What This Bill Does
This bill amends the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to extend and expand two export promotion programs. The programs help American agricultural producers sell their products in foreign markets.
Who It Affects
American agricultural producers and farmers who grow commodities like apples, cotton, beef, soybeans, rice, wheat, dairy, corn, citrus, wine, pork, peanuts, cranberries, lentils, tree nuts, timber, poultry, potatoes, and seafood. The Department of Agriculture implements these programs. Private agricultural groups that partner with the Department of Agriculture are affected.
Key Provisions
• The Market Access Program funding period extends from 2024 through 2029 and increases to a higher amount (Sec. 3)
• The Foreign Market Development Cooperator Program funding period extends from 2024 through 2029 with increased funding amounts (Sec. 3)
What Changes
The bill changes the time period for both programs from ending in 2023 to ending in 2029. It increases the dollar amounts available for these programs, though the bill text does not specify the exact new amounts in language accessible without consulting referenced code sections.
Important Definitions
None defined in the bill text.
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 648
To amend the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to extend and expand the
Market Access Program and the Foreign Market Development Coop-
erator Program.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 31, 2023
Mr. NEWHOUSE (for himself, Mr. COSTA, Mr. MANN, Ms. SCHRIER, Mrs.
HINSON, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. FINSTAD, and Ms. PINGREE) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To amend the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to extend
and expand the Market Access Program and the Foreign
Market Development Cooperator Program.
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 ‘‘Agriculture Export
4
Promotion Act of 2023’’.
5
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
6
Congress finds that—
7
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:47 Feb 15, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H648.IH
H648
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2
•HR 648 IH
(1) between 1977 and 2019, the export pro-
1
motion programs of the Department of Agri-
2
culture—
3
(A)
have
added
an
average
of
4
$9,600,000,000 annually to the value of United
5
States agricultural exports, equal to a total of
6
nearly $648,000,000,000, or 13.7 percent, in
7
additional export revenue; and
8
(B) have generated a net return of $24.50
9
for every dollar invested;
10
(2) between 2002 and 2019, the export pro-
11
motion programs of the Department of Agri-
12
culture—
13
(A) have contributed to the creation of up
14
to 225,800 full- and part-time jobs across the
15
United States economy; and
16
(B) have added up to $45,000,000,000 in
17
gross economic output and $22,300,000,000 in
18
gross domestic product;
19
(3) communities across the United States pro-
20
ducing agricultural commodities as varied as apples,
21
cotton, beef, soybeans, rice, wheat, dairy, corn, cit-
22
rus, wine, pork, peanuts, cranberries, lentils, tree
23
nuts, timber, poultry, potatoes, and seafood have uti-
24
lized the export promotion programs of the Depart-
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:47 Feb 15, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H648.IH
H648
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3
•HR 648 IH
ment of Agriculture to increase access to foreign
1
markets;
2
(4) private sector contributions have helped
3
maintain the public-private partnership between the
4
Department of Agriculture and private agricultural
5
groups as available funds from the Department of
6
Agriculture have declined, with private contributions
7
representing approximately 70 to 77 percent of the
8
funds available for export promotion from 2013 to
9
2019;
10
(5) foreign competitors have expanded their ag-
11
ricultural export promotion programs at a far faster
12
rate than the United States, placing United States
13
producers at a competitive disadvantage in inter-
14
national markets;
15
(6) the economic impact of the export pro-
16
motion programs of the Department of Agriculture
17
has eroded in recent years, as funding for the Mar-
18
ket Access Program has remained static since 2006
19
and funding for the Foreign Market Development
20
Cooperator Program has remained static since 2002,
21
while inflation has increased; and
22
(7) a recent academic analysis found that dou-
23
bling public funding for the Market Access Program
24
and the Foreign Market Development Cooperator
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:47 Feb 15, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H648.IH
H648
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4
•HR 648 IH
Program, coupled with increasing private contribu-
1
tions ranging from 10 to 20 percent, would result in
2
average annual gains in agricultural exports of ap-
3
proximately $7,400,000,000.
4
SEC. 3. AGRICULTURAL TRADE PROMOTION AND FACILITA-
5
TION.
6
Section 203(f) of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978
7
(7 U.S.C. 5623(f)) is amended—
8
(1) in paragraph (2)—
9
(A) by striking ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ and
10
inserting ‘‘2024 through 2029’’; and
11
(B) by striking ‘‘$255,000,000’’ and in-
12
serting ‘‘$489,500,000’’; and
13
(2) in paragraph (3)(A)—
14
(A) in the matter preceding clause (i), by
15
striking ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ and inserting
16
‘‘2024 through 2029’’;
17
(B)
in
clause
(i),
by
striking
18
‘‘$200,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$400,000,000’’;
19
and
20
(C)
in
clause
(ii),
by
striking
21
‘‘$34,500,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$69,000,000’’.
22
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014
04:47 Feb 15, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H648.IH
H648
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS