H.R. 8653 — Introduced in House

I 117th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8653 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES August 2, 2022Mr. Thompson of California (for himself, Mr. Newhouse, Mr. Costa, Mr. Panetta, Mrs. Axne, Mr. Garamendi, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Huffman, Ms. DelBene, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. DeSaulnier, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Bera, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, Mr. Palazzo, Ms. Salazar, Mr. Valadao, Mrs. Hinson, Ms. Schrier, and Mr. Harder of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To authorize appropriations to carry out payments with respect to qualified losses of covered crops occurring in calendar year 2022, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the The Emergency Relief Program Reauthorization Act of 2022. 2. Qualified losses of covered crops occurring in calendar year 2022 (a) In general The Secretary shall carry out a program to make payments— (1) for necessary expenses related to qualified losses of covered crops occurring in calendar year 2022 in accordance with subsection (b); and (2) to producers of livestock, as determined by the Secretary, for losses incurred during calendar year 2022 due to drought or wildfires. (b) Administration of payments (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), payments to producers for qualified losses of covered crops under subsection (a) shall be administered in the same manner and under the same terms and conditions as payments made under the heading Department of Agriculture—Agricultural Programs—Processing, Research and Marketing—Office of the Secretary in the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act (Public Law 117–43). (2) Exceptions (A) Qualified losses during calendar year 2022 Payments under subsection (a) shall apply to— (i) qualified losses of covered crops occurring in calendar year 2022; and (ii) losses of livestock incurred during calendar year 2022 due to drought or wildfires. (B) Payment limitation With respect to payment limitations applied for losses described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall apply separate payment limitations for losses occurring in calendar year 2022. (c) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary. (d) Definitions In this section: (1) Covered crop The term covered crop means crops (including milk, on-farm stored commodities, crops prevented from planting in 2022, and harvested adulterated wine grapes), trees, bushes, and vines. (2) Qualified loss The term qualified loss means a— (A) loss of a covered crop as a consequence of a drought, wildfire, hurricane, flood, derecho, excessive heat, winter storm, freeze (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, or excessive moisture, as determined by the Secretary; and (B) quality loss of a covered crop, as determined by the Secretary. (3) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture.