# 119-hr-8374: Equal Treatment for Farmers Act

119-hr-8374, Equal Treatment for Farmers Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Harris, Mark [R-NC-8] (R-NC); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8374
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-8374
- Congress: 119
- Title: Equal Treatment for Farmers Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-04-20
- Sponsor: Rep. Harris, Mark [R-NC-8] (R-NC)
- Cosponsors: 26
- Policy area: Agriculture and Food
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**Removes the "socially disadvantaged" classification from federal farm laws.** The bill would excise that designation from dozens of USDA statutes and program rules and add a broad prohibition on race- or gender-based preferences in USDA programs. - Socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers: Would lose the statutory basis for targeted preferences across loans, occupancy rules, and assistance programs previously tied to that designation. - Veterans and beginning farmers: Many provisions would be rewritten to substitute or preserve veterans or beginning farmers as eligible categories, shifting priority language toward those groups. - USDA program operations: Adds an explicit rule that no Department of Agriculture program may give preference, priority consideration, or enhanced benefits based on race or gender, reshaping how benefits and priorities are set.

## Cosponsors (26)

- Rep. Harris, Andy [R-MD-1] (R-MD), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Boebert, Lauren [R-CO-4] (R-CO), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Wied, Tony [R-WI-8] (R-WI), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Harrigan, Pat [R-NC-10] (R-NC), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Fine, Randy [R-FL-6] (R-FL), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Brecheen, Josh [R-OK-2] (R-OK), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Clyde, Andrew S. [R-GA-9] (R-GA), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Miller, Mary E. [R-IL-15] (R-IL), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Perry, Scott [R-PA-10] (R-PA), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ogles, Andrew [R-TN-5] (R-TN), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Steube, W. Gregory [R-FL-17] (R-FL), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Collins, Mike [R-GA-10] (R-GA), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Nehls, Troy E. [R-TX-22] (R-TX), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carter, Earl L. "Buddy" [R-GA-1] (R-GA), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Letlow, Julia [R-LA-5] (R-LA), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Burchett, Tim [R-TN-2] (R-TN), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Self, Keith [R-TX-3] (R-TX), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Roy, Chip [R-TX-21] (R-TX), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Norman, Ralph [R-SC-5] (R-SC), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Barry [R-AL-1] (R-AL), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Van Orden, Derrick [R-WI-3] (R-WI), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Cline, Ben [R-VA-6] (R-VA), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Smith, Adrian [R-NE-3] (R-NE), 2026-04-20T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Baird, James R. [R-IN-4] (R-IN), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moore, Tim [R-NC-14] (R-NC), 2026-04-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Rouzer, David [R-NC-7] (R-NC), 2026-05-19T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- 5% of conservation help for beginners: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would require that, to the maximum extent practicable, 5 percent of funds for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and 5 percent of acres in the Conservation Stewardship Program be used to assist beginning farmers or ranchers. The rule applies for fiscal years 2009–2018…
- Perennial crop planting payment cap: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would limit establishment payments for eligible perennial crops to no more than 50 percent of establishment costs and no more than $500 per acre. Eligible costs include seeds and stock, planting costs as set by the Secretary, and for nonindustrial private forestland, site prepa…
- More lending help for heirs-property owners: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would strike the statutory definition and many references to “socially disadvantaged” in the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. It would direct the Secretary to prefer eligible relenders in States that adopted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act when relending…
- No race or gender preferences at USDA: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would prohibit any USDA program from giving preference, priority, or enhanced benefits based on race or gender. It would remove the statutory category “socially disadvantaged” across many farm laws and program rules. Farmers who previously had race- or gender-based priority cou…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act
- 119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act
- 119-hr-404: Hearing Protection Act
- 119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1301: Death Tax Repeal Act
- 119-hr-1232: National Right-to-Work Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-8374 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8374)

## Related
- [119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-425)
- [119-hr-987: Fair Access to Banking Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-987)
- [119-hr-404: Hearing Protection Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-404)
- [119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-38)
- [119-hr-1301: Death Tax Repeal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1301)
- [119-hr-1232: National Right-to-Work Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1232)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8374 (as of 2026-09-21).