I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5621 
To extend the wildfire and hurricane indemnity program to cover certain 
crop losses in calendar year 2023, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 21, 2023 
Mr. ALFORD introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To extend the wildfire and hurricane indemnity program 
to cover certain crop losses in calendar year 2023, and 
for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘2023 WHIP+ Reau-
thorization Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DISASTER INDEMNITY PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in 
this section, with respect to the coverage period, the Sec-
retary shall carry out— 
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the same manner as payments under the relevant 
programs in subsection (a). 
(2) EXCEPTIONS.— 
(A) DIRECT
PAYMENTS
REQUIRED.—The 
Secretary shall make payments under the pro-
grams under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of 
subsection (a) as direct payments to producers 
or processors, at the election of the processor. 
(B) SPECIAL
RULE
FOR
UNHARVESTED 
ACRES.—The Secretary shall make payments 
under this section with respect to qualified 
losses of unharvested acres of a covered crop in 
the same manner as payments are made with 
respect to eligible crop losses under the non-
insured crop assistance program under section 
196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement 
and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333). 
(C) PAYMENT LIMITATIONS.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 
in clauses (ii), (iii), (iv), and (v), the Sec-
retary shall impose payment limitations 
consistent with section 760.1507 of title 7, 
Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect 
on the date of the enactment of this sec-
tion). 
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(ii) 
EXCEPTION
FOR
SPECIALTY 
CROPS
OR
HIGH
VALUE
CROPS.—In the 
case of specialty crops or high value crops, 
as determined by the Secretary, the Sec-
retary shall impose payment limitations 
consistent with section 760.1507(a)(2) of 
title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (as in 
effect on January 1, 2019). 
(iii) TAX
YEAR
BASIS.—In applying 
the payment limitations under this sub-
paragraph, the Secretary shall determine a 
person or legal entity’s average adjusted 
gross income and average adjusted gross 
farm income based on the 2019, 2020, and 
2021 tax years. 
(iv) ANNUAL
RENEWAL.—With re-
spect to the payment limitations described 
under this subparagraph, the Secretary 
shall apply separate payment limits for 
each of the years under the covered period. 
(v) ENTITY RULES.—With respect to 
payments to a corporation, limited liability 
company, limited partnership, trust, or es-
tate under this section, the Secretary 
shall— 
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(I) determine average adjusted 
gross income and average adjusted 
gross farm income in accordance with 
clause (iii); and 
(II) apply rules in the same man-
ner as subsections (d) and (e) of sec-
tion 9.7 of title 7, Code of Federal 
Regulations. 
(D) NET
INDEMNITIES.—In calculating 
payments under the programs under para-
graphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a), the 
Secretary shall net out crop insurance indem-
nities, less any insurance premiums paid by the 
producer. 
(E) PAYMENTS
TO
SUGAR
AND
DAIRY 
PROCESSORS.— 
(i) IN GENERAL.—At the election of a 
processor eligible for a loan under section 
156 of the Federal Agriculture Improve-
ment and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 
7272) or a cooperative processor of dairy, 
in lieu of payments to producers provided 
under a program described in subsection 
(a), the Secretary shall make payments to 
a processor to be paid to producer mem-
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bers, as determined by such processors 
under the same terms and conditions as 
payments made to processors pursuant to 
section 791(c) of title VII of division B of 
the Further Consolidated Appropriations 
Act, 2020 (Public Law 116–94). 
(ii) 
NON-ELECTION.—Notwith-
standing section 760.1503(j) of title 7 of 
the Code of Federal Regulations, in the 
event that a processor described in clause 
(i) does not elect to receive payments 
under such clause, the Secretary shall 
make direct payments to producers under 
a program described in subsection (a). 
(F) BLOCK GRANTS.—The Secretary may 
provide payments in the form of block grants to 
States and processors described in subpara-
graph (E). 
(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 
appropriated 
to 
carry 
out 
this 
section 
$8,500,000,000. 
(2) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary may use 
not more than 1 percent of the funds appropriated 
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pursuant to paragraph (1) to carry out the fol-
lowing: 
(A) Streamlining the application process. 
(B) Utilizing information technology to en-
able the electronic transfer of data used in such 
application process between the Risk Manage-
ment Agency and the Farm Service Agency. 
(C) Activities that with respect to county 
office employees, reduce the workload of such 
employees in carrying out this section. 
(D) To the maximum extent practicable, 
providing the necessary information to, and as-
sisting crop insurance agents with, providing 
application information on behalf of insured 
producers. 
(e) 
EXEMPTION.—Notwithstanding 
the 
Federal 
Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 
(Public Law 109–282; 31 U.S.C. 6101 note), the require-
ments of parts 25 and 170 of title 2, Code of Federal 
Regulations (or successor regulations), shall not apply 
with respect to assistance received under this section. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) COVERAGE
PERIOD.—In this section, the 
term ‘‘coverage period’’ means, with respect to a 
covered crop, including milk, and a qualifying dis-
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aster event described in paragraph (6)(A)(i), cal-
endar years 2023 and 2024. 
(2) COVERED CROP.—The term ‘‘covered crop’’ 
means a crop, tree, bush, or vine described in section 
760.1503 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (as 
in effect on the date of the enactment of this sec-
tion), including wine grapes, which shall include all 
insured acreage (regardless of whether such acreage 
is the initial acreage or not). 
(3) MILK LOSS PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘milk loss 
program’’ means the milk loss program under sub-
part Q of part 760 of title 7, Code of Federal Regu-
lations (as in effect on the date of the enactment of 
this section). 
(4) ON-FARM STORAGE LOSS PROGRAM.—The 
term ‘‘on-farm storage loss program’’ means the on- 
farm storage loss program under subpart P of part 
760 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (as in ef-
fect on the date of the enactment of this section) 
(5) STATE.—In this section, the term ‘‘State’’ 
has the meaning given the term in section 1111(20) 
of the Agricultural Act of 2014. 
(6) QUALIFIED
LOSS.—The term ‘‘qualified 
loss’’— 
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(A) with respect to a covered crop not de-
scribed in subparagraph (B), the loss of such 
crop during the coverage period— 
(i) due to a qualifying disaster event 
described in the definition of ‘‘qualifying 
disaster event’’ in section 760.1802 of title 
7, Code of Federal Regulations (as in ef-
fect on the date of the enactment of this 
section); 
(ii) due to high winds, derechos, ex-
cessive heat, or freeze (including a polar 
vortex); 
(iii) due to a drought in— 
(I) a county the Secretary des-
ignated for drought; or 
(II) a county contiguous to a 
county described in subclause (I); or 
(iv) due to other disruptions (includ-
ing power outages or curtailments) that 
are associated with the effects of a quali-
fied disaster event under this section; and 
(B) with respect to smoke tainted wine 
grapes, the loss (including a quality loss) of 
such crop during the coverage period due to 
wildfire, as determined by the Secretary. 
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(7) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Agriculture. 
(8) WHIP+ PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘WHIP+ 
program’’ means the WHIP+ program under sub-
part O of part 760 of title 7, Code of Federal Regu-
lations (as in effect on the date of the enactment of 
this section). 
Æ 
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