[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 126 (Thursday, July 25, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H7438-H7439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    FAMILY FARMER RELIEF ACT OF 2019

  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2336) to amend title 11, United States Code, with respect to 
the definition of ``family farmer'', as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2336

       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 ``Family Farmer Relief Act of 
     2019''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF FAMILY FARMER.

       Section 101(18) of title 11, United States Code, is amended 
     by striking ``$3,237,000'' each place that term appears and 
     inserting ``$10,000,000''.

     SEC. 3. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

       The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 
     complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, shall 
     be determined by reference to the latest statement titled 
     ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation'' for this Act, 
     submitted for printing in the Congressional Record by the 
     Chairman of the House Budget Committee, provided that such 
     statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. 
Sensenbrenner) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Rhode Island.


                             General Leave

  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Rhode Island?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. CICILLINE. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2336, the Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019, would 
increase the current debt limit used to determine whether a family 
farmer is eligible for relief under chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy Code, 
a specialized form of bankruptcy relief specifically intended for 
family farmers, from approximately $4.4 million to $10 million.
  Chapter 12 permits a family farmer who satisfies certain eligibility 
criteria to reorganize his or her debts pursuant to a repayment plan 
under the supervision of a bankruptcy trustee. The special attributes 
of chapter 12 make it better suited to meet the particularized needs of 
family farmers in financial distress than other forms of bankruptcy 
relief.
  Under chapter 7, for example, the family farm and its assets would 
have to be liquidated to pay the claims of creditors, thus depriving 
the family farmer of his or her livelihood, which is completely 
unacceptable.
  The chapter 11 process for reorganization, which is typically used by 
large corporations in economic distress to reorganize complex financial 
transactions, is also inappropriate due to its costly and time-
consuming process that does not work for our Nation's small farming 
operations.
  In light of these concerns with other avenues for reorganization 
under the Bankruptcy Code, Congress created chapter 12 during the farm 
crisis of the mid-1980s in response to a series of economic 
catastrophes facing small farms, from grain embargoes, to high interest 
rates, to consolidation, and mega-farms.
  Unfortunately, many similar economic pressures are impacting family 
farmers today, who are also facing the devastating effects of climate 
change, including unprecedented weather events and catastrophic 
flooding, as well as stagnant or falling returns on investment.
  H.R. 2336 takes into consideration the fact that modern farming 
operations entail greater costs and resulting debt than when chapter 12 
was first enacted by raising the debt threshold to qualify for this 
type of bankruptcy relief to a level more consistent with today's 
operations.
  Accordingly, I support H.R. 2336, and I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill.
  The Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019 brings urgently needed help to a 
critical link in America's economy and a vital part of American 
community life, the family farmer.
  In 2005, Congress permanently enacted chapter 12 of the Bankruptcy 
Code. Chapter 12 is specially designed to help family farmers 
reorganize their debts in time of need and keep their farms going. In 
the years since, chapter 12 and its streamlined procedures have worked 
well.
  There has, however, been one problem. As time has passed, the cost of 
running a family farm have rapidly increased; the ceiling on chapter 
12, on how much debt a family farm can reorganize, has lagged behind. 
Especially with the advent of modern, high-tech farming equipment, the 
chapter 12 ceiling is no longer high enough to let many farms with 
typical amounts of debt go into chapter 12.
  The Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019 fixes this problem. It raises 
the ceiling from the old, roughly $4.5 million limit to a more 
reasonable $10 million limit. This means that more family farmers will 
be able to successfully reorganize when they need to, to the benefit of 
the economy and local communities across the land.
  I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this bill. I urge my 
colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
New York (Mr. Delgado), the author of the bill, a relentless advocate 
for this legislation, and a distinguished member of the freshman class.
  Mr. DELGADO. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Chairman Cicilline for 
those kind words.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of my bill, the Family 
Farmer Relief Act.

[[Page H7439]]

  I rise to urge bipartisan support for a bipartisan priority, relief 
for family farmers. Passing H.R. 2336 will make our Nation's bankruptcy 
laws for farmers reflective of today's economy and better represent the 
experiences of our Nation's farmers.
  I am proud to represent New York's 19th Congressional District, which 
stretches nearly 8,000 square miles, is made up of 11 counties, and 
includes the beautiful Hudson Valley and Catskill Mountains.
  New York 19 is the eighth most rural district in the country, and the 
third most rural represented by a Democrat. It is also home to nearly 
5,000 farms and over 8,000 farm operators.
  The last USDA Ag Census found that 96 percent of the farms in my 
district are family owned. These family-owned farms, both in New York 
19, and across the country, are facing alarming rates of foreclosure 
during this down farm economy.
  This is the fifth year on record of declining net farm income. Prices 
are low, inputs are high, and current trade policies make the future 
for farms unknown. 2018 marked the fourth consecutive year of rising 
bankruptcy rates as a proportion of the farm population.
  This farm economy is exacerbated by an outdated bankruptcy filing cap 
that leaves farmers without options to restructure or repay their debt. 
Chapter 12 was created specifically to provide repayment flexibility 
and reorganizational advantages for family farms during poor economic 
times.
  Unfortunately, this outdated debt cap has rendered chapter 12 an 
inaccessible tool for thousands of farm families.
  Mr. Speaker, the numbers tell the story here. According to the 
National Farm Bureau, last year just 498 farms filed for chapter 12 
bankruptcy. By comparison, 766,000 consumers filed under chapters 7 and 
13.
  Over the last 10 years, chapter 7 and chapter 13 have seen 10 million 
total filings, compared to just 5,000 Chapter 12 filings.
  Mr. Speaker, we must do more.
  The Family Farmer Relief Act solution is simple. My one-sentence bill 
would adjust the debt cap to align with today's land values and the 
cost of doing business for today's farmers. Our legislation modifies 
chapter 12 bankruptcy rules to raise the debt cap for eligibility to 
$10 million.
  This adjustment will provide farmers additional options to manage the 
current farm economy and allows farmers to retain assets and remain 
operational. Allowing farmers increased flexibility is critical to the 
health and wellness of our family farmers and the Upstate economy at 
large.
  I thank House leadership for bringing this important bill to the 
floor, and also Subcommittee Chairman Cicilline for his support and 
leadership on the Judiciary Committee.
  In addition, I want to thank Senator Grassley for his ongoing 
leadership on this issue in the Senate.
  And lastly, I want to thank my bipartisan House colead, Judiciary 
Subcommittee Ranking Member Jim Sensenbrenner, House Agriculture 
Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, and Representatives TJ Cox, Kelly 
Armstrong, and Dusty Johnson.
  I look forward to seeing this bill move forward so we can give our 
farmers and growers the support and flexibility they need in these hard 
times.
  Mr. SENSENBRENNER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2336 is a commonsense, bipartisan 
solution. I applaud the gentleman from New York (Mr. Delgado) for his 
leadership on this bill to help our Nation's family-owned farms.
  This legislation is supported by the nonpartisan American Bankruptcy 
Institute, as well the American College of Bankruptcy. It currently has 
more than 27 bipartisan cosponsors, including our distinguished 
colleague, the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner).
  I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass H.R. 
2336.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2336, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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