WEATHER Act of 2023

118th CONGRESS   1st Session                                 S. 3401  To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to authorize the Federal Crop  Insurance Corporation to carry out research and development on a single              index insurance policy, and for other purposes.                                                                                            IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES                             December 5, 2023    Mr. Welch (for himself, Mr. Sanders, Ms. Warren, and Mr. Markey)  introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the             Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry                                                                                                          A BILL    To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to authorize the Federal Crop  Insurance Corporation to carry out research and development on a single              index insurance policy, and for other purposes.     Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the  United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.     This Act may be cited as the ``Withstanding Extreme Agricultural  Threats by Harvesting Economic Resilience Act of 2023'' or the  ``WEATHER Act of 2023''. SEC. 2. SINGLE INDEX INSURANCE POLICY.     (a) In General.--Section 522(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act  (7 U.S.C. 1522(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:             ``(20) Single index insurance policy.--                     ``(A) Definitions.--In this paragraph:                             ``(i) Covered crop or commodity.--The term                          `covered crop or commodity' means any crop or                          commodity (including a specialty crop) on a                          farm except timber, forest products, animals                          for sport or show, and pets.                             ``(ii) Covered policy.--The term `covered                          policy' means the single index insurance policy                          described in subparagraph (B)(i).                             ``(iii) Covered weather condition.--                                     ``(I) In general.--The term                                  `covered weather condition' means any                                  of the following weather conditions                                  that are found to be closely correlated                                  with agricultural income losses:                                             ``(aa) High winds.                                             ``(bb) Excessive moisture                                          and flooding.                                             ``(cc) Extreme heat.                                             ``(dd) Abnormal freeze                                          conditions.                                             ``(ee) Wildfire.                                             ``(ff) Hail.                                             ``(gg) Drought.                                             ``(hh) Any other severe                                          weather or growing conditions                                          applicable to small-scale                                          farmers, as determined by the                                          Secretary.                                     ``(II) Data.--The existence of a                                  weather condition described in                                  subclause (I) shall be determined by                                  indices that prioritize using data from                                  the National Oceanic and Atmospheric                                  Administration, as available, but may                                  use other federally or State certified                                  weather data sources, public and                                  private satellite data, and weather and                                  climate data and models, if necessary,                                  as determined by the Secretary.                     ``(B) Policy.--                             ``(i) In general.--The Corporation shall                          carry out research and development, or offer to                          enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more                          qualified persons to carry out research and                          development, to develop a single index policy                          to insure against agricultural income losses                          due to 1 or more covered weather conditions.                             ``(ii) Coverage.--Research and development                          on the covered policy under clause (i) shall                          require that coverage is available in all 50                          States (including Indian Tribes), the District                          of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the                          Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,                          the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin                          Islands of the United States.                             ``(iii) Option to buy-up or buy-down.--                                     ``(I) In general.--Research and                                  development on the covered policy under                                  clause (i) shall consider permitting a                                  holder of the covered policy to elect                                  to buy-up to 150 percent, subject to                                  subclause (II), or buy-down to 5                                  percent, of the median county-level                                  adjusted gross income for farms, in 5-                                 percent increments, to reflect the                                  income of the individual farm business                                  of the holder insured under the covered                                  policy.                                     ``(II) Limitation.--A holder of a                                  covered policy may buy-up under                                  subclause (I) only if the farms of the                                  holder insured under the covered policy                                  have at least 3 covered crops or                                  commodities.                             ``(iv) Priority features of policy.--In                          carrying out research and development on the                          covered policy under clause (i), the following                          features may be given priority:                                     ``(I) Agricultural income losses                                  under the covered policy include--                                             ``(aa) losses for all                                          covered crops or commodities;                                          and                                             ``(bb) losses to the value                                          of packing, packaging, or any                                          other similar on-farm activity                                          that the Corporation determines                                          necessary to remove a covered                                          crop or commodity from the                                          field.                                     ``(II) Payments are made under the                                  covered policy not later than 30 days                                  after the occurrence of a covered                                  weather condition in the county in                                  which the applicable farm of the farmer                                  is located or an adjacent county.                                     ``(III) Provision of seasonal                                  coverage periods.                                     ``(IV) Provision of special                                  consideration to concerns facing                                  individual farm businesses--                                             ``(aa) that have less than                                          $350,000 in adjusted gross                                          income; and                                             ``(bb) with respect to                                          which a farmer is an                                          underserved producer (as                                          defined in section                                          508(a)(7)(A)).                                     ``(V) Paperwork requirements are                                  reduced for farmers seeking to obtain a                                  covered policy.                             ``(v) Consultation.--In carrying out                          research and development on the covered policy                          under clause (i), the Corporation--                                     ``(I) shall hold stakeholder                                  meetings to solicit producer and agent                                  feedback; and                                     ``(II) may consult with licensed                                  actuaries with experience developing                                  index policies insuring agricultural                                  production.                     ``(C) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date                  of enactment of this paragraph, the Corporation shall                  make publicly available a report that describes--                             ``(i) the results of the research and                          development carried out under this paragraph;                          and                             ``(ii) recommendations to Congress with                          respect to those results, including--                                     ``(I) any challenges to developing                                  the covered policy; and                                     ``(II) options to address those                                  challenges.''.     (b) Technical Amendment.--Section 531(a)(18) of the Federal Crop  Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1531(a)(18)) is amended by striking ``section  2501(e) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990  (7 U.S.C. 2279(e))'' and inserting ``section 2501(a) of the Food,  Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a)).''.