[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 243 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 243

  To amend the Agricultural Act of 2014 and the Consolidated Farm and 
   Rural Development Act to require producers to establish disaster 
   preparedness plans to be eligible for certain disaster assistance 
                   programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 10, 2023

 Mr. Cohen (for himself, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Carson, Mr. Doggett, Ms. 
    Norton, and Ms. Titus) introduced the following bill; which was 
                referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Agricultural Act of 2014 and the Consolidated Farm and 
   Rural Development Act to require producers to establish disaster 
   preparedness plans to be eligible for certain disaster assistance 
                   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 ``Emergency and Disaster Preparedness 
for Farm Animals Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) American farms continue to experience devastating 
        impacts from extreme weather events that have resulted in the 
        death of millions of livestock and poultry in recent years.
            (2) During 2020 and 2021, the United States experienced a 
        record-breaking hurricane season, record-breaking heat waves 
        and the hottest month on record, a record-breaking wildfire 
        season, and record-breaking droughts across the county.
            (3) Extreme weather events continue to become more frequent 
        and severe, putting the country's agriculture operations and 
        livestock herds at increased risk.
            (4) To help producers recover from weather-related losses, 
        numerous Federal disaster assistance programs have been 
        established that provide significant funding to compensate 
        producers each year, but do not require emergency planning.
            (5) Leading agricultural and animal health entities, 
        including the Department of Agriculture, the American 
        Veterinary Medical Association, and the World Organisation for 
        Animal Health, as well as the Federal Emergency Management 
        Agency, all recognize the importance of emergency planning and 
        recommend the development of disaster preparedness plans on 
        farms to help mitigate the impacts of extreme weather.
            (6) As we continue to adapt to a rapidly changing climate, 
        emergency planning requirements are necessary to help ensure 
        farmers are prepared, financial losses are reduced, and farm 
        animals are protected.

SEC. 3. DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PLANS REQUIRED UNDER CERTAIN DISASTER 
              ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS.

    (a) Livestock Indemnity Payments.--Section 1501(b) of the 
Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting ``(other than a 
        disaster preparedness plan under paragraph (5))'' after 
        ``management practice''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Special rule for payments due to adverse weather.--
                    ``(A) In general.--An eligible producer may only 
                receive a payment under this subsection for a loss 
                described in paragraph (1)(B) if--
                            ``(i) on a date before the 180-day period 
                        preceding such loss, the eligible producer 
                        submitted to the Secretary, acting through the 
                        Administrator of the Farm Service Agency, an 
                        initial disaster preparedness plan;
                            ``(ii) in the case of a disaster 
                        preparedness plan that was submitted to the 
                        Secretary on a date before the 2-year period 
                        preceding such loss, the producer submitted a 
                        renewal of such plan during such 2-year period; 
                        and
                            ``(iii) not later than 30 days after such 
                        loss is incurred, the eligible producer 
                        provides to the Secretary a description of how 
                        the most recently submitted disaster 
                        preparedness plan was implemented on the farm 
                        to attempt to prevent such loss.
                    ``(B) Elements.--For purposes of subparagraph (A), 
                a disaster preparedness plan shall include--
                            ``(i) an adverse weather plan for each 
                        potential adverse weather event (based on the 
                        region the applicable farm is located and size 
                        of the farm) for each species of livestock on 
                        the farm; and
                            ``(ii) such other information as the 
                        Secretary may require.
                    ``(C) Publication.--The Secretary shall make the 
                plans received by the Secretary under subparagraph 
                (A)(i) available to State or local agencies upon 
                request.''.
    (b) Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.--Section 333 of 
the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1983) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (6);
            (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (7) and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) in the case of an emergency loan to replace livestock 
        lost due to a natural disaster or major disaster or emergency 
        designated by the President under the Robert T. Stafford 
        Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et 
        seq.), require the applicant to develop a disaster preparedness 
        plan that includes an adverse weather plan for each potential 
        adverse weather event (based on the region the applicable farm 
        is located and size of the farm) for each species of livestock 
        on the farm.''.
    (c) Effective Date.--This section, and the amendments made by this 
section, shall take effect on the date that is 1 year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.
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