SUBCHAPTER V—ADMINISTRATION
§9091. Administration generally
(a) Use of Commodity Credit Corporation
The Secretary shall use the funds, facilities, and authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out this chapter.
(b) Determinations by Secretary
A determination made by the Secretary under this chapter shall be final and conclusive.
(c) Regulations
(1) In general
Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, not later than 90 days after February 7, 2014, the Secretary and the Commodity Credit Corporation, as appropriate, shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary to implement this chapter and the amendments made by this chapter.
(2) Procedure
The promulgation of the regulations and administration of this chapter and the amendments made by this chapter, sections 11003 and 11017, title I of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 and the amendments made by that title, and section 10109 of that Act shall be made without regard to—
(A) the notice and comment provisions of
(B)
(3) Congressional review of agency rulemaking
In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall use the authority provided under
(d) Adjustment authority related to trade agreements compliance
(1) Required determination; adjustment
If the Secretary determines that expenditures under this chapter that are subject to the total allowable domestic support levels under the Uruguay Round Agreements (as defined in
(2) Congressional notification
Before making any adjustment under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report describing the determination made under that paragraph and the extent of the adjustment to be made.
(
Editorial Notes
References in Text
This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original "this title", meaning title I of
Sections 11003 and 11017, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), mean sections 11003 and 11017 of
The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), is
Section 10109 of that Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(2), means section 10109 of
Amendments
2018—Subsec. (c)(2).
Subsec. (c)(2)(C).
§9092. Suspension of permanent price support authority
(a) Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938
The following provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 [
(1) Parts II through V of subtitle B of title III (
(2) In the case of upland cotton, section 377 (
(3) Subtitle D of title III (
(4) Title IV (
(b) Agricultural Act of 1949
The following provisions of the Agricultural Act of 1949 [
(1) Section 101 (
(2) Section 103(a) (
(3) Section 105 (
(4) Section 107 (
(5) Section 110 (
(6) Section 112 (
(7) Section 115 (
(8) Section 201 (
(9) Title III (
(10) Title IV (
(11) Title V (
(12) Title VI (
(c) Suspension of certain quota provisions
The joint resolution entitled "A joint resolution relating to corn and wheat marketing quotas under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended", approved May 26, 1941 (
(
Editorial Notes
References in Text
The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, referred to in subsec. (a), is act Feb. 16, 1938, ch. 30,
The Agricultural Act of 1949, referred to in subsec. (b), is act Oct. 31, 1949, ch. 792,
The joint resolution relating to corn and wheat marketing quotas under the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, referred to in subsec. (c), is act May 26, 1941, ch. 133,
Amendments
2018—
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Suspension of Permanent Price Support Authorities
"(A) subsections (a) and (b) of section 1602 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (
"(i) shall not be applicable to the 2024 crops of covered commodities (as defined in section 1111 of that Act (
"(ii) shall not be applicable to milk through December 31, 2024; and
"(B) section 1602(c) of that Act (
§9093. Prevention of deceased individuals receiving payments under farm commodity programs
(a) Reconciliation
At least twice each year, the Secretary shall reconcile Social Security numbers of all individuals who receive payments under this chapter, whether directly or indirectly, with the Commissioner of Social Security to determine if the individuals are alive.
(b) Preclusion
The Secretary shall preclude the issuance of payments to, and on behalf of, deceased individuals that were not eligible for payments.
(
Editorial Notes
References in Text
This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a), was in the original "this title", meaning title I of
§9094. Assignment of payments
(a) In general
The provisions of
(b) Notice
The producer making the assignment, or the assignee, shall provide the Secretary with notice, in such manner as the Secretary may require, of any assignment made under this section.
(
Editorial Notes
References in Text
This chapter, referred to in subsec. (a), was in the original "this title", meaning title I of
§9095. Tracking of benefits
As soon as practicable after February 7, 2014, the Secretary may track the benefits provided, directly or indirectly, to individuals and entities under titles I and II and the amendments made by those titles.
(
Editorial Notes
References in Text
Titles I and II, referred to in text, are titles I and II of
§9096. Signature authority
(a) In general
In carrying out this title and title II and amendments made by those titles, if the Secretary approves a document, the Secretary shall not subsequently determine the document is inadequate or invalid because of the lack of authority of any person signing the document on behalf of the applicant or any other individual, entity, general partnership, or joint venture, or the documents relied upon were determined inadequate or invalid, unless the person signing the program document knowingly and willfully falsified the evidence of signature authority or a signature.
(b) Affirmation
(1) In general
Nothing in this section prohibits the Secretary from asking a proper party to affirm any document that otherwise would be considered approved under subsection (a).
(2) No retroactive effect
A denial of benefits based on a lack of affirmation under paragraph (1) shall not be retroactive with respect to third-party producers who were not the subject of the erroneous representation of authority, if the third-party producers—
(A) relied on the prior approval by the Secretary of the documents in good faith; and
(B) substantively complied with all program requirements.
(
Editorial Notes
References in Text
This title and title II, referred to in subsec. (a), are titles I and II of
§9097. Implementation
(a) Maintenance of base acres and payment yields
The Secretary shall maintain, for each covered commodity and upland cotton, base acres and payment yields on a farm established under
(b) Streamlining
In implementing this chapter and the amendments made by this title,1 the Secretary shall—
(1) continue to reduce administrative burdens and costs to producers by streamlining and reducing paperwork, forms, and other administrative requirements, to ensure that—
(A) a producer (or an agent of a producer) may report information, electronically (including geospatial data) or conventionally, to the Department of Agriculture, subject to the Secretary—
(i) establishing reasonable levels of tolerance that reflect the differences in accuracy between measures of common land units and geospatial data; and
(ii) ensuring that discrepancies that occur within the levels of tolerance established under clause (i) shall not be used to penalize a producer (or an agent of a producer) under any program administered by the Department of Agriculture;
(B) on the request of a producer (or an agent of a producer), the Department of Agriculture electronically shares with the producer (or agent) in real time and without cost to the producer (or agent) the common land unit data, related farm level data, conservation practices, and other information of the producer through a single Department of Agriculture-wide login;
(C) not later than September 30, 2020, the Administrator of the Risk Management Agency and the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency shall implement a consistent method for determining crop acreage, acreage yields, farm acreage, property descriptions, and other common informational requirements, including measures of common land units;
(D) except in the case of misrepresentation, fraud, or scheme and device, no crop insurance agent, approved insurance provider, or employee or contractor of a crop insurance agency or approved insurance provider bears responsibility or liability under the Acreage Crop Reporting and Streamlining Initiative (or any successor or similar initiative) for the eligibility of a producer for a program administered by the Department of Agriculture, not including a policy or plan of insurance offered under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (
(E) on request of a crop insurance agent or approved insurance provider required to deliver policies and plans of insurance under the Federal Crop Insurance Act (
(2) continue to improve coordination, information sharing, and administrative work among the Farm Service Agency, Risk Management Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and other agencies, as determined by the Secretary;
(3) continue to take advantage of new technologies to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the delivery of Department of Agriculture programs to producers, including by developing and making publicly available data standards and security procedures to allow third-party providers to develop applications that use or feed data (including geospatial and precision agriculture data) into the datasets and analyses of the Department of Agriculture; and
(4) reduce administrative burdens on producers participating in price loss coverage or agriculture risk coverage by offering—
(A) those producers an option to remotely and electronically sign annual contracts for that coverage; and
(B) to the maximum extent practicable, an option to sign a multiyear contract for that coverage.
(c) Implementation
(1) In general
The Secretary shall make available to the Farm Service Agency to carry out this chapter $100,000,000.
(2) Additional funds
(A) Initial determination
If, by September 30, 2014, the Secretary notifies the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate that the Farm Service Agency has made substantial progress toward implementing the requirements of subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall make available to the Farm Service Agency to carry out this chapter $10,000,000 on October 1, 2014. The amount made available under this subparagraph is in addition to the amount made available under paragraph (1).
(B) Subsequent determination
If, by September 30, 2015, the Secretary notifies the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate that the requirements of subsection (b)(1) have been fully implemented and those Committees provide written concurrence to the Secretary, the Secretary shall make available to the Farm Service Agency to carry out this chapter $10,000,000 on the date the written concurrence is provided or October 1, 2015, whichever is later. The amount made available under this subparagraph is in addition to the amount made available under paragraph (1) and any amount made available under subparagraph (A).
(3) Producer education
(A) In general
Of the funds made available under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide $3,000,000 to State extension services for the purpose of educating farmers and ranchers on the options made available under subchapters I, III, and IV of this chapter and under
(B) Web-based decision aids
(i) Use of qualified universities
Of the funds made available under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall use $3,000,000 to support qualified universities (or university-based organizations) that represent a diversity of regions and commodities (including dairy), possess expertise regarding the programs authorized by this Act, have a history in the development of decision aids and producer outreach initiatives regarding farm risk management programs, and are able to meet the deadline established pursuant to clause (ii) to develop web-based decision aids to assist producers in understanding available options described in subparagraph (A) and to train producers to use these decision aids.
(ii) Deadlines
To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall—
(I) obligate the funds made available under clause (i) within 30 days after February 7, 2014; and
(II) require the products described in clause (i) to be made available to producers on the internet within a reasonable period of time, as determined by the Secretary, after the implementation of the first rule implementing programs required under subchapter I of this chapter.
(4) Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018
The Secretary shall make available to the Farm Service Agency to carry out title I of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 and the amendments made by that title $15,500,000.
(d) Loan implementation
(1) In general
In any crop year in which an order is issued pursuant 2
(2) Repayment
In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall ensure that when a producer repays a loan at a rate equal to the loan rate plus interest in accordance with the repayment provisions of subtitles 3 B or C that the repayment amount shall include the portion of the loan amount provided under paragraph (1), except that this paragraph shall not affect or reduce marketing loan gains, loan deficiency payments, or forfeiture benefits provided for under subtitles 3 B or C and as supplemented in accordance with paragraph (1).
(e) Deobligation of unliquidated obligations
(1) In general
Subject to paragraph (3), any payment obligated or otherwise made available by the Secretary under this chapter on or after December 20, 2018, that is not disbursed to the recipient by the date that is 5 years after the date on which the payment is obligated or otherwise made available shall—
(A) be deobligated; and
(B) revert to the Treasury.
(2) Outstanding payments
(A) In general
Subject to paragraph (3), any payment obligated or otherwise made available by the Farm Service Agency (or any predecessor agency of the Department of Agriculture) under the laws described in subparagraph (B) before December 20, 2018, that is not disbursed by the date that is 5 years after the date on which the payment is obligated or otherwise made available shall—
(i) be deobligated; and
(ii) revert to the Treasury.
(B) Laws described
The laws referred to in subparagraph (A) are any of the following:
(i) This chapter.
(ii) Title I of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (
(iii) Title I of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (
(iv) The Agricultural Market Transition Act (
(v) Titles I through XI of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (
(vi) Titles I through X of the Food Security Act of 1985 (
(vii) Titles I through XI of the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 (
(viii) Titles I through X of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (
(3) Waiver
The Secretary may delay the date of the deobligation and reversion under paragraph (1) or (2) of any payment—
(A) that is the subject of—
(i) ongoing administrative review or appeal;
(ii) litigation; or
(iii) the settlement of an estate; or
(B) for which the Secretary otherwise determines that the circumstances are such that the delay is equitable.
(f) Report
Not later than January 1, 2020, and each January 1 thereafter through January 1, 2023, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that describes the tilled native sod acreage that was subject to a reduction in benefits under
(1) as of the date of submission of the report; and
(2) by State and county, relative to the total acres of cropland in the State or county.
(
Editorial Notes
References in Text
This chapter, referred to in subsecs. (b), (c), and (e), was in the original "this title", meaning title I of
The amendments made by this title, referred to in subsec. (b), mean the amendments made by title I of
The Federal Crop Insurance Act, referred to in subsec. (b)(1)(D), (E), is subtitle A of title V of act Feb. 16, 1938, ch. 30,
Subchapter I of this chapter, referred to in subsec. (c)(3)(A), (B)(ii)(II), was in the original a reference to subtitle A of this title, meaning subtitle A (§1101 et seq.) of title I of
This Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(3)(B)(i), is
The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, referred to in subsec. (c)(4), is
Subtitles B and C, referred to in subsec. (d), are subtitles B (§1201 et seq.) and C (§1301) of title I of
Subtitle B or C of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, referred to in subsec. (d)(1), probably means subtitle B (§1201 et seq.) or C (§1301) of title I of
The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, referred to in subsec. (e)(2)(B)(ii), is
The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, referred to in subsec. (e)(2)(B)(iii), is
The Agricultural Market Transition Act, referred to in subsec. (e)(2)(B)(iv), is title I of
The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990, referred to in subsec. (e)(2)(B)(v), is
The Food Security Act of 1985, referred to in subsec. (e)(2)(B)(vi), is
The Agriculture and Food Act of 1981, referred to in subsec. (e)(2)(B)(vii), is
The Food and Agriculture Act of 1977, referred to in subsec. (e)(2)(B)(viii), is
Amendments
2018—Subsec. (a).
Subsec. (b).
Subsec. (c)(4).
Subsec. (d)(1).
Subsec. (e).
Subsec. (f).
1 See References in Text note below.