Politiparty
Politiparty

118th Congress Agriculture and Food

S. 557: Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act of 2023

Introduced

  1. Introduced (completed)Feb 28, 2023
  2. Passed Senate (not reached)
  3. Passed House (not reached)
  4. To the President (not reached)
  5. Became law (not reached)

Summary

Introduced in Senate, Feb 28, 2023

This bill establishes restrictions and requirements for checkoff programs, which are programs overseen by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promote and provide research and information for a particular agricultural commodity without reference to specific producers or brands.

The bill prohibits boards established to carry out a checkoff program or a USDA order issued under a checkoff program from entering into a contract or agreement to carry out program activities with a party that engages in activities to influence any government policy or action that relates to agriculture.

A board or its employees or agents acting in their official capacity may not engage in any

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  • act that may involve a conflict of interest;
  • anticompetitive activity;
  • unfair or deceptive act or practice; or
  • act that may be disparaging to, or in any way negatively portray, another agricultural commodity or product.

Upon approval of USDA, a board may enter directly into contracts and agreements to carry out generic promotion, research, or other activities authorized by law if the agreement or contract requires records accounting for the funds received to be submitted to the board.

The board must meet specified requirements regarding the publication of budgets and disbursements of funds.

The USDA Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office must conduct specified audits regarding checkoff programs.

Written by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.

Roll calls

0 votes on this bill

No roll call votes have been held on this bill.

Amendments

0 offered

No amendments were offered to this bill.

Cosponsors

5

Bipartisan support.

Who scored on this bill

6 points earned
  1. 1Mike Lee R-UT SponsorDrew cross-party cosponsors, introduced2 events+6
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Introductions and cosponsorships count toward weekly caps and show no points.

Other bills by Mike Lee

History

  1. Feb 28, 2023Introduced in the Senate by Mike Lee.
Show the full action history (2 actions)
  1. Feb 28, 2023Introduced in Senate
  2. Feb 28, 2023Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.