AFFIRM Act of 2020

Bill: 116-s-3292
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
Introduced: 2020-02-13
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Agricultural insurance

Agricultural prices, subsidies, credit
Latest action: action_date: 2020-02-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Summaries:
action_date: 2020-02-13
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><b>Assisting Family Farmers through Insurance Reform Measures Act of 2020 or the</b> <b>AFFIRM Act of 2020</b></p> <p>This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reduce federal crop insurance payments and to disclose details regarding subsidies.</p> <p>Specifically, the bill</p> <ul> <li>requires USDA to annually disclose to the public specified details regarding the recipients and amounts of federal crop insurance subsidies;</li> <li>prohibits certain premium subsidies, including for additional coverage for any person or legal entity that has an average adjusted gross income that is greater than $250,000, and for policies that are based on the actual market price of an agricultural commodity at the time of harvest;</li> <li>establishes an annual cap on total reimbursements for administrative and operating costs of crop insurance providers that begins at $900 million for 2020 and is adjusted for inflation in each subsequent year; and</li> <li>eliminates a requirement that any renegotiated Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA) be budget-neutral. (The SRA is an agreement between USDA and the private companies that administer the federal crop insurance program that specifies details such as administrative and operating expense reimbursements and risk sharing. Eliminating the budget neutrality requirement permits USDA to use the renegotiation of the SRA to achieve savings.)</li> </ul>

tv_txt: II 116th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 3292 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 13, 2020 Mrs. Shaheen (for herself and Mr. Toomey ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to reduce Federal spending on crop insurance, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Assisting Family Farmers through Insurance Reform Measures Act of 2020 or the AFFIRM Act of 2020 . 2. Crop insurance premium subsidies disclosure in the public interest Section 502(c)(2) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1502(c)(2) ) is amended— (1) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and (B) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respectively; and (2) by inserting before subparagraph (C) (as so redesignated) the following: (A) Disclosure in the public interest Notwithstanding paragraph (1) or any other provision of law, except as provided in subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall on an annual basis make available to the public— (i) (I) the name of each individual or entity that obtained a federally subsidized crop insurance, livestock, or forage policy or plan of insurance during the previous reinsurance year; (II) the amount of premium subsidy received by the individual or entity from the Corporation; and (III) the amount of any Federal portion of indemnities paid in the event of a loss for that reinsurance year for each policy associated with that individual or entity; and (ii) for each private insurance provider, a description by the name of the private insurance provider of— (I) the underwriting gains earned through participation in the federally subsidized crop insurance program; and (II) the amount paid under this subtitle for— (aa) administrative and operating expenses; (bb) any Federal portion of indemnities and reinsurance; and (cc) any other purpose. (B) Limitation The Secretary shall not disclose under subparagraph (A) information relating to individuals and entities covered by a catastrophic risk protection plan offered under section 508(b). . 3. Adjusted gross income and per person limitations on share of insurance premiums paid by Corporation Section 508(e)(1) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1508(e)(1) ) is amended— (1) by striking For the purpose and inserting the following: (A) Payment authority Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), for the purpose ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (B) Adjusted gross income limitation The Corporation shall not pay a part of the premium for additional coverage for any person or legal entity that has an average adjusted gross income (as defined in section 1001D(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308–3a(a))) that is greater than $250,000. (C) Per person limitation The Corporation shall not pay more than $40,000 for any reinsurance year to any person or legal entity for premiums under this section. . 4. Prohibition on premium subsidy for harvest price policies Section 508(e) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1508(e) ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (9) Prohibition on premium subsidy for harvest price policies Notwithstanding any other provision of law, beginning with the 2020 reinsurance year, the Corporation shall not pay any amount of premium subsidy in the case of a policy or plan of insurance that is based on the actual market price of an agricultural commodity on the date of harvest. . 5. Cap on overall rate of return for crop insurance providers Section 508(k)(3) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1508(k)(3) ) is amended— (1) by striking the paragraph designation and heading and all that follows through The and inserting the following: (3) Risk (A) Share of risk The ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (B) Limitation on average rate of return The target average rate of return for reinsured companies for the 2020 reinsurance year and each subsequent reinsurance year shall be 8.9 percent of retained premiums. . 6. Cap on reimbursements for administrative and operating expenses of crop insurance providers Section 508(k)(4) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1508(k)(4) ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (G) Additional cap on reimbursements (i) In general Notwithstanding subparagraphs (A) through (F), the total amount of reimbursements for administrative and operating costs for the 2020 reinsurance year for all types of policies and plans of insurance shall not exceed $900,000,000. (ii) Adjustment For the 2021 reinsurance year and each subsequent reinsurance year, the dollar amount in effect pursuant to clause (i) shall be increased by the inflation factor established for the administrative and operating costs limitation in the 2011 Standard Reinsurance Agreement. . 7. Renegotiation of Standard Reinsurance Agreement Section 508(k)(8) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1508(k)(8) ) is amended by striking subparagraph (F).