,,ii #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dihb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,august #a1 #bjbd,mr4 ,ossoff introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,specialty ,crops ,competitiveness ,act of #bjjd to require the ,secretary of ,agriculture to establish a pilot program to provide recovery payments to producers of seasonal and perishable crops that experience low prices caused by imports1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,protecting ,our ,produce ,act4 #b4 ,seasonal and perishable crop loss pilot program ,the ,specialty ,crops ,competitiveness ,act of #bjjd 7,public ,law #ajh-dfe2 #aah ,stat4 #chhb7 is amended-- 7#a7 by striking ,secretary of ,agriculture each place it appears and inserting ,secretary2 7#b7 in section #c 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #afba note7-- 7,a7 in paragraph 7#c71 by striking 7#c7 ,the term and inserting the following3 7#d7 ,state department of agriculture ,the term 2 7,b7 in paragraph 7#b71 by striking 7#b7 ,the term and inserting the following3 7#c7 ,state ,the term 2 and 7,c7 in paragraph 7#a71 by striking 7#a7 ,the term and inserting the following3 7#a7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of ,agriculture4 7#b7 ,specialty crop ,the term 2 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following3 ,v ,seasonal and perishable crop programs #eja4 ,seasonal and perishable crop loss pilot program 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,effective price ,the term effective price1 with respect to a seasonal and perishable crop for a marketing year1 means the national average market price for that seasonal and perishable crop during the seasonal marketing window for the seasonal and perishable crop4 7#b7 ,reference price ,the term reference price1 with respect to a seasonal and perishable crop for a marketing year1 means the average of the national average market prices received by all producers of the seasonal and perishable crop during the seasonal marketing window for the seasonal and perishable crop for the most recent #e-year period of marketing seasons1 excluding-- 7,a7 the marketing season during that period with the highest national average market price2 and 7,b7 the marketing season during that period with the lowest national average market price4 7#c7 ,seasonal and perishable crop ,the term seasonal and perishable crop means an asparagus1 bell pepper1 blueberry1 cucumber1 or squash crop that is-- 7,a7 marketed in raw form for consumption without further processing2 and 7,b7 as determined by the ,secretary1 normally marketed not later than #d weeks after harvesting4 7#d7 ,seasonal marketing window ,the term seasonal marketing window means the timeframe during a marketing year1 as determined by the ,secretary-- 7,a7 during which a crop is normally marketed within a specific geographical region of the ,united ,states2 and 7,b7 that concludes on the date that is not later than #d weeks after the last day on which the crop is normally harvested4 7b7 ,establishment of pilot program 7#a7 ,in general ,beginning with marketing year #bjbe1 the ,secretary shall establish a pilot program under which the ,secretary shall provide annual crop loss payments to producers of seasonal and perishable crops located in any geographical region described in paragraph 7#b7 in accordance with this section1 if the ,secretary determines that1 during the applicable marketing year-- 7,a7 the effective price of the seasonal and perishable crop is less than the reference price of that seasonal and perishable crop2 and 7,b7 the crop loss described in subparagraph 7,a7 is caused by imports of the applicable seasonal and perishable crop4 7#b7 ,description of geographical regions ,a geographical region referred to in paragraph 7#a7 is a geographical region of the ,united ,states in which a seasonal and perishable crop is grown within a seasonal marketing window during which a harvest and shipment of the seasonal and perishable crop occurs1 as determined by the ,secretary4 7c7 ,eligibility 7#a7 ,application ,to be eligible to receive a payment under the pilot program under this section1 a producer of #a or more seasonal and perishable crops shall submit to the ,secretary an application at such time1 in such manner1 and containing such information as the ,secretary may require1 including the information described in paragraph 7#b74 7#b7 ,requirement ,no producer may be eligible to receive a payment under the pilot program under this section unless the producer-- 7,a7 has an average adjusted gross income of less than #e1jjj1jjj for the #c tax years preceding the most recent tax year2 and 7,b7 derives at least #ge percent of the adjusted gross income of the producer from farming1 ranching1 or forestry1 as determined by the ,secretary4 7d7 ,payment amount ,the amount of a payment provided under the pilot program under this section shall be equal to the product obtained by multiplying-- 7#a7 the payment rate for the marketing year for which the payment is provided with respect to the applicable seasonal and perishable crop under subsection 7e72 and 7#b7 the average production during the #e most recent marketing years of the seasonal and perishable crop by the producer during the seasonal marketing window1 excluding-- 7,a7 the marketing year during that period with the highest production2 and 7,b7 the marketing year during that period with the lowest production4 7e7 ,payment rate ,the rate of a payment provided under the pilot program under this section shall be equal to the difference between-- 7#a7 the reference price of the applicable seasonal and perishable crop2 and 7#b7 the effective price of that seasonal and perishable crop4 7f7 ,sunset ,the pilot program under this section shall terminate on the date that is #e years after the date of enactment of the ,protecting ,our ,produce ,act4 7g7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to the ,secretary to carry out this section #bjj1jjj1jjj for each fiscal year that begins after the date of enactment of the ,protecting ,our ,produce ,act and before the date described in subsection 7f74 4