(a) Except as may otherwise be determined by CCC as provided in individual program regulations, program contracts or such other means as deemed appropriate by CCC the rate of interest that is applicable to CCC loans shall be equal to the rate of interest charged by the U.S. Treasury for funds borrowed by CCC on the date the loan is disbursed by CCC, plus 1 percent. This rate of interest shall be in effect until the earlier of the maturity of the loan or the next January 1.

(b) The rate of interest applicable to all CCC loans that are outstanding as of January 1 of any year shall be adjusted as of such date to equal the rate of interest charged by the U.S. Treasury for funds borrowed by CCC on such date, plus 1 percent. This rate shall be in effect until the earlier of the maturity of the loan or the next January 1. The rate of interest applicable to CCC loans as of January 1 of any year shall be announced by CCC by press release or other means.

Fractions shall be rounded in accordance with the provisions of 7 CFR part 718.

Unless otherwise indicated, the regulations in effect in this chapter as of April 4, 1996, shall continue to apply to the 1991 through 1995 crops of agricultural commodities, to milk produced on or before May 1, 1996, and to contracts entered into prior to any amendments to this chapter after that date.

The delegations of authority relating to the CCC programs and activities are set forth in the by-laws of CCC and in dockets approved by the CCC Board of Directors. Copies of the By-laws and the dockets may be obtained from the Secretary of CCC.

The level of loans, purchases and payments made in accordance with the programs set forth in this chapter shall be determined without regard to the notice and comment provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553.

(a) To be eligible for any benefits or payments under 7 CFR part 1410 the producer must obtain at least the catastrophic level of insurance for each crop of economic significance in which the producer has an interest or provide a written waiver to the Secretary that waives any eligibility for emergency crop loss assistance in connection with the crop, if insurance is available in the county for the crop. In meeting this requirement, the producer may:

(1) Obtain at least the catastrophic level of crop insurance in all counties for each crop of economic significance in which the producer has an interest;

(2) Obtain at least the catastrophic level of crop insurance for some, but not all, crops of economic significance for which the producer has an interest, and sign a waiver; or

(3) Sign a waiver that waives any eligibility for crop loss assistance in connection with the producer's crop.

(b) Crop of economic significance. The term “crop of economic significance” means a crop that has contributed in the previous year, or is expected to contribute in the current crop year, 10 percent or more of the total expected value of all crops grown by the producer. However, notwithstanding the preceding sentence, if the total expected liability under the catastrophic risk protection endorsement is equal to or less than the administrative fee required for the crop, such crop will not be considered a crop of economic significance.

In the event the outlays by the United States for domestic support measures will exceed, in any required reporting period, the allowable levels under the Uruguay Round Agreements (as defined in section 2 of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act), CCC will, as determined by the Secretary of Agriculture, reduce the amount of payments and benefits to be made in any such reporting period, and/or collect a refund of payments or benefits previously made with respect to such reporting period, under parts 1412, 1413, 1421, 1427, 1430, 1434 and 1435 of this chapter in order to ensure that the level of domestic support provided by the United States complies with the commitments of the United States in the Uruguay Round Agreements.

(a) Section 515(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (FCIA) provides that a person who willfully and intentionally provides any false or inaccurate information to the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) or to an approved insurance provider with respect to a policy or plan of FCIC insurance after notice and an opportunity for a hearing on the record, will be subject to one or more of the sanctions described in section 515(h)(3). In section 515(h)(3), the FCIA specifies that in the case of a violation committed by a producer, the producer may be disqualified for a period of up to 5 years from receiving any monetary or non-monetary benefit under a number of programs. The list includes, but is not limited to, benefits under:

(1) The FCIA.

(2) The Agricultural Market Transition Act (7 U.S.C. 7201 et seq.), including the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program under section 196 of that Act (7 U.S.C. 7333).

(3) The Agricultural Act of 1949 (7 U.S.C. 1421 et seq.).

(4) The Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 714 et seq).

(5) The Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1281 et seq.).

(6) Title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.).

(7) The Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1921 et seq.).

(8) Any law that provides assistance to a producer of an agricultural commodity affected by a crop loss or a decline in prices of agricultural commodities.

(b) Violation determinations are made by FCIC. However, upon notice from FCIC to CCC that a producer has been found to have committed a violation to which paragraph (a) of this section applies, that person shall be considered ineligible for payments under the programs specified in paragraph (a) of this section that are funded by CCC for the same period of time for which, as determined by FCIC, the producer will be ineligible for crop insurance benefits of the kind referred to in paragraph (a)(1) of this section. Appeals of the determination of ineligibility will be administered under the rules set by FCIC.

(c) Other sanctions may also apply.

(a) CCC will deduct from the proceeds of a marketing assistance loan an amount equal to the amount of an assessment otherwise required to be remitted to a State agency under a State statute by the producer of the commodity pledged as collateral for such loan or by the first purchaser of such commodity subject to the requirements of paragraph (b) of this section.

(1) The assessment will be collected in one of the following ways, as requested by the State, but not both:

(i) When the proceeds of the loan are disbursed; or

(ii) When the commodity pledged as collateral for the loan is forfeited to CCC, in which case CCC will collect from the producer the amount of the assessment submitted by CCC to the State.

(2) CCC will deduct from the proceeds of a marketing assistance loan an amount equal to the amount of an assessment otherwise authorized to be remitted to a federally authorized entity under a Federal statute by the producer of the commodity pledged as collateral for such loan or the first purchaser of such commodity in the manner agreed to by CCC and the entity to whom the Secretary of Agriculture has authorized to collect such assessments.

(b) CCC will collect commodity assessments authorized under a State statute when:

(1) The State entity has:

(i) Requested that the assessment be collected;

(ii) Identified whether the assessment is to be collected at the time the loan proceeds are disbursed or at the time the commodity is forfeited to CCC;

(iii) Identified the person who may enter into an agreement with CCC that sets forth the obligations of the State and CCC with respect to the collection of the assessment; and

(iv) Provided an opinion from the Office of the Attorney General to CCC that concludes the person signing the agreement may obligate the State to comply with the agreement and the provisions of Public Law 108-470 have been met.

(2) The agreement described in paragraph (c) of this section has been executed by the appropriate State official and CCC.

(c) CCC will enter into an agreement with an authorized State official to collect commodity assessments when the actions set forth in paragraphs (b)(1) and (2) of this section have been completed. Such agreement will contain the obligations and responsibilities of the State and CCC. All such agreements will include provisions that provide:

(1) The State will indemnify CCC for any costs incurred in the collection of the assessment including costs incurred with respect to resolution of disputes arising from the requested collection of the assessment but not for administrative costs incurred by CCC in the collection of the assessment;

(2) The State, in cases where an assessment has been collected two or more times with respect to the same quantity of the commodity subject to the assessment, will refund the amount of the excess collection to the producer.

(3) The agreement may be terminated by either party upon 30 days notice.

(4) The State, in cases where the marketing assistance loan is made by a cooperative marketing association or a designated marketing association approved by CCC, or any other similar entity that is approved by CCC, to obtain such a loan on behalf of its members may enter into individual arrangements with such entity to facilitate the collection of the assessment with the approval of CCC.