I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5978 
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to provide for certain payment 
limitations with respect to commodity programs, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 25, 2018 
Mr. MEADOWS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to provide for 
certain payment limitations with respect to commodity 
programs, 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 ‘‘Farm Support Integ-
rity for Family Farms Act’’. 
SEC. 2. PAYMENT LIMITATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1001 of the Food Security 
Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (3) 
and inserting the following: 
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‘‘(3) LEGAL ENTITY.—The term ‘legal entity’ 
means— 
‘‘(A) an organization that (subject to the 
requirements of this section and section 1001A) 
is eligible to receive a payment under a provi-
sion of law referred to in subsection (b) or (d); 
and 
‘‘(B) an association, charitable organiza-
tion, corporation, estate, general partnership, 
irrevocable trust or grantor of a revocable trust, 
joint stock company, limited partnership, lim-
ited liability company, limited liability partner-
ship, or other similar entity (as determined by 
the Secretary).’’; 
(2) by striking subsections (b) and (c) and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS FOR COVERED COM-
MODITIES AND PEANUTS.—The total amount of payments 
received, directly or indirectly, by a person or legal entity 
for any crop year for 1 or more covered commodities and 
peanuts under title I of the Agricultural Act of 2014 may 
not exceed $125,000, of which not more than $50,000 
may consist of payments made under sections 1116 and 
1117 of such Act. 
‘‘(c) SPOUSAL EQUITY.— 
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benefits described in subsection (b) that the 
married couple receives, directly or indirectly, 
does not exceed an amount equal to twice the 
applicable dollar amounts specified in such sub-
section.’’; 
(3) in subsection (e)(3)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—’’; and 
(B) by striking subparagraph (B); 
(4) in subsection (f)— 
(A) in paragraph (3)(B), by adding at the 
end the following new clause: 
‘‘(iii) LEGITIMATE ENTITIES.—In pro-
mulgating regulations to define the term 
‘legal entity’ as the term applies to irrev-
ocable trusts, the Secretary shall ensure 
that irrevocable trusts are legitimate enti-
ties that have not been created for the pur-
pose of avoiding a payment limitation.’’; 
and 
(B) by striking paragraph (4) and redesig-
nating paragraphs (5), (6), (7), and (8) as 
paragraphs (4), (5), (6), and (7), respectively; 
and 
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(5) in subsection (h), in the second sentence, by 
striking ‘‘or other entity’’ and inserting ‘‘or legal en-
tity’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 
(1) Section 1001 of the Food Security Act of 
1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308) is amended— 
(A) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘sub-
sections (b) and (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 
(b)’’; 
(B) in subsection (f)(2), by striking ‘‘Sub-
sections (b) and (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘Subsection 
(b)’’; and 
(C) in subsection (g)— 
(i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sub-
section (b) or (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘sub-
section (b)’’; and 
(ii) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking 
‘‘subsections (b) and (c)’’ and inserting 
‘‘subsection (b)’’. 
(2) Section 1001A of the Food Security Act of 
1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308–1) is amended— 
(A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘sub-
sections (b) and (c) of section 1001’’ and in-
serting ‘‘section 1001(b)’’; and 
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(B) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘sub-
section (b) or (c) of section 1001’’ and inserting 
‘‘section 1001(b)’’. 
(3) Section 1001B(a) of the Food Security Act 
of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308–2(a)) is amended in the 
matter preceding paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘sub-
sections (b) and (c) of section 1001’’ and inserting 
‘‘section 1001(b)’’. 
(c) APPLICATION.—The amendments made by this 
section shall apply beginning with the 2019 crop year. 
SEC. 3. PAYMENTS LIMITED TO ACTIVE FARMERS. 
Section 1001A of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 
U.S.C. 1308–1) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(2)— 
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘(in-
cluding a person participating in a farming op-
eration as a partner in a general partnership, a 
participant in a joint venture, a grantor of a 
revocable trust, or a participant in a similar en-
tity, as determined by the Secretary)’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (A)(i)(II), by striking 
‘‘or active personal management’’; 
(C) in subparagraph (B)— 
(i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘or active 
personal management’’; and 
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(ii) in clause (iii), by inserting ‘‘and’’ 
after the semicolon; and 
(D) by striking subparagraph (C) and re-
designating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph 
(C); and 
(2) in subsection (c)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) by striking subparagraph (A) and 
inserting the following: 
‘‘(A) the landowner share-rents the land at 
a rate that is usual and customary or receives 
rent or income based on the operating results of 
the operation;’’; 
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 
and’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(C) the share of the payments received by 
the landowner is commensurate with the share 
of the crop or income received as rent.’’; 
(B) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘ac-
tive personal management or’’; 
(C) in paragraph (5)— 
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(i) by striking ‘‘(5)’’ and all that fol-
lows through ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A per-
son’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(5) CUSTOM FARMING SERVICES.—A person’’; 
(ii) by inserting ‘‘under usual and 
customary terms’’ after ‘‘services’’; and 
(iii) by striking subparagraph (B); 
and 
(D) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(7) FARM MANAGERS.—A person who other-
wise meets the requirements of this subsection other 
than (b)(2)(A)(i)(II) shall be considered to be ac-
tively engaged in farming, as determined by the Sec-
retary, with respect to the farming operation, includ-
ing a farming operation that is a sole proprietorship, 
a legal entity such as a joint venture or general 
partnership, or a legal entity such as a corporation 
or limited partnership, if the person— 
‘‘(A) makes a significant contribution of 
management to the farming operation that— 
‘‘(i) is critical to the profitability of 
the farming operation; 
‘‘(ii) is performed on a regular, con-
tinuous, and substantial basis; and 
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indirectly, an amount equal to more than the 
applicable limits under section 1001(b).’’. 
SEC. 4. REPEAL OF CERTAIN REGULATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1604 of the Agricultural 
Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 1308–1 note) is repealed. 
(b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Agriculture 
shall issue or revise such regulations as may be necessary 
to implement the amendments made by sections 2 and 3. 
Æ 
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