No Discrimination in Farm Programs Act

No Discrimination in Farm Programs Act would prohibit the Department of Agriculture from using race-based or sex-based criteria when administering a defined set of programs. The Secretary of Agriculture would be required to run these programs in a way that emphasizes merit, fairness, and equal opportunity for all participants. The bill lists ten categories of programs as “covered programs,” including pandemic assistance (e.g., Coronavirus Food Assistance Program and Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program), Federal Crop Insurance, various farm loan and guarantee programs, several conservation and habitat programs, and rural development initiatives. If enacted, the law would bar race- or sex-based targeting or preferences in decision-making related to these programs and push administration toward treating applicants more uniformly based on objective criteria. This is a policy constraint on how the USDA designs and administers these programs. As introduced, it does not specify exactly how to measure or enforce these principles (e.g., what constitutes “meritocracy” or how to handle existing equity concerns), nor does it indicate penalties for noncompliance. The bill’s impact would largely be on program design, outreach approaches, and eligibility determinations within the listed programs.