I
105TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4560
To provide short-term and long-term relief to agricultural producers, small
businesses, and rural communities adversely affected by low prices for
agricultural commodities.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SEPTEMBER 14, 1998
Mr. HILL 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 provide short-term and long-term relief to agricultural
producers, small businesses, and rural communities ad-
versely affected by low prices for agricultural commod-
ities.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Family Agriculture Reinvestment and Marketing Strat-
egy Act of 1998’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
TITLE I—SHORT-TERM CASH RELIEF MEASURES
Sec. 101. Increase in amounts available for payments under production flexibil-
ity contracts.
Sec. 102. Revenue insurance based on dollar per acre revenue guarantee.
Sec. 103. Supplemental market deficiency and indemnity payments.
TITLE II—TRADE ISSUES AND PROMOTION OF VALUE-ADDED
AGRICULTURE
Subtitle A—Trade Issues
Sec. 201. Trade with Canada.
Sec. 202. Principal agricultural trade negotiating objectives.
Sec. 203. Accession of countries with state trading enterprises to General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and World Trade Organiza-
tion.
Sec. 204. Accession of China to the WTO.
Sec. 205. The accession of Russia to the WTO.
Sec. 206. Definitions.
Subtitle B—Value-Added Agriculture
Sec. 211. Production and marketing of value-added agricultural commodities.
Sec. 212. Establishment of small business disaster assistance program.
Subtitle C—Meat Labeling
Sec. 221. Definitions.
Sec. 222. Labeling of imported meat and meat food products.
Sec. 223. Regulations.
Subtitle D—Other Matters Regarding Trade
Sec. 231. Study of licensing and registration procedures under Federal insecti-
cide, fungicide, and rodenticide act.
Sec. 232. Livestock industry improvement.
TITLE III—TAX PROVISIONS
Sec. 301. Reduction in individual capital gains tax rates.
Sec. 302. Repeal of estate and gift taxes.
Sec. 303. Permanent extension of income averaging for farmers.
TITLE I—SHORT-TERM CASH
RELIEF MEASURES
SEC. 101. INCREASE IN AMOUNTS AVAILABLE FOR PAY-
MENTS UNDER PRODUCTION FLEXIBILITY
CONTRACTS.
Section 113 of the Agricultural Market Transition
Act (7 U.S.C. 7213(a)) is amended by adding at the end
the following new subsection:
‘‘(g) TRANSFER OF UNUSED FUNDS FROM AGRICUL-
TURAL TRADE PROGRAMS.—For each of the fiscal years
1999 through 2002, the Secretary may increase the
amount available under subsection (a) for contract pay-
ments by up to $1,000,000,000 through the transfer of
funds available for that fiscal year for agricultural trade
export programs administered by the Secretary, such as
the export enhancement program and market access pro-
gram.’’.
SEC. 102. REVENUE INSURANCE BASED ON DOLLAR PER
ACRE REVENUE GUARANTEE.
(a) REVENUE INSURANCE PROGRAM REQUIRED.—
The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Risk
Management Agency, shall conduct a crop insurance pro-
gram that allows a producer to select a dollar amount of
coverage per acre by crop within a production area des-
ignated by the Secretary. The Secretary shall use regional
offices of the Risk Management Agency to develop a crop
yield potential in a designated homogeneous production
area using Geographical Information System data. The
Secretary shall develop and publish a maximum crop value
for the production area by multiplying the area’s yield
times a market price researched and projected by the Sec-
retary.
(b) PRODUCER SELECTION.—A producer may select
a dollar per acre revenue guarantee equal to 85 percent
(or less) of the established maximum crop value in the
production area in which the producer’s farm operation
is located.
(c) DETERMINATION OF CROP VALUES.—Producers
shall have the option of using the crop value established
for a production area or providing production records to
establish a farm enterprise crop value for their operation.
The Secretary shall continue to use existing Risk Manage-
ment Agency unit structure standards in conducting the
revenue insurance program. Harvest value of crop produc-
tion shall be determined using Risk Management Agency
established crop value per unit of measure.
(d) CALCULATION OF LOSSES.—The Secretary shall
calculate a producer’s losses by subtracting the dollar
value of crop production from the revenue guarantee on
a per unit basis. To reduce premium costs, the Secretary
shall allow a producer the option of combining the guaran-
teed dollar value of all insurable acreage of the crop in
the county in which the producer has a share. The Sec-
retary shall also permit producers to combine crops to be
pooled into one revenue guarantee. The harvest value of
each crop in the combination would then be determined
and totaled before an indemnity would be paid.
(e) REPEAL OF EXISTING PILOT PROGRAM.—Section
508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C.
1508(h)) is amended by striking paragraph (9).
SEC. 103. SUPPLEMENTAL MARKET DEFICIENCY AND IN-
DEMNITY PAYMENTS.
Section 135 of the Agricultural Market Transition
Act (7 U.S.C. 7235) is amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
‘‘(e) SUPPLEMENT
TO
LOAN
DEFICIENCY
PAY-
MENT.—To indemnify producers for the adverse effect of
trade sanctions imposed by the United States on the ex-
port of wheat and barley loan commodities, each eligible
wheat and barley producer shall receive an additional
$0.60 market deficiency payment per bushel to the loan
payment rate determined under subsection (c).’’.
TITLE II—TRADE ISSUES AND
PROMOTION 
OF 
VALUE-
ADDED AGRICULTURE
Subtitle A—Trade Issues
SEC. 201. TRADE WITH CANADA.
(a) COMPLIANCE
OF CANADIAN WHEAT BOARD
WITH REQUESTS BY GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE.—
Until such time as the Canadian Wheat Board complies
with requests made by officials of the General Accounting
Office for access to the records of the Board for the pur-
poses of monitoring compliance with the North American
Free Trade Agreement, the President shall proclaim re-
strictions on imports of wheat produced in Canada.
(b) SUBSIDIES.—The President shall determine
whether the Canadian Wheat Board, in implementing its
pricing policies, complies fully with trade agreements be-
tween Canada and the United States which prohibit sub-
sidies. If the President determines that the Canadian
Wheat Board is selling grain in the United States market
at prices below the costs of acquiring and delivering the
grain to such market, then the President shall impose ap-
propriate sanctions provided by law.
(c) ACCESS TO CANADIAN RAIL SYSTEM.—The Presi-
dent shall take the necessary steps to access by United
States producers of agricultural commodities to Canada’s
rail system in order to provide for the efficient transpor-
tation of such commodities to their destinations.
(d) PUBLICATION OF DATA ON FEEDER CATTLE.—
The United States Trade Representative, in consultation
with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall publish on a
monthly basis data that sets forth the prices of feeder cat-
tle imported from Canada into the United States, as well
as the number of cattle in Canada in inventory and the
number of cattle slaughtered in that country.
(e) SUBSIDIZED FEED COSTS.—The President shall
determine how low costs of Canadian feed for cattle, in-
cluding direct and indirect subsidies, affect the production
and exports of Canadian cattle. If the President deter-
mines that any such subsidies exist, then the President
shall take action to seek the termination of such subsidies.
(f) PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES.—The United States
Trade Representative shall take the necessary steps to se-
cure changes in Canada’s phytosanitary inspection re-
quirements with respect to agricultural commodities to
make such requirements reciprocal with those of the
United States.
(g) TRADE BARRIERS.—The President shall deter-
mine whether Canada is imposing tariff or nontariff bar-
riers to import of United States agricultural commodities
in violation of any trade agreement to which Canada is
a party, then the President shall invoke the remedies avail-
able to the United States to restrict imports of agricul-
tural products from Canada.
(h) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—The President shall re-
port to the Congress, by not later than January 1 of each
year, on the implementation of this section.
SEC. 202. PRINCIPAL AGRICULTURAL TRADE NEGOTIATING
OBJECTIVES.
The principle agricultural trade negotiating objectives
of the United States with respect to the WTO Agreement
on Agriculture shall include the following:
(1) ELIMINATION
OF
TARIFFS
ON
AGRICUL-
TURAL PRODUCTS.—The United States shall nego-
tiate a specific date after which tariffs imposed on
agricultural products shall be eliminated by WTO
members and the United States shall negotiate the
immediate elimination or substantial reduction of
the tariffs imposed on the following products by cer-
tain WTO members:
(A) Tariffs imposed on meat products by
Japan.
(B) Tariffs imposed on meat products by
South Korea.
(C) Tariffs imposed on grains, livestock,
and meat products by the Philippines.
(D) Tariffs imposed on wheat by South Af-
rica.
(E) Tariffs imposed on milling wheat,
corn, and sorghum by Turkey.
(2) ELIMINATION
OF
EXPORT
AND
OTHER
TRADE-DISTORTING SUBSIDIES.—The United States
shall negotiate a specific date after which all export
and other trade-distorting subsidies shall be elimi-
nated by WTO members and the United States shall
negotiate the elimination of the following subsidies
provided by the certain WTO members:
(A) Export subsidies on wheat, wheat
flour, beef, and poultry provided by the Euro-
pean Union.
(B) Domestic subsidies on pork and feed
grains provided by the European Union.
(3) ELIMINATION OF THE UNFAIR OR TRADE-
DISTORTING ACTIVITIES OF STATE TRADING ENTER-
PRISES.—
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The United States
shall negotiate the elimination of the exclusive
right of state trading enterprises to import ag-
ricultural products in the case of members of
the WTO and shall negotiate the elimination of
the ability of state trading enterprises to use
their exclusive authority over the export of agri-
cultural products to distort trade and inter-
national prices.
(B) 
SPECIFIC
REFORMS.—The 
United
States shall negotiate the following specific re-
forms with respect to the activities of state
trading enterprises:
(i) Ensure that Australia adheres to
its commitment to end the export monop-
oly of the Australia Wheat Board no later
than January 1, 1999.
(ii) Ensure that Canada eliminates
the discretionary pricing practices of the
Canadian Wheat Board.
(4) ELIMINATION
OF
UNJUSTIFIED
SANITARY
AND PHYTOSANITARY RESTRICTIONS ON IMPORTS OF
UNITED
STATES
AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCTS.—The
United States shall negotiate the elimination of the
following sanitary and phytosanitary restrictions on
imports of United States agricultural products to
the extent that the restrictions are inconsistent with
the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary
and Phytosanitary Measures:
(A) Australia’s quarantine and health re-
strictions on imports of livestock and poultry.