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1 1 (October 4, 2000)

handle is hein.crs/crsahln0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Order Code RS20696 October 4, 2000 Emergency Farm Assistance in FY2000: Description and State Distribution Ralph M. Chite Specialist in Agricultural Policy Resources, Science, and Industry Division Summary The 106h Congress provided nearly $15 billion in FY2000 emergency agriculture spending in four separate acts, primarily to compensate farmers for the effects of low farm commodity prices and natural disasters. Of this amount, approximately $13.2billion was disbursed to farmers in the form of direct government payments and the balance was appropriated to various USDA programs that benefit farmers and rural areas. (Not included in these totals is nearly $15 billion in FY2000 direct government payments made to farmers under regularly authorized USDA programs.) The principal beneficiaries of the emergency funds were growers of grains and cotton, who received a total of $11 billion in two installments of market loss payments to counter low commodity prices. Other recipients of emergency market loss payments included growers of oilseeds, tobacco, dairy and peanuts, who received just under $1 billion combined. Congress also provided over $1.2 billion in crop loss payments for major 1999 crop losses caused by a natural disaster. Five states - Texas, Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and Kansas - accounted for just over one-third ($5 billion) of total emergency payments made to farmers in FY2000. This report will not be updated. Legislative Background Four separate acts provided $15 billion in emergency spending in FY2000 for programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The vast majority of this additional spending was provided to bolster farm income which has been adversely affected by continued low farm commodity prices and various natural disasters. The annual agriculture appropriations act for FY2000 (P.L. 106-78, October 22, 1999) provided $8.7 billion in emergency supplemental USDA spending, of which $6.7 billion was paid directly to farmers (including $5.5 billion to grains and cotton growers) in the form of market loss payments to compensate for low prices, and $1.2 billion in crop disaster payments. One month later, provisions in the Consolidated Appropriations Act for FY2000 (P.L. 106-113, November 29, 1999) added $577 million in emergency USDA assistance primarily to help farmers and rural areas recover from a series of hurricanes that struck the Eastern states in 1999. A third act, the Agriculture Risk Protection Act of 2000 (P.L. 106-224, June 20, 2000) was enacted primarily to enhance the federal crop insurance Congressional Research Service The Library of Congress CRS Report for Congress Received through the CRS Web

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