Floor Situation

On Tuesday, June 18, 2013, the House will begin consideration of H.R. 1947, the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013, under a rule. H.R. 1947 was introduced on May 13, 2013 by Representative Frank Lucas (R-OK), Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, and has one cosponsor. H.R. 1947 was marked up by the House Committee on Agriculture on May 15, 2013 and ordered reported by a vote of 36-10.^[1] The bill had a sequential referral to both the House Committees on Judiciary and Foreign Affairs.  The Committee on Judiciary voice voted H.R. 1947 on June 6, 2013 and the Committee on Foreign Affairs discharged the bill on June 10, 2013.

Bill Summary

According to the Committee Report, H.R. 1947 accomplishes the following:

• Repeals the Direct Payment program beginning with the 2014 crop year.
• Repeals the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program beginning with the 2014 crop year.
• Repeals the Counter-Cyclical Payment (CCP) program beginning with the 2014 crop year.
• Provides producers with a one-time choice between participating in Price Loss Coverage (PLC) or Revenue Loss Coverage (RLC). The choice is made on a farm-by-farm and crop-by-crop basis. Both options utilize the reference prices given below.

REFERENCE PRICES

-------------------------------------------------------

Reference price Units Current law H.R. 1947 as amended

-------------------------------------------------------

Wheat              Bu        4.17                 5.50

Rice              Cwt       10.50                14.00

Corn               Bu        2.63                 3.70

Oats               Bu        1.79                 2.40

Barley 1           Bu        2.63                 4.95

Sorghum            Bu        2.63                 3.95

Cotton             Lb      0.7125                  n/a

Peanuts           Ton         495                  535

Soybeans           Bu        6.00                 8.40

Other Oilseeds    Cwt       12.68                20.15

Dry Peas          Cwt        8.32                11.00

Lentils           Cwt       12.81                19.97

Small Chickpeas   Cwt       10.36                19.04

Large Chickpeas   Cwt       12.81                21.54

-------------------------------------------------------

• USDA is directed to use the all-barley price for making Price Loss Coverage and Revenue Loss Coverage payments for barley.
• Cotton is ineligible for PLC and RLC and instead is offered an area-based crop insurance product to resolve the World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute with Brazil.
• Reauthorizes nonrecourse loans for loan commodities for the 2014 to 2018 crops years at loan rates established in current law. Adjustments are made to the cotton marketing loan rate to resolve the WTO dispute with Brazil.
• Eliminates the separate farm and non-farm adjusted gross income limits. Individuals with a 3-year average adjusted gross income greater than $950,000 are ineligible for commodity and conservation program benefits.
• Individuals and entities may only receive up to a combined total of $125,000 from both PLC and RLC payments.
• Reauthorizes the sugar policy established in current law.
• Reauthorizes and improves the Livestock Indemnity Program, the Livestock Forage Disaster Program, Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees and Farm-Raised Fish, and the Tree Assistance Program.
• Establishes a voluntary risk management safety net for producers; the Dairy Producer Margin Protection and Dairy Market Stabilization Programs. Dairy producers have the option to sign up for basic margin protection, developed to aid in better risk management practices when milk prices and feed prices converge. Producers signing up for the margin protection program would be subject to the Dairy Market Stabilization Program. Among the risk management tools authorized are a new program that will provide a basic level of protection for up to 80 percent of production history when margins fall below $4.00 for a consecutive two month period.
• Repeals Dairy Product Price Support Program, the Milk Income Loss Contract Program, the Dairy Export Incentive Program, and the Federal Milk Marketing Order Review Commission.
• Extends Dairy Forward Pricing Program, Dairy Indemnity Program, and Dairy Promotion and Research Program.

TITLE II--CONSERVATION

• Provides farmers, ranchers, foresters and landowners with voluntary, incentive-based financial and technical assistance for conservation practices.
• Consolidates 23 programs into 13, while increasing flexibility and program efficiency.
• Amends the Conservation Reserve Program to improve and focus acres on the most environmentally sensitive lands. Enrollment is incrementally scaled back to 24 million acres by 2017. Flexibility for haying and grazing is included, in addition to two million acres reserved for grassland contracts. While transitioning acres, expiring contracts are given priority consideration for working lands and grasslands contracts and Conservation Stewardship Program contracts. The Transition Incentives Program (TIP) will continue.
• The Conservation Stewardship Program allows for producers to adopt new conservation practices while maintaining and protecting existing improvements made on natural resources. Enrollment is 8.695 million acres per year.
• Reauthorizes and amends the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to include functions of the past Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP), providing similar wildlife incentives. Also, EQIP provides cost share incentives to producers to meet or avoid the need for national, state, or local regulation. The Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) subprogram will continue.
• Reauthorizes the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program.
• Establishes the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) by the consolidation of four programs, including all of their major functions in order to leverage program dollars to increase effectiveness. RCPP allows for USDA and outside partners to work directly with producers to address natural resource concerns. This is a competitive program that USDA will select based on the merit of the targeted regions application. The Secretary may designate Critical Conservation Areas that are under significant regulatory pressure.
• Creates the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) in order to consolidate all easement programs to increase flexibility for the administration. ACEP allows for different lands to be enrolled into working grassland or farmland aspect or the wetland easement portion to enhance water quality and wildlife habitat.

TITLE III--TRADE

• Amends The Food for Peace Act to emphasize building resiliency through development programs.
• Reduces the maximum allowable cash assistance for administrative costs in food aid from 13 percent to 11 percent.
• Directs USDA and USAID to consult on improving food aid quality and to work together to deploy new formulations, and reauthorizes $1 million from the Food for Peace Act for these purposes.
• Updates reporting requirements and extends funding for monitoring and enforcement of programs.
• Amends The Food for Peace Act by reducing the authorization for appropriations from $2.5 to $2 billion per year and sets a minimum level of development programming at $400 million per year. Directs USDA and USAID to collect information on the benefits of monetization in local economies.
• Amends The Food for Peace Act by increasing funding for prepositioning from $10 to $15 million per year. Reauthorizes $8 million for shelf-stable, prepackaged foods, and extends authorization for the micronutrient fortification program.
• Reauthorizes the Market Access Program to provide assistance on a cost-share basis, targeting small businesses, farmer cooperatives, and non-profit trade organizations.
• Extends the Foreign Market Development, Emerging Markets, and the GSM-102 programs through 2018.
• Reauthorizes the John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer program and increases the minimum level of funding from $10 to $15 million per year to provide technical assistance for agricultural improvements in developing countries.
• Extends the Food for Progress Act through 2018 with repeal of completed project in Malawi.
• Extends Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops (TASC) through 2018 and clarifies that technical barriers to trade can be addressed through the program.
• To assist in the conservation of genetic diversity in food crops through the collection and storage of the germplasm of food crops the Global Crop Diversity Trust is extended through 2018 at a contribution level of $50 million.
• Allows for the establishment of an Under Secretary of Agriculture for Foreign Agricultural Services, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, to address trade challenges and export opportunities for agriculture.

TITLE IV--NUTRITION

• Reforms the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), saving more than $20 billion over 10 years.
• Reinstitutes the asset and income test in SNAP law by limiting categorical program eligibility to only those households receiving cash assistance from other low-income programs.
• Closes a loophole related to Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) payments that increases SNAP benefits.
• Eliminates state performance bonuses.
• Prevents USDA and states from advertising or promoting SNAP.
• Cracks down on waste, fraud and abuse by ending SNAP benefits for lottery winners and traditional college students, demanding outcomes from the SNAP Employment and Training program, and increasing oversight of SNAP programs for the homeless, elderly, and disabled.
• Funds a pilot work training program to reduce government dependency and increase work effort.
• Provides the Secretary with more resources to prevent trafficking of SNAP benefits and provides for a pilot program to authorize states to increase retail fraud investigations.
• Requires states to use an electronic immigration status verification system to verify an applicant's immigration status.
• Improves the quality of SNAP-approved retail stores.
• Increases assistance for food banks by providing an additional $20 million per year for The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP).
• Increases support for Community Food Projects and designates funding for projects that provide incentives for low-income individuals to purchase more fruits and vegetables.

TITLE V--CREDIT

• Amends Farm Ownership Loans by including `other legal entities' to the list of eligible borrowers, and provides clarification to Secretary for individuals meeting the 3-year farming or ranching experience requirement.
• Amends Conservation Loan and Loan Guarantee Program by raising loan guarantee amount from 75 to 90 percent.
• Amends Maximum Loan Value for Down Payment Loan Program from 45 percent of $500,000 to 45 percent of $667,000.
• Repeals mineral rights appraisals requirement for real estate loans.
• Amends Personal Liability for Youth Loans, on a case by case basis, to enable youth to obtain student loans and grants for higher education.
• Amends Emergency Loans by adding `or other such legal entities as the Secretary deems appropriate' to the list of approved borrowers.
• Extends the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Accounts Pilot Program through 2018.
• Amends Direct Farm Operating Loans to grant FSA authority to provide young, beginning, veteran and urban farmers and ranchers smaller microloans up to $35,000.
• Amends Priority for Joint Financing Participation Loans and Down Payment Loans within Direct Farm Ownership Loans maximizing number of borrowers served for a given level of appropriations.
• Amends median farm size limitation by replacing `median' with `average' allowing more otherwise qualified applicants to receive beginning farmer ownership loans.
• Extends Secretary's ability to make loans under each subtitle through 2018.
• Extends Loan Fund Set-Asides through 2018.
• Repeals `rural residents' requirement allowing all youth the opportunity to receive a Youth Operating Loan.
• Extends the State Agricultural Mediation Programs through 2018, allowing agriculture and USDA-related disputes to be resolved.
• Amends Loans to Purchasers of Highly Fractionated Land to meet the needs of Indian tribes and tribal members.

TITLE VI--RURAL DEVELOPMENT

• Thirteen programs are eliminated and funding levels are reduced by more than $1.5 billion over 5 years, a 50% reduction in authorizations. In addition, $100 million in mandatory money is not reauthorized.
• Requires the Secretary to track the success of investments through grants and loans in order to improve rural development programs. Also requires the Secretary to develop simplified application forms to reduce administrative burdens and to make programs more accessible to small, rural communities.
• Reauthorizes programs to assist rural communities in addressing critical water and wastewater needs through loans and grants for municipal and household wells. Provides opportunities to enhance the public-private partnerships to support Rural Water and Waste Disposal Infrastructure in rural communities.
• Reauthorizes the Business & Industry Loan Guarantee Program with additional changes that allow for small rural lenders to more easily participate in local communities by improving existing credit structure through the guarantee of quality loans that provide community benefits. Funding set aside for locally and regionally produced food is capped at 7% of the program.
• Reauthorizes the Intermediary Relending Program and the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program in order to assist small businesses to start or expand their operations.
• Reauthorizes Value-Added Producer Grants with $50 million in mandatory funding. These grants benefit producers and cooperatives that process agricultural commodities to capture increased margins directly by the agricultural producer.
• Reauthorizes the Broadband Loan Program with additional provisions to increase transparency and to ensure investments focus on areas without broadband service.
• Emphasis is placed on projects which serve both businesses and homes to maximize the economic impact of entire rural areas.
• Reauthorizes Community Facilities programs to assist communities in developing essential health, safety, and educational assets, including technical assistance.
• Reauthorizes the Delta and Great Plains Regional Authorities, and the Rural Business Opportunities Grants Program to assist communities and regions in the planning and execution of economic development activities.
• Amends the Rural Electrification Act to authorize loans and grants to promote energy efficiency. Amends fees for certain loan guarantees.
• Requires the Secretary to create a coordinated strategy for investments in rural community and technical colleges.

TITLE VII--RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND RELATED MATTERS

• Intramural research programs are reauthorized to be carried out through the Agricultural Research Service, Economic Research Service, National Agricultural Statistics Service and the Forest Service.
• Authority for extramural research grants and formula funds programs administered by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture are extended.
• University research for agricultural activities is reauthorized for 1862, 1890 and 1994 Land Grant Colleges and Universities.
• Competitive grants for Non-Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture (NLGCA) institutions are reauthorized in order to maintain and expand research and outreach in regards to agriculture, renewable resources and production practices.
• The National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education and Economics Advisory Board is reauthorized while enhancing the involvement of other agricultural industry interest in the consultation of agricultural priorities.
• Agriculture and Food Research Initiative continue critical agriculture research by providing competitive grants through integrated research and extension activities.
• Enhances accountability, transparency and consistency of USDA administered research, extension and education funding by mandating that the annual Presidential Budget Submission include sufficient information for the Congress to thoroughly evaluate and approve future spending plans. With regard to extramural competitive grant programs, USDA will be barred from obligating appropriated funds unless a comprehensive spending plan is submitted with the President's budget and approved by Congress.
• The Veterinary Services Grant Program is authorized in order to address the shortage of veterinarians. This requires an entity to develop programs to relieve shortages, support private practices, and support those practices that successfully complete a specific service requirement.
• Reauthorizes programs such as the Specialty Crop Research Initiative and provides $600 million in mandatory funding over 10 years, the Organic Research and Extension Initiative and provides $100 million in mandatory funding over 5 years, and the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program and provides $100 million in mandatory funding over 5 years.

TITLE VIII--FORESTRY

• The forestry title promotes the health and active management of America's national, state, and private forests.
• Conservation programs such as the Forest Legacy Program and the Community Open Space Program, and Healthy Forest Reserve Programs are reauthorized.
• Contains authority for the Forest Service to accelerate its treatment of national forests affected by pine bark beetle infestation and natural disasters. This authority streamlines the approval process for the Forest Service in selecting afflicted areas that need treatment within our national forests.
• To assist rural economies, the title reauthorizes the Office of International Forestry, which is designed to help facilitate the development of foreign markets for domestically produced wood products and the Rural Revitalization Technologies program in order to provide grants and technical assistance to forested rural communities.
• Promotes forest health by extending the Forest Stewardship Contracting program for an additional five years, allowing the Forest Service to engage in needed restoration work on our national forests.
• Requires the Secretary to report to the Committee on the effectiveness of the Forest Service in providing timber to sawmills. Another report requires the Secretary to report on the condition the road system within the National Forest System.
• Extends the ability to use Stewardship Contracting authority on other landscaping projects by allowing the agency to prescribe conditions it seeks to achieve and gives additional flexibility for land management
• Clarifies USDA's authority to reimburse states for firefighting expenses after a catastrophic wildfire

TITLE IX--ENERGY

• Reauthorizes with discretionary funding for programs that promote the development of advanced biofuels and renewable energy.
• Creates a tiered application process for farmers and rural businesses applying for smaller grants under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).
• Clarifies Congressional intent of REAP by eliminating eligibility for funding ethanol blender pumps.
• Prioritizes funding of the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP) for the establishment of dedicated energy crops by eliminating the collection, harvest, storage, and transportation (CHST) payments.
• Ensures certain domestic forest products with mature markets are eligible under federal procurement guidelines for renewable products under the Biobased Markets Program.
• Provides competitive grants to non-profit entities to provide information and outreach on the benefits of biodiesel fuel use.
• Repeals programs that have outlived their usefulness or have never been fully implemented.

TITLE X--HORTICULTURE

• Increases funding by $250,000,000 for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, with funding provided for multi-state projects.
• Provides $150,000,000 for the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program to improve and expand direct producer-to-consumer market opportunities including the development of local food system infrastructure.
• Combats pest and disease by consolidating two very effective programs, the Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Program and the National Clean Plant Network. Increases funding for this combined program by $200,000,000.
• Provides regulatory relief by eliminating a costly and duplicative permitting requirement for pesticide applications.
• Imposes a temporary stay on the EPA from acting on pesticide registrations based on Biological Opinions from the Services not withstanding a peer review.

TITLE XI--CROP INSURANCE

• Requires the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to provide an authorized agent or approved insurance provider (AIP) information that may assist in insuring the producer.
• Requires Risk Management Agency (RMA) to publish violations of the prohibition on rebates to serve as guidance to AIPs, agents and producers.
• Establishes a supplemental coverage option (SCO) to provide producers the option of purchasing area coverage by itself or in addition to individual coverage. Producers may also purchase margin coverage and do so in addition to individual and area coverage.
• Continues reduced premiums on enterprise unit policies.
• Requires enterprise units to be made available by practice.
• Requires the use of data collected by the RMA, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), or both, to determine yields. Where sufficient county data is not available, authorizes the Secretary to use data from other sources.
• Adjusts the actual production history used to determine insurable yields.
• Requires the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) to review policies developed under research and development contracting authority, or pilot programs, and submit to the FCIC Board for review policies that will likely result in viable and marketable policies, provide crop insurance in a significantly improved form, and adequately protect the interests of producers.
• Provides equitable relief on specialty crop policies that were disproportionately adversely impacted by the Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA) but clarifies that Congress does not provide statutory assent to SRA provisions.
• Requires the FCIC Board to ensure that SRA renegotiations maintain budget neutrality to the maximum extent practicable, and use any savings that may be realized for specific crop insurance purposes.
• Limits availability on crop insurance to protect native sod.
• Allows producers to elect different coverage levels by practice.
• Provides beginning farmers and ranchers with additional premium assistance, enhanced T-yields, and the ability to use previous producer's APH or an assigned yield.
• Requires a stacked income protection plan to be made available to upland cotton producers.
• Requires a revenue crop insurance policy for peanut producers to be made available.
• Authorizes AIPs and agents to correct unintentional errors to ensure accuracy of all insurance information.
• Requires the Secretary to maintain and upgrade information management systems and to implement an acreage report streamlining initiative.
• Provides for research and development contracting authority. Makes specialty crops, sweet sorghum, biomass sorghum, rice, peanuts, alfalfa, and sugarcane research and development priorities.

TITLE XII--MISCELLANEOUS

• Reauthorizes National Sheep Industry Improvement Center.
• Repeals Certain Regulations Under the Packers and Stockyard Act, 1921.
• Reauthorizes Trichinae Certification Program.
• Reauthorizes National Aquatic Animal Health Plan.
• Requires Analysis of Proposed Country of Origin Labeling Proposed Rule.
• Authorizes National Animal Health Laboratory Network.
• Repeals Catfish Inspection Program.
• Directs Secretary with Regard to National Poultry Improvement Plan.
• Amends Outreach and Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers to include veteran farmers or ranchers, and defines the term `veteran farmer or rancher' as a farmer or rancher who served in the active military, naval, or air service, and who was discharged or released from the service under conditions other than dishonorable. The provision provides $50 million in mandatory funding for outreach and assistance.
• Reauthorizes Office of Advocacy and Outreach.
• Establishes a Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers Policy Research Center.
• Authorizes Grants to Improve Supply, Stability, Safety, and Training of Agricultural Labor Force.
• Reauthorizes Program Benefit Eligibility Status for Participants in High Plains Water Study.
• Requires an Office of Tribal Relations.
• Authorizes Military Veterans Agricultural Liaison.
• Amends the noninsured crop assistance program (NAP) to allow for the purchase of additional NAP coverage with respect to crops for which no coverage is available under Federal Crop Insurance.
• Requires Evaluation for Purposes of Prohibition on Closure or Relocation of County Offices for the Farm Service Agency.
• Authorizes Acer Access and Development Program.
• Prohibits Attending an Animal Fight or Causing a Minor to Attend an Animal Fight.
• Prohibits Interference by State and Local Governments with Production or Manufacture of Items in Other States.
• Increases Protection for Agricultural Interests in the Missouri River Basin.
• Increases Protection for Agricultural Interests in the Black Dirt Region.

Background

According to the Committee on Agriculture, H.R. 1947 is the product of nearly three years of work, including 46 hearings and audits, proposals to the deficit reduction committee, and committee consideration and passage of legislation.   The legislation cuts more than $40 billion from commodity and nutrition programs, including $20.5 billion from the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), eliminates the Direct Payment program and reforms commodity programs saving $14 billion and saves an additional $6.9 billion by consolidating 23 conservation programs to 13 programs. Finally, the bill provides additional regulatory relief to farmers. ^[1]

The Farm bill was last reauthorized in 2008 and expired on September 30, 2012.^[2]   According to CRS, “[I]t contains 15 titles covering support for commodity crops, horticulture and livestock production, conservation, nutrition, trade and food aid, agricultural research, farm credit, rural development, energy, forestry, and other related programs. It also includes provisions that make certain changes to tax laws, in order to offset some new spending initiatives in the final bill. The enacted bill succeeds the most recent 2002 farm bill and is to guide most federal farm and food policies through 2012. Many provisions of the 2002 farm bill expired in September 2007, but were extended under a series of temporary extensions prior to final enactment of the 2008 bill.”^[3]

As mentioned above, the 2008 farm bill expired on September 30, 2013 and farm commodity programs were supposed to begin reverting to an outdated and expensive "permanent law" on January 1, 2013. However, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 extended all the 2008 farm bill provisions that were in effect on September 30, 2012, for one year until September 30, 2013.  For those farm commodity programs that are on a different calendar, the extension includes the 2013 crop year, for which certain authorizations for dairy programs continues until December 31, 2013.^[4]

There is no net cost to the extension because mandatory funding continuing most of the major farm bill programs was already in the budget baseline, such as for the farm commodity, conservation, trade, and nutrition programs. Crop insurance is permanently authorized.^[5]

Cost

“CBO estimates that direct spending stemming from the program authorizations in H.R. 1947 would total $939 billion over the 2014-2023 period. That 10-year total reflects the bill’s authorization of expiring programs through 2018 and an extension of those authorizations through 2023, consistent with the rules governing baseline projections that are specified in the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.

Relative to spending projected under CBO’s May 2013 baseline, CBO estimates that enacting the bill would reduce direct spending by $33.4 billion over the 2014-2023 time period. The estimated budgetary effects of H.R. 1947 are summarized in Table 1.

Assuming appropriation of the specified and necessary amounts, CBO also estimates that implementing the bill would result in discretionary spending of $27.3 billion over the 2014-2018 period and $33.2 billion over the 2014-2023 period. Further details of that estimate for discretionary spending are displayed in Table 3.

H.R. 1947 contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA). In general, state, local, and tribal governments would benefit from the continuation of existing agricultural assistance and the creation of new grant programs.

The bill would impose private-sector mandates as defined in UMRA. The aggregate cost of those mandates could exceed the annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector mandates ($150 million in 2013, adjusted annually for inflation), depending on the extent of regulations that might be implemented by the Department of Agriculture. Specifically:

• The bill would impose mandates on dairy handlers that purchase milk from dairy producers participating in the Dairy Market Stabilization Program (DMSP). Under the DMSP, certain handlers would be required to report information to the Department of Agriculture under some circumstances. According to information from industry sources, the cost for handlers to collect and report information under the DMSP could amount to $100 million or more annually, depending on regulations to be issued by the department.
  
  
• The bill would require imports of olive oil to meet the same standards as olive oil produced in the United States if a marketing order for olive oil is established. Imports would have to be inspected to ensure compliance with the standards of such a marketing order. Because 15,000 to 20,000 lots of olive oil are imported annually, the costs of those inspections could amount to tens of millions of dollars per year, if a marketing order is established.

On May 23, 2013, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 1947, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Agriculture on May 15, 2013. The version of H.R. 1947 ordered reported by the Judiciary Committee is different than the Agriculture Committee’s version. CBO estimates that the Judiciary Committee’s version of H.R. 1947 would:

• Not affect federal revenues, whereas the Agriculture Committee’s version would increase revenues by $64 million over the 2014-2023 period;
  
  
• Result in $85 million less in direct spending over the 2014-2023 period than the Agriculture Committee’s version of the bill; and
  
  
• Authorize $129 million less in spending subject to appropriation over the 2014-2023 period than the Agriculture Committee’s version of the legislation.

The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. Enacting H.R. 1947 would affect direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. The net change in outlays that are subject to those pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in Table 4.” ^[1] 

Amendments

1)      Rep. McGovern (D-MA) Amendment #146 - (REVISED) Restores the $20.5 billion cuts in SNAP by offsetting the Farm Risk Management Election Program and the Supplemental Coverage Option.

2)     Reps. Gibbs (R-OH) and Kind (D-WI) Amendment #3 - Sets the target price for all crops at 55 percent of the five year rolling Olympic average. The amendment also changes the acreage available for target price support to 85 percent of the farmer’s base acres.

3)     Rep. Foxx (R-NC) Amendment #79 - Caps spending on the Farm Risk Management Election program at 110% of CBO-predicted levels for the first five (5) years in which payments are disbursed (FY 2016 – 2020).

4)     Rep. Ellison (D-MN) Amendment #188 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to complete a study on the climate impacts of the Price Loss Coverage program.

5)     Rep. Broun (R-GA) Amendment #62 - Repeals permanent law from the Agriculture Act of 1949 that pertains to dairy support. Prevents the currently suspended law from becoming reactivated should Congress not reauthorize programs under the Department of Agriculture.

6)     Rep. Enyart (D-IL) Amendment #33 - Establishes a revenue neutral National Drought Council and a National Drought Policy Action Plan to streamline the federal response in times of drought.

7)     Rep. Graves (R-GA) Amendment #83 - Ensures that corn growers who sell their crop for ethanol production may not receive farm payments. Prohibits a producer on a farm that sells corn, directly or through a third party, to an ethanol production facility from receiving any farm bill payments or benefits.

8)     Reps. Blumenauer (D-OR), Capps (D-CA), and Moran (D-VA) Amendment #73 - Requires that twenty percent of the acreage enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program be set aside for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program and the Continuous Conservation Reserve Program, which allows states to target high priority and environmentally sensitive land, and to continuously re-enroll that land in CRP.

9)     Reps. Blumenauer (D-OR), Huffman (D-CA), and Moran (D-VA) Amendment #74 - Reforms the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to increase access for farmers, and eliminate payments to projects that do not show strong conservation benefits.

10)  Rep. Lujan (D-NM) Amendment #69 - (Revised) Allows small-scale Hispanic irrigators to be eligible EQIP funding.

11)  Rep. Thompson (D-MS) Amendment #88 - Makes the ownership eligibility requirement for Wetland Reserve Program equal to other conservation programs by returning the 7-year ownership rule to 1 year, eliminates a percentage of the funds dedicated for Wetland Reserve Programs agricultural easements, and allows owners of land capability classes IV - VIII, with subclass designation w, from the Wetlands Reserve county/parish caps.

12)  Rep. Gardner (R-CO) Amendment #119 - Specifies that the Secretary should give priority consideration for the use of Emergency Watershed Protection funding for those areas seeking assistance to protect public safety from flooding and repair damaged infrastructure caused by catastrophic wildfires.  The Emergency Watershed Protection Program which undertakes emergency measures for runoff retardation and soil erosion prevention to protect lives and property whenever a natural occurrence has caused a sudden impairment of a watershed.

13)  Reps. Thompson (D-CA) and Fortenberry (R-NE) Amendment #28 - Requires a conservation compliance plan be filed with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and followed for all crops in wetlands and all annually tilled crops on highly erodible lands in order to qualify for crop insurance premium subsidy assistance.

14)  Rep. Hastings (D-FL) Amendment #129 - Improves federal coordination in addressing the documented decline of managed and native pollinators and promotes the long-term viability of honey bee, wild bees, and other beneficial insects in agriculture.

15)  Reps. Royce (R-CA) and Engel (D-NY) Amendment #55 - Reforms U.S. international food aid to allow for not more than 45 percent of authorized funds to be used for assistance other than U.S. agricultural commodities, yielding $215 million in annual efficiency savings, enabling the U.S. to reach an additional 4 million disaster victims. Curtails the practice of “monetization” which, according to the GAO, is inefficient and led to a loss of $219 million over three years. Reductions in mandatory spending result in $150 million in deficit reduction over the life of the bill.

16)  Reps. Chabot (R-OH) and McClintock (R-CA) Amendment #43 - Repeals Sec. 3102, which reauthorizes the Market Access Program (MAP) until 2018.

17)  Rep. Titus (D-NV) Amendment #56 - Continues USDA’s Hunger-Free Communities grant program, which has been included in the Senate Farm Bill.  The program was created to foster collaborative public-private partnership efforts at the community level to root out and address the causes of hunger and help increase community access to nutritious foods.

18)  Rep. Brooks (R-AL) Amendment #178 - (REVISED) Terminates funding for the Emerging Markets Program (EMP) after September 30, 2013.  The EMP provides funding for technical assistance activities intended to promote exports of U.S. agricultural commodities and products to emerging markets around the world.

19)  Rep. Castor (D-FL) Amendment #122 - Seeks to ensure that Department of Agriculture certificates of origin are accepted by any country that has entered into a free trade agreement with the United States.

20)  Rep. Messer (R-IN) Amendment #128 - Ensures that increased oversight of the Restaurant Meals Program is achieved in the most cost-effective manner.  Would require states to include, in a report that already is required by the bill, information on the cost and impact of security measures prescribed by the Secretary and recommendations for additional or alternative security enhancements to prevent fraud and ensure that only eligible recipients are participating in the program in the most cost effective manner.

21)  Rep. Grimm (R-NY) Amendment #121 - (REVISED) Amends Sec. 4016 by specifying that at least one such pilot program shall be conducted in a large urban area that administers its own SNAP program and otherwise complies with the pilot program requirements.  Sec. 4016 directs the Secretary to conduct various pilot projects to improve federal-state cooperation in identifying and reducing fraud in SNAP.

22)  Reps. Hudson (R-NC), LaMalfa (R-CA), and Yoho (R-FL) Amendment #46- Allows states to conduct drug testing on SNAP applicants as a condition for receiving benefits.

23)  Rep. Conaway (R-TX) Amendment #160 - Requires a 10% reduction in the Thrifty Food Plan calculation in any year that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is not authorized.

24)  Reps. Kingston (R-GA), Westmoreland (R-GA), and Scott (R-GA) Amendment #222 - (LATE) Eliminates the provision that allows people to receive 113.6% of your normal (100%) SNAP benefits.

25)  Rep. Butterfield (D-NC) Amendment #204 - (LATE) Adds a section at the end of subtitle A of title IV to include items for personal hygiene for household use in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

26)  Rep. Marino (R-PA) Amendment #168 - (REVISED) Directs the Comptroller General to establish a pilot program within nine states to collect and make public the data required to be reported for SNAP under the Food and Nutrition Act.  After the pilot program ends, the Comptroller General shall determine whether item specific data of purchases made with SNAP benefits can be collected using existing reporting requirements, and how to improve current SNAP reporting.

27)  Rep. Chabot (R-OH) Amendment #58 - Shortens the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefit expunging statute and requires a State agency to expunge benefits that have not been accessed by a household after a period of 60 days

28)  Rep. Black (R-TN) Amendment #8 - Terminates an agreement the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has entered in with the Mexican government known as the “Partnership for Nutrition Assistance Program.”

29)  Rep. Kaptur (D-OH) Amendment #20 - Requires that at least 50 percent of the funds made available for the Farmers Market Nutrition Program be reserved for seniors.

30)  Rep. Schweikert (R-AZ) Amendment #198 - (LATE) Strikes the Health Food Financing Initiative.

31)  Rep. Welch (D-VT) Amendment #223 - (LATE) Removes term limits on USDA guaranteed farm operating loans.

32)  Rep. Tierney (D-MA) Amendment #78 - Allows commercial fishermen to be eligible recipients of the Emergency Disaster Loan program

33)  Rep. Costa (D-CA) Amendment #111 - Creates a pilot program that will use funds from the Rural Utility Service to address nitrate contamination of rural drinking water in communities with less than 10,000 residents.

34)  Rep. Gingrey (R-GA) Amendment #11 - Strikes Sec. 6105 from the bill which provides the authorization for the Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee Program.

35)  Rep. Rice (R-SC) Amendment #189 - Reauthorizes Pasture Based Beef Systems for the Appalachia Research Initiative.

36)  Rep. Palazzo (R-MS) Amendment #209 – (LATE) Authorizes funding for the Agriculture Technology Innovation Partnership program that is already set up through USDA. The amendment would make authorize $500K for the pilot program.

37)  Reps. Polis (D-CO), Blumenauer (D-OR), and Massie (R-KY) Amendment #192 – Allows institutions of higher education to grow or cultivate industrial hemp for the purpose of agricultural or academic research. The provision only applies to states that already permit industrial hemp growth and cultivation under state law.

38)  Reps. Garamendi (D-CA) and Gibson (R-NY) Amendment #86 – Modifies the Forest Legacy program to allow qualified third party, non-governmental entities to hold the conservation easements financed with Forest Legacy revenue.

39)  Reps. Polis (D-CO) and Napolitano (D-CA) Amendment #193 – Would help the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) streamline forest management decisions to treat insect infestations on public lands so that USFS can better protect our natural resources and critical infrastructure while reducing the fuel loads that contribute to wildfires.  Adds to the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 and directs the USFS to designate and treat at least one subwatersheds on at least one National Forest in each state that is experiencing insect epidemics or diseases that impair forest health.

40)  Rep. Peters (D-CA) Amendment #126 – Gives parity to renewable chemicals and biobased product manufacturing under the energy title and the Biorefinery Assistance Program.

41)  Rep. Marino (R-PA) Amendment #170 – Repeals the Biodiesel Fuel Education Program, which awards federal grants to educate fleet operators and the public on the benefits of using biodiesel fuels, instead of fossil fuels.

42)  Reps. Neugebauer (R-TX), and Vela (D-TX) Amendment #216 – (LATE) Makes fermentable sugar biomass crops eligible for payments under the Biomass Crop Assistance Program.

43)  Rep. McClintock (R-CA) Amendment # 92 – Strikes Sec. 10003 – the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program. This duplicative program funds lessons on food preparation, promotions of locally-grown crops and advertising of farmers markets.

44)  Rep. Gibson (R-NY) Amendment #45 - Strikes the olive oil import restriction contained in Sec. 10010 of the bill.  Under Sec. 10010, if a marketing order for olive oil is established, olive oil imports would be subject to restrictions such as taste testing.

45)  Rep. Walorski (R-IN) Amendment #10 - Continues the prohibition on the Christmas tree tax by striking the section of the bill that lifts the stay on the tax.

46)  Reps. Courtney (D-CT), and Wittman (R-VA) Amendment #25 – Adds farmed shellfish to the list of specialty crops listed in Sec. 3 of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004. This would allow these products to be eligible for USDA marketing and research assistance.

47)  Rep. Kind (D-WI) Amendment #149 – Limits premium subsidies to those producers with an AGI under $250,000 and limits per person premium subsidies to $50,000 and caps crop insurance providers’ reimbursement of administrative and operating at $900 million and reduces their rate of return to 12%. Introduces transparency into the crop insurance program.

48)  Reps. Carney (D-DE), Radel (R-FL) Amendment #1 – Strikes Sec. 11012 of the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act, which requires that any renegotiation of a Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA) shall be budget neutral to the maximum extent practicable as compared to the previous SRA.

49)  Rep. Radel (R-FL) Amendment #12 – Repeals the National Sheep Industry Improvement Center.

50)  Rep. Walberg (R-MI) Amendment #97 – Strikes the addition of “natural stone” to the list of commodity products that can petition the USDA for the issuance of a promotion and research order.

51)  Rep. Benishek (R-MI) Amendment #214 - (LATE) Requires a scientific and economic analysis of the FDA’s Food Safety and Modernization Act prior to final regulations being enforced. The primary focus of the analysis will be the impact of this legislation on agricultural businesses of all sizes.

52)    Rep. Bachus (R-AL) Amendment #71 – Revised. Ensures that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will consider regulations in accordance with provisions in the Regulatory Flexibility Act – so that that small business impacts are considered in actions and alternatives that the USDA considers.

53)    Reps. Sinema (D-AZ) and LaMalfa (R-CA) Amendment #163 – Revised. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to provide technical assistance to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection on identifying produce claiming to be made in the United States when in fact it is not. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to provide Congress with a report on produce represented as grown in the United States when in fact it was not.

54)    Rep. Wittman (R-VA) Amendment #164 - Provides performance based measures, including “crosscut budgeting”, adaptive management and an Independent Evaluator, to assure federal dollars currently spent on Bay restoration activities produce results.

55)    Reps. Herrera-Beutler (R-WA) and Schrader (D-OR) Amendment #107 – Codifies the EPA's longstanding silviculture rule. It protects federal, state, county, tribal, and private forest roads from costly permit requirements or other point source regulation along with litigation expenses and citizen suit liability.

56)    Rep. Crawford (R-AR) Amendment #54 – Modifies the exemption levels of EPA’s Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rules for small farmers and ranchers, which require producers to construct a containment facility around above-ground oil tanks.  It provides an exemption to any farmer with no single tank larger than 10,000 gallons, and allows self-certification if they hold less than 42,000 gallons of oil storage capacity.

57)   Reps. Crawford (R-AR) and Terry (R-NE) Amendment #219 – Late Revised. Prohibits the EPA from procuring or disclosing the private information of farmers and ranchers.

58)   Rep. Foxx (R-NC) Amendment #80 – Sunsets all discretionary programs in the bill upon the expiration of the 5-year authorization period.

59)   Rep. Kuster (D-NH) Amendment #36 – Increases the cap for wildlife habitat funding within the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) from 5 percent to 7.5 percent.

60)   Rep. Thompson (D-MS) Amendment #90 – Allows the Healthy Forest Reserve Program (HFRP) to be a participating program of the Regional Conservation Partnership Program.  HFRP assists landowners (on a voluntary basis) in restoring, enhancing, and protection forestland resources through easements, 30-year contracts, and 10-year cost-share agreements.

61)    Rep. Thompson (R-PA) Amendment #142 – Requires the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to provide data and consultation to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with regard to water quality and nutrient management relating to ongoing modeling for the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including EPA’s ongoing implementation of the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL).

62)    Reps. Pearce (R-NM), Neugebauer (R-TX), and Conaway (R-TX) Amendment #23 – Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a study on current USDA programs related to the Lesser Prairie Chicken to analyze the economic impact and effectiveness of these programs.

63)    Rep. Cramer (R-ND) Amendment #6 – Caps mitigation for enhancement, restoration or creation of wetlands at a 1-for-1 acreage basis. Due to this amendment the greater than 1-for-1 mitigation appeals provision is no longer necessary, and therefore is struck.

64)    Rep. Keating (D-MA) Amendment #167 – Directs the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture to conduct an economic analysis of the existing market for US Atlantic Spiny Dogfish.

65)    Rep. Reed (R-NY) Amendment #47 – Makes technical changes to Section 4015 of the bill, which deals with data exchange standardization for improved operability.  Section 4015 amends Section 11 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008, adding data exchange standards, requiring them  to be nonproprietary and interoperable.

66)    Reps. Young (R-AK) and Cole (R-OK) Amendment #41 - Grants the Secretary of Agriculture authority to permit the donation, preparation, and consumption of traditional Native food in public facilities primarily serving Alaska Natives and American Indians, as long as specific food safety requirements are met.

67)    Reps. McLeod (D-CA) and Vargas (D-CA) Amendment #138 – Revised. Authorizes a feasibility study to identify which federal food programs tribes have the capacity to administer on their own.

68)    Rep. Duckworth (D-IL) Amendment #185 – Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a study and report back to Congress on the impact of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cuts on demand seen at charitable food providers.

69)    Reps. Crowley (D-NY) and Grimm (R-NY) Amendment #32 – Facilitates cost-neutral purchasing of Kosher and Halal food within the Emergency Food Assistance Program and improve information provided to participating food banks on availability of Kosher and Halal food.

70)    Rep. Huizenga (R-MI) Amendment #2 – Requires the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to conduct a study of sole-source contracts in Federal nutrition programs, and the effect such contracts have on program participation, program goals, nonprogram consumers, retailers, and free-market dynamics. The findings must be reported back to Congress within one year after the date of enactment of this act.

71)    Rep. Gardner (R-CO) Amendment #227 – Late. Gives Rural Utilities Services (RUS) borrowers the ability to hire contractors to perform NEPA studies without going through the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) process. Almost every other agency allows contractors to be hired without using the FAR.

72)    Rep. Ruiz (D-CA) Amendment #130– Amends the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program to add designated Health Professional Shortage Areas as a priority in awarding funding.

73)    Rep. Michaud (D-ME) Amendment #34 – Reauthorizes through fiscal year 2018 the Northern Border Regional Commission, the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission, and the Southwest Border Regional Commission.

74)    Reps. Turner (R-OH) Amendment #104 – Adds a sense of the Congress in support of improving agricultural research and education through a USDA land grant program.

75)    Reps. Gabbard (D-HI), Hanabusa (D-HI), and Perluisi (D-PR) Amendment #106 – Authorizes research, development, and a pest management plan to combat the coffee berry borer.

76)    Rep. Faleomavaega (D-AS) Amendment #98 - Include American Samoa and the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) as provided for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The intent is to amend the McIntire-Stennis Act to include American Samoa, CNMI, and the FSM as already provided for Virgin Islands and Guam. American Samoa and FSM have land-grant colleges. The amendment will align with S. 984.

77)    Reps. Slaughter (D-NY) and Polis (D-CO) Amendment #85 – Reauthorizes the Research and Education Grants for the Study of Antibiotic Research program through 2018; it does not explicitly authorize or appropriate any funds. Reauthorization ensures that research into antibiotic-resistant bacteria remains a priority of NIFA and that NIFA retains the flexibility to fund the best research proposals on a competitive basis.

78)    Rep. Gosar (R-AZ) Amendment #40 - Establishes parity among the fire-liability provisions in stewardship contracts by incorporating the liability provisions from timber contracts into integrated resource service contracts, companies are more likely to participate in the stewardship program, protecting communities and fostering healthy forests.

79)    Rep. Cotton (R-AR) Amendment #16 – Amends Section 8304 Good Neighbor Authority in H.R. 1947. The amendment would clarify that all types of projects may be delegated by the U.S. Forest Service to the state foresters, including projects involving commercial harvesting or other mechanical vegetative treatments. These projects would still be subject to all applicable NEPA regulations. The reference to "insectinfected trees" would be corrected to read "insect-infected forests".

80)    Rep. Tipton (R-CO) Amendment #39 – Establishes a program providing the U.S. Forest Service a large airtanker and aerial asset lease program.

81)    Rep. Griffith (R-VA) Amendment #4 – Coveys a small parcel of National Forest System land in Pound, Virginia.  The parcel, which is located in the Jefferson National Forest, is a family cemetery.

82)    Rep. Meadows (R-NC) Amendment #5 – Waives NEPA requirements for timber cleanup projects on forest service land after a disaster.

83)    Rep. Loebsack (D-IA) Amendment #77 – Reinstates feasibility studies under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) in the Energy Title, Title IX.

84)    Reps. Grimm (R-NY), Gibson (R-NY), and Bishop (D-NY) Amendment #14 – Revised. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a study and no later than 180 days after enactment report back to the relevant committees in the House and Senate an analysis of energy use in USDA facilities, a list of energy audits that have been conducted at USDA facilities, a list of energy efficiency projects that have been conducted at USDA facilities and a list of energy savings projects that could be achieved with additional mechanical insulation at USDA facilities.

85)    Rep. Cárdenas (D-CA) Amendment #109 – Expands food safety education initiatives to include training farm workers on how to identify sources of food contamination and how to decrease bacterial contamination of food.

86)    Reps. Scott (R-GA) and Schrader (D-OR) Amendment #132 – Mandates the Secretary of Agriculture to consult with the Secretary of Labor to ensure that producers of perishable commodities are afforded a transparent and equitable process related to the labor disputes.

87)    Rep. Kaptur (D-OH) Amendment #114 – Requires the Secretary to submit an annual report on invasive species in the United States.  This report is required to be made available to the public.

88)    Reps. Foxx (R-NC) and Ellison (D-MN) #76 – Requires the government to disclose the names of certain persons and entities receiving federal crop insurance subsidies. Specifically, disclosure would be required for Members of Congress and their immediate families, Cabinet Secretaries and their immediate families, and entities of which any of the preceding parties is a majority shareholder.

89)    Rep. Schock (R-IL) Amendment #30 – Includes pennycress as a research and development priority at the Risk Management Agency.

90)    Rep. Barr (R-KY) Amendment #70 - Requires that any changes to current crop insurance policies be published and open for public comment at least 60 days before June 30 and at least 60 days before November 30 of the year before the change would take effect.

91)    Reps. Takano (D-CA) and Markey (D-MA) Amendment #103 – Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to report to Congress on the economic implications for consumers, fishermen, and aquaculturists of fraud and mislabeling in wild and farmed seafood.

92)    Reps. Fudge (D-OH) and Sewell (D-AL) Amendment #110 – Requires USDA agencies that serve farmers and ranchers to provide a time and date stamped receipt for service to each farmer and rancher requesting information or service from USDA.

93)    Rep. Velázquez (D-NY) Amendment #211 – Late. Directs USDA to coordinate opportunities for urban agriculture.

94)    Rep. Jackson Lee (D-TX) Amendment #181 – Establishes the sense of Congress that the Federal Government should increase opportunities for small businesses, black farmers, women, and minority businesses.

95)    Reps. Ross (R-FL) and Rooney (R-FL) Amendment #99 – Revised. Expresses the sense of Congress that agricultural nutrients and chemicals play an important role in the production of American agriculture. Also expresses the sense of Congress that the Department of Agriculture should coordinate with the Department of Homeland Security in the development of regulations and procedures for handling these agricultural chemicals.

96)    Reps. Conaway (R-TX) and Vela (D-TX) Amendment #161 – Requires the Secretary of State to submit a report on water sharing with Mexico.

97)    Rep. Flores (R-TX) Amendment #94 - Requires USDA to conduct and submit a study detailing all activities engaged in and resources expended in furtherance of Executive Order 13547 relating to the Administration’s continued attempts to establish the National Ocean Policy without Congressional authorization. The study also should include any budget requests for fiscal year 2014 for support of implementation of Executive Order 13547, and be submitted to the House Committee on Agriculture and Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

98)    Rep. Pitts (R-PA) Amendment #13 – Reforms the Federal sugar program, and for other purposes.  Primarily, it returns the raw sugar cane price support to its historic level of 18 cents per pound and continues to establish the refined beet sugar price support at 128.5% of the cane rate.  In addition, it amends provisions for sugar marketing allotments by repealing a provision that establishes allotments at no less than 85% of domestic consumption.  Furthermore, it repeals current restrictions on the Secretary of Agriculture’s authority to adjust import quotas for raw and refined sugar and repeals the Feedstock Flexibility Program under which surplus sugar must be purchased by the federal government and re-sold to ethanol plants at a loss.

99)    Rep. Goodlatte (R-VA) Amendment # 194 – The Amendment would remove Subtitle D PART I— "DAIRY PRODUCER MARGIN PROTECTION AND DAIRY MARKET STABILIZATION PROGRAMS" and replaces it with a new "Dairy Producer Margin Insurance Program". The amendment provides dairy producers with the option to annually enroll in a new margin insurance program at levels of $4.00 and up to $8.00 in increments of fifty cents. Based on the highest annual of three previous calendar years of their milk marketings, dairy producers are allowed to elect their coverage level and the percentage of coverage up to 80% at the start of the program and annually thereafter. Dairy producers are also allowed to update their production history annually. The Secretary is required to make payments to dairy producers enrolled in the program whenever the actual dairy producer margin drops below $4.00 (or below a higher level of coverage up to $8.00). The amendment leaves the rest of the underlying dairy title intact, including the removal of the Dairy Product Price Support Program, the MILC Program, and the Dairy Export Assistance Program and the reauthorization of the 1996 FMMO additional order provision.

100) Rep. Fortenberry (R-NE) Amendment #93 – Reduces farm program payment limits, capping commodity payments at $250,000 per year for any one farm. The legislation also closes loopholes in current law to ensure payments reach working farmers, their intended recipients.

101) Rep. Huelskamp (R-KS) Amendment #151 – Creates additional work requirements for SNAP recipients and raises the total reduction in spending to $31 billion.

102) Rep. Southerland (R-FL) Amendment #101 – Applies federal welfare work requirements to the food stamp program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), at state option.

103) Reps. Reed (R-NY), Walberg (R-MI), and Yoho (R-FL) Amendment #49 – Ends eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for convicted violent rapists, pedophiles, and murderers after enactment into law.