A bill to amend the Agricultural Act of 1949 to establish a land diversion payment program, applicable with respect to the 1980 crop of feed grains.
Latest action. Reported to House from the Committee on appropriationA law permitting federal agencies to spend money. The Constitution forbids any spending without one, Congress's 'power of the purse'.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) with amendment, H. Rept. 96-878 (Part II).
(Reported to House from the Committee on Agriculture with amendment, H. Rept. 96-878 (Part I)) Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish programs of land diversion payments with respect to the 1980 crops of feed grains and wheat to divert from production 12 million metric tons of feed grains and 4 million metric tons of wheat. Requires producers seeking such payments to devote not less than 15 percent of feed grain cropland and not less than 10 percent of wheat cropland during the 1980 crop year to approved conservation purposes. Sets forth the formulae for computing the payment to a producer under such programs. Sets a payment rate for corn, for the purposes of such formulae at not less than $1.25 per bushel with all other feedgrain prices fixed in relation to such price, and at $1.50 per bushel of wheat. Requires the Secretary to make an advance payment available to such producers equal to not less than 75 percent of the estimated payment to be received. Directs the Secretary to implement and administer a special wheat acreage grazing and hay program for the 1980 crop year.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to House amended, Part I" stage on April 15, 1980. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 30, 1980: Reported to House from the Committee on Appropriations with amendment, H. Rept. 96-878 (Part II).
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 96th Congress (1979-80), 613 of the 12,581 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 4.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
BERKLEY BEDELL (D-IA) introduced it on January 31, 1980, and 12 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 8 Democrats, 4 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 31, 1980, 17071 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16981 days ago, on April 30, 1980.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 96th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1981 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers