I 
110TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7196 
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide crop disaster assistance 
to agricultural producers that suffered qualifying quantity or quality 
losses for the 2008 crop year due to a natural disaster. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 27, 2008 
Mr. CAZAYOUX (for himself, Mr. ALEXANDER, and Mr. MELANCON) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agri-
culture 
A BILL 
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide crop dis-
aster assistance to agricultural producers that suffered 
qualifying quantity or quality losses for the 2008 crop 
year due to a natural disaster. 
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 ‘‘Farm Relief Act of 
2008’’. 
SEC. 2. 2008 CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE. 
Section 9001 of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans’ 
Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appro-
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priations Act, 2007 (Public Law 110–28; 121 Stat. 211) 
is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘There are hereby’’ and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are hereby’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) 2008 CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There are hereby ap-
propriated to the Secretary such sums as are 
necessary, to remain available until expended, 
to make emergency financial assistance under 
this section available to producers on a farm 
that incurred qualifying quantity or quality 
losses for the 2008 crop due a natural disaster 
or any related condition, as determined by the 
Secretary. 
‘‘(B) SUGAR
AND
SUGARCANE
DISASTER 
ASSISTANCE.— 
‘‘(i) FLORIDA.—There are hereby ap-
propriated to the Secretary such sums as 
are necessary, to remain available until ex-
pended, to make payments to processors in 
Florida that are eligible to obtain a loan 
under section 156(a) of the Federal Agri-
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culture Improvement and Reform Act of 
1996 (7 U.S.C. 7272(a)) to compensate 
first processors and producers for crop and 
other losses due a natural disaster or any 
related condition, as determined by the 
Secretary, in Florida during calendar year 
2008, by an agreement on the same terms 
and conditions, to the maximum extent 
practicable, as the payments made under 
section 102 of the Emergency Supple-
mental Appropriations for Hurricane Dis-
asters Assistance Act of 2005 (Public Law 
108–324; 118 Stat. 1235), including that 
the 2008 base production of each har-
vesting unit shall be determined using the 
same base year crop production history 
that was used pursuant to the agreement 
under that section. 
‘‘(ii) LOUISIANA.— 
‘‘(I) 
COMPENSATION
FOR 
LOSSES.—There are hereby appro-
priated to the Secretary such sums as 
are necessary, to remain available 
until expended, to make assistance 
available to first processors of sugar-
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cane that operate in a county affected 
by a natural disaster, or obtain sugar-
cane from a county affected by a nat-
ural disaster, in Louisiana and that 
are eligible to obtain a loan under sec-
tion 156(a) of the Federal Agriculture 
Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 
(7 U.S.C. 7272(a)), in the form of 
monetary payments or commodities in 
the inventory of the Commodity Cred-
it Corporation derived from carrying 
out that section, to compensate pro-
ducers and first processors for crop 
and other losses due to the natural 
disaster or any related condition, as 
determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(II) ADMINISTRATION.—Assist-
ance under this clause shall be— 
‘‘(aa) shared by an affected 
first processor with affected pro-
ducers that provide commodities 
to the processor in a manner that 
reflects contracts entered into be-
tween the processor and the pro-
ducers, except with respect to a 
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portion of the amount of total as-
sistance provided under subclause 
(I) necessary to compensate af-
fected producers for individual 
losses experienced by the pro-
ducers, including losses due to 
saltwater 
intrusion, 
flooding, 
wind damage, or increased plant-
ing, replanting, or harvesting 
costs, which shall be transferred 
by the first processor to the af-
fected producers without regard 
to contractual share arrange-
ments; and 
‘‘(bb) made available under 
such terms and conditions as the 
Secretary determines are nec-
essary to carry out this clause. 
‘‘(III) FORM OF ASSISTANCE.— 
In carrying out this clause, the Sec-
retary shall— 
‘‘(aa) convey to the first 
processor commodities in the in-
ventory of the Commodity Credit 
Corporation derived from car-
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rying out section 156(a) of the 
Federal Agriculture Improvement 
and Reform Act of 1996 (7 
U.S.C. 7272(a)); 
‘‘(bb) make monetary pay-
ments to the first processor; or 
‘‘(cc) take any combination 
of actions described in items (aa) 
and (bb), using commodities or 
monetary payments. 
‘‘(IV) LOSS
DETERMINATION.— 
In carrying out this clause, the Sec-
retary shall use the same base year to 
determine crop loss that was elected 
by a producer to determine crop loss 
in carrying out the hurricane assist-
ance program under section 207 of 
the Agricultural Assistance Act of 
2003 (Public Law 108–7; 117 Stat. 
543). 
‘‘(iii) TEXAS.—There are hereby ap-
propriated to the Secretary such sums as 
are necessary, to remain available until ex-
pended, to assist sugarcane growers in 
Texas by making a payment in that 
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amount to a farmer-owned cooperative sug-
arcane processor in that State, for costs of 
demurrage, storage, and transportation re-
sulting from natural disaster or any re-
lated condition during calendar year 2008. 
‘‘(C) RELATION TO SUPPLEMENTAL AGRI-
CULTURAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 
A producer on a farm that accepts assistance 
made available under this paragraph for a crop 
loss is not eligible to receive supplemental agri-
cultural disaster assistance for that crop loss 
under subtitle B of the Federal Crop Insurance 
Act (7 U.S.C. 1531) or title IX of the Trade 
Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2497 et seq.).’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘this section’’ 
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘subsection 
(a)(1)’’. 
SEC. 3. AQUACULTURE GRANTS. 
(a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE APPLICANT.—In this 
section, the term ‘‘eligible applicant’’ means a producer 
of animals described in section 10806(a)(1) of the Farm 
Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (21 U.S.C. 
321d(a)(1)) during the 2008 calendar year. 
(b) AQUACULTURE GRANTS.—Of the funds of the 
Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary of Agri-
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culture shall use $50,000,000 to provide grants to appro-
priate State departments of agriculture (or other appro-
priate State agencies) that agree to provide assistance to 
eligible applicants through animal feed providers that 
agree to make the assistance available on a pro rata basis 
to eligible applicants based on documented feed use by the 
eligible applicants during the 2008 calendar year to help 
offset feed costs or economic losses caused by natural dis-
asters. 
(c) DUTY OF SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall en-
sure that— 
(1) funds made available under subsection (b) 
are apportioned in an equitable manner among the 
States that receive funds under this section; and 
(2) assistance is made available based only on 
documented feed use. 
(d) REGULATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture 
may promulgate 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; 
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(B) the Statement of Policy of the Sec-
retary of Agriculture effective July 24, 1971 
(36 Fed. Reg. 13804), relating to notices of 
proposed rulemaking 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. 
Æ 
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