Ensuring Disaster Recovery and Resilience for Specialty Crops Act
- Bill Number
- S. 4661
- Origin Chamber
- Senate
- Congress
- 119th Congress, Session 2
- Policy Area
- Agriculture and Food
- Status
- Introduced
- Latest Action
- 2026-06-02: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
- Last Updated
- 2026-06-16T15:27:05Z
AI-Generated Summary
Summary of S. 4661: Ensuring Disaster Recovery and Resilience for Specialty Crops Act
Purpose
This legislation amends the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to create a permanent framework for providing direct financial assistance to producers of specialty crops whose production is affected by adverse events, such as economic crises or market disruptions.
Key Provisions
- Establishment of Assistance Framework: The Secretary of Agriculture must create a system to deliver direct payments to specialty crop producers impacted by qualifying adverse events.
- Payment Calculation: Payments are determined by multiplying a producer's prior-year sales (or an average of sales over multiple years) by a payment factor set by the Secretary, subject to available funding.
- Special Considerations: The framework must account for the higher market value of specialty crops, their elevated production costs compared to other crops, and the variety of business structures used by these producers.
- Payment Limits:
- General cap aligns with existing limits under the Food Security Act of 1985, adjusted for inflation.
- Exception allows higher limits (at least $500,000) for persons or entities where at least 75% of average gross income derives from farming, ranching, or forestry activities.
- Eligibility Rules: Applies existing rules from the Food Security Act regarding notification of interests, eligibility determinations, and denials.
- Conforming Amendments: Updates sections of the Food Security Act to incorporate the new assistance program into payment limitation calculations.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Introduces a dedicated, ongoing assistance mechanism for specialty crops, replacing reliance on temporary or ad-hoc disaster programs.
- Expands the scope of payment calculations to include economic and market-based losses, in addition to traditional production impacts.
- Modifies payment limitation rules to provide flexibility for certain farm-dependent entities while maintaining general caps.
Potential Impacts
- Government Agencies: Increases administrative responsibilities for the Department of Agriculture in determining eligibility, calculating payments, and managing funds for the new framework.
- Citizens: Provides ongoing financial support to specialty crop producers during crises, potentially stabilizing their operations and local economies dependent on these crops.
- International Relations: No direct effects identified in the legislation.
Main Stakeholders Affected
- Specialty crop producers (e.g., growers of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other high-value crops).
- The U.S. Department of Agriculture and related agencies responsible for program implementation.
- Legal entities and business structures involved in specialty crop production.
Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications
- Applies and adapts existing payment limitation and eligibility provisions from the Food Security Act, ensuring consistency with prior agricultural policy.
- Raises the payment threshold for qualifying farm-focused entities, which may affect how benefits are distributed among different types of producers.
This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.
Sponsor
Cosponsors (2)
Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA], Sen. Slotkin, Elissa [D-MI]
Recent Actions
- 2026-06-02: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
- 2026-06-02: Introduced in Senate
Bill Versions
- Ensuring Disaster Recovery and Resilience for Specialty Crops Act — issued 2026-06-02 — PDF (5 pages)