Budzinski, Bost Introduce Bill to Modernize USDA Loan Programs

<p>Yesterday,&nbsp;<strong>U.S. Reps. Nikki Budzinski (IL-13)&nbsp;</strong>and&nbsp;<strong>Mike Bost (IL-12)</strong>&nbsp;introduced legislation to remove outdated eligibility barriers that prevent modern family&nbsp;farms from accessing U.S. Department of Agriculture loan programs. The&nbsp;<em>USDA Loan Modernization Act</em>&nbsp;updates eligibility standards to&nbsp;better&nbsp;reflect&nbsp;the structure of&nbsp;today’s multi-generational,&nbsp;family-run&nbsp;farms. This bill would expand access to operating, emergency, and real estate loans for producers&nbsp;in Central and Southern Illinois and across the country.</p>

<p>&#8220;While&nbsp;farming operations have changed drastically over time, our loan rules haven’t kept up,”&nbsp;said&nbsp;<strong>Congresswoman</strong><strong>&nbsp;Budzinski</strong>. &#8220;This legislation closes that gap by updating USDA loan rules&nbsp;and making sure small and multi-generational family&nbsp;farmers aren’t penalized for using responsible, modern business structures. Most importantly, it puts decisions back in&nbsp;farmers’ hands&nbsp;—&nbsp;giving them the freedom to set up their operations and land in ways that work best for their families without putting their existing FSA loans at risk.”&nbsp;</p>

<p>“For too long, USDA&nbsp;loan rules have failed to keep up with the reality of modern&nbsp;farming,” said<strong>&nbsp;Congressman Bost.&nbsp;</strong>“Family&nbsp;farms shouldn’t be punished for choosing a path&nbsp;that helps&nbsp;them manage risk or plan for the next generation.&nbsp;Our legislation&nbsp;cuts through red tape, brings common sense back to USDA lending, and makes sure&nbsp;farmers who are doing things the right way aren’t locked out&nbsp;from&nbsp;the capital they need to keep their operations running.”</p>

<p>&#8220;Farm&nbsp;Credit&nbsp;thanks Reps. Bost and Budzinski for introducing the USDA Loan Modernization Act,&#8221;&nbsp;said<strong>&nbsp;Farm Credit&nbsp;Council President and CEO Christy Seyfer</strong>. &#8220;This small but meaningful update to FSA&nbsp;loan program&nbsp;eligibility requirements will allow the next generation of producers to utilize modern&nbsp;farm&nbsp;business structures while still accessing FSA loan&nbsp;programs.&nbsp;We look forward to working with Reps. Bost and Budzinski to ensure this important legislation is included in&nbsp;Farm&nbsp;Bill 2.0.”&nbsp;</p>

<p>The&nbsp;<em>USDA Loan Modernization Act</em>&nbsp;updates eligibility requirements to allow producers with at least a 50 percent operational interest to qualify for loans and gives the&nbsp;Farm&nbsp;Service&nbsp;Agency greater flexibility to consider a range of family&nbsp;farm&nbsp;entities. The legislation is supported by groups including the&nbsp;Farm&nbsp;Credit&nbsp;Council, Illinois Corn Growers Association, Illinois Pork Producers Association,&nbsp;Farm&nbsp;Credit&nbsp;Illinois, Compeer,&nbsp;National Rural Lenders Association, Independent Community Bankers Association, Illinois Farm Bureau Federation, and the National Council of&nbsp;Farmer Cooperatives.</p>
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