July 25, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 126 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session
All in House sectionPrev48 of 207Next
FAMILY FARMER RELIEF ACT OF 2019; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 126
(House of Representatives - July 25, 2019)
Text available as:
Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Pages H7438-H7439] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] FAMILY FARMER RELIEF ACT OF 2019 Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2336) to amend title 11, United States Code, with respect to the definition of ``family farmer'', as amended. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 2336 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 ``Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019''. SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF FAMILY FARMER. Section 101(18) of title 11, United States Code, is amended by striking ``$3,237,000'' each place that term appears and inserting ``$10,000,000''. SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall be determined by reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Rhode Island. General Leave Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Rhode Island? There was no objection. Mr. CICILLINE. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2336, the Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019, would increase the current debt limit used to determine whether a family farmer is eligible for relief under chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code, a specialized form of bankruptcy relief specifically intended for family farmers, from approximately $4.4 million to $10 million. Chapter 12 permits a family farmer who satisfies certain eligibility criteria to reorganize his or her debts pursuant to a repayment plan under the supervision of a bankruptcy trustee. The special attributes of chapter 12 make it better suited to meet the particularized needs of family farmers in financial distress than other forms of bankruptcy relief. Under chapter 7, for example, the family farm and its assets would have to be liquidated to pay the claims of creditors, thus depriving the family farmer of his or her livelihood, which is completely unacceptable. The chapter 11 process for reorganization, which is typically used by large corporations in economic distress to reorganize complex financial transactions, is also inappropriate due to its costly and time- consuming process that does not work for our Nation's small farming operations. In light of these concerns with other avenues for reorganization under the Bankruptcy Code, Congress created chapter 12 during the farm crisis of the mid-1980s in response to a series of economic catastrophes facing small farms, from grain embargoes, to high interest rates, to consolidation, and mega-farms. Unfortunately, many similar economic pressures are impacting family farmers today, who are also facing the devastating effects of climate change, including unprecedented weather events and catastrophic flooding, as well as stagnant or falling returns on investment. H.R. 2336 takes into consideration the fact that modern farming operations entail greater costs and resulting debt than when chapter 12 was first enacted by raising the debt threshold to qualify for this type of bankruptcy relief to a level more consistent with today's operations. Accordingly, I support H.R. 2336, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill. The Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019 brings urgently needed help to a critical link in America's economy and a vital part of American community life, the family farmer. In 2005, Congress permanently enacted chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code. Chapter 12 is specially designed to help family farmers reorganize their debts in time of need and keep their farms going. In the years since, chapter 12 and its streamlined procedures have worked well. There has, however, been one problem. As time has passed, the cost of running a family farm have rapidly increased; the ceiling on chapter 12, on how much debt a family farm can reorganize, has lagged behind. Especially with the advent of modern, high-tech farming equipment, the chapter 12 ceiling is no longer high enough to let many farms with typical amounts of debt go into chapter 12. The Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019 fixes this problem. It raises the ceiling from the old, roughly $4.5 million limit to a more reasonable $10 million limit. This means that more family farmers will be able to successfully reorganize when they need to, to the benefit of the economy and local communities across the land. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this bill. I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Delgado), the author of the bill, a relentless advocate for this legislation, and a distinguished member of the freshman class. Mr. DELGADO. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Chairman Cicilline for those kind words. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my bill, the Family Farmer Relief Act. [[Page H7439]] I rise to urge bipartisan support for a bipartisan priority, relief for family farmers. Passing H.R. 2336 will make our Nation's bankruptcy laws for farmers reflective of today's economy and better represent the experiences of our Nation's farmers. I am proud to represent New York's 19th Congressional District, which stretches nearly 8,000 square miles, is made up of 11 counties, and includes the beautiful Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains. New York 19 is the eighth most rural district in the country, and the third most rural represented by a Democrat. It is also home to nearly 5,000 farms and over 8,000 farm operators. The last USDA Ag Census found that 96 percent of the farms in my district are family owned. These family-owned farms, both in New York 19, and across the country, are facing alarming rates of foreclosure during this down farm economy. This is the fifth year on record of declining net farm income. Prices are low, inputs are high, and current trade policies make the future for farms unknown. 2018 marked the fourth consecutive year of rising bankruptcy rates as a proportion of the farm population. This farm economy is exacerbated by an outdated bankruptcy filing cap that leaves farmers without options to restructure or repay their debt. Chapter 12 was created specifically to provide repayment flexibility and reorganizational advantages for family farms during poor economic times. Unfortunately, this outdated debt cap has rendered chapter 12 an inaccessible tool for thousands of farm families. Mr. Speaker, the numbers tell the story here. According to the National Farm Bureau, last year just 498 farms filed for chapter 12 bankruptcy. By comparison, 766,000 consumers filed under chapters 7 and 13. Over the last 10 years, chapter 7 and chapter 13 have seen 10 million total filings, compared to just 5,000 Chapter 12 filings. Mr. Speaker, we must do more. The Family Farmer Relief Act solution is simple. My one-sentence bill would adjust the debt cap to align with today's land values and the cost of doing business for today's farmers. Our legislation modifies chapter 12 bankruptcy rules to raise the debt cap for eligibility to $10 million. This adjustment will provide farmers additional options to manage the current farm economy and allows farmers to retain assets and remain operational. Allowing farmers increased flexibility is critical to the health and wellness of our family farmers and the Upstate economy at large. I thank House leadership for bringing this important bill to the floor, and also Subcommittee Chairman Cicilline for his support and leadership on the Judiciary Committee. In addition, I want to thank Senator Grassley for his ongoing leadership on this issue in the Senate. And lastly, I want to thank my bipartisan House colead, Judiciary Subcommittee Ranking Member Jim Sensenbrenner, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, and Representatives TJ Cox, Kelly Armstrong, and Dusty Johnson. I look forward to seeing this bill move forward so we can give our farmers and growers the support and flexibility they need in these hard times. Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2336 is a commonsense, bipartisan solution. I applaud the gentleman from New York (Mr. Delgado) for his leadership on this bill to help our Nation's family-owned farms. This legislation is supported by the nonpartisan American Bankruptcy Institute, as well the American College of Bankruptcy. It currently has more than 27 bipartisan cosponsors, including our distinguished colleague, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner). I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass H.R. 2336. I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2336, as amended. The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________
All in House sectionPrev48 of 207Next