Farm Support Integrity for Family Farms Act
The bill modifies Department of Agriculture commodity programs with respect to (1) payment limitations, and (2) the requirement to be actively engaged in farming in order to receive payments.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4765 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4765
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to provide for certain payment
limitations with respect to commodity programs, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 18, 2019
Mr. Meadows introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to provide for certain payment
limitations with respect to commodity programs, 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 ``Farm Support Integrity for Family
Farms Act''.
SEC. 2. PAYMENT LIMITATIONS.
(a) In General.--Section 1001 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7
U.S.C. 1308) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (3) and
inserting the following:
``(3) Legal entity.--The term `legal entity' means--
``(A) an organization that (subject to the
requirements of this section and section 1001A) is
eligible to receive a payment under a provision of law
referred to in subsection (b) or (d); and
``(B) an association, charitable organization,
corporation, estate, general partnership, irrevocable
trust or grantor of a revocable trust, joint stock
company, limited partnership, limited liability
company, limited liability partnership, or other
similar entity (as determined by the Secretary).'';
(2) by striking subsections (b) and (c) and inserting the
following:
``(b) Limitation on Payments for Covered Commodities and Peanuts.--
The total amount of payments received, directly or indirectly, by a
person or legal entity for any crop year for 1 or more covered
commodities and peanuts under title I of the Agricultural Act of 2014
may not exceed $125,000, of which not more than $50,000 may consist of
payments made under sections 1116 and 1117 of such Act.
``(c) Spousal Equity.--
``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding subsection (b), except
as provided in paragraph (2), if a person and the spouse of the
person are covered by paragraph (2) and receive, directly or
indirectly, any payment or gain covered by this section, the
total amount of payments or gains (as applicable) covered by
this section that the person and spouse may jointly receive
during any crop year may not exceed an amount equal to twice
the applicable dollar amounts specified in subsection (b).
``(2) Exceptions.--
``(A) Separate farming operations.--In the case of
a married couple in which each spouse, before the
marriage, was separately engaged in an unrelated
farming operation, each spouse shall be treated as a
separate person with respect to a farming operation
brought into the marriage by a spouse, subject to the
condition that the farming operation shall remain a
separate farming operation, as determined by the
Secretary.
``(B) Election to receive separate payments.--A
married couple may elect to receive payments separately
in the name of each spouse if the total amount of
payments and benefits described in subsection (b) that
the married couple receives, directly or indirectly,
does not exceed an amount equal to twice the applicable
dollar amounts specified in such subsection.'';
(3) in subsection (e)(3)--
(A) by striking ``(A) In general.--''; and
(B) by striking subparagraph (B);
(4) in subsection (f)--
(A) in paragraph (3)(B), by adding at the end the
following new clause:
``(iii) Legitimate entities.--In
promulgating regulations to define the term
`legal entity' as the term applies to
irrevocable trusts, the Secretary shall ensure
that irrevocable trusts are legitimate entities
that have not been created for the purpose of
avoiding a payment limitation.''; and
(B) by striking paragraph (4) and redesignating
paragraphs (5), (6), (7), and (8) as paragraphs (4),
(5), (6), and (7), respectively; and
(5) in subsection (h), in the second sentence, by striking
``or other entity'' and inserting ``or legal entity''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 1001 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C.
1308) is amended--
(A) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ``subsections
(b) and (c)'' and inserting ``subsection (b)'';
(B) in subsection (f)(2), by striking ``Subsections
(b) and (c)'' and inserting ``Subsection (b)''; and
(C) in subsection (g)--
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking
``subsection (b) or (c)'' and inserting
``subsection (b)''; and
(ii) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking
``subsections (b) and (c)'' and inserting
``subsection (b)''.
(2) Section 1001A of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7
U.S.C. 1308-1) is amended--
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ``subsections
(b) and (c) of section 1001'' and inserting ``section
1001(b)''; and
(B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ``subsection
(b) or (c) of section 1001'' and inserting ``section
1001(b)''.
(3) Section 1001B(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7
U.S.C. 1308-2(a)) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph
(1) by striking ``subsections (b) and (c) of section 1001'' and
inserting ``section 1001(b)''.
(c) Application.--The amendments made by this section shall apply
beginning with the 2020 crop year.
SEC. 3. PAYMENTS LIMITED TO ACTIVE FARMERS.
Section 1001A of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308-1) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (b)(2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``(including a
person participating in a farming operation as a
partner in a general partnership, a participant in a
joint venture, a grantor of a revocable trust, or a
participant in a similar entity, as determined by the
Secretary)'';
(B) in subparagraph (A)(i)(II), by striking ``or
active personal management'';
(C) in subparagraph (B)--
(i) in clause (ii), by striking ``or active
personal management''; and
(ii) in clause (iii), by inserting ``and''
after the semicolon; and
(D) by striking subparagraph (C) and redesignating
subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (C); and
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking subparagraph (A) and
inserting the following:
``(A) the landowner share-rents the land at a rate
that is usual and customary or receives rent or income
based on the operating results of the operation;'';
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking the
period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) the share of the payments received by the
landowner is commensurate with the share of the crop or
income received as rent.'';
(B) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ``active
personal management or'';
(C) in paragraph (5)--
(i) by striking ``(5)'' and all that
follows through ``(A) In general.--A person''
and inserting the following:
``(5) Custom farming services.--A person'';
(ii) by inserting ``under usual and
customary terms'' after ``services''; and
(iii) by striking subparagraph (B); and
(D) by adding at the end the following:
``(7) Farm managers.--A person who otherwise meets the
requirements of this subsection other than (b)(2)(A)(i)(II)
shall be considered to be actively engaged in farming, as
determined by the Secretary, with respect to the farming
operation, including a farming operation that is a sole
proprietorship, a legal entity such as a joint venture or
general partnership, or a legal entity such as a corporation or
limited partnership, if the person--
``(A) makes a significant contribution of
management to the farming operation that--
``(i) is critical to the profitability of
the farming operation;
``(ii) is performed on a regular,
continuous, and substantial basis; and
``(iii) equals at least 520 hours annually,
or at least 25 percent of the total management
hours required for the farming operation on an
annual basis, as determined by the Secretary;
``(B)(i) is the only person in the farming
operation qualifying as actively engaged in farming by
using the farm manager special class designation under
this paragraph; and
``(ii) together with any other persons in the
farming operation qualifying as actively engaged in
farming under subsection (b)(2) or as part of a special
class under this subsection, does not collectively
receive, directly or indirectly, an amount equal to
more than the applicable limits under section 1001(b);
``(C) does not use the management contribution
under this paragraph to qualify as actively engaged in
more than 1 farming operation; and
``(D) manages a farm operation that does not
substantially share equipment, labor, or management
with persons or legal entities that with the person
collectively receive, directly or indirectly, an amount
equal to more than the applicable limits under section
1001(b).''.
SEC. 4. REPEAL OF CERTAIN REGULATIONS.
(a) In General.--Section 1604 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7
U.S.C. 1308-1 note) is repealed.
(b) Regulations.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall issue or
revise such regulations as may be necessary to implement the amendments
made by sections 2 and 3.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Referred to the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management.
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