Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 100 Part 1.djvu/119

 PUBLIC LAW 99-272—APR. 7, 1986

100 STAT. 83

Subtitle B—Tobacco Program Improvements SEC. 1101. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— (1) the maintenance of a viable tobacco price support and production adjustment program is in the interests of tobacco producers, purchasers of tobacco, persons employed directly or indirectly by the tobacco industry, and the localities and States whose economies and tax bases are dependent on the tobacco industry; (2) the present tobacco price support program is in jeopardy and in need of reform; (3) under present law, the levels of price support for tobacco have resulted in market prices for tobacco that are not competitive on the world market; (4) as a consequence, extremely large quantities of domestic tobacco have been put under loan and placed in the inventories of the producer-owned cooperative marketing associations that administer the tobacco price support program; (5) the increased inventories have led to a significant increase in the assessments producers are required to pay to maintain the tobacco price support program on a "no net cost" basis; (6) such increasingly large assessments are creating a severe hardship on producers; (7) the existence of such large inventories poses a threat to the orderly marketing of future crops of tobacco; (8) inventories of producer associations must be significantly reduced or the tobacco price support program will collapse; (9) the Commodity Credit Corporation is threatened with substantial losses on disposition of these inventories should the tobacco price support program collapse; (10) it is imperative that such excess inventories of tobacco be disposed of, under the supervision of the Secretary of Agriculture, in a manner that— (A) will not disrupt the orderly marketing of new tobacco crops; (B) will minimize any losses to the Federal Government; and (C) will be fair and equitable to all tobacco producers and purchasers; (11) the mutual cooperation of tobacco producers, tobacco purchasers, producer associations, and the Secretary of Agriculture is necessary— (A) to restore the tobacco price support program to a stable condition; and (B) to prevent substantial losses to taxpayers that would result from the collapse of the program; (12) restoration of stability to the tobacco price support program through a sharing of the cost of that program by purchasers of tobacco along with producers of tobacco is necessary to prevent undue burdens on, or obstruction of, interstate and foreign commerce in tobacco; and (13) the system of grading tobacco should be thoroughly reviewed to ensure that grades are assigned to tobacco that properly state the quality of such tobacco. (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this subtitle are—

7 USC 1445 note.

state and local governments.

Commerce and trade,

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