Signed by President Barack Obama II

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to adopt a conference report that amends the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, repeals direct payments to farmers, amends crop insurance programs, and amends dairy programs.

Highlights:

• Requires at least $20 in energy assistance payments per year in order for a household to qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, whereas existing law specifies that a household that receives any amount of home energy assistance is eligible for SNAP benefits (Sec. 4006).

• Prohibits a household in which an individual receives “substantial” lottery or gambling winnings from continuing to receive SNAP benefits (Sec. 4009).

• Limits the eligibility of a college student for SNAP benefits to an individual who participates in the following study programs or courses (Sec. 4007):
• Career or technical education; or
• Remedial courses, basic adult education or literacy; or
• English as a second language.

• Appropriates $190 million for fiscal year 2015 for up to 10 state pilot projects to develop and test methods to do the following (Sec. 4022):
• Increase the number of benefit recipients who obtain unsubsidized employment;
• Increase the earned income of benefit recipients; and
• Reduce the reliance of benefit recipients on public assistance.

• Authorizes a retail store that participates in SNAP to receive a grant if the store proposes a project that provides “incentives” at the point of purchase to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables by consumers who receive SNAP benefits (Sec. 4208).

• Requires a state to verify the income and immigration status of an individual who applies for SNAP benefits (Sec. 4015).

• Repeals direct payments and counter-cyclical payments for all crops and the Average Crop Revenue Election program (ACRE) to producers on farms of “covered commodities” (Secs. 1101-1103).

• Defines “covered commodities” as including, but not limited to, wheat, corn, barley, oats, upland cotton, rice, soybeans, and peanuts (Sec. 1111).

• Authorizes a farmer to purchase additional crop insurance coverage from the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation through the Supplemental Coverage Option beginning no later than the 2014 crop year based on the following (Sec. 11003):
• An individual or area yield and loss basis; or
• An individual yield and loss basis supplemented with coverage based on an area yield and loss basis to cover part of the deductible under the individual yield and loss insurance plan policy.

• Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make the following crop insurance payments for crop years 2014 through 2018 to a farm in which all producers have elected to receive coverage (Sec. 1115-1117):
• Price loss coverage payments if the effective price for the commodity for the crop year is less than the reference price for the commodity for the crop year; or
• Agricultural risk coverage payments if the revenue from the crop is less than the “agriculture risk coverage guarantee” for that crop.

• Specifies that “agriculture risk coverage guarantee” is 86 percent of an amount equal to the product of certain information including, but not limited to, average historical yields and average national market prices (Sec. 1117).

• Limits crop insurance payments to a producer of covered commodities to no more than $125,000 in a crop year (Sec. 1603).

• Requires a farmer to meet certain requirements in order to receive crop insurance payments including, but not limited to, the following (Sec. 1118):
• The farmer complies with applicable conservation requirements;
• The farmer complies with applicable wetland protection requirements; and
• The farmer control noxious weeds.

• Expands the Soil and Water Conservation Program to include tribal lands, whereas existing law includes only state land (Sec. 2508).

• Limits the amount of optional additional disaster assistance provided to producers of noninsured crops to no more than 65 percent of individual yields, whereas existing law did not specify a limit (Sec. 12305).

• Prohibits an individual or legal entity with an adjusted gross income of more than $900,000 from receiving certain federal benefits including, but not limited to, the following (Sec. 1605):
• Agricultural risk coverage and price loss coverage payments;
• Marketing loan gains or loan deficiency payments; or
• Noninsured Crop Assistance Program payments.

• Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to appropriate funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation to make livestock insurance payments to eligible livestock producers on farms that have incurred more than “normal” livestock deaths due to attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government or adverse weather (Sec. 1501).

• Requires the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture to reconcile the social security numbers of all individuals who receive payments under this act with the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration at least twice per year to determine if the individuals are alive (Sec. 1608).

• Extends from fiscal year 2012 to 2018 the requirement that the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture purchase at least $50 million per year of fresh fruits and vegetables for distribution to schools (Sec. 4201).

• Establishes a margin protection program that makes payments to participating dairy producers if the average actual dairy production margin for a consecutive 2 month period is less than the coverage level threshold selected by the participating dairy operation (Secs. 1403 & 1406).

• Repeals the Dairy Product Price Support Program, Dairy Export Incentive Program, Federal Milk Marketing Order Review Commission, and Milk Income Loss Contract Program (Secs. 1421-1423, & 1427).

• Establishes the Stacked Income Protection Plan for producers of upland cotton to provide coverage for revenue loss of between 10 and 30 percent of expected county revenue (Sec. 11017).

• Establishes a revenue crop insurance program for peanuts beginning in the 2015 crop year and specifies that the effective price for peanuts is equal to the Rotterdam price index as adjusted to reflect the stock price of peanuts in the United States (Sec. 11018).

• Authorizes economic adjustment assistance for domestic users of upland cotton of $0.03 per pound per month beginning August 1, 2013 (Sec. 1207).

• Establishes a competitiveness payment program for domestic users and exporters of extra-long staple cotton produced in the United States in the following circumstances through July 31, 2019 (Sec. 1208):
• The price of extra-long staple cotton produced in the United States is more than the world market price; and
• The lowest priced competing growth of extra-long staple cotton is less than 134 percent of the loan rate for extra-long staple cotton.

• Extends the requirement that the Secretary of Agriculture make loans available to sugar cane and sugar beet farmers at the following rates for the 2014 through 2018 crop years (Sec. 1301):
• $0.1875 per pound for raw sugar cane; and
• 128.5 percent of the loan rate per pound of raw sugar beets.

• Appropriates the greater of $15 million or 0.6 percent of the funds appropriated to the John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer Program each fiscal year 2014 through 2018 to assist certain countries in increasing farm production and farmer incomes (Sec. 3014).

• Appropriates $80 million for local and regional food aid procurement projects for international food crises for each fiscal year 2014 through 2018 (Sec. 3207).

• Repeals the Partnership for Nutrition Assistance Program between the United States Department of Agriculture and the Mexican Government (Sec. 4210).

• Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from enforcing a rule under the Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act until the Secretary publishes certain information in the Federal Register including, but not limited to, scientific and economic analyses of the proposed rule (Sec. 12311).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to adopt a conference report that amends the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, repeals direct payments to farmers, amends crop insurance programs, and amends dairy programs.

Highlights:

• Requires at least $20 in energy assistance payments per year in order for a household to qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, whereas existing law specifies that a household that receives any amount of home energy assistance is eligible for SNAP benefits (Sec. 4006).

• Prohibits a household in which an individual receives “substantial” lottery or gambling winnings from continuing to receive SNAP benefits (Sec. 4009).

• Limits the eligibility of a college student for SNAP benefits to an individual who participates in the following study programs or courses (Sec. 4007):
• Career or technical education; or
• Remedial courses, basic adult education or literacy; or
• English as a second language.

• Appropriates $190 million for fiscal year 2015 for up to 10 state pilot projects to develop and test methods to do the following (Sec. 4022):
• Increase the number of benefit recipients who obtain unsubsidized employment;
• Increase the earned income of benefit recipients; and
• Reduce the reliance of benefit recipients on public assistance.

• Authorizes a retail store that participates in SNAP to receive a grant if the store proposes a project that provides “incentives” at the point of purchase to increase the purchase of fruits and vegetables by consumers who receive SNAP benefits (Sec. 4208).

• Requires a state to verify the income and immigration status of an individual who applies for SNAP benefits (Sec. 4015).

• Repeals direct payments and counter-cyclical payments for all crops and the Average Crop Revenue Election program (ACRE) to producers on farms of “covered commodities” (Secs. 1101-1103).

• Defines “covered commodities” as including, but not limited to, wheat, corn, barley, oats, upland cotton, rice, soybeans, and peanuts (Sec. 1111).

• Authorizes a farmer to purchase additional crop insurance coverage from the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation through the Supplemental Coverage Option beginning no later than the 2014 crop year based on the following (Sec. 11003):
• An individual or area yield and loss basis; or
• An individual yield and loss basis supplemented with coverage based on an area yield and loss basis to cover part of the deductible under the individual yield and loss insurance plan policy.

• Authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to make the following crop insurance payments for crop years 2014 through 2018 to a farm in which all producers have elected to receive coverage (Sec. 1115-1117):
• Price loss coverage payments if the effective price for the commodity for the crop year is less than the reference price for the commodity for the crop year; or
• Agricultural risk coverage payments if the revenue from the crop is less than the “agriculture risk coverage guarantee” for that crop.

• Specifies that “agriculture risk coverage guarantee” is 86 percent of an amount equal to the product of certain information including, but not limited to, average historical yields and average national market prices (Sec. 1117).

• Limits crop insurance payments to a producer of covered commodities to no more than $125,000 in a crop year (Sec. 1603).

• Requires a farmer to meet certain requirements in order to receive crop insurance payments including, but not limited to, the following (Sec. 1118):
• The farmer complies with applicable conservation requirements;
• The farmer complies with applicable wetland protection requirements; and
• The farmer control noxious weeds.

• Expands the Soil and Water Conservation Program to include tribal lands, whereas existing law includes only state land (Sec. 2508).

• Limits the amount of optional additional disaster assistance provided to producers of noninsured crops to no more than 65 percent of individual yields, whereas existing law did not specify a limit (Sec. 12305).

• Prohibits an individual or legal entity with an adjusted gross income of more than $900,000 from receiving certain federal benefits including, but not limited to, the following (Sec. 1605):
• Agricultural risk coverage and price loss coverage payments;
• Marketing loan gains or loan deficiency payments; or
• Noninsured Crop Assistance Program payments.

• Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to appropriate funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation to make livestock insurance payments to eligible livestock producers on farms that have incurred more than “normal” livestock deaths due to attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government or adverse weather (Sec. 1501).

• Requires the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture to reconcile the social security numbers of all individuals who receive payments under this act with the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration at least twice per year to determine if the individuals are alive (Sec. 1608).

• Extends from fiscal year 2012 to 2018 the requirement that the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture purchase at least $50 million per year of fresh fruits and vegetables for distribution to schools (Sec. 4201).

• Establishes a margin protection program that makes payments to participating dairy producers if the average actual dairy production margin for a consecutive 2 month period is less than the coverage level threshold selected by the participating dairy operation (Secs. 1403 & 1406).

• Repeals the Dairy Product Price Support Program, Dairy Export Incentive Program, Federal Milk Marketing Order Review Commission, and Milk Income Loss Contract Program (Secs. 1421-1423, & 1427).

• Establishes the Stacked Income Protection Plan for producers of upland cotton to provide coverage for revenue loss of between 10 and 30 percent of expected county revenue (Sec. 11017).

• Establishes a revenue crop insurance program for peanuts beginning in the 2015 crop year and specifies that the effective price for peanuts is equal to the Rotterdam price index as adjusted to reflect the stock price of peanuts in the United States (Sec. 11018).

• Authorizes economic adjustment assistance for domestic users of upland cotton of $0.03 per pound per month beginning August 1, 2013 (Sec. 1207).

• Establishes a competitiveness payment program for domestic users and exporters of extra-long staple cotton produced in the United States in the following circumstances through July 31, 2019 (Sec. 1208):
• The price of extra-long staple cotton produced in the United States is more than the world market price; and
• The lowest priced competing growth of extra-long staple cotton is less than 134 percent of the loan rate for extra-long staple cotton.

• Extends the requirement that the Secretary of Agriculture make loans available to sugar cane and sugar beet farmers at the following rates for the 2014 through 2018 crop years (Sec. 1301):
• $0.1875 per pound for raw sugar cane; and
• 128.5 percent of the loan rate per pound of raw sugar beets.

• Appropriates the greater of $15 million or 0.6 percent of the funds appropriated to the John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer Program each fiscal year 2014 through 2018 to assist certain countries in increasing farm production and farmer incomes (Sec. 3014).

• Appropriates $80 million for local and regional food aid procurement projects for international food crises for each fiscal year 2014 through 2018 (Sec. 3207).

• Repeals the Partnership for Nutrition Assistance Program between the United States Department of Agriculture and the Mexican Government (Sec. 4210).

• Prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from enforcing a rule under the Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act until the Secretary publishes certain information in the Federal Register including, but not limited to, scientific and economic analyses of the proposed rule (Sec. 12311).

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that repeals direct payments to farmers, repeals permanent price support levels, and amends crop insurance and dairy programs.

Highlights:

• Repeals direct payments, counter-cyclical payments, and the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program for producers on farms of the “covered commodities” of wheat, corn, grain sorghum, barley, oats, upland cotton, long and medium grain rice, soybeans, “other” oilseeds, and peanuts (Secs. 1101-1104).

• Requires a farmer to make “significant contribution” to his or her farming operation with personal labor, capital, equipment, and land in order to receive direct payments, counter-cyclical payments, and ACRE program payments, whereas existing law authorizes the farmer to also receive payments for active personal management (Sec. 1603A).

• Requires the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture to make price loss coverage payments to producers on farms for a covered commodity when the effective price for the commodity for the crop year is less than the reference price for the commodity for the 2014 crop year and each crop year after (Sec. 1107).

• Requires the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture to make a one-time revenue loss coverage payment to producers on farms for a covered commodity when the actual county revenue for the crop year for the covered commodity is less than the county revenue loss coverage “trigger” for the crop year for the covered commodity (Sec. 1107).

• Repeals the permanent price support for certain commodities authority provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 and the Agricultural Act of 1949 (Sec. 1602).

• Requires farmers for the 2014 crop year and each crop year thereafter to maintain “sound agricultural practices” by meeting the following requirements prior to receiving price and revenue loss coverage payments (Sec. 1108):
• Comply with applicable conservation requirements;
• Comply with applicable “wetland protection” requirements; and
• Control “noxious weeds”.

• Authorizes farmers to purchase additional crop insurance coverage from the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation through the Supplemental Coverage Option based on the following, beginning no later than the 2014 crop year (Sec. 10003):
• An individual or area yield and loss basis;
• An individual yield and loss basis supplemented with coverage based on an area yield and loss basis to cover part of the deductible under the individual yield and loss insurance plan policy; or
• A margin basis alone or in combination with coverage based on individual or area yields and losses.

• Limits the amount of optional additional disaster assistance provided to producers of noninsured crops to no more than 65 percent of individual yields, whereas existing law did not specify a limit (Sec. 11306).

• Prohibits an individual or legal entity with an adjusted gross income exceeding $950,000 from receiving any of the following federal benefits (Sec. 1604):
• Price and revenue loss coverage payments;
• Marketing loan gains or loan deficiency payments;
• Disaster assistance; or
• Payments made through the Noninsured Crop Assistance Program.

• Requires the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture to appropriate funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation to make livestock insurance payments to eligible livestock producers on farms that have incurred livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality due to certain conditions including, but not limited to, adverse weather (Sec. 1501).

• Repeals the Catfish Inspection Program (Sec. 11107).

• Requires the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture to reconcile the social security numbers of all individuals who receive payments under this act with the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration at least twice a year to determine if the individuals are still living (Sec. 1607).

• Requires the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture to establish the Dairy Producer Margin Insurance Program which makes margin insurance payments to participating dairy producers whenever the average actual dairy producer margin for a consecutive 2 month period is less than the coverage level threshold selected by the dairy producer (Sec. 1401).

• Repeals the Dairy Product Price Support Program, the Milk Income Loss Contract Program, the Dairy Export Incentive Program, and the Federal Milk Marketing Order Review Commission (Secs. 1411, 1412 & 1416).

• Establishes new crop insurance protection plans for producers of upland cotton and peanuts (Secs. 10016 & 10017).

• Establishes economic adjustment assistance at a rate of $.03 per pound for domestic users of upland cotton (Sec. 1207).

• Establishes a competitiveness payment program for domestic users and exporters of extra-long staple cotton produced in the United States whenever the following occurs (Sec. 1208):
• The price of extra-long staple cotton produced in the United States exceeds the world market price; and 
• The lowest priced competing growth of extra-long staple cotton is less than 134 percent of the loan rate for extra-long staple cotton.

• Extends the requirement that the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture make loans available to sugar cane and sugar beet farmers at the following rates (Sec. 1301):
• 18.75 cents per pound for raw sugar cane; and
• 128.5 percent of the loan rate per pound for raw sugar cane.

• Increases the minimum amount that may be used to assist certain countries in increasing farm production and farmer incomes to an amount not less than the greater of $15 million or 0.5 percent of the funds appropriated to the John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer Program for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018 (Sec. 3014).

• Prohibits the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services from enforcing any regulations under the Food and Drug Administration Food Safety Modernization Act until the Secretary publishes certain information in the Federal Register including, but not limited to, scientific and economic analysis of the proposed rule (Sec. 11321).

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text