II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3785 

To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide food and agriculture 

emergency aid to States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 20, 2020 

Ms. BALDWIN (for herself, Ms. COLLINS, and Mr. KING) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide food 

and agriculture emergency aid to States, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Farming Support to 

5 States Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE EMERGENCY AID TO 

7 STATES. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘eligible enti2 ty’’ means— 

3 (i) a Governor or chief executive offi4 cer of a State, on behalf of the State; 

5 (ii) a State department of agriculture 

6 or other State entity; 

7 (iii) a nonprofit entity with the capac8 ity to provide consultation, expertise, and 

9 financial, procurement, or grant distribu10 tion capacity necessary to meet the stated 

11 mission of the entity with respect to aid 

12 provided under the Program; 

13 (iv) an institution of higher education; 

14 (v) a land-grant college or university 

15 or local office of the Cooperative Extension 

16 System; 

17 (vi) an Indian Tribe or an organiza18 tion representing Indian Tribes; and 

19 (vii) an entity described in clauses (i) 

20 through (vi), in partnership with one or 

21 more partners described in subparagraph 

22 (B). 

23 (B) PARTNERS.—An entity described in 

24 clauses (i) through (vi) of subparagraph (A) 

25 may establish a partnership with one or more 


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1 partners prior to the submission of a request 

2 under subsection (d)(2), or, in consultation with 

3 the Secretary, add one or more partners to a 

4 partnership after that submission, which may 

5 include— 

6 (i) an association, including a pro7 ducer association, trade association, or en8 tity representing a group of farmers or ag9 riculture and food businesses that rep10 resents the interests of stakeholders who 

11 contribute to the rural economy, agricul12 tural and food sectors, and the further 

13 processing, distribution, and retailing of 

14 food; 

15 (ii) an entity that distributes food to 

16 address food insecurity or administers 

17 feeding programs, food delivery, or other 

18 activities to improve food access and food 

19 security; 

20 (iii) a generic program to promote 

21 and provide research and information for 

22 farmers and consumers on agricultural 

23 products (commonly known as a ‘‘checkoff 

24 program’’); 


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1 (iv) a private entity, including an ag2 ricultural cooperative, corporation, busi3 ness, or sole proprietor; 

4 (v) an economic development entity; 

5 (vi) a foundation; 

6 (vii) a unit of government within a 

7 State; 

8 (viii) any other public-serving entity; 

9 and 

10 (ix) any other entity described in 

11 clauses (i) through (vi) of subparagraph 

12 (A). 

13 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

14 the Food and Agriculture Emergency Response and 

15 Resiliency Program established under subsection (b). 

16 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Ad18 ministrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service. 

19 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

20 (A) each of the several States of the 

21 United States; 

22 (B) the District of Columbia; 

23 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

24 (D) Guam; 

25 (E) American Samoa; 


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1 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

2 Mariana Islands; 

3 (G) the Federated States of Micronesia; 

4 (H) the Republic of the Marshall Islands; 

5 (I) the Republic of Palau; and 

6 (J) the United States Virgin Islands. 

7 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

8 a program, to be known as the ‘‘Food and Agriculture 

9 Emergency Response and Resiliency Program’’, under 

10 which the Secretary shall make available to eligible entities 

11 aid to carry out activities to respond to urgent and emerg12 ing issues in the agriculture economy and food supply 

13 chain impacted by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (referred 

14 to in this section as ‘‘COVID–19’’) and related food sys15 tem threats. 

16 (c) ALLOCATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall allocate 

18 the total amount made available for aid under the 

19 Program in accordance with the following: 

20 (A) Twenty-five percent shall be allocated 

21 equally among the States. 

22 (B) Twenty-five percent shall be allocated 

23 equally among States for which the agriculture 

sector represented not less than 1 24 ⁄4 of a percent, 


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1 and less than 1 percent, of the gross domestic 

2 product of the State in fiscal year 2017. 

3 (C) Fifty percent shall be allocated equally 

4 among States for which the agriculture sector 

5 represented not less than 1 percent of the gross 

6 domestic product of the State in fiscal year 

7 2017. 

8 (2) RECIPIENTS.—For purposes of paragraph 

9 (1), an allocation to an eligible entity (other than a 

10 State) that is located in a State shall count towards 

11 the allocation for that State. 

12 (d) REQUESTS FOR AID.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—To provide aid to an eligible 

14 entity under the Program, the Secretary shall enter 

15 into a cooperative agreement or other legal instru16 ment with the eligible entity. 

17 (2) REQUESTS.—An eligible entity seeking to 

18 enter into an cooperative agreement or other legal 

19 instrument under paragraph (1) shall submit to the 

20 Secretary a request for aid under that Program that 

21 contains such information as the Secretary may re22 quire for the purpose of complying with this Act. 

23 (3) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 10 days 

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1 quest under paragraph (2), the Secretary shall pro2 vide to the eligible entity a written notification— 

3 (A) acknowledging the receipt of the re4 quest; and 

5 (B) describing— 

6 (i) the requirements to be imposed on 

7 the eligible entity under the Program for 

8 public reporting on the use of aid received 

9 under the Program; 

10 (ii) the criteria to be used to ensure 

11 that activities supported using aid under 

12 the Program are permissible under this 

13 Act; 

14 (iii) any additional information nec15 essary for the Secretary to make a deter16 mination on the request; 

17 (iv) the expected dates for a deter18 mination on the request and the distribu19 tion of aid to the eligible entity; and 

20 (v) a point of contact in the Agricul21 tural Marketing Service. 

22 (4) PRIORITIES.—Subject to subsection (c), in 

23 entering into cooperative agreements and other legal 

24 instruments under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

25 shall give priority to requests— 


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1 (A) submitted by— 

2 (i) the Governor of a State; 

3 (ii) a State department of agriculture; 

4 or 

5 (iii) an eligible entity that submits a 

6 request for aid that has the demonstrated 

7 support of other eligible entities; or 

8 (B) under which aid would be used for ac9 tivities— 

10 (i) that contribute to the resiliency, 

11 diversity, and distributed production of ag12 ricultural products across local, regional, 

13 and national-scale food systems; 

14 (ii) that serve businesses and other 

15 food system entities that have a limited ca16 pacity to fund, develop, or deploy COVID– 

17 19 response actions; 

18 (iii) that serve businesses and other 

19 food system entities of which the financial 

20 and business solvency is at risk; 

21 (iv) that stabilize rural, farming, and 

22 food-related sectors with actions that 

23 build— 

24 (I) resiliency and long-term via25 bility of rural economies; and 


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1 (II) the competitiveness of entre2 preneurs and small- and medium-sized 

3 entities; 

4 (v) that serve agricultural producers 

5 and processors that— 

6 (I) have faced economic insta7 bility related to, or exacerbated by, 

8 COVID–19; 

9 (II) are underserved by available 

10 aid from the Department of Agri11 culture for commodity assistance pro12 grams; or 

13 (III) are producers or processors 

14 of noncommodity products, forest 

15 products, or specialty crops; or 

16 (vi) that— 

17 (I) restore and strengthen the re18 siliency of entities that are a core part 

19 of local and regional economies and 

20 identity; and 

21 (II) strengthen and enhance the 

22 quality of rural life. 

23 (e) DISTRIBUTION.— 

24 (1) INITIAL DISTRIBUTION.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

2 provide 1 initial distribution of aid under the 

3 Program of $2,000,000 to 1 eligible entity in 

4 each State that submits to the Secretary a re5 quest under subsection (d)(2) not later than 30 

6 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

7 (B) REQUESTS.—A request submitted by 

8 an eligible entity for an initial distribution 

9 under subparagraph (A) shall— 

10 (i) include a brief summary of the ca11 pacity of the eligible entity to administer 

12 the aid and the general expenditures 

13 planned for the aid; and 

14 (ii) be considered to be a complete re15 quest on receipt by the Secretary of the re16 quest in writing, including the brief sum17 mary described in clause (i). 

18 (C) AVAILABILITY.—Not later than 14 

19 days after the date on which the Secretary re20 ceives a complete request described in subpara21 graph (B)(ii) that the Secretary approves, the 

22 Secretary shall make the aid available to the el23 igible entity. 

24 (D) USES.—An initial distribution of aid 

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1 dress urgent matters, as determined by the eli2 gible entity, such as— 

3 (i) supply chain issues; 

4 (ii) responding to farmer stress; 

5 (iii) assisting with livestock depopula6 tion and indemnification; 

7 (iv) securing needed food for food as8 sistance programs; and 

9 (v) other eligible uses under the Pro10 gram. 

11 (E) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 3 days 

12 after the date on which aid is provided to an el13 igible entity under an initial distribution under 

14 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall make 

15 publicly available any correspondence submitted 

16 by the eligible entity as part of the request for 

17 the aid. 

18 (F) REPORTS.—Not later than 90 days 

19 after the date on which an eligible entity re20 ceives aid under an initial distribution under 

21 subparagraph (A), the eligible entity shall sub22 mit a report described in subsection (f)(8). 

23 (2) OTHER REQUESTS MADE DURING INITIAL

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1 uted under paragraph (1), an eligible entity may 

2 submit a request for aid under subsection (d)(2) (in3 cluding a request for more than $2,000,000), which 

4 shall be subject to the requirements of this section 

5 (other than paragraph (1)). 

6 (3) SUBSEQUENT DISTRIBUTIONS.—Aid avail7 able under the Program that is not distributed 

8 under paragraph (1) or (2) shall be available to eli9 gible entities that submit requests under subsection 

10 (d)(2) during subsequent periods determined by the 

11 Secretary, which shall occur not less frequently than 

12 once every 45 days until the date on which aid avail13 able under the Program is fully expended. 

14 (f) REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO ELIGIBLE ENTI15 TIES.— 

16 (1) NON-FEDERAL CONTRIBUTIONS.—The Sec17 retary shall not require an eligible entity to con18 tribute non-Federal funds to carry out a cooperative 

19 agreement or other legal instrument under the Pro20 gram. 

21 (2) USE CONSISTENT WITH TERMS OF COOPER22 ATIVE AGREEMENT.—An eligible entity shall use aid 

23 received under the Program for the purposes and in 

24 the manner provided in the cooperative agreement or 


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1 other legal instrument under which the aid is pro2 vided. 

3 (3) REQUIREMENT.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of assist5 ance or amounts provided using aid under the 

6 Program by an eligible entity to a specific per7 son, the assistance or amounts shall not be 

8 made available to a foreign person making di9 rect investment (as those terms are defined in 

10 section 801.2 of title 15, Code of Federal Regu11 lations (or successor regulations)) in the United 

12 States. 

13 (B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall 

14 not apply to public, widely available assistance, 

15 such as best practice guidelines or other non16 proprietary, nonexclusive aid. 

17 (4) SUBAGREEMENTS.—Nothing in this section 

18 prevents an eligible entity from using aid received 

19 under the Program to enter into a subagreement 

20 with— 

21 (A) another eligible entity; or 

22 (B) a political subdivision of a State that 

23 has legal responsibilities relating to preserving 

24 the integrity and function of the food supply, 


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1 including activities relating to agricultural pro2 duction, marketing, and distribution of food. 

3 (5) NO STATE LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL RE4 QUIRED.—The Governor or chief executive officer of 

5 a State, or other State entity, shall be permitted to 

6 allocate a distribution of aid under the Program 

7 without the approval or review of the allocation or 

8 distribution of aid by the legislature of the State. 

9 (6) AVAILABILITY.—Aid received by an eligible 

10 entity under the Program shall remain available 

11 until expended by the eligible entity. 

12 (7) ADMINISTRATION.—An eligible entity re13 ceiving aid under the Program may use not more 

14 than 8 percent of the aid for a fiscal year for admin15 istrative expenses. 

16 (8) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

18 after the date of completion of an activity con19 ducted using aid provided under the Program, 

20 the eligible entity using the aid shall submit to 

21 the Secretary a report that describes the pur22 poses and results of the activity. 

23 (B) PUBLICATION.—Not later than 14 

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1 retary under subparagraph (A), the report shall 

2 be made publicly available. 

3 (g) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity shall use aid 

4 received under the Program for emergency response ca5 pacity and activities to respond to specific needs relating 

6 to COVID–19 and related food system threats in the fol7 lowing categories: 

8 (1) RETAIL FOOD AVAILABILITY, CONSUMER

9 FOOD ACCESS, FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN STABILITY, AND

10 PRESERVING FOOD SAFETY.— 

11 (A) Forecasting and managing food and 

12 farm supply chain disruptions to ensure a sta13 ble food supply. 

14 (B) Minimizing food retail disruptions for 

15 consumers. 

16 (C) Preventing or minimizing food waste 

17 by taking steps to further process, distribute, or 

18 otherwise make available food for donation or 

19 provision to individuals in need. 

20 (D) Compensating farmers for donated 

21 food through mechanisms designed to minimize 

22 market distortions. 

23 (E) Procurement and provision of food 

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1 dressing distribution and access challenges for 

2 communities and individuals. 

3 (F) Ensuring continuity in food safety pro4 tections. 

5 (G) Responding to labor issues from 

6 COVID–19 and related food system threats to 

7 minimize supply chain disruption and maximize 

8 proactive prevention and response activities re9 lating to COVID–19 and related food system 

10 threats to protect worker health and safety. 

11 (2) HEALTH AND RESPONSE NEEDS RELATED

12 TO THE STABILITY OF THE FOOD SYSTEM AND

13 RURAL ECONOMIES.— 

14 (A) Incentivizing and facilitating the use of 

15 prevention, response, testing, and treatment by 

16 farm workers and food processing workers re17 lating to COVID–19 and related food system 

18 threats. 

19 (B) Supporting the essential work of vet20 erinarians and other food safety and animal 

21 health workers, first responders, and other 

22 rural professionals with occupational disease ex23 posure risks. 

24 (C) Supporting farmers and workers who 

25 face elevated risks of contracting COVID–19 


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1 due to their essential work to keep the food sys2 tem operational and reliable. 

3 (D) Reducing the risk of zoonotic transfer 

4 of COVID–19 to livestock and wildlife and re5 lated disease risks, including disease risks relat6 ing to culling and carcass disposal. 

7 (3) PREPARING FOR AND RESPONDING TO

8 NEAR-TERM IMPACTS OF COVID–19.— 

9 (A) Developing food safety, worker protec10 tion, and sanitation protocols for food proc11 essing plants and other entities requiring assist12 ance to minimize the technical, logistical, and 

13 financial costs of bringing plants online and re14 establishing continuity of operations. 

15 (B) Providing technical, financial, and con16 tracting assistance and direct support to enti17 ties to implement the protocols described in 

18 subparagraph (A), including, at the discretion 

19 of the eligible entity— 

20 (i) by providing amounts to carry out 

21 those protocols at no cost to the entities; 

22 and 

23 (ii) for the cost of goods or services 

24 necessary to achieve the purposes described 

25 in that subparagraph. 


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1 (C) Implementing responses that address 

2 disruptions relating to, or exacerbated by, 

3 COVID–19 that— 

4 (i) restore resiliency to the food sys5 tem; 

6 (ii) improve preparedness for future 

7 disruptions; and 

8 (iii) reduce the impacts to the food 

9 supply chain and rural economy from sup10 ply chain disruptions. 

11 (4) STABILIZING FARMS AND THE AGRI12 CULTURE ECONOMY.— 

13 (A) Stabilizing farm financials— 

14 (i) to prevent the rapid liquidation of 

15 livestock herds or closure of farms; and 

16 (ii) to address changes to planting de17 cisions for the current and upcoming grow18 ing seasons that reflect current market dis19 tortions rather than longer-term predicted 

20 demand. 

21 (B) Providing tools to address the behav22 ioral and mental health of individuals who are 

23 engaged in farming, ranching, and other occu24 pations relating to agriculture (within the 

25 meaning of section 7522(e)(1) of the Food, 


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1 Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 

2 U.S.C. 5936(e)(1))). 

3 (C) Facilitating and incentivizing partici4 pation in personalized and workshop-based farm 

5 business plan counseling that promotes farm 

6 and agribusiness decisions that increase the 

7 economic resiliency, near-term financial sta8 bility, and ongoing operation of farms and rural 

9 businesses. 

10 (D) Facilitating and incentivizing partici11 pation in personalized and workshop-based farm 

12 transition plan counseling that promotes— 

13 (i) ongoing agricultural uses of the 

14 farmland in transition; and 

15 (ii) the long-term utilization and im16 provement of farm assets, including work17 ing forests, orchards, perennial and 

18 multiyear crops, established conservation 

19 practices, flood reduction, and watershed 

20 restoration. 

21 (E) Assisting with the costs of activities 

22 that increase the economic diversification, resil23 iency, ecosystem services, and watershed res24 toration for farms on which the primary labor 

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1 dividual who is working to transition into the 

2 role as primary laborer, manager, and owner of 

3 the farm, such as through an apprenticeship. 

4 (F) Providing retirement security options 

5 for farmers who commit to helping a new oper6 ator transition onto their farm, specifically for 

7 farms on which— 

8 (i) the primary labor is provided by 

9 the farm owner, renter, or an individual 

10 who is working to transition into the role 

11 as primary laborer, manager, and owner of 

12 the farm, such as through an apprentice13 ship; and 

14 (ii) the farmland ownership transition 

15 is economically feasible for a beginning 

16 farmer. 

17 (G) Addressing urgent or essential needs 

18 of rural communities that support the long-term 

19 resiliency of the local economy and local quality 

20 of life. 

21 (5) STATE COLLABORATION.—Collaborating 

22 and coordinating with other States or eligible enti23 ties in other States— 


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1 (A) to address risks relating to COVID–19 

2 to public health, the health of workers in the 

3 food supply chain, and the health of livestock; 

4 (B) to address regional and national sup5 ply chain issues; 

6 (C) to minimize food supply chain disrup7 tions to consumers via retailers, food banks, 

8 and other distribution methods; 

9 (D) to stabilize agricultural markets; 

10 (E) to improve market transparency; and 

11 (F) for any of the purposes described in 

12 paragraphs (1) through (4). 

13 (h) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.— 

14 (1) EXPEDITED PROVISION.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

16 carry out the Program in such manner as to 

17 distribute aid to eligible entities under the Pro18 gram as expeditiously as practicable. 

19 (B) PROCEDURE.— 

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

21 any other provision of law, regulation, or 

22 guidance relating to the implementation of 

23 a grant program, the Secretary shall im24 plement the Program by publishing a no25 tice in the Federal Register. 


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1 (ii) PAPERWORK REDUCTION.—The 

2 administration of the Program shall be 

3 made without regard to chapter 35 of title 

4 44, United States Code (commonly known 

5 as the ‘‘Paperwork Reduction Act’’). 

6 (2) GUIDANCE; REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

7 Not later than 14 days after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Secretary shall issue guidance to eli9 gible entities on carrying out the Program, includ10 ing— 

11 (A) clear guidance on use of aid received 

12 by eligible entities under the Program; 

13 (B) direction on accounting and informa14 tion eligible entities should track for reporting 

15 described in subparagraph (C); and 

16 (C) preliminary guidance on reporting re17 quirements, which shall be finalized and made 

18 publicly available not later than 45 days after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act. 

20 (3) COORDINATION OF ASSISTANCE.—The Sec21 retary, in coordination with the Administrator of the 

22 Economic Research Service and the Director of the 

23 National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and in 

24 collaboration with other entities that the Secretary 

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1 gram, shall provide technical assistance (and, in the 

2 case of subparagraph (D), financial assistance) to 

3 and coordination among eligible entities and other 

4 recipients of aid under the Program, including— 

5 (A) the provision of regular, and not less 

6 frequently than semi-monthly, public updates 

7 with information and technical assistance rel8 evant to evolving needs in the food supply chain 

9 and rural economy, including— 

10 (i) economic data that are useful to 

11 stakeholders, including tracking and anal12 yses of supply chain and agricultural mar13 ket trends and abnormalities; 

14 (ii) information on how aid under the 

15 Program is being used by eligible entities 

16 and other recipients of the aid for the pur17 pose of sharing best practices and effective 

18 models for the use of the aid to address 

19 issues in the food supply chain and rural 

20 economy; and 

21 (iii) the most current and best avail22 able information relating to COVID–19, 

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1 veloped in response to the requests of those 

2 businesses, as appropriate; 

3 (B) the ongoing collection of information 

4 on farm-related indicators of economic resil5 iency and stressors, including— 

6 (i) analyses of trends in food product 

7 demand, food supply chain resiliency, and 

8 processing continuity of operations; 

9 (ii) analyses of strength, robustness, 

10 and impacts of efforts to modify standard 

11 operating procedures among entities in the 

12 farm and food supply chains to minimize 

13 supply chain disruptions and business clo14 sures during and related to COVID–19 re15 sponse; and 

16 (iii) data collection and analyses of 

17 the economic impacts of COVID–19 on 

18 farmers and farmer-serving businesses; 

19 (C) the development of technical assistance 

20 to address the impacts of COVID–19, including 

21 through actions informed by the data and anal22 yses developed under subparagraphs (A) and 

23 (B), by responding to requests for assistance, 

24 and proactively addressing emerging trends, for 


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1 the purpose of minimizing the impact of farm 

2 and food supply chain disruptions on— 

3 (i) consumer supplies of food; and 

4 (ii) the solvency of farm businesses, 

5 farm-related businesses, and rural busi6 nesses critical to rural communities; 

7 (D) the provision of technical assistance 

8 and financial assistance to implement the best 

9 practices and effective models described in sub10 paragraph (A)(ii); and 

11 (E) carrying out other activities, as identi12 fied by the Secretary, in consultation with 

13 stakeholders, as priorities for— 

14 (i) reducing the impact of COVID–19; 

15 (ii) protecting the safety of agricul16 tural workers or producers; and 

17 (iii) strengthening the economic sta18 bility, viability, and resiliency of farm and 

19 food businesses. 

20 (4) COORDINATION OF FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

21 The Secretary of Agriculture shall— 

22 (A) monitor urgent and emerging issues in 

23 the agriculture economy and food supply chain 

24 relating to COVID–19; and 


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1 (B) coordinate with other Federal agencies 

2 the activities of which may be affected by or 

3 may affect the issues described in subparagraph 

4 (A) for the purpose of expeditiously addressing 

5 those issues. 

6 (i) FUNDING.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is appropriated to the 

8 Secretary of Agriculture, out of amounts in the 

9 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 

10 $1,000,000,000 to carry out the Program, to remain 

11 available until expended. 

12 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary of Agri13 culture may use not more than 3 percent of the 

14 amounts made available to carry out the Program 

15 for a fiscal year for administrative expenses, which 

16 shall be prioritized for carrying out paragraphs (3) 

17 and (4) of subsection (h). 

Æ 


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