Title: A bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to make recourse loans available to commercial processors of dairy products during the COVID-19 pandemic, and for other purposes.
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
This bill requires the Department of Agriculture to make recourse loans available to commercial processors, packagers, or merchandisers of dairy products during the COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic.
The bill also provides funding for the loans and specifies that loans shall be provided to applicants for up to the value of the dairy product inventory of such applicants.
Dairy product inventory used as collateral for the recourse loan program shall be pledged on a rotating basis to prevent spoilage of perishable products.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4354 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4354

    To require the Secretary of Agriculture to make recourse loans 
 available to commercial processors of dairy products during the COVID-
                  19 pandemic, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 29, 2020

   Ms. Smith introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To require the Secretary of Agriculture to make recourse loans 
 available to commercial processors of dairy products during the COVID-
                  19 pandemic, 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. RECOURSE LOAN PROGRAM FOR COMMERCIAL PROCESSORS OF DAIRY 
              PRODUCTS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) COVID-19.--The term ``COVID-19'' means the disease 
        caused by SARS-CoV-2, or any viral strain mutating therefrom 
        with pandemic potential.
            (2) Eligible dairy product.--The term ``eligible dairy 
        product'' means any dairy product, whether in base commodity or 
        finished product form.
            (3) Qualified applicant.--The term ``qualified applicant'' 
        means any commercial processor, packager, or merchandiser of 
        eligible dairy products that is impacted by COVID-19.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
    (b) Availability of Loans.--The Secretary shall make recourse loans 
available to qualified applicants during the COVID-19 pandemic.
    (c) Amount of Loans.--
            (1) In general.--A recourse loan made under this section 
        shall be provided to qualified applicants up to the value of 
        the eligible dairy product inventory of the applicant, as 
        determined by the Secretary and consistent with subsection (d).
            (2) Valuation.--For purposes of making recourse loans under 
        this section, the Secretary shall conduct eligible dairy 
        product valuations to provide, to the maximum extent 
        practicable, funds to continue the operations of qualified 
        applicants.
    (d) Inventory Used as Collateral.--Eligible dairy product inventory 
used as collateral for the recourse loan program under this section 
shall be pledged on a rotating basis to prevent spoilage of perishable 
products.
    (e) Term of Loans.--A recourse loan under this section may be made 
for a period as determined by the Secretary, except that no recourse 
loan under this section may end after the date that is 24 months after 
the date of enactment of this section.
    (f) Funding.--Out of any amounts in the Treasury not otherwise 
appropriated, there is appropriated to carry out this section 
$500,000,000.
    (g) Emergency Designation.--
            (1) In general.--The amounts provided by this Act are 
        designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 4(g) 
        of the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(g)).
            (2) Designation in senate.--In the Senate, this Act is 
        designated as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 
        4112(a) of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress), the concurrent 
        resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018.
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