Agriculture Emergency Act of 1980
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Agriculture.
Agriculture Emergency Act of 1980 - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to raise the minimum loan and purchase levels which the Secretary of Agriculture is required to make available to producers, for the 1979 through 1981 crops, from $2.35 to $3.90 per bushel for wheat, from $2.00 to $2.50 per bushel for corn, and from 48 cents to 60 cents per pound for cotton. Sets a minimum loan and purchase level for the 1979 through 1981 crops of soybeans at $6.25 per bushel. Directs the Secretary to adjust such levels for such commodities at the beginning of each semiannual period after the beginning of the marketing year to reflect any estimated change in the parity index during such semiannual period. Prohibits the Commodity Credit Corporation, whenever the extended loan program for producer storage is in effect, from selling any of its stocks of wheat or feed grains at less than ten percent above the level at which the Secretary may call for the repayment of loans under specified conditions, or at less than 20 percent above the then current level of price support for the commodity, whichever is higher, with specified exceptions. Amends the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of 1954 to require that the minimum quantities of agricultural commodities distributed for 1981 and each fiscal year thereafter under specified food relief programs be 1,600,000 metric tons of which not less than 1,300,000 metric tons shall be distributed through the nonprofit voluntary agencies of the World Food Program. Amends the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 to direct the Secretary to set price support loan levels for agricultural commodities at 90 percent of the parity price whenever the President or any other member of the executive branch suspends export sales of such commodities to any country or area of the world (no longer requiring that such suspensions be directed at countries or areas with which the U.S. otherwise continues commercial trade or be based upon determinations of short supply). Directs the Secretary to establish land diversion payment programs for the 1980 crops of corn and wheat. Requires, as a condition of eligibility for such payments, that grain producers devote to approved conservation uses, an amount of cropland not less than a percentage of their 1980 crop planted acreage (15 percent for corn and 10 percent for wheat). Sets forth formulas for determining the amount of such payments. Sets $1.50 per bushel for both corn and wheat as a payment rate factor in such formulas. Waives interest payment requirements on price support loans to producers of wheat, corn, grain sorghum, barley, rye, or oats for the 1979 crops for any period after January 10, 1980.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on February 12, 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 February 12, 1980: Referred to House Committee on Agriculture.
- 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?
THOMAS DASCHLE (D-SD) introduced it on February 12, 1980, and 8 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 7 Democrats, 1 Republican.
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 February 12, 1980, 17012 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17012 days ago, on February 12, 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