PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.

A bill to amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to establish a market-driven inventory system.

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Official summary

Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Apr 17, 2013

Amends the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA), for each of the 2014-2018 crops of each market commodity, to make recourse loans available to producers on a farm electing to participate in the program.

Sets forth: (1) the recourse loan rate for corn, oats, barley, grain sorghum, wheat, and soybeans; and (2) market commodity-specific limitations on participation (inventory caps) for such crops.

Requires participating producers, until the Secretary authorizes loan repayment and release, to: (1) store and maintain the market commodity, and (2) not sell or otherwise release the commodity into the market.

Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.

Read full official summaryShow less

Provides that during such storage period: (1) title to the commodity shall remain with the producers, and (2) the Secretary shall have a first lien on the commodity for which a recourse loan is received.

Provides USDA payments to producers at $0.40 per bushel per crop year.

Authorizes the Secretary to establish a partial commodity release if the market release of all of the stored commodity would depress prices below the release level.

Authorizes the Secretary to establish a set-aside program under which qualifying producers on a farm may remove acres from production for the following crop year if the inventory cap for a commodity is reached and such commodity's market price is below the recourse loan rate. Requires participating producers to maintain a cover crop on all enrolled acreage.

Read the summary on Congress.gov
PlainBill analysis is coming later. This page presents official source data. We have not yet published a PlainBill explanation for this bill.

Who introduced it

Sen. Cowan, William M. [D-MA] · D–MA

Committees

  • Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
0 cosponsorship records, including any withdrawals

    Actions

    A procedural vote is different from passage. Passage in one chamber does not establish enactment. Explore the glossary.

    1. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

    2. Introduced in Senate

    Bill text & related measures

    Text links open the official source. We currently store references to these documents.

    Related bills identified by Congress.gov

    No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.

    Source last updated: Apr 7, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.

    Explore the bill from different angles

    Choose a perspective, copy a prompt, and paste it into your preferred AI. Each prompt includes the bill version and available official source links, and asks for counterarguments as well as supporting evidence.

    Neutral evidence review

    Objective

    Analyze S.746 as objectively as possible. Explain its main provisions, who would be affected, possible benefits and harms, implementation, exceptions, and uncertainties. Present the strongest arguments for and against it, and identify evidence needed to assess its public impact.

    View full prompt & sources
    Fairness and public impact

    Progressive lens

    Examine S.746 through a progressive lens, focusing on fairness, access, economic inequality, and effects on vulnerable communities. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and distinguish stated goals from demonstrated outcomes.

    View full prompt & sources
    Institutions and government scope

    Conservative lens

    Examine S.746 through a conservative lens, focusing on fiscal responsibility, institutional stability, federalism, and the scope of government. Explain potential benefits, costs, and unintended consequences. Consider the strongest counterarguments and any provisions that challenge this perspective.

    View full prompt & sources
    Individual rights and government power

    Liberty lens

    Examine S.746 through a civil-liberties and limited-government lens. Consider individual rights, privacy, voluntary choice, accountability, and government power. Explain tradeoffs, possible safeguards, and the strongest counterarguments without assuming the proposal is beneficial or harmful.

    View full prompt & sources