Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2021
Latest action · Feb 8, 2021 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 8, 2021
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2021
This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide a variety of assistance to address historical discrimination and disparities in the agricultural sector.
For example, the bill establishes an equity commission in USDA to examine discrimination by the agency against Black farmers and ranchers and recommend actions to end the systematic disparities in the treatment of Black farmers and ranchers.
USDA must also establish a Farm Conservation Corps to provide young adults who are from socially disadvantaged groups with the skills necessary to pursue careers in farming and ranching.
The bill provides funding for historically Black colleges and universities to commence and expand courses of study that are focused on careers in agriculture or related disciplines. The bill also increases the authorization of appropriations for a program to resolve issues relating to ownership and succession on farmland. Additionally, it expands credit assistance for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.
Further, the bill (1) establishes that a minimum of 50% of a covered packer's (not including a packer that owns only one livestock processing plant) daily volume of livestock slaughter must be purchased through spot market sales from nonaffiliated producers; (2) increases funding for the Local Agriculture Market Program; and (3) gives priority to socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers for conservation technical assistance, the Conservation Stewardship Program, and the Rural Energy for America Program.
Cosponsors 7
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 8, 2021 to Nov 30, 2021; 5 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-MA | Elizabeth Warren | Original | Feb 8, 2021 |
| D-NY | Kirsten E. Gillibrand | Original | Feb 8, 2021 |
| D-VT | Patrick J. Leahy | Original | Feb 8, 2021 |
| D-GA | Raphael G. Warnock | Original | Feb 8, 2021 |
| D-MN | Tina Smith | Original | Feb 8, 2021 |
| I-VT | Bernard Sanders | Mar 10, 2021 | |
| D-CT | Richard Blumenthal | Nov 30, 2021 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| Senate | Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee | Referred Feb 9, 2021 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Feb 8, 2021Introduced in Senate
- Feb 8, 2021Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Printed hearings 1
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Serial No. 117-3 | A HEARING TO REVIEW THE STATE OF BLACK FARMERS IN THE U.S.410 pages | Agriculture Committee | Mar 25, 2021 |
CRS reports 2
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 2
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R47066 | Racial and Ethnic Equity in U.S. Agriculture: Selected Current Issues Archived | Report | Apr 11, 2022 |
| R46727 | Defining a Socially Disadvantaged Farmer or Rancher (SDFR): In Brief Archived | Report | Mar 19, 2021 |
Related bills 5
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 96 | Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2023 | Reintroduced Bill | Jan 26, 2023 |
| HR 1393 | Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2021 | Identical bill | Apr 28, 2021 |
| S 2332 | Farm System Reform Act of 2021 | Related bill | Jul 13, 2021 |
| HR 4421 | Farm System Reform Act of 2021 | Related bill | Aug 11, 2021 |
| S 4929 | Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2020 | Reintroduction of | Nov 30, 2020 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- A bill to address the history of discrimination against Black farmers and ranchers, to require reforms within the Department of Agriculture to prevent future discrimination, and for other purposes.
- Short Title(s) as Introduced
- Justice for Black Farmers Act of 2021
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Agriculture and Food.
- Administrative remedies
- Agricultural conservation and pollution
- Agricultural education
- Agricultural marketing and promotion
- Agricultural practices and innovations
- Agricultural prices, subsidies, credit
- Agriculture and Food
- Air quality
- Alternative and renewable resources
- Appropriations
- Banking and financial institutions regulation
- Cardiovascular and respiratory health
- Census and government statistics
- Climate change and greenhouse gases
- Congressional oversight
- Consumer credit
- Corporate finance and management
- Department of Agriculture
- Disability assistance
- Education programs funding
- Electric power generation and transmission
- Emergency medical services and trauma care
- Energy efficiency and conservation
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Farmland
- Federally chartered organizations
- Financial services and investments
- Government information and archives
- Government lending and loan guarantees
- Government studies and investigations
- Higher education
- Housing finance and home ownership
- Infectious and parasitic diseases
- Land transfers
- Land use and conservation
- Legal fees and court costs
- Livestock
- Migrant, seasonal, agricultural labor
- Minority and disadvantaged businesses
- Minority education
- Minority employment
- Racial and ethnic relations
- Rural conditions and development
- Social security and elderly assistance
- Student aid and college costs
- Tax administration and collection, taxpayers
- U.S. and foreign investments
- U.S. history
- Vocational and technical education
- Wetlands
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Feb 8, 2021Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
