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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3982 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3982

   To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish the 
    Expanding Access to Local Foods Program, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 20, 2024

 Mr. Reed (for himself, Mr. Brown, Mr. Booker, Mr. Wyden, Ms. Butler, 
Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. King, Mr. Blumenthal, Ms. Smith, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. 
 Warren, Mr. Fetterman, and Mr. Welch) introduced the following bill; 
  which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, 
                        Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to establish the 
    Expanding Access to Local Foods Program, 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 ``Expanding Access To Local Foods Act 
of 2024'' or the ``EAT Local Foods Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. EXPANDING ACCESS TO LOCAL FOODS PROGRAM.

    Subtitle A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 210B. EXPANDING ACCESS TO LOCAL FOODS PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Collaborator.--The term `collaborator', with respect 
        to a project carried out using funding provided under this 
        section, means an individual or entity (including private, for-
        profit, and nonprofit entities) that--
                    ``(A) is unaffiliated with the eligible unit of 
                government carrying out the project;
                    ``(B) cooperates with respect to--
                            ``(i) the application relating to the 
                        project under subsection (d); and
                            ``(ii) the conduct of the project; and
                    ``(C) is not immediately connected to the 
                management of the project.
            ``(2) Eligible unit of government.--The term `eligible unit 
        of government' means--
                    ``(A) a State agency, commission, or department 
                that is responsible for agriculture, procurement, food 
                distribution, emergency response, or other similar 
                activities within the State;
                    ``(B) the District of Columbia;
                    ``(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
                    ``(D) the United States Virgin Islands;
                    ``(E) Guam; and
                    ``(F) a Tribal government.
            ``(3) Partnership.--The term `partnership' means a 
        relationship involving close cooperation between or among 
        individuals and entities (including private, for-profit, and 
        nonprofit entities) with specified, joint rights and 
        responsibilities in the management of a project carried out 
        using funding provided under this section.
            ``(4) Program.--The term `Program' means the Expanding 
        Access To Local Foods Program established under subsection (b).
            ``(5) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
    ``(b) Establishment.--To maintain and improve food and agricultural 
supply chain resiliency and expand economic opportunities for small and 
underserved producers while promoting food security, the Secretary 
shall establish a program, to be known as the `Expanding Access To 
Local Foods Program', under which the Secretary shall enter into 
cooperative agreements with eligible units of government for the 
purposes of--
            ``(1) purchasing food, including seafood, meat, and 
        poultry, from local, regional, and underserved producers; and
            ``(2) distributing that food within the geographic 
        boundaries of the eligible unit of government.
    ``(c) Noncompetitive Allocation.--The Secretary shall--
            ``(1) enter into cooperative agreements with, and provide 
        funding to, eligible units of government under the Program on a 
        noncompetitive basis;
            ``(2) of the amounts appropriated to carry out the Program 
        for each fiscal year--
                    ``(A) allocate 10 percent to Tribal governments, to 
                be allocated using a funding formula determined by the 
                Secretary;
                    ``(B) of the amounts remaining after making the 
                allocation under subparagraph (A), allocate 1 percent 
                to each State; and
                    ``(C) after making the allocations under 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B), allocate the remaining 
                amounts to each eligible unit of government (excluding 
                Tribal governments) by applying the formula described 
                in section 214 of Public Law 98-8 (7 U.S.C. 7515); and
            ``(3) in the case of an eligible unit of government that 
        has not submitted to the Secretary, by the date that is 1 year 
        after the date on which amounts are allocated to the eligible 
        unit of government under paragraph (2), an application under 
        subsection (d) for spending those amounts, redistribute those 
        amounts to 1 or more other eligible units of government with 
        the capacity to spend those amounts.
    ``(d) Applications.--
            ``(1) In general.--To be eligible to receive funding under 
        this section, an eligible unit of government shall submit to 
        the Secretary an application, at such time, in such manner, and 
        containing such information as the Secretary shall require, by 
        regulation, including--
                    ``(A) a plan that--
                            ``(i) identifies--
                                    ``(I) the lead agency responsible 
                                for carrying out the plan; and
                                    ``(II) community partners that will 
                                contribute to the implementation of the 
                                plan;
                            ``(ii) describes the means by which the 
                        funds will be used--
                                    ``(I) to grow a local food system; 
                                and
                                    ``(II) to promote food security; 
                                and
                            ``(iii) meets the requirements of 
                        subsection (e); and
                    ``(B) an assurance that--
                            ``(i) the eligible unit of government will 
                        comply with the requirements of the plan; and
                            ``(ii) the funds will supplement, not 
                        supplant, funds provided by the eligible unit 
                        of government in support of local food or 
                        hunger relief systems.
            ``(2) Review.--The Secretary--
                    ``(A) shall review each application submitted under 
                paragraph (1) to ensure that the plan included in the 
                application will carry out the purposes of the Program 
                described in subsection (b); and
                    ``(B) may accept or reject each application, as the 
                Secretary determines to be appropriate.
    ``(e) Requirements.--
            ``(1) In general.--Under a cooperative agreement entered 
        into under the Program, an eligible unit of government shall--
                    ``(A) only purchase food--
                            ``(i) from fishermen, farmers, producers, 
                        and processors that are--
                                    ``(I) within the geographic 
                                boundaries of the eligible unit of 
                                government in which the food will be 
                                delivered; or
                                    ``(II) not more than 400 miles from 
                                the delivery destination of the food; 
                                or
                            ``(ii) through a subawardee described in 
                        subsection (f)(1) that purchases food to 
                        fulfill the subaward only from fishermen, 
                        farmers, producers, and processors that are--
                                    ``(I) within the geographic 
                                boundaries of the eligible unit of 
                                government in which the food will be 
                                delivered; or
                                    ``(II) not more than 400 miles from 
                                the delivery destination of the food;
                    ``(B) ensure that not less than 51 percent of the 
                total annual value of products purchased by the 
                eligible unit of government and any subawardees 
                comprises purchases from small, beginning, or 
                underserved farmers, ranchers, and fishers, as defined 
                by the Secretary;
                    ``(C) give priority to distributing food to 
                underserved communities, as determined by the 
                Secretary;
                    ``(D) expend funding not later than 3 years after 
                the date on which the funding is provided to the 
                eligible unit of government; and
                    ``(E) subject to paragraph (2), use not more than 
                25 percent of the amount allocated to the eligible unit 
                of government for Program administration and technical 
                assistance, which may include support for--
                            ``(i) participating producers;
                            ``(ii) efforts to grow the local 
                        agricultural value chain; and
                            ``(iii) small, beginning, veteran, and 
                        underserved farmers, as determined by the 
                        Secretary, in obtaining food safety training 
                        and certifications.
            ``(2) Administration and technical assistance.--Of the 
        amount used for Program administration and technical assistance 
        under paragraph (1)(E), an eligible unit of government shall 
        allocate not less than 50 percent for technical assistance.
    ``(f) Subcontracts and Subawards.--To effectuate the purposes of 
the Program, as described in subsection (b), an eligible unit of 
government--
            ``(1) may enter into subcontracts and provide subawards to 
        support partnerships and collaborators, subject to subsection 
        (e)(1)(E); and
            ``(2) on entering into a subcontract or subaward pursuant 
        to paragraph (1), shall--
                    ``(A) structure the subcontract or subaward to be 
                inclusive of all costs associated with implementing the 
                Program purposes, including the costs of--
                            ``(i) food products;
                            ``(ii) aggregation and distribution;
                            ``(iii) equipment or infrastructure 
                        upgrades to support food safety compliance; and
                            ``(iv) personnel; and
                    ``(B) require members of a partnership and 
                collaborators to demonstrate evidence of existing 
                community or industry engagement.
    ``(g) Availability of Funds.--To effectuate the purposes of the 
Program and ensure that the producers described in subsection (e)(1)(B) 
can meaningfully participate in the Program, the Secretary shall 
provide--
            ``(1) not less than 50 percent of the funding awarded to an 
        eligible unit of government in advance of the distribution of 
        food under the agreement entered into under the Program; and
            ``(2) the remaining funding awarded to the eligible unit of 
        government not later than the midpoint of the period of 
        performance established in that agreement.
    ``(h) Food Safety Training and Certification.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may require food purchased 
        under a cooperative agreement entered into under the Program to 
        be purchased from a farm that has undergone food safety 
        training, or received a relevant food safety certification, 
        with respect to production, packaging, handling, and storage to 
        minimize risks of food safety hazards.
            ``(2) Training, plans, and certifications.--If the 
        Secretary imposes the requirement described in paragraph (1)--
                    ``(A)(i) compliance with the requirement may be 
                demonstrated by--
                            ``(I) a receipt of food safety training, 
                        including Good Agricultural Practices training, 
                        or an equivalent food safety curriculum; or
                            ``(II) a relevant food safety 
                        certification; but
                    ``(ii) the Secretary shall not require such 
                compliance to be demonstrated by a Federal 
                certification; and
                    ``(B) each eligible unit of government shall 
                provide technical assistance in obtaining the required 
                food safety training or certification, in accordance 
                with subsection (e)(1)(E).
    ``(i) Reports.--An eligible unit of government that enters into a 
cooperative agreement under the Program shall submit to the Secretary, 
at such times as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, reports 
that shall include data relating to the procurement and distribution of 
food under the cooperative agreement.
    ``(j) Funding.--
            ``(1) Mandatory funding.--Of the funds of the Commodity 
        Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out this 
        section $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year 
        thereafter.
            ``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--In addition to 
        other funds and authorities available to the Secretary, in 
        order to carry out activities under this section, there is 
        authorized to be appropriated $200,000,000 for each of fiscal 
        years 2024 through 2028, to remain available until expended by 
        the Secretary.''.
                                 <all>
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