Farming Support to States Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 6956 To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide food and agriculture emergency aid to States, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 19, 2020 Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico (for herself, Mr. JOHNSON of South Da- kota, Ms. SCHRIER, Mr. KELLY of Mississippi, Ms. CRAIG, and Mr. MAR- SHALL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Agriculture A BILL To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide food and agriculture emergency aid to States, 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 ‘‘Farming Support to 4 States Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE EMERGENCY AID TO 6 STATES. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6956.IH H6956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 6956 IH (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 1 ty’’ means— 2 (i) a Governor or chief executive offi- 3 cer of a State, on behalf of the State; 4 (ii) a State department of agriculture 5 or other State entity; 6 (iii) a nonprofit entity with the capac- 7 ity to provide consultation, expertise, and 8 financial, procurement, or grant distribu- 9 tion capacity necessary to meet the stated 10 mission of the entity with respect to aid 11 provided under the Program; 12 (iv) an institution of higher education; 13 (v) a land-grant college or university 14 or local office of the Cooperative Extension 15 System; 16 (vi) an Indian Tribe or an organiza- 17 tion representing Indian Tribes; and 18 (vii) an entity described in clauses (i) 19 through (vi), in partnership with one or 20 more partners described in subparagraph 21 (B). 22 (B) PARTNERS.—An entity described in 23 clauses (i) through (vi) of subparagraph (A) 24 may establish a partnership with one or more 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6956.IH H6956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 6956 IH partners prior to the submission of a request 1 under subsection (d)(2), or, in consultation with 2 the Secretary, add one or more partners to a 3 partnership after that submission, which may 4 include— 5 (i) an association, including a pro- 6 ducer association, trade association, or en- 7 tity representing a group of farmers or ag- 8 riculture and food businesses that rep- 9 resents the interests of stakeholders who 10 contribute to the rural economy, agricul- 11 tural and food sectors, and the further 12 processing, distribution, and retailing of 13 food; 14 (ii) an entity that distributes food to 15 address food insecurity or administers 16 feeding programs, food delivery, or other 17 activities to improve food access and food 18 security; 19 (iii) a generic program to promote 20 and provide research and information for 21 farmers and consumers on agricultural 22 products (commonly known as a ‘‘checkoff 23 program’’); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6956.IH H6956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 6956 IH (iv) a private entity, including an ag- 1 ricultural cooperative, corporation, busi- 2 ness, or sole proprietor; 3 (v) an economic development entity; 4 (vi) a foundation; 5 (vii) a unit of government within a 6 State; 7 (viii) any other public-serving entity; 8 and 9 (ix) any other entity described in 10 clauses (i) through (vi) of subparagraph 11 (A). 12 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 13 the Food and Agriculture Emergency Response and 14 Resiliency Program established under subsection (b). 15 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 16 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Ad- 17 ministrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service. 18 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 19 (A) each of the several States of the 20 United States; 21 (B) the District of Columbia; 22 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 23 (D) Guam; 24 (E) American Samoa; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6956.IH H6956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 6956 IH (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 1 Mariana Islands; 2 (G) the Federated States of Micronesia; 3 (H) the Republic of the Marshall Islands; 4 (I) the Republic of Palau; and 5 (J) the United States Virgin Islands. 6 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 7 a program, to be known as the ‘‘Food and Agriculture 8 Emergency Response and Resiliency Program’’, under 9 which the Secretary shall make available to eligible entities 10 aid to carry out activities to respond to urgent and emerg- 11 ing issues in the agriculture economy and food supply 12 chain impacted by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (referred 13 to in this section as ‘‘COVID–19’’) and related food sys- 14 tem threats. 15 (c) ALLOCATION.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall allocate 17 the total amount made available for aid under the 18 Program in accordance with the following: 19 (A) Twenty-five percent shall be allocated 20 equally among the States. 21 (B) Twenty-five percent shall be allocated 22 equally among States for which the agriculture 23 sector represented not less than 1⁄4 of a percent, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6956.IH H6956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 6956 IH and less than 1 percent, of the gross domestic 1 product of the State in fiscal year 2017. 2 (C) Fifty percent shall be allocated equally 3 among States for which the agriculture sector 4 represented not less than 1 percent of the gross 5 domestic product of the State in fiscal year 6 2017. 7 (2) RECIPIENTS.—For purposes of paragraph 8 (1), an allocation to an eligible entity (other than a 9 State) that is located in a State shall count towards 10 the allocation for that State. 11 (d) REQUESTS FOR AID.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—To provide aid to an eligible 13 entity under the Program, the Secretary shall enter 14 into a cooperative agreement or other legal instru- 15 ment with the eligible entity. 16 (2) REQUESTS.—An eligible entity seeking to 17 enter into an cooperative agreement or other legal 18 instrument under paragraph (1) shall submit to the 19 Secretary a request for aid under that Program that 20 contains such information as the Secretary may re- 21 quire for the purpose of complying with this Act. 22 (3) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 10 days 23 after the date on which the Secretary receives a re- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6956.IH H6956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 6956 IH quest under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall pro- 1 vide to the eligible entity a written notification— 2 (A) acknowledging the receipt of the re- 3 quest; and 4 (B) describing— 5 (i) the requirements to be imposed on 6 the eligible entity under the Program for 7 public reporting on the use of aid received 8 under the Program; 9 (ii) the criteria to be used to ensure 10 that activities supported using aid under 11 the Program are permissible under this 12 Act; 13 (iii) any additional information nec- 14 essary for the Secretary to make a deter- 15 mination on the request; 16 (iv) the expected dates for a deter- 17 mination on the request and the distribu- 18 tion of aid to the eligible entity; and 19 (v) a point of contact in the Agricul- 20 tural Marketing Service. 21 (4) PRIORITIES.—Subject to subsection (c), in 22 entering into cooperative agreements and other legal 23 instruments under paragraph (1), the Secretary 24 shall give priority to requests— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6956.IH H6956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 6956 IH (A) submitted by— 1 (i) the Governor of a State; 2 (ii) a State department of agriculture; 3 or 4 (iii) an eligible entity that submits a 5 request for aid that has the demonstrated 6 support of other eligible entities; or 7 (B) under which aid would be used for ac- 8 tivities— 9 (i) that contribute to the resiliency, 10 diversity, and distributed production of ag- 11 ricultural products across local, regional, 12 and national-scale food systems; 13 (ii) that serve businesses and other 14 food system entities that have a limited ca- 15 pacity to fund, develop, or deploy COVID– 16 19 response actions; 17 (iii) that serve businesses and other 18 food system entities of which the financial 19 and business solvency is at risk; 20 (iv) that stabilize rural, farming, and 21 food-related sectors with actions that 22 build— 23 (I) resiliency and long-term via- 24 bility of rural economies; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6956.IH H6956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 6956 IH (II) the competitiveness of entre- 1 preneurs and small- and medium-sized 2 entities; 3 (v) that serve agricultural producers 4 and processors that— 5 (I) have faced economic insta- 6 bility related to, or exacerbated by, 7 COVID–19; 8 (II) are underserved by available 9 aid from the Department of Agri- 10 culture for commodity assistance pro- 11 grams; or 12 (III) are producers or processors 13 of noncommodity products, forest 14 products, or specialty crops; or 15 (vi) that— 16 (I) restore and strengthen the re- 17 siliency of entities that are a core part 18 of local and regional economies and 19 identity; and 20 (II) strengthen and enhance the 21 quality of rural life. 22 (e) DISTRIBUTION.— 23 (1) INITIAL DISTRIBUTION.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6956.IH H6956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 6956 IH (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 1 provide 1 initial distribution of aid under the 2 Program of $2,000,000 to 1 eligible entity in 3 each State that submits to the Secretary a re- 4 quest under subsection (d)(2) not later than 30 5 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 6 (B) REQUESTS.—A request submitted by 7 an eligible entity for an initial distribution 8 under subparagraph (A) shall— 9 (i) include a brief summary of the ca- 10 pacity of the eligible entity to administer 11 the aid and the general expenditures 12 planned for the aid; and 13 (ii) be considered to be a complete re- 14 quest on receipt by the Secretary of the re- 15 quest in writing, including the brief sum- 16 mary described in clause (i). 17 (C) AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 14 18 days after the date on which the Secretary re- 19 ceives a complete request described in subpara- 20 graph (B)(ii) that the Secretary approves, the 21 Secretary shall make the aid available to the el- 22 igible entity. 23 (D) USES.—An initial distribution of aid 24 under subparagraph (A) shall be used to ad- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6956.IH H6956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 6956 IH dress urgent matters, as determined by the eli- 1 gible entity, such as— 2 (i) supply chain issues; 3 (ii) responding to farmer stress; 4 (iii) assisting with livestock depopula- 5 tion and indemnification; 6 (iv) securing needed food for food as- 7 sistance programs; and 8 (v) other eligible uses under the Pro- 9 gram. 10 (E) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 3 days 11 after the date on which aid is provided to an el- 12 igible entity under an initial distribution under 13 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall make 14 publicly available any correspondence submitted 15 by the eligible entity as part of the request for 16 the aid. 17 (F) REPORTS.—Not later than 90 days 18 after the date on which an eligible entity re- 19 ceives aid under an initial distribution under 20 subparagraph (A), the eligible entity shall sub- 21 mit a report described in subsection (f)(8). 22 (2) OTHER REQUESTS MADE DURING INITIAL 23 DISTRIBUTION PERIOD.—During the period that ini- 24 tial distributions of aid are requested and distrib- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6956.IH H6956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 6956 IH uted under paragraph (1), an eligible entity may 1 submit a request for aid under subsection (d)(2) (in- 2 cluding a request for more than $2,000,000), which 3 shall be subject to the requirements of this section 4 (other than paragraph (1)). 5 (3) SUBSEQUENT DISTRIBUTIONS.—Aid avail- 6 able under the Program that is not distributed 7 under paragraph (1) or (2) shall be available to eli- 8 gible entities that submit requests under subsection 9 (d)(2) during subsequent periods determined by the 10 Secretary, which shall occur not less frequently than 11 once every 45 days until the date on which aid avail- 12 able under the Program is fully expended. 13 (f) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ELIGIBLE ENTI- 14 TIES.— 15 (1) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Sec- 16 retary shall not require an eligible entity to con- 17 tribute non-Federal funds to carry out a cooperative 18 agreement or other legal instrument under the Pro- 19 gram. 20 (2) USE CONSISTENT WITH TERMS OF COOPER- 21 ATIVE AGREEMENT.—An eligible entity shall use aid 22 received under the Program for the purposes and in 23 the manner provided in the cooperative agreement or 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:13 Jun 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6956.IH H6956 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 6956 IH other legal instrument under which the aid is pro- 1 vided. 2 (3) REQUIREMENT.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of assist- 4 ance or amounts provided using aid under the 5 Program by an eligible entity to a specific per- 6 son, the assistance or amounts shall not be 7 made available to a foreign person making di- 8 rect investment (as those terms are defined in 9 section 801.2 of title 15, Code of Federal Regu- 10 lations (or successor regulations)) in the United 11 States. 12 (B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall 13 not apply to public, widely available assistance, 14 such as best practice guidelines or other non- 15 proprietary, nonexclusive aid. 16 (4) SUBAGREEMENTS.—Nothing in this section 17 prevents an eligible entity from using aid received 18 under the Program to enter into a subagreement 19 with— 20 (A) another eligible entity; or 21 (B) a political subdivision of a State that 22 has legal responsibilities relating to preserving 23 the integrity and function of the food supply, 24 Ve [Text truncated for display. 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