Food Supply Protection Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4453 To protect the continuity of the food supply chain of the United States in response to COVID–19, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES AUGUST 5, 2020 Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Ms. MURKOWSKI, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. BROWN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. BENNET, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. CASEY, Ms. SMITH, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. SCHUMER, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. REED) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For- estry A BILL To protect the continuity of the food supply chain of the United States in response to COVID–19, 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 ‘‘Food Supply Protec- 4 tion Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:27 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4453.IS S4453 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4453 IS (1) COVID–19 EMERGENCY.—The term 1 ‘‘COVID–19 emergency’’ means the public health 2 emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and 3 Human Services under section 319 of the Public 4 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 5 31, 2020, with respect to COVID–19. 6 (2) DONATION PERIOD.—The term ‘‘donation 7 period’’ means the period— 8 (A) beginning on January 31, 2020; and 9 (B) ending on the later of— 10 (i) December 31, 2020; and 11 (ii) a date after December 31, 2020, 12 if there are remaining food surpluses relat- 13 ing to the COVID–19 emergency, as deter- 14 mined by the Secretary. 15 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 16 the Secretary of Agriculture. 17 SEC. 3. INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS TO NONPROFIT FEED- 18 ING ORGANIZATIONS. 19 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 20 (1) to reduce food waste by supporting the dis- 21 tribution of perishable food that would otherwise go 22 to waste or be left unharvested; 23 (2) to provide food and meals to individuals in 24 need during the COVID–19 emergency; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:27 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4453.IS S4453 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4453 IS (3) to improve the ability of food banks and 1 other nonprofit feeding organizations to process, re- 2 pack, store, or distribute perishable food in response 3 to the COVID–19 emergency; and 4 (4) to facilitate partnerships with local and re- 5 gional organizations to store, repackage, prepare, 6 process, or distribute food and meals. 7 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 8 (1) ELIGIBLE ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘eligi- 9 ble organization’’ means an organization providing 10 free food or meals during the donation period, in- 11 cluding— 12 (A) a nonprofit organization, such as a 13 food bank, a school, and an emergency feeding 14 organization; 15 (B) a faith-based organization that distrib- 16 utes food or meals, and any other similar pro- 17 gram, as determined by the Secretary; 18 (C) a tribal organization that distributes 19 food or meals; 20 (D) a child or adult care center; and 21 (E) any other similar feeding entity, as de- 22 termined by the Secretary. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:27 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4453.IS S4453 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4453 IS (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1 the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of 2 the Food and Nutrition Service. 3 (3) TRIBAL ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘tribal 4 organization’’ has the meaning given the term in 5 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 6 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 7 (c) REIMBURSEMENT FOR STORAGE AND DISTRIBU- 8 TION OF PERISHABLE COMMODITIES.— 9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 15 days 10 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 11 retary shall establish a program under which the 12 Secretary shall reimburse costs incurred during the 13 donation period by an eligible organization for the 14 distribution and temporary storage of perishable 15 commodities, without regard to the source of those 16 commodities. 17 (2) REIMBURSEMENT RATE.—Under the pro- 18 gram established under paragraph (1), the Secretary 19 shall reimburse eligible organizations at— 20 (A) a rate of $0.10 per pound of perishable 21 food stored and distributed during the donation 22 period; or 23 (B) such other appropriate rate, as deter- 24 mined by the Secretary. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:27 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4453.IS S4453 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4453 IS (3) ADVANCE REIMBURSEMENT.—The Sec- 1 retary shall provide an advance reimbursement to an 2 eligible organization under paragraph (1) if the Sec- 3 retary approves a plan submitted by the eligible or- 4 ganization that— 5 (A) estimates the pounds of perishable 6 food expected to be distributed during the sub- 7 sequent 30 days; and 8 (B) demonstrates the ability of the eligible 9 organization to accomplish that distribution. 10 (4) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity 11 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use not more 12 than $500,000,000 to carry out this subsection, of 13 which not more than 3 percent may be used for ad- 14 ministrative expenses. 15 (d) GRANTS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE, EQUIPMENT, 16 AND SUPPLIES.— 17 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days 18 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 19 retary shall establish a program under which the 20 Secretary shall award grants to eligible organiza- 21 tions to improve, construct, rent, lease, or purchase 22 infrastructure, equipment, and supplies that support 23 the distribution of surplus perishable food or meals 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:27 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4453.IS S4453 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4453 IS prepared with that food and the purposes described 1 in subsection (a). 2 (2) APPLICATIONS.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive 4 a grant under paragraph (1), an eligible organi- 5 zation shall submit to the Secretary an applica- 6 tion at such time, in such manner, and con- 7 taining such information as the Secretary may 8 require, including the information described in 9 subparagraph (C). 10 (B) REVIEW AND SUBMISSION.—The Sec- 11 retary shall approve or deny an application re- 12 ceived under subparagraph (A)— 13 (i) not later than 30 days after the 14 date of receipt of the application; and 15 (ii) in the case of an application for a 16 grant amount of less than $80,000 or an 17 application that may be reviewed quickly 18 otherwise, as determined by the Secretary, 19 in accordance with the timeline in a fast- 20 track review process established by the 21 Secretary for such applications. 22 (C) SELECTION CRITERIA.—In determining 23 whether to approve or deny an application of an 24 eligible organization under subparagraph (B), 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:27 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4453.IS S4453 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4453 IS the Secretary shall consider whether the eligible 1 organization— 2 (i) demonstrates an ability to use the 3 grant for the purposes described in para- 4 graph (1); and 5 (ii) to the extent practicable, will— 6 (I) use local and regional food 7 business and small and medium busi- 8 nesses to carry out activities under 9 the grant; 10 (II) accept perishable food that 11 would otherwise be wasted or 12 unharvested; 13 (III) develop innovative partner- 14 ships with institutions that have avail- 15 able, underutilized cold storage, food 16 preparation, or other existing re- 17 sources or facilities; and 18 (IV) make investments in infra- 19 structure or equipment that have 20 short- or long-term value, have mul- 21 tiple uses, and would improve pre- 22 paredness for future surges in dona- 23 tions of perishable foods. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:27 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4453.IS S4453 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4453 IS (3) USE OF FUNDS.—Activities carried out by 1 eligible organizations using grant funds awarded 2 under paragraph (1) may include the following: 3 (A) Purchasing new or temporary pack- 4 aging materials and food labels. 5 (B) Converting industrial-sized products to 6 consumer-sized products. 7 (C) Purchasing, renting, or leasing storage 8 or preparation space, cold storage, equipment, 9 or vehicles, trailers, or transportation services. 10 (D) Purchasing test kits, disinfectant, 11 sanitation systems, or hand washing stations. 12 (E) Training relating to— 13 (i) equipment purchased, rented, or 14 leased with the grant funds; and 15 (ii) new procedures established by the 16 eligible organization that are supported by 17 the grant funds. 18 (F) Purchasing and decontaminating per- 19 sonal protective equipment. 20 (G) Purchasing equipment and supplies to 21 facilitate food or meal distribution. 22 (4) OWNERSHIP OF INFRASTRUCTURE, EQUIP- 23 MENT, AND SUPPLIES.—Any infrastructure, equip- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:27 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4453.IS S4453 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4453 IS ment, or supplies purchased by an eligible organiza- 1 tion using a grant awarded under paragraph (1)— 2 (A) shall be required to support the pur- 3 poses of the grant but need not be exclusively 4 used for those purposes; 5 (B) shall not have Federal property track- 6 ing and inventory requirements applied beyond 7 the end of the grant term; and 8 (C) shall remain under the ownership of 9 the eligible organization for future use or pan- 10 demic or food crisis preparedness. 11 (5) PUBLIC GRANT ANNOUNCEMENTS.—Not 12 later than 10 days after the date on which a grant 13 is awarded under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 14 publicly announce the grant on the website of the 15 Food and Nutrition Service, including a summary of 16 the activities funded by the grant and the projected 17 volume of food or meal distribution supported by the 18 grant. 19 (6) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity 20 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use not more 21 than $500,000,000 to carry out this subsection, of 22 which not more than 3 percent may be used for ad- 23 ministrative expenses. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:27 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4453.IS S4453 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4453 IS (e) OUTREACH.—The Secretary, in cooperation with 1 national and regional food security organizations, shall 2 conduct outreach to eligible organizations, including tribal 3 organizations, that serve underserved communities or have 4 minimal or no participation in Federal programs to ensure 5 that those organizations are informed of the programs es- 6 tablished under this section. 7 (f) DUPLICATION AND RELATION TO OTHER PRO- 8 GRAMS.—An eligible organization may not receive reim- 9 bursements, payments, or grants from Federal sources for 10 activities carried out under this section in an amount that 11 exceeds 100 percent of the costs incurred by the eligible 12 organization in carrying out those activities. 13 (g) ADDITIONAL FUNDING.—In addition to the funds 14 used under subsections (c)(4) and (d)(6), of the funds of 15 the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall 16 use such sums as are necessary to carry out this section. 17 SEC. 4. FOOD PURCHASE PARTNERSHIPS. 18 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 19 (1) ELIGIBLE FEEDING ORGANIZATION.— 20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible 21 feeding organization’’ means a public or private 22 nonprofit organization (including a tribal orga- 23 nization (as defined in section 4 of the Indian 24 Self-Determination and Education Assistance 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:27 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4453.IS S4453 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4453 IS Act (25 U.S.C. 5304))), or a restaurant or 1 distributer operating an emergency feeding or 2 food relief program, that distributes donated el- 3 igible food or meals prepared, at least in part, 4 from eligible food. 5 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘eligible feed- 6 ing organization’’ includes a department of ag- 7 riculture or other appropriate agency of a 8 State, or an Indian Tribe, that receives funding 9 under this section to distribute donated eligible 10 food or meals prepared, at least in part, from 11 eligible food. 12 (2) ELIGIBLE FOOD.—The term ‘‘eligible food’’ 13 means meat, poultry, eggs, fluid milk, dairy prod- 14 ucts, fruit, vegetables, seafood, and other unproc- 15 essed or minimally processed food that— 16 (A) is produced and processed in the 17 United States; and 18 (B) would otherwise be unharvested or sur- 19 plus if not donated. 20 (3) FOOD VALUE.—The term ‘‘food value’’— 21 (A) means the typical wholesale value of 22 food being donated in a nonsurplus situation; 23 and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:27 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4453.IS S4453 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4453 IS (B) may be adjusted to reflect the typical 1 premium associated with local food, organic 2 food, or other premiums. 3 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 4 has the meaning given the term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ in 5 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu- 6 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 7 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 8 the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of 9 the Agricultural Marketing Service. 10 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 11 (A) each of the several States of the 12 United States; 13 (B) the District of Columbia; 14 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 15 (D) the United States Virgin Islands; 16 (E) Guam; 17 (F) American Samoa; and 18 (G) the Commonwealth of the Northern 19 Mariana Islands. 20 (b) ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSES.— 21 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 15 days 22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 23 retary shall establish— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:27 Aug 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4453.IS S4453 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4453 IS (A) the State and Tribal surplus food pur- 1 chase program in accordance with subsection 2 (c); and 3 (B) the Federal surplus food reimburse- 4 ment program in accordance with subsection 5 (d). 6 (2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the programs 7 established under paragraph (1) shall be— 8 (A) to facilitate the purchase and donation 9 of eligible food; 10 (B) to provide nutrition assistance to ind [Text truncated for display. 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