I
119THCONGRESS
1
STSESSION H. R. 2396
To unfreeze funding for contracts of the Department of Agriculture, to
prohibit Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Serv-
ice office closures, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH27, 2025
Mr. V
ASQUEZ(for himself, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. RILEYof New York, and Mr.
M
CGOVERN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Agriculture
A BILL
To unfreeze funding for contracts of the Department of
Agriculture, to prohibit Farm Service Agency and Nat-
ural Resources Conservation Service office closures, and
for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Honor Farmer Con-4
tracts Act’’. 5
SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FUNDING AND OF-6
FICES. 7
The Secretary of Agriculture shall— 8
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•HR 2396 IH
(1) immediately after the enactment of this Act, 1
unfreeze funding for and implement all written 2
agreements and contracts entered into by the Sec-3
retary of Agriculture prior to the date of enactment 4
of this Act; 5
(2) as rapidly as possible after the enactment of 6
this Act, pay all past due amounts owed by the Sec-7
retary of Agriculture under agreements and con-8
tracts described in paragraph (1); 9
(3) not cancel any signed agreement or contract 10
with a farmer or an entity providing assistance to 11
farmers, unless the farmer or entity has failed to 12
comply with the terms and conditions of the con-13
tract; and 14
(4) not close any Farm Service Agency county 15
office, Natural Resources Conservation Service field 16
office, or Rural Development Local Service Center 17
without providing written notice and justification to 18
Congress not later than 60 days before the date on 19
which the applicable office or center is intended to 20
be closed. 21
Æ
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