The Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994, , was introduced on April 14, 1994 by Eligio de la Garza ( D- TX) and was signed into law on October 13, 1994 by President William J. Clinton. It consisted of two titles:

Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of 1994

The Federal Crop Insurance Reform Act of 1994, Title I, modified the federal crop insurance program, beginning with the 1995 crops. It authorized a new catastrophic (CAT) coverage level available to farmers. The premium on this level of coverage (crop losses in excess of 50% receiving a payment of 60% (now, 55%) of the market price of the insured crop) is 100% subsidized by the government, but requires a farmer to pay a $50 per crop per county administrative fee (since raised to $100 per crop). The Act allows farmers to purchase additional insurance coverage providing higher yield or price protection levels, with the premium on this buy-up coverage partially subsidized by the government. The Act also created the

Noninsured Assistance Program In United States agricultural law, producers who grow a crop that is not eligible for crop insurance may be eligible for a direct payment under the Farm Service Agency’s Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP). NAP has permanent authori ...

(NAP), a permanent disaster payments program for crops not covered by crop insurance. The 1994 Act amended and in many cases suppressed major portions of the

Federal Crop Insurance Act of 1980 Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General * Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies * Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states ...

(P.L. 96-365) which serves as the authorizing statute for the federal crop insurance program. The 1980 Act expanded the scope of the crop insurance program and permitted USDA to subsidize farmer premium payments. The

Agriculture Risk Protection Act of 2000 The Agriculture Risk Protection Act of 2000 () made major revisions to the United States' federal crop insurance program and provided emergency agricultural assistance. The crop insurance provisions significantly increased the program's government ...

(P.L. 106-224) made subsequent enhancements and reforms to the crop insurance program.

Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994

The Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 , Title II, gave the

Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments. The department includes several organi ...

broad authority to reorganize the

United States Department of Agriculture The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...

(USDA) to achieve greater efficiency, effectiveness, and economy. The law called for consolidation of agencies and offices, as well as a reduction in personnel of 7,500 by the end of FY 1999. The Act created an Undersecretary of Research in charge of USDA's Research, Education and Economics division, which includes the

National Agricultural Statistics Service The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is the statistical branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System. NASS has 12 regional offices throughout the United States and Pue ...

and the

Economic Research Service The Economic Research Service (ERS) is a component of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and a principal agency of the Federal Statistical System of the United States. It provides information and research on agriculture and econom ...

. In 2008 the position was also given the title of Chief Scientist, and has generally been held by scientists and public health professionals.Chelsea Harvey and Juliet Eilperin
Trump’s expected choice for USDA science job lacks hard-science background
''Washington Post'', 13 May 2017

References

{{Authority control United States Department of Agriculture United States federal agriculture legislation Agricultural insurance in the United States