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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6496 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 6496
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program to make
direct payments to certain specialty crop growers or wine producers who
experience certain losses due to increased tariff burdens, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
December 5, 2025
Mr. Thompson of California (for himself, Mr. Newhouse, Mr. LaMalfa, and
Ms. Salinas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program to make
direct payments to certain specialty crop growers or wine producers who
experience certain losses due to increased tariff burdens, 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 ``Specialty Crop & Wine Producer
Tariff Relief Act''.
SEC. 2. USDA ASSISTANCE TO CERTAIN SPECIALTY CROP GROWERS AND WINE
PRODUCERS; AUTHORITY TO PURCHASE SURPLUS CROPS.
(a) Direct Payment Program.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this section, the Secretary of Agriculture
(hereinafter the ``Secretary'') shall establish a program to
make direct payments for covered losses, and distribute such
payments, to the following persons:
(A) Specialty crop growers.
(B) Wine producers.
(2) Administration.--The Secretary shall administer the
program established under this subsection in a manner
substantially similar to the Marketing Assistance for Specialty
Crops program authorized by section 5(e) of the Commodity
Credit Corporation Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 714c(e)).
(b) Purchase of Surplus Crops.--The Secretary may purchase surplus
crops (other than wine grapes) to be distributed for nutrition
assistance programs.
(c) Reporting.--Beginning not later than 120 days after the date on
which the Secretary first exercises any authority under subsections (a)
or (b), and annually thereafter until 2030, the Secretary shall provide
to Congress a report, organized by crop and region, on--
(1) the direct payments distributed under subsection (a);
and
(2) any surplus crops purchased under subsection (b).
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary such sums as are necessary to carry out
this section for fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
(e) Administrative Costs.--Out of any funds made available to carry
out this section, the Secretary may use not more than 1 percent for
administrative costs.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered loss.--
(A) In general.--The term ``covered loss''
includes--
(i) increased costs related to--
(I) the tenderness and
perishability of specialty crops;
(II) the need to use specialized
handling and transport equipment with
temperature and humidity control;
(III) packaging to prevent damage;
(IV) moving perishables to market
quickly; and
(V) higher labor costs;
(ii) reduced exports due to an increased
tariff burden;
(iii) lost export revenue due to decreased
foreign demand;
(iv) economic loss due to reduced market
access;
(v) reduced contracts with a foreign buyer;
and
(vi) cancelled or reduced contracts due to
reduced foreign demand.
(B) Wine or wine grape producers.--With respect to
a wine producer or a specialty crop grower who produces
wine grapes, the term ``covered loss''--
(i) has the meaning given such term under
paragraph (A); and
(ii) includes lost qualifying export
revenue for wine.
(2) Increased tariff burden.--The term ``increased tariff
burden'' means a tariff that was introduced by another country
on United States products on or after January 20, 2025.
(3) Nutrition programs.--The term ``nutrition programs''
includes the following:
(A) The school breakfast program established under
section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C.
1773).
(B) The school lunch program under the Richard B.
Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et
seq.).
(C) The supplemental nutrition assistance program
under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011
et seq.).
(D) Any other such programs as determined by the
Secretary.
(4) Qualifying export revenue.--The term ``qualifying
export revenue'' means the percentage of lost export revenue
for wine in an amount equal to the percentage of such wine
produced in the United States with United States-grown grapes.
(5) Specialty crop.--The term ``specialty crop''--
(A) has the meaning given such term in section 3 of
the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 (7
U.S.C. 1621 note); and
(B) includes wine grapes.
(6) Wine.--The term ``wine'' means the product obtained
from normal alcoholic fermentation of the juice of sound ripe
grapes or other agricultural products containing natural or
added sugar or any such alcoholic beverage to which is added
grape brand, fruit brandy, or spirits of wine, which is
distilled from the particular agricultural product or products
of which the wine is made and other rectified wine products and
by whatever name and which does not contain more than 15
percent added flavoring, coloring, and blending material and
which contains not more than 24 percent of alcohol by volume,
and includes vermouth and sake, known as Japanese rick wine.
(7) Wine producer.--The term ``wine producer'' means any
person who--
(A) owns, or has access to, a facility and
equipment for the conversion of grapes, berries, or
other fruit into wine;
(B) is engaged in the production of wine for
commercial sale; and
(C) holds all licenses, permits, or approvals
required under Federal or State law for the activities
described under subparagraphs (A) and (B).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
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