I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4979
To amend the Agriculture Market Transition Act to extend the availability
of marketing assistance loans beyond the 2002 crop year, to increase
the loans rates for such loans, to extend the duration of such loans,
and to revise the limitations on the total amount of marketing loan
gains and loan deficiency payments that a producer may receive.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JULY 26, 2000
Mr. POMEROY (for himself and Mr. MINGE) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To amend the Agriculture Market Transition Act to extend
the availability of marketing assistance loans beyond the
2002 crop year, to increase the loans rates for such
loans, to extend the duration of such loans, and to revise
the limitations on the total amount of marketing loan
gains and loan deficiency payments that a producer may
receive.
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 Safety Net Act’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Permanent availability of marketing assistance loans.
Sec. 3. Establishment of minimum loan rates for marketing assistance loans.
Sec. 4. Increase in duration of marketing assistance loans.
Sec. 5. Limitations on marketing loan gains and loan deficiency payments.
SEC. 2. PERMANENT AVAILABILITY OF MARKETING ASSIST-
ANCE LOANS.
Section 131(a) of the Agriculture Market Transition
Act (7 U.S.C. 7231(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘through
2002’’ and inserting ‘‘and subsequent’’.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF MINIMUM LOAN RATES FOR
MARKETING ASSISTANCE LOANS.
(a) WHEAT.—Subsection (a) of section 132 of the
Agriculture Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7232) is
amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘not more
than $2.58 per bushel’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than
$3.40 per bushel for each of the 2000 and subse-
quent crop years’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘If the Sec-
retary’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to the minimum loan
rate specified in paragraph (1)(B), if the Secretary’’.
(b) CORN.—Subsection (b) of such section is
amended—
(1) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘not more
than $1.89 per bushel’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than
$2.43 per bushel for each of the 2000 and subse-
quent crop years’’; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘If the Sec-
retary’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to the minimum loan
rate specified in paragraph (1)(B), if the Secretary’’.
(c) GRAIN SORGHUM AND OATS.—Subsection (b)(3)
of such section is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: ‘‘Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the loan
rate for a marketing assistance loan under section 131 for
each of the 2000 and subsequent crop years shall be not
less than—
‘‘(A) $2.24 per bushel for grain sorghum;
and
‘‘(B) $1.46 per bushel for oats.’’.
(d) BARLEY.—Subsection (b) of such section is
amended—
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘, barley,’’;
and
(2) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(4) BARLEY.—For each of the 2000 and sub-
sequent crop years, the loan rate for a marketing as-
sistance loan under section 131 for barley shall be—
‘‘(A) not less than 85 percent of the simple
average price received by producers of malting
or feed barley, as determined by the Secretary,
during the marketing years for the immediately
preceding 5 crops of barley, excluding the year
in which the all barley average price was the
highest and the year in which the all barley av-
erage price was the lowest in the period; but
‘‘(B) not less than $2.43 per bushel.’’.
(e) UPLAND COTTON.—Subsection (c)(2) of such sec-
tion is amended by striking ‘‘$0.50 per pound or more
than $0.5192 per pound’’ and inserting ‘‘$0.61 per pound
for each of the 2000 and subsequent crop years’’.
(f) EXTRA
LONG
STAPLE
COTTON.—Subsection
(d)(2) of such section is amended by striking ‘‘not more
than $0.7965 per pound’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than
$0.887 per pound for each of the 2000 and subsequent
crop years.
(g) RICE.—Subsection (e) of such section is amended
by striking ‘‘$6.50 per hundredweight’’ and inserting
‘‘$8.25 per hundredweight for each of the 2000 and subse-
quent crop years’’.
(h) SOYBEANS.—Subsection (f)(1)(B) of such section
is amended by striking ‘‘$4.92 or more than $5.26 per
bushel’’ and inserting ‘‘$5.50 per bushel for each of the
2000 and subsequent crop years’’.
(i) OTHER OIL SEEDS.—Subsection (f)(2)(B) of such
section is amended by striking ‘‘$0.087 or more than
$0.093 per pound’’ and inserting ‘‘$0.0972 per pound for
each of the 2000 and subsequent crop years’’.
SEC. 4. INCREASE IN DURATION OF MARKETING ASSIST-
ANCE LOANS.
Section 133 of the Agriculture Market Transition Act
(7 U.S.C. 7233) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 133. TERM OF LOANS.
‘‘(a) TERM OF LOAN.—In the case of each loan com-
modity, a marketing assistance loan under section 131
shall have a term of 20 months beginning on the first day
of the first month after the month in which the loan is
made.
‘‘(b) EXTENSIONS
AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary
may extend the term of a marketing assistance loan for
any loan commodity.’’.
SEC. 5. LIMITATIONS ON MARKETING LOAN GAINS AND
LOAN DEFICIENCY PAYMENTS.
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW LIMITATIONS.—Sec-
tion 1001(2) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C.
1308(2)) is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘The total
amount’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘$75,000’’ and inserting
‘‘$100,000’’; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new sub-
paragraphs:
‘‘(B) In addition to the limitation in subpara-
graph (A), if the value of all contract commodities
and oilseeds for which a person obtains nonrecourse
marketing loans under the Agricultural Market
Transition Act during any crop year, plus the value
of nonrecourse marketing loans forgone by the per-
son in return for loan deficiency payments during
that crop year, is more than $400,000, but less than
or equal to $600,000, the Secretary shall reduce—
‘‘(i) the amount of any payments specified
in paragraph (3) corresponding to the value in
excess of $400,000, but less than or equal to
$500,000, by 10 percent; and
‘‘(ii) the amount of any payments specified
in paragraph (3) corresponding to the value in
excess of $500,000, but less than or equal to
$600,000, by 20 percent.
‘‘(C) Subject to subparagraph (A), the total
value of all contract commodities and oilseeds for
which a person may obtain nonrecourse marketing
loans under the Agricultural Market Transition Act
during any crop year or forgo such loans in return
for loan deficiency payments during that crop year,
or both, may not exceed $600,000.
‘‘(D) In this paragraph, the term ‘value’ means
the total amount obtained by multiplying—
‘‘(i) the quantity of each contract com-
modity and oilseed for which a person obtains
a nonrecourse marketing loan or forgoes such a
loan in return for loan deficiency payments; by
‘‘(ii) the loan rate applicable to the com-
modity under section 132 of the Agricultural
Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7232).’’.
(b) AVAILABILITY OF RECOURSE LOANS FOR ADDI-
TIONAL PRODUCTION.—Section 137 of the Agricultural
Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7237) is amended by
adding at the end the following new subsection:
‘‘(e) RECOURSE LOANS FOR LOAN COMMODITIES.—
The Secretary shall make available recourse loans, as de-
termined by the Secretary, to a producer of loan commod-
ities who is prevented by section 1001(2) of the Food Se-
curity Act of 1985 from obtaining nonrecourse marketing
loans under this subtitle during any crop year or forgoing
nonrecourse marketing loans in return for loan deficiency
payments.’’.
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