§ 5177a — Emergency Grants To Assist Low-income Migrant And Seasonal Farmworkers

(a) The Secretary of Agriculture may make grants to public agencies or private organizations with tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of title 26, that have experience in providing emergency services to low-income migrant and seasonal farmworkers where the Secretary determines that a local, State or national emergency or disaster has caused low-income migrant or seasonal farmworkers to lose income, to be unable to work, or to stay home or return home in anticipation of work shortages. Emergency services to be provided with assistance received under this section may include such types of assistance as the Secretary of Agriculture determines to be necessary and appropriate. (b) For the purposes of this section, the term “low-income migrant or seasonal farmworker” means an individual— (1) who has, during any consecutive 12 month period within the preceding 24 month period, performed farm work for wages; (2) who has received not less than one-half of such individual’s total income, or been employed at least one-half of total work time in farm work; and (3) whose annual family income within the 12 month period referred to in paragraph (1) does not exceed the higher of the poverty level or 70 percent of the lower living standard income level. (c) There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.