The bill amends the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to authorize emergency relief grants to eligible farmworker organizations during covered disasters. A covered disaster includes adverse weather events and health crises that reduce income or disrupt work for farmworkers, plus other events impacting farm labor availability.
The Secretary of Agriculture would administer the program through the Under Secretary for Rural Development, providing grants to eligible organizations to deliver relief. Funds may be used for direct relief, capacity building, resiliency, infrastructure such as shelter, and emergency services, with funds remaining available until expended.
The bill also requires a promotional plan and consultation with eligible farmworker organizations prior to grant distribution, creating a formal mechanism for disaster relief in rural, farmworker communities starting in fiscal year 2024 and extending in each subsequent year.
At a Glance
What It Does
The act creates a grant program under Section 2281 of the FACT Act that authorizes the Secretary to provide emergency relief grants to eligible farmworker organizations during a covered disaster.
Who It Affects
Eligible farmworker organizations (membership-based or 501(c)(3) with farmworker relief experience) and the migrant/seasonal workers they serve, located in disaster-affected agricultural communities.
Why It Matters
Provides a formal, ongoing federal mechanism to rapidly assist farmworkers during disasters, supports capacity building and resiliency, and aligns relief with rural development priorities.
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What This Bill Actually Does
This bill rewrites the emergency-relief framework for farmworkers by amending a key provision of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990. It defines a covered disaster to include severe weather events and health crises that jeopardize farmworkers’ income or ability to work, plus other conditions that prompt a loss of work.
It creates a federal grant program administered by the Department of Agriculture, routed through the Under Secretary for Rural Development, to fund eligible farmworker organizations. These grants are intended to provide direct relief to affected workers, build organizational capacity to deliver relief, and foster longer-term resiliency in farmworker communities, including infrastructure support like shelters and emergency services.
Funds awarded under this program remain available until expended, and the Secretary must prepare a promotional plan and consult with eligible organizations before distributing grants. The framework applies to fiscal year 2024 and future years for periods when a covered disaster is declared.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill authorizes emergency relief grants to eligible farmworker organizations during covered disasters.
Covered disasters include adverse weather, health crises, and other events that disrupt farm labor and income.
Eligible organizations include farmworker membership groups or 501(c)(3) nonprofits with relevant relief experience.
Funds may be used for direct relief, capacity building, resiliency, infrastructure (including shelters), and emergency services.
The Secretary must develop a promotional plan and consult with eligible organizations before grant distribution.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Definitions: Covered Disaster, Eligible Organization, Migrant/Seasonal Farmworker, Secretary
Defines what counts as a covered disaster, who qualifies as an eligible farmworker organization, and who is a migrant or seasonal farmworker. A covered disaster includes weather events (droughts, wildfires, floods, extreme heat, etc.), health crises (pandemics), or any event that causes farmworkers to lose income or be unable to work. Eligible organizations include membership-based farmworker groups or 501(c)(3) nonprofits with demonstrated experience in aiding farmworkers. The migrant/seasonal worker definition ties income or work-time thresholds to farm labor activity and sets the Secretary as the administering authority.
Emergency Relief Grants
Provides that for fiscal year 2024 and each following year, during a period identified as a covered disaster, the Secretary, via the Under Secretary for Rural Development, shall grant funds to eligible farmworker organizations to deliver emergency relief to affected workers. This creates a rolling, disaster-triggered funding mechanism intended to respond quickly where and when needed.
Authorized Uses of Grant Funds
Outlines permissible uses of grant funds: direct emergency relief to farmworkers, capacity-building to improve relief delivery, resiliency-building for future disasters, infrastructure support including shelters, and emergency services as determined appropriate by the Secretary. These categories are designed to cover immediate needs and longer-term community preparedness.
Availability of Funds
Stipulates that funds provided to an eligible farmworker organization remain available until expended, ensuring carryover across fiscal years as needed to complete relief activities without abrupt termination.
Promotional Plan
Requires the Secretary to develop a promotional plan before grant distribution and to implement it throughout the grant period. The plan is intended to ensure eligible organizations are aware of opportunities and to standardize outreach and information sharing regarding the program.
Consultation with Eligible Organizations
Mandates consultation with eligible farmworker organizations in carrying out the section, ensuring that these groups have input on program design, accessibility, and implementation details to improve reach and effectiveness.
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Explore Social Services in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Migrant and seasonal farmworkers in disaster-affected regions receive targeted emergency relief and services.
- Eligible farmworker organizations (membership-based or 501(c)(3) groups) gain a formal source of funding to deliver relief and build capacity.
- Rural communities and shelters that provide housing and basic infrastructure benefit from improved emergency response and support networks.
- Local and regional disaster-relief partners and advocates focusing on farmworker welfare gain access to resources and coordinated assistance.
- USDA Rural Development personnel and field organizations gain a defined program with established grant-distribution processes.
Who Bears the Cost
- Federal outlays funded through the federal budget to support grant awards (taxpayer cost).
- USDA staff time and administrative resources required to administer the grants and monitor compliance.
- Eligible farmworker organizations incur administrative costs in managing grants and delivering services.
- Local communities may incur costs related to sheltering and infrastructure improvements funded through the grants.
- Potential duplicative relief efforts if multiple organizations operate in the same communities without proper coordination.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
Balancing rapid, broad access to disaster-relief funding for farmworkers with the need for careful oversight, clear eligibility criteria, and efficient administration is the bill’s central policy dilemma. Expanding disaster relief through grant programs can improve immediacy and reach, but it also creates potential vulnerabilities to inefficiency, duplication, and misallocation without strong coordination and monitoring.
The bill creates a formal federal mechanism to deliver emergency relief to farmworkers via grants to eligible organizations. While this addresses a known vulnerability—farmworkers facing disasters with inadequate safety nets—it also raises questions about implementation, oversight, and scope.
Definitional breadth (e.g., what constitutes a covered disaster) could affect eligibility windows and funding availability. The requirement for a promotional plan and ongoing consultation with recipient organizations aims to improve access and targeting, but it will require robust coordination to prevent delays during fast-moving disasters.
The reliance on eligible organizations to administer funds could raise concerns about administrative burden and accountability, especially in remote agricultural areas with limited nonprofit capacity.
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