110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 185
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide compensation
for certain livestock losses.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 4, 2007
Mrs. MUSGRAVE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide compensation
for certain livestock 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 `Livestock Assistance Act of 2007'.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
(A) IN GENERAL- The term `disaster county' means a county included in
the geographic area covered by a qualifying natural disaster declaration
for calendar year 2006 or 2007, or both, for which the request for the
declaration was submitted during the period beginning on January 1,
2006, and ending on the date of enactment of this Act.
(B) INCLUSION- The term `disaster county' includes a county contiguous
to a county described in subparagraph (A).
(2) QUALIFYING NATURAL DISASTER DECLARATION- The term `qualifying natural
disaster declaration' means--
(A) a natural disaster declared by the Secretary under section 321(a)
of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1961(a));
or
(B) a major disaster or emergency designated by the President under
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).
(3) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Agriculture.
SEC. 3. LIVESTOCK ASSISTANCE.
(a) Livestock Compensation Program-
(1) USE OF COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION FUNDS- Effective beginning on
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall use funds of the
Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out the 2002 Livestock Compensation
Program announced by the Secretary on October 10, 2002 (67 Fed. Reg. 63070),
to provide compensation for livestock losses due to blizzard and drought
in the States of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.
(2) ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS- In carrying out the program described in paragraph
(1), the Secretary shall provide assistance to any applicant that--
(A)(i) conducts a livestock operation that is located in a disaster
county, including any applicant conducting a livestock operation involving
eligible livestock (within the meaning of the livestock assistance program
under section 101(b) of division B of Public Law 108-324 (118 Stat.
1234)); or
(ii) produces an animal described in section 10806(a)(1) of the Farm
Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (21 U.S.C. 321d(a)(1)); and
(B) meets all other eligibility requirements established by the Secretary
for the program.
(3) MITIGATION- In determining the eligibility for or amount of payments
for which a producer is eligible under the livestock compensation program,
the Secretary shall not penalize a producer that takes actions (recognizing
disaster conditions) that reduce the average number of livestock the producer
owned for grazing during the production year for which assistance is being
provided.
(b) Livestock Indemnity Payments-
(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary shall use such sums as are necessary of
funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation to make livestock indemnity
payments to producers on farms that have incurred livestock losses during
calendar year 2006 or 2007, or both, due to a disaster, as determined
by the Secretary, including losses due to blizzard and drought.
(2) PAYMENT RATES- Indemnity payments to a producer on a farm under paragraph
(1) shall be made at a rate of not less than 30 percent of the market
value of the applicable livestock on the day before the date of death
of the livestock, as determined by the Secretary.
END
