Official Summaries

Fair Access to Agriculture Disaster Programs Act

This bill waives the adjusted gross income limitations for payments or benefits under specific Department of Agriculture (USDA) disaster assistance programs for a person or legal entity that derives a portion of their income from agriculture. Currently, a person or entity is not eligible to receive certain benefits during a crop, fiscal, or program year if their average gross income exceeds $900,000.

Specifically, in the case of an excepted payment or benefit, the adjusted gross income limitation is waived if 75% or more of the average adjusted gross income for the person or entity is derived from farming, ranching, or silviculture activities. These activities include agritourism, direct-to-consumer marketing of agricultural products, and the sale of agricultural equipment owned by such person or entity.

The bill applies to the USDA

• Livestock Indemnity Program;
• Livestock Forage Disaster Program;
• Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program;
• Tree Assistance Program; and
• Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 984 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 984

  To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to establish an exception to 
certain payment limitations in the case of person or legal entity that 
        derives income from agriculture, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 12, 2025

Mr. Padilla (for himself and Mr. Tillis) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, 
                        Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to establish an exception to 
certain payment limitations in the case of person or legal entity that 
        derives income from agriculture, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Fair Access to Agriculture Disaster 
Programs Act''.

SEC. 2. EXCEPTION FOR INCOME DERIVED FROM AGRICULTURE.

    Section 1001D(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308-
3a(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``paragraph (3)'' and 
        inserting ``paragraphs (3) and (4)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Exception.--
                    ``(A) In general.--In the case of a payment or 
                benefit described in subparagraph (B), the limitation 
                established by paragraph (1) shall not apply to a 
                person or legal entity during a crop, fiscal, or 
                program year, as appropriate, if not less than 75 
                percent of the average adjusted gross income of the 
                person or legal entity derives from farming, ranching, 
                or silviculture activities, including agritourism, 
                direct-to-consumer marketing of agricultural products, 
                the sale of agricultural equipment owned by such person 
                or entity, and other agriculture-related activities, as 
                determined by the Secretary.
                    ``(B) Payment or benefit described.--A payment or 
                benefit referred to in subparagraph (A) is--
                            ``(i) a payment or benefit under subtitle E 
                        of title I of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 
                        U.S.C. 9081); or
                            ``(ii) a payment or benefit under section 
                        196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and 
                        Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333).''.
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