H.R. 4896 — Introduced in House

I 117th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 4896 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 30, 2021Mr. Pfluger (for himself, Mr. Tony Gonzales of Texas, Mr. Cuellar, and Mr. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a program to provide reimbursement to agricultural producers for losses sustained due to illegal immigration. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Reimbursing Agricultural Producers for Immigration Damages Act or the RAPID Act. 2. Reimbursement to agricultural producers for losses sustained due to illegal immigration (a) In general Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a program under which the Secretary will reimburse agriculture producers for qualified damages due to illegal immigration, to be known as the Emergency Land and Food Program. (b) Application (1) In general An agricultural producer seeking reimbursement under this Act shall submit an application to the Secretary in such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may specify. (2) Response Not later than 30 days after the receipt of an application under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— (A) determine whether to provide the amount of reimbursement requested in such application; and (B) notify the agricultural producer submitting such application of that determination. (3) Verification The Secretary shall establish a process under which the Secretary shall verify claims for reimbursement specified in an application submitted under paragraph (1) with a Federal law enforcement agency, the applicable State or local law enforcement agency, or a State agency designated by the Governor of the State in which the applicant is located. (c) Amount The maximum amount a single agricultural producer may receive as reimbursement under this section for a fiscal year shall not exceed $100,000. (d) Priority (1) In general In providing reimbursements under this section, the Secretary shall give priority to applications submitted by agricultural producers who are located in counties determined under paragraph (2) to have high levels of illegal immigration. (2) High levels of illegal immigration counties The Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the heads of other relevant Federal agencies to determine which counties in the United States have high levels of illegal immigration along the southern border of the United States. (e) Report to Congress Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until the date specified in subsection (f), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, the Committee on Homeland Security, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate a report on the nature of the payments made to agricultural producers under this section, including— (1) the number of applications for reimbursement under this section that were approved; (2) the number of such applications that were denied and the reasons for such denials; and (3) data on the amount of reimbursement provided to each producer, the median amount such reimbursement, and the counties in which recipients of such payments are located. (f) Definitions In this section: (1) Agricultural producer The term agricultural producer means a producer of an agricultural product (as defined in section 207 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1626)), other than a processed or manufactured product. (2) Qualified damages The term qualified damages includes damages to property of an agricultural producer that are determined by a Federal law enforcement officer, a State or local law enforcement officer in the location involved, or the State agency designated by the Governor of the State involved to result from the actions of an alien present in the United States without lawful status under the immigration laws (as such term is defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101)), including— (A) livestock loss and damage; (B) crop loss and damage; (C) damage to perimeter fences; (D) damage to physical structures; and (E) property loss and damage. (g) Sunset The Secretary may not provide reimbursement under this section on or after September 30, 2023. (h) Funding (1) In general There is rescinded $300,000,000 of the unobligated balance of amounts made available by 602(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 802(a)(1)). (2) Appropriation If sufficient unobligated amounts made available by 602(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 802(a)(1)) are available on the date of enactment of this Act to execute the entire rescission described in paragraph (1), then on the day after the execution of the entire rescission, there is appropriated to the Secretary, out of amounts in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $300,000,000 to carry out this section.