American Agriculture First Act

American Agriculture First Act

This bill requires the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) to purchase at least 75% of the agricultural commodities of the Food Purchase and Distribution Program from domestically owned enterprises if it is necessary to respond to trade damage from retaliation by foreign nations with respect to agricultural commodities.

The requirement does not apply if the Department of Agriculture reports to Congress that meeting the requirement

• is not possible because the agricultural commodities available from domestically owned enterprises cannot meet the supply needs of the AMS; or
• would result in a greater than 150% increase between (1) the amount necessary to purchase the agricultural commodities, and (2) the average cost of the agricultural commodities purchased by the AMS in the prior 3 years.

The authority provided by this bill expires on September 30, 2023.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2362 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2362

      To prioritize the purchase of agricultural commodities from 
        domestically owned enterprises, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 25, 2019

 Mr. Meadows introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To prioritize the purchase of agricultural commodities from 
        domestically owned enterprises, 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 ``American Agriculture First Act''.

SEC. 2. AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES PURCHASED FROM DOMESTICALLY OWNED 
              ENTERPRISES.

    (a) Prioritization.--
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), if 
        the Secretary of Agriculture determines that response to trade 
        damage from retaliation by foreign nations with respect to 
        agricultural commodities is necessary, the Secretary shall, 
        acting through the Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing 
        Service, purchase at least 75 percent of the agricultural 
        commodities of the Food Purchase and Distribution Program from 
        domestically owned enterprises.
            (2) Exception.--Paragraph (1) shall not apply to the 
        purchases of agricultural commodities made 30 days after the 
        date on which the Secretary of Agriculture submits to the 
        Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and 
        the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 
        Senate a report that explains why meeting the requirements 
        under paragraph (1)--
                    (A) is not possible because agricultural 
                commodities available from domestically owned 
                enterprises cannot meet the supply needs of the 
                Agricultural Marketing Service; or
                    (B) would result in a greater than 150 percent 
                increase between--
                            (i) the amount necessary to purchase such 
                        agricultural commodities; and
                            (ii) the average cost of such agricultural 
                        commodities purchased by the Agricultural 
                        Marketing Service in the prior 3 years.
            (3) Publication of awards.--In publishing the awards made 
        to vendors under the purchase programs under the Agricultural 
        Marketing Service, the Secretary of Agriculture shall include 
        whether the entity receiving such an award is a domestically 
        owned enterprise.
            (4) WTO obligations.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
        carry out this section consistent with World Trade Organization 
        obligations of the United States.
    (b) Report Required.--For each 90-day period in which the Secretary 
of Agriculture purchases agricultural commodities pursuant to 
subsection (a), the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the 
appropriate committees a report that includes the amount of each such 
agricultural commodity purchased.
    (c) Sunset.--The authority under this section shall expire on 
September 30, 2023.
    (d) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Agricultural commodity.--The term ``agricultural 
        commodity'' has the meaning given the term under section 102(1) 
        of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5602(1)).
            (2) Appropriate committees.--The term ``appropriate 
        committees'' means the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
        Representatives, the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
        of Representatives, the Committee on Ways and Means of the 
        House of Representatives, the Committee on Agriculture, 
        Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign 
        Relations of the Senate, and the Committee on Finance of the 
        Senate.
            (3) Domestically owned enterprise.--The term ``domestically 
        owned enterprise'' shall have the meaning given the term under 
        section 773.2 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (as in 
        effect on the date of the enactment of this Act).
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