources of the land) and water raised 

6 by State, regional, and national conservation 

7 priorities. 

8 ‘‘(2) STATE COORDINATION.—The Secretary 

9 shall give priority consideration to conservation 

10 needs identified by State technical committees estab11 lished under section 1261. 

12 ‘‘(c) EXISTING EASEMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Any easement or interest 

14 in land enrolled as of the date of enactment of the 

15 Rural Economic Farm and Ranch Sustainability and 

16 Hunger Act of 2011 in 1 of the programs described 

17 in paragraph (2) shall be considered enrolled in the 

18 easement benefits program under this subchapter. 

19 ‘‘(2) AFFECTED PROGRAMS.—The programs de20 scribed in this paragraph are as the programs were 

21 authorized on the day before the date of enactment 

22 of the Rural Economic Farm and Ranch Sustain23 ability and Hunger Act of 2011— 

24 ‘‘(A) the wetlands reserve program estab25 lished under this subchapter; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the grassland reserve program estab2 lished under subchapter D of chapter 2; 

3 ‘‘(C) the farmland protection program es4 tablished under subchapter C of chapter 2; and 

5 ‘‘(D) the healthy forests reserve program 

6 established under section 501 of the Healthy 

7 Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 

8 6571). 

9 ‘‘SEC. 1237A. EASEMENTS AND 30-YEAR CONTRACTS. 

10 ‘‘(a) ENROLLMENT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Lands may be enrolled 

12 under this subchapter through the submission of ap13 plications under a competitive procedure established 

14 by the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(2) METHODS OF ENROLLMENT.— 

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

17 enroll acreage into the program through the use 

18 of— 

19 ‘‘(i) permanent easements; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) 30-year easements, or in a State 

21 that imposes a maximum duration for 

22 easements, easements for the maximum 

23 duration allowed under State law (referred 

24 to as ‘nonpermanent easements’). 


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1 ‘‘(B) ACREAGE OWNED BY INDIAN

2 TRIBES.—In the case of acreage owned by an 

3 Indian tribe, the Secretary may also enroll acre4 age into the program through the use of a 30- 

5 year contract (the value of which shall be equiv6 alent to the value of a 30-year easement). 

7 ‘‘(3) ENROLLMENT OF CONSERVATION RE8 SERVE LAND.— 

9 ‘‘(A) TRANSFER FROM THE CONSERVATION

10 RESERVE PROGRAM.—The Secretary may termi11 nate or modify an existing contract entered into 

12 the conservation reserve program under section 

13 1231 if eligible land that is subject to the con14 tract is transferred into the program estab15 lished by this subchapter. 

16 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY.—On expiration of a con17 tract under the conservation reserve program 

18 under subchapter B, the Secretary shall give 

19 priority for enrollment in the program to land 

20 previously enrolled in the conservation reserve 

21 program if— 

22 ‘‘(i) the land is eligible land under 

23 subsection (b); and 

24 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary determines that 

25 the land is of high ecological value. 


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1 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL FUNDING POOL.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds 

3 made available for the program for each of 

4 the 2013 through 2017 fiscal years, the 

5 Secretary shall reserve 10 percent of the 

6 funds to ensure an adequate source of 

7 funds and acres to give priority for enroll8 ment of land identified under subpara9 graph (B). 

10 ‘‘(ii) REOBLIGATION.—Funds not ob11 ligated under clause (i) by April 1 of each 

12 year may be available for use for other 

13 purposes of the program. 

14 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE LAND.— 

15 ‘‘(1) ENROLLMENT.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Eligible land shall be 

17 enrolled into the program subject to appropriate 

18 program requirements depending on the re19 source objectives sought to be achieved through 

20 the easement or 30-year contract, as deter21 mined by the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—Private or tribal land 

23 shall be eligible to be enrolled into the program 

24 if the Secretary determines that the land— 


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1 ‘‘(i) maximizes the purpose of this 

2 subchapter; 

3 ‘‘(ii) is enrolled in the conservation re4 serve program; or 

5 ‘‘(iii) in the case of land enrolled for 

6 restoration purposes, the likelihood of the 

7 successful restoration of the land and the 

8 resultant values merit the inclusion of the 

9 land in the program taking into consider10 ation the cost of the restoration. 

11 ‘‘(2) WETLAND.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Land shall be eligible 

13 to be enrolled into the program if the Secretary 

14 determines that the land is— 

15 ‘‘(i) farmed wetland or converted wet16 land, together with the adjacent land that 

17 is functionally dependent on the wetland, 

18 except that converted wetland with respect 

19 to which the conversion was not com20 menced prior to December 23, 1985, shall 

21 not be eligible to be enrolled in the pro22 gram; 

23 ‘‘(ii) cropland or grassland that was 

24 used for agricultural production prior to 

25 flooding from the natural overflow of a 


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1 closed basin lake or pothole, as determined 

2 by the Secretary, together (if practicable) 

3 with the adjacent land that is functionally 

4 dependent on the cropland or grassland; 

5 ‘‘(iii) farmed wetland and adjoining 

6 land, enrolled in the conservation reserve, 

7 with the highest wetland functions and val8 ues, and that is likely to return to produc9 tion after the land is not enrolled in the 

10 conservation reserve; 

11 ‘‘(iv) other wetland (such as filter 

12 strips and vernal pools) of an owner that 

13 would not otherwise be eligible if the Sec14 retary determines that the inclusion of the 

15 wetland in the easement would signifi16 cantly add to the functional value of the 

17 easement; or 

18 ‘‘(v) a riparian area. 

19 ‘‘(B) RESTORATION AGREEMENT.—Land 

20 described in subparagraph (A) that is enrolled 

21 in the program shall be subject to a restoration 

22 agreement that provides the opportunity for the 

23 restoration and enhancement of the enrolled 

24 land. 

25 ‘‘(3) GRASSLAND.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Land shall be eligible 

2 to be enrolled into the program if the Secretary 

3 determines that the land is at risk of conversion 

4 to nongrazing uses and is— 

5 ‘‘(i) grassland, land that contains 

6 forbs, or shrubland (including improved 

7 rangeland and pastureland), including land 

8 for which grazing is the predominant use; 

9 or 

10 ‘‘(ii) located in an area that has been 

11 historically dominated by grassland, forbs, 

12 or shrubland, and the land— 

13 ‘‘(I) could provide habitat for 

14 animal or plant populations of signifi15 cant ecological value if the land— 

16 ‘‘(aa) is retained in the cur17 rent use of the land; or 

18 ‘‘(bb) is restored to a nat19 ural condition; or 

20 ‘‘(II) contains historical or ar21 chaeological resources. 

22 ‘‘(B) RESTORATION AGREEMENT.—Land 

23 described in subparagraph (A) that is enrolled 

24 in the program shall be subject to a restoration 

25 agreement that provides the opportunity for the 


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1 restoration and enhancement of the enrolled 

2 land. 

3 ‘‘(4) FOREST LAND.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Land shall be eligible 

5 to be enrolled into the program if the Secretary 

6 determines that the land is land, the enrollment 

7 of which— 

8 ‘‘(i) will restore and conserve forest 

9 land, improve biodiversity, or conserve land 

10 from the conservation reserve program 

11 that is being restored to forest land; 

12 ‘‘(ii) will restore, enhance, or other13 wise measurably increase the likelihood of 

14 recovery of a species listed as endangered 

15 or threatened under section 4 of the En16 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

17 1533); or 

18 ‘‘(iii) will restore, enhance, or other19 wise measurably improve the well-being of 

20 a species that— 

21 ‘‘(I) is not listed as endangered 

22 or threatened under section 4 of the 

23 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

24 U.S.C. 1533); but 


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1 ‘‘(II) is candidates for such list2 ing, State-listed species, or special 

3 concern species. 

4 ‘‘(B) RESTORATION AGREEMENT.—Land 

5 described in subparagraph (A) that is enrolled 

6 in the program shall be subject to a restoration 

7 agreement that provides the opportunity for the 

8 restoration and enhancement of the enrolled 

9 land. 

10 ‘‘(5) PRIME AND PRODUCTIVE AGRICULTURAL

11 LAND.—Land shall be eligible to be enrolled into the 

12 program if the Secretary determines that the land is 

13 at risk of conversion to nonagricultural uses and— 

14 ‘‘(A) has prime, unique, or other produc15 tive soil; 

16 ‘‘(B) contains historical or archaeological 

17 resources; or 

18 ‘‘(C) the protection of the land will further 

19 a State or local policy consistent with the pur20 poses of the program. 

21 ‘‘(c) OTHER ELIGIBLE LAND.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enroll 

23 other land of the owner that would not otherwise be 

24 eligible if the land is determined by the Secretary to 


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1 be necessary for the efficient administration of the 

2 30-year contract or easement under the program. 

3 ‘‘(2) TYPE OF LAND.—Land enrolled under this 

4 subsection may include small areas of land as de5 fined by the Secretary, such as riparian zones, filter 

6 strips, buffers, fence lines, and other incidental land. 

7 ‘‘(d) LEVERAGING NON-FEDERAL INVESTMENT.— 

8 The Secretary may enter into 1 or more agreements with 

9 a State (including a political subdivision or agency of a 

10 State), nongovernmental organization, or Indian tribe to 

11 carry out a special enhancement program that the Sec12 retary determines would advance the purposes of the pro13 gram. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 1237B. DUTIES OF OWNERS. 

15 ‘‘(a) EASEMENTS.—To be eligible to enroll eligible 

16 land in the program under an easement, the owner of the 

17 land shall agree— 

18 ‘‘(1) to grant an easement to the Secretary; 

19 ‘‘(2) to create and record an appropriate deed 

20 restriction in accordance with applicable State law to 

21 reflect the easement; 

22 ‘‘(3) to provide a written statement of consent 

23 to the easement signed by persons holding a security 

24 interest or any vested interest in the land; 


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1 ‘‘(4) to comply with the terms of the easement 

2 and related agreements; 

3 ‘‘(5) to comply with the easement implement 

4 plan, as approved by the Secretary, which may be 

5 modified upon mutual agreement of the parties if 

6 the Secretary authorizes compatible uses; and 

7 ‘‘(6) to the permanent retirement of any exist8 ing cropland base and allotment history for the land 

9 under any program administered by the Secretary, 

10 unless the purpose of the particular easement is lim11 ited to the prevention of the conversion of prime and 

12 productive agricultural land to nonagricultural uses. 

13 ‘‘(b) RESTORATION AGREEMENTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for financial 

15 assistance to restore eligible land subject to a 30- 

16 year contract or an easement under the program, 

17 the owner of the land shall agree to comply with the 

18 terms of a restoration agreement. 

19 ‘‘(2) TYPE OF AGREEMENT.—A restoration 

20 agreement may be— 

21 ‘‘(A) a cost-share agreement with the 

22 owner; 

23 ‘‘(B) a cooperative agreement with an 

24 agency or organization with restoration exper25 tise; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) a contract with a vendor. 

2 ‘‘(3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Secretary 

3 shall prescribe the terms and conditions of a restora4 tion agreement by which eligible land that is subject 

5 to a 30-year contract or easement under the pro6 gram shall be restored. 

7 ‘‘(4) DUTIES.—The restoration agreement shall 

8 describe the respective duties of the parties to the 

9 agreement, including the Federal share of restora10 tion payments and technical assistance. 

11 ‘‘(c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLICABLE TO EASE12 MENTS AND 30-YEAR CONTRACTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) RESERVED RIGHTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An easement or 30- 

15 year contract entered into under the program 

16 shall provide to the Secretary control of the 

17 surface rights of the land while identifying 

18 rights reserved to the owner for specified usages 

19 consistent with the purposes of the particular 

20 enrollment so as— 

21 ‘‘(i) to maximize conservation benefits 

22 (including wildlife habitat) per dollar spent 

23 across the program; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) to allow the owner uses of the 

2 land that are consistent with the purposes 

3 for which the land is enrolled. 

4 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS ON ACTIVITIES.— 

5 Rights reserved to the owner shall be consistent 

6 with the wetland, grassland, forest land, or pro7 ductive land purposes for which the land is en8 rolled. 

9 ‘‘(2) EASEMENT CONSERVATION PLAN.— 

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

11 develop an easement conservation plan for each 

12 easement or 30-year contract enrolled in the 

13 program that will identify how land enrolled in 

14 the program will be restored, if applicable, and 

15 managed. 

16 ‘‘(B) MODIFICATION.—An easement con17 servation plan shall be modified in response to 

18 changing resource conditions to ensure that the 

19 purposes of the program are achieved. 

20 ‘‘(C) LOCAL AND STATE INVOLVEMENT.— 

21 An easement conservation plan, including any 

22 compatible use that may be authorized for the 

23 owner under the program, shall be made 

24 through the local Natural Resources ConservaVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:33 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00105 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3111.IH H3111

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1 tion Service representative, in coordination with 

2 the State technical committee. 

3 ‘‘(D) PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Con4 sistent with paragraph (3), an easement con5 servation plan shall identify the following activi6 ties as permissible: 

7 ‘‘(i) GRASSLAND.—In the case of 

8 grassland, an easement conservation plan 

9 shall permit— 

10 ‘‘(I) common grazing practices, 

11 including maintenance and necessary 

12 cultural practices, on the land that is 

13 consistent with maintaining the viabil14 ity of grassland, forb, and shrub spe15 cies appropriate to that locality; 

16 ‘‘(II) haying, mowing, or har17 vesting for seed production or bio18 mass, subject to appropriate restric19 tions during the nesting season for 

20 birds in the local area, consistent with 

21 Federal or State law and in coordina22 tion with the State technical com23 mittee, as determined by the Sec24 retary; 


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1 ‘‘(III) fire presuppression, reha2 bilitation, and construction of fire 

3 breaks; and 

4 ‘‘(IV) grazing-related activities, 

5 such as fencing and livestock water6 ing. 

7 ‘‘(ii) WETLAND.—In the case of wet8 land, an easement conservation plan shall 

9 permit repairs, improvements, and inspec10 tions of the land that are necessary to 

11 maintain existing public drainage systems 

12 if the land is subsequently restored to the 

13 condition required by the terms of the 

14 easement. 

15 ‘‘(iii) ALL ENROLLED LAND.— 

16 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In the case 

17 of all enrolled land, the easement con18 servation plan shall permit the 

19 owner— 

20 ‘‘(aa) to conduct any activi21 ties that are inherent and nec22 essary to rights that are reserved 

23 to the owner under the terms of 

24 the easement or 30-year contract 

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1 patible use in the easement con2 servation program; 

3 ‘‘(bb) to control public ac4 cess; and 

5 ‘‘(cc) in accordance with 

6 subclause (II), the right to unde7 veloped recreational uses, includ8 ing undeveloped hunting and 

9 fishing and leasing of those 

10 rights for economic gain, pursu11 ant to applicable State and Fed12 eral laws (including regulations). 

13 ‘‘(II) UNDEVELOPED REC14 REATIONAL USES.—Undeveloped rec15 reational uses under subclause 

16 (I)(cc)— 

17 ‘‘(aa) shall be consistent 

18 with the long-term protection and 

19 enhancement of the conservation 

20 purposes and other natural val21 ues of the easement area; and 

22 ‘‘(bb) may include hunting 

23 equipment, such as tree stands 

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1 tic and customary for the locale, 

2 as determined by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(E) PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES.—An ease4 ment conservation plan shall identify the fol5 lowing activities as prohibited: 

6 ‘‘(i) GRASSLAND.—In the case of 

7 grassland, an easement conservation plan 

8 shall prohibit the production of crops 

9 (other than hay or grass grown for bio10 mass harvest), fruit trees, vineyards, or 

11 any other agricultural commodity that is 

12 inconsistent with maintaining grazing land. 

13 ‘‘(ii) WETLAND.—In the case of wet14 land, an easement conservation plan shall 

15 prohibit— 

16 ‘‘(I) the alteration of wildlife 

17 habitat and other natural features of 

18 the land, unless specifically permitted 

19 by the easement conservation plan; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(II) the spraying of the land 

22 with chemicals or the mowing of the 

23 land, unless spraying or mowing is— 

24 ‘‘(aa) permitted by the ease25 ment conservation plan to meet 


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1 the habitat needs of specific wild2 life species; or 

3 ‘‘(bb) necessary to comply 

4 with Federal or State noxious 

5 weed control laws and emergency 

6 pest treatment program. 

7 ‘‘(iii) ALL ENROLLED LAND.—In the 

8 case of all enrolled land, the easement con9 servation plan shall prohibit— 

10 ‘‘(I) any activities to be carried 

11 out on the land of the owner that is 

12 immediately adjacent to, and function13 ally related to, the land that is subject 

14 to the easement if the activities will 

15 alter, degrade, or otherwise diminish 

16 the functional value of the eligible 

17 land; and 

18 ‘‘(II) the adoption of any other 

19 practice that would tend to defeat the 

20 purposes of this subchapter, as deter21 mined by the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(3) COMPATIBLE USES BY THE OWNER.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Land enrolled in the 

24 program may be used for compatible uses if the 

25 use is specifically permitted by an easement 


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1 conservation plan and consistent with the long2 term protection and enhancement of the re3 sources for which the easement was established. 

4 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZED USES.—The Secretary 

5 may authorize the use of the easement area for 

6 compatible uses under the terms of the ease7 ment deed or contract, even if the uses were not 

8 identified as compatible at the time of easement 

9 enrollment. 

10 ‘‘(C) LIMITATIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Compatible use 

12 authorizations shall only be made if the 

13 Secretary determines, in coordination with 

14 the State technical committee, that the 

15 amount, timing, intensity, and duration of 

16 the compatible use ensures that the pur17 poses of the program will be achieved. 

18 ‘‘(ii) INCLUSIONS.—Compatible uses 

19 under clause (i) may include managed 

20 haying and grazing for grassland (includ21 ing the managed harvesting of biomass) or 

22 timber harvesting or managed harvesting 

23 of biomass of forest land. 

24 ‘‘(4) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—A 

25 30-year contract or easement under the program 


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1 shall include such additional provisions as the Sec2 retary determines are appropriate to carry out or fa3 cilitate the purposes and administration of the pro4 gram. 

5 ‘‘(d) COMPLIANCE.—On a violation of the terms or 

6 conditions of a 30-year contract or easement under this 

7 subchapter— 

8 ‘‘(1) the contract or easement shall remain in 

9 force; and 

10 ‘‘(2) the Secretary may require the owner to re11 fund all or part of any payments received under the 

12 program, with interest on the payments as deter13 mined appropriate by the Secretary. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 1237C. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In return for the granting of an 

16 easement by an owner under this subchapter, the Sec17 retary shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) share the cost of carrying out the estab19 lishment of conservation measures and practices, in20 cluding necessary maintenance activities, as de21 scribed in the easement conservation plan associated 

22 with the easement to the extent that the Secretary 

23 determines that cost sharing is appropriate and in 

24 the public interest; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) provide necessary technical assistance to 

2 assist owners in complying with the terms and con3 ditions of the easement and the easement conserva4 tion plan. 

5 ‘‘(b) RANKING OF OFFERS.—When evaluating offers 

6 from owners, the Secretary may consider— 

7 ‘‘(1) the cost-effectiveness of each easement or 

8 other interest in the eligible land, so as to maximize 

9 the environmental benefits per dollar expended; 

10 ‘‘(2) whether the owner or another individual or 

11 legal entity is offering to contribute financially to 

12 the cost of the easement or other interest in the land 

13 to leverage Federal funds; 

14 ‘‘(3) the conservation and wildlife habitat bene15 fits of obtaining an easement or other interest in the 

16 land; 

17 ‘‘(4) the relative threat of conversion of the 

18 land to development or row cropping, as applicable; 

19 ‘‘(5) the extent to which the purposes of the 

20 easement program would be achieved on the land of21 fered for enrollment; and 

22 ‘‘(6) other factors the Secretary determines are 

23 appropriate to select among offers with similar re24 source concerns and objectives. 


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1 ‘‘(c) EASEMENT PRIORITY.—In carrying out this sub2 chapter, to the extent practicable taking into consideration 

3 costs and future agricultural and food needs, the Secretary 

4 shall give priority— 

5 ‘‘(1) to obtaining permanent conservation ease6 ments before shorter-term conservation easements; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(2) in consultation with the Secretary of the 

9 Interior, to acquiring easements based on the value 

10 of the easements for protecting vulnerable land and 

11 protecting and enhancing habitat for migratory birds 

12 and other wildlife. 

13 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

14 provide owners with technical assistance to assist the own15 ers in complying with the terms of the easement, 30-year 

16 contract, and associated easement conservation plans 

17 under the program. 

18 ‘‘(e) PAYMENTS TO OTHERS.—If an owner who is en19 titled to a payment under the program dies, becomes in20 competent, is otherwise unable to receive the payment, or 

21 is succeeded by another person who renders or completes 

22 the required performance, the Secretary shall make the 

23 payment, in accordance with regulations promulgated by 

24 the Secretary and without regard to any other provision 


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1 of law, in such manner as the Secretary determines is fair 

2 and reasonable in light of all the circumstances. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 1237D. PAYMENTS. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the date of enact5 ment of the Rural Economic Farm and Ranch Sustain6 ability and Hunger Act of 2011, the Secretary shall pay 

7 as compensation for a permanent conservation easement 

8 acquired under this subchapter the lowest of— 

9 ‘‘(1) the fair market value of the land, as deter10 mined by the Secretary, using the Uniform Stand11 ards of Professional Appraisal Practices or an area12 wide market analysis or survey; 

13 ‘‘(2) the amount corresponding to a geo14 graphical cap, as determined by the Secretary in 

15 regulations; or 

16 ‘‘(3) the offer made by the owner. 

17 ‘‘(b) FORM OF PAYMENT.—Compensation for an 

18 easement shall be provided by the Secretary in the form 

19 of a cash payment, in an amount determined under sub20 section (a) and specified in the easement agreement. 

21 ‘‘(c) PAYMENT SCHEDULE FOR EASEMENTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) EASEMENTS VALUED AT $500,000 OR

23 LESS.—For easements valued at $500,000 or less, 

24 the Secretary may provide easement payments in not 

25 more than 30 annual payments. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EASEMENTS IN EXCESS OF $500,000.— 

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

3 subparagraph (B), for easements valued at 

4 more than $500,000, the Secretary may provide 

5 easement payments in at least 5, but not more 

6 than 30, annual payments. 

7 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If the Secretary deter8 mines it would further the purposes of the pro9 gram, the Secretary may make a lump sum 

10 payment for an easement described in subpara11 graph (A). 

12 ‘‘(d) RESTORATION PAYMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) PAYMENT RATES.—In making restoration 

14 payments, the Secretary shall seek to minimize Fed15 eral costs and may offer— 

16 ‘‘(A) in the case of a permanent easement, 

17 to pay an amount that is not more than 90 per18 cent of the eligible costs; and 

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of a nonpermanent ease20 ment described in section 1237A(a)(2)(A)(ii) or 

21 a 30-year contract, to pay an amount that is 

22 not more than 70 percent of the eligible costs. 

23 ‘‘(2) RESTORATION OFFSET.—The Secretary 

24 shall deduct as a closing cost from the easement 

25 compensation to be paid, the estimated share of the 


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1 owner of the restoration costs, and that payment 

2 shall be— 

3 ‘‘(A) determined complete and final for 

4 purposes of meeting the cost-share responsi5 bility of the owner; and 

6 ‘‘(B) administered using the restoration 

7 funds of the Secretary. 

8 ‘‘(e) EXEMPTION FROM AUTOMATIC SEQUESTER.— 

9 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no order 

10 issued under section 252 of the Balanced Budget and 

11 Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 902) 

12 shall affect any payment under this subchapter. 

13 ‘‘SEC. 1237E. DELEGATION OF DUTY. 

14 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this sec15 tion, the term ‘eligible entity’ means— 

16 ‘‘(1) an agency of State or local government or 

17 an Indian tribe; or 

18 ‘‘(2) an organization that— 

19 ‘‘(A) is organized for, and at all times 

20 since the formation of the organization has 

21 been operated principally for, 1 or more of the 

22 conservation purposes specified in clause (i), 

23 (ii), (iii), or (iv) of section 170(h)(4)(A) of the 

24 Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 


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1 ‘‘(B) is an organization described in sec2 tion 501(c)(3) of that Code that is exempt from 

3 taxation under section 501(a) of that Code; and 

4 ‘‘(C) is described in— 

5 ‘‘(i) paragraph (1) or (2) of section 

6 509(a) of that Code; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) in section 509(a)(3) of that 

8 Code, and is controlled by an organization 

9 described in section 509(a)(2) of that 

10 Code. 

11 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY TO DELEGATE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may dele13 gate a duty under the program— 

14 ‘‘(A) by transferring title of ownership to 

15 an easement originally acquired by the Sec16 retary to an eligible entity to hold and enforce; 

17 or 

18 ‘‘(B) by entering into a cooperative agree19 ment with an eligible entity for the eligible enti20 ty to own, write, and enforce an easement that 

21 the Secretary determines will further the pur22 poses of the program. 

23 ‘‘(2) DELEGATION OF EASEMENT ADMINISTRA24 TION OF EASEMENTS ACQUIRED BY THE SEC25 RETARY.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

2 delegate any of the easement management, 

3 monitoring, and enforcement responsibilities of 

4 the Secretary under the program to Federal or 

5 State agencies or other eligible entities that the 

6 Secretary determines have the appropriate au7 thority, expertise, and resources necessary to 

8 carry out the delegated responsibilities. 

9 ‘‘(B) SECRETARIAL DISCRETION.—The 

10 Secretary may determine that the delegation to 

11 a particular agency or eligible entity is appro12 priate for 1 type of easement and not appro13 priate for another type of easement, depending 

14 on the resource purposes for which an easement 

15 is acquired. 

16 ‘‘(3) TRANSFER OF TITLE OF OWNERSHIP.— 

17 ‘‘(A) TRANSFER.—The Secretary may 

18 transfer title of ownership to an easement to an 

19 eligible entity to hold and enforce, in lieu of the 

20 Secretary, subject to the right of the Secretary 

21 to conduct periodic inspections and enforce the 

22 easement, if— 

23 ‘‘(i) the Secretary determines that the 

24 transfer will promote long-term protection 

25 of the easement; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the owner authorizes the eligible 

2 entity to hold or enforce the easement; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the eligible entity agrees to as4 sume the costs incurred in administering 

5 and enforcing the easement, including the 

6 costs of restoration or rehabilitation of the 

7 land as determined by the Secretary. 

8 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity 

9 that seeks to hold and enforce an easement that 

10 has been acquired by the Secretary shall apply 

11 to the Secretary for approval. 

12 ‘‘(C) APPROVAL BY SECRETARY.—The Sec13 retary may approve an application described in 

14 subparagraph (B) if the eligible entity— 

15 ‘‘(i) has the relevant experience nec16 essary for the particular resources to be 

17 protected, as appropriate for the applica18 tion, to administer an easement previously 

19 acquired by the Secretary; 

20 ‘‘(ii) has a charter that describes a 

21 commitment to furthering the particular 

22 conservation purposes for which an ease23 ment was originally acquired by the Sec24 retary; and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) has the resources necessary to 

2 effectuate the purposes of this subchapter. 

3 ‘‘(c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZED; TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

5 The Secretary shall establish the terms and condi6 tions of a cooperative agreement under which an eli7 gible entity shall use funds provided by the Sec8 retary to own, write, and enforce an easement, in 

9 lieu of the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.—At a min11 imum, the cooperative agreement shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) specify the qualification of the eligible 

13 entity to carry out the responsibilities of the eli14 gible entity under the program, including acqui15 sition, monitoring, enforcement, and implemen16 tation of management policies and procedures 

17 that ensure the long-term integrity of the ease18 ment protections; 

19 ‘‘(B) require the eligible entity to assume 

20 the costs incurred in administering and enforc21 ing the easement, including the costs of restora22 tion or rehabilitation of the land as specified by 

23 the Secretary; 


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1 ‘‘(C) specify the right of the Secretary to 

2 conduct periodic inspections to verify the en3 forcement by the eligible entity of the easement; 

4 ‘‘(D) subject to subparagraph (E), identify 

5 a specific project or a range of projects to be 

6 funded under the agreement; 

7 ‘‘(E) allow, upon mutual agreement of the 

8 parties, substitution of qualified projects that 

9 are identified at the time of substitution; 

10 ‘‘(F) specify the manner in which the eligi11 ble entity will evaluate and report the use of 

12 funds to the Secretary; 

13 ‘‘(G) allow the eligible entity flexibility to 

14 develop and use terms and conditions for ease15 ments, if the Secretary finds the terms and con16 ditions consistent with the purposes of the pro17 gram and adequate to enable effective enforce18 ment of the easements; and 

19 ‘‘(H) provide for a schedule of payments to 

20 an eligible entity, as agreed to by the Secretary 

21 and the eligible entity. 

22 ‘‘(3) COST SHARING.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As part of a coopera24 tive agreement with an eligible entity under this 

25 subsection, the Secretary may provide a share 


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1 of the purchase price of an easement under the 

2 program. 

3 ‘‘(B) MINIMUM SHARE BY ELIGIBLE ENTI4 TY.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The eligible entity 

6 shall be required to provide a share of the 

7 purchase price at least equivalent to that 

8 provided by the Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(ii) AMOUNT OF SHARE.—The Sec10 retary shall base the share on the amount 

11 that the Secretary would have paid for an 

12 easement acquired directly by the Sec13 retary under this subchapter. 

14 ‘‘(C) PRIORITY.—The Secretary may ac15 cord a higher priority to proposals from eligible 

16 entities that leverage a greater share of the 

17 purchase price of the easement. 

18 ‘‘(D) MINIMIZATION OF FEDERAL EX19 PENSE.—In determining cost-share levels, the 

20 Secretary— 

21 ‘‘(i) shall seek to minimize Federal 

22 costs; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) may provide an amount less than 

24 the maximum cost-share authorized under 

25 this section. 


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1 ‘‘(d) CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

2 ‘‘(1) CERTIFICATION PROCESS.—The Secretary 

3 shall establish a process under which the Secretary 

4 may— 

5 ‘‘(A) directly certify eligible entities that 

6 meet established criteria; 

7 ‘‘(B) enter into long-term agreements with 

8 certified entities; and 

9 ‘‘(C) accept proposals for cost-share assist10 ance to certified entities for the purchase of 

11 conservation easements throughout the duration 

12 of the agreements. 

13 ‘‘(2) CERTIFICATION CRITERIA.—In order to be 

14 certified, an eligible entity shall demonstrate to the 

15 Secretary that the entity will maintain, at a min16 imum, for the duration of the agreement— 

17 ‘‘(A) a plan for administering easements 

18 that is consistent with the purpose of this sub19 chapter; 

20 ‘‘(B) the capacity and resources to monitor 

21 and enforce easements; and 

22 ‘‘(C) policies and procedures to ensure— 

23 ‘‘(i) the long-term integrity of ease24 ments; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) timely completion of acquisitions 

2 of easements; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) timely and complete evaluation 

4 and reporting to the Secretary on the use 

5 of funds provided by the Secretary under 

6 the program. 

7 ‘‘(3) REVIEW AND REVISION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) REVIEW.—The Secretary shall con9 duct a review of eligible entities certified under 

10 paragraph (1) at least every 3 years to ensure 

11 that the entities are meeting the criteria estab12 lished under paragraph (2). 

13 ‘‘(B) REVOCATION.—If the Secretary finds 

14 that the certified entity no longer meets the cri15 teria established under paragraph (2), the Sec16 retary may— 

17 ‘‘(i) allow the certified entity a speci18 fied period of time of not less than 180 

19 days in which to take such actions as may 

20 be necessary to meet the criteria; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) revoke the certification of the en22 tity, if after the specified period of time, 

23 the certified entity does not meet the cri24 teria established in paragraph (2). 

25 ‘‘(e) PROTECTION OF FEDERAL INVESTMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If delegating a duty under 

2 this section, the Secretary shall ensure that the 

3 terms of an easement include a right of enforcement 

4 for the Department. 

5 ‘‘(2) VIOLATION.—If an agency or other eligible 

6 entity violates the terms or conditions of a delegated 

7 responsibility or associated cooperative agreement 

8 entered into under this section— 

9 ‘‘(A) the delegation, and any associated co10 operative agreement, may be revoked or termi11 nated; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the Secretary may required the agen13 cy or other eligible entity to refund all or part 

14 of any payments received by the agency or eligi15 ble entity under the program, with interest on 

16 the payments as determined appropriate by the 

17 Secretary. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 1237F. CHANGES IN OWNERSHIP AND AGREEMENT 

19 MODIFICATION. 

20 ‘‘(a) LIMITATIONS.—No easement shall be created 

21 under this subchapter on land that has changed ownership 

22 during the preceding 2-year period unless the Secretary 

23 determines that— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the new ownership was acquired by will or 

2 succession as a result of the death of the previous 

3 owner; 

4 ‘‘(2)(A) the ownership change occurred because 

5 of foreclosure on the land; and 

6 ‘‘(B) immediately before the foreclosure, the 

7 owner of the land exercises a right of redemption 

8 from the mortgage holder in accordance with State 

9 law; 

10 ‘‘(3) the land was acquired under circumstances 

11 that give adequate assurances that the land was not 

12 acquired for the purposes of placing the land in the 

13 program; or 

14 ‘‘(4) the new ownership was acquired by the 

15 sibling, parent, child, or grandchild of the previous 

16 owner. 

17 ‘‘(b) MODIFICATION, EXCHANGE, AND TERMI18 NATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may subor20 dinate, exchange, terminate, or modify any easement 

21 or other interest in land administered by the Nat22 ural Resources Conservation Service, either directly 

23 or on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation, 

24 when the Secretary determines that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) it is in the interest of the Federal 

2 Government to subordinate, exchange, modify, 

3 or terminate the easement or other interest in 

4 the land; 

5 ‘‘(B) the action will address a compelling 

6 public need or will further the practical admin7 istration of the program; 

8 ‘‘(C) the action will result in comparable 

9 conservation value and equal or greater eco10 nomic value to the United States; and 

11 ‘‘(D) the current owner agrees to the modi12 fication. 

13 ‘‘(2) NOTICE.—At least 90 days before taking 

14 any action to terminate an easement or other inter15 est in land, the Secretary shall provide written no16 tice of the action to the Committee on Agriculture 

17 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

18 on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Sen19 ate. 

20 ‘‘(c) ENFORCEABILITY.—An easement, contract, or 

21 other agreement entered into under the program shall con22 tinue to be legally enforceable on the land for the duration 

23 of the easement, contract, or other agreement, regardless 

24 of whether the ownership of the land changes. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1237G. PROTECTIONS. 

2 ‘‘(a) PROTECTIONS.—In the case of an owner that 

3 enrolls land in the program under an agreement that in4 cludes protection of vulnerable species and whose con5 servation activities result in a net conservation benefit for 

6 listed, candidate, or other species, the Secretary shall 

7 make available to the owner safe harbor or similar assur8 ances and protection under— 

9 ‘‘(1) section 7(b)(4) of the Endangered Species 

10 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(b)(4)); or 

11 ‘‘(2) section 10(a)(1) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 

12 1539(a)(1)). 

13 ‘‘(b) MEASURES.—If protection under subsection (a) 

14 requires the taking of measures that are in addition to 

15 the measures covered by the applicable restoration plan 

16 agreed to under the program, the cost of the additional 

17 measures, as well as the cost of any permit, shall be con18 sidered part of the restoration plan for purposes of finan19 cial assistance under the program. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 1237H. FUNDING. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds of the Commodity 

22 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out 

23 this subchapter $1,000,000,000 for each fiscal year. 

24 ‘‘(b) ADDITIONAL FUNDING.—In addition to the 

25 funds made available under subsection (a), there is auVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:33 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00129 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3111.IH H3111

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1 thorized to be appropriated to carry out this subchapter 

2 $500,000,000 for each fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Of amounts made available to 

4 carry out this section for a fiscal year, the Secretary shall 

5 use— 

6 ‘‘(1) not less than 5 percent of the funds to en7 roll forest land in the program eligible under section 

8 1237A(b)(4); 

9 ‘‘(2) not more than 5 percent to enroll prime 

10 and productive agricultural land eligible under sec11 tion 1237A(b)(5); 

12 ‘‘(3) not more than 5 percent to enroll land eli13 gible under section 1237E(c); and 

14 ‘‘(4) not less than 8 percent of the funds to 

15 provide technical assistance. 

16 ‘‘(d) ACCEPTANCE OF CONTRIBUTIONS.—Notwith17 standing any other provision of law, the Secretary may 

18 accept and use contributions of non-Federal funds to 

19 make payments under this section.’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

21 (1) Chapter 1 of subtitle D of the Food Secu22 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3830 et seq.) is amend23 ed in the chapter heading by inserting ‘‘, CON24 SERVATION RESERVE, AND EASEMENT 

25 BENEFITS PROGRAM’’. 


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1 (2) Section 1238A of the Food Security Act of 

2 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3838a) is amended— 

3 (A) in subsection (b)(3)— 

4 (i) by striking subparagraphs (B) and 

5 (C) and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(B) EASEMENT BENEFITS PROGRAM.— 

7 Land enrolled in the easement benefits program 

8 established under subchapter C of chapter 1 

9 shall not be eligible for enrollment in the con10 servation security program.’’; and 

11 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

12 (D) as subparagraph (C); and 

13 (B) in subsection (e)(2)(B)(ii)(I)(cc), by 

14 striking ‘‘wetlands reserve program’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘easement benefits program’’. 

16 (3) Section 1252(c) of the Food Security Act of 

17 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3851(c)) is amended— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘(c) FUNDING SOURCE.— 

19 ’’ and all that follows through ‘‘the Secretary’’ 

20 in paragraph (1) and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(c) FUNDING SOURCE.—The Secretary’’; and 

22 (B) by striking paragraph (2). 


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1 Subtitle C—Working Land Program 

2 SEC. 2201. WORKING LAND PROGRAM. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title XII of the Food Security 

4 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking subchapter B of chapter 2 of 

6 subtitle D (16 U.S.C. 3838d et seq.); 

7 (2) by striking section 1240N (16 U.S.C. 

8 3839bb–1); and 

9 (3) by striking chapter 4 of subtitle D (16 

10 U.S.C. 3839aa) and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘CHAPTER 4—WORKING LAND PROGRAM 

12 ‘‘SEC. 1240. WORKING LAND PROGRAM. 

13 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The Secretary shall establish a 

14 working land program to promote agricultural production, 

15 forest management, and environmental quality as compat16 ible goals, and to optimize environmental benefits, by— 

17 ‘‘(1) assisting producers in complying with 

18 local, State, and national regulatory requirements 

19 concerning— 

20 ‘‘(A) soil, water, and air quality; 

21 ‘‘(B) wildlife habitat; and 

22 ‘‘(C) surface and ground water conserva23 tion; 

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1 grams by assisting producers in protecting soil, 

2 water, air, and related natural resources and meet3 ing environmental quality criteria established by 

4 Federal, State, tribal, and local agencies; 

5 ‘‘(3) providing flexible assistance to producers 

6 to install and maintain conservation practices that 

7 sustain food and fiber production while— 

8 ‘‘(A) enhancing soil, water, and related 

9 natural resources, including grazing land, 

10 forestland, wetland, and wildlife; and 

11 ‘‘(B) improving energy efficiency and in12 creasing use of renewable energy; 

13 ‘‘(4) assisting producers to make beneficial, 

14 cost-effective changes to production systems (includ15 ing conservation practices relating to organic pro16 duction), grazing management, fuels management, 

17 forest management, nutrient management associated 

18 with livestock, pest or irrigation management, or 

19 other practices on agricultural and forested land; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(5) consolidating and streamlining conserva22 tion planning and regulatory compliance processes to 

23 reduce administrative burdens on producers and the 

24 cost of achieving environmental goals. 

25 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this chapter: 


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1 ‘‘(1) CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘conserva3 tion activities’ means conservation systems, 

4 practices, or management measures that are de5 signed to address a resource concern. 

6 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘conserva7 tion activities’ includes— 

8 ‘‘(i) structural measures, vegetative 

9 measures, and land management measures, 

10 including agriculture drainage manage11 ment systems, as determined by the Sec12 retary; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) planning needed to address a re14 source concern. 

15 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE LAND.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible 

17 land’ means land on which agricultural com18 modities, livestock, or forest-related products 

19 are produced. 

20 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘eligible 

21 land’ includes— 

22 ‘‘(i) cropland; 

23 ‘‘(ii) grassland; 

24 ‘‘(iii) rangeland; 

25 ‘‘(iv) pasture land; 


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1 ‘‘(v) nonindustrial private forest land; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(vi) other agricultural land (includ4 ing cropped woodland, marshes, areas de5 voted to aquaculture and associated 

6 waters, and agricultural land used or capa7 ble of being used for the production of live8 stock) on which resource concerns relating 

9 to agricultural production could be ad10 dressed through a contract under the pro11 gram, as determined by the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘eligible 

13 land’ does not include any land enrolled in— 

14 ‘‘(i) the conservation reserve program 

15 under subchapter B of chapter 1; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) the easement benefits program 

17 under subchapter C of chapter 1. 

18 ‘‘(3) ORGANIC SYSTEM PLAN.—The term ‘or19 ganic system plan’ means an organic plan approved 

20 under the national organic program established 

21 under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 

22 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.). 

23 ‘‘(4) PARTNER.—The term ‘partner’ means any 

24 entity that enters into a partnership agreement with 


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1 the Secretary to carry out a program on a regional 

2 basis, including— 

3 ‘‘(A) an agricultural or silvicultural pro4 ducer association or other group of such pro5 ducers; 

6 ‘‘(B) a State or unit of local government; 

7 or 

8 ‘‘(C) an Indian tribe. 

9 ‘‘(5) PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT.—The term 

10 ‘partnership agreement’ means an agreement be11 tween the Secretary and a partner to carry out a 

12 practice under the program. 

13 ‘‘(6) PAYMENT.—The term ‘payment’ means fi14 nancial assistance provided for performing practices 

15 under this chapter, including compensation for— 

16 ‘‘(A) incurred costs associated with plan17 ning, design, materials, equipment, installation, 

18 labor, management, maintenance, or training; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) income forgone by the producer. 

21 ‘‘(7) PRACTICE.—The term ‘practice’ means 1 

22 or more improvements and conservation activities 

23 that are consistent with the purposes of the pro24 gram, as determined by the Secretary, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) improvements to eligible land of the 

2 producer, including— 

3 ‘‘(i) structural practices; 

4 ‘‘(ii) land management practices; 

5 ‘‘(iii) vegetative practices; 

6 ‘‘(iv) forest management; and 

7 ‘‘(v) other practices that the Secretary 

8 determines would further the purposes of 

9 the program; and 

10 ‘‘(B) conservation activities involving the 

11 development of plans appropriate for the eligi12 ble land of the producer, including— 

13 ‘‘(i) comprehensive nutrient manage14 ment planning; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) other plans that the Secretary 

16 determines would further the purposes of 

17 the program under this part. 

18 ‘‘(8) PRIORITY RESOURCE CONCERN.—The 

19 term ‘priority resource concern’ means a resource 

20 concern that is identified at the State level, in con21 sultation with the State technical committee, as a 

22 priority for a particular watershed or area of the 

23 State. 

24 ‘‘(9) PRODUCER.—The term ‘producer’ has the 

25 meaning given the term in section 1238. 


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1 ‘‘(10) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 

2 the working land program established under this 

3 chapter. 

4 ‘‘(11) RESOURCE CONCERN.—The term ‘re5 source concern’ means a specific natural resource 

6 impairment or problem, as determined by the Sec7 retary, that— 

8 ‘‘(A) represents a significant concern in a 

9 State or region; and 

10 ‘‘(B) is likely to be addressed successfully 

11 through the implementation of conservation ac12 tivities by producers on land eligible for enroll13 ment in the program. 

14 ‘‘SEC. 1240A. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—During each of the 2013 

16 through 2017 fiscal years, the Secretary shall provide pay17 ments to producers and partners that enter into contracts 

18 or partnership agreements with the Secretary under the 

19 program. 

20 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION CRITERIA.—The Secretary 

22 shall develop criteria for evaluating applications that 

23 will ensure that national, State, and local conserva24 tion priorities are effectively addressed. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PRIORITIZATION OF APPLICATIONS.—In 

2 evaluating applications under the program, the Sec3 retary shall prioritize applications— 

4 ‘‘(A) based on the overall level of cost-ef5 fectiveness of the project proposed in an appli6 cation to ensure that the conservation practices 

7 and approaches proposed are the most cost-ef8 fective means of achieving the anticipated envi9 ronmental benefits of the project; 

10 ‘‘(B) based on how effectively and com11 prehensively the proposed project addresses the 

12 designated resource concern or resource con13 cerns; 

14 ‘‘(C) that best fulfill the purpose of the 

15 program specified in section 1240(a); 

16 ‘‘(D) that improve conservation practices 

17 or systems in place on the operation at the time 

18 the contract offer is accepted or that will com19 plete a conservation system; and 

20 ‘‘(E) that will bring significant environ21 mental benefits in improving specific high-pri22 ority environmental concerns, as designated by 

23 the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(3) GROUPING OF APPLICATIONS.—To the 

25 maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall 


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1 group applications of similar crop or livestock oper2 ations for evaluation purposes or otherwise evaluate 

3 applications relative to other applications for similar 

4 farming operations. 

5 ‘‘(4) BIDDING DOWN.—If the Secretary deter6 mines that the environmental values of 2 or more 

7 applications for payments are comparable, the Sec8 retary shall not assign a higher priority to an appli9 cation only because the application would present 

10 the least cost to the program. 

11 ‘‘(c) PRACTICES AND TERM.— 

12 ‘‘(1) PRACTICES.—A contract under the pro13 gram may apply to the performance of 1 or more 

14 practices. 

15 ‘‘(2) TERM.—A contract or partnership agree16 ment under the program shall have a term that— 

17 ‘‘(A)(i) except as provided in clause (ii), at 

18 a minimum, is equal to the period beginning on 

19 the date on which the contract is entered into 

20 and ending on the date that is 1 year after the 

21 date on which all practices under the contract 

22 have been implemented; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) may, for contracts or partnership 

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1 ship agreements designated by the Secretary, be 

2 less than 1 year; but 

3 ‘‘(B) does not exceed 10 years. 

4 ‘‘(d) PAYMENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Payments shall be provided 

6 to a producer or partner to implement 1 or more 

7 practices under the program. 

8 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON PAYMENT AMOUNTS.— 

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

10 paragraph (4), a payment to a producer or 

11 partner for performing a practice may not ex12 ceed, as determined by the Secretary— 

13 ‘‘(i) 75 percent of the costs associated 

14 with planning, design, materials, equip15 ment, installation, labor, management, 

16 maintenance, or training; 

17 ‘‘(ii) 100 percent of income foregone 

18 by the producer or partner, as determined 

19 in accordance with paragraph (3); or 

20 ‘‘(iii) in the case of a practice con21 sisting of elements covered under clauses 

22 (i) and (ii)— 

23 ‘‘(I) 75 percent of the costs in24 curred for those elements covered 

25 under clause (i); and 


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1 ‘‘(II) 100 percent of income fore2 gone for those elements covered under 

3 clause (ii). 

4 ‘‘(B) MINIMIZATION OF FEDERAL COST.— 

5 The Secretary— 

6 ‘‘(i) shall seek to minimize Federal 

7 costs in determining cost-share levels; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) is not required to provide the 

9 maximum cost-share amount described in 

10 subparagraph (A). 

11 ‘‘(3) SPECIAL RULE INVOLVING PAYMENTS FOR

12 FOREGONE INCOME.—In determining the amount 

13 and rate of payments under paragraph (2)(A)(ii), 

14 the Secretary may accord great significance to a 

15 practice that, as determined by the Secretary, pro16 motes— 

17 ‘‘(A) residue management; 

18 ‘‘(B) nutrient management; 

19 ‘‘(C) air quality management; 

20 ‘‘(D) invasive species management; 

21 ‘‘(E) pollinator habitat; 

22 ‘‘(F) animal carcass management tech23 nology; 

24 ‘‘(G) pest management; or 

25 ‘‘(H) water conservation. 


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1 ‘‘(4) INCREASED PAYMENTS FOR CERTAIN PRO2 DUCERS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding para4 graph (2), in the case of a producer that is a 

5 limited resource, socially disadvantaged farmer 

6 or rancher, or a beginning farmer or rancher, 

7 the Secretary shall increase the amount that 

8 would otherwise be provided to a producer 

9 under this subsection— 

10 ‘‘(i) to not more than 90 percent of 

11 the costs associated with planning, design, 

12 materials, equipment, installation, labor, 

13 management, maintenance, or training; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(ii) to not less than 25 percent above 

16 the otherwise applicable rate. 

17 ‘‘(B) ADVANCE PAYMENTS.—Not more 

18 than 30 percent of the amount determined 

19 under subparagraph (A) may be provided in ad20 vance for the purpose of purchasing materials 

21 or contracting. 

22 ‘‘(C) MINIMIZATION OF FEDERAL COST.— 

23 The Secretary— 

24 ‘‘(i) shall seek to minimize Federal 

25 costs in determining cost-share levels; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) is not required to provide the 

2 maximum cost-share amount described in 

3 subparagraph (A). 

4 ‘‘(5) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FROM OTHER

5 SOURCES.—Except as provided in paragraph (6), 

6 any payments received by a producer or partner 

7 from a State or private organization, individual, or 

8 legal entity for the implementation of 1 or more 

9 practices on eligible land of the producer shall be in 

10 addition to the payments provided to the producer or 

11 partner under this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(6) OTHER PAYMENTS.—A producer or part13 ner shall not be eligible for payments for practices 

14 on eligible land under the program if the producer 

15 or partner receives payments or other benefits for 

16 the same practice on the same land under another 

17 program under this title. 

18 ‘‘(e) MODIFICATION OR TERMINATION OF CON19 TRACTS OR PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) VOLUNTARY MODIFICATION OR TERMI21 NATION.—The Secretary may modify or terminate a 

22 contract or partnership agreement entered into with 

23 a producer or partner under the program if— 

24 ‘‘(A) the producer or partner agrees to the 

25 modification or termination; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) the Secretary determines that the 

2 modification or termination is in the public in3 terest. 

4 ‘‘(2) INVOLUNTARY TERMINATION.—The Sec5 retary may terminate a contract or partnership 

6 agreement under the program if the Secretary deter7 mines that the producer or partner violated the con8 tract or partnership agreement. 

9 ‘‘(f) FUNDING FOR INDIAN TRIBES AND ALASKA NA10 TIVE CORPORATIONS.—The Secretary may enter into al11 ternative funding arrangements with Indian tribes and 

12 Alaska Native Corporations (including affiliated member13 ship organizations) if the Secretary determines that— 

14 ‘‘(1) the goals and objectives of the program 

15 will be met by the arrangements; and 

16 ‘‘(2) statutory limitations regarding contracts 

17 with individual producers will not be exceeded by 

18 any tribal or Native Corporation member. 

19 ‘‘SEC. 1240B. DUTIES OF PRODUCERS AND PARTNERS. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To receive payments under the 

21 program, a producer or partner shall agree— 

22 ‘‘(1) to implement a program plan (including a 

23 comprehensive nutrient management plan, if applica24 ble) that describes conservation and environmental 


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1 purposes to be achieved through 1 or more practices 

2 that are approved by the Secretary; 

3 ‘‘(2) not to conduct any practices on the eligible 

4 land that would tend to defeat the purposes of the 

5 program; 

6 ‘‘(3) on the violation of a term or condition of 

7 the contract or partnership agreement at any time 

8 during which the producer or partner is required to 

9 have control of the eligible land— 

10 ‘‘(A) if the Secretary determines that the 

11 violation warrants termination of the contract 

12 or partnership agreement— 

13 ‘‘(i) to forfeit all rights to receive pay14 ments under the contract or partnership 

15 agreement; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) to refund to the Secretary all or 

17 a portion of the payments received by the 

18 producer or partner under the contract or 

19 partnership agreement, including any in20 terest on the payments, as determined by 

21 the Secretary; or 

22 ‘‘(B) if the Secretary determines that the 

23 violation does not warrant termination of the 

24 contract or partnership agreement, to refund to 

25 the Secretary, or accept adjustments to, the 


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1 payments provided to the producer or partner, 

2 as the Secretary determines to be appropriate; 

3 ‘‘(4) on the transfer of the right and interest of 

4 the producer or partner in eligible land subject to 

5 the contract or partnership agreement, unless the 

6 transferee of the right and interest agrees with the 

7 Secretary to assume all obligations of the contract or 

8 partnership agreement, to refund all payments re9 ceived under the program, as determined by the Sec10 retary; 

11 ‘‘(5) to supply information as required by the 

12 Secretary to determine compliance with the program 

13 plan and requirements of the program; and 

14 ‘‘(6) to comply with such additional provisions 

15 as the Secretary determines are necessary to carry 

16 out the program plan. 

17 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM PLAN.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive 

19 payments under the program, a producer or partner 

20 shall submit to the Secretary for approval a plan of 

21 operations that— 

22 ‘‘(A) specifies practices covered under the 

23 program; 

24 ‘‘(B) includes such terms and conditions as 

25 the Secretary considers necessary to carry out 


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1 the program, including a description of the pur2 poses to be met by the implementation of the 

3 plan; 

4 ‘‘(C) in the case of a confined livestock 

5 feeding operation, provides for development and 

6 implementation of a comprehensive nutrient 

7 management plan, if applicable; and 

8 ‘‘(D) in the case of forest land, is con9 sistent with the provisions of a forest manage10 ment plan that is approved by the Secretary, 

11 which may include— 

12 ‘‘(i) a forest stewardship plan de13 scribed in section 5 of the Cooperative 

14 Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 

15 U.S.C. 2103a); 

16 ‘‘(ii) another practice plan approved 

17 by the State forester; or 

18 ‘‘(iii) another plan determined appro19 priate by the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(2) AVOIDANCE OF DUPLICATION.—The Sec21 retary shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) consider a plan developed in order to 

23 acquire a permit under a water or air quality 

24 regulatory program as the equivalent of a plan 

25 of operations under paragraph (1), if the plan 


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1 contains elements equivalent to those elements 

2 required by a plan of operations; and 

3 ‘‘(B) to the maximum extent practicable, 

4 eliminate duplication of planning activities 

5 under the program and comparable conserva6 tion programs. 

7 ‘‘SEC. 1240C. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To the extent appropriate, the 

9 Secretary shall assist a producer or partner in achieving 

10 the conservation and environmental goals of a program 

11 plan by— 

12 ‘‘(1) providing payments for developing and im13 plementing 1 or more practices, as appropriate; and 

14 ‘‘(2) providing the producer or partner with in15 formation and training to aid in the implementation 

16 of the plan. 

17 ‘‘(b) TARGETED PRACTICES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) AGRICULTURAL WATER ENHANCEMENT

19 INITIATIVE.—Of the funds made available to carry 

20 out this chapter, the Secretary shall use not less 

21 than $60,000,000 to provide payments for agricul22 tural water enhancement activity to promote ground 

23 and surface water conservation and improve water 

24 quality on agricultural land, including— 


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1 ‘‘(A) water quality or water conservation 

2 plan development, including resource condition 

3 assessment and modeling; 

4 ‘‘(B) water conservation restoration or en5 hancement projects, including conversion to the 

6 production of less water-intensive agricultural 

7 commodities or dryland farming; 

8 ‘‘(C) water quality or quantity restoration 

9 or enhancement projects; 

10 ‘‘(D) irrigation system improvement and 

11 irrigation efficiency enhancement; 

12 ‘‘(E) activities designed to mitigate the ef13 fects of drought; and 

14 ‘‘(F) related activities that the Secretary 

15 determines will help achieve water quality or 

16 water conservation benefits on agricultural 

17 land. 

18 ‘‘(2) AGRICULTURAL AIR QUALITY CON19 CERNS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IMPLEMENTATION ASSISTANCE.—Of 

21 the funds made available to carry out this chap22 ter, the Secretary shall use not less than 

23 $37,500,000 to provide payments under this 

24 paragraph to producers or partners to imple25 ment practices— 


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1 ‘‘(i) to address air quality concerns 

2 from agricultural operations; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) meet Federal, State, and local 

4 regulatory requirements. 

5 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY AND USE.—The funds 

6 shall be— 

7 ‘‘(i) made available on the basis of air 

8 quality concerns in a State; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) used to provide payments to pro10 ducers that are cost-effective and reflect 

11 innovative technologies. 

12 ‘‘(3) CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP INITIA13 TIVE.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

15 use funds made available to carry out this chap16 ter for conservation stewardship initiatives to 

17 address resource concerns in a comprehensive 

18 manner by— 

19 ‘‘(i) undertaking additional conserva20 tion activities; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) improving, maintaining, and 

22 managing existing conservation activities. 

23 ‘‘(B) SUBMISSION OF CONTRACT OR PART24 NERSHIP AGREEMENT OFFERS.—To be eligible 

25 to participate in the conservation stewardship 


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1 initiative and receive an initiative payment, a 

2 producer or partner shall submit to the Sec3 retary for approval a contract or partnership 

4 agreement offer that— 

5 ‘‘(i) demonstrates to the satisfaction 

6 of the Secretary that the producer or part7 ner, at the time of the contract or partner8 ship agreement offer, is meeting the stew9 ardship threshold for at least 1 resource 

10 concern; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) would, at a minimum, meet or 

12 exceed the stewardship threshold for at 

13 least 2 priority resource concerns by the 

14 end of the contract or partnership agree15 ment by— 

16 ‘‘(I) installing and adopting addi17 tional conservation activities; and 

18 ‘‘(II) improving, maintaining, 

19 and managing conservation activities 

20 in place at the operation of the pro21 ducer at the time the contract or part22 nership agreement offer is accepted by 

23 the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(C) PAYMENT AMOUNT.—An initiative 

25 payment to a producer shall be based on the 


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1 conservation performance to be achieved on eli2 gible land in an amount determined by the Sec3 retary. 

4 ‘‘(4) COMPETITIVE GRANTS FOR INNOVATIVE

5 CONSERVATION APPROACHES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

7 use funds made available to carry out this chap8 ter to pay the cost of competitive grants that 

9 are intended to stimulate innovative approaches 

10 to leveraging the Federal investment in environ11 mental enhancement and protection, in conjunc12 tion with agricultural production or forest re13 source management, through the program. 

14 ‘‘(B) USE.—The Secretary may provide 

15 grants under this paragraph to governmental 

16 and nongovernmental organizations, individuals, 

17 and legal entities, on a competitive basis, to 

18 carry out projects that— 

19 ‘‘(i) involve producers or partners who 

20 are eligible for payments or technical as21 sistance under the program; 

22 ‘‘(ii) leverage Federal funds made 

23 available to carry out the program with 

24 matching funds provided by State and 

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1 tions to promote environmental enhance2 ment and protection in conjunction with 

3 agricultural production; 

4 ‘‘(iii) ensure efficient and effective 

5 transfer of innovative technologies and ap6 proaches demonstrated through projects 

7 that receive funding under this paragraph, 

8 such as market systems for pollution re9 duction and practices for the storage of 

10 carbon in soil; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) provide environmental and re12 source conservation benefits through in13 creased participation by producers of spe14 cialty crops. 

15 ‘‘(5) ORGANIC PRODUCTION CONSERVATION INI16 TIATIVES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

18 provide payments under this paragraph for con19 servation practices, on some or all of the oper20 ations of a producer or partner, relating to— 

21 ‘‘(i) organic production; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) the transition to organic produc23 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—As a 

2 condition for receiving payments under this 

3 paragraph, a producer or partner shall agree— 

4 ‘‘(i) to develop and carry out an or5 ganic system plan in furtherance of 

6 transitioning to organic production; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) to develop and implement con8 servation practices for certified organic 

9 production that are consistent with an or10 ganic system plan and the purposes of the 

11 program. 

12 ‘‘(C) PAYMENT LIMITATIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clause 

14 (ii), payments under this paragraph to a 

15 person or legal entity, directly or indi16 rectly, may not exceed, in the aggregate, 

17 $20,000 per year or $80,000 in payments 

18 made pursuant to contracts or partnership 

19 agreements entered into during the period 

20 of fiscal years 2013 through 2017. 

21 ‘‘(ii) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE EX22 CLUDED.—In applying clause (i), the Sec23 retary shall not take into account pay24 ments received for technical assistance. 


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1 ‘‘(D) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN ORGANIC

2 CERTIFICATION COSTS.—Payments may not be 

3 made under this paragraph to cover the costs 

4 associated with organic certification that are el5 igible for cost-share payments under section 

6 10606 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest7 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 6523). 

8 ‘‘(E) TERMINATION OF CONTRACTS OR

9 PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

10 may cancel or otherwise nullify a contract or 

11 partnership agreement to provide payments 

12 under this paragraph if the Secretary deter13 mines that the producer— 

14 ‘‘(i) is not pursuing organic certifi15 cation; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) is not in compliance with the Or17 ganic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 

18 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.). 

19 ‘‘(6) WATER CONSERVATION OR IRRIGATION

20 EFFICIENCY INITIATIVE.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

22 provide payments under this paragraph to a 

23 producer or partner for a water conservation or 

24 irrigation practice. 


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1 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY.—In providing payments to 

2 a producer or partner for a water conservation 

3 or irrigation practice, the Secretary shall give 

4 priority to applications in which— 

5 ‘‘(i) consistent with the law of the 

6 State in which the eligible land of the pro7 ducer or partner is located, there is a re8 duction in water use in the operation of 

9 the producer or partner; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) the producer or partner agrees 

11 not to use any associated water savings to 

12 bring new land, other than incidental land 

13 needed for efficient operations, under irri14 gated production, unless the producer or 

15 partner is participating in a watershed16 wide project that will effectively conserve 

17 water, as determined by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(7) WILDLIFE HABITAT INITIATIVE.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds made 

20 available to carry out this chapter, the Sec21 retary, in consultation with the State technical 

22 committees established under section 1261, 

23 shall make available to producers and owners of 

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1 vide payments for the development of wildlife 

2 habitat, including— 

3 ‘‘(i) upland wildlife habitat; 

4 ‘‘(ii) wetland wildlife habitat; 

5 ‘‘(iii) habitat for threatened or endan6 gered species; 

7 ‘‘(iv) fish habitat; 

8 ‘‘(v) aquatic wildlife habitat associated 

9 with riparian or submerged land, even if 

10 the land is subject to title being held by 

11 the State when submerged if consistent 

12 with State law; and 

13 ‘‘(vi) other types of wildlife habitat 

14 approved by the Secretary, including habi15 tat developed on pivot corners and irreg16 ular areas. 

17 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY FOR CERTAIN CONSERVA18 TION INITIATIVES.—In carrying out this para19 graph, the Secretary may give priority to 

20 projects that would address issues raised by 

21 State, regional, and national conservation initia22 tives. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1240D. FUNDING. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds of the Commodity 

3 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out 

4 this chapter $2,250,000,000 for each fiscal year. 

5 ‘‘(b) PAYMENT LIMITATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), a 

7 person or legal entity may not receive, directly or in8 directly, practice payments or incentive payments 

9 under this chapter that, in the aggregate, exceed 

10 $300,000 for all contracts or partnership agree11 ments entered into under this chapter by the person 

12 or legal entity during the period of fiscal years 2013 

13 through 2017 (excluding funding arrangements with 

14 federally recognized Native American Indian tribes 

15 or Alaska Native Corporations under section 

16 1240A(f)), regardless of the number of contracts or 

17 partnership agreements entered into under this 

18 chapter by the person or entity. 

19 ‘‘(2) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—In the case of con20 tracts or partnership agreements under this chapter 

21 for projects of special environmental significance (in22 cluding projects involving methane digesters), as de23 termined by the Secretary, the Secretary may— 

24 ‘‘(A) waive the limitation otherwise appli25 cable under paragraph (1); and 


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1 ‘‘(B) raise the limitation to not more than 

2 $450,000 for all contracts or partnership agree3 ments entered into during the period of fiscal 

4 years 2013 through 2017.’’. 

5 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

6 (1) Section 344(f)(8) of the Agricultural Ad7 justment Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1344(f)(8)) is 

8 amended by striking ‘‘environmental quality incen9 tives program’’ and inserting ‘‘working land pro10 gram’’. 

11 (2) Section 377 of the Agricultural Adjustment 

12 Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1377) is amended by striking 

13 ‘‘environmental quality incentives program’’ and in14 serting ‘‘working land program’’. 

15 (3) Section 101(1) of the Department of Agri16 culture and Farm Credit Administration Appropria17 tion Act, 1959 (7 U.S.C. 1831a(1)) is amended by 

18 striking ‘‘environmental quality incentives program’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘working land program’’. 

20 (4) Section 1271(c)(3)(C) of the Forest Stew21 ardship Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 2106a(c)(3)(C)) is 

22 amended by striking ‘‘environmental quality incen23 tives program’’ and inserting ‘‘working land pro24 gram’’. 


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1 (5) Section 202(c) of the Colorado River Basin 

2 Salinity Control Act (43 U.S.C. 1592(c)) is amended 

3 by striking ‘‘environmental quality incentives pro4 gram’’ and inserting ‘‘working land program’’. 

5 (6) Section 1211(a)(3)(A) of the Food Security 

6 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3811(a)(3)(A)) is amended 

7 by striking ‘‘environmental quality incentives pro8 gram’’ and inserting ‘‘working land program’’. 

9 (7) Section 1221(b)(3)(A) of the Food Security 

10 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3821(b)(3)(A)) is amended 

11 by striking ‘‘environmental quality incentives pro12 gram’’ and inserting ‘‘working land program’’. 

13 Subtitle D—Other Conservation 

14 Programs 

15 SEC. 2301. OTHER CONSERVATION PROGRAMS OF THE 

16 FOOD SECURITY ACT OF 1985. 

17 (a) CONSERVATION OF PRIVATE GRAZING LAND.— 

18 Section 1240M(e) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

19 U.S.C. 3839bb(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘2012’’ and in20 serting ‘‘2017’’. 

21 (b) GRASSROOTS SOURCE WATER PROTECTION PRO22 GRAM.—Section 1240O(b) of the Food Security Act of 

23 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb–2(b)) is amended by striking 

24 ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 


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1 (c) GREAT LAKES BASIN PROGRAM FOR SOIL ERO2 SION AND SEDIMENT CONTROL.—Section 1240P(d) of the 

3 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb–3(d)) is 

4 amended by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

5 (d) CHESAPEAKE BAY WATERSHED PROGRAM.—Sec6 tion 1240Q of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

7 3839bb–4) is amended by striking subsection (h) and in8 serting the following: 

9 ‘‘(h) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appro10 priated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of 

11 fiscal years 2012 through 2017.’’. 

12 (e) VOLUNTARY PUBLIC ACCESS AND HABITAT IN13 CENTIVE PROGRAM.—Section 1240R(f) of the Food Secu14 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb–5(f)) is amended by 

15 striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

16 SEC. 2302. FUNDING OF CONSERVATION PROGRAMS UNDER 

17 FOOD SECURITY ACT OF 1985. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1241(a) of the Food Se19 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)) is amended in the 

20 matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘2012’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

22 (b) CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM.—Section 

23 1241(a)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

24 3841(a)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘2012’’ each place it 

25 appears and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 


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1 (c) REPEALS.—Section 1241 of the Food Security 

2 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841) is amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (a)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (3)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘(A)’’; and 

6 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B); 

7 (B) by striking paragraphs (2), (4), (5), 

8 (6), and (7); and 

9 (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

10 paragraph (2); 

11 (2) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding 

12 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘paragraphs (1) through 

13 (7) of’’; and 

14 (3) in subsection (h)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘wet16 lands reserve program’’ and inserting ‘‘ease17 ment benefits program’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘environ19 mental quality incentives program for land de20 termined to have special environmental signifi21 cance pursuant to section 1240G(b)’’ and in22 serting ‘‘working land program for land deter23 mined to have special environmental signifi24 cance’’; 


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1 (C) by striking paragraphs (2), (3), and 

2 (5); and 

3 (D) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 

4 (6) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively. 

5 (d) REGIONAL EQUITY.—Section 1241 of the Food 

6 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking subsection (d); and 

8 (2) by redesignating subsections (e) through (h) 

9 as subsections (d) through (g), respectively. 

10 (e) ASSISTANCE TO CERTAIN FARMERS OR RANCH11 ERS FOR CONSERVATION ACCESS.—Subsection (f) of sec12 tion 1241 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

13 3841) (as redesignated by subsection (d)(2)) is amend14 ed— 

15 (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 

16 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘made available for’’ 

17 and all that follows through ‘‘shall use’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘and acres made available for each of fiscal 

19 years 2012 through 2017 to carry out the working 

20 land program, the Secretary shall use’’; and 

21 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘conservation 

22 stewardship program’’ and inserting ‘‘working land 

23 program’’. 


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1 SEC. 2303. COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP 

2 INITIATIVE. 

3 (a) INITIATIVE PROGRAMS.—Section 1243(c) of the 

4 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3843(c)) is amend5 ed by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION AND COORDINATION WITH

7 THE CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Initiative shall 

9 not include the conservation reserve program. 

10 ‘‘(B) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall 

11 coordinate implementation of the cooperative 

12 conservation partnership initiative and those 

13 portions of the conservation reserve program el14 igible for continuous enrollment.’’. 

15 (b) APPLICATIONS.—Section 1243(f)(2) of the Food 

16 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3843(f)(2)) is amended— 

17 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, and 

18 may consider applications that have identified pro19 ducers for participation in the project’’ before the 

20 semicolon at the end; 

21 (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

22 the end; 

23 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as sub24 paragraph (F); and 

25 (4) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the fol26 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(E) will benefit economic development of 

2 rural communities, including as integrated into 

3 local economic development plans; or’’. 

4 (c) RELATIONSHIP TO COVERED PROGRAMS.—Sec5 tion 1243(g) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

6 3843(g)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENT OF PROGRAMS BY ELIGIBLE

8 PARTNERS.—The Secretary shall allow eligible part9 ners to adjust conservation programs during the im10 plementation phase if the adjustments— 

11 ‘‘(A) achieve purposes consistent with the 

12 purposes of this section; and 

13 ‘‘(B) are approved by the Secretary prior 

14 to the adjustments being implemented.’’. 

15 (d) FUNDING.—Section 1243(i) of the Food Security 

16 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3843(i)) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the 

18 following: 

19 ‘‘(1) RESERVATION.—Of the funds and acres 

20 made available for each fiscal year to implement the 

21 programs described in subsection (c)(1), to ensure 

22 an adequate source of funds and acres for the Initia23 tive, the Secretary shall reserve— 

24 ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 2013, 10 percent of 

25 the funds and acres; 


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1 ‘‘(B) for fiscal year 2014, 12.5 percent of 

2 the funds and acres; and 

3 ‘‘(C) for fiscal year 2015 and each fiscal 

4 year thereafter, 15 percent of the funds and 

5 acres.’’; and 

6 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘Overhead’’ and inserting 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Overhead’’; and 

10 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(B) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The use 

12 of funds for technical assistance to achieve con13 servation goals— 

14 ‘‘(i) is not subject to subparagraph 

15 (A); and 

16 ‘‘(ii) is subject to review by the Sec17 retary.’’. 

18 SEC. 2304. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR CON19 SERVATION PROGRAMS. 

20 Section 1244 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

21 U.S.C. 3844) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (c)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking ‘‘wet24 lands reserve program’’ and inserting ‘‘ease25 ment benefits program’’; and 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘environ2 mental quality incentives program’’ and insert3 ing ‘‘working land program’’; and 

4 (2) by striking subsection (i) and inserting the 

5 following: 

6 ‘‘(i) CONSERVATION APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) INITIAL APPLICATION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

9 after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

10 the Secretary shall establish a single, simplified 

11 application for eligible entities to use in initially 

12 requesting assistance under any conservation 

13 program administered by the Secretary (re14 ferred to in this subsection as the ‘initial appli15 cation’). 

16 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—To the maximum 

17 extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure 

18 that— 

19 ‘‘(i) a conservation program applicant 

20 is not required to provide information that 

21 is duplicative of information or resources 

22 already available to the Secretary for that 

23 applicant and the specific operation of the 

24 applicant; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the initial application process is 

2 streamlined to minimize complexity and re3 dundancy. 

4 ‘‘(2) REVIEW OF APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

6 after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

7 the Secretary shall review the application proc8 ess for each conservation program administered 

9 by the Secretary, including the forms and proc10 esses used to receive assistance requests from 

11 eligible program participants. 

12 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out 

13 the review, the Secretary shall determine what 

14 information the participant is required to sub15 mit during the application process, including— 

16 ‘‘(i) identification information for the 

17 applicant; 

18 ‘‘(ii) identification and location infor19 mation for the land parcel or tract of con20 cern; 

21 ‘‘(iii) a general statement of the need 

22 or resource concern of the applicant for the 

23 land parcel or tract; and 

24 ‘‘(iv) the minimum amount of other 

25 information the Secretary considers to be 


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1 essential for the applicant to provide per2 sonally. 

3 ‘‘(3) REVISION AND STREAMLINE.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

5 after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

6 the Secretary shall carry out a revision of the 

7 application forms and processes for each con8 servation program administered by the Sec9 retary to enable use of information technology 

10 to incorporate appropriate data and information 

11 concerning the conservation needs and solutions 

12 appropriate for the land area identified by the 

13 applicant. 

14 ‘‘(B) GOAL.—The goal of the revision shall 

15 be to streamline the application process to mini16 mize the burden placed on applicants. 

17 ‘‘(4) CONSERVATION PROGRAM APPLICATION.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Once the needs of an 

19 applicant have been adequately assessed by the 

20 Secretary, or a third party provider under sec21 tion 1242, based on the initial application, in 

22 order to determine the 1 or more programs 

23 under this title that best match the needs of the 

24 applicant, with the approval of the applicant, 

25 the Secretary may convert the initial application 


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1 into the specific application for assistance for 

2 the relevant conservation program. 

3 ‘‘(B) SECRETARIAL BURDEN.—To the 

4 maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 

5 shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) complete the specific application 

7 for conservation program assistance for 

8 each applicant; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) request only that specific further 

10 information from the applicant that is not 

11 already available to the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(5) IMPLEMENTATION AND NOTIFICATION.— 

13 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

14 of this subsection, the Secretary shall submit to the 

15 Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep16 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nu17 trition, and Forestry of the Senate written notifica18 tion that the Secretary has fulfilled the requirements 

19 of this subsection.’’. 

20 SEC. 2305. REPEAL OF HEALTHY FORESTS RESERVE PRO21 GRAM. 

22 Title V of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 

23 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6571 et seq.) is repealed. 


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1 TITLE III—NUTRITION 

2 Subtitle A—Supplemental 

3 Nutrition Assistance Program 

4 SEC. 3001. CATEGORICAL ELIGIBILITY LIMITATIONS. 

5 Section 5 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

6 U.S.C. 2014) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking the section heading and all that 

8 follows through ‘‘(a) Participation’’ and inserting the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 5. ELIGIBLE HOUSEHOLDS. 

11 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Participation’’; 

13 (2) in subsection (a)— 

14 (A) by striking the second sentence and in15 serting the following: 

16 ‘‘(2) RECIPIENTS OF OTHER FEDERAL BENE17 FITS.—Except as provided in section 3(n)(4) and 

18 subsections (b), (d)(2), and (g) of section 6, a house19 hold shall be eligible to participate in the supple20 mental nutrition assistance program if each member 

21 of the household receives— 

22 ‘‘(A) cash assistance in the form of ongo23 ing basic needs benefit payments for financially 

24 needy families under the program of block 

25 grants to States for temporary assistance for 


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1 needy families established under part A of title 

2 IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et 

3 seq.); 

4 ‘‘(B) cash assistance under the supple5 mental security income program established 

6 under title XVI of that Act (42 U.S.C. 1381 et 

7 seq.); or 

8 ‘‘(C) aid to the aged, blind, or disabled 

9 under title I, X, XIV, or XVI of that Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 301 et seq.).’’; 

11 (B) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘Ex12 cept for sections 6, 16(e)(1), and section 

13 3(n)(4), households’’ and inserting the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(3) GENERAL ASSISTANCE.—Except as pro16 vided in sections 3(n)(4), 6, and 16(e)(1), a house17 hold’’; and 

18 (C) in the fourth sentence, by striking 

19 ‘‘Assistance’’ and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(4) APPLICATIONS.—Assistance’’; and 

21 (3) in subsection (j)— 

22 (A) by inserting ‘‘cash assistance in the 

23 form of’’ before ‘‘supplemental security income 

24 benefits’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘or who receives benefits’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘or who receives cash assistance’’. 

3 SEC. 3002. REPEAL OF FUNDING FOR EMPLOYMENT AND 

4 TRAINING PROGRAMS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 6(d)(4) of the Food and 

6 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(d)(4)) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—’’; and all 

9 that follows through ‘‘the following components’’ in 

10 the matter preceding clause (i) in subparagraph (B) 

11 and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF EMPLOYMENT AND

13 TRAINING PROGRAM.—In this Act, the term 

14 ‘employment and training program’ means a 

15 Federal, State, or private program not adminis16 tered by the Secretary or funded through the 

17 Food and Nutrition Service that contains 1 or 

18 more of the following components’’; 

19 (2) by striking clause (viii) in subparagraph (A) 

20 (as designated in paragraph (1)) and inserting the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(viii) As approved by the State, other 

23 employment, educational and training pro24 grams, projects, and experiments, such as 

25 a supported work program, aimed at acVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:33 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00174 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3111.IH H3111

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1 complishing the purpose of the employment 

2 and training program.’’; 

3 (3) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘subpara4 graph (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph (C)’’; 

5 (4) by striking subparagraphs (H) through (K); 

6 and 

7 (5) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) through 

8 (G) and (L) and (M) as subparagraphs (B) through 

9 (F) and (G) and (H), respectively. 

10 (b) REPEAL OF FUNDING.—Section 16 of the Food 

11 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025) is amended 

12 by striking subsection (h). 

13 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

14 (1) Section 5(d) of the Food and Nutrition Act 

15 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014(d)) is amended— 

16 (A) by striking paragraph (14); and 

17 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (15) 

18 through (19) as paragraphs (14) through (18), 

19 respectively. 

20 (2) Section 17(b)(1)(B)(iv)(III) of the Food 

21 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

22 2026(b)(1)(B)(iv)(III)) is amended— 

23 (A) in item (dd), by striking ‘‘, (4)(F)(i) or 

24 (4)(K)’’ and inserting ‘‘or (4)(E)’’; and 


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1 (B) in item (hh), by striking ‘‘(g), (h)(2), 

2 or (h)(3) of section 16’’ and inserting ‘‘or (g) 

3 of section 16’’. 

4 SEC. 3003. REPEAL OF INCENTIVE PAYMENTS TO STATES 

5 WITH LOW SNAP BENEFIT ALLOCATION 

6 ERROR RATES. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 16 of the Food and Nutri8 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025) is amended by striking 

9 subsection (d). 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 16 of the 

11 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025) is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘, or perform14 ance under the performance measures under sub15 section (d)’’ each place it appears in paragraphs (4) 

16 and (5); and 

17 (2) in subsection (i)(1), by striking ‘‘as defined 

18 in subsection (d)(1))’’ and inserting ‘‘as defined in 

19 guidance issued by the Secretary’’. 

20 SEC. 3004. QUALITY CONTROL. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 16(c) of the Food and 

22 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025(c)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (D)(i)(II), by insert2 ing ‘‘except as provided in clause (iii),’’ before 

3 ‘‘require’’; and 

4 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(H) STATES IN LIABILITY STATUS FOR A

6 THIRD CONSECUTIVE FISCAL YEAR.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If a liability 

8 amount has been established for a State 

9 agency under subparagraph (C) for 3 or 

10 more consecutive fiscal years, the Sec11 retary shall require the State to pay the 

12 entire liability amount for those fiscal 

13 years. 

14 ‘‘(ii) ALTERNATIVES TO FULL PAY15 MENT NOT AVAILABLE.—Subparagraph 

16 (D) shall not apply to a State agency de17 scribed in clause (i).’’; and 

18 (2) by redesignating paragraph (9) as para19 graph (10); and 

20 (3) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(9) PENALTY FOR NEGATIVE ERROR RATE.— 

23 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(i) AFFECTED STATE AGENCY.—The 

25 term ‘affected State agency’ means a State 


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1 agency that maintains, for 2 or more con2 secutive fiscal years, a negative error rate 

3 that is more than 50 percent higher than 

4 the national average negative error rate, as 

5 determined by the Secretary. 

6 ‘‘(ii) AVERAGE NEGATIVE ERROR

7 RATE.—The term ‘average negative error 

8 rate’ means the product obtained by multi9 plying— 

10 ‘‘(I) the negative error rate of a 

11 State agency; and 

12 ‘‘(II) the proportion of the total 

13 negative caseload of that State agency 

14 for the fiscal year, as calculated under 

15 the quality control sample at the time 

16 of the notifications issued under sub17 paragraph (C), as determined by the 

18 Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(iii) NEGATIVE ERROR RATE.— 

20 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The term 

21 ‘negative error rate’ means, for a 

22 State agency, the proportion that— 

23 ‘‘(aa) the total number of 

24 actions erroneously taken by the 

25 State agency to deny applications 


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1 or suspend or terminate benefits 

2 of a household participating in 

3 the supplemental nutrition assist4 ance program established under 

5 this Act, as determined by the 

6 Secretary, in that fiscal year; 

7 bears to 

8 ‘‘(bb) the total number of 

9 actions taken by the State agency 

10 to deny applications or suspend 

11 or terminate benefits of house12 holds participating in the supple13 mental nutrition assistance pro14 gram established under this Act 

15 in that fiscal year. 

16 ‘‘(II) EXCLUSIONS.—The term 

17 ‘negative error rate’ does not in18 clude— 

19 ‘‘(aa) an error resulting 

20 from the application of regula21 tions promulgated under this Act 

22 during the period— 

23 ‘‘(AA) beginning on the 

24 date of enactment of this 

25 clause; and 


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1 ‘‘(BB) ending on date 

2 that is 121 days after the 

3 date on which the regulation 

4 is implemented; and 

5 ‘‘(bb) an error resulting 

6 from— 

7 ‘‘(AA) the use by a 

8 State agency of correctly 

9 processed information con10 cerning households or indi11 viduals received under a 

12 Federal program; or 

13 ‘‘(BB) an action that is 

14 based on policy information 

15 that is approved or dissemi16 nated, in writing, by the 

17 Secretary or a designee of 

18 the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(B) PENALTY AMOUNT.—For fiscal year 

20 2012 and each subsequent fiscal year, the 

21 amount of the penalty for an affected State 

22 agency shall be equal to 5 percent of the 

23 amount otherwise payable under subsection (a). 

24 ‘‘(C) INFORMATION REPORTING BY

25 STATES.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal 

2 year, each State agency shall expeditiously 

3 submit to the Secretary data concerning 

4 the operations of the State agency suffi5 cient for the Secretary to establish the 

6 negative error rate and penalty amount of 

7 the State agency. 

8 ‘‘(ii) RELEVANT INFORMATION.—The 

9 Secretary may require a State agency to 

10 report any factors necessary to determine 

11 the negative error rate of the State agency. 

12 ‘‘(iii) INFORMATION NOT RE13 PORTED.—If a State agency fails to report 

14 information required by the Secretary, the 

15 Secretary may use any information, as the 

16 Secretary considers appropriate, to estab17 lish the negative error rate of the State 

18 agency for the applicable year. 

19 ‘‘(iv) NATIONAL AVERAGE ERROR

20 RATE.—If a State agency fails to report in21 formation required by the Secretary, the 

22 Secretary may use the national average 

23 negative error rate to establish the nega24 tive error rate for the State agency. 


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1 ‘‘(D) ANNOUNCEMENT OF ERROR

2 RATES.— 

3 ‘‘(i) CASE REVIEW.—Not later than 

4 May 31 of each fiscal year, the case review 

5 and all arbitration of State-Federal dif6 ferences on negative error rates for the 

7 previous fiscal year shall be completed. 

8 ‘‘(ii) DETERMINATION AND AN9 NOUNCEMENT.—Not later than June 30 of 

10 each fiscal year, the Secretary shall, for 

11 the previous fiscal year— 

12 ‘‘(I) determine— 

13 ‘‘(aa) final negative error 

14 rates; 

15 ‘‘(bb) the national average 

16 negative error rate; and 

17 ‘‘(cc) penalty amounts; 

18 ‘‘(II) notify affected State agen19 cies of the penalty amounts; 

20 ‘‘(III) provide a copy of the noti21 fication under subclause (II) to the 

22 chief executive officer and the legisla23 ture of the affected State; and 

24 ‘‘(IV) establish a claim against 

25 the State agency for the monetary 


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1 penalty amount assessed against the 

2 State agency. 

3 ‘‘(E) REVIEW.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—For any fiscal 

5 year, if the Secretary imposes a penalty 

6 amount against a State agency under sub7 paragraph (D)(ii), the following determina8 tions of the Secretary shall be subject to 

9 administrative and judicial review: 

10 ‘‘(I) The final negative error rate 

11 of the State agency. 

12 ‘‘(II) A determination of the Sec13 retary that the negative error rate of 

14 the State agency exceeds 50 percent 

15 of the national average negative error 

16 rate. 

17 ‘‘(III) The monetary penalty 

18 amount assessed against the State 

19 agency. 

20 ‘‘(ii) DETERMINATION NOT REVIEW21 ABLE.—The national average negative 

22 error rate under this paragraph shall not 

23 be subject to administrative or judicial re24 view. 

25 ‘‘(F) PAYMENT OF PENALTY AMOUNT.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—On completion of 

2 administrative and judicial review under 

3 subparagraph (E), an affected State agen4 cy shall pay to the Secretary the penalty 

5 amount designated under subparagraph 

6 (D)(ii), subject to the findings of the ad7 ministrative or judicial review, not later 

8 than September 30 of the fiscal year for 

9 which the claim has been issued to the 

10 State agency. 

11 ‘‘(ii) ALTERNATIVE METHOD OF COL12 LECTION.— 

13 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If a State 

14 agency fails to make a payment under 

15 clause (i) by September 30 of the fis16 cal year for which the claim has been 

17 issued to the State agency, the Sec18 retary may reduce any amount due to 

19 the State agency under any other pro20 vision of this Act by the amount of 

21 the monetary penalty established 

22 under subparagraph (D)(ii). 

23 ‘‘(II) ACCRUAL OF INTEREST.— 

24 Interest on the amount owed shall not 


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1 accrue until after September 30 of the 

2 applicable fiscal year.’’. 

3 Subtitle B—Extensions 

4 SEC. 3101. SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PRO5 GRAM. 

6 (a) FOOD DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM ON INDIAN RES7 ERVATIONS.—Section 4(b)(6)(F) of the Food and Nutri8 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2013(b)(6)(F)) is amended by 

9 striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

10 (b) PROJECTS TO EVALUATE HEALTH AND NUTRI11 TION PROMOTION IN THE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION

12 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—Section 17(k)(5)(A) of the Food 

13 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2026(k)(5)(A)) is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

15 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

16 18(a)(1) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

17 2027(a)(1)) is amended in the first sentence by striking 

18 ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

19 (d) HEALTHY URBAN FOOD ENTERPRISE DEVELOP20 MENT CENTER.—Section 25(h)(9) of the Food and Nutri21 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2034(h)(9)) is amended— 

22 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘2011’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘2017’’; and 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘fiscal 

2 year 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘each of fiscal years 2012 

3 through 2017’’. 

4 (e) EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE.— 

5 (1) PURCHASE OF COMMODITIES.—Section 

6 27(a) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

7 U.S.C. 2036(a)) is amended in paragraphs (1) and 

8 (2)(C) by striking ‘‘2012’’ each place it appears and 

9 inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

10 (2) EMERGENCY FOOD PROGRAM INFRASTRUC11 TURE GRANTS.—Section 209(d) of the Emergency 

12 Food Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7511a(d)) is 

13 amended by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

14 (f) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

15 (1) Section 3 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 

16 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012) is amended— 

17 (A) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘cou18 pon,’’ and inserting ‘‘coupon’’; 

19 (B) in subsection (k)(7), by striking ‘‘or 

20 are’’ and inserting ‘‘and’’; 

21 (C) by striking subsection (l); 

22 (D) by redesignating subsections (m) 

23 through (t) as subsections (l) through (s), re24 spectively; and 


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1 (E) by inserting after subsection (s) (as so 

2 redesignated) the following: 

3 ‘‘(t) ‘Supplemental nutritional assistance program’ 

4 means the program operated pursuant to this Act.’’. 

5 (2) Section 4(a) of the Food and Nutrition Act 

6 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2013(a)) is amended in the last 

7 sentence by striking ‘‘benefits’’ and inserting ‘‘Bene8 fits’’. 

9 (3) Section 5 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 

10 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014) is amended— 

11 (A) in the last sentence of subsection 

12 (i)(2)(D), by striking ‘‘section 13(b)(2)’’ and in13 serting ‘‘section 13(b)’’; and 

14 (B) in subsection (k)(4)(A), by striking 

15 ‘‘paragraph (2)(H)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

16 (2)(G)’’. 

17 (4) Section 7(h) of the Food and Nutrition Act 

18 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2016(h)) is amended by redesig19 nating the second paragraph (12) (relating to inter20 change fees) as paragraph (13). 

21 (5) Section 9(a) of the Food and Nutrition Act 

22 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2018(a)) is amended by indenting 

23 paragraph (3) appropriately. 

24 (6) Section 12 of the Food and Nutrition Act 

25 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2021) is amended— 


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1 (A) in subsection (b)(3)(C), by striking 

2 ‘‘civil money penalties’’ and inserting ‘‘civil pen3 alties’’; and 

4 (B) in subsection (g)(1), by striking ‘‘(7 

5 U.S.C. 1786)’’ and inserting ‘‘(42 U.S.C. 

6 1786)’’. 

7 (7) Section 15(b)(1) of the Food and Nutrition 

8 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2024(b)(1)) is amended in 

9 the first sentence by striking ‘‘an benefit’’ and in10 serting ‘‘a benefit’’. 

11 (8) Section 16(a) of the Food and Nutrition 

12 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025(a)) is amended in the 

13 proviso following paragraph (8) by striking ‘‘as 

14 amended.’’. 

15 (9) Section 18(e) of the Food and Nutrition Act 

16 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2027(e)) is amended in the first 

17 sentence by striking ‘‘sections 7(f)’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘section 7(f)’’. 

19 (10) Section 22(b)(10)(B)(i) of the Food and 

20 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2031(b)(10)(B)(i)) 

21 is amended in the last sentence by striking ‘‘Food 

22 benefits’’ and inserting ‘‘Benefits’’. 

23 (11) Section 26(f)(3)(C) of the Food and Nutri24 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2035(f)(3)(C)) is amendVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:33 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00188 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3111.IH H3111

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1 ed by striking ‘‘subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘sub2 sections’’. 

3 (12) Section 27(a)(1) of the Food and Nutri4 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2036(a)(1)) is amended 

5 by striking ‘‘(Public Law 98–8; 7 U.S.C. 612c 

6 note)’’ and inserting ‘‘(7 U.S.C. 7515)’’. 

7 (13) Section 509 of the Older Americans Act of 

8 1965 (42 U.S.C. 3056g) is amended in the section 

9 heading by striking ‘‘FOOD STAMP PROGRAMS’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION AS11 SISTANCE PROGRAMS’’. 

12 (14) Section 4115(c)(2)(H) of the Food, Con13 servation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Public Law 

14 110–246; 122 Stat. 1871) is amended by striking 

15 ‘‘531’’ and inserting ‘‘454’’. 

16 SEC. 3102. COMMODITY DISTRIBUTION PROGRAMS. 

17 (a) COMMODITY DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM.—Section 

18 4(a) of the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 

19 1973 (7 U.S.C. 612c note; Public Law 93–86) is amended 

20 in the first sentence by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘2017’’. 

22 (b) COMMODITY SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD PROGRAM.— 

23 Section 5 of the Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act 

24 of 1973 (7 U.S.C. 612c note; Public Law 93–86) is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraphs (1) and (2)(B) of subsection 

2 (a), by striking ‘‘2012’’ each place it appears and in3 serting ‘‘2017’’; and 

4 (2) in the first sentence of subsection (d)(2), by 

5 striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

6 (c) DISTRIBUTION OF SURPLUS COMMODITIES TO

7 SPECIAL NUTRITION PROJECTS.—Section 1114(a)(2)(A) 

8 of the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 (7 U.S.C. 

9 1431e(2)(A)) is amended in the first sentence by striking 

10 ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

11 (d) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

12 (1) Section 3 of the Commodity Distribution 

13 Reform Act and WIC Amendments of 1987 (7 

14 U.S.C. 612c note; Public Law 100–237) is amend15 ed— 

16 (A) in subsection (a)— 

17 (i) in paragraph (2), by striking sub18 paragraph (B) and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(B) the supplemental nutrition assistance 

20 program established under the Food and Nutri21 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.);’’; and 

22 (ii) in paragraph (3)(D), by striking 

23 ‘‘the Committee on Education and Labor’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘the Committee on Edu25 cation and the Workforce’’; 


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1 (B) in subsection (b)(1)(A)(ii), by striking 

2 ‘‘section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act 

3 (7 U.S.C. 601 et seq.)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

4 32 of the Act of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 

5 612c)’’; 

6 (C) in subsection (e)(1)(D)(iii), by striking 

7 subclause (II) and inserting the following: 

8 ‘‘(II) the supplemental nutrition 

9 assistance program established under 

10 the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 

11 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.);’’; and 

12 (D) in subsection (k), by striking ‘‘the 

13 Committee on Education and Labor’’ and in14 serting ‘‘the Committee on Education and the 

15 Workforce’’. 

16 SEC. 3103. MISCELLANEOUS. 

17 (a) PURCHASE OF FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

18 FOR DISTRIBUTION TO SCHOOLS AND SERVICE INSTITU19 TIONS.—Section 10603(b) of the Farm Security and 

20 Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 612c–4(b)) is 

21 amended by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

22 (b) SENIORS FARMERS’ MARKET NUTRITION PRO23 GRAM.—Section 4402(a) of the Farm Security and Rural 

24 Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3007(a)) is amended 

25 by striking by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 


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1 (c) NUTRITION INFORMATION AND AWARENESS PRO2 GRAM.—Section 4403(f) of the Farm Security and Rural 

3 Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3171 note; Public Law 

4 107–171) is amended by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘2017’’. 

6 (d) HUNGER-FREE COMMUNITIES.—Section 4405(e) 

7 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 

8 U.S.C. 7517(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘2012’’ and in9 serting ‘‘2017’’. 

10 TITLE IV—ENERGY FROM RURAL 

11 AMERICA 

12 SEC. 4001. DEFINITIONS. 

13 Section 9001 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest14 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8101) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

16 (A) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by inserting 

17 ‘‘post-recycled municipal solid waste, sewage 

18 waste,’’ before ‘‘and yard waste’’; and 

19 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘advanced 

21 biofuel’ does not include any fuel for which— 

22 ‘‘(i) more than 4 percent of the fuel 

23 (determined by weight) is any combination 

24 of water and sediment; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the ash content of the fuel is 

2 more than 1 percent (determined by 

3 weight).’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (6)— 

5 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking the 

6 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

7 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

8 through (D) as clauses (i) through (iv), respec9 tively, and indenting appropriately; 

10 (C) by striking ‘‘a facility that converts’’ 

11 and inserting the following: ‘‘a facility that— 

12 ‘‘(A) converts’’; and 

13 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(B) in the case of a facility in existence 

15 as of the date of enactment of the Rural Eco16 nomic Farm and Ranch Sustainability and 

17 Hunger Act of 2011 that uses less than 90 per18 cent biomass for conversion, agrees to increase 

19 the use by the facility of biomass for conversion 

20 purposes by a percentage increase, as deter21 mined by the Secretary but not less than a sub22 stantial increase above the 5-year baseline for 

23 the facility.’’. 


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1 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through 

2 (13) and (14) as paragraphs (10) through (14) and 

3 (17), respectively; 

4 (4) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(9) ELIGIBLE RURAL COMMUNITY.—The term 

7 ‘eligible rural community’ means a community lo8 cated in a rural area.’’; 

9 (5) in subparagraph (B)(ii) of paragraph (13) 

10 (as redesignated by paragraph (2)) — 

11 (A) in subclause (III), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

12 the end; 

13 (B) in subclause (IV), by striking the pe14 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(V) post-recycled municipal 

17 solid waste; and 

18 ‘‘(VI) sewage.’’; and 

19 (6) by inserting after paragraph (14) (as so re20 designated) the following: 

21 ‘‘(15) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘rural area’ has 

22 the meaning given the term in section 343(a)(13)(A) 

23 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 

24 Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(A)). 


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1 ‘‘(16) RURAL SCHOOL DISTRICT.—The term 

2 ‘rural school district’ means a school district that 

3 serves 1 or more schools located in a rural area.’’. 

4 SEC. 4002. BIOBASED MARKETS PROGRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9002 of the Farm Secu6 rity and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8102) 

7 is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)(4)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

10 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

11 by inserting ‘‘and to improve fiscal trans12 parency in Federal procurement’’ after 

13 ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’; and 

14 (ii) in clause (i)— 

15 (I) in the matter preceding sub16 clause (I), by striking ‘‘, to the max17 imum extent practicable,’’; and 

18 (II) in subclause (V), by striking 

19 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

20 (iii) in clause (ii), by striking the pe21 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (iv) by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(iii) information required to be sub25 mitted under clauses (i) and (ii) shall be 


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1 made publicly available on a website by the 

2 Office of Federal Procurement Policy not 

3 later than 30 days after submission of the 

4 information to the Office of Federal Pro5 curement Policy.’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, in con8 sultation with the Administrator,’’; 

9 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY CRI11 TERIA.—’’ and all that follows through 

12 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—Criteria issued 

13 under subparagraph (A)’’ and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—Labels issued under 

16 paragraph (1)’’; and 

17 (ii) by redesignating clauses (i) 

18 through (iii) as subparagraphs (A) through 

19 (C), respectively, and indenting appro20 priately; and 

21 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘criteria 

22 issued pursuant to’’ and inserting ‘‘require23 ments described in’’; 

24 (3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(c) PROMOTION.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

3 competitive grants to eligible entities to provide in4 formation to organizations that have large procure5 ment needs or vehicle fleets, or that produce prod6 ucts with which biobased products or biofuels can be 

7 integrated (as determined by the Secretary), about 

8 the benefits of biobased products or biofuels. 

9 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to re10 ceive a grant under paragraph (1), an entity shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) be a nonprofit organization or institu12 tion of higher education; 

13 ‘‘(B) have demonstrated a knowledge of 

14 biobased product or biofuel production, use, or 

15 distribution; and 

16 ‘‘(C) have demonstrated the ability to con17 duct educational and technical support pro18 grams. 

19 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Grants made under this 

20 subsection may not be used for the marketing or 

21 promotion of brand name products.’’; 

22 (4) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘this section’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 

24 (5) by striking subsections (e) through (g); 


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1 (6) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub2 section (e); and 

3 (7) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘this sec5 tion—’’ and all that follows through the end of 

6 subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘this section 

7 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 

8 through 2017, of which not more than 

9 $2,000,000 may be used to make grants under 

10 subsection (c).’’; and 

11 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘this sec12 tion’’ and all that follows through ‘‘2012’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘$3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

14 2013 through 2017.’’ 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

16 944(c)(2)(A) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 

17 16253(c)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

18 9002(h)(1) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment 

19 Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8102(h)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

20 9002(b) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act 

21 of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8102(b))’’. 

22 SEC. 4003. BIOREFINERY ASSISTANCE. 

23 Section 9003 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest24 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8103) is amended— 

25 (1) by striking subsections (a), (d), and (g); 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), (e), 

2 (f), and (h) as subsections (a) through (e), respec3 tively; 

4 (3) in subsection (b) (as so redesignated), by 

5 striking ‘‘eligible entities—’’ and all that follows 

6 through ‘‘(2) guarantees’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible en7 tities guarantees’’; 

8 (4) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated)— 

9 (A) in paragraph (1)(C) — 

10 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

11 by striking ‘‘subsection (c)(2)’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘subsection (b)’’; 

13 (ii) in clause (ix), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

14 at the end; 

15 (iii) in clause (x), by striking the pe16 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (iv) by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(xi) whether the project can lead to 

20 reductions in production costs.’’; and 

21 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘subsection (c)(2)’’ 

23 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘sub24 section (b)’’; and 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

2 ‘‘subsection (h)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

3 (e)’’; and 

4 (5) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking subpara6 graphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(B) $80,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

10 2014 and 2015.’’; and 

11 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2012’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘2017’’. 

13 SEC. 4004. RURAL ENERGY FOR AMERICA PROGRAM. 

14 Section 9007 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest15 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8107) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (b)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre18 ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, rural 

19 school districts, eligible rural communities,’’ be20 fore ‘‘and rural small businesses’’; and 

21 (B) in paragraph (4), in the matter pre22 ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, rural 

23 school districts, eligible rural communities,’’ be24 fore ‘‘and rural small businesses’’; 

25 (2) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre2 ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, rural 

3 school districts, eligible rural communities,’’ be4 fore ‘‘and rural small businesses’’; 

5 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

6 through (4) as paragraphs (3) through (5), re7 spectively; 

8 (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(2) AWARD PRIORITIZATION.—In determining 

11 the amount of a loan guarantee or grant provided 

12 under this section, the Secretary may give priority— 

13 ‘‘(A) to loan guarantees rather than grants 

14 or combined grant and loan guarantees, so as 

15 to maximize leverage of private financing; and 

16 ‘‘(B) in the case of energy efficiency 

17 projects, to loans under section 9014 or similar 

18 financing mechanisms if locally available (as de19 termined by the Secretary).’’; 

20 (D) in paragraph (3) (as redesignated by 

21 subparagraph (A))— 

22 (i) by striking subparagraph (A) and 

23 inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) the ability of a project to demonstrate 

2 the economic viability for similar potential en3 ergy investment projects in the locality;’’; 

4 (ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

5 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

6 (iii) by redesignating subparagraph 

7 (G) as subparagraph (H); and 

8 (iv) by inserting after subparagraph 

9 (F) the following: 

10 ‘‘(G) the type of renewable energy system 

11 to be purchased; and’’; and 

12 (E) in paragraph (5) (as so redesig13 nated)— 

14 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

15 (I) by striking ‘‘(A) GRANTS.— 

16 The amount’’ and inserting the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(A) GRANTS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The amount’’; and 

20 (II) by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.— 

23 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 

24 subclause (II), not more than 15 per25 cent of the total amount of funds 


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1 made available under subsection (f) 

2 that is allocated by the Secretary for 

3 grants under this subsection may be 

4 used for grants in excess of $250,000. 

5 ‘‘(II) LIMITATION.—No grant 

6 under this subsection may exceed 

7 $500,000.’’; and 

8 (ii) by adding at the end the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(D) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF LOAN GUAR11 ANTEE RELATIVE TO COST OF ACTIVITY FUND12 ED.—The amount of a loan guaranteed under 

13 this subsection shall not exceed 90 percent of 

14 the cost of the activity funded under this sub15 section.’’; 

16 (3) in subsection (e)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sub18 section (g)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (f) and 

19 allocated by the Secretary for grants’’; and 

20 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘sub21 section (g)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (f)’’; 

22 (4) by striking subsection (f); 

23 (5) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub24 section (f); and 

25 (6) in subsection (f) (as so redesignated)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘, to re2 main available until expended—’’ and all that 

3 follows through the end of subparagraph (D) 

4 and inserting ‘‘$70,000,000 for each of fiscal 

5 years 2013 through 2017, to remain available 

6 until expended.’’; 

7 (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

8 paragraph (4); 

9 (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Of the funds made available 

12 for a fiscal year under paragraph (1), not more than 

13 10 percent may be made available for grants or loan 

14 guarantees to rural school districts or eligible rural 

15 communities.’’; and 

16 (D) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by 

17 subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘there is author18 ized’’ and all that follows through the end and 

19 inserting ‘‘there is authorized to be appro20 priated to carry out this section $80,000,000 

21 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017.’’. 

22 SEC. 4005. REPEAL OF FEEDSTOCK FLEXIBILITY PROGRAM 

23 FOR BIOENERGY PRODUCERS. 

24 Section 9010 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest25 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8110) is repealed. 


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1 SEC. 4006. BIOMASS CROP ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

2 Section 9011 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest3 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8111) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)— 

5 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (4) 

6 through (8) as paragraphs (5) through (9), re7 spectively; 

8 (B) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(4) DELIVERY.—The term ‘delivery’ means 

11 the point of delivery of an eligible material or an eli12 gible crop, as determined by the Secretary.’’; 

13 (C) in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5) 

14 (as so redesignated)— 

15 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘that is 

16 eligible’’ and inserting ‘‘that, as of the day 

17 before the date of enactment of the Rural 

18 Economic Farm and Ranch Sustainability 

19 and Hunger Act of 2011, was eligible’’; 

20 and 

21 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘or has 

22 the potential to become invasive or nox23 ious’’; 

24 (D) in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (6) 

25 (as so redesignated)— 


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1 (i) in clause (i), by adding ‘‘or’’ after 

2 the semicolon at the end; 

3 (ii) in clause (ii), by striking the semi4 colon at the end and inserting a period; 

5 and 

6 (iii) by striking clauses (iii) through 

7 (v); and 

8 (E) in paragraph (7) (as so redesig9 nated)— 

10 (i) by redesignating subparagraph (B) 

11 as subparagraph (C); 

12 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

13 (A) the following: 

14 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR ELI15 GIBLE MATERIAL FROM NON-FEDERAL FOREST

16 LAND.—In the case of non-Federal forest land 

17 and forest land belonging to an Indian or In18 dian tribe that is in trust by the United States 

19 or subject to a restriction against alienation im20 posed by the United States, the Secretary shall 

21 ensure that the definition of the term ‘eligible 

22 material’— 

23 ‘‘(i) ensures that the renewable bio24 mass defined as ‘eligible material’— 


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1 ‘‘(I) is not diverted from use in 

2 markets as of the date of enactment 

3 of the Rural Economic Farm and 

4 Ranch Sustainability and Hunger Act 

5 of 2011; 

6 ‘‘(II) has been determined to be 

7 otherwise uneconomically retrievable; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(III) is harvested in accordance 

10 with an approved conservation, forest 

11 stewardship, or equivalent plan; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) includes a requirement that the 

13 renewable biomass is harvested directly 

14 from the land for delivery to a biomass 

15 conversion facility.’’; and 

16 (iii) in subparagraph (C) (as redesig17 nated by clause (i))— 

18 (I) in clause (i)— 

19 (aa) by striking ‘‘that is eli20 gible’’ and inserting ‘‘that, as of 

21 the day before the date of enact22 ment of the Rural Economic 

23 Farm and Ranch Sustainability 

24 and Hunger Act of 2011, was eli25 gible’’; and 


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1 (bb) by inserting before the 

2 semicolon at the end ‘‘, except 

3 that residues from such crops are 

4 eligible if harvested from the land 

5 in accordance with an approved 

6 conservation or equivalent plan’’; 

7 and 

8 (II) in clause (iii), by striking 

9 ‘‘and yard waste’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

10 yard waste, municipal solid waste, and 

11 sewage’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by inserting ‘‘collected 

13 directly from the land’’ after ‘‘eligible material’’; 

14 (3) in subsection (c)(5)— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

16 (i) by redesignating clauses (i) 

17 through (iii) as items (aa) through (cc), re18 spectively, and indenting appropriately; 

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘shall be up to 75’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘shall be— 

21 ‘‘(i) up to 50’’; 

22 (iii) in item (cc) (as designated by 

23 clause (i)), by striking the period at the 

24 end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (iv) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(ii) if the Secretary determines that 

4 a greater amount of support is necessary 

5 to demonstrate more capital intensive crop6 ping opportunities or in the case of socially 

7 disadvantaged farmers or ranchers (as de8 fined in section 355(e) of the Consolidated 

9 Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

10 U.S.C. 2003(e))), up to 65 percent of the 

11 costs of establishing an eligible perennial 

12 crop covered by the contract (as deter13 mined under clause (i)); and 

14 ‘‘(iii) determined by the Secretary in a 

15 manner that seeks to minimize Federal 

16 costs, recognizing that the Secretary is not 

17 obligated to provide maximum cost-share 

18 allowances under this section.’’; 

19 (B) in subparagraph (C)(ii), in the clause 

20 heading, by inserting ‘‘IN ANNUAL PAYMENTS

21 UNDER CONTRACT’’ after ‘‘REDUCTION’’; and 

22 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(D) REQUIREMENTS.—Subject to sub24 paragraphs (B) and (C), the Secretary shall 

25 award payments under this subsection on a 


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1 competitive basis, taking into consideration the 

2 needs— 

3 ‘‘(i) to demonstrate the economic via4 bility of diverse bioenergy crops; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) to encourage cost competition in 

6 establishment of eligible crops.’’; 

7 (4) in subsection (d)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (1), in the matter pre9 ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘col10 lected directly from the land’’ after ‘‘eligible 

11 material’’; and 

12 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking subpara13 graph (B) and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a 

16 matching payment under this subsection 

17 shall be determined by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENTS.—Subject to 

19 subparagraph (C), the Secretary shall 

20 award payments on a competitive basis, 

21 taking into consideration the need— 

22 ‘‘(I) to demonstrate the economic 

23 viability of diverse eligible crops and 

24 eligible materials that otherwise would 

25 be uneconomically retrievable for high 


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1 priority uses (such as advanced 

2 biofuels and biobased products); and 

3 ‘‘(II) to encourage cost competi4 tion in the collection, harvest, storage, 

5 and transportation of eligible crops to 

6 a biomass conversion facility. 

7 ‘‘(C) MAXIMUM PAYMENT.—Subject to 

8 paragraph (3), the Secretary may provide 

9 matching payments at a maximum rate of 

10 $0.50 for each $1 per dry ton provided by the 

11 biomass conversion facility, in an amount equal 

12 to not more than $35 per ton for a period of 

13 2 years. 

14 ‘‘(D) MINIMIZATION OF COSTS.—In deter15 mining payment levels under this section, the 

16 Secretary shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) seek to minimize costs; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) not be required to provide the 

19 maximum rate of payment allowed under 

20 this section. 

21 ‘‘(E) PROHIBITION.—Payments may not 

22 be made under this section for eligible materials 

23 collected or harvested that, after delivery to a 

24 biomass conversion facility, the campus of the 

25 facility, or affiliated facilities, as determined by 


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1 the Secretary, are required to be separated 

2 from eligible materials used for a higher-value 

3 product in order to be used for heat, power, 

4 biobased products, or advanced biofuels.’’; and 

5 (5) by striking subsections (e) and (f) and in6 serting the following: 

7 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.— 

8 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds of the 

10 Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

11 shall use to carry out this section $55,000,000 

12 for each of the fiscal years 2013 through 2017, 

13 to remain available until expended. 

14 ‘‘(B) BCAP PROJECT AREA.—Of the funds 

15 made available for each fiscal year under sub16 paragraph (A), not less than 50 percent shall 

17 be made available to carry out subsection (c). 

18 ‘‘(2) DISCRETIONARY FUNDING.—In addition to 

19 any other funds made available to carry out this sec20 tion, there is authorized to be appropriated to carry 

21 out this section $150,000,000 for each of fiscal 

22 years 2013 through 2017. 

23 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Notwith24 standing paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary may use 


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1 funds made available for each fiscal year under this 

2 subsection to provide technical assistance.’’. 

3 SEC. 4007. RURAL ENERGY SAVINGS PROGRAM. 

4 Title IX of the Farm Security and Rural Investment 

5 Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8101 et seq.) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 9014. RURAL ENERGY SAVINGS PROGRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en10 tity’ means— 

11 ‘‘(A) any public power district, public util12 ity district, or similar entity, or any electric co13 operative described in section 501(c)(12) or 

14 1381(a)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

15 1986, that borrowed and repaid, prepaid, or is 

16 paying an electric loan made or guaranteed by 

17 the Rural Utilities Service (or any predecessor 

18 agency); 

19 ‘‘(B) any entity primarily owned or con20 trolled by 1 or more entities described in sub21 paragraph (A); or 

22 ‘‘(C) any other entity that is an eligible 

23 borrower of the Rural Utility Service (as deter24 mined under section 1710.101 of title 7, Code 


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1 of Federal Regulations (or a successor regula2 tion)). 

3 ‘‘(2) ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURES.—The 

4 term ‘energy efficiency measures’ means, for or at 

5 property served by an eligible entity, structural im6 provements and investments in cost-effective, com7 mercial technologies to increase energy efficiency. 

8 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED CONSUMER.—The term ‘quali9 fied consumer’ means a consumer served by an eligi10 ble entity that has the ability to repay a loan made 

11 under subsection (c), as determined by the eligible 

12 entity. 

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

14 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Ad15 ministrator of the Rural Utilities Service. 

16 ‘‘(b) LOANS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

18 the Secretary shall make loans to eligible entities 

19 that agree to use the loan funds to make loans to 

20 qualified consumers for the purpose of implementing 

21 energy efficiency measures. 

22 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of re24 ceiving a loan under this subsection, an eligible 

25 entity shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) establish a list of energy effi2 ciency measures that is expected to de3 crease energy use or costs of qualified con4 sumers; 

5 ‘‘(ii) prepare an implementation plan 

6 for use of the loan funds, including for in7 terest rate utilization under subsection 

8 (c)(1)(A); 

9 ‘‘(iii) provide for appropriate measure10 ment and verification to ensure— 

11 ‘‘(I) the effectiveness of the en12 ergy efficiency loans made by the eli13 gible entity; and 

14 ‘‘(II) that there is no conflict of 

15 interest in carrying out this section; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(iv) demonstrate expertise in effec18 tive use of energy efficiency measures at 

19 scale. 

20 ‘‘(B) REVISION OF LIST OF ENERGY EFFI21 CIENCY MEASURES.—Subject to the approval of 

22 the Secretary, an eligible entity may update the 

23 list required under subparagraph (A)(i) to ac24 count for newly available efficiency technologies. 


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1 ‘‘(C) EXISTING ENERGY EFFICIENCY PRO2 GRAMS.—An eligible entity that, at any time be3 fore the date that is 60 days after the date of 

4 enactment of this section, has established an 

5 energy efficiency program for qualified con6 sumers may use an existing list of energy effi7 ciency measures, implementation plan, or meas8 urement and verification system of that pro9 gram to satisfy the requirements of subpara10 graph (A) if the Secretary determines the list, 

11 plan, or systems are consistent with the pur12 poses of this section. 

13 ‘‘(3) NO INTEREST.—A loan under this sub14 section shall bear no interest. 

15 ‘‘(4) REPAYMENT.—With respect to a loan 

16 under paragraph (1)— 

17 ‘‘(A) the term shall not exceed 20 years 

18 from the date on which the loan is closed; and 

19 ‘‘(B) except as provided in paragraph (6), 

20 the repayment of each advance shall be amor21 tized for a period not to exceed 10 years. 

22 ‘‘(5) AMOUNT OF ADVANCES.—Any advance of 

23 loan funds to an eligible entity in any single year 

24 shall not exceed 50 percent of the approved loan 

25 amount. 


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1 ‘‘(6) SPECIAL ADVANCE FOR START-UP ACTIVI2 TIES.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In order to assist an 

4 eligible entity in defraying the appropriate 

5 start-up costs (as determined by the Secretary) 

6 of establishing new programs or modifying ex7 isting programs to carry out subsection (c), the 

8 Secretary shall allow an eligible entity to re9 quest a special advance. 

10 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—No eligible entity may re11 ceive a special advance under this paragraph 

12 for an amount that is greater than 4 percent of 

13 the loan amount received by the eligible entity 

14 under paragraph (1). 

15 ‘‘(C) REPAYMENT.—Repayment of the spe16 cial advance— 

17 ‘‘(i) shall be required during the 10- 

18 year period beginning on the date on which 

19 the special advance is made; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) at the election of the eligible en21 tity, may be deferred to the end of the 10- 

22 year period. 

23 ‘‘(7) LIMITATION.—All special advances shall be 

24 made under a loan described in paragraph (1) dur25 ing the first 10 years of the term of the loan. 


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1 ‘‘(c) LOANS TO QUALIFIED CONSUMERS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) TERMS OF LOANS.—Loans made by an eli3 gible entity to qualified consumers using loan funds 

4 provided by the Secretary under subsection (b)— 

5 ‘‘(A) may bear interest, not to exceed 3 

6 percent, to be used for purposes that include— 

7 ‘‘(i) to establish a loan loss reserve; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) to offset additional personnel and 

10 program costs of eligible entities to provide 

11 the loans; 

12 ‘‘(B) shall finance energy efficiency meas13 ures for the purpose of decreasing energy usage 

14 or costs of the qualified consumer by an 

15 amount that ensures, to the maximum extent 

16 practicable, that a loan term of not more than 

17 10 years will not pose an undue financial bur18 den on the qualified consumer, as determined 

19 by the eligible entity; 

20 ‘‘(C) shall not be used to fund purchases 

21 of, or modifications to, personal property, un22 less the personal property is or becomes at23 tached to real property (including a manufac24 tured home) as a fixture; 


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1 ‘‘(D) shall be repaid through charges 

2 added to the electric bill for the property for, or 

3 at which, energy efficiency measures are or will 

4 be implemented, on the condition that this re5 quirement does not prohibit— 

6 ‘‘(i) the voluntary prepayment of a 

7 loan by the owner of the property; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) the use of any additional repay9 ment mechanisms that are— 

10 ‘‘(I) demonstrated to have appro11 priate risk mitigation features, as de12 termined by the eligible entity; or 

13 ‘‘(II) required if the qualified 

14 consumer is no longer a customer of 

15 the eligible entity; and 

16 ‘‘(E) shall require an energy audit by an 

17 eligible entity to determine the impact of pro18 posed energy efficiency measures on the energy 

19 costs and consumption of the qualified con20 sumer. 

21 ‘‘(2) CONTRACTORS.—In addition to any other 

22 qualified general contractor, eligible entities may 

23 serve as general contractors. 


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1 ‘‘(d) CONTRACT FOR MEASUREMENT AND

2 VERIFICATION, TRAINING, AND TECHNICAL ASSIST3 ANCE.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

5 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec6 retary— 

7 ‘‘(A) shall establish a plan for measure8 ment and verification, training, and technical 

9 assistance of the program; and 

10 ‘‘(B) may enter into 1 or more contracts 

11 with a qualified entity for the purposes of— 

12 ‘‘(i) providing measurement and 

13 verification activities; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) developing a program to provide 

15 technical assistance and training to the 

16 employees of eligible entities to carry out 

17 this section. 

18 ‘‘(2) USE OF SUBCONTRACTORS AUTHOR19 IZED.—A qualified entity that enters into a contract 

20 under paragraph (1) may use subcontractors to as21 sist the qualified entity in carrying out the contract. 

22 ‘‘(e) FAST START DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall offer to 

24 enter into agreements with eligible entities (or 

25 groups of eligible entities) that have energy effiVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:33 Oct 06, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00220 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3111.IH H3111

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1 ciency programs described in subsection (b)(2)(C) to 

2 establish an energy efficiency loan demonstration 

3 projects consistent with the purposes of this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) EVALUATION CRITERIA.—In determining 

5 which eligible entities to award loans under this sec6 tion, the Secretary shall take into consideration eligi7 ble entities that— 

8 ‘‘(A) implement approaches to energy au9 dits and investments in energy efficiency meas10 ures that yield measurable and predictable sav11 ings; 

12 ‘‘(B) use measurement and verification 

13 processes to determine the effectiveness of en14 ergy efficiency loans made by eligible entities; 

15 ‘‘(C) include training for employees of eli16 gible entities, including any contractors of such 

17 entities, to implement or oversee the activities 

18 described in subparagraphs (A) and (B); 

19 ‘‘(D) provide for the participation of a ma20 jority of eligible entities in a State; 

21 ‘‘(E) reduce the need for generating capac22 ity; 

23 ‘‘(F) provide efficiency loans to— 

24 ‘‘(i) in the case of a single eligible en25 tity, not fewer than 20,000 consumers; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a group of eligible 

2 entities, not fewer than 80,000 consumers; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(G) serve areas in which, as determined 

5 by the Secretary, a large percentage of con6 sumers reside— 

7 ‘‘(i) in manufactured homes; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) in housing units that are more 

9 than 50 years old. 

10 ‘‘(3) DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—To 

11 the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall 

12 enter into agreements described in paragraph (1) by 

13 not later than 90 days after the date of enactment 

14 of this section. 

15 ‘‘(4) EFFECT ON AVAILABILITY OF LOANS NA16 TIONALLY.—Nothing in this subsection shall delay 

17 the availability of loans to eligible entities on a na18 tional basis beginning not later than 180 days after 

19 the date of enactment of this section. 

20 ‘‘(5) ADDITIONAL DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

21 AUTHORITY.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

23 conduct demonstration projects in addition to 

24 the project required by paragraph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(B) INAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN CRI2 TERIA.—The additional demonstration projects 

3 may be carried out without regard to subpara4 graphs (D), (F), or (G) of paragraph (2). 

5 ‘‘(f) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.—The authority pro6 vided in this section is in addition to any other authority 

7 of the Secretary to offer loans under any other law. 

8 ‘‘(g) FUNDING.— 

9 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 

10 the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

11 shall use to carry out this section $70,000,000 for 

12 each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017. 

13 ‘‘(2) DISCRETIONARY FUNDING.—In addition to 

14 any other funds made available to carry out this sec15 tion, there is authorized to be appropriated to the 

16 Secretary to carry out this section $80,000,000 for 

17 each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017, to remain 

18 available until expended. 

19 ‘‘(h) EFFECTIVE PERIOD.—Subject to the availability 

20 of funds under subsection (g) and except as otherwise pro21 vided in this section, the loans and other expenditures re22 quired to be made under this section shall be available 

23 until expended, with the Secretary authorized to make new 

24 loans as loans are repaid. 

25 ‘‘(i) REGULATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro2 vided in this subsection, not later than 180 days 

3 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec4 retary shall promulgate such regulations as are nec5 essary to implement this section. 

6 ‘‘(2) PROCEDURE.—The promulgation of the 

7 regulations and administration of this section shall 

8 be made without regard to— 

9 ‘‘(A) the Statement of Policy of the Sec10 retary of Agriculture effective July 24, 1971 

11 (36 Fed. Reg. 13804), relating to notices of 

12 proposed rulemaking and public participation in 

13 rulemaking; and 

14 ‘‘(B) chapter 35 of title 44, United States 

15 Code (commonly known as the ‘Paperwork Re16 duction Act’). 

17 ‘‘(3) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY

18 RULEMAKING.—In carrying out this section, the Sec19 retary shall use the authority provided under section 

20 808 of title 5, United States Code. 

21 ‘‘(4) INTERIM REGULATIONS.—Notwithstanding 

22 paragraphs (1) and (2), to the extent regulations are 

23 necessary to carry out any provision of this section, 

24 the Secretary shall implement such regulations 

25 through the promulgation of an interim rule.’’. 


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1 TITLE V—TECHNICAL 

2 IMPROVEMENTS TO RESEARCH 

3 SEC. 5001. MATCHING FUND REQUIREMENT UNDER 

4 MCINTIRE-STENNIS COOPERATIVE FORESTRY 

5 ACT. 

6 (a) 1890 WAIVERS.—Section 4 of Public Law 87– 

7 788 (commonly known as the ‘‘McIntire-Stennis Coopera8 tive Forestry Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 582a–3) is amended— 

9 (1) by designating the first sentence and the 

10 second through fifth sentences as subsection (a) and 

11 subsections (c) through (f), respectively; and 

12 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) (as so des13 ignated) the following: 

14 ‘‘(b) 1890 INSTITUTIONS.—The matching funds re15 quirement of this section shall not be applicable to 1890 

16 Institutions (as defined in section 2 of the Agricultural 

17 Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 

18 (7 U.S.C. 7601)) if the allocation is below $200,000 for 

19 a fiscal year.’’. 

20 (b) PARTICIPATION.—Section 8 of Public Law 87– 

21 788 (commonly known as the ‘‘McIntire-Stennis Coopera22 tive Forestry Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 582a–7) is amended by 

23 inserting ‘‘the Federated States of Micronesia, American 

24 Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Is25 lands,’’ after ‘‘the Virgin Islands,’’. 


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1 SEC. 5002. MATCHING FUND REQUIREMENT UNDER HATCH 

2 ACT OF 1887. 

3 Section 3(d) of the Hatch Act of 1887 (7 U.S.C. 

4 361c(d)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting before the pe6 riod at the following: ‘‘, except that a State may ob7 tain $2 from private sources for each $1 the State 

8 is required to match under this Act’’; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (4)(A), by inserting before the 

10 period at the following: ‘‘, except that an insular 

11 area or the District of Columbia may obtain $2 from 

12 private sources for each $1 the insular area or the 

13 District of Columbia, respectively, is required to 

14 match under this Act’’. 

15 SEC. 5003. MATCHING FUND REQUIREMENT UNDER SMITH16 LEVER ACT. 

17 Section 3(e) of the Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 

18 343(e)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting before the pe20 riod at the following: ‘‘, except that a State may ob21 tain $2 from private sources for each $1 the State 

22 is required to match under this Act’’; and 

23 (2) in paragraph (4)(A), by inserting before the 

24 period at the following: ‘‘, except that an insular 

25 area or the District of Columbia may obtain $2 from 

26 private sources for each $1 the insular area or the 


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1 District of Columbia, respectively, is required to 

2 match under this Act’’. 

3 SEC. 5004. BIOMASS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INITIA4 TIVE. 

5 (a) MOVEMENT OF INITIATIVE.—Section 9008 of the 

6 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 

7 U.S.C. 8108) is— 

8 (1) redesignated as section 1473H of the Na9 tional Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teach10 ing Policy Act of 1977; and 

11 (2) moved so as to appear at the end of subtitle 

12 K of that Act (7 U.S.C. 3310 et seq.). 

13 (b) REAUTHORIZATION AND IMPROVEMENT OF INI14 TIATIVE.—Section 1473H of the National Agricultural 

15 Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (as 

16 redesignated and moved by subsection (a)) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)— 

18 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), 

19 and (3) as paragraphs (2), (6), and (7), respec20 tively; 

21 (B) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as 

22 so redesignated) the following: 

23 ‘‘(1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘Advi24 sory Committee’ means the Biomass Research and 


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1 Development Technical Advisory Committee estab2 lished by subsection (d)(1).’’; 

3 (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as so 

4 redesignated) the following: 

5 ‘‘(3) BIOFUEL.—The term ‘biofuel’ means a 

6 fuel derived from renewable biomass. 

7 ‘‘(4) BIOREFINERY.—The term ‘biorefinery’ 

8 means a facility (including equipment and processes) 

9 that— 

10 ‘‘(A) converts renewable biomass into 

11 biofuels and biobased products; and 

12 ‘‘(B) may produce electricity. 

13 ‘‘(5) BOARD.—The term ‘Board’ means the 

14 Biomass Research and Development Board estab15 lished by subsection (c).’’; and 

16 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(8) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

18 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

19 meaning given the term in section 102(a) of the 

20 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002(a)). 

21 ‘‘(9) RENEWABLE BIOMASS.—The term ‘renew22 able biomass’ has the meaning given the term in sec23 tion 9001 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest24 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8101).’’; 

25 (2) in subsection (e)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (3)— 

2 (i) in the matter preceding subpara3 graph (A), by striking ‘‘the Administrator 

4 of the Environmental Protection Agency 

5 and’’; and 

6 (ii) by subparagraph (B)(i), by strik7 ing ‘‘cellulosic’’; and 

8 (B) in paragraph (4)(C), by striking ‘‘cel9 lulosic’’; 

10 (3) in subsection (g), in the matter preceding 

11 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘For each fiscal year for 

12 which funds are made available to carry out this sec13 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘Every 2 years’’; and 

14 (4) in subsection (h)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘ex16 pended—’’ and all that follows through the pe17 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘expended, 

18 $60,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 

19 through 2017.’’; and 

20 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking 

21 ‘‘$35,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 

22 through 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘$115,000,000 

23 for each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017’’. 


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1 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 9001 of 

2 the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 

3 U.S.C. 8101) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking paragraphs (2) and (8); 

5 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 

6 (7) as paragraphs (2) through (6), respectively; and 

7 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (9) through 

8 (14) as paragraphs (7) through (12), respectively. 

Æ 


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