Local FARM Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4140 To provide additional emergency funding for certain nutrition programs. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 1, 2020 Mr. BOOKER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To provide additional emergency funding for certain nutrition programs. 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 ‘‘Local Food Assistance 4 and Resilient Markets Act of 2020’’ or the ‘‘Local FARM 5 Act of 2020’’. 6 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY. 7 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec- 8 retary of Agriculture. 9 SEC. 3. SPECIALTY CROP BLOCK GRANTS. 10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 11 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:26 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4140.IS S4140 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4140 IS (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti- 1 ty’’ means— 2 (A) an emergency feeding organization (as 3 defined in section 201A of the Emergency Food 4 Assistance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7501)); and 5 (B) a local or regional food enterprise, in- 6 cluding a farmers market, a food hub, an agri- 7 cultural cooperative, a producer association, a 8 nonprofit organization, and a for-profit entity 9 focused primarily on marketing locally grown 10 food. 11 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 12 the specialty crop block grant program established 13 under section 101 of the Specialty Crops Competi- 14 tiveness Act of 2004 (7 U.S.C. 1621 note; Public 15 Law 108–465). 16 (b) GRANTS.— 17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 18 grants to States under the program to award as sub- 19 grants to eligible entities to procure and distribute 20 specialty crops to needy persons at zero cost to those 21 persons. 22 (2) DISTRIBUTION REQUIREMENT.—Of the 23 grant amount provided to a State under paragraph 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:26 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4140.IS S4140 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4140 IS (1), a State shall use 50 percent to award subgrants 1 to eligible entities that purchase specialty crops— 2 (A) from small, beginning, and socially dis- 3 advantaged farmers or ranchers (as defined in 4 section 355(e) of the Consolidated Farm and 5 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2003(e))); 6 and 7 (B) that would otherwise be sold through 8 direct-to-consumer, direct-to-institution, direct- 9 to-retail, or direct-to-restaurant marketing 10 channels, including local and regional food en- 11 terprises such as food hubs, agricultural co- 12 operatives, and producer associations. 13 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiving a 14 subgrant under subsection (b)(1)— 15 (1) shall use not less than 50 percent of the 16 subgrant funds for specialty crop purchases; and 17 (2) may use the remaining subgrant funds for 18 transportation, storage, overhead, and investment in 19 cold storage infrastructure. 20 (d) FUNDING.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is appropriated to the 22 Secretary, out of funds of the Treasury not other- 23 wise appropriated, $1,000,000,000 to carry out this 24 section, to remain available until expended. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:26 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4140.IS S4140 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4140 IS (2) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.— 1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amounts provided 2 by this subsection are designated as an emer- 3 gency requirement pursuant to section 4(g) of 4 the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 5 U.S.C. 933(g)). 6 (B) DESIGNATION IN SENATE.—In the 7 Senate, this subsection is designated as an 8 emergency requirement pursuant to section 9 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress), 10 the concurrent resolution on the budget for fis- 11 cal year 2018. 12 SEC. 4. ONLINE SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE 13 PROGRAM. 14 (a) DEFINITION OF PROGRAM.—In this section, the 15 term ‘‘program’’ means the supplemental nutrition assist- 16 ance program established under the Food and Nutrition 17 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.). 18 (b) GRANTS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than August 15, 20 2020, the Secretary, acting through the Adminis- 21 trator of the Food and Nutrition Service, shall dis- 22 tribute grants to State agencies that administer the 23 program in the State to develop tools and provide 24 technical assistance— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:26 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4140.IS S4140 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4140 IS (A) to increase the quantity of retailers 1 that accept and redeem program benefits on- 2 line; and 3 (B) to expand the capacity of retailers to 4 accept and redeem program benefits online. 5 (2) PRIORITY FOR USE OF FUNDS.—In using a 6 grant received under paragraph (1), a State agency 7 shall give priority, and use not less than 25 percent 8 of the grant funds, to assist— 9 (A) farmers markets, food hubs, agricul- 10 tural and consumer cooperatives, producer asso- 11 ciations, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit 12 entities focused primarily on marketing locally 13 grown food; and 14 (B) retailers in food deserts that sold less 15 than $500,000 in food products in the pre- 16 ceding year. 17 (3) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a 18 grant distributed under paragraph (1) shall not ex- 19 ceed $2,500,000. 20 (c) FUNDING.— 21 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is appropriated to the 22 Secretary, out of amounts in the Treasury not other- 23 wise appropriated, $100,000,000 to carry out sub- 24 section (b), to remain available until expended. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:26 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4140.IS S4140 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4140 IS (2) EMERGENCY DESIGNATION.— 1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amounts provided 2 by this subsection are designated as an emer- 3 gency requirement pursuant to section 4(g) of 4 the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 5 U.S.C. 933(g)). 6 (B) DESIGNATION IN SENATE.—In the 7 Senate, this subsection is designated as an 8 emergency requirement pursuant to section 9 4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress), 10 the concurrent resolution on the budget for fis- 11 cal year 2018. 12 SEC. 5. TEMPORARY MODIFICATIONS TO MATCHING RE- 13 QUIREMENTS UNDER CERTAIN NUTRITION 14 PROGRAMS. 15 (a) ACCESS TO LOCAL FOODS: FARM TO SCHOOL 16 PROGRAM.—Section 18(g)(4) of the Richard B. Russell 17 National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769(g)(4)) is 18 amended— 19 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘The Fed- 20 eral’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to subparagraph (C), 21 the Federal’’; 22 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘As a con- 23 dition’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to subparagraph (C), 24 as a condition’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:26 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4140.IS S4140 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4140 IS (3) by adding at the end the following: 1 ‘‘(C) TEMPORARY WAIVER.— 2 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF COVERED PE- 3 RIOD.—In this subparagraph, the term 4 ‘covered period’ means the period begin- 5 ning on the date of enactment of the Local 6 FARM Act of 2020 and ending on the last 7 day of the second fiscal year beginning 8 after that date of enactment. 9 ‘‘(ii) TEMPORARY WAIVER.—During 10 the covered period, the Federal share of 11 costs for a project funded through a grant 12 awarded under this subsection shall equal 13 100 percent of the total cost of the 14 project.’’. 15 (b) GUS SCHUMACHER NUTRITION INCENTIVE PRO- 16 GRAM.—Section 4405(b)(1)(C) of the Food, Conservation, 17 and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 7517(b)(1)(C)) is 18 amended— 19 (1) by striking ‘‘Except as provided in subpara- 20 graph (D)(iii)’’ and inserting the following: 21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro- 22 vided in clause (ii) and subparagraph 23 (D)(iii)’’; and 24 (2) by adding at the end the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:26 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4140.IS S4140 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4140 IS ‘‘(ii) TEMPORARY REDUCTION.— 1 ‘‘(I) DEFINITION OF COVERED 2 PERIOD.—In this clause, the term 3 ‘covered period’ means the period be- 4 ginning on the date of enactment of 5 the Local FARM Act of 2020 and 6 ending on the last day of the second 7 fiscal year beginning after that date 8 of enactment. 9 ‘‘(II) TEMPORARY REDUCTION.— 10 During the covered period, the Fed- 11 eral share of the cost of carrying out 12 an activity under this subsection shall 13 not exceed 75 percent of the total cost 14 of the activity.’’. 15 (c) COMMUNITY FOOD PROJECTS.—Section 25(e) of 16 the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2034(e)) 17 is amended— 18 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The Federal’’ 19 and inserting ‘‘Subject to paragraph (4), the Fed- 20 eral’’; and 21 (2) by adding at the end the following: 22 ‘‘(4) TEMPORARY WAIVER.— 23 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF COVERED PERIOD.— 24 In this paragraph, the term ‘covered period’ 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:26 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4140.IS S4140 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4140 IS means the period beginning on the date of en- 1 actment of the Local FARM Act of 2020 and 2 ending on the last day of the second fiscal year 3 beginning after that date of enactment. 4 ‘‘(B) TEMPORARY REDUCTION.—During 5 the covered period, the Federal share of the 6 cost of establishing or carrying out a commu- 7 nity food project under subsection (b) shall 8 equal 100 percent of the total cost of the 9 project.’’. 10 SEC. 6. LOCAL AGRICULTURE MARKET PROGRAM; BEGIN- 11 NING FARMER AND RANCHER DEVELOPMENT 12 GRANT PROGRAM. 13 (a) LOCAL AGRICULTURE MARKET PROGRAM.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is appropriated for 15 the Department of Agriculture, out of amounts in 16 the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 17 $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, to remain avail- 18 able until expended, to carry out the Local Agri- 19 culture Market Program established under section 20 210A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 21 U.S.C. 1627c). 22 (2) RESERVATIONS OF AMOUNTS.—Of the 23 amount made available under paragraph (1)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:26 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4140.IS S4140 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4140 IS (A) $100,000,000 shall be used to provide 1 grants under the program described in that 2 paragraph to recipients of grants under that 3 program that were awarded before the date of 4 enactment of this Act for projects to respond to 5 the COVID–19 pandemic; 6 (B) $100,000,000 shall be used to provide 7 grants under the program described in that 8 paragraph to organizations that serve socially 9 disadvantaged farmers or ranchers (as defined 10 in section 355(e) of the Consolidated Farm and 11 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2003(e))); 12 (C) $25,000,000 shall be used for grants 13 under paragraph (5) of section 210A(d) of the 14 Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 15 1627c(d)) to carry out market rebuilding 16 projects authorized under paragraph (2)(K) of 17 that section; and 18 (D) $25,000,000 shall be used for grants 19 under paragraph (6) of that section to carry 20 out those market rebuilding projects. 21 (3) MARKET REBUILDING PROJECTS.—Section 22 210A(d)(2) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 23 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1627c(d)(2)) is amended— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:26 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4140.IS S4140 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4140 IS (A) in subparagraph (I), by striking ‘‘or’’ 1 at the end; 2 (B) in subparagraph (J)(ii), by striking 3 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 4 (C) by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(K) to rebuild a market for a value-added 6 agricultural product that has been impacted by 7 COVID–19 during the period beginning on the 8 date of enactment of this subparagraph and 9 ending on the last day of the second fiscal year 10 beginning after that date of enactment.’’. 11 (4) PAYMENTS FOR COVID–19 LOSSES.—Section 12 210A(d) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 13 (7 U.S.C. 1627c(d)) is amended by adding at the 14 end the following: 15 ‘‘(7) PAYMENTS FOR COVID–19 LOSSES.— 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 17 make payments to entities eligible to receive a 18 grant under paragraph (5) or (6) that submit 19 to the Secretary an application at such time, in 20 such manner, and containing— 21 ‘‘(i) a description of how the business 22 of the applicant has been impacted by 23 COVID–19; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:26 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4140.IS S4140 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4140 IS ‘‘(ii) a narrative explaining how the 1 applicant proposes to use those payments 2 to expand the capacity of the sales of the 3 applicant to properly package and sell agri- 4 cultural products to consumers; and 5 ‘‘(iii) such other information as the 6 Secretary may require. 7 ‘‘(B) APPLICABILITY OF LIMITATIONS.—A 8 payment under this paragraph shall not be sub- 9 ject to the limitations specified in subpara- 10 graphs (D) and (E) of paragraph (5) or (6), as 11 applicable.’’. 12 (b) WAIVER OF MATCHING FUNDS REQUIRE- 13 MENTS.— 14 (1) DEFINITION OF COVERED PERIOD.—In this 15 subsection, the term ‘‘covered period’’ means the pe- 16 riod beginning on the date of enactment of this Act 17 and ending on the last day of the second fiscal year 18 beginning after that date of enactment. 19 (2) VALUE-ADDED PRODUCER GRANTS.—Sub- 20 paragraph (E) of section 210A(d)(5) of the Agricul- 21 tural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1627c(d)(5)) 22 shall not apply to a grant awarded under that sec- 23 tion during the covered period. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 17:26 Jul 14, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4140.IS S4140 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4140 IS (3) FARMERS’ MARKETS AND LOCAL FOOD PRO- 1 MOTION PROGRAM.—Subparagraph (E) of section 2 210A(d)(6) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 3 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1627c(d)(6)) shall not apply to a 4 grant awarded under that section during the covered 5 period. 6 (4) REGIONAL PARTNERSHIPS.—Paragraph (4) 7 of section 210A(e) of the Agricultural Marketing Act 8 of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1627c(e)) shall not apply to a 9 grant awarded under that section during the covered 10 period. 11 (5) BEGINNING FARMER AND RANCHER DEVEL- 12 OPMENT GRANT PROGRAM.—Paragraph (5) of sec- 13 tion 2501(d) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 14 and Trade Act of 19 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]