[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10363 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10363
To amend the Agricultural Act of 1961 with respect to the Emergency
Loan Program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 11, 2024
Mrs. Hayes introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Agricultural Act of 1961 with respect to the Emergency
Loan Program.
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. EMERGENCY LOAN PROGRAM.
Subtitle C of title III of the Agricultural Act of 1961 (7 U.S.C.
1961 et seq.) is amended--
(1) in section 321(b), by adding at the end the following:
``(4) Historically underserved states.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle,
the Secretary may waive the requirement under paragraph
(1) if, at the time an applicant submits an application
for a loan under subsection (a), such applicant
resides, and the property for which the applicant seeks
to cover with such loan is located, in any--
``(A) State provided assistance under
section 524(b) of the Federal Crop Insurance
Act (7 U.S.C. 1524(b); commonly known as the
`Agricultural Management Assistance program');
or
``(B) other State that the Secretary
determines is historically underserved by crop
insurance.'';
(2) by amending section 323 to read as follows:
``SEC. 323. USE OF LOANS.
``Subject to the limitations on the amounts of loans provided in
section 324(a) of this title, loans under this subtitle may be used--
``(1) for any purpose authorized for loans under subtitle A
or B of this title;
``(2) for crop or livestock changes that are necessitated
by a quarantine, natural disaster, major disaster, or emergency
and that are deemed desirable by the applicant;
``(3) to provide paid leave to employees unable to work due
to the direct effect of a natural disaster;
``(4) to maintain payroll to retain employees during
business disruptions or substantial slowdowns;
``(5) to meet increased costs to obtain materials
unavailable from the original source of the applicant due to
interrupted supply chains; and
``(6) to make rent or mortgage payments.'';
(3) in section 324--
(A) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ``would
cause'' and all that follows through the period at the
end and inserting ``is greater than $2,000,000.'';
(B) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
``(b) Interest Rate.--A loan under this subtitle shall be at an
interest rate of zero percent.''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(f) Waiver of Certain Requirements.--With respect to a loan made
under this subtitle in response to a natural disaster, the Secretary
shall waive--
``(1) any rules related to the personal guarantee on
advances and loans of not more than $200,000 for all borrowers;
and
``(2) any requirement that the borrower exhaust other loan
options before applying for a loan under this subtitle.
``(g) Priority.--In making a loan under this subtitle, the
Secretary shall give priority to each--
``(1) applicant in a State determined by the Secretary to
be most impacted by a natural disaster;
``(2) minority, veteran, and woman applicant;
``(3) applicant in a State provided assistance under
section 524(b) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C.
1524(b); commonly known as the `Agricultural Management
Assistance program');
``(4) applicant in a State that the Secretary determines is
historically underserved by crop insurance; and
``(5) other applicant as the Secretary determines
appropriate.''; and
(4) by inserting after section 329 the following:
``SEC. 330. FUNDING.
``There is hereby appropriated, out of any amounts in the Treasury
not otherwise appropriated $10,000,000,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2029, to make loans to applicants under this subtitle.''.
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