To amend the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 to provide for seasonal and perishable programs, and for other purposes.

Raul Ruiz

Democrat · CA · Representative

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

No cosponsors on record. Bills can pass without cosponsors — this often means the sponsor introduced the bill alone, either because it's a messaging bill, a chairman's mark, or simply early in the legislative cycle.

Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.

2026-04-27

Source: Congress.gov

The proposal would update federal programs that help farmers grow and sell fruits, vegetables, and other specialty crops that spoil quickly or have short growing seasons. It aims to make these programs work better for farmers dealing with seasonal crops by adjusting how support is provided. Farmers who grow perishable items like berries, lettuce, and other fresh produce would be the main beneficiaries of these changes.

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] [H.R. 8525 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 8525 To amend the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 to provide for seasonal and perishable programs, and for other purposes. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 27, 2026 Mr. Ruiz introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 to provide for seasonal and perishable programs, 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. SEASONAL AND PERISHABLE PROGRAMS. The Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 (Public Law 108- 465) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``TITLE V--SEASONAL AND PERISHABLE PROGRAMS ``SEC. 501. SEASONAL AND PERISHABLE CROP LOSS PROGRAM. ``(a) Seasonal and Perishable Crop Loss.-- ``(1) In general.--Beginning with marketing year 2027, and each year thereafter, with respect to a producer of a seasonal and perishable crop in a geographic region described in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall make annual crop loss payments in accordance with this section if the Secretary determines that-- ``(A) the effective price for the seasonal and perishable crop for such marketing year is less than the reference price for such crop; and ``(B) the crop loss described in subparagraph (A) is caused by imports of the seasonal and perishable crop. ``(2) Geographic coverage.--Geographic coverage described in this paragraph refers to coverage of a geographic region in the United States-- ``(A) in which a seasonable and perishable commodity is grown within a seasonal marketing window; and ``(B) for which an annual normal harvest and shipment of such seasonal and perishable crop occurs. ``(b) Effective Price.--The effective price for a seasonal and perishable crop shall be the national average market price for the seasonal and perishable crop during the seasonal marketing window. ``(c) Payment Amount.--If seasonal perishable crop loss program payments are required to be provided under this section for the last seasonal marketing window for a covered seasonal and perishable crop, the amount of the seasonal perishable crop loss program payment to be paid to producers on a farm for the seasonal marketing window shall be equal to the product obtained by multiplying-- ``(1) the payment rate for the covered seasonal and perishable crop which shall be equal to the difference between-- ``(A) the reference price for the covered seasonal and perishable crop; and ``(B) the effective price determined under subsection (b) for the seasonal and perishable crop; and ``(2) the previous three-year average production for the covered seasonal and perishable crop during the same seasonal marketing window. ``(d) Eligibility.--A producer may only be eligible for a payment under this section if such producer-- ``(1) has an average adjusted gross income of less than $5,000,000 for the 3 tax years preceding the most recent tax year; or ``(2) derives at least 75 percent of the adjusted gross income of such producer from farming, ranching, or forestry for the tax year for which payment under this section is sought. ``(e) Definitions.--In this section: ``(1) Seasonal marketing window.--The term `seasonal marketing window' means, with respect to a seasonal and perishable crop-- ``(A) the season of a crop year in which such crop is normally marketed within a geographic region described in subsection (a)(2); and ``(B) the season that concludes on the date that is not later than 8 weeks after the last day on which such crops are harvested during a normal marketing window. ``(2) Reference price.--The term `reference…

price' means the national average market price received by producers for domestically produced seasonal and perishable crop for the period of the most recent three marketing seasons. ``(3) Seasonal and perishable crop.--The term `seasonal and perishable crop' means a crop that is-- ``(A) a fresh or chilled specialty crop that, if imported, would be classified under HS2020 tariff codes 0701, 0702, 0703, 0704, 0705, 0706, 0707, 0708, 0709, 0803, 0804, 0805, 0806, 0807, 0808, 0809, or 0810 (or such successor codes, as determined by the Secretary); ``(B) marketed in raw form for consumption without further processing; and ``(C) normally marketed not later than 8 weeks after harvesting. ``(4) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Agriculture.''. <all>

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