Agricultural Fairs Rescue Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7883 To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program under which the Secretary awards grants to States or State departments of agri- culture for the purposes of providing support to agricultural fairs for losses sustained due to COVID–19. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 30, 2020 Mr. PANETTA (for himself and Mr. LONG) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program under which the Secretary awards grants to States or State departments of agriculture for the purposes of providing support to agricultural fairs for losses sus- tained due to COVID–19. 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 ‘‘Agricultural Fairs Res- 4 cue Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Aug 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7883.IH H7883 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7883 IH SEC. 2. AGRICULTURAL FAIR RESCUE GRANTS. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 months after the 2 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agri- 3 culture, acting through the Administrator of the Agricul- 4 tural Marketing Service, shall establish a program under 5 which the Secretary will award grants to States or State 6 departments of agriculture for the purposes of providing 7 support to agricultural fairs for losses sustained by such 8 fairs due to COVID–19. 9 (b) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of a grant to 10 a State or State department of agriculture under this sec- 11 tion shall be based on the difference between the average 12 attendance at agricultural fairs in the State for a month 13 occurring in 2019 compared to the corresponding month 14 in 2020. 15 (c) CONDITIONS.—As a condition on the receipt of 16 a grant under this section, a State or State department 17 of agriculture shall agree— 18 (1) to prioritize supporting agricultural fairs in 19 the State facing the greatest financial hardship; and 20 (2) to use not more than one percent of grant 21 funds for administrative costs incurred in providing 22 support to agricultural fairs. 23 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—A State or State department 24 of agriculture selected to receive a grant under this section 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Aug 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7883.IH H7883 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7883 IH may only use grant funds to assist agricultural fairs 1 that— 2 (1) host annual events that are drivers and pro- 3 moters of agribusiness in the State (as determined 4 by the State); and 5 (2) have experienced a closure, stoppage, or 6 cancellation of a local, county or State fair oper- 7 ations as a direct or indirect result of— 8 (A) the COVID–19 national emergency; or 9 (B) any associated actions taken by any 10 governmental authority at the Federal, State, 11 county, or municipal level in response to that 12 national emergency; and 13 (3) agree to, and demonstrate the intent to, re- 14 establish a fair within 12 months of the termination 15 of the declaration specified in subsection (f)(2). 16 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 17 authorized to be appropriated to make grants under this 18 section $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2020, each suc- 19 ceeding fiscal year occurring during the COVID–19 na- 20 tional emergency, and the first fiscal year immediately fol- 21 lowing the termination of such national emergency. 22 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Aug 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7883.IH H7883 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7883 IH (1) AGRICULTURAL FAIR.—The term ‘‘agricul- 1 tural fair’’ means a local, county, or State fair that 2 helps farmers— 3 (A) promote their products; 4 (B) expand agricultural markets through 5 conservation programs, agricultural research, 6 educational programs, or other events that en- 7 courage agriculture, horticulture, and the do- 8 mestic arts. 9 (2) COVID–19 NATIONAL EMERGENCY.—The 10 term ‘‘COVID–19 national emergency’’ means the 11 national emergency declared by the President under 12 the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et 13 seq.) on March 13, 2020, with respect to COVID– 14 19. 15 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 16 (A) a State; 17 (B) the District of Columbia; 18 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 19 and 20 (D) any other territory or possession of the 21 United States. 22 (4) STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.— 23 The term ‘‘State department of agriculture’’ means 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Aug 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7883.IH H7883 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7883 IH the agency, commission, or department of a State 1 government responsible for agriculture in the State. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:07 Aug 18, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7883.IH H7883 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS