S. 2598 — Introduced in Senate

II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2598 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 27, 2023Mr. Brown (for himself, Mr. Welch, Mr. Fetterman, Ms. Smith, Mr. Booker, and Mr. Warnock) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to modify whole farm revenue protection, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Whole Farm Revenue Protection Program Improvement Act of 2023. 2. Whole farm revenue protection Section 522(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1522(c)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1)— (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking and at the end; (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and; and (C) by adding at the end the following: (D) increase participation by producers— (i) marketing direct-to-consumers; (ii) marketing through intermediated sales in local and regional markets; or (iii) using farm identity-preserved marketing. ; and (2) in paragraph (7)— (A) in subparagraph (B), by inserting or in combination with after in lieu of; (B) in subparagraph (C)— (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking may and inserting shall; (ii) in clause (i), by striking or at the end; (iii) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); and (iv) by inserting after clause (i) the following: (ii) utilize a resource-conserving crop rotation; or ; (C) in subparagraph (D), by striking may and inserting shall; (D) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as subparagraph (G); and (E) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following: (F) Modifications to improve effectiveness for specialty crops and diversified farms Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the Whole Farm Revenue Protection Program Improvement Act of 2023, the Corporation shall implement the following modifications to the plan developed under subparagraph (A): (i) Establish that Internal Revenue Service Tax Form Schedule F shall be sufficient for the establishment of historical adjusted revenue, subject to the condition that approved insurance providers may request additional verifiable records in cases where there is documented evidence that the farm tax records of the applicant are incomplete. (ii) Prohibit an approved insurance provider from adjusting the revenue guarantee after the approved insurance provider accepts the revised farm operation report, unless the approved insurance provider, in coordination with the Risk Management Agency, identifies indicators of potential fraud. (iii) Expand the option for significantly less paperwork and recordkeeping to producers with not less than $1,000,000 in gross revenue. (iv) Raise the limit on growth expansion for all producers to the lower of— (I) 100 percent of historic revenue; and (II) $500,000. (v) Expand the diversification premium discount to apply to not fewer than 10 commodities. (vi) Moderate the impact of disaster years by— (I) counting payments made under the noninsured crop disaster assistance program established by section 196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333); or (II) using an assigned yield floor similar to the limitation described in section 508(g)(6)(A)(i), as determined by the Secretary. (vii) Increase agent incentives to market whole farm revenue protection by— (I) providing annual additional administration and operating subsidies, at a rate determined by the Secretary, to approved insurance providers for any new whole farm revenue policies written in a given year; and (II) with respect to a whole farm revenue protection policy, requiring approved insurance providers to pay to the agent who sold that policy an amount equal to the total administration and operating subsidy earned on that policy. (viii) Provide for additional educational and training opportunities to approved insurance providers and insurance agents. .