Food and Farm Act

Bill: 115-hr-4425
Sponsor: Rep. Blumenauer, Earl [D-OR-3]
Introduced: 2017-11-16 in the House
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Advisory bodies
Agricultural conservation and pollution
Agricultural education
Agricultural insurance
Agricultural marketing and promotion
Agricultural practices and innovations
Agricultural prices, subsidies, credit
Agricultural research
Air quality
Alaska
American Samoa
Animal protection and human-animal relationships
Caribbean area
Charitable contributions
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Competition and antitrust
Congressional oversight
Consumer affairs
Crimes against animals and natural resources
Department of Agriculture
Employment and training programs
Executive agency funding and structure
Farmland
Food assistance and relief
Food industry and services
Food supply, safety, and labeling
Government information and archives
Government lending and loan guarantees
Guam
Hawaii
Income tax credits
Livestock
Mammals
Meat
Minority and disadvantaged businesses
Nutrition and diet
Poverty and welfare assistance
Puerto Rico
Research administration and funding
Solid waste and recycling
Trade restrictions
U.S. territories and protectorates
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Virgin Islands
Wetlands

Summary:
action_date: 2017-11-16
text: 

Food and Farm Act

 
 This bill reauthorizes and modifies several Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs that address: 
 
 
 commodity support, 
 
crop insurance, 
 
 conservation, 
 
food assistance, 
 
 nutrition, 
 
 farm credit, 
 
 beginning farmers and ranchers, 
 
 food waste, 
 
research and educational programs, 
 
 animal welfare, and 
 
 regional food systems. 
 
 
The bill modifies agriculture and nutrition policies to: 
 
 
 repeal the Agriculture Risk Coverage Program and the Price Loss Coverage Program, 
 
 impose additional limits on farm subsidies,
 
 extend crop insurance premium subsidies to farmers who plant crops to reduce erosion,
 
 require recipients of farm subsidies to comply with additional conservation requirements, 
 
authorize increased funding for conservation programs, 
 
 authorize additional assistance under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program for organic farmers, 
 
 establish a loan program for conservation-based structural improvements,
 
 increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) benefits,
 
 authorize additional assistance for beginning farmers and ranchers, 
 
 establish the Office of Food Waste within USDA,
 
 authorize additional funding for research and education programs,
 
 require USDA to comply with certain animal welfare standards at federal agricultural research centers, 
 
require USDA to reinstate online posting of Animal Welfare Act and Horse Protection Act enforcement records, and
 
 expand grant and loan programs for local and regional food systems. 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2017-11-16
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and the Workforce, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2017-11-16
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and the Workforce, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2017-11-16
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and the Workforce, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2017-11-16
text: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and the Workforce, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
action_date: 2017-11-16
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E1581)
action_date: 2017-11-16
text: Introduced in House
action_date: 2017-11-16
text: Introduced in House