I
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2532
To provide marketing loans and a total acreage base for the 1996 through
2002 crops of upland cotton, feed grains, rice, oilseeds, and wheat,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 25, 1995
Mr. MINGE (for himself, Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota, Mr. PETERSON of
Minnesota, Mr. POMEROY, Mr. HOLDEN, Mr. HILLIARD, and Mr. WIL-
LIAMS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Agriculture
A BILL
To provide marketing loans and a total acreage base for
the 1996 through 2002 crops of upland cotton, feed
grains, rice, oilseeds, and wheat, and for other purposes.
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 Farm Empowerment Act of 1995’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Marketing loans for 1996 through 2002 crops of certain agricultural
commodities.
Sec. 3. Total acreage base system.
Sec. 4. Conforming amendments to current price support programs for program
crops.
Sec. 5. Elimination of acreage reduction programs.
Sec. 6. Extension of cottonseed oil and sunflower oil export programs.
Sec. 7. Suspension of permanent price support authority.
Sec. 8. Removal of three-entity rule; direct attribution.
SEC. 2. MARKETING LOANS FOR 1996 THROUGH 2002 CROPS
OF CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES.
Title I of the Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C.
1441 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing:
‘‘SEC. 116. MARKETING LOANS FOR 1996 THROUGH 2002
CROPS OF CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL COM-
MODITIES.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section:
‘‘(1) COVERED COMMODITIES.—The term ‘cov-
ered commodities’ means rice, upland cotton, feed
grains, wheat, and oilseeds.
‘‘(2) FEED
GRAINS.—The term ‘feed grains’
means corn, grain sorghums, barley, oats, and rye.
‘‘(3) OILSEEDS.—The term ‘oilseeds’ means
soybeans, sunflower seeds, canola, rapeseed, saf-
flower, flaxseed, mustard seed, and such other oil-
seeds as the Secretary may designate.
‘‘(b) MARKETING LOANS.—
‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary shall make
available to eligible producers on a farm a
nonrecourse marketing loan for each of the 1996
through 2002 crops of covered commodities pro-
duced on the farm. The term of the marketing loan
shall be 15 months in length.
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE PRODUCERS.—To be eligible for
a loan under this subsection, the producers on a
farm may not plant covered commodities on a farm
in excess of the total acreage base of the farm, as
determined under section 503.
‘‘(3) LOAN RATE.—Loans made under this sub-
section shall be made at the rate of 115 percent of
the simple average national price received by produc-
ers of the covered commodity, as determined by the
Secretary, during the marketing years for the imme-
diately preceding 5 crops of the covered commodity,
excluding the year in which the average price was
the highest and the year in which the average price
was the lowest in such period.
‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON TOTAL VALUE OF MARKETING
LOANS.—The combined annual value of loans made to a
producer under subsection (b) may not exceed $175,000.
‘‘(d) REPAYMENT.—
‘‘(1) REPAYMENT RATE.—Producers on a farm
may repay loans made under subsection (b) for a
covered commodity at a level that is the lesser of—
‘‘(A) the loan rate determined for the com-
modity; or
‘‘(B) the prevailing domestic market price
for the commodity, as determined by the Sec-
retary.
‘‘(2) PREVAILING DOMESTIC MARKET PRICE.—
The Secretary shall prescribe by regulation—
‘‘(A) a formula to determine the prevailing
domestic market price for each covered com-
modity, which may include adjustments for dif-
ferences in quality but not for differences in lo-
cation; and
‘‘(B) a mechanism by which the Secretary
shall announce periodically the prevailing do-
mestic market prices established under this sub-
section.
‘‘(e) ADJUSTMENT ACCOUNT.—
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish an Adjustment Account, which shall be used
to make—
‘‘(A) payments to producers of the 1996
through 2002 crops of covered commodities who
participate in the marketing loan program es-
tablished under subsection (b); and
‘‘(B) payments to producers of the 1994
and 1995 crops of covered commodities that are
authorized under sections 101B, 103B, 105B,
107B, and 205, but not paid before the date of
the enactment of this section.
‘‘(2) AMOUNT
IN
ACCOUNT.—The Secretary
shall transfer into the Adjustment Account from
funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation such
sums as shall be necessary to implement this section
and make marketing loans available under sub-
section (b).
‘‘(3) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Funds in the
Adjustment Account shall remain available until ex-
pended.
‘‘(f) ADVANCE PAYMENT.—At the request of a pro-
ducer who intends to obtain a marketing loan under sub-
section (b) for a crop of a covered commodity, the Sec-
retary shall make available to the producer in advance of
planting not more than 10 percent of the projected mar-
keting loan for that crop year.
‘‘(g) MARKETING LOAN DEFICIENCY PAYMENTS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—For each of the 1996
through 2002 crops of covered commodities, the Sec-
retary may make payments available to producers
who, although eligible to obtain a marketing loan
under subsection (b), agree to forego obtaining the
loan in return for payments under this subsection.
‘‘(2) COMPUTATION.—A payment under this
subsection shall be computed by multiplying—
‘‘(A) the loan payment rate; by
‘‘(B) the quantity of the covered commod-
ity which the producer is eligible to place under
loan but for which the producer foregoes ob-
taining the loan in return for payments under
this subsection.
‘‘(3) LOAN PAYMENT RATE.—For purposes of
this subsection, the loan payment rate shall be the
amount by which—
‘‘(A) the loan rate for the commodity de-
termined under subsection (b); exceeds
‘‘(B) the repayment rate for the commod-
ity determined under subsection (d).’’.
SEC. 3. TOTAL ACREAGE BASE SYSTEM.
(a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 502 of the Agricultural
Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1462) is amended by striking para-
graph (3) and inserting the following new paragraphs:
‘‘(3) FEED
GRAINS.—The term ‘feed grains’
means corn, grain sorghums, barley, oats, and rye.