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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10363 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. R. 10363

  To amend the Agricultural Act of 1961 with respect to the Emergency 
                             Loan Program.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 11, 2024

  Mrs. Hayes introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To amend the Agricultural Act of 1961 with respect to the Emergency 
                             Loan Program.

    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 ``Helping America's Farmers Act''.

SEC. 2. EMERGENCY LOAN PROGRAM.

    Subtitle C of title III of the Agricultural Act of 1961 (7 U.S.C. 
1961 et seq.) is amended--
            (1) in section 321(b), by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(4) Historically underserved states.--
                Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, 
                the Secretary may waive the requirement under paragraph 
                (1) if, at the time an applicant submits an application 
                for a loan under subsection (a), such applicant 
                resides, and the property for which the applicant seeks 
                to cover with such loan is located, in any--
                            ``(A) State provided assistance under 
                        section 524(b) of the Federal Crop Insurance 
                        Act (7 U.S.C. 1524(b); commonly known as the 
                        `Agricultural Management Assistance program'); 
                        or
                            ``(B) other State that the Secretary 
                        determines is historically underserved by crop 
                        insurance.'';
            (2) by amending section 323 to read as follows:

``SEC. 323. USE OF LOANS.

    ``Subject to the limitations on the amounts of loans provided in 
section 324(a) of this title, loans under this subtitle may be used--
            ``(1) for any purpose authorized for loans under subtitle A 
        or B of this title;
            ``(2) for crop or livestock changes that are necessitated 
        by a quarantine, natural disaster, major disaster, or emergency 
        and that are deemed desirable by the applicant;
            ``(3) to provide paid leave to employees unable to work due 
        to the direct effect of a natural disaster;
            ``(4) to maintain payroll to retain employees during 
        business disruptions or substantial slowdowns;
            ``(5) to meet increased costs to obtain materials 
        unavailable from the original source of the applicant due to 
        interrupted supply chains; and
            ``(6) to make rent or mortgage payments.'';
            (3) in section 324--
                    (A) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ``would 
                cause'' and all that follows through the period at the 
                end and inserting ``is greater than $2,000,000.'';
                    (B) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
    ``(b) Interest Rate.--A loan under this subtitle shall be at an 
interest rate of zero percent.''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) Waiver of Certain Requirements.--With respect to a loan made 
under this subtitle in response to a natural disaster, the Secretary 
shall waive--
            ``(1) any rules related to the personal guarantee on 
        advances and loans of not more than $200,000 for all borrowers; 
        and
            ``(2) any requirement that the borrower exhaust other loan 
        options before applying for a loan under this subtitle.
    ``(g) Priority.--In making a loan under this subtitle, the 
Secretary shall give priority to each--
            ``(1) applicant in a State determined by the Secretary to 
        be most impacted by a natural disaster;
            ``(2) minority, veteran, and woman applicant;
            ``(3) applicant in a State provided assistance under 
        section 524(b) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 
        1524(b); commonly known as the `Agricultural Management 
        Assistance program');
            ``(4) applicant in a State that the Secretary determines is 
        historically underserved by crop insurance; and
            ``(5) other applicant as the Secretary determines 
        appropriate.''; and
            (4) by inserting after section 329 the following:

``SEC. 330. FUNDING.

    ``There is hereby appropriated, out of any amounts in the Treasury 
not otherwise appropriated $10,000,000,000, to remain available until 
September 30, 2029, to make loans to applicants under this subtitle.''.
                                 <all>
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