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Disaster Relief for Farmworkers Act of 2025
To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 with respect to emergency assistance for farmworkers, and for other purposes.
Summary
This bill creates an emergency assistance grant program for farmworkers affected by disasters, administered by the Department of Agriculture's Rural Development office. "Covered disasters" include adverse weather events (drought, wildfires, floods, hurricanes, extreme heat), unexpected health crises like pandemics, and other events causing farmworkers to lose income or work. The Department may award grants to farmworker membership organizations and nonprofits with experience serving farmworkers to provide direct emergency relief, build community resilience, offer infrastructure support including shelter, and deliver emergency services. Eligible farmworkers include those who have performed farm work for at least half their income during any 12-month period in the preceding 24 months, including migrant and seasonal workers.
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)
1 cosponsor
- Sen. Padilla, Alex [D-CA] (D-CA)
Actions (2)
- May 7, 2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. · senate
- May 7, 2025 Introduced in Senate
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.
Full text
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 7, 2025
Mr. Bennet (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 Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 with respect to emergency assistance for farmworkers, 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 “Disaster Relief for Farmworkers Act of 2025”.
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOR FARMWORKERS.
Section 2281 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 5177a) is amended to read as follows:
“SEC. 2281. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOR FARMWORKERS.
“(a) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) Covered disaster.—The term ‘covered disaster’ means—
“(A) an adverse weather event, such as a drought, wildfire, earthquake, hurricane, flood, derecho, excessive heat, tornado, winter storm, freeze, hail, polar vortex, smoke exposure, or excessive moisture;
“(B) an unexpected health crisis, such as a pandemic; and
“(C) such other event or condition that has caused farmworkers to lose income, be unable to work, or stay home or return home in anticipation of work shortages.
“(2) Eligible farmworker organization.—The term ‘eligible farmworker organization’ means an organization that is—
“(A) a farmworker membership-based organization; or
“(B) an organization—
“(i) described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of that Code; and
“(ii) that has experience in providing support or relief services to farmworkers, including migrant or seasonal farmworkers.
“(3) Migrant or seasonal farmworker.—The term ‘migrant or seasonal farmworker’ means an individual—
“(A) who has, during any consecutive 12-month period within the preceding 24-month period, performed farm work for wages; and
“(B) who has received not less than \1/2\ of such individual’s total income from, or been employed at least \1/2\ of such individual’s total work time in, farm work.
“(4) Secretary.—The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary of Agriculture.
“(b) Emergency Relief.—For fiscal year 2024 and each succeeding fiscal year, during any period for which the Secretary determines there is a covered disaster, the Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary for Rural Development, shall make grants to eligible farmworker organizations to provide emergency relief to farmworkers affected by that covered disaster.
“(c) Use of Funds.—An eligible farmworker organization may use funds received pursuant to a grant awarded under subsection (b)—
“(1) to provide emergency relief (including through direct distribution of funding) to farmworkers to address loss and damage due to the covered disaster;
“(2) to build capacity to provide emergency relief described in paragraph (1);
“(3) to build resiliency in farmworker communities to address future losses and damages due to covered disasters;
“(4) to provide infrastructure support, including shelter; and
“(5) to provide emergency services (including such types of assistance as the Secretary determines to be appropriate) to farmworkers in response to the covered disaster.
“(d) Availability of Funds.—Any funds provided to an eligible farmworker organization under this section shall remain available until expended.
“(e) Promotional Plan.—The Secretary shall—
“(1) before making grants under subsection (b), develop a promotional plan; and
“(2) carry out that promotional plan throughout the distribution of those grants.
“(f) Consultation.—In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall consult with eligible farmworker organizations.”. <all>
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