Small Business Disaster Response and Loan Improvements Act of 2008

The "Small Business Disaster Response and Loan Improvements Act of 2008" (H.R. 6124) was a bill in the [110th Congress] "to provide for the continuation of agricultural and other programs of the Department of Agriculture through fiscal year 2012, and for other purposes.." (Official title.)

Current status


Bill summary

 * Grants $37 million in technical assistance to specialty crop producers (Sec. 3203).


 * Prohibits persons with adjusted gross non-farm income of over $500,000 or adjusted gross farm income of over $750,000 from receiving certain types of subsidies (Sec. 1604).


 * Reauthorizes the Federal Food and Nutrition Program, the Commodity Distribution Program, the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, and distribution of surplus commodities to special nutrition projects through 2012 (Sec. 4406).


 * Establishes a table of market assistance loan rates for 19 commodities including corn, wheat, barley, oats, and soybeans (Sec. 1202).


 * Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to spend $991 million during 2008-2012 (and $206 million each subsequent fiscal year) for the purchase of fruits, vegetables, and nuts for nutritious foods in domestic nutrition assistance programs and an additional $250 million during 2008-2012 for fruits and vegetables for schools (Sec. 4404).


 * Establishes a mandatory labeling of countries of origin for goat meat, chicken, ginseng, pecans, and macadamia nuts, and changes the designation criteria for United States country of origin labeling and allows multiple countries to be listed on labels for beef, lamb, pork, chicken, and goat meat (Sec. 11002).


 * Supports the price of dairy products by requiring the Secretary of Agriculture to buy cheddar cheese, butter, and nonfat dry milk made from milk produced in the United States (Sec. 1501).


 * Extends the Dairy Export Incentive Program, the Dairy Indemnity Program, and the Dairy Promotion and Research Program through 2012 (Secs. 1503, 1505, 1507).


 * Lowers the income tax credit for ethanol producers during 2009 and 2010 for a blender amount from 51 cents to 45 cents and for a low-proof blender amount from 37.78 cents to 33.33 cents (Sec. 15331).


 * Extends the alcohol fuels credit to cellulosic biofuel (Sec. 15321).


 * Establishes the Biomass Research and Development Initiative to award grants and financial assistance for the research of biofuels and biobased products (Sec. 9001).


 * Provides assistance for landowners who have lost non-industrial private forestland due to wildfires, hurricanes, excessive winds, drought, ice storms, blizzards, or floods (Sec. 8203).


 * Increases loan rates for sugar producers (Sec. 1401).


 * Offers incentive payments for the production of oil seeds that reduce the need for hydrogenated oil (Sec. 1605).


 * Extends the Conservation Reserve Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program through the 2012 fiscal year (Secs. 2101, 2203).


 * Renames the Food Stamp Program to the "Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program" and replaces coupons used for the Food Stamp Program with electronic benefit transfer cards (EBTs) which can be used at any retail food store (Secs. 4001 and 4115).


 * Requires pilot programs to reduce obesity in the United States (Sec. 4141).


 * Authorizes $25 million for each fiscal year from 2008 through 2012 for loans to broadband internet service providers in rural areas that currently have two or fewer providers in the area and have at least 25 percent of the area serviced by not more than one provider (Sec. 6110).


 * Eliminates priority status for food aid for countries that demonstrate the potential to become markets for competitively priced U.S. agricultural commodities (Sec. 3005).

Key votes

 * Vote to override a veto on a bill that increases spending on certain forms of agricultural assistance, extends selected agricultural assistance programs until 2012, provides funding for the purchase of certain foods for domestic nutrition programs, lowers income tax credits for ethanol producers, and makes other agriculture-related changes.



Supporters

 * Advocacy for the Poor
 * AgriBank, FCB
 * America Public Power Association
 * America's Second Harvest
 * American Beekeeping Federation
 * American Cotton Shippers Association
 * American Farm Bureau Federation
 * American Farmland Trust
 * American Forest and Paper Association
 * American Grassfed Association
 * American Horse Council
 * American Maritime Officers
 * American Meat Goat Association
 * American Sheep Industry Association
 * American Soybean Association
 * American Sugar Alliance
 * American Sugarbeet Growers Association
 * Animal Agriculture Alliance
 * Associated Milk Producers, Inc
 * California Farm Bureau Federation
 * California School Employees Association
 * Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association
 * Coalition on Human Needs
 * Congressional Hunger Center
 * Cotton Warehouse Association of America
 * Crop Insurance Research Bureau
 * Dairy Farmers of America
 * Evangelical Lutheran Church in America-Washington State
 * Farm Credit Council
 * Farm Credit Services of America
 * Foss
 * Global Container Lines
 * Independent Community Bankers of America
 * Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America
 * Iris house
 * Kalamazoo Loaves and Fishes
 * Land O'Lakes, Inc.
 * Maersk Line, Limited
 * Mary Lee Foundation
 * Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
 * McClendon Center
 * Michigan Bean Shippers
 * Migrant Legal Action Program
 * National Association of Conservation Districts
 * National Association of Counties
 * National Association of Professional Insurance Agents
 * National Association of Social Workers
 * National Association of State Departments of Agriculture
 * National Association of Wheat Growers
 * National Barley Growers Association
 * National Biodiesel Board
 * National Conference of State Legislatures
 * National Consumers League
 * National Cooperative Grocers Association
 * National Corn Growers Association
 * National Cotton Council of America
 * National Council of Farmer Cooperatives
 * National Council of Textile Organizations
 * National Farmers Union
 * National Women's Law Center
 * Rice Belt Warehouse Inc.
 * Rural Community Insurance Services
 * Salvation Army
 * School Nutrition Association
 * Sealift Inc
 * Share Our Stregth
 * Southern Shrimp Alliance
 * Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance
 * Supervalu
 * The Addiction Care Center of Albany
 * The Association of Equipment Manufacturers
 * U.S. Canola Association
 * United Egg Producers
 * USA Rice Federation
 * Weyerhaeuser Company

Opponents

 * Citizens Against Government Waste