To express the sense of the Senate regarding the livestock indemnity program.

SA 2285. Mr. NELSON of Nebraska (for himself, Mr. Grassley, and Mr.
Johanns) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to the
bill H.R. 2997, making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:
Sec. 7__. (a) The Senate finds that--
(1) with livestock producers facing losses from harsh
weather in 2008 and continuing to face disasters in 2009,
Congress wanted to assist livestock producers in recovering
losses more quickly and efficiently than previous ad hoc
disaster assistance programs;
(2) on June 18, 2008, Congress established the livestock
indemnity program under section 531(c) of the Federal Crop
Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1531(c)) and section 901(c) of the
Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2497(c)) as a permanent disaster
assistance program to provide livestock producers with
payments of 75 percent of the fair market value for livestock
losses as a result of adverse weather such as floods,
blizzards, and extreme heat;
(3) on July 13, 2009, the Secretary of Agriculture
promulgated rules for the livestock indemnity program that
separated non adult beef animals into weight ranges of ``less
than 400 pounds'' and ``400 pounds and more''; and
(4) the ``400 pounds and more'' range would fall well short
of covering 75 percent market value payment for livestock in
these higher ranges that are close to market weight.
(b) It is the sense of the Senate that the Secretary of
Agriculture--
(1) should strive to establish a methodology to calculate
more specific payments to offset the cost of loss for each
animal as was intended by Congress for calendar years 2008
through 2011; and
(2) should work with groups representing affected livestock
producers to come up with this more precise methodology.
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