YourVoice.Now Summary
Your MoneyRemote farmers in places like Alaska and Hawaii would get set yearly help with shipping costs — $10M to $15M a year
Your Money
The Agriculture Department would have to spend $10 million in 2026 on these repayments, rising to $15 million by 2031. Today the program runs only on money Congress chooses to set aside.
The department could not limit any one farmer's payment in a year when the money covers every claim. The bill also removes today's $15 million limit on total yearly payments.
More about this bill
If you farm or ranch far from markets, such as in Alaska, Hawaii, or a U.S. territory, a federal program helps repay shipping costs. That program would get set money every year. It starts at $10 million in fiscal 2026 and rises $1 million a year to $15 million in 2031 and after. The money would come from the Commodity Credit Corporation (a fund run by the Agriculture Department). Payments would no longer depend on Congress setting money aside each year. Today, total payments to all farmers can't top $15 million a year. The bill drops that limit. It also bars the department from capping what one farmer gets in any year the money covers every claim. Payments would still repay part of the cost of shipping crops, animals, or supplies more than 30 miles. Most people outside these remote areas would see no direct change.
Congressional Summary
RTCP Revitalization Act This bill amends the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment Program (RTCP) to provide specified funds for the RTCP through FY2031 and each fiscal year thereafter. The RTCP provides reimbursement payments for geographically disadvantaged farmers and ranchers (e.g., those in Hawaii and Alaska) for a portion of the cost to transport agricultural commodities or inputs used to produce an agricultural commodity. The bill also removes a $15 million payment cap for any given fiscal year. Further, USDA may not impose a limitation on the amount of producer payments for any fiscal year that the program funds are equal to or exceed demand.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2025-05-14
- Date Added
- 2026-09-30
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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