Local and Regional Farmer and Market Support Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8096 To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to make payments to direct marketing farmers affected by COVID–19, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 25, 2020 Ms. ADAMS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to make payments to direct marketing farmers affected by 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 ‘‘Local and Regional 4 Farmer and Market Support Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. PAYMENTS FOR DIRECT MARKETING FARMERS AF- 6 FECTED BY COVID–19. 7 (a) FUNDING FOR PAYMENTS.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), of 9 the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:58 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8096.IH H8096 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8096 IH Secretary shall use $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 1 2020, to remain available until expended, to carry 2 out payments under this section. 3 (2) RESERVATION FOR SOCIALLY DISADVAN- 4 TAGED FARMERS OR RANCHERS.—Of the funds 5 made available under paragraph (1), the Secretary 6 shall reserve 20 percent for payments to socially dis- 7 advantaged farmers or ranchers under this section 8 for fiscal year 2020. 9 (3) AWARD OF PAYMENTS.—The Secretary 10 shall make all payments under this section not later 11 than 210 days after the date of the enactment of 12 this Act. 13 (b) ELIGIBILITY.— 14 (1) APPLICATION.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 16 provide a payment to a covered producer that 17 submits to the Secretary an application in ac- 18 cordance with subparagraph (B) demonstrates, 19 as determined by the Secretary, that— 20 (i) the producer is a covered producer; 21 and 22 (ii) either— 23 (I) the revenue of the covered 24 producer was reduced by 5 percent or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:58 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8096.IH H8096 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8096 IH greater during the covered period, as 1 compared to the benchmark revenue 2 of the covered producer; or 3 (II) the covered producer has in- 4 curred increased costs in excess of 5 5 percent due to the COVID–19 emer- 6 gency during the covered period. 7 (B) TIMING.—To be eligible to receive a 8 payment under this section, a covered producer 9 shall submit to the Secretary an application de- 10 scribed in subparagraph (A), not later than 120 11 days after the date of the enactment of this 12 Act. 13 (2) BENCHMARK REVENUE.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara- 15 graphs (B) and (C), the benchmark revenue of 16 a covered producer shall be any 1 calendar year 17 in the 3 calendar years prior to the first day of 18 the covered period, as determined by the cov- 19 ered producer. 20 (B) VERY NEW PRODUCERS.—In the case 21 of a covered producer that has been in oper- 22 ation for less than 1 year before the first day 23 of the covered period, the Secretary shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:58 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8096.IH H8096 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8096 IH (i) determine the benchmark revenue 1 based on comparable farm operations in 2 such manner as the Secretary determines 3 appropriate; and 4 (ii) prorate payments under this sec- 5 tion. 6 (3) DOCUMENTATION.—For purposes of dem- 7 onstrating revenue and expenses under this section, 8 a covered producer or applicant, as applicable, shall 9 use at least one of the following: 10 (A) Self-certification. 11 (B) Contracts, receipts, or other agree- 12 ments that document direct sales to consumers, 13 food service providers, schools, institutions, res- 14 taurants, retailers, and intermediary businesses 15 that market locally or regionally branded prod- 16 ucts. 17 (C) Records of crop year revenue from 18 2017 through 2019. 19 (D) Tax documents. 20 (E) Other legitimate documents, as deter- 21 mined by the Secretary. 22 (4) SELF CERTIFICATION LIMITATION.— 23 (A) PAYMENT AMOUNT.—A covered pro- 24 ducer that demonstrates revenue and expenses 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:58 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8096.IH H8096 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8096 IH using only self-certification may not receive di- 1 rectly or indirectly a total amount of payments 2 greater than $6,000 under this section. 3 (B) VERY NEW PRODUCERS.—A covered 4 producer that is a very new producer (as de- 5 scribed in paragraph (2)(B)) may not dem- 6 onstrate revenue and expenses under paragraph 7 (3) using self-certification. 8 (5) CROP INSURANCE.—The Secretary may not 9 condition a payment under this section on participa- 10 tion in a plan or policy under the Federal Crop In- 11 surance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.) or in the non- 12 insured crop assistance program under section 196 13 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform 14 Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333). 15 (6) FARM NUMBER.—A covered producer shall 16 be eligible to receive payments, regardless of whether 17 such covered producer has a farm number. 18 (c) AMOUNT.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 20 and (3), the amount of a payment to a covered pro- 21 ducer under this section shall be equal to— 22 (A) in the case of a covered producer with 23 a benchmark revenue of less than $5,000, 70 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:58 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8096.IH H8096 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8096 IH percent of that benchmark revenue, but in no 1 case less than $1,500; 2 (B) in the case of a covered producer with 3 a benchmark revenue of equal to or greater 4 than $5,000 and less than $10,000, 60 percent 5 of that benchmark revenue, but in no case less 6 than $3,500; 7 (C) in the case of a covered producer with 8 a benchmark revenue of equal to or greater 9 than $10,000 and less than $25,000, 55 per- 10 cent of that benchmark revenue, but in no case 11 less than $6,000; 12 (D) in the case of a covered producer with 13 a benchmark revenue of equal to or greater 14 than $25,000 and less than $100,000, 50 per- 15 cent of that benchmark revenue, but in no case 16 less than $13,750; 17 (E) in the case of a covered producer with 18 a benchmark revenue of equal to or greater 19 than $100,000 and less than $250,000, 40 per- 20 cent of that benchmark revenue, but in no case 21 less than $50,000, and not more than 22 $150,000; and 23 (F) in the case of a covered producer with 24 a benchmark revenue of equal to or greater 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:58 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8096.IH H8096 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8096 IH than $250,000 and less than $900,000, 1 $150,000. 2 (2) PAYMENT LIMITATION.—The total amount 3 of payments received under this section by a covered 4 producer, directly or indirectly, may not exceed 5 $150,000. 6 (3) DEDUCTION OF PREVIOUS PAYMENTS.—A 7 payment made to a covered producer under this sec- 8 tion shall be reduced by reduced by the amount of 9 any payments received by such covered producer on 10 or before August 28, 2020, under the Coronavirus 11 Food Assistance Program of the Department of Ag- 12 riculture, as specified in part 9 of title 7, Code of 13 Federal Regulations (or successor regulations). 14 (d) ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME LIMITATION.—A cov- 15 ered producer may not be eligible to receive a payment 16 under this section if the average adjusted gross income 17 of the covered producer exceeds $900,000. 18 (e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue a rule 19 to carry out this section not later than 30 days after the 20 date of the enactment of this Act. 21 (f) TEMPORARY ADMINISTRATIVE PROHIBITION ON 22 USING ADMINISTRATIVE OFFSET IN CERTAIN CASES.— 23 During the period beginning on the date of the enactment 24 of this Act and ending on September 30, 2021, the Sec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:58 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8096.IH H8096 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8096 IH retary of Agriculture may not collect any payment made 1 to a covered producer under this section in satisfaction 2 of a claim as authorized under section 3716 of title 31, 3 United States Code. 4 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 5 (1) BENCHMARK REVENUE.—The term ‘‘bench- 6 mark revenue’’ means, with respect to a covered pro- 7 ducer, the revenue for the 1-year period selected 8 under section 3(b)(2). 9 (2) COVERED PERIOD.—The term ‘‘covered pe- 10 riod’’ means the period beginning on January 31, 11 2020, and ending on that date on which the declara- 12 tion referred to in paragraph (4) (and any renewal 13 thereof) terminates. 14 (3) COVERED PRODUCER.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘covered pro- 16 ducer’’ means a farmer, livestock producer, 17 shellfish grower, or other producer who derives 18 at least 25 percent of total farm income from 19 any combination of the following direct mar- 20 keting arrangement in which the producer sells 21 to: 22 (i) The final consumer such as 23 through farmers’ markets, community 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:58 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8096.IH H8096 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8096 IH sponsored agriculture programs, farm 1 stands, or online sales. 2 (ii) Retailers including supermarkets, 3 supercenters, restaurants, caterers, inde- 4 pendent grocery stores, and food coopera- 5 tives. 6 (iii) Institutions such as schools, col- 7 leges, universities, hospitals, as well as 8 intermediary business such as wholesalers 9 distributors, food hubs. 10 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘covered 11 producer’’ does not include livestock or poultry 12 integrators, processors, or other business enti- 13 ties relating to livestock and poultry production 14 that do not raise livestock or poultry. 15 (4) COVID–19 EMERGENCY.—The term 16 ‘‘COVID–19 emergency’’ means the public health 17 emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and 18 Human Services under section 319 of the Public 19 Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) on January 20 31, 2020, with respect to COVID–19. 21 (5) REVENUE.—The term ‘‘revenue’’, with re- 22 spect to a covered producer, means total farm rev- 23 enue, including revenue derived from agritourism ac- 24 tivities conducted by a covered producer. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:58 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8096.IH H8096 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8096 IH (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 1 the Secretary of Agriculture. 2 (7) SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMER OR 3 RANCHER.—The term ‘‘socially disadvantaged farm- 4 er or rancher’’ has the meaning given the term in 5 section 2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva- 6 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a)). 7 (8) FARM NUMBER.—The term ‘‘farm number’’ 8 has the meaning given the term in section 718.2 of 9 title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on 10 the date of enactment of this Act). 11 SEC. 3. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOR FARMERS AND 12 FARMERS’ MARKETS. 13 (a) COVID–19 EMERGENCY MARKET RESPONSE 14 GRANTS.—Section 210A of the Agricultural Marketing 15 Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1627c)— 16 (1) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 17 following: 18 ‘‘(7) COVID–19 EMERGENCY MARKET RE- 19 SPONSE GRANTS.— 20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 21 award to eligible entities described in para- 22 graphs (5)(B) and (6)(B) emergency grants to 23 develop new or alternative marketing projects to 24 respond to the COVID–19 pandemic. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:58 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8096.IH H8096 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8096 IH ‘‘(B) REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS.—Not 1 later than 30 days after the date of the enact- 2 ment of the Local and Regional Farmer and 3 Market Support Act, the Secretary shall issue a 4 request for proposals for grants under subpara- 5 graph (A). 6 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION.—Eligible entities seek- 7 ing a grant under this paragraph shall submit 8 to the Secretary an application at such time 9 and in such manner as the Secretary shall re- 10 quire. Such application shall contain— 11 ‘‘(i) in the case of an eligible entity 12 described in paragraph (5)(B)— 13 ‘‘(I) a description of how the en- 14 terprises of such eligible entity has 15 been impacted by COVID–19; and 16 ‘‘(II) a narrative explaining how 17 the eligible entity proposes to use 18 grant funding to respond to the im- 19 pacts of COVID–19 and to create or 20 increase marketing opportunities for 21 value-added agricultural products; 22 ‘‘(ii) in the case of eligible entities de- 23 scribed in paragraph (6)(B)— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:58 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8096.IH H8096 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8096 IH ‘‘(I) a description of how local 1 and regional food markets and enter- 2 prises served by such eligible entities 3 have been impacted by COVID–19; 4 and 5 ‘‘(II) a narrative explaining how 6 the applicant proposes to use grant 7 funding to respond to the impacts of 8 COVID–19 on local and regional food 9 markets or enterprises and to facili- 10 tate marketing and sales of agricul- 11 tural products to consumers; and 12 ‘‘(iii) such other information as the 13 Secretary may require. 14 ‘‘(D) PRIORITY.— 15 ‘‘(i) VALUE-ADDED PRODUCER PRO- 16 GRAM PRIORITY.— 17 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In making 18 grants under this paragraph to eligi- 19 ble entities described in paragraph 20 (5)(B), the Secretary shall give pri- 21 ority to applications submitted by an 22 eligible entity that is— 23 ‘‘(aa) a socially disadvan- 24 taged farmer or rancher (as de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:58 Sep 05, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8096.IH H8096 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 8096 IH fined in section 2501(a) of the 1 Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 2 and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 3 2279(a))); or 4 ‘‘(bb) a minority business 5 enterprise. 6 ‘‘(II) HIGHEST PRIORITY.—In 7 giving priority under clause (i), the 8 Secretary shall give highest priority to 9 eligible entities that provide the great- 10 est contribution to preserving, cre- 11 ating, or increasing opportunities for 12 socially disadvantaged farmers or 13 ranchers. 14 ‘‘(ii) FARMERS’ MARKETS AND LOCAL 15 FOOD PROMOTION PROGRAM PRIORITY.— 16 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—In making 17 grants under this paragraph to eligi- 18 ble entities described in paragraph 19 (6)(B), the [Text truncated for display. 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