119-HR-7464 Journalist Public Summary
119 · HR 7464 TEMP Act
A bipartisan House bill would have USDA’s crop insurance arm research and design an index-based option to cover crop losses from frost and cold snaps and report back within a year; it responds to recent freeze damage in specialty-crop states and is currently before the House Agriculture Committee. (congress.gov)
Public Summary — H.R. 7464 (TEMP Act)
Headline Summary: Congress is considering the TEMP Act (H.R. 7464), which directs USDA’s Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to research and develop an index‑based insurance option that would protect farmers against losses from frost or other cold‑weather events and submit a report within one year; the bill was introduced on February 10, 2026, and referred to the House Agriculture Committee. (congress.gov)
What It Does: In plain English, the bill tells USDA’s crop‑insurance arm to test whether a temperature “index” (for example, official weather data showing a hard freeze in an area) can be used to trigger insurance payouts for crops like tomatoes, peppers, sugarcane, strawberries, melons, citrus, peaches, and blueberries—covering either production losses or revenue losses. Index insurance pays based on measured conditions in a region rather than on farm‑by‑farm loss adjustment, which can speed payments but also behaves differently than traditional coverage. (congress.gov)
Why It Matters: Florida and other specialty‑crop states have been hit by a string of late‑December 2025 to early‑February 2026 freezes; UF/IFAS is actively surveying producers for documented losses, and trade reports describe frost damage to winter vegetables and added risk for citrus—events that are costly and difficult to insure today. The bill aims to create another tool for growers facing these low‑frequency, catastrophic cold snaps. (blogs.ifas.ufl.edu)
- Bipartisan sponsors: Rep. Scott Franklin (R‑FL) introduced the bill with 13 bipartisan cosponsors; several represent Florida and other specialty‑crop regions, reflecting cross‑party interest. (congress.gov)
- Industry backing (prior versions): The Florida Strawberry Growers Association publicly supported the TEMP Act in the last Congress, arguing it would offer an affordable way to cover freeze losses—an indicator of specialty‑crop interest. (floridadaily.com)
- Signals in the Senate (prior Congress): Senators Marco Rubio (R‑FL) and Jon Ossoff (D‑GA) backed a Senate TEMP Act in 2024 to study frost/cold insurance for specialty crops, pointing to bipartisan appeal. (ossoff.senate.gov)
Who’s For It:
- Skeptics of index insurance note “basis risk”—the chance a farm suffers damage but the area index doesn’t trigger (or vice versa)—because payouts follow area conditions, not individual fields. That design trade‑off is documented in USDA’s own explanations of area/index policies. (rma.usda.gov)
- Budget hawks may scrutinize any new insurance option amid rising crop‑insurance outlay projections in recent CBO baselines, even though this bill authorizes research and development rather than immediate broad subsidies. (farmdocdaily.illinois.edu)
Who’s Against It:
What’s Next: As of February 12, 2026, H.R. 7464 has been introduced and referred to the House Agriculture Committee; the next steps would typically be a hearing and markup before any House floor vote. No official summary has been posted yet on Congress.gov. (congress.gov)
Discussion