Disaster Assistance Act of 1989
Public Law 101-82 · H.R. 2467 · 101st Congress · began in the House
Signed by George H. W. Bush (R) on Aug 14, 1989 · Agriculture and Food
Sponsor: Rep. Kika de la Garza (D-TX-15)
Cosponsors (33): Rep. Edward Madigan, Rep. George Brown,
Passage votes
- HouseUnanimous consent
- SenateVoice vote
Data notes
The final version of the law, as each chamber passed it. A chamber that passed it by voice vote or unanimous consent has no count. “Method not stated” means the record does not say how the chamber voted. Where the record has a member-by-member vote, the “Who voted for it” section shows who voted yea.
Summary
The Congressional Research Service’s plain-language summary of what the law does.
Disaster Assistance Act of 1989 - Title I: Emergency Crop Loss Assistance - Subtitle A: Annual Crops - Extends disaster crop loss assistance through the 1989 crop year for wheat, feed grains, cotton, rice, peanuts, sugar, tobacco, soybeans, and other nonprogram crops.
Extends crop quality reduction disaster assistance through the 1989 crop year.
Reduces disaster assistance payments in relation to Federal crop insurance payments.
Requires producers to obtain Federal crop insurance for 1990 in order to be eligible for disaster payments and other specified assistance for 1989 crop losses. Sets forth exempted circumstances.
Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to announce within a specified time the conditions for establishing a 1989 farm yield for forage-use-crops.
Limits assistance under this Act to $100,000.
Authorizes the Secretary to determine a de minimis yield for each crop eligible for reduced yield disaster payments under this Act.
Reduces 1989 disaster payments by a replacement crop's value.
Authorizes the substitution of crop insurance program yields for 1989 disaster assistance eligibility purposes.
Subtitle B: Orchards - Provides disaster assistance (up to $25,000 or an equivalent value in seedlings) to orchardists who suffered qualifying tree losses as a result of 1989 freeze or related condition.
Expresses the sense of the Congress that Federal crop insurance should be made available to all orchard crops.
Subtitle C: Forest Crops - Provides disaster assistance (up to $25,000 or an equivalent in seedlings) to commercial tree farmers who suffered qualifying tree seedling losses as a result of 1989 drought or related condition.
Subtitle D: Additional Assistance - Prohibits the Secretary from reducing rental payments to an owner or operator who hays or grazes livestock during the 1989 crop year on land subject to a conservation reserve program contract to the extent that such owner or operator carries out and pays for specified additional conservation practices.
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to provide assistance for deepening or constructing livestock ponds.
Subtitle E: Administrative Provisions - Makes a person with qualifying annual gross income (as defined by this Act) in excess of $2,000,000 ineligible for assistance under this Act.
Requires assistance applications to be made by March 31, 1990, or such later date as the Secretary may prescribe.
Limits 1989 program crop deficiency payments if 1989 national corn acreage exceeds a specified level.
Title II: Emergency Livestock Assistance - Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to authorize: (1) the use of Commodity Credit Corporation stored grain for emergency livestock assistance; and (2) funds for emergency livestock transportation and water assistance.
Directs the Secretary to study and report to the Congress on the methodology and justification of the calculations used to determine the animal unit figure used for the emergency food and feed assistance programs.
Title III: Disaster Credit and Forbearance - Makes producers who suffered 1989 crop losses eligible for emergency loans even if they had crop insurance.
Directs the Secretary to make direct and guaranteed farm operating loans (including funds from the Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund) available to producers who suffered 1989 crop losses due to moisture, freeze or related condition, and 1988 or 1989 crop losses due to drought or related condition.
Authorizes unpaid principal reductions for certain FmHA loans made to Indian tribes.
Title IV: Rural Businesses - Directs the Secretary to provide loan guarantees through the Rural Development Insurance Fund to rural business enterprises (including Indian tribes) which have suffered disaster damage in 1988 or 1989.
Limits: (1) individual guarantees to the lesser of 90 percent of principal and interest or $2,500,000; and (2) aggregate guarantees to $200,000,000.
Title V: Water-Related Assistance - Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to direct the Secretary to establish an emergency water assistance grant program for rural and small communities (not more than 15,000 population, median household income not more than State nonmetropolitan level) with significant water quantity or quality shortages or declines. Obligates at least 50 percent of program funds for rural communities of less than 5,000 persons.
Authorizes FY 1990 and 1991 appropriations.
Amends the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to authorize livestock water assistance activities.
Amends the Disaster Assistance Act of 1988 to authorize disaster assistance for watershed protection activities. Authorizes FY 1990 appropriations.
Title VI: General Provisions - Amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to reduce the obligation of a handler to export peanuts by a specified shrinkage value.
Amends the Disaster Assistance Act of 1988 to delay the 1988 crop advanced deficiency repayment deadline.
Amends the Agricultural Act of 1949 to extend authority for alternate crop planting on permitted acreage.
Amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to authorize crop insurance underwriting rules that ensure that yield coverage is provided to participating producers. Sets forth yield coverage provisions.
Committees
The committees the bill was sent to, and what each did with it.
Agriculture Committee · House · markup by, referred to, reported bySubcommittee: Environment, Credit and Rural Development Subcommittee; Cotton, Rice, and Sugar Subcommittee; Peanuts and Tobacco Subcommittee; Wheat, Soybeans, and Feed Grains Subcommittee
Data notes
A committee links to its page only where it exists in the current Congress; older and renamed committees are named without a link.
Timeline
From introduction to signing, newest first: the committees, the floor and the president. 29 actions.
- Aug 14, 1989Became lawBecame law · Became Public Law No: 101-82.
- Became lawBecame law · Signed by President.
- Aug 11, 1989PresidentPresident · Presented to President.
- Aug 4, 1989Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate agreed to the House amendments to the Senate amendment by Voice Vote.
- Resolving differencesResolving differences · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- Resolving differencesResolving differences · On motion that the House agree with amendments to the Senate amendment Agreed to without objection.
- Resolving differencesResolving differences · Mr. de la Garza asked unanimous consent that the House agree with amendments to the Senate amendment.
- Aug 3, 1989CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
- Aug 2, 1989Resolving differencesResolving differences · Senate insists on its amendments, asks for a conference, appoints conferees Leahy; Pryor; Boren; Heflin; Harkin; Lugar; Dole; Helms; Cochran.
- FloorFloor · Passed Senate in lieu of S. 1429 with an amendment by Voice Vote.
- FloorFloor · Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
- Jul 11, 1989CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
- Jun 27, 1989FloorFloor · Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
- FloorFloor · On ordering a second Agreed to without objection.
- FloorFloor · Mr. Madigan demanded a second on the motion to suspend the rules.
- FloorFloor · Mr. de la Garza moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
- Jun 19, 1989CommitteeCommittee · Reported by House Agriculture Committee
- May 25, 1989CommitteeCommittee · Markup by House Agriculture Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from Environment, Credit and Rural Development Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from Cotton, Rice, and Sugar Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from Peanuts and Tobacco Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Discharged from Wheat, Soybeans, and Feed Grains Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee
- May 24, 1989CommitteeCommittee · Referred to House Agriculture Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Environment, Credit and Rural Development Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Cotton, Rice, and Sugar Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Peanuts and Tobacco Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee
- CommitteeCommittee · Referred to Wheat, Soybeans, and Feed Grains Subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee
- IntroducedIntroduced · Introduced in the House
Data notes
Shows the introduction, each committee and subcommittee step the source dates (referral, hearings, markup, report, discharge), and the floor, conference, presidential and became-law steps. Calendar placements, messages between the chambers, amendments and committee report numbers are not shown for laws before the 108th Congress. Two entries the source lists twice are shown once.
Official record
The bill’s full text and every action, including introduction and committee steps, are on Congress.gov. Data through Oct 7, 2026.