H.R. 5542 — Introduced in House

I 113th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5542 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 18, 2014 Mr. Crawford (for himself, Mr. Griffin of Arkansas, Mr. Womack, and Mr. Cotton) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To amend the Agricultural Act of 2014 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to extend the term of a marketing assistance loan and the deadline for repayment of a farm ownership, operating, or emergency loan when the purchaser of the agricultural commodity subject to the marketing assistance loan declared bankruptcy before paying the farmer for the commodity. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Farm Protection Act of 2014. 2. Extension of marketing assistance loans and deadline for repayment of farm ownership, operating, or emergency loans in certain cases of bankruptcy Section 1203(b) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9033(b)) is amended— (1) by striking The Secretary and inserting the following: (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary ; and (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (2) Extension of certain loans in event of purchaser bankruptcy (A) In general This paragraph applies whenever— (i) the producers on a farm have a marketing assistance loan under section 1201 for a loan commodity; (ii) the producers have sold, transferred, or delivered the loan commodity subject to the loan to a purchaser; and (iii) a case under any chapter of title 11, United States Code (in this paragraph referred to as a chapter 11 bankruptcy), has been commenced in which the purchaser is the debtor. (B) Extension for non-payment If a chapter 11 bankruptcy in which the purchaser of a loan commodity is the debtor, as described in subparagraph (A), is commenced before the purchaser pays the producers in full for the loan commodity, the Secretary shall extend, to a date that is not less than 180 days after the date on which the chapter 11 bankruptcy is closed or dismissed— (i) the term and any due date for any payment or obligation pursuant to the marketing assistance loan of the producers; and (ii) the due date for any payment or obligation pursuant to any ownership, operating, or emergency loan made to the producers under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1921 et seq.). (C) Related suspensions (i) Accrual of interest If the purchaser of the loan commodity has already taken possession of the loan commodity, the Secretary also shall suspend the accruing of interest on the loans described in subparagraph (B) during the period of the extension under such subparagraph. (ii) Recovery actions If a trustee in the purchaser’s chapter 11 bankruptcy seeks recovery of all or any portion of a purchase price paid to or on behalf of the producers for the loan commodity, the Secretary also shall suspend any efforts to collect from the producers any amounts related to such recovery or potential recovery until a date that is not less than 180 days after the final resolution of the action to recover all or any portion of the purchase price. .