I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3402
To establish permanent authority for the Secretary of Agriculture to quickly 
assist agricultural producers who incur crop losses as a result of dam-
aging weather or related condition in federally declared disaster areas, 
to provide emergency disaster assistance to agricultural producers for 
qualifying crop losses for the 2001, 2002, or 2003 crops, to continue 
the livestock assistance program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 29, 2003
Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota (for himself, Mr. JANKLOW, and Mr. MCINTYRE) 
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ag-
riculture 
A BILL 
To establish permanent authority for the Secretary of Agri-
culture to quickly assist agricultural producers who incur 
crop losses as a result of damaging weather or related 
condition in federally declared disaster areas, to provide 
emergency disaster assistance to agricultural producers 
for qualifying crop losses for the 2001, 2002, or 2003 
crops, to continue the livestock assistance program, 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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Permanent Emergency 
Agricultural Assistance Act’’. 
SEC. 2. CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR 2001, 2002, AND 
2003 CROP LOSSES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
make emergency financial assistance available to pro-
ducers on a farm who have incurred qualifying crop losses 
for the 2001, 2002, or 2003 crop, or any combination of 
those crops, due to damaging weather or related condition, 
as determined by the Secretary. 
(b) ADMINISTRATION.—Except as provided in sub-
section (c), the Secretary shall make assistance available 
under this section in the same manner as provided under 
section 815 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food 
and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appro-
priations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106–387; 114 Stat. 
1549A–55), including using the same loss thresholds for 
the quantity and quality losses as were used in admin-
istering that section. 
(c) PAYMENT RATES.—The Secretary shall make a 
disaster payment available to producers on a farm for a 
crop under this section at a rate equal to—
(1) 40 percent of the established price for the 
crop for any deficiency in production greater than
20 percent, but less than 35 percent, for the crop; 
and 
(2) 65 percent of the established price for the 
crop for any deficiency in production of 35 percent 
or more for the crop. 
(d) CROP INSURANCE.—In carrying out this section, 
the Secretary shall not discriminate against or penalize 
producers on a farm that have purchased crop insurance 
under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et 
seq.). 
(e) OTHER ASSISTANCE.—Subject to subsection (d), 
the amount of assistance that producers on a farm would 
otherwise receive under this section shall be reduced by 
the amount of assistance provided to the producers on the 
farm for crop losses described in subsection (a) under any 
other Federal law. 
SEC. 3. CROP DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR FUTURE CROP 
YEARS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
make emergency financial assistance available to pro-
ducers on a farm who incur qualifying crop losses for an 
insurable crop due to damaging weather or related condi-
tion, as determined by the Secretary, which results in the 
designation of the county in which the farm is located as 
a federally declared disaster area.
(b) ADMINISTRATION.—Except as provided in sub-
sections (c) and (d), the Secretary shall make assistance 
available under this section in the same manner as pro-
vided under section 815 of the Agriculture, Rural Develop-
ment, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agen-
cies Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106–387; 114 
Stat. 1549A–55), including using the same loss thresholds 
for the quantity and quality losses as were used in admin-
istering that section. 
(c) PAYMENT RATE.—Subject to subsection (e), the 
Secretary shall make assistance available to producers on 
a farm for a crop under this section at a rate equal to 
65 percent of the established price for the crop for any 
deficiency in production of 35 percent or more for the 
crop. 
(d) RECEIPT CONDITIONED ON HAVING CROP IN-
SURANCE.—The producers on a farm shall not be eligible 
for assistance under subsection (a) with respect to losses 
to a crop unless the producers obtained, before the losses 
were incurred, a policy or plan of insurance for the crop 
under the Federal Crop Insurance Act that provided a 
level of coverage equal to or greater than 60 percent. 
(e) PAYMENT LIMITATION.—
(1) LIMITATION.—Assistance provided under 
subsection (a) to a producer for losses to a crop, to-
gether with the amounts specified in paragraph (2) 
applicable to the same crop, may not exceed 95 per-
cent of what the value of the crop would have been 
in the absence of the losses, as estimated by the Sec-
retary. 
(2) OTHER PAYMENTS.—In applying the limita-
tion in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall include the 
following: 
(A) Crop insurance payments made under 
the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 
et seq.) that the producer receives for losses to 
the same crop. 
(B) The value of the crop that was not lost 
(if any), as estimated by the Secretary. 
(f) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘federally 
declared disaster area’’ is a county covered by a Presi-
dential declaration of major disaster issued under section 
301 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emer-
gency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170) or determined to 
be a disaster area by the Secretary under subpart A of 
part 1945 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations. The 
term does not include a contiguous county. 
(g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section applies to crop 
years after the 2003 crop year.
SEC. 4. LIVESTOCK ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
make and administer payments for livestock losses to pro-
ducers for 2001, 2002, or 2003, or any combination of 
those years, in a county that has received a corresponding 
emergency designation by the President or the Secretary, 
of which an amount determined by the Secretary shall be 
made available for the American Indian livestock program 
under section 806 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, 
Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Ap-
propriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106–387; 114 Stat. 
1549, 1549A–51). 
(b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall make as-
sistance available under this section in the same manner 
as provided under section 806 of the Agriculture, Rural 
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Re-
lated Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 
106–387; 114 Stat. 1549, 1549A–51). 
(c) OTHER ASSISTANCE.—The amount of assistance 
that a producer would otherwise receive under this section 
shall be reduced by the amount of assistance provided to 
the producer for losses described in subsection (a) under 
any other Federal law.
SEC. 7. REGULATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture may 
promulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry out 
this Act. 
(b) PROCEDURE.—The promulgation of the regula-
tions and administration of this Act shall be made without 
regard to—
(1) the notice and comment provisions of sec-
tion 553 of title 5, United States Code; 
(2) the Statement of Policy of the Secretary of 
Agriculture effective July 24, 1971 (36 Fed. Reg. 
13804), relating to notices of proposed rulemaking 
and public participation in rulemaking; and 
(3) chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code 
(commonly known as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction 
Act’’). 
(c) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW
OF AGENCY RULE-
MAKING.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall 
use the authority provided under section 808 of title 5, 
United States Code.
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