jiayi-li23/proxann_data huggingface dataset:
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2015-11-05 00:00:00

Assisting Family Farmers through Insurance Reform Measures Act or the AFFIRM Act 

This bill amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to reduce federal crop insurance payments and disclose details regarding subsidies.

The bill prohibits premium subsidies: (1) for additional coverage for any person or legal entity that has an average adjusted gross income that exceeds $250,000, (2) that exceed $40,000 per year for any person or legal entity, or (3) for policies that are based on the actual market price of an agricultural commodity at the time of harvest.

The bill establishes an annual cap on total reimbursements for administrative and operating costs of crop insurance providers that begins at $900 million for 2015 and is adjusted for inflation in each subsequent year. The overall rate of return for insurance providers is capped at 8.9%.

The bill eliminates a requirement that any renegotiated Standard Insurance 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.)

USDA must annually disclose to the public specified details regarding the recipients and amounts of federal crop insurance subsidies.
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-05-25 00:00:00

Facilitating Farmers' Access to Resources and Machinery Act

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to private activity bond financing for first-time farmers, to: (1) increase from $450,000 to $520,000 (adjusted annually for inflation) the amount of bond proceeds that may be used by a first-time farmer to acquire land for farming purposes, (2) repeal the separate dollar limitation on the use of bond proceeds for used farm equipment, and (3) modify the definition of "substantial farmland" to determine farm size by reference to the average (instead of median) size of a farm in the county in which the farm is located.
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2016-07-12 00:00:00

Beginning Farmer and Rancher Guaranteed Loan Modernization Act of 2016

 This bill amends the Agricultural Act of 1961 to revise the limits for the Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) conservation loan guarantee program.

The bill replaces the existing 80% limit on the portion of a loan that USDA may guarantee with limits that range from 80%-90%, depending on the principal amount of the loan. For socially disadvantaged or beginning farmers or ranchers, the bill replaces the existing 90% limit with limits that range from 85%-95%, depending on the principal amount of the loan.

USDA may not guarantee a loan under the program that exceeds $3.5 million.
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2016-07-14 00:00:00

Beginning Farmers Agenda Act of 2016 

This bill amends various agricultural laws to modify and establish programs to assist beginning farmers.

The bill makes land trusts eligible for certain assistance under the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Conservation Easement Program. In administering the program, USDA may prioritize an application for purchasing an easement that maintains agricultural viability, requires subsequent purchases to be at agricultural value, or both.

The bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income up to $250,000 in gains from the sale or exchange of certain agricultural property to a beginning, socially disadvantaged, or veteran farmer or rancher, subject to specified conditions.

The bill modifies several agricultural programs to:

 require the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to prequalify loan applicants, increase and index for inflation the limit on the amount of USDA farm ownership loans per borrower, establish minimum funding requirements for agriculture land easements and wetland reserve easements, transfer jurisdiction of the Advisory Committee on Beginning Farmers and Ranchers to the FSA, establish an online customer self-service portal, reauthorize the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, and authorize grants for farm viability programs. The FSA must assign state coordinators to promote communication with beginning farmers or ranchers and increase their access to USDA programs.

The General Services Administration may sell surplus farm equipment or property to socially disadvantaged, veteran, or beginning farmers and ranchers.

The bill provides funding for: (1) the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Accounts Pilot Program, and (2) the Farmers Market and Local Food Promotion Program.
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-09-13 00:00:00

Mead Equality And Definition Act of 2016 or the MEAD Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to modify rules regarding the taxation of mead (honey wine) and other agricultural wines.

The bill repeals the limitations on adding wine spirits to an agricultural wine or using any coloring material, herbs, or other flavoring material (except hops in the case of honey wine) in the production.

The Department of the Treasury must modify regulations for the production of agricultural wine to allow: (1) the use of spirits in the production of agricultural wine; and (2) additional ingredients to be added during the production of mead, including limited amounts of fruits, vegetables, spices, and other ingredients that are suitable for human food consumption and safe for use in an alcoholic beverage.

In modifying the regulations, Treasury must also:

 eliminate limitations on the quantity of hops used in mead; specify certain requirements for the density of the honey and water mixture when additional ingredients are added to mead; limit the alcohol content of mead to 24% by volume; and allow an agricultural wine to be produced for research and development without an approved formula, as long as the wine is not marketed or sold prior to approval of the formula. The bill also: (1) specifies a tax rate of 22.6 cents per gallon for mead containing not more than 0.64 grams of carbon dioxide per hundred milliliters of mead, and (2) allows a credit against such tax on meads for small domestic producers.
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-09-26 00:00:00

Farm Risk Abatement and Mitigation Election Act of 2016 or the FRAME Act of 2016

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) establish tax-exempt farm risk management accounts (FRAME Accounts) and allow taxpayers actively engaged in the business of farming or ranching to use distributions from such accounts to protect the solvency of the farm to which the FRAME Account relates and to procure revenue or crop insurance; (2) allow a deduction from gross income for cash contributions to such accounts; (3) specify minimum levels of contributions to, and maximum levels of distributions from, such accounts; (4) set forth tax rules relating to account distributions, excess contributions, and prohibited transactions; and (5) allow a variable business-related tax credit for contributions made to a FRAME Account in the first nine years after such account is established.
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-09-28 00:00:00

Enhancing Credit Opportunities in Rural America Act of 2016 or the ECORA Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from gross income interest received by a lender from real estate loans secured by agricultural real estate or by a leasehold mortgage (with a status as a lien) on agricultural real estate.

Agricultural real estate includes real property that is substantially used for the production of one or more agricultural products. It also includes any single family residence that is: (1) the principal residence of its occupant, (2) located in a rural area which is not within a Metropolitan Statistical Area and has a population of 2,500 or less; and (3) is purchased or improved with the proceeds of a loan secured by property used for the production of one or more agricultural products.
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2015-02-03 00:00:00

This bill amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to limit federal crop insurance premium subsidies provided to agricultural producers to $50,000. The limit applies to the total amount of premiums paid by the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation on behalf of a person or legal entity for all policies issued for a crop year.
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2015-02-11 00:00:00

This bill amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to prohibit the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation from paying a premium subsidy for a crop insurance policy that is based on the actual market price of an agricultural commodity at the time of harvest.
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2015-02-12 00:00:00

Sugar Reform Act of 2015 

This bill revises the Department of Agriculture (USDA) sugar program to decrease price support levels and make other modifications.

The bill amends the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to decrease the rate for price support loans to processors of domestically grown sugarcane and sugar beets. The loan rate is the price level at which processors can take out loans.

The bill amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 to require USDA to set the marketing allotments at a level appropriate to maintain adequate domestic supplies at reasonable prices. The allotments limit the amount of sugar that each processor may sell. The allotments may be suspended or modified based on: (1) the interests of consumers, workers, businesses, and agricultural producers; and (2) the relative competitiveness of domestically produced and imported foods containing sugar.

In setting import quotas necessary to comply with trade agreements, USDA must:

 set the quotas at no less than the minimum level necessary for compliance, adjust the quotas to provide adequate domestic supplies at reasonable prices, establish and adjust quotas so that the ratio of sugar stocks to total sugar use at the end of the year will be approximately 15.5% or the target necessary to prevent unreasonably high prices or forfeitures, and permit the temporary transfer of quotas between countries. The bill amends the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to repeal the Feedstock Flexibility Program for Bioenergy Producers, which requires USDA to purchase sugar from domestic processors and sell it to bioenergy producers for biofuel production.
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2015-05-21 00:00:00

Exclusion for Deficit Reduction in Agricultural Subsidies Elimination Act or the ERASE Act 

This bill amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to eliminate a requirement that any renegotiated Standard Insurance Agreement (SRA) be budget neutral.

The SRA is an agreement between the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the private companies that administer the federal crop insurance program. It specifies details such as administrative and operating expense reimbursements and risk sharing between USDA and the companies in the operation of the program.

Eliminating the budget neutrality requirement permits USDA to use the renegotiation of the SRA to achieve savings.
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2015-06-24 00:00:00

This bill amends the United States Cotton Futures Act to exclude cotton future contracts involving cotton that is grown outside of the United States and tendered for delivery from coverage under the Act, including the requirement that the cotton be classified by the Department of Agriculture.
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-07-16 00:00:00

Agriculture Equipment and Machinery Depreciation Act

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the placed-in-service restriction on the depreciation of certain farming business machinery and equipment and to make permanent the five-year recovery period for such property.
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-10-22 00:00:00

Agriculture Equipment and Machinery Depreciation Act

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the placed-in-service restriction on the depreciation of certain farming business machinery and equipment and to make permanent the five-year recovery period for such property.
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2015-12-02 00:00:00

Emergency Citrus Disease Response Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow a full deduction in the current taxable year of the cost of replanting lost or damaged citrus plants. The taxpayer must own an equity interest of at least 50% in such replanted plants and may deduct costs paid or incurred through 2025.
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2016-04-05 00:00:00

Farm Payment Loophole Elimination Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Agricultural Act of 2014 to apply to family farms the requirement that recipients of farm subsidies be actively engaged in farming. The bill eliminates the existing exemption for family farms that permits family members that are not actively engaged in farming to receive farm subsidies.
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2016-04-11 00:00:00

Agriculture Students EARN Act or the Agriculture Students Encourage, Acknowledge, Reward, Nurture Act 

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from the gross income of a student farmer up to $5,000 of the gain from the sale or exchange of personal property (including livestock, crops, and agricultural mechanics or shop products) produced or raised by the student farmer.

A student farmer is an individual who is under 19 years of age and is enrolled in: (1) a program established by the National FFA Organization; (2) a 4-H Club or other program established by 4-H; or (3) a student agriculture program that is under the direction or guidance of an agricultural educator, advisor, or club leader.

To qualify for the exclusion, the production and sale or exchange of the property must be supervised by one of the specified agriculture programs. The sale or exchange must also occur during qualified public entertainment or convention and trade show activities.
Topic: Agriculture — Subsidies to Farmers
Subject: Agriculture and food
Date: 2016-04-18 00:00:00

Local Cheese Promotion and Dairy Support Act of 2016 

This bill amends the Agricultural Adjustment Act to establish a Department of Agriculture (USDA) program to provide competitive grants to small cheese producers and cooperative groups of small cheese producers.

In awarding grants, USDA must define the term "small cheese producer" and give preference to producers that: (1) purchase raw dairy product from producers located in the same state as the small cheese producers, or (2) produce raw dairy product on the farms of the small cheese producers.

Grant recipients may use the funds to:

 purchase equipment or renovate and make repairs to production facilities, develop a business plan or perform a feasibility study to grow the business, promote and market cheese, participate in accounting and financial literacy education and training, and carry out food safety upgrades and training. Using no more than 10% of the funds provided for this bill, USDA must establish a cheese production, education, and promotion pilot project at eligible institutions, including:

 land-grant colleges or universities, local offices of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture or other regional USDA offices, groups of regional experts that advise beginning farmers or ranchers, or nonprofit organizations.
Topic: Social Welfare — Elderly Assistance
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2007-01-04 00:00:00

Social Security Fairness Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to repeal: (1) government pension offset requirements applicable to husband's and wife's insurance benefits, widow's and widower's insurance benefits, and mother's and father's insurance benefits with respect to OASDI payments; and (2) windfall elimination requirements with respect to computation of an individual's primary insurance amount.
Topic: Social Welfare — Elderly Assistance
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2007-01-04 00:00:00

Social Security Protection Act of 2007 - Amends the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to make it out of order in the House of Representatives or the Senate to consider any bill or joint resolution (or related amendment or conference report) that: (1) reduces or has the effect of reducing any current benefits under the old-age, survivors, and disability insurance (OASDI) programs under title II of the Social Security Act; or (2) provides for or has the effect of providing for cost-of-living increases of OASDI benefits that are less than what would be provided as of the day of the measure's consideration.
Topic: Social Welfare — Elderly Assistance
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2007-01-04 00:00:00

Identity Theft Notification Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to require the Commissioner of Social Security to notify individuals and appropriate authorities of evidence of a certain misuse of individual Social Security account numbers. Requires the Commissioner to determine, in certain instances of wage reports involving multiple addresses for the same employee name, whether there is evidence that the wages were not paid to the individual to whom the Social Security account number was assigned.
Topic: Social Welfare — Elderly Assistance
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2007-01-04 00:00:00

Social Security Earnings Test Repeal Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to remove the limitation on the amount of outside income which a beneficiary may earn (earnings test) without incurring a reduction in benefits.
Topic: Social Welfare — Elderly Assistance
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2007-01-04 00:00:00

Senior Citizens Tax Elimination Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal the inclusion of any social security or tier I railroad retirement benefits in gross income. Appropriates funds to cover reductions in transfers to the Social Security and Railroad Retirement Trust Funds resulting from the enactment of this Act. Expresses the sense of Congress against using tax increases to provide revenue necessary to carry out this Act.
Topic: Social Welfare — Elderly Assistance
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2007-01-04 00:00:00

Social Security Beneficiary Tax Reduction Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to repeal, effective January 1, 2007, the 1993 increase in income taxes on Social Security benefits.
Topic: Social Welfare — Elderly Assistance
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2007-01-04 00:00:00

Social Security Preservation Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to require the Managing Trustee of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust Fund (Social Security Trust Funds) to ensure that the annual surplus of the Social Security Trust Funds is invested in: (1) marketable interest-bearing obligations of the United States or obligations guaranteed by the United States; or (2) certificates of deposit in insured depository institutions. Outlines requirements for determining the annual surplus of the Trust Funds. Prohibits disinvestment of Social Security Trust Fund amounts from public debt obligations, any refraining from making such investments, or any delay in making normal deposits in such Trust Funds for public debt limit-related purposes. Authorizes, with certain conditions, the sale of Social Security Trust Fund public debt obligations for the payment of cash benefits and administrative expenses.
Topic: Social Welfare — Elderly Assistance
Subject: Taxation
Date: 2007-01-05 00:00:00

Social Security Totalization Agreement Reform Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to provide that any agreement to establish a totalization arrangement which is entered into with another country shall enter into force with respect to the United States if (and only if): (1) the President, at least 90 calendar days before the date on which he enters into the agreement, notifies each House of Congress of his intention to enter into it, and promply thereafter publishes notice of such intention in the Federal Register; (2) he transmits the text of such agreement to each House of the Congress; and (3) a joint resolution regarding such agreement has passed both Houses of Congress and been enacted into federal law.Sets forth procedures for the consideration of such a joint resolution.
Topic: Social Welfare — Elderly Assistance
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2007-01-05 00:00:00

Notch Baby Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act with respect to the benefit computation formula for individuals affected by the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977 who became eligible (at age 62) for (early retirement) old-age insurance benefits after 1978 and before 1989 (and reached age 65 for full-retirement benefits after 1981 and before 1992). Sets forth a schedule of additional benefit increases for such beneficiaries (and related beneficiaries), with percentages declining from 60% to 10% keyed to the year an individual became eligible for (early retirement) benefits between 1978 and 1989.
Topic: Social Welfare — Elderly Assistance
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2007-01-09 00:00:00

Remarried Widows' and Widowers' Benefits Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act (SSA) to allow remarried widows, widowers, and surviving divorced spouses to become or remain entitled to widow's or widower's insurance benefits if the prior marriage was for at least ten years.
Topic: Social Welfare — Elderly Assistance
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2007-01-09 00:00:00

Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) (OASDI) of the Social Security Act to revise requirements for lump-sum death payments to the surviving spouse of an individual who died as a fully or currently insured individual. Extends such payments to the surviving spouse of the spouse of such an individual (that is, to the fully or currently insured individual if that person's spouse dies). Specifies a formula for determination of the applicable primary insurance amount used in the determination of a lump-sum death benefit.
Topic: Social Welfare — Elderly Assistance
Subject: Social welfare
Date: 2007-01-10 00:00:00

Notch Fairness Act of 2007 - Amends title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act with respect to the benefit computation formula for individuals affected by the changes in benefit computation rules enacted in the Social Security Amendments of 1977 who became eligible (at age 62) for (early retirement) old-age insurance benefits after 1978 and before 1989 (and reached age 65 for full-retirement benefits after 1981 and before 1992). Sets forth a schedule of additional benefit increases for such beneficiaries (and related beneficiaries), with percentages declining from 55% to 5% keyed to the year an individual became eligible for (early retirement) benefits between 1978 and 1989. Provides for an election to receive such payments in a lump sum.