February 26, 2026
Mr. Tuberville (for himself and Mr. Husted) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to expand eligibility for guaranteed and direct loans to individuals or entity members that hold at least a 50 percent interest and that are or will become qualified operators of the farm real estate acquired, improved, or supported with farm ownership, operating, or emergency loans, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the USDA Loan Modernization Act
.
Sec. 2. Persons eligible for real estate loans
Section 302(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1922(a)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1)—
(A)
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking a majority
and inserting at least a 50 percent
; and
(B)
in subparagraph (C), by striking a majority
and inserting at least a 50 percent
; and
(2)
in paragraph (2), by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following:
(A) Eligibility of qualified operators
Qualified operators, as defined by the Secretary, shall be considered to meet the operator requirement of paragraph (1).
(B) Eligibility of certain operating-only entities
An applicant that is or will become only the operator of farm real estate acquired, improved, or supported with funds under this subtitle shall be considered to meet the owner-operator requirements of paragraph (1) if 1 or more of the individuals who is an owner of the farm real estate owns at least 50 percent (or such other percentage as the Secretary determines is appropriate) of the applicant.
(C) Eligibility of certain embedded entities
An entity that is an owner-operator described in paragraph (1), or an operator described in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph that is owned, in whole or in part, by 1 or more other entities, shall be considered to meet the direct ownership requirement imposed under paragraph (1) if at least 75 percent of the total ownership interests of the embedded entity, or of the other entities, is owned, directly or indirectly, by qualified operators of the farm acquired, improved, or supported with funds under this subtitle.
Sec. 3. Persons eligible for operating loans
Section 311(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1941(a)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1)—
(A)
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking a majority
and inserting at least a 50 percent
; and
(B)
in subparagraph (C), by striking a majority
and inserting at least a 50 percent
; and
(2)
by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
(2) Special rules
(A) Eligibility of qualified operators
Qualified operators, as defined by the Secretary, shall be considered to meet the operator requirement of paragraph (1).
(B) Eligibility of certain operating-only entities
An entity that is an operator described in paragraph (1) that is owned, in whole or in part, by other entities, shall be considered to meet the direct ownership requirement imposed under paragraph (1) if at least 75 percent of the total ownership interests of the embedded entity, or of the other entities, is owned, directly or indirectly, by qualified operators of the farm improved or supported with funds under this subtitle.
Sec. 4. Persons eligible for emergency loans
Section 321 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1961) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)—
(A)
in the first sentence—
(i)
by striking (A)
and inserting (i)
;
(ii)
by striking (B)
and inserting (ii)
;
(iii)
by striking (1)
and inserting (A)
;
(iv)
by striking (2)
and inserting (B)
; and
(v)
by striking a majority
each place it appears and inserting at least a 50 percent
;
(B)
in the second sentence, by striking this subsection
and inserting this paragraph
;
(C)
by striking the fifth sentence; and
(D)
by adding at the end the following:
(2) Special rules
(A) Eligibility of qualified operators
Qualified operators, as defined by the Secretary, shall be considered to meet the operator requirement of paragraph (1).
(B) Eligibility of certain operating-only entities
An applicant that is or will become only the operator of farm real estate acquired, improved, or supported with funds under this subtitle shall be considered to meet the owner-operator requirements of paragraph (1) if 1 or more of the individuals who is an owner of the real estate owns at least 50 percent (or such other percentage as the Secretary determines is appropriate) of the applicant.
(C) Eligibility of certain embedded entities
An entity that is an owner-operator described in paragraph (1), or an operator described in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph that is owned, in whole or in part, by 1 or more other entities, shall be considered to meet the direct ownership requirement imposed under paragraph (1) if at least 75 percent of the total ownership interests of the embedded entity, or of the other entities, is owned, directly or indirectly, by qualified operators of the farm acquired, improved, or supported with funds under this subtitle.; and
(2)
by striking the section designation and all that follows through shall make and insure
in the first sentence of the matter preceding paragraph (2) of subsection (a) and inserting the following:
321. Eligibility for loans
(a) In general
(1) Eligibility requirements
The Secretary shall make and insure