[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 541 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 541
To amend the Agricultural Act of 1961 to modify the limitations
applicable to qualified conservation loan guarantees, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 26, 2023
Mr. Bost (for himself, Ms. Kelly of Illinois, Mr. Newhouse, Mr.
Walberg, and Mr. LaHood) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Agricultural Act of 1961 to modify the limitations
applicable to qualified conservation loan guarantees, 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 ``Beginning Agriculturalist Lifetime
Employment Act of 2023'' or the ``BALE Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS APPLICABLE TO QUALIFIED CONSERVATION LOAN
GUARANTEES.
(a) Limitations Applicable to Loan Guarantees.--Section 304(e) of
the Agricultural Act of 1961 (7 U.S.C. 1924(e)) is amended to read as
follows:
``(e) Limitations Applicable to Loan Guarantees.--
``(1) Percentage of loan guaranteed.--The portion of a loan
that the Secretary may guarantee under this section shall--
``(A) depend on the principal amount of the loan;
and
``(B) except as provided in paragraph (2), may not
exceed the percentage specified for that principal
amount in the following table:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal Amount Equal Maximum
``Principal Amount More Than To Or Less Than Percent
------------------------------------------------------------------------
$0................................ $3,000,000............... 90%
$3,000,000........................ $3,100,000............... 89%
$3,100,000........................ $3,200,000.............. 88%
$3,200,000........................ $3,300,000.............. 87%
$3,300,000........................ $3,400,000.............. 86%
$3,400,000........................ $3,500,000............... 85%
$3,500,000........................ $3,600,000.............. 84%
$3,600,000........................ $3,700,000.............. 83%
$3,700,000........................ $3,800,000.............. 82%
$3,800,000........................ $3,900,000.............. 81%
$3,900,000........................ $4,000,000............... 80%.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
``(2) Exception for certain producers.--In the case of a
loan to a producer that is a qualified beginning farmer or
rancher or a socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher (as the
term is defined in section 355(e)), the portion of the loan the
Secretary may guarantee under this paragraph may not exceed the
percentage specified for the principal amount of the loan in
the following table:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Principal Amount Equal Maximum
``Principal Amount More Than To Or Less Than Percent
------------------------------------------------------------------------
$0................................ $3,000,000............... 95%
$3,000,000........................ $3,100,000............... 94%
$3,100,000........................ $3,200,000.............. 93%
$3,200,000........................ $3,300,000.............. 92%
$3,300,000........................ $3,400,000.............. 91%
$3,400,000........................ $3,500,000............... 90%
$3,500,000........................ $3,600,000.............. 89%
$3,600,000........................ $3,700,000.............. 88%
$3,700,000........................ $3,800,000.............. 87%
$3,800,000........................ $3,900,000.............. 86%
$3,900,000........................ $4,000,000............... 85%.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
``(3) Maximum amount.--The Secretary may not guarantee a
loan under this section in an amount that exceeds $4,000,000.
``(4) Annual inflation adjustment.--The Secretary shall
annually adjust the dollar figures under paragraphs (1), (2),
and (3) to reflect the change in the Prices Paid By Farmers
Index (as compiled by the National Agricultural Statistics
Service of the Department of Agriculture).''.
(b) Applicability.--The amendments made by this section shall apply
with respect to qualified conservation loans entered into by the
Secretary of Agriculture under section 304 of the Agricultural Act of
1961 (7 U.S.C. 1924) on or after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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