Title: A bill to amend the Agricultural Act of 2014 to improve the supplemental agricultural disaster assistance programs, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
This bill amends the Agricultural Act of 2014 to modify two Department of Agriculture (USDA) disaster assistance programs: (1) the Livestock Forage Program (LFP), and (2) the Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP).
(The LFP makes payments to eligible livestock producers who have suffered certain grazing losses due to a drought or a fire. The LIP provides payments to eligible livestock producers on farms that incurred livestock deaths in excess of the normal mortality due to adverse weather or attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government or protected by federal law.)
The bill modifies the LIP to specify that livestock death losses due to disease in livestock that has been exacerbated by adverse weather are eligible for payments if a licensed veterinarian verifies that the adverse weather created conditions contributing to the livestock death. USDA must determine eligibility for the payments without regard to any management practice, vaccine protocol, or lack of vaccination by the producer relating to the disease.
With respect to the LFP, the bill modifies the payment schedule to: (1) allow a one-month payment when a county reaches the severe drought category for four consecutive weeks (eight weeks under current law), and (2) allow an additional monthly payment when the county reaches eight weeks in the severe drought category.
The bill also amends the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to revise the rules regarding the eligibility of national grasslands for grazing leases and permits.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1479 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1479

   To amend the Agricultural Act of 2014 to improve the supplemental 
   agricultural disaster assistance programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 29, 2017

   Mr. Thune introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Agricultural Act of 2014 to improve the supplemental 
   agricultural disaster assistance programs, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SUPPLEMENTAL AGRICULTURAL DISASTER ASSISTANCE.

    (a) In General.--Section 1501 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 
U.S.C. 9081) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (b)(1)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 
                striking ``2012'' and inserting ``2019'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``or'' at the 
                end;
                    (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; or''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) disease in livestock that has been 
                exacerbated by adverse weather described in 
                subparagraph (B)--
                            ``(i) subject to the condition that a 
                        licensed veterinarian shall verify that the 
                        adverse weather created conditions contributing 
                        to the livestock death; and
                            ``(ii) without regard to any management 
                        practice, vaccination protocol, or lack of 
                        vaccination by the producer relating to the 
                        disease.'';
            (2) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding 
                subparagraph (A), by striking ``2012'' and inserting 
                ``2019''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (3)(D)(ii)(I)--
                            (i) by striking ``at least 8 consecutive'' 
                        and inserting the following: ``not less than--
                                            ``(aa) 4 consecutive weeks 
                                        during the normal grazing 
                                        period for the county, as 
                                        determined by the Secretary, 
                                        shall be eligible to receive 
                                        assistance under this paragraph 
                                        in an amount equal to 1 monthly 
                                        payment using the monthly 
                                        payment rate determined under 
                                        subparagraph (B); or
                                            ``(bb) 8 consecutive''; and
                            (ii) in item (bb) (as so designated), by 
                        striking ``1 monthly payment'' and inserting 
                        ``2 monthly payments''; and
            (3) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ``2012'' and 
        inserting ``2019''.
    (b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section take 
effect on October 1, 2018.

SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY OF NATIONAL GRASSLANDS FOR GRAZING LEASES AND 
              PERMITS.

    Section 402(a) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976 (43 U.S.C. 1752(a)) is amended by striking ``lands within National 
Forests'' and inserting ``National Forest System (as defined in section 
11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 
1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)) land''.
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