Farmers keep disaster aid flowing during government shutdowns
H.R. 5716 — FARM SAFE Act · Filed by April McClain Delaney (D-MD) · 8 cosponsors · Introduced Oct 8, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill ensures that USDA employees administering agricultural disaster assistance programs continue working during a government shutdown, treating them as 'excepted employees' who must be paid and cannot be fired for reduction in force. It covers disaster programs under the 1978 Agricultural Credit Act, the 2014 Farm Bill, and any other congressionally authorized disaster assistance the Secretary determines qualifies.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole function is to ensure agricultural disaster assistance programs remain operational during government shutdowns by protecting the workforce that administers them. It is a narrow, functional measure addressing a specific gap in shutdown contingency planning.
What the text implies
- The bill does not appropriate new funds; it relies on existing disaster-assistance appropriations. If those appropriations have lapsed, the excepted-employee status alone does not fund the programs — the mechanism assumes disaster funds were appropriated in prior fiscal years and remain available.
- The Secretary's discretion to determine what qualifies as 'an Act of Congress under which the Secretary of Agriculture provides disaster assistance' is broad and could expand the scope of programs treated as excepted during shutdown, potentially beyond the two named statutes.
- Excepted-employee status requires work to be performed, but the bill does not specify what happens if the underlying disaster-assistance programs lack operational authority or funding — it protects the workforce but not necessarily the programs' legal ability to disburse aid.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Farmers facing crop failure, drought, or other disasters retain access to emergency assistance even during government shutdowns, preventing financial ruin during periods when normal government operations halt. The bill protects a vulnerable population from collateral damage caused by congressional budget disputes.
Who stands to gain
- agricultural producers and farmers receiving disaster assistance
Named in the bill
Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Credit Act of 1978, Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill), Title 31 United States Code (Appropriations Law), Secretary of Agriculture
Where it stands
8 cosponsors: 7 Democrats, 1 Republicans.
- Oct 8, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Oct 8, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Agriculture · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,005,758 in lobbying spend. A filing names 133 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
April McClain Delaney, the sponsor, reported $404,750 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies — $1,005,758 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (1,142 characters) on Jul 2, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 20, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
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