On Thursday, July 11, 2013, the House will consider H.R. 2642, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, under a closed rule.  H.R. 2642 was introduced on July 10, 2013 by Representative Frank Lucas (R-OK), Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture.

H.R. 2642 accomplishes the following:

• Eliminates direct  payments
• Cuts traditional farm policy by almost $23 billion. Cuts include repealing direct payments, counter cyclical payments, the average crop revenue election program (ACRE), and the supplemental revenue assistance payments (SURE).
• Limits producers to a risk management option that offers protection only when they suffer significant losses.
• Improves the crop insurance program, a successful public/private partnership that ensures farmers have stake in partnership
• Repeals the outdated and unworkable 1949 permanent law and replaces it with the cost- effective and market-oriented 2013 farm bill
• Eliminates duplicative permitting requirements for pesticides
• Prohibits EPA from implementing the unjustified and unscientific biological opinions of the National Marine Fisheries Service until there is an unbiased, scientific peer review of those opinions
• Requires regulatory agencies across the government to use scientifically sound information in moving forward with their regulatory initiatives
• Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to advocate on behalf of farmers and ranchers as other agencies move forward with regulations affecting food and fiber
• Eliminates duplicative reporting requirements for seed importers
• Addresses concerns of farmers and ranchers with regard to access to essential crop protection tools
• Reauthorizes and strengthens livestock disaster assistance

Fully funds specialty crop industry priorities, such as specialty crop block grants

As with H.R. 1947, H.R. 2642 is the result of more than three years of debate and discussion, including 46 hearings and a two year audit of every farm program. H.R. 2642 includes 11 of the 12 titles of H.R. 1947, as amended, saving approximately $20 billion, including $6 billion in sequestration.  The bill repeals or consolidates more than 100 programs administered by the United States Department of Agriculture, including direct payments. Like H.R. 1947, H.R. 2642 eliminates and streamlines duplicative and overlapping conservation programs. Finally, H.R. 2642 repeals the underlying 1949 permanent law and replaces it with current law. 

No CBO estimate is available at this time.

For questions or further information contact the GOP Conference at 5-5107.