Ensuring Disaster Recovery and Resilience for Specialty Crops Act

Adam B. Schiff

Democrat · CA · Senator

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

• Alex Padilla (D-CA)Original· 2026-06-02

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

2026-06-02

Source: Congress.gov

The bill would create a permanent system to help specialty crop farmers (like fruit, vegetable, and nut growers) recover from natural disasters such as droughts, floods, and freezes, rather than requiring Congress to approve emergency aid each time a disaster occurs. This would give farmers more reliable financial support when weather or other natural events damage their crops, similar to disaster programs that already exist for major crops like corn and wheat.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4661 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4661 To amend the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to provide permanent disaster assistance for specialty crops, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 2, 2026 Mr. Schiff (for himself and Mr. Padilla) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to provide permanent disaster assistance for specialty crops, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Ensuring Disaster Recovery and Resilience for Specialty Crops Act''. SEC. 2. SPECIALTY CROP EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FRAMEWORK. (a) In General.--The Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 is amended by inserting after section 196 (7 U.S.C. 7333) the following: ``SEC. 197. SPECIALTY CROP EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FRAMEWORK. ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a framework to provide direct assistance to producers of specialty crops the production of which is impacted by an adverse event (including an economic crisis or market disruption), as determined by the Secretary, in accordance with this section. ``(b) Payment Calculation.--In determining a payment calculation for purposes of direct assistance to a producer of specialty crops under subsection (a), the Secretary shall calculate payments based on-- ``(1) the producer's sales of specialty crops for a calendar year that precedes the year in which the adverse event described in such subsection occurred or the average of such sales over a set of consecutive calendar years that precedes the year in which such adverse event occurred, as determined by the Secretary; multiplied by ``(2) a payment factor the Secretary determines, subject to the availability of funds, to address losses of such specialty crops from such adverse event. ``(c) Special Rules.--Subject to subsection (d), in providing direct assistance pursuant to this section, the Secretary shall consider-- ``(1) the higher value of specialty crops relative to other crops; ``(2) the greater input costs required to grow specialty crops relative to other crops; and ``(3) diverse types of legal entities and structures used by specialty crop producers. ``(d) Limitations.-- ``(1) Total amount.-- ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), the total amount of payments received, directly or indirectly, by a person or legal entity (except a qualified pass-through entity) (as such terms are defined in section 1001(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308(a))) for any crop year under this section may not exceed the amount specified in subsection (b) of section 1001 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308), as adjusted pursuant to subsection (i) of such section. ``(B) Exception.--In the case of a person or legal entity with an average gross income (as calculated under subparagraph (B) of section 1001D(b)(4) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308-3a(b)(4))) for which greater than or equal to 75 percent of the average derives from farming, ranching, or silviculture activities (as defined in subparagraph (A) of that section)-- ``(i) subparagraph (A) of this paragraph shall not apply; and ``(ii) the total maximum amount of payments received, directly or indirectly, by such person or legal entity for any crop year under this section shall be set by the Secretary, except such amount may not be less than $500,000. ``(2) Notification of interests; eligibility; denials.-- Sections 1001A(a), 1001B, and…

1001C of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308-1(a); 1308-2; 1308-3) shall apply to a producer of a specialty crop under this section in the same manner as such sections apply to a person or legal entity with respect to a covered commodity, except to the extent such sections relate to the application of subsections (b) through (d) of section 1001A of that Act (7 U.S.C. 1308-1).''. (b) Payment Limitation Conforming Amendment.--Section 1001D(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308-3a(b)) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (2)(E), by inserting ``or section 197 of that Act'' before the period at the end; and (2) in paragraph (4)(A)(i)(II), by inserting ``or section 197 of that Act'' before the semicolon. <all>

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