Natural Disaster Relief Act

Bill: 109-hr-5363
Sponsor: Rep. Lucas, Frank D. [R-OK-3]
Introduced: 2006-05-11 in the House
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Administrative fees
Administrative remedies
Agricultural conservation
Alabama
Animals
Anthrax
Checks
Commerce
Crop insurance
Dairy industry
Department of Agriculture
Disaster relief
Disasters
Economics and Public Finance
Electronic funds transfers
Emergency Management
Environmental Protection
Federal budgets
Federal employees
Finance and Financial Sector
Fires
Floods
Florida
Fruit
Government Operations and Politics
Government paperwork
Hawaii
Horticulture
Hurricane aftermath legislation
Hurricanes
Law
Livestock
Losses
Louisiana
Mississippi
Nuts
Off-budget expenditures
Oilseeds
Poultry
Public Lands and Natural Resources
Recruiting of employees
Refuse and refuse disposal
Saline waters
Science, Technology, Communications
Soil conservation
Soil erosion
Storms
Sugar
Texas
Trees
Water Resources Development
Watersheds
Wetlands

Summary:
action_date: 2006-05-11
text: 
Natural Disaster Relief Act - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to provide emergency financial assistance to eligible agricultural producers (other than sugar cane and sugar beet producers) who have incurred qualifying: (1) 2005 crop losses due to weather or related conditions (including crop disease, insects, and delayed harvest); and (2) 2006 crop losses due to weather or related conditions (including crop disease, insects, and delayed harvest) with respect to which a natural disaster declaration has been made. Requires a producer who suffered qualifying losses to elect assistance for one but not both years.
 
 Directs the Secretary to provide: (1) payments through the 2002 livestock compensation program for livestock disaster losses during calendar years 2005 and 2006 for losses that occurred prior to of enactment of this Act (including wildfire disaster losses in Texas and other states); (2) livestock indemnity payments to producers who have incurred 2005 and 2006 livestock disaster losses prior to enactment of this Act (including wildfire disaster losses in Texas and other states), including losses due to hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and anthrax. Requires a livestock producer who suffered qualifying losses to elect assistance for one but not both years.
 
Directs the Secretary to provide indemnity payments to poultry producers in hurricane-affected counties.
 
Directs the Secretary to provide: (1) sugarcane and sugar beet disaster assistance for qualifying producers and first processors in Louisiana counties designated as disaster areas due to Hurricanes Katrina or Rita, or related conditions, or to qualifying producers and first processors in Florida for 2005 losses due to hurricanes, floods, rain, or storms; (2) assistance to sugarcane growers in Texas (for additional Baton Rouge demurrage costs and raw sugar transportation and storage costs) and Hawaii (for an agricultural transportation cooperative); (3) assistance to specialty and nursery crop producers in hurricane-affected counties; (4) assistance to tree producers (including Christmas, potted, ornamental, and nursery trees, shrubs, and vines), and fruit and nut tree producers in hurricane-affected counties; (5) assistance to dairy producers for production and spoilage losses in hurricane-affected counties; (6) assistance to producers and first handlers of cottonseed; (7) emergency watershed protection and emergency conservation program activities; and (8) assistance for additional conservation-related technical assistance in each state that has a disaster or hurricane-affected county. 
 
Authorizes the Secretary to provide financial and technical assistance to remove debris and animal carcasses that could adversely affect health and safety on non-federal land in hurricane-affected counties. 
 
Directs the Secretary to hire additional state and county Farm Service Agency personnel to assist in agricultural disaster and economic assistance programs.
 Defines &quot;hurricane-affected county&quot; as: (1) a county covered by a natural disaster designation related to Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, or Wilma, or related condition; and (2) a contiguous county.

Legislative actions:
action_date: 2006-05-11
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2006-05-11
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2006-05-11
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2006-05-11
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2006-05-11
text: Introduced in House