[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3982 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3982
To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish the
Expanding Access to Local Foods Program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 20, 2024
Mr. Reed (for himself, Mr. Brown, Mr. Booker, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Butler,
Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. King, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Smith, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms.
Warren, Mr. Fetterman, and Mr. Welch) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish the
Expanding Access to Local Foods Program, 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 ``Expanding Access To Local Foods Act
of 2024'' or the ``EAT Local Foods Act of 2024''.
SEC. 2. EXPANDING ACCESS TO LOCAL FOODS PROGRAM.
Subtitle A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 210B. EXPANDING ACCESS TO LOCAL FOODS PROGRAM.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Collaborator.--The term `collaborator', with respect
to a project carried out using funding provided under this
section, means an individual or entity (including private, for-
profit, and nonprofit entities) that--
``(A) is unaffiliated with the eligible unit of
government carrying out the project;
``(B) cooperates with respect to--
``(i) the application relating to the
project under subsection (d); and
``(ii) the conduct of the project; and
``(C) is not immediately connected to the
management of the project.
``(2) Eligible unit of government.--The term `eligible unit
of government' means--
``(A) a State agency, commission, or department
that is responsible for agriculture, procurement, food
distribution, emergency response, or other similar
activities within the State;
``(B) the District of Columbia;
``(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
``(D) the United States Virgin Islands;
``(E) Guam; and
``(F) a Tribal government.
``(3) Partnership.--The term `partnership' means a
relationship involving close cooperation between or among
individuals and entities (including private, for-profit, and
nonprofit entities) with specified, joint rights and
responsibilities in the management of a project carried out
using funding provided under this section.
``(4) Program.--The term `Program' means the Expanding
Access To Local Foods Program established under subsection (b).
``(5) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
``(b) Establishment.--To maintain and improve food and agricultural
supply chain resiliency and expand economic opportunities for small and
underserved producers while promoting food security, the Secretary
shall establish a program, to be known as the `Expanding Access To
Local Foods Program', under which the Secretary shall enter into
cooperative agreements with eligible units of government for the
purposes of--
``(1) purchasing food, including seafood, meat, and
poultry, from local, regional, and underserved producers; and
``(2) distributing that food within the geographic
boundaries of the eligible unit of government.
``(c) Noncompetitive Allocation.--The Secretary shall--
``(1) enter into cooperative agreements with, and provide
funding to, eligible units of government under the Program on a
noncompetitive basis;
``(2) of the amounts appropriated to carry out the Program
for each fiscal year--
``(A) allocate 10 percent to Tribal governments, to
be allocated using a funding formula determined by the
Secretary;
``(B) of the amounts remaining after making the
allocation under subparagraph (A), allocate 1 percent
to each State; and
``(C) after making the allocations under
subparagraphs (A) and (B), allocate the remaining
amounts to each eligible unit of government (excluding
Tribal governments) by applying the formula described
in section 214 of Public Law 98-8 (7 U.S.C. 7515); and
``(3) in the case of an eligible unit of government that
has not submitted to the Secretary, by the date that is 1 year
after the date on which amounts are allocated to the eligible
unit of government under paragraph (2), an application under
subsection (d) for spending those amounts, redistribute those
amounts to 1 or more other eligible units of government with
the capacity to spend those amounts.
``(d) Applications.--
``(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive funding under
this section, an eligible unit of government shall submit to
the Secretary an application, at such time, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Secretary shall require, by
regulation, including--
``(A) a plan that--
``(i) identifies--
``(I) the lead agency responsible
for carrying out the plan; and
``(II) community partners that will
contribute to the implementation of the
plan;
``(ii) describes the means by which the
funds will be used--
``(I) to grow a local food system;
and
``(II) to promote food security;
and
``(iii) meets the requirements of
subsection (e); and
``(B) an assurance that--
``(i) the eligible unit of government will
comply with the requirements of the plan; and
``(ii) the funds will supplement, not
supplant, funds provided by the eligible unit
of government in support of local food or
hunger relief systems.
``(2) Review.--The Secretary--
``(A) shall review each application submitted under
paragraph (1) to ensure that the plan included in the
application will carry out the purposes of the Program
described in subsection (b); and
``(B) may accept or reject each application, as the
Secretary determines to be appropriate.
``(e) Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--Under a cooperative agreement entered
into under the Program, an eligible unit of government shall--
``(A) only purchase food--
``(i) from fishermen, farmers, producers,
and processors that are--
``(I) within the geographic
boundaries of the eligible unit of
government in which the food will be
delivered; or
``(II) not more than 400 miles from
the delivery destination of the food;
or
``(ii) through a subawardee described in
subsection (f)(1) that purchases food to
fulfill the subaward only from fishermen,
farmers, producers, and processors that are--
``(I) within the geographic
boundaries of the eligible unit of
government in which the food will be
delivered; or
``(II) not more than 400 miles from
the delivery destination of the food;
``(B) ensure that not less than 51 percent of the
total annual value of products purchased by the
eligible unit of government and any subawardees
comprises purchases from small, beginning, or
underserved farmers, ranchers, and fishers, as defined
by the Secretary;
``(C) give priority to distributing food to
underserved communities, as determined by the
Secretary;
``(D) expend funding not later than 3 years after
the date on which the funding is provided to the
eligible unit of government; and
``(E) subject to paragraph (2), use not more than
25 percent of the amount allocated to the eligible unit
of government for Program administration and technical
assistance, which may include support for--
``(i) participating producers;
``(ii) efforts to grow the local
agricultural value chain; and
``(iii) small, beginning, veteran, and
underserved farmers, as determined by the
Secretary, in obtaining food safety training
and certifications.
``(2) Administration and technical assistance.--Of the
amount used for Program administration and technical assistance
under paragraph (1)(E), an eligible unit of government shall
allocate not less than 50 percent for technical assistance.
``(f) Subcontracts and Subawards.--To effectuate the purposes of
the Program, as described in subsection (b), an eligible unit of
government--
``(1) may enter into subcontracts and provide subawards to
support partnerships and collaborators, subject to subsection
(e)(1)(E); and
``(2) on entering into a subcontract or subaward pursuant
to paragraph (1), shall--
``(A) structure the subcontract or subaward to be
inclusive of all costs associated with implementing the
Program purposes, including the costs of--
``(i) food products;
``(ii) aggregation and distribution;
``(iii) equipment or infrastructure
upgrades to support food safety compliance; and
``(iv) personnel; and
``(B) require members of a partnership and
collaborators to demonstrate evidence of existing
community or industry engagement.
``(g) Availability of Funds.--To effectuate the purposes of the
Program and ensure that the producers described in subsection (e)(1)(B)
can meaningfully participate in the Program, the Secretary shall
provide--
``(1) not less than 50 percent of the funding awarded to an
eligible unit of government in advance of the distribution of
food under the agreement entered into under the Program; and
``(2) the remaining funding awarded to the eligible unit of
government not later than the midpoint of the period of
performance established in that agreement.
``(h) Food Safety Training and Certification.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may require food purchased
under a cooperative agreement entered into under the Program to
be purchased from a farm that has undergone food safety
training, or received a relevant food safety certification,
with respect to production, packaging, handling, and storage to
minimize risks of food safety hazards.
``(2) Training, plans, and certifications.--If the
Secretary imposes the requirement described in paragraph (1)--
``(A)(i) compliance with the requirement may be
demonstrated by--
``(I) a receipt of food safety training,
including Good Agricultural Practices training,
or an equivalent food safety curriculum; or
``(II) a relevant food safety
certification; but
``(ii) the Secretary shall not require such
compliance to be demonstrated by a Federal
certification; and
``(B) each eligible unit of government shall
provide technical assistance in obtaining the required
food safety training or certification, in accordance
with subsection (e)(1)(E).
``(i) Reports.--An eligible unit of government that enters into a
cooperative agreement under the Program shall submit to the Secretary,
at such times as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, reports
that shall include data relating to the procurement and distribution of
food under the cooperative agreement.
``(j) Funding.--
``(1) Mandatory funding.--Of the funds of the Commodity
Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out this
section $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year
thereafter.
``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--In addition to
other funds and authorities available to the Secretary, in
order to carry out activities under this section, there is
authorized to be appropriated $200,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2024 through 2028, to remain available until expended by
the Secretary.''.
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