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Ben Voelkel
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), with a bipartisan group of senators led by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), introduced the Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019 Wednesday, legislation that would help family farms reorganize after falling on hard times.
“For a host of reasons, farm bankruptcies have increased. Current policies don’t accurately reflect the increased cost of running a farm in today’s day and age. This legislation is designed to help keep more of Wisconsin’s family farms operating by allowing them access to a streamlined path to reorganization to get through tough times,” Johnson said.
Text of the legislation can be found here.
Recognizing the unique challenges that family farmers and fishers face, Congress established Chapter 12 of the U.S. bankruptcy code, which removes certain costly reorganization requirements intended for large corporations. The Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019 raises the Chapter 12 operating debt cap to $10 million, allowing more family farmers to seek relief under the program.
Sens. Johnson and Grassley were joined in introducing the legislation by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.).
