I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 541 
To amend the Agricultural Act of 1961 to modify the limitations applicable 
to qualified conservation loan guarantees, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 26, 2023 
Mr. BOST
(for himself, Ms. KELLY
of Illinois, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. 
WALBERG, and Mr. LAHOOD) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Agricultural Act of 1961 to modify the limita-
tions applicable to qualified conservation loan guarantees, 
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 ‘‘Beginning 
Agriculturalist Lifetime Employment Act of 2023’’ or the 
‘‘BALE Act of 2023’’. 
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SEC. 2. LIMITATIONS APPLICABLE TO QUALIFIED CON-
SERVATION LOAN GUARANTEES. 
(a) LIMITATIONS APPLICABLE TO LOAN GUARAN-
TEES.—Section 304(e) of the Agricultural Act of 1961 (7 
U.S.C. 1924(e)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS APPLICABLE TO LOAN GUARAN-
TEES.— 
‘‘(1) PERCENTAGE
OF
LOAN
GUARANTEED.— 
The portion of a loan that the Secretary may guar-
antee under this section shall— 
‘‘(A) depend on the principal amount of 
the loan; and 
‘‘(B) except as provided in paragraph (2), 
may not exceed the percentage specified for 
that principal amount in the following table: 
‘‘Principal Amount 
More Than 
Principal Amount 
Equal To Or 
Less Than 
Maximum 
Percent 
$0 .........................................
$3,000,000 .......................................
90%
$3,000,000 ...........................
$3,100,000 .......................................
89%
$3,100,000 ...........................
$3,200,000 .......................................
88%
$3,200,000 ...........................
$3,300,000 .......................................
87%
$3,300,000 ...........................
$3,400,000 .......................................
86%
$3,400,000 ...........................
$3,500,000 .......................................
85%
$3,500,000 ...........................
$3,600,000 .......................................
84%
$3,600,000 ...........................
$3,700,000 .......................................
83%
$3,700,000 ...........................
$3,800,000 .......................................
82%
$3,800,000 ...........................
$3,900,000 .......................................
81%
$3,900,000 ...........................
$4,000,000 .......................................
80%. 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN PRODUCERS.— 
In the case of a loan to a producer that is a quali-
fied beginning farmer or rancher or a socially dis-
advantaged farmer or rancher (as the term is de-
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fined in section 355(e)), the portion of the loan the 
Secretary may guarantee under this paragraph may 
not exceed the percentage specified for the principal 
amount of the loan in the following table: 
‘‘Principal Amount 
More Than 
Principal Amount 
Equal To Or 
Less Than 
Maximum 
Percent 
$0 .........................................
$3,000,000 .......................................
95%
$3,000,000 ...........................
$3,100,000 .......................................
94%
$3,100,000 ...........................
$3,200,000 .......................................
93%
$3,200,000 ...........................
$3,300,000 .......................................
92%
$3,300,000 ...........................
$3,400,000 .......................................
91%
$3,400,000 ...........................
$3,500,000 .......................................
90%
$3,500,000 ...........................
$3,600,000 .......................................
89%
$3,600,000 ...........................
$3,700,000 .......................................
88%
$3,700,000 ...........................
$3,800,000 .......................................
87%
$3,800,000 ...........................
$3,900,000 .......................................
86%
$3,900,000 ...........................
$4,000,000 .......................................
85%. 
‘‘(3) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The Secretary may 
not guarantee a loan under this section in an 
amount that exceeds $4,000,000. 
‘‘(4) ANNUAL
INFLATION
ADJUSTMENT.—The 
Secretary shall annually adjust the dollar figures 
under paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) to reflect the 
change in the Prices Paid By Farmers Index (as 
compiled by the National Agricultural Statistics 
Service of the Department of Agriculture).’’. 
(b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by this 
section shall apply with respect to qualified conservation 
loans entered into by the Secretary of Agriculture under 
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section 304 of the Agricultural Act of 1961 (7 U.S.C. 
1924) on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Æ 
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