BALE Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2797 To amend the Agricultural Act of 1961 to modify the limitations applicable to qualified conservation loan guarantees, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 16, 2019 Mr. BOST (for himself, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. YOHO, and Mr. O’HALLERAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To amend the Agricultural Act of 1961 to modify the limita- tions applicable to qualified conservation loan guarantees, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Beginning 4 Agriculturalist Lifetime Employment Act of 2019’’ or the 5 ‘‘BALE Act of 2019’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2797.IH H2797 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 2797 IH SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS APPLICABLE TO QUALIFIED CON- 1 SERVATION LOAN GUARANTEES. 2 (a) LIMITATIONS APPLICABLE TO LOAN GUARAN- 3 TEES.—Subtitle A of title III of the Agricultural Act of 4 1961 (7 U.S.C. 1922 et seq.) is amended— 5 (1) by amending section 304(e) of such Act (7 6 U.S.C. 1924(e)) to read as follows: 7 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS APPLICABLE TO LOAN GUARAN- 8 TEES.— 9 ‘‘(1) PERCENTAGE OF LOAN GUARANTEED.— 10 The portion of a loan that the Secretary may guar- 11 antee under this section shall— 12 ‘‘(A) depend on the principal amount of 13 the loan; and 14 ‘‘(B) except as provided in paragraph (2), 15 may not exceed the percentage specified for 16 that principal amount in the following table: 17 ‘‘Principal Amount More Than Principal Amount Equal To Or Less Than Maximum Percent $0 ......................................... $2,500,000 ....................................... 90% $2,500,000 ........................... $2,600,000 ....................................... 89% $2,600,000 ........................... $2,700,000 ....................................... 88% $2,700,000 ........................... $2,800,000 ....................................... 87% $2,800,000 ........................... $2,900,000 ....................................... 86% $2,900,000 ........................... $3,000,000 ....................................... 85% $3,000,000 ........................... $3,100,000 ....................................... 84% $3,100,000 ........................... $3,200,000 ....................................... 83% $3,200,000 ........................... $3,300,000 ....................................... 82% $3,300,000 ........................... $3,400,000 ....................................... 81% $3,400,000 ........................... $3,500,000 ....................................... 80%. ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN PRODUCERS.— 18 In the case of a loan to a producer that is a quali- 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2797.IH H2797 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 2797 IH fied beginning farmer or rancher or a socially dis- 1 advantaged farmer or rancher (as the term is de- 2 fined in section 2501(e)), the portion of the loan the 3 Secretary may guarantee under this paragraph may 4 not exceed the percentage specified for the principal 5 amount of the loan in the following table: 6 ‘‘Principal Amount More Than Principal Amount Equal To Or Less Than Maximum Percent $0 ......................................... $2,500,000 ....................................... 95% $2,500,000 ........................... $2,600,000 ....................................... 94% $2,600,000 ........................... $2,700,000 ....................................... 93% $2,700,000 ........................... $2,800,000 ....................................... 92% $2,800,000 ........................... $2,900,000 ....................................... 91% $2,900,000 ........................... $3,000,000 ....................................... 90% $3,000,000 ........................... $3,100,000 ....................................... 89% $3,100,000 ........................... $3,200,000 ....................................... 88% $3,200,000 ........................... $3,300,000 ....................................... 87% $3,300,000 ........................... $3,400,000 ....................................... 86% $3,400,000 ........................... $3,500,000 ....................................... 85%. ‘‘(3) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The Secretary may 7 not guarantee a loan under this section in an 8 amount that exceeds $3,500,000. 9 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—The 10 Secretary shall annually adjust the dollar figures 11 under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) to reflect the 12 change in the Prices Paid By Farmers Index (as 13 compiled by the National Agricultural Statistics 14 Service of the Department of Agriculture).’’; and 15 (2) in section 305(a) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 16 1925(a))— 17 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2797.IH H2797 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 2797 IH (A) by striking ‘‘$300,000, or, in the case 1 of a loan guaranteed by the Secretary, 2 $700,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$600,000’’; and 3 (B) by striking ‘‘2000’’ and inserting 4 ‘‘2023’’. 5 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 6 section shall apply with respect to qualified conservation 7 loans entered into by the Secretary of Agriculture under 8 section 304 of the Agricultural Act of 1961 (7 U.S.C. 9 1924) on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:46 May 29, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2797.IH H2797 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS