S. 3586: A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to provide emergency payments to dairy producers.

115th Congress · introduced 2018-10-11 · Agriculture and Food · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2018-10-11 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. 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

A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to provide emergency payments to dairy producers.

Plain summary

This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to issue emergency payments to dairy producers. USDA must develop criteria for the payments that give priority to producers who are: (1) located in a state with a high cost of dairy production compared to other states, and (2) on a farm with a high cost of dairy production based on the size of the farm. The emergency payments provided under this bill must be at least $10,000 but no greater than $20,000 per dairy operation. USDA must use $556 million in Commodity Credit Corporation funds to carry out this bill. The bill designates the spending as an emergency requirement pursuant to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Act of 2010 and the FY2018 congressional budget resolution. (This exempts the spending from various budget enforcement rules.)

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), 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

A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to provide emergency payments to dairy producers.

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] · 0 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Sanders, Bernard [I-VT] reported raising $26.5 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

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)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Resolution: A formal statement or decision by a legislative body. Simple resolutions often only express an opinion or set rules for one chamber; they do not become law.
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.
Statute: A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115s3586.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/s>

Record fed-us-cong115-s3586 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115