Expiration and Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill
Jim Monke
Specialist in Agricultural Policy
Randy Alison Aussenberg
Analyst in Nutrition Assistance Policy
Megan Stubbs
Specialist in Agricultural Conservation and Natural Resources Policy
September 16, 2013
Congressional Research Service
7-5700
www.crs.gov
R42442
CRS Report for Congress
Pr
epared for Members and Committees of Congress
Expiration and Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill
Summary
Farm bills, like many other pieces of legislation, have become more complicated and politically
sensitive, and are taking longer to enact than in previous decades. Legislative delays have caused
the past two farm bills to expire for short periods and to be extended. Expiration may become an
issue again unless Congress passes a new farm bill by September 30, 2013.
Farm bill expiration does not affect all programs equally. For instance, appropriations action such
as a continuing resolution can continue some farm bill programs, but not all of them.
Discretionary programs can be continued via appropriations action, even if their authorization is
expired. But programs with mandatory funding generally cease operations when they expire and
are not continued in an appropriation. However, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
(SNAP) and the other programs in the SNAP account receive appropriated mandatory funding, so
these mandatory programs may be continued with appropriated funds.
The most recent farm bill expiration was from October 1, 2012, to January 2, 2013, from the 2008
farm bill (the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, P.L. 110-246). During this period,
mandatory-funded programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program and Market Assistance
Program ceased new operations. SNAP’s authorization expired, but continued via appropriations
action. An outdated and expensive “permanent law” for the farm commodity price support
programs was about to be resurrected on January 1, 2013. However, the American Taxpayer
Relief Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-240) extended all 2008 farm bill provisions that were in effect on
September 30, 2012, for one additional year until September 30, 2013. For the farm commodity
programs, the extension covers crops harvested in 2013 and dairy price support through
December 31, 2013. Crop insurance is permanently authorized and did not expire.
The one-year extension preserves the budget baseline to write a new farm bill in 2013. Moreover,
the extension incurred no net cost because the mandatory funding to continue the major farm bill
programs was already in the budget baseline, such as for the farm commodity, conservation,
trade, and nutrition programs. However, the extension forestalled the projected reductions in
spending estimated to come from the 2012 farm bill proposals to restructure many farm bill
programs. A future extension could be budget neutral, could make some changes to achieve
deficit reduction, or could continue policies that are not included in the baseline (thereby
increasing estimates of spending).
Though many programs were continued, a subset of the 2008 farm bill programs expired and
remained expired throughout 2013. They did not have a continuing mandatory baseline beyond
2012 and did not receive any additional mandatory funding under the extension or discretionary
funding under the FY2013 appropriation. This group includes certain agricultural disaster
assistance programs, conservation programs, specialty crop research, organic research and
certification, beginning and socially disadvantaged farmer programs, rural development,
bioenergy, and farmers market promotion programs. Many of these programs would have been
funded in the five-year farm bills that the House and Senate considered.
In 2013, concern over proposed budgetary reductions—especially those to nutrition programs,
which are too large for some and too small for others—again is complicating action on a new
farm bill. The one-year extension in P.L. 112-240 sets up the possibility for similar expiration and
extension issues in 2013 as were experienced in 2012.
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Expiration and Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill
Contents
Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill for 2013 ....................................................................................... 1
Background on Extension and Expiration ....................................................................................... 2
Funding Sources Affect Options Regarding Expiration ............................................................ 2
Programs with Discretionary Funding ................................................................................ 2
Programs with Mandatory Funding ..................................................................................... 3
Brief History of Farm Bill Formulation, Enactment, and Extension ......................................... 4
Timelines ............................................................................................................................. 5
Extensions ........................................................................................................................... 5
Farm Commodity Support Programs ............................................................................................... 7
Possible Reversion to Permanent Law ...................................................................................... 7
Description of Permanent Law ............................................................................................ 8
Legislative Options Under Permanent Law ...................................................................... 11
Crop Insurance......................................................................................................................... 12
Conservation Programs .................................................................................................................. 12
Nutrition Programs ........................................................................................................................ 15
Permanently Authorized and Funded Programs ...................................................................... 15
Programs Continued via Appropriations Action ...................................................................... 16
Programs Which May Expire Without Reauthorization or Extension ..................................... 16
Trade and Foreign Food Aid Programs .......................................................................................... 18
Tables
Table 1. Parity Prices and Supports for Farm Products Under Permanent Law .............................. 9
Table 2. Conservation Program Funding Authorization ................................................................ 12
Table A-1. Major Legislative Action on Farm Bills Since 1965 .................................................... 19
Appendixes
Appendix A. Legislative Action on Prior Farm Bills ..................................................................... 19
Appendix B. Brief History of Suspensions of Permanent Law and Proposals to Repeal It .......... 23
Contacts
Author Contact Information........................................................................................................... 25
Key Policy Staff ............................................................................................................................. 25
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Expiration and Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill
Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill for 2013
Parts of the farm bill expired after September 30, 2012. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of
2012 (P.L. 112-240; January 2, 2013) extended the 2008 farm bill (the Food, Conservation, and
Energy Act of 2008, P.L. 110-246) for one additional year until September 30, 2013, or, in the
case of the farm commodity programs that are on a different calendar, through crop year 2013.1
Expiration has become an issue again since Congress has not yet agreed to a new farm bill or
extended the current one beyond 2013, and dates and effects could be similar to those in 2012.
There was no net cost to the January 2013 extension because the mandatory funding to continue
most of the major farm bill programs was already in the budget baseline, such as for the farm
commodity, conservation, trade, and nutrition programs.2 Likewise, the extension preserves the
budget baseline to write a new farm bill in 2013. However, to extend the Milk Income Loss
Contract (MILC) program at the higher support rate that existed in the 2008 farm bill before
September 2012, an additional $110 million of mandatory funding was needed. The offset for this
additional spending authority was a corresponding reduction from a nutrition education program.3
Though the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) authorization of appropriations
expired after September 30, 2012, SNAP and related programs continued operations due to
appropriations action in the continuing resolution (P.L. 112-175) and the subsequent FY2013 full
year appropriation (P.L. 113-6). Nutrition and related program authorities were extended by the
P.L. 112-240 extension.
A different subset of 2008 farm bill programs did not have a continuing baseline, and thus would
have required new funding to be continued.4 These programs remain expired due to a lack of
funding. These programs did not receive any additional mandatory funding under the extension,
although many would have been funded in the proposed five-year farm bills.5 This group includes
certain agricultural disaster assistance programs, conservation programs, specialty crop research,
organic research and certification, beginning and socially disadvantaged farmer programs, rural
development, bioenergy, and farmers market promotion programs. The extension provided many
of these programs an “authorization of appropriation” for discretionary funding, but the FY2013
appropriation (P.L. 113-6) did not allocate funding to any of these programs.
The extension of the 2008 farm bill forestalled the projected reductions in spending estimated to
come from the 2012 farm bill proposals to restructure the farm commodity programs, streamline
of conservation programs, change spending on nutrition programs, and continue of disaster
programs, among other changes.6
1 A crop year refers to the year in which a commodity is harvested. Thus, the extension applies to covered commodities
that are harvested in 2013. The dairy price support program is extended until December 31, 2013.
2 CRS Report R42484, Budget Issues Shaping a Farm Bill in 2013.
3 CBO score of H.R. 8, footnote “e,” at http://cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/
American%20Taxpayer%20Relief%20Act.pdf.
4 CRS Report R41433, Expiring Farm Bill Programs Without a Budget Baseline.
5 Ibid., and CBO score of an extension proposal by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Lucas, December 30,
2012, at http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/43828-OneYearAgProgramExtension.pdf.
6 CRS Report R42552, The 2012 Farm Bill: A Comparison of Senate-Passed S. 3240 and the House Agriculture
Committee’s H.R. 6083 with Current Law.
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Background on Extension and Expiration
Congress periodically establishes agricultural and food policy in a multi-year omnibus farm bill.7
Provisions in the most recent law—the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, P.L. 110-
246, the 2008 farm bill—generally were to expire beginning on September 30, 2012. But the
American Taxpayer Relief Act (P.L. 112-240; January 2, 2013) extended all 2008 farm bill
provisions that were in effect on September 30, 2012, for one additional year.
The 112th Congress made limited progress on a farm bill in 2012. The Senate passed S. 3240, but
the House committee-reported bill (H.R. 6083) never reached the floor. Concern over budgetary
reductions complicated the bills’ progress. This impasse led to the extension in P.L. 112-240.
Similar difficulties are delaying a farm bill in 2013. The Senate passed S. 954 on June 10, 2013.
The House rejected a committee-reported bill (H.R. 1947) mostly over disagreements about the
nutrition title, but passed a revised bill (H.R. 2642) without the nutrition title on July 11, 2013.
Conference is pending over prospects for a House nutrition bill.8
What happens if Congress does not enact a new farm bill in 2013, or by the end of the fiscal year?
Will some programs cease to operate? What is “permanent law” and what does it affect? Do the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and crop insurance benefits end? This report
answers these and other questions about the expiration of the farm bill.
Funding Sources Affect Options Regarding Expiration
Farm bills include a wide range of authorities, some of which are funded in the farm bill
(mandatory spending), while others are authorized in the farm bill for their scope but wait for
appropriations acts to determine their funding (discretionary spending). These differences affect
how the farm bill is constructed and funded under normal circumstances, and what happens to
farm bill programs when the farm bill expires or when annual appropriations are delayed.
Programs with Discretionary Funding
Without a new farm bill or extension, it may appear that many programs would not have statutory
authority to receive appropriations (an “authorization of appropriations”),9 but appropriations law
allows the continued operation of a program where only appropriations action has occurred.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says there is no constitutional or statutory
requirement for an appropriation to have a prior authorization.10 Congress distinguishes between
7 An omnibus bill addresses several areas of law that previously were treated separately. See CRS Report RS22131,
What Is the Farm Bill?
8 CRS Report R43076, The 2013 Farm Bill: A Comparison of the Senate-Passed (S. 954) and House-Passed (H.R.
2642) Bills with Current Law.
9 A program may have permanent or long-term authority, but have an expiring authorization for appropriations. An
“authorization of appropriations” is essentially a recommendation to the appropriations committee. It is not binding and
has no bearing on budget enforcement for an authorizing bill. Appropriators may choose to not fund a program, or may
choose to exceed the authorization. Authorization amounts may be specific or indefinite (“such sums as necessary”).
10 Government Accountability Office, Office of the General Counsel, Principles of Federal Appropriations Law (also
known as the GAO Red Book), Volume I (3d ed. 2004), p. 2-41, at http://www.gao.gov/legal/redbook/redbook.html.
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authorizations and appropriations, but this is a congressional construct.11 GAO says that “the
existence of a statute imposing substantive functions upon an agency that require funding for their
performance is itself sufficient legal authorization for the necessary appropriations.”12 For expired
authorizations, GAO says that:
“[A]ppropriation of funds for a program whose funding authorization has expired ... provides
sufficient legal basis to continue the program.”13
Discretionary spending (subject to annual appropriations) is authorized throughout the farm bill.
Discretionary programs include most rural development, credit, research, and education
programs, and some conservation and nutrition programs.14 The Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP)—a mandatory program—also requires an annual appropriation.
Some smaller research, bioenergy, and rural development programs receive both mandatory and
discretionary funding, but most is usually discretionary.15 Most agency operations are financed
with discretionary funds.
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) compiles a list of programs with expired authorizations
of appropriations. Eighteen agricultural programs received more than $37 million in FY2012
under expired authorizations of appropriations.16 More than 100 farm bill programs briefly lost
their authorization for appropriations at the end of FY2012 and until the one-year extension was
passed on January 1, 2013; they received $2.3 billion in FY2012,17 and generally are being
continued in FY2013 under FY2013 appropriation (P.L. 113-6).
Programs with Mandatory Funding
Most farm bill programs with mandatory funding have an expiration date either on their program
authority or their funding authority. These include SNAP, farm commodity programs, some
conservation programs, agricultural trade programs, and foreign food aid programs. For the most
part, without reauthorization or extension, these programs would cease to operate or undertake
new activities. Some exceptions to that rule are:
11 CRS Report R42098, Authorization of Appropriations: Procedural and Legal Issues.
12 GAO Red Book, Volume I, p. 2-41.
13 Ibid, p. 2-69.
14 For nutrition funding, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program and administrative funds for the Emergency Food
Assistance Program are discretionary, as are some aspects of other nutrition programs. The Special Supplemental
Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) also is discretionary, but is not considered a farm bill program.
15 For example, see §7311 of P.L. 110-246 having mandatory funding language and an authorization for appropriation:
“(h) Funding. (1) In general. Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, ... $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2009 through 2012 ... (2) Authorization of appropriations. In addition to funds made available under paragraph (1),
there is authorized to be appropriated ... $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.”
16 Congressional Budget Office, Unauthorized Appropriations and Expiring Authorizations, January 2012, at http://
www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/01-13-UAEA_Appropriations.pdf. See Table 1, “Summary of
Fiscal Year 2012 Appropriations with Expired Authorizations, by House Authorizing Committee” (and Table 2, by
Senate Authorizing Committee; and Table 3, by Appropriations Subcommittee), pp. 9-11; and Appendix A, “List of
Programs Funded in Fiscal Year 2012 With Expired Authorizations of Appropriations,” pp. 1-2.
17 Ibid. See Appendix B, “List of Authorizations of Appropriations Expiring During Fiscal Year 2012,” pp. 1-9, and
Table 4, “Summary of Authorizations of Appropriations Expiring on or Before September 30, 2012, by House
Authorizing Committee” (and Table 5, by Senate Authorizing Committee), pp. 12-13.
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• SNAP, which can be continued via appropriations action even if its authorization for
appropriations is expired.
• Crop insurance, which is permanently authorized, and
• Some conservation programs, which were extended separately through FY2014.
Mandatory spending in the farm bill is used primarily for the farm commodity programs, crop
insurance, nutrition assistance programs, and some conservation and trade programs. Some
smaller research, bioenergy, and rural development programs sometimes receive mandatory
funding, but their combined share—however important to their own operations—is less than 1%
of the total. Nutrition assistance is the largest category, with 79% of mandatory funding available
to write the next farm bill ($764 billion in the 10-year CBO May 2013 baseline for FY2014-
FY2023). Other primary programs with mandatory funding are crop insurance (9%, or $84
billion), conservation (6%, or $62 billion), and farm commodity programs (6%, or $59 billion).18
Programs relying on mandatory funding – provided by the farm bill – are perhaps the most at risk
for interruption, since their authorization and funding both require farm bill action. Yet, unlike
discretionary programs, many farm bill programs with mandatory funding have their own source
of funding via the CBO baseline. The enacted extension continues these programs for one
additional year until September 30, 2013, or, in the case of the farm commodity programs through
crop year 2013. The baseline requires no cost to extend the farm commodity, conservation, trade,
and nutrition programs.19
However, another subset of mandatory programs exists that do not have baseline beyond FY2012.
Because these programs lack built-in budgetary resources, offsets are needed to provide future
funding.20 This group includes certain agricultural disaster assistance programs, certain
conservation programs, specialty crop research and grants, organic research and certification,
beginning and socially disadvantaged farmer programs, rural development, bioenergy, and
farmers market promotion programs. The extension did not provide these programs any
mandatory funding, although many would be funded in the new farm bill.21 The extension added
an “authorization of appropriation” for discretionary funding in FY2013, but the full-year
appropriation for FY2013 in P.L. 113-6 did not provide any discretionary funding for these
programs. Therefore, these programs remain in an expired state due to a lack of funding.
Brief History of Farm Bill Formulation, Enactment, and Extension
Farm bills, like other legislation, are becoming more complicated, politically sensitive, and
generally are taking longer to enact than in previous decades. For example, the 1973 farm bill was
enacted less than two months after being introduced. In contrast, the 2008 farm bill took more
18 See CRS Report R42484, Budget Issues Shaping a Farm Bill in 2013.
19 However, to extend the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program at the higher support rate that existed in the
2008 farm bill before September 2012, an additional $110 million of mandatory funding was needed beyond the
available baseline. The offset for this authority was a reduction of $110 million from a nutrition education program.
20 CRS Report R41433, Expiring Farm Bill Programs Without a Budget Baseline.
21 Ibid., and CBO score of an extension proposal by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Lucas, December 30,
2012, at http://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/43828-OneYearAgProgramExtension.pdf.
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than a year from the time it was introduced; see Appendix Table A-1.22 The 2008 farm bill was
complicated by revenue provisions that involved other committees of jurisdiction, temporary
extensions, and presidential vetoes. Formulation and passage in the 112th and 113th Congress have
been more contentious and prolonged than in years past.
Both the 2008 farm bill and the 2002 farm bill had expired for about three months (from October
through December in 2012 and 2007, respectively) before extensions were enacted. In each case,
the fiscal year began under a continuing resolution before the farm bill extended occurred. The
extensions of the 2002 farm bill were for relatively short periods totaling about 5 months while
final negotiations continued. However, the extension of the 2008 farm bill was for a full year
since the 112th Congress ended and the legislative process needed to restart in the 113th Congress.
Timelines
Enacting farm bills after the end of the fiscal year that a prior farm bill expired is not uncommon.
In the past 48 years, only the 1973 and 1977 farm bills were enacted before September 30. Farm
bills in 1965, 1970, 1981, 1985, and 1990 were enacted by December 31, a few months after the
end of the fiscal year but still before spring-planted crops covered by the new law were planted.
The most recent three farm bills have been have been enacted later, in April (1996), May (2002),
and June (2008), prior to the first crop harvested and covered by the farm bill.
The House and Senate have taken turns as the first chamber to take action on a farm bill. Since
1965, the Senate was first to mark up a farm bill in 1973, 1977, 1981, and 2012. The House was
first to mark up farm bills in 1965, 1970, 1985, 1990, 1995 (and 1996), 2001, and 2007.
Since 1965, eight out of eleven farm bills have been introduced in the first session of a two-year
Congress (the odd-numbered year); the exceptions are the 1970, 1990, and 2012 farm bills. With
the exception of the 1970 bill, which predates the complexity of more modern farm bills, the 2012
farm bill has the latest introduction date during a two-year Congress. Enactment of the past four
farm bills (1990-2008) has been during the second session (the even-numbered year), although
except for the 1990 farm bill, some action had occurred in the prior year. Only the 1970 and 1990
farm bills were enacted after an election during a lame-duck Congress.
A nutrition title has been part of each enacted farm bill including and since the 1973 farm bill.
Since then, H.R. 2642 has been the only chamber-passed proposal to exclude these programs.
Until the current reauthorization round that began in 2012, no farm bill has started in one
Congress and needed to be reintroduced in a subsequent Congress.
Extensions
Extensions of a prior farm bill are not common. Since 1970, only the two most recent farm
bills—the 2002 farm bill and the 2008 farm bill—have required extensions as their successors
were being written and enactment was delayed. The 1965 farm bill was extended for one year, but
that extension occurred more than a year before expiration and the reauthorization process began.
22 These dates include span only the official introduction of a bill marked up by committee until the bill was signed by
the President. They do not include background hearings before committee markup, which would extend the time line.
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The 1996 and 2002 farm bills may appear to have been delayed, but their predecessors did not
require extensions. The 1990 farm bill did not need to be extended because its original expiration
dates had been extended by amendments in budget reconciliation.23 The 1996 farm bill did not
need to be extended because the 2002 farm bill was enacted earlier than necessary.24
Extensions are rare in part because appropriations can continue discretionary programs and the
SNAP program. The primary concern regarding extension becomes the expiration of mandatory
programs whose funding is included in the farm bill (as opposed to appropriations laws). Most
provisions can be continued by temporary extensions. However, those that expire before the end
of the farm bill and those that do not have continuing funding in the baseline budget cannot be as
easily extended unless offsets are included, which can complicate extension.25
When the 2002 farm bill expired, portions (but not all) of it were extended six times, beginning in
December 2007. The first of those extensions, in December 2007, continued authority for many
expiring programs for about three months.26 Because final agreement was pending, five more
month- or week-long extensions were needed. These extended, with a few exceptions, all 2002
farm bill provisions that were in effect on September 30, 2007. Dairy and sugar programs were
included, as were price support loan programs for wool and mohair. But the direct, counter-
cyclical, and marketing loan programs for the 2008 crop year for all other supported commodities
specifically were not extended (i.e., the primary supported commodities such as feed grains,
oilseeds, wheat, rice, cotton, and peanuts).27 The first extension in December 2007 did not address
permanent law, but the second and subsequent extensions in 2008 did extend the 2002 farm bill’s
suspension of permanent law.
When the 2008 farm bill expired on September 30, 2012, the continuing resolution (P.L. 112-175,
§§101, 111) continued the discretionary programs, SNAP, and certain related nutrition programs.
Certain other mandatory programs such as the Market Assistance Program and the Conservation
Reserve Program ceased to operate insofar as new activity. The farm commodity programs
operated to finish the 2012 crop year, but could not continue if the 2013 crop year began without
reauthorization or extension. On January 1, 2013, the entire 2008 farm bill, as it existed on
September 30, 2012, was extended for the 2013 fiscal year and the 2013 crop year (P.L. 112-240).
This avoided reverting to permanent law for the farm commodity programs, which for the dairy
programs was imminent. Special provisions in the extension continue the dairy price support
program until December 31, 2013, and the milk income loss contract (MILC) at the higher
support rate that existed in the 2008 farm bill before September 2012. Programs that did not have
budget authority in the baseline for FY2013 were not provided additional mandatory funding.
23 The 1996 farm bill was not pressured by the 1990 farm bill’s original expiration date of the 1995 crop year. Budget
reconciliation in 1993 extended the farm commodity programs through at least 1996 and in some cases the 1997 crops.
24 The 1996 farm bill was to be effective until September 30, 2002, and through the 2002 crop year. The 2002 farm bill
superseded the last year of the 1996 farm bill by beginning with the 2002 crop year.
25 An example of a program without budget baseline beyond FY2012 is the Farmers Market Promotion Program. An
example of an expired provision is the agriculture disaster assistance program that expired in 2011; it also does not
have baseline funding. For more, see CRS Report R41433, Expiring Farm Bill Programs Without a Budget Baseline.
26 P.L. 110-161, §751: “Except as otherwise provided in this Act ... , authorities provided under the Farm Security and
Rural Investment Act of 2002 ... (and for mandatory programs at such funding levels), as in effect on September 30,
2007, shall continue, and the Secretary of Agriculture shall carry out the authorities, until March 15, 2008.”
27 Other programs that were not included in the extensions were peanut storage payments, agricultural management
assistance, community food projects, the rural broadband program, value-added market development grants, federal
procurement of biobased products, the biodiesel fuel education program, and the renewable energy systems program.
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Farm Commodity Support Programs
The farm commodity price and income support programs raise farm income by making payments
and reducing financial risks from uncertain weather and market conditions. Government-set target
prices offer payments when market prices fall below support levels.28
Originally, the last year for the 2008 farm bill’s commodity programs was the 2012 crop year—
that is, crops harvested during 2012 and marketed during the following year. Dairy price supports
and export incentives were to expire on December 31, 2012, and the milk income loss contract
(MILC) on September 30, 2012.
The one-year extension in the American Taxpayer Relief Act (P.L. 112-240) covers the 2013 crop
year for all covered commodities as they were available for the 2012 crop year. The extension
continues the farm commodity programs that were in effect in 2012, including the $5 billion per
year “direct payment” payment program, which pays farmers a fixed amount regardless of price
or yield conditions. It also extends the dairy price support program until December 31, 2013, and
the MILC program until September 30, 2013.29
The new effective deadlines for enacting a farm bill are January 1, 2014, for dairy, and when the
first supported commodity is harvested in the 2014 crop year. If a farm bill is not enacted before
September 30, 2013, recent experience in 2012 and in 2007 suggests that an extension could wait
until the end of the calendar year. If dairy programs are extended, as in 2007, final action or a
longer extension likely could wait until late spring 2014, when winter wheat—generally the first
of the 2014 crop year commodities to mature—would be harvested.
Possible Reversion to Permanent Law
Farm commodity support policy has evolved over time via successive farm bills that update and
supersede prior policies. However, a set of non-expiring provisions remain in statute and are
known as “permanent law.” These provisions were enacted primarily in the Agriculture
Adjustment Act of 1938 and the Agricultural Act of 1949, as amended by subsequent farm bills.
As more modern farm bills evolved away from using the permanent law provisions, they have
suspended permanent law, but only for the duration of each farm bill (currently, the 2008-2013
crop years; Appendix B).30 If no action is taken, the suspension of permanent law expires, and
the essentially mothballed permanent law policies would resume.
28 For more background, see CRS Report RL34594, Farm Commodity Programs in the 2008 Farm Bill and CRS
Report R42759, Farm Safety Net Provisions in a 2013 Farm Bill: S. 954 and H.R. 2642.
29 MILC is extended until August 31, 2013, at the 45% support rate that existed under the 2008 farm bill, and at the
34% support rate for the month of September 2013 like the 2008 farm bill envisioned for the last month of its
authorization. A budgetary offset was required to extend the Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) program at the 45%
support rate. The 34% payment rate already was in the baseline for FY2013; an additional amount (scored at $110
million) was needed to increase the payment rate from 34% to 45%. The offset for this mandatory budget authority was
a reduction of $110 million from a nutrition education program (CBO score of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012,
footnote “e,” at http://cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/attachments/American%20Taxpayer%20Relief%20Act.pdf).
30 P.L. 110-246, §1602: “(a) The following provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 ... [and] the
Agricultural Act of 1949 shall not be applicable to the 2008 through 2012 crops ... ” The American Taxpayer Relief
Act extends the suspensions that were effective for the 2012 crop year to the 2013 crop year.
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Description of Permanent Law
The commodity support provisions of the 1938 and 1949 permanent laws are commonly viewed
as being so radically different from current policy—and inconsistent with today’s farming
practices, marketing system, and international trade agreements—as well as potentially costly to
the federal government that Congress is unlikely to let permanent law take effect. Permanent law
provides mandatory support for basic crops through nonrecourse loans. It does not authorize more
modern support approaches such as loan deficiency payments, counter-cyclical payments,
revenue-based payments, decoupled direct payments, or milk income loss contracts (MILC).31
There are no recent estimates of the budgetary effect of reverting to permanent law. Neither the
Congressional Budget Office, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), nor the Food and
Agriculture Policy Research Institute (FAPRI)32 have made official estimates. However, in 2008
USDA outlined how it would implement permanent law in the absence of a new farm bill.33 And,
in 1985, the USDA Economic Research Service analyzed potential economic consequences.34 The
latter study found significant market intervention and increases in government expenditures.35
Support under permanent law uses the concept of “parity prices.” Parity refers to the relationship
between prices that farmers receive for their products and prices they pay for inputs. Support
prices would be set to guarantee producers 50% to 90% of parity using the 1910-1914 ratio as a
benchmark.36 However, productivity gains and technological advances over the past 100 years
have made parity ratios out of touch with (and possibly irrelevant to) modern agricultural
practices.37 Even if support levels were set at the lower end of the range mandated by permanent
law (e.g., 50%-75% of parity prices), supports could be above currently high market prices for all
supported commodities and result in greater subsidies than current levels.
For example, in August 2013, USDA estimated the market price for milk at $19.30 per
hundredweight (cwt.). This exceeded the 2008 farm bill support level of $9.90/cwt., so no price
support currently is needed. But under permanent law, even this relatively high market price is
well below the $38.55/cwt. calculated minimum support level (75% of parity, Table 1). Similarly,
all of the other commodities with permanent law supports (wheat, cotton, rice, corn, sorghum,
barley, oats, and honey) also have higher permanent law support prices than their market prices.
Other commodities such as oilseeds, peanuts, wool, mohair and sugar have no permanent law
price supports.
31 House bill H.R. 2642 proposes to repeal the 1938 and 1949 permanent laws. In their place, the new 2013 farm
commodity program would become the permanent law. The bill would apply to “the 2014 crop year and each
succeeding crop year.” Senate bill S. 954 does not change permanent law.
32 FAPRI was created by Congress to provide university-based research, analysis, and baselines of agricultural policy.
33 USDA memorandum, “The Effects of Failure to Enact a New Farm Bill: Permanent Law Support for Commodities
and Lapse of Other USDA Programs,” February 29, 2008, at http://www.usda.gov/documents/fbpaper022908.doc.
34 USDA Economic Research Service, Possible Economic Consequences of Reverting to Permanent Legislation or
Eliminating Price and Income Supports, AER-526, January 1985, at http://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/
CAT85844031/PDF.
35 Ibid, at pp. 65-67 and pp. 21-35.
36 Permanent law requires USDA to estimate and publish parity prices regularly. See USDA National Agricultural
Statistics Service, Agricultural Prices, published monthly at http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/
viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1002. Parity prices are computed under the provisions of Title III, Subtitle a, §301
(a) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended by the Agricultural Acts of 1948, 1949, and 1956.
37 USDA-ERS, AER-526 (1985), at pp. 1-2.
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Table 1. Parity Prices and Supports for Farm Products Under Permanent Law
(based on USDA data in Agricultural Prices, August 2013)
Permanent Law Provisions
2008 Farm
Bill Support
Market
Commoditya
Description
Parity Price Min. Support Price
Priceb
Price
Milk, All, Cwt.
Purchases of milk and butterfat products at
$51.40
75% of parity = $38.55
$9.90c $19.30
75%-90% of parity.
Wheat, Bu.
Nonrecourse loans and direct purchases.
$18.70
75% of parity = $14.03
$2.94
$6.91
Acreage allotments. Quotas approved: loan
rate=65%-90% of parity. Quotas not
approved: loan rate=50% parity. Quotas
not announced: loan=75%-90% parity.
Upland cotton, Lb. Nonrecourse loans and direct purchases.
$2.12
65% of parity = $1.38
$0.52
$0.750
Acreage allotments. Quotas approved: loan
rate=65%-90% of parity. Quotas not
approved: loan rate=50% parity. Quotas
not announced: loan=65%-90% of parity.
Rice, Cwt.
Permanent authority repealed by 1981
$48.50
50% of parity = $24.25
$6.50
$15.60
farm bill, but restored by 1996 farm bill.
Loan=50%-90% of parity.
Corn, Bu.
Nonrecourse loans and direct purchases.
$12.80
50% of parity = $6.40
$1.95
$6.02
Acreage allotments are not authorized.
Loan rate = 50%-90% of parity.
Sorghum, Bu.
Support for sorghum, barley, oats, and rye
$22.30
50% of parity = $11.15
$1.95
$9.55
is set based on the feeding value of each in
Barley, Bu.
relation to corn.
$13.00
50% of parity = $6.50
$1.95
$6.24
Oats, Bu.
$7.79
50% of parity = $3.90
$1.39
$3.69
Rye, Bu.
$15.70
50% of parity = $7.85
none
$7.67
Honey, Lb.
Purchases of honey at 60%-90% of parity.
$4.14
60% of parity = $2.48
$0.69
$1.74
Source: Compiled by CRS, using USDA-NASS Agricultural Prices, August 2013, at
http://usda01.library.cornell.edu/usda/current/AgriPric/AgriPric-08-30-2013.pdf; and based on USDA, “The Effects
of Failure to Enact a New Farm Bil : Permanent Law Support for Commodities and Lapse of Other USDA
Programs,” February 2008 memorandum, at http://www.usda.gov/documents/fbpaper022908.doc.
a. Permanent law mandates support for the commodities listed in the table. Wool, mohair and peanuts
formerly were included, but supports were repealed. Parity support is not allowed for oilseeds or sugar.
b. The 2008 farm bill support prices listed in this table are the marketing loan rates (rather than target prices,
which are another form of income support).
c. The 2008 farm bill does not specify a support price for milk, but rather support prices for butter, nonfat dry
milk and cheddar cheese at levels that approximate an indirect support price for farm milk at $9.90 per cwt.
Under permanent law, nonrecourse loan rates for wheat, rice, cotton, corn and other feed grains
function as farm price supports. Unless commercial markets pay more than the nonrecourse loan
prices, farmers could put their crops under loan and forfeit the commodities to USDA when the
nine-month loans mature. However, to avoid forfeiture problems, USDA has permanent authority
allowing farmers to repay nonrecourse loans for less than the principal (loan rate) plus interest,
similar to marketing loans in the modern commodity program.38
38 Section 1009 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308a).
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Nonrecourse loan rates under permanent law could be as high as 90% of parity, but not less than
50% of parity for corn, wheat, and rice, and 65% of parity for cotton. Milk support would be
between 75% and 90% of parity.39 Table 1 summarizes the possible parity-based support levels.
Additional production controls exist for wheat and cotton. Permanent law requires USDA to
announce acreage allotments and marketing quotas during the prior crop year, and to hold
producer referenda on implementing marketing quotas.40 A two-thirds affirmative vote for
marketing quotas results in the highest levels of support, with mandatory restrictions on acreage
(and the quantity eligible for support).
Dairy is discussed extensively when farm bill expiration arises, not only because it would be the
first commodity to revert to permanent law, but also because of the scale of market effects and
costs of intervention that could result. Milk is supported currently, and in permanent law, by
compelling USDA to purchase manufactured dairy products (nonfat dry milk, cheddar cheese,
and butter) in sufficient quantities to raise demand in order to raise the farm price of milk to the
desired support level (the Dairy Product Price Support Program). Under permanent law, those
purchase prices (based on August 2013 data) would be nearly four times as high as currently
supported and double recent market prices (Table 1). The high purchase price mandated under
permanent law could result in the government outbidding commercial markets for a sizeable
share of processor output at considerable government cost,41 and that subsequently could raise the
retail price of milk.42 Immediately prior to the extension of the 2008 farm bill, the possibility of a
doubling of the retail price of milk became known as the “dairy cliff,” which was analogous to
the “fiscal cliff” that was facing Congress at the same time.43
Under the extension, the new deadline for when permanent law would take effect is January 1,
2014. The Milk Income Loss Contract (MILC) Program is authorized through September 30,
2013, and the Dairy Export Incentive Program through December 31, 2013. Another major
component of dairy policy, the Federal Milk Marketing Order system, is permanent.44
39 7 U.S.C. 1441; 7 U.S.C. 1444; 7 U.S.C. 1444b; 7 U.S.C. 1445; 7 U.S.C. 1446.
40 In anticipation of farm bill expiration and recognizing deadlines required by permanent law if it were implemented,
USDA has announced that no marketing quotas would be required for wheat or cotton for the 2014 crop year. USDA,
“USDA Announces No Marketing Quota for 2014 Wheat Crop,” Press release 0058.13, March 26, 2013; and USDA,
“USDA Announces No Marketing Quota for 2014 Upland Cotton Crop,” Press release 0120.13, July 8, 2013.
41 The 1985 USDA-ERS report about reverting to permanent law estimated that USDA would need to remove (that is,
purchase) 13%-17% of milk production to raise market prices to support levels mandated under permanent law (p. 33
of Possible Economic Consequences of Reverting to Permanent Legislation or Eliminating Price and Income Support,
AER-526, at http://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/CAT85844031/PDF). Milk prices nearly would have doubled from a
market price about $13/cwt. in 1985 to a support price of $24/cwt. in 1990. The report estimated that by 1990,
removing 270 million cwt. from a market production of 154 billion pounds of milk (17.5% of production) would cost
about $6.5 billion per year (p. 34). In the absence of current cost estimates, an extrapolation of the 1985 study to
current levels could indicate a possible, albeit unofficial, cost range. For example, assuming the same elasticity
(responsiveness of the quantities demanded and produced to price changes) and purchase ratios needed to achieve a
near doubling of prices, and using the lower bound of the removal ratio from the 1985 study, 13%, then removing 260
million cwt. out of about 200 billion pounds of current production at a $39/cwt. support price could cost, unofficially,
about $10 billion per year for dairy.
42 Given the possible doubling of the farm price of milk if permanent law were reactivated, many forecasted that the
retail price of milk also could double from $3.65 per gallon to $6 to $8 per gallon. New York Times, “With Farm Bill
Stalled, Consumers May Face Soaring Milk Prices,” Dec. 20, 2012, at http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/21/us/milk-
prices-could-double-as-farm-bill-stalls.html.
43 CRS Report R42884, The “Fiscal Cliff” and the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.
44 CRS Report R42736, Dairy Policy Proposals in the Next Farm Bill.
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As implied by Table 1, not all commodities currently receiving federal support are covered by
permanent law. The commodities that would lose mandatory support include soybeans and other
oilseeds, peanuts, wool, mohair, sugar beets and sugar cane, dry peas, lentils, and small and large
chickpeas. Parity-based supports once existed for wool, mohair and peanuts, but were repealed.
Parity support is not allowed for oilseeds or sugar. A different set of commodities could receive
support under discretionary authority given the Secretary of Agriculture in the Agricultural Act of
1949 and the CCC Charter Act. But for budgetary and other reasons, such discretionary authority
rarely has been used, especially when market prices for agricultural commodities are high.
Legislative Options Under Permanent Law
Some see the existence of permanent law as an assurance for farm bill supporters that the farm
commodity programs will be revisited every time a farm bill expires. Congress is not likely to let
a farm bill expire without taking some action eventually, given the undesirable consequences of
permanent law. Permanent law, however badly it may be perceived, has stayed on the books, and
each new farm bill has suspended it for the duration of the farm bill. Several legislative options
exist as a farm bill approaches expiration:
1. Pass a new farm bill (and reinstate the suspension of permanent law).
2. Pass an extension of the current farm bill (with its suspension of permanent law).
3. Do nothing (revert to permanent law).
4. Suspend permanent law (no new farm bill or extension; no commodity program).
5. Repeal permanent law, and then do one of the following:
a. pass a new farm bill (with or without a new permanent law provision);
b. pass an extension of the current farm bill;
c. do nothing.
The existence of an outdated permanent law likely forces Congress to take action, because
inaction has unacceptable consequences—that is, reverting to a policy that almost everyone
would regret. If Congress cannot reach agreement on a new farm bill, then the path of least
resistance probably is extending the current farm bill rather than doing nothing and reverting to
permanent law—but this, too, requires legislative action, which may pose challenges.
For those who oppose the farm commodity programs, repealing permanent law would allow
Congress to debate farm supports without the permanent law consequence of inaction. But
repealing permanent law requires legislative action. Some believe that it is easier to negotiate and
pass a new farm bill than to deal with the question of repealing permanent law.
The 2013 House farm bill (H.R. 2642) would repeal the 1938 and 1949 permanent laws. In their
place, the new farm commodity program would become the permanent law since it would apply
to “the 2014 crop year and each succeeding crop year.” The Senate bill (S. 954) continues the
long-standing suspension of permanent law, as did the initial House bill (H.R. 1947). Proposals to
repeal permanent law have been rare, though some have passed the floor (see Appendix B).
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Crop Insurance
The federal crop insurance program protects producers against losses in crop revenue or yield
through federally subsidized policies purchased by producers. The program is permanently
authorized by the Federal Crop Insurance Act, as amended (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.). An extension
of the program is not needed in the next farm bill. Producers who grow a crop that is currently
ineligible for crop insurance may be eligible for a direct payment under USDA’s Noninsured Crop
Disaster Assistance Program (NAP). Like crop insurance, NAP has permanent authority under
Section 196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333).
Conservation Programs
USDA currently administers more than 20 agricultural conservation programs.45 These programs
address natural resource concerns on private agricultural and forested lands through technical and
financial assistance. Many conservation programs have different expiration dates for program and
funding authority (Table 2). Because of this and appropriations peculiarities, they are affected
differently by the one-year farm bill extension in P.L. 112-240.
Table 2. Conservation Program Funding Authorization
Programs Authorized to Receive Mandatory Fundinga
Expiration of Funding Authority
Agricultural Management Assistance
No expiration dateb
Agricultural Water Enhancement Program
No expiration date
Chesapeake Bay Watershed Program
September 30, 2013
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
September 30, 2013
Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)
September 30, 2014c
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
September 30, 2014c
Farmland Protection Program (FPP)
September 30, 2014c
Grassland Reserve Program (GRP)
September 30, 2013f
Healthy Forest Reserve Program (HFRP)
September 30, 2013f
Watershed Rehabilitation Program
September 30, 2009d
Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP)
September 30, 2013f
Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)
September 30, 2014c
Programs Authorized to Receive Annual Appropriationse
Expiration of Appropriations Authority
Conservation Operations (including Conservation Technical Assistance)
No expiration date
Conservation of Private Grazing Land
September 30, 2013
Emergency Conservation Program
No expiration date
Emergency Watershed Program
No expiration date
Grassroots Source Water Protection Program
September 30, 2013
Great Lakes Basin Program for soil erosion and sediment control
September 30, 2013
45 For additional information on agricultural conservation programs, see CRS Report R40763, Agricultural
Conservation: A Guide to Programs. For additional information on conservation issues in the next farm bill, see CRS
Report R42093, Agricultural Conservation and the Next Farm Bill.
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Programs Authorized to Receive Mandatory Fundinga
Expiration of Funding Authority
Resource Conservation & Development (RC&D) program
No expiration date
Snow Surveys
No expiration date
Soil Surveys
No expiration date
Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations
No expiration date
Watershed Rehabilitation Program
September 30, 2013
Voluntary Access and Habitat Incentives Program
September 30, 2013g
Source: CRS.
a. All of these programs were either reauthorized or created in Title II of the 2008 farm bill. Many were
initial y authorized by the Food Security Act of 1985 (P.L. 99-198), as amended, or in subsequent farm bills.
b. AMA has permanent mandatory funding authority for $10 million annual y. The 2008 farm bill authorized an
annual increase of $5 million through FY2012. The additional $5 million was extended to FY2014.
c. Mandatory funding authority was extended through FY2014 in the FY2012 Agriculture Appropriations Act.
d. The Watershed Rehabilitation Program was authorized to receive $100 million in mandatory funding in
FY2009 to remain available until expended.
e. Though some discretionary programs have expired authority to receive appropriations, they are not
prohibited from receiving annual appropriations. See “Programs with Discretionary Funding” for additional
explanation. Not al discretionary programs listed here received appropriations in FY2013.
f.
Some farm bill conservation programs have limited or no baseline funding beyond FY2012. Though these
programs were extended, they may require offset funding or appropriated funding to operate.
g. Authorized to receive mandatory funding under the 2008 farm bill with no baseline beyond FY2012. The
extension provides authority to receive $10 million in appropriations for FY2013.
For many conservation programs, program authority is permanent under the Food Security Act of
1985, but the authority to receive mandatory funding expires. The farm bill extension allows
programs with expired mandatory funding authority to continue until September 30, 2013, if the
program has baseline beyond FY2012. The Conservation Reserve Program’s (CRP’s) funding and
program authority expired at the end of FY2012 and was extended to the end of FY2013 in the
farm bill extension. Because CRP has baseline beyond FY2012, the program continues in
FY2013 at the original authorized rate of enrollment—up to 32 million acres at any one time.
Other mandatory conservation programs that expired and were extended have limited baseline
beyond FY2012, as a result of previous reductions in annual appropriations. For example, the
Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) had authority under the 2008 farm bill to enroll no more than
3.04 million acres before FY2012, and did not include budgetary baseline beyond FY2012.
Temporary reductions in FY2011 and FY2012 annual appropriations acts limited USDA’s ability
to enroll the authorized level of acres. This resulted in limited baseline being carried forward into
FY2013, whereas it would have otherwise been expended by the end of FY2012. With the one-
year extension, WRP was able to use this additional baseline to enroll a limited number of acres
within its original authorized acreage cap.
Other budget enforcement rules and appropriations dynamics have affected particular farm bill
conservation programs. The Congressional Budget Office uses the last year of authorization to
determine the 10-year funding baseline for the farm bill reauthorization. A reduction in the last
year’s authorized level could substantially affect the overall farm bill baseline. Because the
FY2012 Agriculture Appropriations Act (P.L. 112-55) reduced spending for select mandatory
conservation programs and could have reduced the multi-year budget baseline, it extended the
funding authority expiration date for five of these programs, including Agricultural Management
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Assistance (AMA),46 the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), the Environmental Quality
Incentives Program (EQIP), the Farmland Protection Program (FPP), and the Wildlife Habitat
Incentives Program (WHIP). This allowed appropriators to score savings in FY2012, but not
affect the overall farm bill baseline since program authority for many of the reduced programs
was extended to 2014.47 Thus, even without a reauthorization of the 2008 farm bill or the one-
year extension, the five programs extended to FY2014 would operate with existing funding
authority.
A different set of mandatory conservation programs has no baseline beyond FY2012 and
therefore requires offset funding in order to be continued (e.g., Healthy Forest Reserve Program
and Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentives Program, VPAHIP). The extension does not
affect these programs, which have expired and will continue to remain inactive unless otherwise
funded. The extension authorized VPAHIP to receive $10 million in appropriations for FY2013;
however, no additional funding was appropriated.
Other, older conservation programs also have permanent program authority, but are authorized to
receive discretionary funds appropriated annually. Funding for these programs varies and is based
on budget requests and appropriated levels. Discretionary programs with authorization to receive
appropriations expired at the end of FY2012. Similar to other discretionary programs with
expired authority, the program can continue as long as it receives appropriated funding (see
“Programs with Discretionary Funding” discussion). Table 2 separates the conservation programs
by funding authority type—mandatory and discretionary.
Without reauthorization or a further extension of mandatory funding and program authority, many
of the conservation programs affected by the one-year extension will be unable to sign new
contracts or enroll additional acres after September 30, 2013. All existing contracts and
agreements (including long-term easements) would stay in force for the contract period, and
payments would continue to be made. Other farm bill provisions affecting the remaining
agricultural conservation programs would also expire. Provisions in other titles, such as the
adjusted gross income requirement that limits eligibility for conservation programs,48 would no
longer apply to active conservation programs. However, compliance activities and regional equity
funding requirements continue for programs authorized beyond September 30, 2013.49
46 AMA has permanent mandatory funding authority under the Federal Crop Insurance Act, as amended, for $10
million annually. The 2008 farm bill authorized an annual increase of $5 million until FY2012. It is this additional $5
million increase that was extended to FY2014 in the FY2012 agriculture appropriations act.
47 For additional information, see CRS Report R41964, Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2012 Appropriations.
48 7 U.S.C. 1308-3a(e).
49 Conservation compliance is the requirement that, in exchange for certain USDA program benefits, a producer agrees
to maintain a minimum level of conservation on highly erodible land and not convert wetlands to crop production. The
regional equity provision (16 U.S.C. 3841(d)) mandates that each state receive annually a minimum aggregate amount
of funding ($15 million) for EQIP, WHIP, FPP, and GRP.
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Nutrition Programs
As discussed earlier in this report, expiration and extension of SNAP (and the related nutrition
programs reauthorized in the 2008 farm bill) hinge on whether funding is available.
Whether the 2008 farm bill nutrition programs could continue to operate past September 30,
2012, (or, now, under the one-year extension, past September 30, 2013) is based on factors related
to their authorizing statutes, FY2012 and FY2013 appropriations actions, and the terms of the
farm bill extension included in P.L. 112-240.
The 2008 farm bill reauthorized a number of domestic food assistance programs, including the
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), the Emergency
Supplemental Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), the Commodity Supplemental Food Program
(CSFP), the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), the Senior Farmers’
Market Nutrition Program, the Bill Emerson Hunger Fellowship Program, Community Food
Projects, Nutrition Assistance block grants for American Samoa and Puerto Rico, and Hunger-
Free Communities grants.50 With regard to expiration or extension, these programs fall in one of
three categories:
1. Programs that are permanently authorized and funded,
2. Programs that can be continued solely by appropriations action, or
3. Programs or authorities which would expire without extension or reauthorization.
These categories are elaborated upon below, but it is worth noting that the majority of farm bill
nutrition programs and majority of nutrition spending falls in the second category (able to be
continued solely by appropriations action). As discussed below, we have already seen 2008 farm
bill expiration and extension play out in the nutrition programs’ three categories.
Permanently Authorized and Funded Programs
The 2008 farm bill included an expansion of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP,
“snack” program), and permanently funded it through Section 32.51 As a result, the Fresh Fruit
and Vegetable Program does not expire.
50 New authorizations were created for the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program and some programs within the SNAP
program. For an overview of these farm bill programs, please see CRS Report R42353, Domestic Food Assistance:
Summary of Programs. Note that the National School Lunch Program (NSLP), School Breakfast Program (SBP), Child
and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), Summer Food Service Program (SFSP), Special Milk Program, and Special
Supplemental Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) programs were not authorized in the farm bill. These
programs are authorized by the Russell National School Lunch Act and Child Nutrition Act statutes; these statutes were
most recently reauthorized by P.L. 111-296 (the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010) through FY2015. These child
nutrition and WIC programs have typically been in the jurisdiction of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition,
and Forestry and the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.
51 Section 32 (of the act of August 24, 1935; 7 U.S.C. 612c) refers to a permanent appropriation of 30% of customs
receipts. Section 32 receives about $8 billion annually, though most of it supports the child nutrition programs. About
$1 billion is available annually to support mostly commodities typically not covered by price support programs (such as
meats, poultry, fruits, vegetables, and fish). USDA often donates these surplus commodities to various nutrition
assistance programs. See CRS Report RL34081, Farm and Food Support Under USDA’s Section 32 Program.
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Programs Continued via Appropriations Action
As discussed earlier, appropriations can allow a program to continue even if the underlying
authorization has not been extended. Because many of the nutrition programs are funded by the
SNAP account, appropriated funds for SNAP would be enough to extend operations for most of
the programs in the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008.52 The farm bill nutrition provisions listed
below could continue to operate if funds were appropriated to the SNAP account, but would
expire in the absence of a SNAP account appropriation. The CR did continue funding for the
SNAP account, so these programs continued to operate past September 30, 2012:
• Most aspects of SNAP operations (except for the Healthy Incentives Pilot).
• Purchase and distribution of TEFAP commodities (administrative costs could
continue with appropriations for the Commodity Assistance Program account).
• Most aspects of FDPIR (except as listed below).
• Nutrition assistance funding for Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and
Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands.
• Community Food Projects (administered by the National Institute of Food and
Agriculture).
For CSFP, the authority to fund commodity purchases and administrative costs would have
expired without an extension of the authority or without an appropriation. However, all program
operations continued under CSFP appropriations through the continuing resolution (P.L. 112-175)
and the subsequent full-year appropriation (P.L. 113-6) that included a specified funding level for
FY2013.
For SNAP and the other programs in the SNAP account, P.L. 112-240, for the most part,
continued the current law policies that had existed on or before September 30, 2012. The
exception is that the farm bill extension contained a change to the mandatory funding of the
SNAP-related program, the Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program, reducing
the program’s FY2013 by $110 million (“SNAP-Ed” is discussed further in the text box on the
next page). Also, the extension continued the FY2012 SNAP Employment and Training (E&T)
change in mandatory program spending (CHIMP), amending a $90 million source of mandatory
funding to $79 million.
Programs Which May Expire Without Reauthorization or Extension
For the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP), the farm bill contains both the
authority and the funding (a transfer from the Commodity Credit Corporation). Therefore,
authority and funding for this program expired after September 30, 2012. Once P.L. 112-240 was
enacted, the funding and authority to operate the SFMNP was extended through September 30,
2013.53
52 Because of changes made in the 2008 farm bill, many of the programs that would have expired at the end of 2002
farm bill do not have the same status at the close of FY2012. More of those expiring provisions could now be continued
with a SNAP appropriation.
53 It has been said that due to the seasonal nature of the SFMNP, expiration of the farm bill during the fall and/or winter
months may not significantly affect this program.
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The following programs require either (a) an extension of the authority and specific
appropriations language or (b) specific appropriations to operate. (No appropriations were made
for these programs in FY2013, so they did expire after September 30, 2012; their authorities were
extended by P.L. 112-240, but they do not have funding appropriated.)
• Hunger-Free Communities grants.
• SNAP pilot projects to evaluate health and nutrition promotion. This authority
and related funding is used to operate the Healthy Incentives Pilot program. The
program could continue to use existing funding beyond FY2013 but any
additional funding would have to be specifically authorized and appropriated.
• FDPIR’s “Traditionally and Locally Grown Food Fund.” Since it is not currently
implemented, only an extension of the authorization with appropriations or a
specific appropriation would extend it.
• Nutrition Information and Awareness Pilot Program. This authority was provided
in the 2002 farm bill and reauthorized in the 2008 farm bill, but it is inactive.
• Several authorities relating to USDA’s purchase and national processing of
commodity foods.
Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program (“SNAP-Ed”)
and P.L. 112-240’s 2008 Farm Bill Extension
Section 28(b) of the Food and Nutrition Act (codified at 7 U.S.C 2036a) authorizes and establishes mandatory
funding for the Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of
2010 (P.L. 111-296) amended what had been SNAP Nutrition Education (it was and still is abbreviated as “SNAP-
Ed”) to create the current program. Mandatory funding levels were further amended by P.L. 112-240 (“American
Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012”).
P.L. 111-296 and the Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program:
•
Section 241 of P.L. 111-296 established the “Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program,”
replacing the previous program, under which state spending (both cash and in-kind) on nutrition education for
SNAP recipients was matched by the federal government. P.L. 111-296 instead provided $375 million for
formula grants in FY2011 (approximately the value of the FY2010 federal share) and adjusted that amount for
inflation in future years. These funds are distributed by formula to the states.
•
States can use the funds to provide nutrition education and operate obesity prevention programs for SNAP and
other domestic food assistance program participants as well as other low-income households. With these
funds, according to the law, “[s]tate agencies may implement a nutrition education and obesity prevention
program for eligible individuals that promotes healthy food choices consistent with the most recent Dietary
Guidelines for Americans.”
FY2011 and FY2012 funding: Under the law as amended by P.L. 111-296, the program received mandatory
funding of $375 million for FY2011 and $388 million for FY2012.
P.L. 112-240 changes: The farm bill extension included $285 million for FY2013, a reduction of $110 million (or
nearly 28%) from the level required by P.L. 111-296. (CBO estimated that P.L. 112-240’s farm bill extension was
budget-neutral because, along with this $110 million reduction for SNAP-Ed, the extension of certain dairy policy
provisions increased spending by $110 million). The amendment provides for $401 million in FY2014, $407 million in
FY2015, and indexing the FY2015 amount for inflation for subsequent years’ funding. Aside from these funding
changes, P.L. 112-240 did not make changes to SNAP-Ed.
For further information about SNAP-Ed: http://snap.nal.usda.gov/national-snap-ed/about-snap-ed.
Congressional Research Service
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Expiration and Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill
Trade and Foreign Food Aid Programs
Several agricultural trade and international food aid programs would expire unless a new farm bill
is enacted. They continue to operate under the one-year farm bill extension. These programs were
in an expired status from October 1, 2012, until the extension was enacted on January 2, 2013.
The trade programs with mandatory funding that could be affected are export credit guarantees
(including those for emerging markets), facilities credit guarantees, export market promotion (the
Market Access Program and the Foreign Market Development Program), dairy export subsidies,
and technical assistance for specialty crops. Without new mandatory program authority, the
Commodity Credit Corporation would not able to enter into agreements to guarantee U.S.
commercial banks against defaults by foreign purchasers of U.S. agricultural commodities, fund
grants to trade associations for the promotion of U.S. agricultural exports in foreign markets, or
fund activities to address sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) barriers to U.S. agricultural exports.
Separately, authority to carry out international emergency and non-emergency food aid programs
is provided by the Food for Peace Act, which is reauthorized in the farm bill.54 Without a further
extension or reauthorization of the farm bill, no agreements to provide financing or to provide
emergency or non-emergency food aid could be entered into after December 31, 2013. Likewise,
financing through Food for Peace for agricultural technical assistance (the Farmer-to-Farmer
program) in sub-Saharan African and Caribbean countries would expire. Authority to provide
commodities and pay transportation costs under the Food for Progress program would end on
December 31, 2013. Authority to replenish stocks of the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust, a
reserve of commodities and cash used to meet unanticipated food aid needs, would expire on
September 30, 2013. The authorization of appropriations for the McGovern-Dole International
Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program expires with the farm bill, though the annual
appropriation continues to fund this discretionary program.
54 The Food for Peace Act was known formerly as the Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act (P.L. 480).
Congressional Research Service
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Expiration and Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill
Appendix A. Legislative Action on Prior Farm Bills
Table A-1. Major Legislative Action on Farm Bills Since 1965
Conference Report Approval
House
House
Senate
Senate
Conf.
House
Senate
Cmte.
Passage
Cmte.
Passage
Report
Passage
Passage Public
Law
1965 farm bill
7/20/1965 8/19/1965
9/7/1965
9/14/1965 10/6/1965 10/8/1965 10/12/1965
11/4/1965
Food and Agricultural H.R. 9811 H.R. 9811
Amdt. to
Amdt. to
H.Rept.
H.R. 9811 H.R. 9811
P.L. 89-321
Act
H.R. 9811 H.R. 9811
89-1123
H.Rept.
Vote of
Vote of
Voice vote
Covers 1966-1969 crops
89-631
221-172
S.Rept. 89-
Vote of
219-150
687
72-22
Omnibus extension One-year extension of the 1965 farm bill until 12/31/1970
10/11/1968
Covers 1970 crops
P.L. 90-559
1970 farm bill
7/23/1970
8/5/1970
9/4/1970
9/15/1970 10/9/1970 10/13/1970 11/19/1970
11/30/1970
Agricultural Act of
H.R. 18546 H.R. 18546 Amdt. to
Amdt. to
H.Rept.
H.R. 18546 H.R. 18546
P.L. 91-524
1970
H.R. 18546 H.R. 18546
91-1594
H.Rept.
Vote of
Vote of
Vote of
Covers 1971-1973 crops
91-1329
212-171
S.Rept.
Vote of
191-145
48-35
91-1154
65-7
1973 farm bill
6/20/1973 7/19/1973 5/23/1973
6/8/1973
7/31/1973
8/3/1973
7/31/1973
8/10/1973
H.R. 8860
S. 1888
Agriculture and
introduced Amdt. to S.
S. 1888
S. 1888
H.Rept. 93-
S. 1888
Vote 85-7
P.L. 93-86
Consumer Protection
1888
introduced
427
Act
6/27/1973
Vote 78-9
Vote of
8/3/1973
H.Rept. 93-
Vote of
S.Rept. 93-
252-151
Voice vote
Covers 1974-1977 crops
337
226-182
173
or until 6/30/1977
1977 farm bill
5/13/1977 7/28/1977 1/18/1977 5/24/1977
9/9/1977
9/16/1977
9/9/1977
9/29/1977
H.R. 7171
S. 275
Food and Agriculture introduced Amdt. to S. introduced
S. 275
S.Rept. 95-
S. 275
S. 275
P.L. 95-113
Act of 1977
275
418
5/16/1977
5/16/1977 Vote 69-18
Vote of
Vote 63-8
Covers 1978-1981 crops H.Rept. 95- Vote of S.Rept. 95-
283-107
or until 9/30/1981
348
294-114
180
1981 farm bill
5/18/1981 10/22/1981 4/7/1981 9/18/1981 12/9/1981 12/16/1981 12/10/1981
12/22/1981
H.R. 3603
S. 884
H.Rept. 97-
Agriculture and Food introduced
S. 884
introduced
S. 884
377
S. 884
S. 884
P.L. 97-98
Act of 1981
5/19/1981
Vote of
5/27/1981 Vote 49-32 12/10/1981
Vote of
Vote 67-32
Covers 1982-1985 crops H.Rept. 97- 192-160 S.Rept. 97-
S.Rept. 97-
205-203
or until 9/30/1985
106
126
290
1985 farm bill
4/17/1985 10/8/1985 9/30/1985 11/23/1985 12/17/1985 12/18/1985 12/18/1985
12/23/1985
H.R. 2100
Food Security Act of introduced H.R. 2100
S. 1714
H.R. 2100 H.Rept. 99- H.R. 2100 H.R. 2100
P.L. 99-198
1985
447
9/13/1985
Vote of
S.Rept. 99- Vote 61-28
Vote of
Vote 55-38
Covers 1986-1990 crops H.Rept. 99- 282-141
145
325-96
or until 9/30/1990
271
Congressional Research Service
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Expiration and Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill
Conference Report Approval
House
House
Senate
Senate
Conf.
House
Senate
Cmte.
Passage
Cmte.
Passage
Report
Passage
Passage
Public Law
1990 farm bill
2/5/1990
8/1/1990
7/6/1990
7/27/1990 10/22/1990 10/23/1990 10/25/1990
11/28/1990
H.R. 3950
Food, Agriculture,
introduced H.R. 3950
S. 2830
S. 2830
H.Rept.
S. 2830
S. 2830
P.L. 101-624
Conservation, and
101-916
Trade Act of 1990
7/3/1990
Vote of
S.Rept.
Vote 70-21
Vote of
Vote 60-36
H.Rept.
327-91
101-357
318-102
Covers 1991-1995 crops
101-569
or until 9/30/1995
Omnibus Budget Act Extended dairy until 1996; wheat, feed grains, cotton, rice, peanuts, wool and mohair until
8/10/1993
of 1993
1997; honey until1998
P.L. 103-66
1996 farm bill
8/4/1995
— 9/28/1995 — — — — —
H.R. 2195
unnumber-
Freedom to Farm
introduced
ed bill
Act
9/20/1995
fails cmte.
Balanced Budget Act 10/26/1995 10/26/1995 10/28/1995 10/28/1995 11/16/1995 11/20/1995 11/17/1995
12/6/1995
of 1995
H.R. 2491 H.R. 2491
S. 1357
Amdt. to
H.Rept.
H.R. 2491 H.R. 2491
includes
Vote of
includes
H.R. 2491
104-347
Vote of
Vote 52-47
Vetoed
H.R. 2195
227-203
Senate bill Vote 52-47
235-192
1996 farm bill (cont.)
1/5/1996 2/29/1996 1/26/1996
2/7/1996 3/25/1996 3/29/1996 3/28/1996
4/4/1996
H.R. 2854
S. 1541
H.Rept.
H.R. 2854 H.R. 2854
Federal Agriculture
introduced H.R. 2854 S. 1541
Vote 64-32
104-494
Vote of
Vote 74-26
P.L. 104-127
Improvement and
introduced
318-89
Reform Act of 1996 Vote 29-17
Vote of
3/12/1996
270-155
Amdt. to
Covers 1996-2002 crops
2/9/1996
H.R. 2854
or until 9/30/2002
H.Rept.
Voice vote
104-462
2002 farm bill
7/26/2001 10/5/2001 11/27/2001 2/13/2002
5/1/2002
5/2/2002
5/8/2002
5/13/2002
H.R. 2646
S. 1731
Farm Security and
H.R. 2646
Amdt. to
H.Rept.
H.R. 2646 H.R. 2646
P.L. 107-171
Rural Investment Act
8/2/2001
12/7/2001 H.R. 2646
107-424
H.Rept.
Vote of
S.Rept.
Vote of
Vote 64-35
Covers 2002-2007 crops
107-191
291-120
107-117
Vote 58-40
280-141
or until 9/30/2007
Deficit Reduction Act Extended the early-expiring MILC program for 2 years from 9/2005 through 8/2007, and
2/8/2006
of 2005
two conservation programs (EQIP and Conservation Security Program) until FY2010.
P.L. 109-171
Short-term
Extended the 2002 farm bill until 3/15/2008, with exceptions. But did not extend the direct
12/26/2007
extensions
and counter-cyclical farm commodity programs. See Division A, §751.
P.L. 110-161
Continued extension until 4/18/2008, added extension of suspension of permanent law.
3/14/2008
P.L. 110-196
Continued extension until 4/25/2008 (P.L. 110-200)
4/18/2008
Continued extension until 5/2/2008 (P.L. 110-205)
4/25/2008
Continued extension until 5/16/2008 (P.L. 110-208)
5/2/2008
Continued extension until 5/23/2008 (P.L. 110-231)
5/18/2008
Congressional Research Service
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Expiration and Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill
Conference Report Approval
House
House
Senate
Senate
Conf.
House
Senate
Cmte.
Passage
Cmte.
Passage
Report
Passage
Passage
Public Law
2008 farm bill
5/22/2007 7/27/2007 11/2/2007 12/14/2007 5/13/2008 5/14/2008 5/15/2008
5/21/2008
H.R. 2419
Food, Conservation,
introduced H.R. 2419
S. 2302
Amdt. to
H.Rept.
H.R. 2419 H.R. 2419 Enrolling error
and Energy Act of
H.R. 2419
110-627
omits Title III
2008
7/23/2007
Vote of
S.Rept.
Vote of
Vote of
H.Rept.
231-191
110-220
Vote 79-14
318-106
8115
Vetoed
Covers 2008-2012 crops
110-256
or until 9/30/2012
5/21/2008
5/22/2008
5/22/2008
Passed
Passed
P.L. 110-234
over veto
over veto
316-108
82-13
Re-passed
5/22/2008
6/5/2008
6/18/2008
as new bill H.R. 6124 H.R. 6124
w/ Title III
Vote of
Vote of
Vetoed
306-110
7715
6/18/2008
6/18/2008
6/18/2008
Passed
Passed
over veto
over veto
P.L. 110-246
317-109
80-14
FY2012 Agriculture
Extended five conservation programs until FY2014 (AMA, CSP, EQIP, FPP, and WHIP)
11/18/2011
Appropriations Act
P.L. 112-55
American Taxpayer One-year extension of the 2008 farm bill until 9/30/2013 and for the 2013 crop year (dairy
1/2/2013
Relief Act of 2012
price support extended until 12/31/2013, and MILC until 9/30/2013. Did not provide
Covers 2013 crops or
funding for programs without mandatory baseline.
P.L. 112-240
until 9/30/2013
Title VII
2013 farm bill
7/11/2012
— 4/26/2012
6/21/2012
— — — —
(112th Congress)
H.R. 6083
S. 3240
S. 3240
Vote of
Vote of
Vote of
3511
16-5
64-35
9/13/2012
8/28/2012
H.Rept.
S.Rept.
112-669
112-203
(113th Congress)
5/15/2013 6/20/2013 5/14/2013 6/10/2013
— — — —
H.R. 1947 H.R. 1947
S. 954
S. 954
Vote of
Failed by
Vote of
Vote of
3610
vote of
15-5
66-27
195-234
5/29/2013
9/4/2013
H.Rept.
S.Rept.
113-92
113-88
7/11/2013
H.R. 2642
w/o SNAP
Vote of
216-208
Source: CRS.
Note: Includes only major legislative actions to enact each farm bill. Excludes subsequent revisions, except as
noted for laws that extended the expiration dates of certain provisions.
Congressional Research Service
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Expiration and Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill
Presidential Vetoes
Presidential vetoes of farm bills are not common. Two complete farm bills have been vetoed as
stand-alone measures (1956 and 2008), the latter being vetoed twice. Another farm bill was
vetoed as part of a larger budget reconciliation package (1995).
The first veto of a farm bill was in 1956 when President Eisenhower vetoed H.R. 12, the first
version of the Agricultural Act of 1956. The second and third vetoes were in 2008 by President
George W. Bush. The 2008 farm bill was vetoed and overridden twice. After the initial veto of the
bill (H.R. 2419), Congress overrode the veto and enacted P.L. 110-234, but accidentally enrolled
the law without the Title III (the trade title). Congress immediately reintroduced the same bill
with the trade title as H.R. 6124. President Bush vetoed this version as well, and Congress again
overrode the veto to enact P.L. 110-246, a complete 2008 farm bill that included the trade title.
The overrides in 2008 were the only time that a farm bill was enacted by overriding a veto.
A 1995 budget reconciliation package that included the first version of what became the 1996
farm bill was vetoed by President Clinton, but the veto was not necessarily due to the farm bill.
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Expiration and Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill
Appendix B. Brief History of Suspensions of
Permanent Law and Proposals to Repeal It
The “permanent law” provisions for the farm commodity programs were enacted primarily in the
Agriculture Adjustment Act of 1938 and the Agricultural Act of 1949. Subsequent farm bills into
the 1970s continued to use and amend the permanent law provisions. As more modern farm bills
evolved away from using the permanent law provisions, those provisions have been suspended
for the duration of each farm bill, rather than being repealed.
If no action is taken when a farm bill expires, then the suspension of permanent law also expires.
An “expiration of the suspension” would allow the essentially mothballed policies of permanent
law to resume. Some see the existence of permanent law—and the undesirable policy and budget
consequences that could result—as an assurance that the farm commodity programs will be
revisited every time a farm bill expires.
Suspension
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, farm bills generally used and amended the 1938 and/or 1949
acts. Amendments sometimes were made permanent and sometimes only applied to specific
years. As farm commodity policy continued to evolve away from parity-based price supports and
quotas, farm bills in the 1970s gradually began to move away from using the permanent law
provisions. Yet, the 1970 and 1973 farm bills, for example, generally were written into the 1938
and/or 1949 farm bills, as amended, with provisions that were applicable only for the new period
of the farm bill.55 Thus, while those farm bills might not have directly suspended permanent law
in the same way that more modern farm bills have, they nonetheless supplanted some portion of
the permanent law parity-based support system for the life of the farm bill, albeit from within the
body of the permanent law itself.
Beginning with the 1977 farm bill, direct suspension or nonapplicability language began to be
used regarding the permanent laws.56 This approach has continued through the 2008 farm bill.57
55 For example, a form of suspension that occurs within the permanent law itself is in the 1970 farm bill (P.L. 91-524),
where sec. 501 reads, “Effective only with respect to the 1971, 1972, and 1973 crops of feed grains, section 105 of the
Agricultural Act of 1949, as amended, is further amended to read as follows: ‘Sec. 105. Notwithstanding any other
provision of law—(a)(1) The Secretary shall make available to producers loans and purchases on each crop of corn at
such level, not less than $1.00 per bushel nor in excess of 90 per centum of the parity price ... ”
56 For example: 1977 farm bill (P.L. 95-113) various sections including sec. 409-410, and 503-504, 601, 703; 1981
farm bill (P.L. 97-98) various sections including sec. 304-305, 402, and 501; 1985 farm bill (P.L. 99-198) various
sections including sec. 312, 402, and 502; 1990 farm bill (P.L. 101-624) various sections including sec. 302-305, 402,
502, 801; 1996 farm bill (P.L. 104-127) sec. 171; 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171) sec. 1602; and the 2008 farm bill (P.L.
110-246) sec. 1602.
57 In the 2008 farm bill (P.L. 110-246) sec. 1602 reads: “(a) The following provisions of the Agricultural Adjustment
Act of 1938 shall not be applicable to the 2008 through 2012 crops ... and shall not be applicable to milk ... through
December 31, 2012: (1) Parts II through V of subtitle B of title III (7 U.S.C. 1326 et seq.). (2) In the case of upland
cotton, section 377 (7 U.S.C. 1377). (3) Subtitle D of title III (7 U.S.C. 1379a et seq.). (4) Title IV (7 U.S.C. 1401 et
seq.). (b) The following provisions of the Agricultural Act of 1949 shall not be applicable ... (1) Section 101 (7 U.S.C.
1441). (2) Section 103(a) (7 U.S.C. 1444(a)). (3) Section 105 (7 U.S.C. 1444b). (4) Section 107 (7 U.S.C. 1445a). (5)
Section 110 (7 U.S.C. 1445e). (6) Section 112 (7 U.S.C. 1445g). (7) Section 115 (7 U.S.C. 1445k). (8) Section 201 (7
U.S.C. 1446). (9) Title III (7 U.S.C. 1447 et seq.). (10) Title IV (7 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.), other than sections 404, 412,
(continued...)
Congressional Research Service
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Expiration and Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill
Repeal
Proposals to repeal permanent law have been relatively rare, though some have passed the floor in
each chamber.
For example, proposals to repeal permanent law advanced perhaps the farthest during the
development of the 1996 farm bill.58 Repeal provisions may have had saliency then because of a
perceived intent of the “Freedom to Farm” reform plans. If Agricultural Market Transition Act
(AMTA) payments were to end in 2002 at the end of the farm bill, then the existence of
permanent law could have been an obstacle. Whether or not repeal was a condition of the plan
during its development, repeal was dropped in favor of continued suspension during conference
negotiations in 1996.
More specifically regarding the 1995-1996 developments, the initial bill considered by the House
Agriculture Committee in 1995 would have continued to suspend permanent law (H.R. 2195,
Title IV). After failing in committee, the text of that bill, including the suspension provision, was
incorporated into a broader House-passed budget reconciliation package (H.R. 2491, sec.1105).
However, the Senate-passed version of the 1995 reconciliation package included a provision to
repeal permanent law (S. 1357, sec. 1101). The conference agreement for the reconciliation
package adopted the Senate approach for repeal (H.R. 2491, sec. 1109). The conference
agreement passed both the House and Senate, but was vetoed, albeit not because of the farm bill
provisions.
The next year, a stand-alone 1996 farm bill was introduced and passed in the House with the
provision to repeal permanent law (H.R. 2854, sec. 109). The repeal provision also was in the
Senate-reported bill (S. 1541, sec. 19). However, the Senate-passed version (S. 1541, sec. 109)
did not repeal permanent law but continued to suspend permanent law. The conference agreement
for the 1996 farm bill (H.R. 2854, sec. 171) followed the Senate-passed version and continued the
suspension of permanent law.
Other bills from 1995-2001 proposed repealing permanent law, but were not formally considered.
In 1995, several bills were introduced to restructure government agencies. First, a bill was
introduced to abolish USDA, eliminate all price support authorities including those of permanent
law, and transfer certain powers to the Department of Commerce (H.R. 1354, S. 586). A broader
government-wide restructuring bill also was introduced that would have repealed permanent law
(H.R. 1923). A separate agricultural reform bill was introduced that would have phased down
agricultural supports and eventually repealed permanent law (H.R. 2010). Two other bills to
repeal permanent law were introduced in 1995 (H.R. 2523, and H.R. 2787). In 1997-98, H.R. 502
and S. 2573 would have repealed permanent law. Other bills to repeal permanent law were H.R.
328 in 1999 and S. 1571 in 2001. None of these bills advanced beyond being referred to
committee.
(...continued)
and 416 (7 U.S.C. 1424, 1429, and 1431). (11) Title V (7 U.S.C. 1461 et seq.). (12) Title VI (7 U.S.C. 1471 et seq.). (c)
Suspension of Certain Quota Provisions... (7 U.S.C. 1330 and 1340), shall not be applicable to the crops of wheat ...
through 2012.” The American Taxpayer Relief Act applies the suspensions that were effective in 2012 until
comparable dates in 2013.
58 The listing of bills in this appendix to repeal permanent law is not necessarily exhaustive. It is based on a full-text
search of bills since 1989 for the word “repeal” within 20 words of “Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938” or
“Agricultural Act of 1949.”
Congressional Research Service
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Expiration and Extension of the 2008 Farm Bill
In the 112th Congress during consideration of the 2012 farm bill, an amendment was submitted,
but not actually introduced on the floor, to replace the suspension of permanent law with the
repeal of those provisions (S.Amdt. 2379 to S. 3240).
Other bills in various Congresses have been introduced with targeted repeal provisions for certain
commodities, but not comprehensive repeal. These bills are not discussed here.
In 2013, the 2013 House-passed farm bill (H.R. 2642) would repeal the 1938 and 1949 permanent
laws. In their place, the new farm commodity program would become the permanent law since it
would apply to “the 2014 crop year and each succeeding crop year.” The Senate bill (S. 954)
continues the long-standing suspension of permanent law, as did the initial House-rejected bill
(H.R. 1947).
Author Contact Information
Jim Monke
Megan Stubbs
Specialist in Agricultural Policy
Specialist in Agricultural Conservation and Natural
jmonke@crs.loc.gov, 7-9664
Resources Policy
mstubbs@crs.loc.gov, 7-8707
Randy Alison Aussenberg
Analyst in Nutrition Assistance Policy
raussenberg@crs.loc.gov, 7-8641
Key Policy Staff
Area of Expertise
Name
Phone
E-mail
Commodity programs, farm bill budget
Jim Monke
7-9664
jmonke@crs.loc.gov
Nutrition programs
Randy Alison Aussenberg
7-8641
raussenberg@crs.loc.gov
Conservation programs
Megan Stubbs
7-8707
mstubbs@crs.loc.gov
Crop insurance, commodity programs
Dennis Shields
7-9051
dshields@crs.loc.gov
Dairy, commodity programs
Randy Schnepf
7-4277
rschnepf@crs.loc.gov
International trade and food aid
Charles E. Hanrahan
7-7235
chanrahan@crs.loc.gov
Rural development
Tadlock Cowan
7-7600
tcowan@crs.loc.gov
Congressional Research Service
25