7 USC 9091 - Administration generally

Collapse to view only § 9091. Administration generally

§ 9091. Administration generally
§ 9092. Suspension of permanent price support authority
§ 9093. Prevention of deceased individuals receiving payments under farm commodity programs
§ 9094. Assignment of payments
§ 9095. Tracking of benefits
§ 9096. Signature authority
§ 9097. Implementation

§ 9091. Administration generally

(a) Use of Commodity Credit Corporation

The Secretary shall use the funds, facilities, and authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out this chapter.

(b) Determinations by Secretary

A determination made by the Secretary under this chapter shall be final and conclusive.

(1) In general

Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, not later than 90 days after February 7, 2014, the Secretary and the Commodity Credit Corporation, as appropriate, shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary to implement this chapter and the amendments made by this chapter.

(2) Procedure

The promulgation of the regulations and administration of this chapter and the amendments made by this chapter, sections 11003 and 11017, title I of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 and the amendments made by that title, and section 10109 of that Act shall be made without regard to—

(A) the notice and comment provisions of section 553 of title 5; and

(B) chapter 35 of title 44 (commonly known as the “Paperwork Reduction Act”).

(3) Congressional review of agency rulemaking

In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall use the authority provided under section 808 of title 5.

(d) Adjustment authority related to trade agreements compliance

(1) Required determination; adjustment

(2) Congressional notification

Before making any adjustment under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report describing the determination made under that paragraph and the extent of the adjustment to be made.

(Pub. L. 113–79, title I, § 1601, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 704; Pub. L. 115–334, title I, § 1701, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4525.)

§ 9092. Suspension of permanent price support authority

(a) Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938

The following provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 [7 U.S.C. 1281 et seq.] shall not be applicable to the 2014 through 2023 crops of covered commodities (as defined in section 9011 of this title), cotton, and sugar and shall not be applicable to milk during the period beginning on February 7, 2014, through December 31, 2023:

(1) Parts II through V of subtitle B of title III (7 U.S.C. 1326 et seq.) [7 U.S.C. 1321 et seq., 1331 et seq., 1341 et seq., 1351].

(2) In the case of upland cotton, section 377 (7 U.S.C. 1377).

(3) Subtitle D of title III (7 U.S.C. 1379a et seq.).

(4) Title IV (7 U.S.C. 1401 et seq.).

(b) Agricultural Act of 1949

The following provisions of the Agricultural Act of 1949 [7 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.] shall not be applicable to the 2014 through 2023 crops of covered commodities (as defined in section 9011 of this title), cotton, and sugar and shall not be applicable to milk during the period beginning on February 7, 2014, and through December 31, 2023:

(1) Section 101 (7 U.S.C. 1441).

(2) Section 103(a) (7 U.S.C. 1444(a)).

(3) Section 105 (7 U.S.C. 1444b).

(4) Section 107 (7 U.S.C. 1445a).

(5) Section 110 (7 U.S.C. 1445e).

(6) Section 112 (7 U.S.C. 1445g).

(7) Section 115 (7 U.S.C. 1445k).

(8) Section 201 (7 U.S.C. 1446).

(9) Title III (7 U.S.C. 1447 et seq.).

(10) Title IV (7 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.), other than sections 404, 412, and 416 (7 U.S.C. 1424, 1429, and 1431).

(11) Title V (7 U.S.C. 1461 et seq.).

(12) Title VI (7 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.).

The joint resolution entitled “A joint resolution relating to corn and wheat marketing quotas under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended”, approved May 26, 1941 (7 U.S.C. 1330 and 1340), shall not be applicable to the crops of wheat planted for harvest in the calendar years 2014 through 2023.

(Pub. L. 113–79, title I, § 1602, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 705; Pub. L. 115–334, title I, § 1702, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4525.)

§ 9093. Prevention of deceased individuals receiving payments under farm commodity programs

(a) Reconciliation

At least twice each year, the Secretary shall reconcile Social Security numbers of all individuals who receive payments under this chapter, whether directly or indirectly, with the Commissioner of Social Security to determine if the individuals are alive.

(b) Preclusion

The Secretary shall preclude the issuance of payments to, and on behalf of, deceased individuals that were not eligible for payments.

(Pub. L. 113–79, title I, § 1608, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 708.)

§ 9094. Assignment of payments

(a) In general

The provisions of section 590h(g) of title 16, relating to assignment of payments, shall apply to payments made under this chapter.

(b) Notice

The producer making the assignment, or the assignee, shall provide the Secretary with notice, in such manner as the Secretary may require, of any assignment made under this section.

(Pub. L. 113–79, title I, § 1611, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 710.)

§ 9095. Tracking of benefits

As soon as practicable after February 7, 2014, the Secretary may track the benefits provided, directly or indirectly, to individuals and entities under titles I and II and the amendments made by those titles.

(Pub. L. 113–79, title I, § 1612, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 710.)

§ 9096. Signature authority

(a) In general

In carrying out this title and title II and amendments made by those titles, if the Secretary approves a document, the Secretary shall not subsequently determine the document is inadequate or invalid because of the lack of authority of any person signing the document on behalf of the applicant or any other individual, entity, general partnership, or joint venture, or the documents relied upon were determined inadequate or invalid, unless the person signing the program document knowingly and willfully falsified the evidence of signature authority or a signature.

(b) Affirmation

(1) In general

Nothing in this section prohibits the Secretary from asking a proper party to affirm any document that otherwise would be considered approved under subsection (a).

(2) No retroactive effect

A denial of benefits based on a lack of affirmation under paragraph (1) shall not be retroactive with respect to third-party producers who were not the subject of the erroneous representation of authority, if the third-party producers—

(A) relied on the prior approval by the Secretary of the documents in good faith; and

(B) substantively complied with all program requirements.

(Pub. L. 113–79, title I, § 1613, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 710.)

§ 9097. Implementation

(a) Maintenance of base acres and payment yields

The Secretary shall maintain, for each covered commodity and upland cotton, base acres and payment yields on a farm established under sections 8702 and 8751 of this title, as adjusted pursuant to sections 8711, 8712, 8718, and 8752 of this title, as in effect on September 30, 2013, and as adjusted pursuant to sections 9012 and 9013 of this title.

(b) StreamliningIn implementing this chapter and the amendments made by this title,1

1 See References in Text note below.

the Secretary shall—

(1) continue to reduce administrative burdens and costs to producers by streamlining and reducing paperwork, forms, and other administrative requirements, to ensure that—

(A) a producer (or an agent of a producer) may report information, electronically (including geospatial data) or conventionally, to the Department of Agriculture, subject to the Secretary—

(i) establishing reasonable levels of tolerance that reflect the differences in accuracy between measures of common land units and geospatial data; and

(ii) ensuring that discrepancies that occur within the levels of tolerance established under clause (i) shall not be used to penalize a producer (or an agent of a producer) under any program administered by the Department of Agriculture;

(B) on the request of a producer (or an agent of a producer), the Department of Agriculture electronically shares with the producer (or agent) in real time and without cost to the producer (or agent) the common land unit data, related farm level data, conservation practices, and other information of the producer through a single Department of Agriculture-wide login;

(C) not later than September 30, 2020, the Administrator of the Risk Management Agency and the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency shall implement a consistent method for determining crop acreage, acreage yields, farm acreage, property descriptions, and other common informational requirements, including measures of common land units;

(D) except in the case of misrepresentation, fraud, or scheme and device, no crop insurance agent, approved insurance provider, or employee or contractor of a crop insurance agency or approved insurance provider bears responsibility or liability under the Acreage Crop Reporting and Streamlining Initiative (or any successor or similar initiative) for the eligibility of a producer for a program administered by the Department of Agriculture, not including a policy or plan of insurance offered under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.); and

(E) on request of a crop insurance agent or approved insurance provider required to deliver policies and plans of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501

(2) continue to improve coordination, information sharing, and administrative work among the Farm Service Agency, Risk Management Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and other agencies, as determined by the Secretary;

(3) continue to take advantage of new technologies to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the delivery of Department of Agriculture programs to producers, including by developing and making publicly available data standards and security procedures to allow third-party providers to develop applications that use or feed data (including geospatial and precision agriculture data) into the datasets and analyses of the Department of Agriculture; and

(4) reduce administrative burdens on producers participating in price loss coverage or agriculture risk coverage by offering—

(A) those producers an option to remotely and electronically sign annual contracts for that coverage; and

(B) to the maximum extent practicable, an option to sign a multiyear contract for that coverage.

(1) In general

The Secretary shall make available to the Farm Service Agency to carry out this chapter $100,000,000.

(2) Additional funds

(A) Initial determination

If, by September 30, 2014, the Secretary notifies the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate that the Farm Service Agency has made substantial progress toward implementing the requirements of subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall make available to the Farm Service Agency to carry out this chapter $10,000,000 on October 1, 2014. The amount made available under this subparagraph is in addition to the amount made available under paragraph (1).

(B) Subsequent determination

If, by September 30, 2015, the Secretary notifies the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate that the requirements of subsection (b)(1) have been fully implemented and those Committees provide written concurrence to the Secretary, the Secretary shall make available to the Farm Service Agency to carry out this chapter $10,000,000 on the date the written concurrence is provided or October 1, 2015, whichever is later. The amount made available under this subparagraph is in addition to the amount made available under paragraph (1) and any amount made available under subparagraph (A).

(3) Producer education

(A) In general

Of the funds made available under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide $3,000,000 to State extension services for the purpose of educating farmers and ranchers on the options made available under subchapters I, III, and IV of this chapter and under section 7333 of this title.

(B) Web-based decision aids

(i) Use of qualified universities

Of the funds made available under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall use $3,000,000 to support qualified universities (or university-based organizations) that represent a diversity of regions and commodities (including dairy), possess expertise regarding the programs authorized by this Act, have a history in the development of decision aids and producer outreach initiatives regarding farm risk management programs, and are able to meet the deadline established pursuant to clause (ii) to develop web-based decision aids to assist producers in understanding available options described in subparagraph (A) and to train producers to use these decision aids.

(ii) DeadlinesTo the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall—(I) obligate the funds made available under clause (i) within 30 days after February 7, 2014; and(II) require the products described in clause (i) to be made available to producers on the internet within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the Secretary, after the implementation of the first rule implementing programs required under subchapter I of this chapter.

(4) Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018

The Secretary shall make available to the Farm Service Agency to carry out title I of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 and the amendments made by that title $15,500,000.

(d) Loan implementation

(1) In general

In any crop year in which an order is issued pursuant 2

2 So in original. Probably should be followed by “to”.

section 901(a) of title 2, the Secretary shall use such sums as necessary of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation for such crop year to fully restore the support, loan, or assistance that is otherwise required under subtitle B or C, under the amendments made by subtitle B or C, or under the amendments made by subtitle B or C of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018,1 except with respect to the assistance provided under sections 9037(c) and 9038 of this title.

(2) Repayment

In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall ensure that when a producer repays a loan at a rate equal to the loan rate plus interest in accordance with the repayment provisions of subtitles 3

3 So in original. Probably should be “subtitle”.

B or C that the repayment amount shall include the portion of the loan amount provided under paragraph (1), except that this paragraph shall not affect or reduce marketing loan gains, loan deficiency payments, or forfeiture benefits provided for under subtitles 3 B or C and as supplemented in accordance with paragraph (1).

(e) Deobligation of unliquidated obligations

(1) In generalSubject to paragraph (3), any payment obligated or otherwise made available by the Secretary under this chapter on or after December 20, 2018, that is not disbursed to the recipient by the date that is 5 years after the date on which the payment is obligated or otherwise made available shall—

(A) be deobligated; and

(B) revert to the Treasury.

(2) Outstanding payments

(A) In generalSubject to paragraph (3), any payment obligated or otherwise made available by the Farm Service Agency (or any predecessor agency of the Department of Agriculture) under the laws described in subparagraph (B) before December 20, 2018, that is not disbursed by the date that is 5 years after the date on which the payment is obligated or otherwise made available shall—

(i) be deobligated; and

(ii) revert to the Treasury.

(B) Laws describedThe laws referred to in subparagraph (A) are any of the following:

(i) This chapter.

(ii) Title I of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8702 et seq.).

(iii) Title I of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7901 et seq.).

(iv) The Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.).

(v) Titles I through XI of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (Public Law 101–624; 104 Stat. 3374) and the amendments made by those titles.

(vi) Titles I through X of the Food Security Act of 1985 (Public Law 99–198; 99 Stat. 1362) and the amendments made by those titles.

(vii) Titles I through XI of the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 (Public Law 97–98; 95 Stat. 1218) and the amendments made by those titles.

(viii) Titles I through X of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (Public Law 95–113; 91 Stat. 917) and the amendments made by those titles.

(3) WaiverThe Secretary may delay the date of the deobligation and reversion under paragraph (1) or (2) of any payment—

(A) that is the subject of—

(i) ongoing administrative review or appeal;

(ii) litigation; or

(iii) the settlement of an estate; or

(B) for which the Secretary otherwise determines that the circumstances are such that the delay is equitable.

(f) ReportNot later than January 1, 2020, and each January 1 thereafter through January 1, 2023, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that describes the tilled native sod acreage that was subject to a reduction in benefits under section 7333(a)(4)(B) of this title and section 508(o)(2) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(o)(2))—

(1) as of the date of submission of the report; and

(2) by State and county, relative to the total acres of cropland in the State or county.

(Pub. L. 113–79, title I, § 1614, Feb. 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 711; Pub. L. 115–334, title I, § 1706, Dec. 20, 2018, 132 Stat. 4527.)