WEATHER Act of 2023

Bill: 118-s-3401
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT]
Introduced: 2023-12-05
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Latest action: action_date: 2023-12-05
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 3401 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES December 5, 2023 Mr. Welch (for himself, Mr. Sanders , Ms. Warren , and Mr. Markey ) 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 authorize the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to carry out research and development on a single index insurance policy, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Withstanding Extreme Agricultural Threats by Harvesting Economic Resilience Act of 2023 or the WEATHER Act of 2023 . 2. Single index insurance policy (a) In general Section 522(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1522(c) ) is amended by adding at the end the following: (20) Single index insurance policy (A) Definitions In this paragraph: (i) Covered crop or commodity The term covered crop or commodity means any crop or commodity (including a specialty crop) on a farm except timber, forest products, animals for sport or show, and pets. (ii) Covered policy The term covered policy means the single index insurance policy described in subparagraph (B)(i). (iii) Covered weather condition (I) In general The term covered weather condition means any of the following weather conditions that are found to be closely correlated with agricultural income losses: (aa) High winds. (bb) Excessive moisture and flooding. (cc) Extreme heat. (dd) Abnormal freeze conditions. (ee) Wildfire. (ff) Hail. (gg) Drought. (hh) Any other severe weather or growing conditions applicable to small-scale farmers, as determined by the Secretary. (II) Data The existence of a weather condition described in subclause (I) shall be determined by indices that prioritize using data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as available, but may use other federally or State certified weather data sources, public and private satellite data, and weather and climate data and models, if necessary, as determined by the Secretary. (B) Policy (i) In general The Corporation shall carry out research and development, or offer to enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more qualified persons to carry out research and development, to develop a single index policy to insure against agricultural income losses due to 1 or more covered weather conditions. (ii) Coverage Research and development on the covered policy under clause (i) shall require that coverage is available in all 50 States (including Indian Tribes), the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands of the United States. (iii) Option to buy-up or buy-down (I) In general Research and development on the covered policy under clause (i) shall consider permitting a holder of the covered policy to elect to buy-up to 150 percent, subject to subclause (II), or buy-down to 5 percent, of the median county-level adjusted gross income for farms, in 5-percent increments, to reflect the income of the individual farm business of the holder insured under the covered policy. (II) Limitation A holder of a covered policy may buy-up under subclause (I) only if the farms of the holder insured under the covered policy have at least 3 covered crops or commodities. (iv) Priority features of policy In carrying out research and development on the covered policy under clause (i), the following features may be given priority: (I) Agricultural income losses under the covered policy include— (aa) losses for all covered crops or commodities; and (bb) losses to the value of packing, packaging, or any other similar on-farm activity that the Corporation determines necessary to remove a covered crop or commodity from the field. (II) Payments are made under the covered policy not later than 30 days after the occurrence of a covered weather condition in the county in which the applicable farm of the farmer is located or an adjacent county. (III) Provision of seasonal coverage periods. (IV) Provision of special consideration to concerns facing individual farm businesses— (aa) that have less than $350,000 in adjusted gross income; and (bb) with respect to which a farmer is an underserved producer (as defined in section 508(a)(7)(A)). (V) Paperwork requirements are reduced for farmers seeking to obtain a covered policy. (v) Consultation In carrying out research and development on the covered policy under clause (i), the Corporation— (I) shall hold stakeholder meetings to solicit producer and agent feedback; and (II) may consult with licensed actuaries with experience developing index policies insuring agricultural production. (C) Report Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the Corporation shall make publicly available a report that describes— (i) the results of the research and development carried out under this paragraph; and (ii) recommendations to Congress with respect to those results, including— (I) any challenges to developing the covered policy; and (II) options to address those challenges. . (b) Technical amendment Section 531(a)(18) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1531(a)(18) ) is amended by striking section 2501(e) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 ( 7 U.S.C. 2279(e) ) and inserting section 2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 ( 7 U.S.C. 2279(a) ). .