[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4203 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4203

   To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program to 
  provide emergency relief to producers that experienced losses as a 
     result of disasters occurring in 2023, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 30, 2024

 Mr. Marshall introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program to 
  provide emergency relief to producers that experienced losses as a 
     result of disasters occurring in 2023, 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 ``Agricultural Emergency Relief Act of 
2024''.

SEC. 2. EMERGENCY RELIEF PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this 
section as the ``Secretary'') shall carry out a program under which the 
Secretary shall provide payments to producers that experienced losses 
of crops (including milk, on-farm stored commodities, crops prevented 
from planting in 2023, and harvested adulterated wine grapes), trees, 
bushes, and vines, as a consequence of droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, 
floods, derechos, excessive heat, tornadoes, winter storms, freeze, 
including a polar vortex, smoke exposure, quality losses of crops, 
excessive moisture, and other similar causes of loss occurring in 
calendar year 2023.
    (b) Terms and Conditions.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
section, the Secretary shall carry out the program required under 
subsection (a) under the same terms and conditions provided under Phase 
1 of the Emergency Relief Program in effect for 2020 and 2021 and first 
announced in the notification of funding availability published by the 
Department of Agriculture entitled ``Notice of Funds Availability; 
Emergency Relief Program (ERP)'' (87 Fed. Reg. 30164 (May 18, 2022)).
    (c) Treatment of Certain Losses.--The Secretary shall provide 
payments to producers under the program required under subsection (a) 
in a manner consistent with subsection (b) in the case of--
            (1) quality losses;
            (2) losses for which a producer did not have coverage 
        under--
                    (A) a policy or plan of insurance under the Federal 
                Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.); or
                    (B) the noninsured crop disaster assistance program 
                established under section 196 of the Federal 
                Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 
                U.S.C. 7333);
            (3) losses for which a producer did not receive an 
        indemnity or payment under--
                    (A) a policy or plan of insurance under the Federal 
                Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.); or
                    (B) the noninsured crop disaster assistance program 
                established under section 196 of the Federal 
                Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 
                U.S.C. 7333); and
            (4) types of losses of crops covered under Phase 2 of the 
        Emergency Relief Program established under subpart S of part 
        760 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on 
        the date of enactment of this Act).
    (d) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary shall carry out 
the program required under subsection (a) in accordance with the first 
and third through twelfth provisos under the heading ``office of the 
secretary'' under the heading ``Processing, Research and Marketing'' 
under the heading ``AGRICULTURAL PROGRAMS'' in title I of the Disaster 
Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022 (division B of Public Law 
117-43; 135 Stat. 356), as those provisos were implemented for 2020 and 
2021, except that--
            (1) the amount available under the third proviso shall be 
        determined pursuant to subsection (f); and
            (2) each reference to 2020 or 2021 in those provisos shall 
        be deemed to be a reference to 2023.
    (e) Other Requirements.--
            (1) Payment eligibility and amount.--In determining 
        eligibility for a payment under the program required under 
        subsection (a), including the amount of that payment, the 
        Secretary shall only consider--
                    (A) the losses described in subsection (a);
                    (B) indemnities received and premiums paid under a 
                policy or plan of insurance under the Federal Crop 
                Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.); and
                    (C) financial assistance received and fees paid 
                under the noninsured crop disaster assistance program 
                established under section 196 of the Federal 
                Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 
                U.S.C. 7333).
            (2) Payment limitations or reductions.--The Secretary shall 
        not impose any limitation on or reduction in payments to a 
        producer that is not authorized by this section.
    (f) Funding.--There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as 
are necessary to carry out this section, to remain available until 
expended.
                                 <all>