The CHILE Act of 2026 adds a new section (section 197) to the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 to create a specialty crop emergency assistance framework. The bill defines "specialty crop" by reference to the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004. The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture must set up a framework to give direct assistance to specialty crop producers when an adverse event (including an economic crisis or market disruption) reduces production, as determined by the Secretary.
Payments are to be calculated by multiplying a producer's prior-year sales (or an average of prior years, as the Secretary chooses) by a payment factor the Secretary sets, subject to the availability of funds. The Secretary must consider that specialty crops often have higher value, higher input costs, and varied business structures when providing assistance. The bill applies certain payment-limit and eligibility rules from the Food Security Act of 1985, with an exception for producers whose average gross income is at least 75 percent from farming, ranching, or silviculture; for those producers the Secretary will set a maximum payment amount that may not be less than $900,000. The Secretary may administer assistance through the new framework, including using authority under section 5 of the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act.
The bill also appropriates $5,000,000,000 to the Secretary of Agriculture for fiscal year 2027, to remain available until expended, to provide direct assistance under the new section.
The bill includes an appropriation of $5,000,000,000 to the Secretary of Agriculture for fiscal year 2027, to remain available until expended, to carry out the direct assistance described in the new section. No other cost details or budget estimates are provided in the bill text.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.