HURRICANE ASSISTANCE.

SEC. 207. HURRICANE ASSISTANCE. (a) In General.—In a State in a which a qualifying natural disaster declaration has been made during a calendar year, the Secretary shall make available to first processors that are eligible to obtain a loan under section 156(a) of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7272(a)) assistance in the form of payments, or commodities in the inventory of the Commodity Credit Corporation from carrying out that section, to partially compensate producers and first processors for crop and other losses that are related to the qualifying natural disaster declaration. (b) Administration.—Assistance under this section shall be— (1) shared by an affected first processor with affected producers that provide commodities to the processor in a manner that reflects contracts entered into between the processor and the producers; and (2) made available under such terms and conditions as the Secretary determines are necessary to carry out this section. (c) Quantity.—To carry out this section, the Secretary shall— (1) use 150,000 tons of commodities in the inventory of the Commodity Credit Corporation under section 156(a) of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7272(a)); (2) make payments in an aggregate amount equal to the market value of 150,000 tons of commodities described in paragraph (1); or (3) take any combination of actions described in paragraphs (1) and (2) using commodities or payments with a total market value of 150,000 tons of commodities described in paragraph (1). (d) Limitations.—The Secretary shall provide assistance under this section only in a State described in section 359f(c)(1)(A) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1359ff(c)(1)(A)) in which a qualifying natural disaster declaration was made during calendar year 2002. (e) Qualifying Natural Disaster Declaration.—In this section, the term “qualifying natural disaster declaration” means— (1) a natural disaster declared by the Secretary under section 321(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1961(a)); or (2) a major disaster or emergency designated by the President under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.).