Consumer and Agricultural Protection Act of 1979
Latest action. Referred to Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
Consumer and Agriculture Protection Act of 1979 - Establishes a National Board of Agricultural Governors, independent of the Department of Agriculture and consisting in part of agricultural producers, whose primary duty shall be the annual establishment of cost of production prices for cotton, feed grains, rice, soybeans, sugar and wheat. States that such prices shall take into account: (1) machinery ownership costs; (2) general farm overhead costs; (3) a value for the management services contributed by the producers; (4) labor costs; and (5) a value for the land utilized. Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to guarantee or make direct nonrecourse loans to producers of nonperishable specified commodities. Specifies formulae for the determination of loan levels and conditions for the calling of such loans. Directs the Board to establish mandatory release prices for each commodity, expressed in terms of a percentage of the cost of production price plus storage costs and interest charges. Requires the release for domestic or export sale of a portion of a commodity under loan, when such commodity's market price reaches the mandatory release price level. Requires the Secretary to establish and maintain a National Commodity Reserve of cotton, feed grains, rice, soybeans, sugar, and wheat, for provision during national emergencies and for the protection of producers from depressed prices. Requires the Secretary, upon receiving written production estimates from producers prior to the production year, to determine and announce production adjustments if he finds that, in the absence of such adjustments, domestic stocks, including Reserve quantities, will exceed domestic and foreign demand and the replenishment needs of the Reserve. Directs the Board to apportion production cutbacks and mandatory set-asides among producers equally. Specifies civil penalties for the use of land removed from production for harvesting any crop or for grazing. Provides for coverage under this Act of any commodity not specified, by means of a petition and majority-vote referendum among the producers of such commodity. Permits the termination of such commodity, whether specified or unspecified, by the same means. Bars the importation of a specified commodity at less than the domestic cost of production price, adjusted for transportation and handling costs. Authorizes the Board to impose price maintenance custom duties on imported agricultural commodities. Prohibits the purchase of domestic specified commodities for foreign assistance programs at less than cost of production prices.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on February 7, 1979. 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 7, 1979: Referred to Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.
- 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 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?
DALE BUMPERS (D-AR) introduced it on February 7, 1979, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
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 7, 1979, 17382 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 17382 days ago, on February 7, 1979.
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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers