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To unfreeze funding for contracts of the Department of Agriculture, to prohibit Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service office closures, and for other purposes.
Summary
The bill requires the Secretary of Agriculture to immediately unfreeze funding for and implement all written agreements and contracts entered into with farmers and agricultural assistance providers prior to the bill's enactment. The Secretary must pay all past due amounts owed under these contracts and is prohibited from canceling any signed agreement or contract unless the farmer or assistance entity failed to comply with the contract's terms. Additionally, the bill prohibits the closure of Farm Service Agency county offices, Natural Resources Conservation Service field offices, or Rural Development Local Service Centers without providing written notice and justification to Congress at least 60 days in advance.
AI-generated plain-language summary of the bill text — neutral, and may be imperfect. See the full text below for the exact wording.
Sponsor (1)
- Rep. Vasquez, Gabe [D-NM-2] (D-NM)
13 cosponsors
- Rep. Budzinski, Nikki [D-IL-13] (D-IL)
- Rep. Carter, Troy A. [D-LA-2] (D-LA)
- Rep. Costa, Jim [D-CA-21] (D-CA)
- Rep. Davids, Sharice [D-KS-3] (D-KS)
- Rep. Leger Fernandez, Teresa [D-NM-3] (D-NM)
- Rep. Lofgren, Zoe [D-CA-18] (D-CA)
- Rep. McClain Delaney, April [D-MD-6] (D-MD)
- Rep. McGovern, James P. [D-MA-2] (D-MA)
- Rep. Pingree, Chellie [D-ME-1] (D-ME)
- Rep. Riley, Josh [D-NY-19] (D-NY)
- Rep. Ryan, Patrick [D-NY-18] (D-NY)
- Rep. Tokuda, Jill N. [D-HI-2] (D-HI)
- Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20] (D-NY)
Actions (3)
- Apr 18, 2025 Referred to the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit. · house
- Mar 27, 2025 Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture. · house
- Mar 27, 2025 Introduced in House
Similar bills (6)
Bills with similar text or summary — includes reintroductions across Congresses. Ranked by semantic similarity of the bill text (computed locally); a neutral discovery aid, not a claim the bills are duplicates.
Text versions (1)
Bills are re-published as they move (Introduced → Reported → Engrossed → Enrolled …). Each stage below is a separate text; pick two to see what changed. Data from Congress.gov.
Full text
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 27, 2025
Mr. Vasquez (for himself, Ms. Pingree, Mr. Riley of New York, and Mr. McGovern) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
A BILL
To unfreeze funding for contracts of the Department of Agriculture, to prohibit Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service office closures, 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 “Honor Farmer Contracts Act”.
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FUNDING AND OFFICES.
The Secretary of Agriculture shall—
(1) immediately after the enactment of this Act, unfreeze funding for and implement all written agreements and contracts entered into by the Secretary of Agriculture prior to the date of enactment of this Act;
(2) as rapidly as possible after the enactment of this Act, pay all past due amounts owed by the Secretary of Agriculture under agreements and contracts described in paragraph (1);
(3) not cancel any signed agreement or contract with a farmer or an entity providing assistance to farmers, unless the farmer or entity has failed to comply with the terms and conditions of the contract; and
(4) not close any Farm Service Agency county office, Natural Resources Conservation Service field office, or Rural Development Local Service Center without providing written notice and justification to Congress not later than 60 days before the date on which the applicable office or center is intended to be closed. <all>
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