I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1387
To amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to convert the price support
program for sugarcane and sugar beets into a system of solely recourse
loans and to provide for the gradual elimination of the program.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 17, 1997
Mr. MILLER of Florida (for himself, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. CHABOT, Mr. QUINN,
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN, Mr. CAMPBELL, Mr. SHAW, Mr. HORN, Mr. KLUG,
Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. MCINTOSH, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr.
LOBIONDO, Mr. PORTER, Mr. SENSENBRENNER, Mr. ROHRABACHER,
Mr. CASTLE, Mr. ROYCE, Mr. SHAYS, Mr. RAMSTAD, Mrs. ROUKEMA,
Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island, Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey, Mr.
MEEHAN, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. MCHALE, Mr. NEUMANN, Mr. SOUDER, Mr.
SANFORD, Mr. ENGLISH of Pennsylvania, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. FAWELL,
Mr. FOGLIETTA, Mr. OLVER, Mr. FRANK
of Massachusetts, Mr.
HINCHEY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. NADLER, Mr. NEY, Mrs. LOWEY, Mrs.
MCCARTHY of New York, Mr. MOAKLEY, Mrs. MALONEY of New York,
Mr. DAVIS of Virginia, Mr. WOLF, Mr. GOSS, Mr. ENSIGN, Mr. LIPINSKI,
Mr. OWENS, Mr. YATES, Mr. STARK, Mr. GEKAS, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr.
PETRI, Mr. KASICH, Mr. VISCLOSKY, Mr. FORBES, Mr. WAMP, Mr. BASS,
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey, and Mr. KOLBE) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To amend the Agricultural Market Transition Act to convert
the price support program for sugarcane and sugar beets
into a system of solely recourse loans and to provide
for the gradual elimination of the program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. RECOURSE LOANS FOR PROCESSORS OF SUG-
ARCANE AND SUGAR BEETS AND REDUCTION
IN LOAN RATES.
(a) GRADUAL REDUCTION IN LOAN RATES.—
(1) 
SUGARCANE
PROCESSOR
LOANS.—Sub-
section (a) of section 156 of the Agricultural Market
Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7272) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘equal to 18 cents per pound for raw cane
sugar.’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘, per pound for
raw cane sugar, equal to the following:
‘‘(1) In the case of raw cane sugar processed
from the 1996 through 1998 crops, $0.18.
‘‘(2) In the case of raw cane sugar processed
from the 1999 crop, $0.17.
‘‘(3) In the case of raw cane sugar processed
from the 2000 crop, $0.16.
‘‘(4) In the case of raw cane sugar processed
from the 2001 crop, $0.15.
‘‘(5) In the case of raw cane sugar processed
from the 2002 crop, $0.14.’’.
(2) SUGAR
BEET
PROCESSOR
LOANS.—Sub-
section (b) of such section is amended by striking
‘‘equal to 22.9 cents per pound for refined beet
sugar.’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘, per pound of
refined beet sugar, that reflects—
‘‘(1) an amount that bears the same relation to
the loan rate in effect under subsection (a) for a
crop as the weighted average of producer returns for
sugar beets bears to the weighted average of pro-
ducer returns for sugarcane, expressed on a cents
per pound basis for refined beet sugar and raw cane
sugar, for the most recent five-year period for which
data are available; plus
‘‘(2) an amount that covers sugar beet proc-
essor fixed marketing expenses.’’.
(b) CONVERSION TO RECOURSE LOANS.—Subsection
(e) of such section is amended—
(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘only’’ after
‘‘this section’’;
(2) in paragraph (2)—
(A) by striking ‘‘During any fiscal year in
which’’ and inserting ‘‘If, during fiscal year
1997,’’; and
(B) by striking ‘‘carry out this section’’
and inserting ‘‘carry out this section for the
1996 crop of sugarcane and sugar beets’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(4) NATIONAL LOAN RATES.—Recourse loans
under this section shall be made available at all loca-
tions nationally at the rates specified in this section,
without adjustment to provide regional differen-
tials.’’.
(c) CONVERSION TO PRIVATE SECTOR FINANCING.—
Such section is further amended—
(1) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection
(j);
(2) by inserting after subsection (h) the follow-
ing new subsection:
‘‘(i) CONVERSION
TO PRIVATE SECTOR FINANC-
ING.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no
processor of the 2003 or subsequent crops of sugarcane
or sugar beets shall be eligible for loans under this section
with respect to such crops, and the Secretary of Agri-
culture may not make price support available, whether in
the form of loans, payments, purchases, or other oper-
ations, for the 2003 and subsequent crops of sugar beets
and sugarcane by using the funds of the Commodity Cred-
it Corporation or other funds available to the Secretary.’’;
and
(3) in subsection (j), as redesignated by para-
graph (1), by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and inserting
‘‘subsections (f) and (i)’’.
(d) TERMINATION OF MARKETING QUOTAS AND AL-
LOTMENTS.—
(1) TERMINATION.—Part VII of subtitle B of
title III of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938
(7 U.S.C. 1359aa–1359jj) is repealed.
(2) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section
344(f)(2) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1344(f)(2)) is
amended by striking ‘‘sugar cane for sugar, sugar
beets for sugar,’’.
(e) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) POWERS OF COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORA-
TION.—Section 5(a) of the Commodity Credit Cor-
poration Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 714c(a)) is amend-
ed by inserting ‘‘(except for sugarcane and sugar
beets of the 2003 and subsequent crops)’’ after ‘‘ag-
ricultural commodities’’.
(2) SECTION 32 ACTIVITIES.—The second sen-
tence of the first paragraph of section 32 of the Act
of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c), is amended by
inserting ‘‘(other than sugarcane and sugar beets)’’
after ‘‘commodity’’ the last place it appears.
(f) ASSURANCE
OF
ADEQUATE
SUPPLIES
OF
SUGAR.—Subsection (a) of section 902 of the Food Secu-
rity Act of 1985 (Public Law 99–198; 7 U.S.C. 1446g
note) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘(a) Beginning with the quota year for sugar imports
which begins after the 1995/1996 quota year, the Presi-
dent shall use all authorities available to the President as
may be necessary to enable the Secretary of Agriculture
to ensure that adequate supplies of raw cane sugar are
made available to the United States market at prices no
greater than the higher of—
‘‘(1) the world sugar price (adjusted to a deliv-
ered basis); or
‘‘(2) the raw cane sugar loan rate in effect
under section 156 of the Agricultural Market Tran-
sition Act (7 U.S.C. 7272), plus interest.’’.
Æ