[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7656 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7656

 To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to make competitive grants to 
  certain agricultural producers and other food-related businesses to 
    carry out activities to support health and safety, or to adapt 
production, processing, distribution, and sales systems, in response to 
                   COVID-19, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 16, 2020

 Ms. Schrier (for herself and Mr. Larsen of Washington) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to make competitive grants to 
  certain agricultural producers and other food-related businesses to 
    carry out activities to support health and safety, or to adapt 
production, processing, distribution, and sales systems, in response to 
                   COVID-19, 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 ``Food and Farm Emergency Assistance 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FOOD BUSINESS INFRASTRUCTURE AND EQUIPMENT RESPONSE GRANTS.

    (a) Grants.--The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 
Administrator of the Agriculture Marketing Service, shall make grants 
to eligible entities, on a competitive basis, to carry out activities 
to support worker and public health and safety, or to adapt production, 
processing, distribution, and sales systems, in response to COVID-19.
    (b) Eligible Uses.--Amounts received by an eligible entity under a 
grant under this section shall be used for activities directly relating 
to COVID-19 response and recovery, including--
            (1) costs incurred during the COVID-19 emergency period 
        that are associated with protecting employee and consumer 
        health and safety, such as for personal protective equipment;
            (2) costs incurred during such period that are associated 
        with transitioning to a different businesses model, such as 
        direct-to-consumer, online sales, or delivery;
            (3) costs incurred during such period to purchase or lease 
        equipment for food processing, storage, or refrigeration; and
            (4) other similar costs incurred during such period that 
        arise from adjusting to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    (c) Applications.--
            (1) In general.--An eligible entity seeking a grant under 
        this section shall submit to the Secretary an application in 
        such manner, at such time, and containing such information as 
        the Secretary may require.
            (2) Requirements.--The Secretary shall ensure that the 
        application required under paragraph (1) is--
                    (A) as simple as is practicable;
                    (B) accessible online; and
                    (C) also available through all local offices of the 
                Department of Agriculture.
            (3) Decisions.--Not later than 7 days after the date on 
        which the Secretary receives an application under paragraph 
        (1), the Secretary shall notify the eligible entity that 
        submitted the application--
                    (A) whether the application is approved or denied;
                    (B) if the application is approved, the date on 
                which the eligible entity will receive the grant funds; 
                and
                    (C) if denied, the reason for denial and whether 
                the application may be revised and resubmitted.
            (4) Preferences.--In reviewing applications submitted under 
        paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give preference to 
        applications containing proposals intended to--
                    (A) expand access to food for participants in--
                            (i) the supplemental nutrition assistance 
                        program established under section 4 of the Food 
                        and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2013); and
                            (ii) a program authorized under the Richard 
                        B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 
                        1751 et seq.) or Child Nutrition Act of 1966 
                        (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.), including the 
                        national school lunch program, the national 
                        school breakfast program, the summer food 
                        service program for children, the special 
                        supplemental nutrition program for women, 
                        infants, and children, and the child and adult 
                        care food program;
                    (B) enhance food distribution in high-need or 
                underserved areas;
                    (C) address local agricultural product oversupply 
                issues and reduce food waste; or
                    (D) benefit young farmers or ranchers, beginning 
                farmers of ranchers (as defined in section 2501(a) of 
                the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 
                1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a))), or socially disadvantaged 
                farmers or ranchers (as defined in such section 
                2501(a)).
    (d) Limitations on Amounts.--The amount of a grant under this 
section shall not exceed--
            (1) in the case of an eligible entity described in 
        subsection (f)(1), $15,000; and
            (2) in the case of any other eligible entity, $35,000.
    (e) Outreach.--The Secretary shall conduct outreach to States and 
eligible entities with respect to the availability of grants under this 
section.
    (f) Eligible Entity Defined.--In this section, the term ``eligible 
entity'' means--
            (1) an individual agricultural producer;
            (2) a group of agricultural producers, including--
                    (A) a cooperative; and
                    (B) a network or association of individual farms;
            (3) a small or very small processor of agricultural 
        products with less than 150 employees, as determined by the 
        Secretary;
            (4) a local distributor, including a food hub and a farmers 
        market; and
            (5) any other business that is critical to maintaining a 
        resilient agricultural supply chain in the United States, as 
        determined by the Secretary.
    (g) Funding.--Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the 
Secretary shall use $100,000,000 to carry out this section for fiscal 
year 2020, to remain available until expended.
    (h) COVID-19 Emergency Period.--The term ``COVID-19 emergency 
period'' has the meaning given the term ``emergency period'' in section 
1135(g)(1)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-5(g)(1)(B)).
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