H.R. 5169: Tax Empowerment and Relief for Farmers and Fishermen (TERFF) Act

108th Congress · introduced 2004-09-29 · Taxation · Latest: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2004-09-29 · official record
Who proposed it: Rep. Nussle, Jim [R-IA-1] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Tax Empowerment and Relief for Farmers and Fishermen (TERFF) Act

Plain summary

Tax Empowerment and Relief for Farmers and Fishermen (TERFF) Act - Amends the Internal Revenue Code to: (1) allow certain commercial farming and fishing businesses a tax deduction for cash contributions (up to 20 percent of taxable income) to a Farm, Fishing, and Ranch Risk Management Account (FFARRM Account); (2) exempt agricultural bonds from private activity bond volume caps; (3) allow individuals a tax deduction for charitable contributions of food (currently restricted to C corporations); (4) extend income averaging to fishermen (currently allowed for farmers) and exclude income averaging for farmers and fishermen from the computation of the alternative minimum tax; (5) modify cooperative marketing rules to include value-added processing involving animals; (6) permit farmer cooperatives to seek declaratory judgments with respect to their tax-exempt status; and (7) allow the allocation of the small ethanol tax credit amounts to patrons of tax-exempt cooperatives. Amends the Code and title II (Old Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance) of the Social Security Act to exclude certain rental income and conservation reserve program payments from the self-employment tax. Provides that dividends on the capital stock or other proprietary capital interests of tax-exempt cooperatives shall not reduce the net earnings of such cooperatives. Modifies involuntary conversion rules to extend from two to four years the replacement period for livestock sold due to drought, flood, or other weather-related conditions.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Tax Empowerment and Relief for Farmers and Fishermen (TERFF) Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

AI explanation – may be wrong, check the official text

No AI explanation yet. It takes up to a minute to write and is then saved for everyone.

Limited to a few requests an hour per person.

The strongest published arguments

Arguments for (supporters)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Arguments against (opponents)

Needs sources: no published arguments on this side yet. We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

Alternatives

Needs sources: no published alternatives yet (for example a different bill, a law instead of an amendment, or keeping current law). We only show items backed by a published source. Suggest one.

How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Nussle, Jim [R-IA-1] · 3 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (4)

Bond: A way to borrow money. A government sells bonds to raise money now and promises to pay it back with interest over time. Bonds repaid from taxes often need voter approval.
Exemption: A rule that removes certain people, property or activities from a tax or requirement.
Rulemaking: The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
Securities: Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-108hr5169.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/108/hr>

Record fed-us-cong108-hr5169 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong108 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong108