[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4456 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4456
To provide for agricultural economic injury disaster loans, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 16, 2021
Mrs. Hayes (for herself and Mr. Delgado) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to
the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for agricultural economic injury disaster loans, 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 ``Helping America's Farmers Act''.
SEC. 2. AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIC INJURY DISASTER LOAN.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible entity.--The term ``eligible entity'' means--
(A) a producer--
(i) of horticulture, nursery crops,
floriculture, non-specialty crops, wool,
livestock, dairy, aquaculture, or specialty
crops; or
(ii) engaged in the production of food and
fiber; or
(B) a farmer or rancher.
(2) Large eligible entity.--The term ``large eligible
entity'' means an eligible entity with an adjusted gross income
of greater than $500,000.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture, acting through the Administrator of the Farm
Service Agency.
(4) Small eligible entity.--The term ``small eligible
entity'' means an eligible entity with an adjusted gross income
of less than or equal to $500,000.
(b) Agricultural Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out a program to
make loans under this subsection to small eligible entities for
the purposes described in paragraph (3).
(2) Terms of loans.--
(A) Amount of loan.--In carrying out this
subsection, the Secretary shall make loans to small
eligible entities in an amount less than or equal to
$2,000,000.
(B) Interest rate.--A loan under subparagraph (A)
shall have an interest rate equal to zero percent.
(C) Repayment.--The Secretary shall establish the
repayment terms with respect to each loan to a small
eligible entity under this subsection, except that such
repayment may not--
(i) begin before the date that is 1 year
after the date on which such loan is made to
such small eligible entity; and
(ii) be for a period of less than 10 years
or a period of greater than 15 years; and
(D) Waiver of certain requirements.--With respect
to a loan made under this subsection in response to an
economic disaster, the Secretary shall waive--
(i) any rules related the personal
guarantee on advances and loans of not more
than $200,000 for all applicants;
(ii) any requirement that the small
eligible entity exhaust other loan options
before applying for a loan under this
subsection; and
(iii) any requirement that an applicant
needs to be in business for the 1-year period
before the disaster, except that no waiver may
be made for a business that was not in
operation on January 31, 2020.
(E) Priority.--In making loans under this
subsection the Secretary shall give priority to--
(i) small eligible entities located in
States most impacted by an economic disaster,
as determined by the Secretary;
(ii) minority, veteran, and women farmers
and ranchers; and
(iii) such other small eligible entities as
the Secretary determines appropriate.
(3) Use of funds.--A small eligible entity that receives a
loan under this subsection shall use the loan funds to--
(A) provide paid sick leave to employees unable to
work due to the direct effect of an economic disaster;
(B) maintain payroll to retain employees during
business disruptions or substantial slowdowns;
(C) meet increased costs to obtain materials
unavailable from the applicant's original source due to
interrupted supply chains;
(D) make rent or mortgage payments;
(E) purchase personal protective equipment; and
(F) repay obligations that cannot be met due to
revenue losses.
(4) Forgiveness.--A small eligible entity shall be eligible
for forgiveness of indebtedness on a loan under this subsection
in an amount determined by the Secretary based on the losses of
the small eligible entity--
(A) due to commodity price decreases during an
economic disaster; or
(B) revenue loss due to an economic disaster,
including from--
(i) canceled purchasing contracts or
agreements with schools, institutions, food
hubs, and restaurants;
(ii) loss of recurring deliveries of farm
products to schools, institutions, food hubs,
and restaurants; or
(iii) any other unexpected source during
such economic disaster.
(c) Loan Guarantees.--The Secretary may guarantee a loan made by
lenders approved by the Farm Service Agency to large eligible entities
if--
(1) such loan--
(A) is for the purposes described in subsection
(b)(3);
(B) is in an amount greater than $2,000,000;
(C) has an interest rate equal to or less than 1
percent; and
(D) has a repayment term that--
(i) begins after the date that is 1 year
after the date on which such loan is made an
eligible entity; and
(ii) is for a period of not less than 15
years and not greater than 20 years; and
(2) the lender making such loan offers forgiveness of
indebtedness on such loan under such terms as the Secretary
determines are commensurate with the loan forgiveness under
subsection (b)(4).
(d) Approval and Ability To Repay for Small Dollar Loans.--With
respect to a loan made under subsection (b) in response to an economic
disaster, the Secretary may--
(1) approve an applicant based solely on the credit score
of the applicant and shall not require an applicant to submit a
tax return or a tax return transcript for such approval; or
(2) use alternative appropriate methods to determine an
applicant's ability to repay.
(e) Emergency Grant.--
(1) In general.--An eligible entity that applies for a loan
under subsection (b) or a loan guarantee under subsection (c)
in response to an economic disaster may request that the
Secretary provide an advance that is, subject to paragraph (3),
in the amount requested by such applicant to such applicant
within 3 days after the Secretary receives an application from
such applicant.
(2) Verification.--Before disbursing amounts under this
subsection, the Secretary shall verify that the applicant is an
eligible entity by accepting a self-certification from the
applicant under penalty of perjury pursuant to section 1746 of
title 28 United States Code.
(3) Amount.--The amount of an advance provided under this
subsection shall be not less than $20,000.
(4) Use of funds.--An advance provided under this
subsection may be used to address any allowable purpose for a
loan made under subsection (b) or a loan guarantee made under
subsection (c).
(5) Repayment.--An applicant shall not be required to repay
any amounts of an advance provided under this subsection, even
if subsequently denied a loan under subsection (b) or a loan
guarantee under subsection (c).
(f) Other Benefits.--Receipt of a grant, loan, or loan guarantee
under this section shall not be construed as to prohibit receipt of any
Federal grant, loan, or other aid.
(g) Taxability.--For purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986--
(1) any amount which would be includible in gross income of
the eligible entity by reason of forgiveness described in this
paragraph shall be excluded from gross income; and
(2) any amount received under this section shall be
excluded from gross income.
(h) Funding.--There is hereby appropriated, out of any amounts in
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated--
(1) $6,000,000,000, to remain available until September 30,
2021, to make loans to small eligible entities under this
section;
(2) $6,000,000,000, to remain available until September 30,
2021, to make loan guarantees to large eligible entities under
this section;
(3) $4,000,000,000, to remain available until September 30,
2021, to make grants under subsection (e) to small eligible
entities; and
(4) $4,000,000,000, to remain available until September 30,
2021, to make grants under subsection (e) to large eligible
entities.
SEC. 3. TRAINING FOR LOAN SERVICERS.
There is hereby appropriated, out of any amounts in the Treasury
not otherwise appropriated, $300,000,000, to the Secretary of
Agriculture to carry out a training program to provide Farm Service
Agency staff with appropriate training relating to economic injury loan
processing and servicing under section 2.
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