Bill · H.R. 3516· House(119-HR-3516)
Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act of 2025
- Introduced
- 5/20/2025
- Last activity
- 5/20/2025 — Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
- Sponsored by
- Nancy Mace
- Cosponsors
- - 0 - 1
- Introduced
- In Committee
What this bill would do
The Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act of 2025 aims to regulate commodity promotion or "checkoff" programs. It introduces prohibitions against certain practices to prevent the use of funds for influencing government policy or engaging in anticompetitive conduct. The bill requires increased transparency regarding how these programs spend their money. It also establishes strict rules against conflicts of interest for Board members and employees. Additionally, the act mandates regular audits by the Inspector General and the Comptroller General to ensure compliance.
Yes
Does this make what the government does easier for the public to see?+7
The bill mandates the publication of budgets, disbursements, and records for public inspection.
Would farmers be better off under this?+6
The bill promotes fairness and prevents corruption within agricultural commodity promotion programs used by farmers.
Does this give people more protection from unfair business practices?+5
The bill improves protections by prohibiting unfair or deceptive practices within commodity promotion programs.
The opposite
No question was scored the opposite.
Who it would affect, and how
Potential Positive Impacts for People
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Prevention of Political Influence: For checkoff programs with annual revenue exceeding $20,000,000, the bill prohibits contracts with parties that try to influence government policy or agricultural action (Section 4(a)(1)). This prevents the use of producer funds for political purposes.
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Elimination of Conflicts of Interest: The bill prohibits Boards and their agents from engaging in any acts involving a conflict of interest (Section 4(a)(2)). This is intended to prevent special interests from using funds for their own benefit at the expense of other producers (Section 2(5)).
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Protection of Competition: The act prohibits boards from engaging in anticompetitive activities, unfair or deceptive practices, or disparaging other agricultural products (Section 4(a)(3)). This helps ensure that one commodity does not unfairly damage another (Section 2(7)).
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Increased Financial Transparency: Boards are required to publish and make available for public inspection all budgets and disbursements, including the amount, purpose, and identity of the recipients (Section 4(d)). This allows the public to see how funds are being used.
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Accountability through Audits: The bill mandates periodic audits by the Inspector General and the Comptroller General to check for compliance and evaluate the integrity of the programs (Section 4(e)).
Potential Negative Impacts for People
- Restrictions on Partnerships: Checkoff programs with more than $20,000,000 in revenue are prohibited from contracting with any party that engages in activities to influence government policy related to agriculture (Section 4(a)(1)). This excludes certain types of partnerships, though an exception is made for contracts with institutions of higher education for research and education purposes (Section 4(a)(4)).
Groups and Interests Ranking
Every group the model scored this bill for, from -10 to +10. Hover a score for the reason it gave.
- Governance And Ideology
- Improves Government Transparency+7
- Demographic And Interest Groups
- Good For Farmers+6
- Economy And Finance
- Improves Consumer Protection+5
- 5/20/2025
- Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
- 1 Cosponsor added.
- Introduced in House
One bill Congress.gov lists as related to this one — companions in the other chamber, earlier versions, and bills this one absorbed or was folded into.
Dina TitusDemocrat · Nevada