| Title XI: Crop Insurance | |||
Title XII: Miscellaneous
What it does: It’s a catchall title for issues that don’t fit in the other eleven, and typically provisions dealing with livestock and animal welfare or reorganization of USDA wind up here.
What it costs: $800 million of the projected 10-year cost of farm bill programs through 2033.
What’s in play: As with recent farm bills, the livestock industry has asked for support from Congress in the farm bill to support disease response and prevention.
The Foreign Animal Disease Prevention, Surveillance, and Rapid Response Act of 2023 has been introduced in both the House and Senate to fund foreign animal disease prevention programs at $233 million a year. Another bill introduced in both chambers, the SAFE Act of 2023, not to be confused with the SAFE Act that would ban horse slaughter, would allow USDA to negotiate regionalization agreements to limit the impact of foreign restrictions on U.S. exports after disease outbreaks.
Animal welfare issues also will be in play again this year. House Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., wants to use the farm bill to preempt California’s Proposition 12 and other state laws that attempt to regulate how food animals are raised. The Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act would bar states from mandating animal production standards for products sold within their borders.
There also are pending proposals in Congress to prohibit cockfighting, require USDA to toughen its enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act and permanently ban horse slaughter, extending a prohibition that has been part of USDA’s annual appropriations bills for years.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., is sponsoring a number of bills that pose challenges to the animal agriculture sector and could wind up being offered as floor amendments. They include the Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act of 2023, or OFF Act, that would tighten regulations on commodity checkoff programs. A similar bill has been introduced in the House.
The battle over foreign ownership of U.S. agricultural land may also find its way into the farm bill. A series of bills have been introduced that seek in some ways to restrict purchases of U.S. land or to improve reporting on land acquisitions. The Protecting America’s Agricultural Land from Foreign Harm Act of 2023, for example, would prohibit the purchase or lease of U.S. agricultural land by individuals associated with China, Iran, North Korea or the Russian Federation.
Notable marker bills:
H.R.3419 and S.1666 — The Foreign Animal Disease Prevention, Surveillance, and Rapid Response Act of 2023, a bipartisan proposal led by Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., to reauthorize USDA's animal disease prevention and management programs.
S.926 and H.R.3357 — The Protecting America’s Agricultural Land from Foreign Harm Act of 2023 led by Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., and Rep. Dale Strong, R-Ala., would ban the sale of U.S. agricultural land to people associated with some foreign governments, including China’s.
H.R.809 — The Prohibition of Agricultural Land for the People’s Republic of China Act, sponsored by Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., to prohibit the sale of U.S. ag land to “nonresident aliens, foreign businesses, or any agent, trustee, or fiduciary associated with the Government of the People’s Republic of China.”
H.R.513 — FARM Act, led by Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Texas, would add USDA to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.
S.1613 and H.R.3984 — The Feral Swine Eradication Act, led by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., would reauthorize USDA’ feral swine education and control pilot program with modifications. H.R.714 – A proposal by Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas, to extend the program to 2028.
H.R.1788 — Goldie’s Act, led by Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., would strengthen enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act by requiring more frequent inspections of dog breeders and other operations.
H.R.3475 — The bipartisan Save America's Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act, led by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., would ban horse slaughter. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., is sponsoring a similar bill, S.2037.
S.1529 — The FIGHT Act of 2023, sponsored by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., would prohibit cockfighting.
S.1512 — DIRECT Act of 2023, led by Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., would allow interstate sales of certain state-inspected meat and poultry.
S.907 and H.R.2814 — The PRIME Act would permit meat processed at custom slaughterhouses to be sold to grocery stores, restaurants, hotels and directly to consumers without federal inspection if it's sold in the state in which it's processed.
S.747 and H.R.1517 — Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act would fund grant programs administered by states to monitor PFAS contamination on farms and provide relocation assistance to affected producers.
S.346 — The Meat and Poultry Special Investigator Act of 2023 would establish an Office of the Special Investigator for Competition Matters at USDA that would work in conjunction with the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute potential violations of the Packers and Stockyards Act.
S.557 and H.R.1249 — Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act of 2023 (OFF Act), led by Booker and Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., to tighten regulations on checkoff programs.
S.1809 — Proposal by Booker to create an Office of Small Farms within USDA.
S.1736 — The Farmers First Act of 2023 led by Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., would reauthorize the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network.
S.271 and H.R.797 — Farm System Reform Act of 2023, led by Booker and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., would place a moratorium on large concentrated animal feeding operations. or CAFOs, and require country of origin labeling on beef, pork and dairy products.
H. R. 5203 —The Accelerating the Growth of Rural Innovation and Tourism Opportunities to Uphold Rural Industries and Sustainable Marketplaces (AGRITOURISM) Act would create an Office of Agritourism within USDA.
