Agricultural Export Equity Act of 1983
Latest action. Committee on Agriculture. Ordered reported an original bill (S.822) in lieu of this measure.
Agricultural Export Equity Act of 1983 - Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to sell for export in FY 1983 through 1985, not less than 150,000 metric tons per year of dairy products owned by the Commodity Credit Corporation (the Corporation). Requires such sales to be made under existing authorities available to the Secretary or the Corporation. Directs the Secretary to submit semiannual reports on the status of such sales, to specified congressional committees. Amends the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1982 to require the Secretary to use one-half of the proceeds from the sale of such dairy products each year for export assistance for U.S. agricultural commodities and products (in order to equalize the price and credit subsidies of foreign nations on their agricultural exports). Requires the use of specified Corporation funds for export assistance. Requires the Secretary to carry out this program through the Corporation. Authorizes the Secretary to formulate and carry out a program under which agricultural commodities and products acquired by the Corporation are made available, for export without charge, to U.S. exporters and users and foreign purchasers in order to promote export markets for such commodities and products. Requires the Secretary to: (1) ensure that equal treatment is provided to domestic and foreign purchasers and users in cases where the importation of a manufactured product made from agricultural commodities, made available for export under this Act, would place domestic users of such commodity at a competitive disadvantage; (2) consider all interested foreign purchasers for participation, giving priority to those who have purchased U.S. agricultural commodities in the past and who continue to do so in increased quantities; (3) ensure that agricultural commodities, made available for export under this Act, be used to encourage increased use of such commodities and to avoid unnecessary market displacement of domestic agricultural commodities; and (4) take reasonable precautions to prevent resale, transshipment or any use of such commodities other than domestic use in the importing country. Provides for bonus distributions to foreign purchasers who use funds realized from the sale of commodities made available for export under this Act to construct or rehabilitate facilities in the importing country for specified purposes. Requires the Secretary to determine the intervals and amounts of such bonus distributions. Requires the Secretary to carry out this program through the Corporation. Amends the Agricultural Act of 1947 to include other agricultural commodities and products (currently only dairy products), acquired by the Corporation, as donations for distributions to needy persons outside the United States. Provides for the direct distribution, barter or sale of such commodities. Requires the proceeds realized from the sale or barter of such commodities to be used exclusively for assistance to needy persons. Prohibits the use of such proceeds to defray operating or overhead expenses. Requires such donations to be coordinated with other U.S. foreign assistance through a specified mechanism. Requires the Secretary to submit a report to specified congressional committees, by July 1, 1983, on the use of export subsidies by foreign nations. Specifies the requirements of such report.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on January 27, 1983. 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 March 3, 1983: Committee on Agriculture. Ordered reported an original bill (S.822) in lieu of this measure.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 98th Congress (1983-84), 623 of the 10,560 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 5.9 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?
JESSE HELMS (R-NC) introduced it on January 27, 1983, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 1 Democrat, 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 27, 1983, 15979 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 15944 days ago, on March 3, 1983.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 98th Congress has not finished by January 3, 1985 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers