Congress is considering changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), including a bill introduced by Sens. Marco Rubio and Ben Cardin, as well as another bill being drafted in the U.S. House.
Farm Bureau is seeking additions that may allow farmers to better participate in the program.
“We expect the House to take up a bill this week, and the Senate is expected to vote on its bipartisan bill shortly after getting back into session next week,” RJ Karney, American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) Congressional Relations director, said. “While Farm Bureau is supportive of these bipartisan efforts, we are also asking for additional corrections that would allow agricultural producers to more fully participate in the Paycheck Protection Program.”
Karney said farmers and ranchers showing a zero or negative net farm income on their 2019 Schedule F tax form may not be eligible for the program.
“What we’re asking of Congress is that farmers and ranchers be allowed to increase net farm income through all their rental incomes, farm equipment trades, breeding livestock and other documented sources of income,” Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) National Legislative Director Laramie Adams said. “Schedule F alone is not an accurate number for farm income. Also, there’s a lot of uncertainty as to how H-2A workers qualify as employees under PPP. We’d like Congress to allow all H-2A workers to qualify for the program when determining the employee count and for purposes of eligibility.”
Farmers and ranchers are encouraged to get involved in the process by contacting their representatives and sharing their own stories and concerns regarding the PPP.
“We appreciate leaders in D.C. for helping address many of the concerns farmers and ranchers have experienced with PPP,” Adams said. “We always encourage folks to contact their lawmakers in D.C. to share stories about issues that remain so Congress can work to reach commonsense resolutions.”