National Legislative Update from National Family Farm Coalition

NFFC summary of Legislative happenings in D.C.

  • There has been a flurry of activity in Congress over the past week to advance another COVID-19 relief bill, through budget reconciliation, as the economy continues to face stiff headwinds. Top line funding allocations for the food and agriculture sector include:

    • $3.6 billion for general food supply chain management, such as purchasing and distributing commodities (including produce, meat, dairy, and seafood)

    • An extension of a 15 percent boost in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through the end of September.

    • $1 billion in funding for institutions that provide technical assistance to farmers of color.       

    • $100 million to help small-scale meat processors cover the cost of overtime inspection.

Of particular note, the package includes the Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act, introduced by Senators Warnock, Booker, Luján and Chairwoman Stabenow, which offers FSA debt relief to farmers of color who have historically faced discrimination in USDA’s loan programs. We at NFFC support Emergency Relief for Farmers of Color Act and continue to push Congress to extend this much needed debt relief assistance to all small-scale producers with FSA debt through the Relief for America’s Small Farmers Act in the next round of COVID 19 relief legislation.

  • On February 8th Senators Booker, Warren, Gillibrand, Smith, Warnock, and Leahy reintroduced the Justice for Black Farmers Act for the current Congressional session. NFFC continues to support this landmark bill, which includes provisions that our members and staff advocated last year, including land access mechanisms for Black farmers, protections for heirs property owners, a mandate to USDA to study and publicly disclose corporate land investment trends, and reforms to the livestock sector to support farmers rights and market competition.

  • On Thursday 4th, Sen. Klobuchar, with Senators Blumenthal, Booker, Markey, and Schatz introduced the Competition and Antitrust Law Enforcement Reform Act. While not specific to agriculture and the food system, the bill has been widely heralded as strengthening anti-trust law to support competitive markets.

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