Cutting COSTS Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Cutting COSTS Act establishes a Good Agricultural Practices payment program at USDA. The Secretary must make payments to covered producers equal to the full cost each producer incurs for a GAP audit under the Agricultural Marketing Service Audit Verification and Accreditation Programs. Covered producers are small farms with average adjusted gross income below $350,000 per year or beginning farmers or ranchers, plus any other requirements the Secretary sets. USDA must use Commodity Credit Corporation funds to carry out the program. For one year after enactment and annually for four more years, USDA must report to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees on the number and type of covered producers receiving payments and whether the payments increased producer access to retail food stores that require a GAP audit as a condition of market access.
Who Benefits and How
Small farms, beginning farmers, and beginning ranchers benefit because USDA would cover the full cost of GAP audits that can be a barrier to selling to grocery stores or other retail food stores. Retailers that require GAP audits benefit from a broader pool of small and beginning suppliers able to meet audit conditions. Consumers may benefit if more local or small-farm products reach retail shelves.
Who Bears the Burden and How
USDA and Agricultural Marketing Service staff must operate the payment program, verify producer eligibility and audit costs, use Commodity Credit Corporation funds, and submit annual reports. Federal taxpayers and CCC resources bear the reimbursement cost. Producers still must undergo the GAP audit and meet any other USDA requirements to receive payment.
Key Provisions
- Establishes a USDA program to pay covered producers the full cost of Good Agricultural Practices audits.
- Defines covered producers as small farms below $350,000 in average adjusted gross income or beginning farmers and ranchers.
- Uses Commodity Credit Corporation funds to finance the payment program.
- Requires annual reports for five years on recipient numbers, producer types, and retail market access effects.
- Focuses reporting on retail food stores that require GAP audits as a condition of access.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Creates a USDA payment program using Commodity Credit Corporation funds to reimburse small farms, beginning farmers, and ranchers for the full cost of Good Agricultural Practices audits, with annual congressional reporting on recipients and retail market access.
Key Policy Areas
Agriculture, Food Safety, Small Business
Primary Purpose
Creates a USDA payment program using Commodity Credit Corporation funds to reimburse small farms, beginning farmers, and ranchers for the full cost of Good Agricultural Practices audits, with annual congressional reporting on recipients and retail market access.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Small farms
- Beginning farmers
- Beginning ranchers
- Retail food stores
- Local food consumers
Identified Costs
- USDA program staff
- Agricultural Marketing Service audit staff
- Commodity Credit Corporation funds
- Federal taxpayers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture.
Referred to the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, …
Mr. Vindman (for himself and Mr. Lawler) introduced the following …
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Beginning farmers, Beginning ranchers, Small farms
Commodity Credit Corporation funds, USDA program staff
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology