To provide emergency livestock assistance and emergency crop loss assistance to agricultural producers who suffered 2001 or 2002 crop year losses.

January 27, 2003

Mrs. MUSGRAVE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

To provide emergency livestock assistance and emergency crop loss assistance to agricultural producers who suffered 2001 or 2002 crop year losses.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Emergency Farmer and Rancher Assistance Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

(a) FINDINGS- Congress finds the following:

(1) Under title I of the Food Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-171), the majority of projected commodity program spending depends on market prices for the major agricultural commodities.

(2) Changes in actual market prices for these commodities can significantly alter the costs incurred by the Commodity Credit Corporation to fund these commodity programs.

(3) According to a recent comparison of the July 2002 Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute baseline estimate and actual mid-July 2002 market prices, recent increases in market prices for certain agricultural commodities are projected to reduce commodity program costs for the 2002 crop year by more than $6,000,000,000.

(4) As a result of these commodity program cost savings, Commodity Credit Corporation funds are available to provide direct assistance to American farmers and ranchers who suffered 2001 or 2002 crop year losses due to natural disasters.

(5) Crop insurance is an important risk management tool that is available to American farmers and ranchers and should be fully utilized in order to limit financial exposure to weather-related crop losses.

(b) PURPOSE- It is the purpose of this Act to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to use unspent loan deficiency payment and counter-cyclical payment funds to provide emergency livestock assistance and emergency crop loss assistance to American farmers and ranchers who suffered 2001 or 2002 crop year losses due to natural disasters.

SEC. 3. LIVESTOCK ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.

(a) AVAILABILITY- Subject to section 5, the Secretary of Agriculture shall use the funds, facilities, and authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation to make and administer payments for livestock losses to producers for 2001 or 2002 losses in a county that has received an emergency designation by the President or the Secretary in calendar year 2001 or 2002. The Secretary may reserve for the American Indian Livestock Feed Program a portion of the funds available to carry out this section.

(b) ADMINISTRATION- The Secretary shall make assistance available under this section in the same manner as provided under section 806 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-387; 114 Stat. 1549A-51).

SEC. 4. CROP LOSS ASSISTANCE.

(a) AVAILABILITY- Subject to section 5, the Secretary of Agriculture shall use the funds, facilities, and authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation to make emergency financial assistance available to producers on a farm that have incurred qualifying crop losses for the 2001 or 2002 crop due to damaging weather or related condition, as determined by the Secretary.

(b) ADMINISTRATION- 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 Appropriations Act, 2001 (Public Law 106-387; 114 Stat. 1549A-55), including using the same loss thresholds for the quantity, quality, and economic losses as were used in administering that section.

SEC. 5. SOURCE OF FUNDING.

(a) ESTIMATION OF FARM PROGRAM SAVINGS- The Secretary of Agriculture shall estimate the savings to the Commodity Credit Corporation to be derived during the 2002 crop year as a result of the lower-than-anticipated costs of the marketing loan program and counter-cyclical payment program of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-171).

(b) USE OF SAVINGS- An amount of Commodity Credit Corporation funds equal to the savings estimated under subsection (a) shall be available to the Secretary to carry out sections 3 and 4.

END