Reclamation Reform and New Farm Assistance Act of 1980
Latest action. Referred to House Committee on Agriculture.
Reclamation Reform and New Farm Assistance Act of 1980 - Title I: Reclamation Reform - Reclamation Reform Act of 1980 - Amends the Federal reclamation laws to require contracts entered into by the Secretary of the Interior with a water district for repayment or water service to include a water conservation program for all uses of water which are provided from, or conveyed through, federally constructed or federally financed facilities. Requires such program to contain definite goals, appropriate water conservation measures, and time schedules for meeting the water conservation objectives. Makes persons owning not more than 960 acres within such district eligible for such program. Requires such contracts to provide for the delivery of project water to farm operations within the district, priced according to an established schedule. Establishes a pricing schedule for project water. Directs the Secretary at five-year intervals to recalculate the cost of delivering project water to each district and to modify such schedule accordingly. Permits districts to sell surplus water for purposes other than irrigation at the prevailing market rate. Directs the Secretary to coordinate water conservation programs with non-Federal entities. Title II: Agricultural Conservation and Development - New Farm Assistance Act of 1980 - Directs the Secretary to transfer into the Irrigation Water Conservation Account established in the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act, one-third of the excess amount a water district paid to satisfy the annual obligation of such district. Directs the Secretary to pay the remaining two-thirds of such amount into the Limited Resource Farmers' Fund established in the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. Sets forth the formula for determining such excess payments. Amends the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act to make amounts from the Irrigation Water Conservation Account available for specified soil conservation programs, including the Great Plains Conservation program and grants of aid to agricultural producers. Establishes within the Treasury the Irrigation Water Conservation Account for use by the Secretary in carrying out irrigation water conservation programs. Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish in the Treasury the Limited Resource Farmers' Funds for use by the Secretary in carrying out the low-income farm ownership loan program. Makes all notes, securities, and charges acquired in connection with such program a part of the Fund. Exempts loans utilizing funds from such Fund from the equitable allocation of funds among the States requirement. Requires the Secretary to testify annually before Congress to justify the amounts estimated to be utilized during such fiscal year from such Fund. Exempts loans utilizing such funds from the ceiling on aggregate principal amounts for loans authorized under such Act.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on May 22, 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 May 22, 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?
JERRY PATTERSON (D-CA) introduced it on May 22, 1980. No cosponsors are recorded.
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 May 22, 1980, 16912 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 16912 days ago, on May 22, 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