# 119-hr-3685: JUST Act of 2025

119-hr-3685, JUST Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1] (D-IL); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3685
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-3685
- Congress: 119
- Title: JUST Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-06-03
- Sponsor: Rep. Jackson, Jonathan L. [D-IL-1] (D-IL)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Agriculture and Food
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**The JUST Act of 2025 would build new leadership and tools to enforce _**civil rights accountability**_ across USDA.** It would create an Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, an independent ombudsperson, clearer corrective actions for employees, and expanded relief for rural borrowers. - Farmers and rural borrowers would get expanded equitable relief for direct farm ownership, operating, and emergency loans, with the Assistant Secretary able to grant relief without prior departmental approvals and reversals limited to the Secretary. - USDA employees and managers would face mandatory corrective actions when found to have engaged in discrimination, retaliation, harassment, or delays in program services, including penalties up to removal, suspension without pay, demotion, or reprimand. - People filing civil rights complaints would gain a dedicated Assistant Secretary, a Legal Advisor for Civil Rights established within 120 days, and an independent Civil Rights Ombudsperson to help navigate reviews, access records within 60 days, and raise equitable access issues. Appeals would require agencies to prove adverse decisions by substantial evidence.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Rep. Thompson, Bennie G. [D-MS-2] (D-MS), 2025-06-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Thanedar, Shri [D-MI-13] (D-MI), 2025-06-05T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More loan and program relief for farmers: benefit, high. If enacted, the bill would let the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (or a designee) grant equitable relief for civil-rights complaints and for direct farm ownership, operating, or emergency loan issues. The Assistant Secretary's relief decisions would not need prior approval by other USDA offic…
- Independent Civil Rights Ombudsperson Office: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would create an independent Office of the Civil Rights Ombudsperson at USDA within 120 days. The Ombudsperson would help producers and customers navigate civil-rights reviews and appeals and promote awareness of appeal options. The Office would get access to departmental record…
- New senior civil-rights office at USDA: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would create a new Assistant Secretary of Agriculture for Civil Rights. The President would appoint this person and the Senate would confirm. The Secretary would have to give that Assistant Secretary responsibility for civil-rights compliance across all USDA programs. The Depar…
- Required corrective action for USDA misconduct: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would require the Secretary of Agriculture to take corrective action when a USDA official or employee is found to have engaged in discrimination, retaliation, harassment, or related misconduct. Triggers include internal agency findings, federal proceedings, settlements, OIG aud…
- Easier appeals for people challenging USDA: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would change the appeals rule so agencies must prove by substantial evidence that their adverse decision was valid in certain National Appeals Division hearings. The change applies to appeals under the specified NAD section. This could help people who challenge adverse USDA pro…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026
- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-2038: American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2025
- 119-hr-5658: Child Care for Every Community Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-3685 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/3685)

## Related
- [119-hr-9877: Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-9877)
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-2038: American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2038)
- [119-hr-5658: Child Care for Every Community Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5658)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3685 (as of 2026-04-21).