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107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 480
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to make emergency loans under
the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act and to provide emer-
gency assistance to greenhouse farming operations whose energy costs
have escalated sharply.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 6, 2001
Mr. SHOWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Agriculture
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to make emergency
loans under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop-
ment Act and to provide emergency assistance to green-
house farming operations whose energy costs have esca-
lated sharply.
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 ‘‘Greenhouse Farming
Emergency Energy Assistance Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that—
(1) sudden and dramatic increases in energy
prices have caused an economic disaster for green-
house farming operations; and
(2) such an economic disaster is as devastating
to a community as a natural disaster and should be
regarded as such.
SEC. 3. EMERGENCY LOANS FOR GREENHOUSE FARMING
OPERATIONS WHOSE ENERGY COSTS HAVE
ESCALATED SHARPLY.
A qualified energy price increase found by the Sec-
retary of Agriculture to have been experienced by a green-
house farming operation shall be considered a natural dis-
aster for purposes of subtitle C of the Consolidated Farm
and Rural Development Act, but only with respect to such
an operation.
SEC. 4. IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOR GREEN-
HOUSE FARMING OPERATIONS WHOSE EN-
ERGY COSTS HAVE ESCALATED SHARPLY.
(a) AVAILABILITY OF ASSISTANCE.—As soon as prac-
ticable after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of Agriculture shall provide financial assistance
directly to greenhouse farming operations that the Sec-
retary finds had a qualified energy price increase to assist
the operations in covering all or a portion of the higher
operating costs incurred as a result of the increase in en-
ergy prices.
(b) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.—The eligibility of a
greenhouse farming operation for assistance under this
section does not require either the existence of a natural
disaster in the county in which the greenhouse farming
operation is located or an emergency designation by the
President or the Secretary.
(c) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall use funds made
available under section 815 of the Agriculture, Rural De-
velopment, Food and Drug Administration, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (as enacted by Public
Law 106–387; 114 Stat. 1549A–55), to provide assistance
to greenhouse farming operations under this section.
SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) GREENHOUSE FARMING OPERATION.—The
term ‘‘greenhouse farming operation’’ means a farm-
ing operation that produces nursery or other horti-
cultural commodities in a greenhouse or similar en-
closed structure for commercial purposes.
(2) QUALIFIED ENERGY PRICE INCREASE.—The
term ‘‘qualified energy price increase’’ means, with
respect to a greenhouse farming operation, that the
average price paid for energy supplies for the oper-
ation during the period that began on January 1,
2000, and ended on the date of the enactment of
this Act is at least 25 percent greater than the aver-
age price paid for energy supplies for the operation
during the period that began on January 1, 1997,
and ended on December 31, 1999.
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