,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hjdb ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,august #ad1 #bjbj,mrs4 ,hayes 7for herself and ,mr4 ,delgado7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,ways and ,means1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to provide for agricultural economic injury disaster loans1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,helping ,america's ,farmers ,act4 #b4 ,agricultural economic injury disaster loan 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,eligible entity ,the term eligible entity means-- 7,a7 a producer-- 7i7 of horticulture1 nursery crops1 floriculture1 non-specialty crops1 wool1 livestock1 dairy1 aquaculture1 or specialty crops2 or 7ii7 engaged in the production of food and fiber2 or 7,b7 a farmer or rancher4 7#b7 ,large eligible entity ,the term large eligible entity means an eligible entity with an adjusted gross income of greater than #ejj1jjj4 7#c7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,agriculture1 acting through the ,administrator of the ,farm ,service ,agency4 7#d7 ,small eligible entity ,the term small eligible entity means an eligible entity with an adjusted gross income of less than or equal to #ejj1jjj4 7b7 ,agricultural economic injury disaster loan program 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall carry out a program to make loans under this subsection to small eligible entities for the purposes described in paragraph 7#c74 7#b7 ,terms of loans 7,a7 ,amount of loan ,in carrying out this subsection1 the ,secretary shall make loans to small eligible entities in an amount less than or equal to #b1jjj1jjj4 7,b7 ,interest rate ,a loan under subparagraph 7,a7 shall have an interest rate equal to zero percent4 7,c7 ,repayment ,the ,secretary shall establish the repayment terms with respect to each loan to a small eligible entity under this subsection1 except that such repayment may not-- 7i7 begin before the date that is #a year after the date on which such loan is made to such small eligible entity2 and 7ii7 be for a period of less than #aj years or a period of greater than #ae years2 and 7,d7 ,waiver of certain requirements ,with respect to a loan made under this subsection in response to an economic disaster1 the ,secretary shall waive-- 7i7 any rules related the personal guarantee on advances and loans of not more than #bjj1jjj for all applicants2 7ii7 any requirement that the small eligible entity exhaust other loan options before applying for a loan under this subsection2 and 7iii7 any requirement that an applicant needs to be in business for the #a-year period before the disaster1 except that no waiver may be made for a business that was not in operation on ,january #ca1 #bjbj4 7,e7 ,priority ,in making loans under this subsection the ,secretary shall give priority to-- 7i7 small eligible entities located in ,states most impacted by an economic disaster1 as determined by the ,secretary2 7ii7 minority1 veteran1 and women farmers and ranchers2 and 7iii7 such other small eligible entities as the ,secretary determines appropriate4 7#c7 ,use of funds ,a small eligible entity that receives a loan under this subsection shall use the loan funds to-- 7,a7 provide paid sick leave to employees unable to work due to the direct effect of an economic disaster2 7,b7 maintain payroll to retain employees during business disruptions or substantial slowdowns2 7,c7 meet increased costs to obtain materials unavailable from the applicant's original source due to interrupted supply chains2 7,d7 make rent or mortgage payments2 7,e7 purchase personal protective equipment2 and 7,f7 repay obligations that cannot be met due to revenue losses4 7#d7 ,forgiveness ,a small eligible entity shall be eligible for forgiveness of indebtedness on a loan under this subsection in an amount determined by the ,secretary based on the losses of the small eligible entity-- 7,a7 due to commodity price decreases during an economic disaster2 or 7,b7 revenue loss due to an economic disaster1 including from-- 7i7 canceled purchasing contracts or agreements with schools1 institutions1 food hubs1 and restaurants2 7ii7 loss of recurring deliveries of farm products to schools1 institutions1 food hubs1 and restaurants2 or 7iii7 any other unexpected source during such economic disaster4 7c7 ,loan guarantees ,the ,secretary may guarantee a loan made by lenders approved by the ,farm ,service ,agency to large eligible entities if-- 7#a7 such loan-- 7,a7 is for the purposes described in subsection 7b77#c72 7,b7 is in an amount greater than #b1jjj1jjj2 7,c7 has an interest rate equal to or less than #a percent2 and 7,d7 has a repayment term that-- 7i7 begins after the date that is #a year after the date on which such loan is made an eligible entity2 and 7ii7 is for a period of not less than #ae years and not greater than #bj years2 and 7#b7 the lender making such loan offers forgiveness of indebtedness on such loan under such terms as the ,secretary determines are commensurate with the loan forgiveness under subsection 7b77#d74 7d7 ,approval and ,ability ,to ,repay for ,small ,dollar ,loans ,with respect to a loan made under subsection 7b7 in response to an economic disaster1 the ,secretary may-- 7#a7 approve an applicant based solely on the credit score of the applicant and shall not require an applicant to submit a tax return or a tax return transcript for such approval2 or 7#b7 use alternative appropriate methods to determine an applicant's ability to repay4 7e7 ,emergency grant 7#a7 ,in general ,an eligible entity that applies for a loan under subsection 7b7 or a loan guarantee under subsection 7c7 in response to an economic disaster may request that the ,secretary provide an advance that is1 subject to paragraph 7#c71 in the amount requested by such applicant to such applicant within #c days after the ,secretary receives an application from such applicant4 7#b7 ,verification ,before disbursing amounts under this subsection1 the ,secretary shall verify that the applicant is an eligible entity by accepting a self-certification from the applicant under penalty of perjury pursuant to section #agdf of title #bh ,united ,states ,code4 7#c7 ,amount ,the amount of an advance provided under this subsection shall be not less than #bj1jjj4 7#d7 ,use of funds ,an advance provided under this subsection may be used to address any allowable purpose for a loan made under subsection 7b7 or a loan guarantee made under subsection 7c74 7#e7 ,repayment ,an applicant shall not be required to repay any amounts of an advance provided under this subsection1 even if subsequently denied a loan under subsection 7b7 or a loan guarantee under subsection 7c74 7f7 ,other benefits ,receipt of a grant1 loan1 or loan guarantee under this section shall not be construed as to prohibit receipt of any ,federal grant1 loan1 or other aid4 7g7 ,taxability ,for purposes of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf-- 7#a7 any amount which would be includible in gross income of the eligible entity by reason of forgiveness described in this paragraph shall be excluded from gross income2 and 7#b7 any amount received under this section shall be excluded from gross income4 7h7 ,funding ,there is hereby appropriated1 out of any amounts in the ,treasury not otherwise appropriated-- 7#a7 #f1jjj1jjj1jjj1 to remain available until ,september #cj1 #bjba1 to make loans to small eligible entities under this section2 7#b7 #f1jjj1jjj1jjj1 to remain available until ,september #cj1 #bjba1 to make loan guarantees to large eligible entities under this section2 7#c7 #d1jjj1jjj1jjj1 to remain available until ,september #cj1 #bjba1 to make grants under subsection 7e7 to small eligible entities2 and 7#d7 #d1jjj1jjj1jjj1 to remain available until ,september #cj1 #bjba1 to make grants under subsection 7e7 to large eligible entities4 #c4 ,training for loan servicers ,there is hereby appropriated1 out of any amounts in the ,treasury not otherwise appropriated1 #cjj1jjj1jjj1 to the ,secretary of ,agriculture to carry out a training program to provide ,farm ,service ,agency staff with appropriate training relating to economic injury loan processing and servicing under section #b4