Title: A bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide payments to cattle producers to offset losses due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), and for other purposes.
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
This bill requires the Farm Service Agency to provide payments to producers that sold feeder cattle or live cattle during any month in calendar year 2020 to offset losses due to COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019).
Specifically, payments must be provided (1) in the case of feeder cattle, if the average national sale price per hundredweight for feeder cattle for that month is less than $150; and (2) in the case of live cattle, if the average national sale price per hundredweight for live cattle for that month is less than $121.
A producer may receive payments for not more than 10,000 head of cattle in calendar year 2020. Additionally, a producer must have owned the feeder cattle or live cattle for not less than 30 days before the date on which the cattle were sold.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3552 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3552

 To require the Secretary of Agriculture to provide payments to cattle 
 producers to offset losses due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-
                      19), and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 20, 2020

   Mr. Rounds (for himself, Mr. Tester, Mr. Merkley, Ms. Smith, Mr. 
Hoeven, Mr. Daines, Mrs. Fischer, Mrs. Hyde-Smith, Mr. Cramer, and Mr. 
Wyden) 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 provide payments to cattle 
 producers to offset losses due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-
                      19), 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. CATTLE PRODUCER PAYMENTS TO OFFSET LOSSES DUE TO COVID-19.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 
Administrator of the Farm Service Agency (referred to in this section 
as the ``Secretary''), shall make payments to producers that sold 
feeder cattle or live cattle during any month in calendar year 2020 if 
the Secretary determines that--
            (1) in the case of feeder cattle, the average national sale 
        price per hundredweight for feeder cattle for that month is 
        less than $150; and
            (2) in the case of live cattle, the average national sale 
        price per hundredweight for live cattle for that month is less 
        than $121.
    (b) Payment Amount.--The amount of a payment provided under 
subsection (a) shall be equal to--
            (1) in the case of feeder cattle, the product obtained by 
        multiplying--
                    (A) the difference between--
                            (i) $150; and
                            (ii) the average national sale price per 
                        hundredweight for feeder cattle for the 
                        applicable month; and
                    (B) the quantity of feeder cattle sold by the 
                applicable producer during the applicable month, 
                expressed in hundredweight; and
            (2) in the case of live cattle, the product obtained by 
        multiplying--
                    (A) the difference between--
                            (i) $121; and
                            (ii) the average national sale price per 
                        hundredweight for live cattle for the 
                        applicable month; and
                    (B) the quantity of live cattle sold by the 
                applicable producer during the applicable month, 
                expressed in hundredweight.
    (c) Limitations.--
            (1) Payment limitation.--A producer may receive payments 
        under subsection (a) for not more than 10,000 head of cattle in 
        calendar year 2020.
            (2) Ownership requirement.--To be eligible to receive a 
        payment under subsection (a), a producer shall have owned the 
        cattle described in that subsection for not less than 30 days 
        before the date on which the cattle were sold.
    (d) Funding.--Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the 
Secretary shall use such sums as are necessary to carry out this 
section.
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