I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5589
To provide emergency disaster assistance to agricultural producers to respond
to severe crop losses incurred in 2001 and 2002.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 9, 2002
Mr. GRAVES introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To provide emergency disaster assistance to agricultural pro-
ducers to respond to severe crop losses incurred in 2001
and 2002.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Companion Disaster
Assistance Program Act of 2002’’.
SEC. 2. COMPANION DISASTER ASSISTANCE.
(a) ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE.—The Secretary of Agri-
culture (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’)
shall use such sums as are necessary of funds of the Com-
modity Credit Corporation to make emergency financial
assistance available to producers on a farm that have in-
curred qualifying losses for the 2001 or 2002 crop of an
agricultural commodity due to damaging weather or re-
lated condition, as determined by the Secretary.
(b) ELECTION OF CROP YEAR.—If a producer in-
curred qualifying crop losses in both the 2001 and 2002
crop years, the producer shall elect to receive assistance
under this section for losses incurred in either the 2001
crop year or the 2002 crop year, but not both.
(c) QUALIFYING LOSSES.—Assistance under this sec-
tion shall be provided for losses associated with crops that
are quantity losses or quality losses (or both), as deter-
mined by the Secretary.
(d) DEDUCTIBLE.—The Secretary shall make assist-
ance available to a producer with qualifying losses for
losses exceeding 20 percent of the producer’s historical
yield, as determined by the Secretary.
(e) ASSISTANCE AMOUNT.—The amount of assist-
ance made available to a producer shall be equal to the
lesser of the following:
(1) 35 percent of the product obtained by
multiplying—
(A) 65 percent of the producer’s historical
yield, as determined by the Secretary;
(B) the producer’s acreage of the crop for
the relevant crop year; and
(C) 65 percent of the expected market
price for the crop, as determined by the Sec-
retary; and
(2) 
times 
the 
product 
obtained 
by
multiplying—
(A) the percentage of qualifying losses of
the producer exceeding 20 percent of the pro-
ducer’s historical yield, as determined by the
Secretary; and
(B) the amount determined under para-
graph (1).
(f) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding subsection (e), a
producer may not receive assistance under this section for
losses to more than one 2001 crop or 2002 crop on the
same acreage unless there is an established practice of
planting two or more crops for harvest on such acreage
in the same crop year, as determined by the Secretary.
The Secretary shall give a producer that is not covered
by the exception in the previous sentence an opportunity
to designate the 2001 or 2002 crop for which the producer
requests assistance under this section.
(g) COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION.—The Sec-
retary shall use the funds, facilities, and authorities of the
Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out this title.
(h) REGULATIONS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may promul-
gate such regulations as are necessary to implement
this section.
(2) PROCEDURE.—The promulgation of the reg-
ulations and administration of this section shall be
made without regard to—
(A) the notice and comment provisions of
section 553 of title 5, United States Code;
(B) the Statement of Policy of the Sec-
retary effective July 24, 1971 (36 Fed. Reg.
13804), relating to notices of proposed rule-
making and public participation in rulemaking;
and
(C) chapter 35 of title 44, United States
Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Re-
duction Act’’).
(3) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW OF AGENCY RULE-
MAKING.—In carrying out this subsection, the Sec-
retary shall use the authority provided under section
808 of title 5, United States Code.
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