I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10529 

To provide for the reform and continuation of agricultural and other programs 

of the Department of Agriculture through fiscal year 2029, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 19, 2024 

Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To provide for the reform and continuation of agricultural 

and other programs of the Department of Agriculture 

through fiscal year 2029, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Prioritizing American Farmers and Agricultural Indus6 try Over Bureaucracy Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions. 


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TITLE I—COMMODITIES 

Subtitle A—Commodity Policy 

Sec. 1101. Reference prices. 

Sec. 1102. 1-time opportunity to add base acres. 

Sec. 1103. Producer election. 

Sec. 1104. Price loss coverage. 

Sec. 1105. Agriculture risk coverage. 

Subtitle B—Marketing Loans 

Sec. 1201. Loan rates for nonrecourse marketing assistance loans. 

Sec. 1202. Repayment rates for upland cotton, long grain rice, and medium 

grain rice. 

Sec. 1203. Repayment rates for extra long staple cotton. 

Sec. 1204. Modifications to storage credits. 

Sec. 1205. Economic adjustment assistance for textile mills. 

Subtitle C—Sugar 

Sec. 1301. Loan rate modifications. 

Sec. 1302. Adjustments to commodity credit corporation storage rates. 

Sec. 1303. Modernizing beet sugar allotments. 

Sec. 1304. Reallocations of tariff rate quota shortfall. 

Sec. 1305. Clarification of tariff rate quota adjustments. 

Subtitle D—Dairy 

Sec. 1401. Dairy margin coverage production history. 

Sec. 1402. Premiums for dairy margins. 

Sec. 1403. Mandatory reporting of dairy product processing costs. 

Sec. 1404. Class I skim milk price. 

Sec. 1405. Extensions. 

Sec. 1406. Dairy reports. 

Subtitle E—Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance Programs 

Sec. 1501. Livestock indemnity payment rates. 

Sec. 1502. Emergency assistance for honeybees. 

Sec. 1503. Tree assistance program. 

Sec. 1504. Assistance in the form of block grants. 

Subtitle F—Administration 

Sec. 1601. Suspension of permanent price support authority. 

Sec. 1602. Implementation. 

Sec. 1603. Equitable treatment of certain entities. 

Sec. 1604. Payment limitation. 

Sec. 1605. Adjusted gross income limitation. 

Sec. 1606. Storage facility loans. 

Sec. 1607. Strengthening domestic food production supply chains. 

Sec. 1608. Limitation on CCC authority. 

TITLE II—CONSERVATION 

Subtitle A—Definitions 

Sec. 2001. Definitions. 


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Subtitle B—Conservation Reserve Program 

Sec. 2101. Definitions. 

Sec. 2102. Conservation reserve. 

Sec. 2103. Partnership initiatives. 

Sec. 2104. Duties of owners and operators. 

Sec. 2105. Duties of the Secretary. 

Sec. 2106. Payments. 

Sec. 2107. Contracts. 

Subtitle C—Environmental Quality Incentives Program 

Sec. 2201. Definitions. 

Sec. 2202. Establishment and administration. 

Sec. 2203. Limitation on payments. 

Sec. 2204. Conservation innovation grants and payments. 

Subtitle D—Conservation Stewardship Program 

Sec. 2301. Conservation stewardship program. 

Sec. 2302. Duties of the Secretary. 

Sec. 2303. State assistance for soil health. 

Subtitle E—Other Conservation Programs 

Sec. 2401. Conservation of private grazing land. 

Sec. 2402. Feral swine eradication and control program. 

Sec. 2403. Grassroots source water protection program. 

Sec. 2404. Voluntary public access and habitat incentive program. 

Sec. 2405. Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act. 

Sec. 2406. Emergency conservation program. 

Sec. 2407. Emergency watershed program. 

Sec. 2408. National agriculture flood vulnerability study. 

Subtitle F—Funding and Administration 

Sec. 2501. Commodity Credit Corporation. 

Sec. 2502. Rescissions. 

Sec. 2503. Delivery of technical assistance. 

Sec. 2504. Administrative requirements for conservation programs. 

Sec. 2505. Experienced services program. 

Subtitle G—Agricultural Conservation Easement Program 

Sec. 2601. Definitions. 

Sec. 2602. Agricultural land easements. 

Sec. 2603. Wetland reserve easements. 

Sec. 2604. Administration. 

Subtitle H—Forest Conservation Easement Program 

Sec. 2701. Forest conservation easement program. 

Subtitle I—Regional Conservation Partnership Program 

Sec. 2801. Establishment and purposes. 

Sec. 2802. Definitions. 

Sec. 2803. Regional conservation partnerships. 

Sec. 2804. Assistance to producers. 


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Sec. 2805. Funding. 

Sec. 2806. Administration. 

Sec. 2807. Critical conservation areas. 

Subtitle J—Repeals and Transitional Provisions 

Sec. 2901. Superseded conservation reserve program authorities. 

Sec. 2902. Healthy Forests Reserve Program. 

TITLE III—TRADE 

Subtitle A—Food for Peace Act 

Sec. 3101. Food aid quality assurance. 

Sec. 3102. Minimum levels of assistance. 

Sec. 3103. Food aid consultative group. 

Sec. 3104. Issuance of regulations; oversight, monitoring, and evaluation. 

Sec. 3105. International food relief partnership. 

Sec. 3106. Use of commodity credit corporation. 

Sec. 3107. Pre-positioning of agricultural commodities and annual report regarding food aid programs and activities. 

Sec. 3108. Deadline for agreements to finance sales or to provide other assistance. 

Sec. 3109. Minimum level of nonemergency food assistance. 

Sec. 3110. Termination date for micronutrient fortification programs. 

Sec. 3111. John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter farmer-to-farmer program. 

Subtitle B—Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 

Sec. 3201. Agricultural trade promotion and facilitation. 

Sec. 3202. Preserving foreign markets for goods using common names. 

Sec. 3203. Interagency seasonal and perishable fruits and vegetable working 

group. 

Subtitle C—Other Agricultural Trade Laws 

Sec. 3301. Growing American food exports. 

Sec. 3302. Food for progress act of 1985. 

Sec. 3303. Bill Emerson humanitarian trust act. 

Sec. 3304. Promotion of agricultural exports to emerging markets. 

Sec. 3305. International agricultural education fellowship program. 

Sec. 3306. International agriculture cultural immersion and exchange program. 

Sec. 3307. International food security technical assistance. 

Sec. 3308. McGovern-Dole international food for education and child nutrition 

program. 

Sec. 3309. Global crop diversity trust. 

Sec. 3310. Local and regional food aid procurement projects. 

Sec. 3311. Agricultural trade enforcement task force. 

TITLE IV—CREDIT 

Subtitle A—Farm Ownership Loans 

Sec. 4101. Persons eligible for real estate loans. 

Sec. 4102. Experience requirements. 

Sec. 4103. Conservation loan and loan guarantee program. 

Sec. 4104. Limitations on amount of farm ownership loans. 

Sec. 4105. Inflation percentage. 


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Sec. 4106. Authority of Farm Credit System institutions to provide financial 

support for essential rural community facilities projects. 

Sec. 4107. Down payment loan program. 

Sec. 4108. Heirs property. 

Sec. 4109. Prompt approval of loans and loan guarantees. 

Sec. 4110. Farmer loan pilot projects. 

Sec. 4111. Refinancing of guaranteed loans into direct loans. 

Subtitle B—Operating Loans 

Sec. 4201. Persons eligible for operating loans. 

Sec. 4202. Limitations on amount of operating loans. 

Sec. 4203. Limitation on microloan amounts. 

Sec. 4204. Cooperative lending pilot projects. 

Subtitle C—Emergency Loans 

Sec. 4301. Persons eligible for emergency loans. 

Subtitle D—Administrative Provisions 

Sec. 4401. Beginning farmer and rancher individual development accounts pilot 

program. 

Sec. 4402. Loan authorization levels. 

Sec. 4403. Loan fund set-asides. 

Sec. 4404. Use of additional funds for direct operating microloans under certain conditions. 

Subtitle E—Miscellaneous 

Sec. 4501. Export finance authority. 

Sec. 4502. Support for rural water and waste systems. 

Sec. 4503. Farmer loan data collection. 

Sec. 4504. Loan guarantees. 

Sec. 4505. Standards for qualified loans. 

Sec. 4506. State agricultural mediation programs. 

Sec. 4507. Technical corrections. 

TITLE V—RURAL DEVELOPMENT 

Subtitle A—Improving Health Outcomes in Rural America 

Sec. 5101. Prioritizations for distance learning and telemedicine and community facilities program. 

Sec. 5102. Distance learning and telemedicine loans and grants. 

Subtitle B—Connecting Rural Americans to High Speed Broadband 

Sec. 5201. Rural broadband program loans and grants. 

Sec. 5202. Expansion of middle mile infrastructure into rural areas. 

Sec. 5203. Innovative broadband advancement program. 

Sec. 5204. Community connect grants. 

Sec. 5205. Rate regulation. 

Sec. 5206. Public notice, assessments, technical assistance, and reporting requirements. 

Sec. 5207. Limitation on overbuilding. 

Subtitle C—Miscellaneous 


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Sec. 5301. Rural energy savings program. 

Sec. 5302. Regional commission reauthorization. 

Sec. 5303. Promoting precision agriculture. 

Sec. 5304. Food supply chain guaranteed loans. 

Sec. 5305. New, mobile, and expanded meat processing and rendering grants. 

Sec. 5306. Expanding Childcare in Rural America Initiative. 

Sec. 5307. Technical assistance for geographically underserved and distressed 

areas. 

Sec. 5308. Establishment of the Rural Development Innovation Center. 

Sec. 5309. Rural Health Liaison report. 

Sec. 5310. Precision Agriculture Task Force amendments. 

Subtitle D—Additional Amendments to the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

Development Act 

Sec. 5401. Water, waste disposal, and wastewater facility grants. 

Sec. 5402. Rural water and wastewater circuit rider program. 

Sec. 5403. Zero and low interest loans for distressed water systems. 

Sec. 5404. Tribal college and university essential community facilities. 

Sec. 5405. Emergency and imminent community water assistance grant program. 

Sec. 5406. Water systems for rural and native villages in Alaska. 

Sec. 5407. Rural decentralized water systems. 

Sec. 5408. Assistance to rural entities. 

Sec. 5409. Solid waste management grants. 

Sec. 5410. Rural business development grants. 

Sec. 5411. Rural cooperative development grants. 

Sec. 5412. Lender fees in guaranteed loan programs. 

Sec. 5413. Locally or regionally produced agricultural food products. 

Sec. 5414. Appropriate technology transfer for rural areas program. 

Sec. 5415. Rural economic area partnership zones. 

Sec. 5416. Intermediary relending program. 

Sec. 5417. Rural health care facility assistance. 

Sec. 5418. Elimination of prohibition on use of loans for certain purposes. 

Sec. 5419. Rural Business-Cooperative Service programs technical assistance 

and training. 

Sec. 5420. National Rural Development Partnership. 

Sec. 5421. Grants for NOAA weather radio transmitters. 

Sec. 5422. Rural microentrepreneur assistance program. 

Sec. 5423. Health care services. 

Sec. 5424. Strategic economic and community development. 

Sec. 5425. Rural innovation stronger economy grant program. 

Sec. 5426. Delta Regional Authority. 

Sec. 5427. Limitation on rural business investment companies controlled by 

Farm Credit System institutions. 

Sec. 5428. Rural business investment program. 

Sec. 5429. Technical corrections. 

Sec. 5430. Rural water and wastewater technical assistance and training programs. 

Subtitle E—Additional Amendments to the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 

Sec. 5501. Guarantees for bonds and notes issued for utility infrastructure purposes. 

Sec. 5502. Extension of the rural economic development loan and grant program. 


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Sec. 5503. Expansion of 911 access. 

TITLE VI—RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND RELATED MATTERS 

Subtitle A—National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy 

Act of 1977 

Sec. 6101. National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board. 

Sec. 6102. Specialty crop committee. 

Sec. 6103. Veterinary medicine loan repayment. 

Sec. 6104. Veterinary services grant program. 

Sec. 6105. Grants and fellowships for food and agriculture sciences education. 

Sec. 6106. Agricultural and food policy research centers. 

Sec. 6107. Education grants to Alaska Native serving institutions and Native 

Hawaiian serving institutions. 

Sec. 6108. Nutrition education program. 

Sec. 6109. Continuing animal health and disease research programs. 

Sec. 6110. Extension and agricultural research at 1890 land-grant colleges, including Tuskegee University. 

Sec. 6111. Scholarships for students at 1890 Institutions. 

Sec. 6112. Grants to upgrade agricultural and food sciences facilities at 1890 

land-grant colleges, including Tuskegee University. 

Sec. 6113. Grants to upgrade agriculture and food sciences facilities and equipment and support tropical and subtropical agricultural research 

at insular area land-grant colleges and universities. 

Sec. 6114. Matching funds requirement for research and extension activities at 

eligible institutions. 

Sec. 6115. New Beginning for Tribal Students. 

Sec. 6116. Education grants programs for Hispanic-serving institutions. 

Sec. 6117. Binational agricultural research and development. 

Sec. 6118. Grants and partnerships for international agricultural research, extension, and education. 

Sec. 6119. Research equipment grants. 

Sec. 6120. University research. 

Sec. 6121. Extension service. 

Sec. 6122. Supplemental and alternative crops. 

Sec. 6123. Grants for community college agriculture and natural resources programs. 

Sec. 6124. Capacity building grants for NLGCA institutions. 

Sec. 6125. Agriculture advanced research and development authority. 

Sec. 6126. Aquaculture assistance programs. 

Sec. 6127. Special authorization for biosecurity planning and response. 

Sec. 6128. Agriculture and food protection grant program. 

Sec. 6129. Distance education grants for insular areas. 

Sec. 6130. Resident instruction grants for insular areas. 

Sec. 6131. Repeals. 

Subtitle B—Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 

Sec. 6201. Sustainable agriculture research and education. 

Sec. 6202. National Genetics Resources Program. 

Sec. 6203. Agricultural genome to phenome initiative. 

Sec. 6204. High-priority research and extension initiatives. 

Sec. 6205. Organic agriculture research and extension initiative. 

Sec. 6206. Farm business management. 


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Sec. 6207. Urban, indoor, and other emerging agricultural production research, 

education, and extension initiative. 

Sec. 6208. Centers of excellence. 

Sec. 6209. ThinkDIFFERENTLY National AgrAbility Project. 

Sec. 6210. Farming opportunities training and outreach. 

Sec. 6211. National Rural Information Center Clearinghouse. 

Sec. 6212. Repeal. 

Subtitle C—Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 

1998 

Sec. 6301. National food safety training, education, extension, outreach, and 

technical assistance program. 

Sec. 6302. Integrated research, education, and extension competitive grants 

program. 

Sec. 6303. Support for research regarding diseases of wheat, triticale, and barley caused by fusarium graminearum or by tilletia indica. 

Sec. 6304. Grants for youth organizations. 

Sec. 6305. Specialty crop research initiative. 

Sec. 6306. Agriculture grants for veteran education and training services. 

Sec. 6307. Food Animal Residue Avoidance Database program. 

Sec. 6308. Office of Pest Management Policy. 

Sec. 6309. Forestry products advanced utilization research. 

Sec. 6310. Repeals. 

Subtitle D—Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 

Sec. 6401. Grazinglands research laboratory. 

Sec. 6402. Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network. 

Sec. 6403. Sun grant program. 

Sec. 6404. Repeals. 

Subtitle E—Amendments to Other Laws 

Sec. 6501. Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994. 

Sec. 6502. Research Facilities Act. 

Sec. 6503. Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. 

Sec. 6504. Extension design and demonstration initiative. 

Sec. 6505. Biomass research and development. 

Sec. 6506. Renewable Resources Extension Act of 1978. 

Sec. 6507. National Aquaculture Act of 1980. 

Sec. 6508. Reports on disbursement of funds for agricultural research and extension at 1862 and 1890 land-grant colleges, including 

Tuskegee University. 

Sec. 6509. Repeal. 

Subtitle F—Other Matters 

Sec. 6601. Foundation for food and agriculture research. 

Sec. 6602. Agriculture innovation center demonstration program. 

Sec. 6603. Livestock insects laboratory. 

Sec. 6604. Hatch Act of 1887. 

Sec. 6605. Commission on national agricultural statistics service modernization. 

Sec. 6606. Restoration of 4–H name and emblem authority. 

Sec. 6607. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics. 

Sec. 6608. Agricultural Innovation Corps. 


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TITLE VII—FORESTRY 

Subtitle A—Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 

Sec. 7101. Support for State assessments and strategies for forest resources. 

Sec. 7102. Forest Legacy Program technical correction. 

Sec. 7103. State and private forest landscape-scale restoration program. 

Subtitle B—Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 

Sec. 7201. Definition of at-risk community. 

Sec. 7202. Promoting cross-boundary wildfire mitigation. 

Sec. 7203. Authorization of appropriations for hazardous fuel reduction on 

Federal land. 

Sec. 7204. Water source protection program. 

Sec. 7205. Watershed condition framework technical corrections. 

Sec. 7206. Authorization of appropriations to combat insect infestations and related diseases. 

Sec. 7207. Insect and disease infestation. 

Sec. 7208. Stewardship end result contracting projects. 

Subtitle C—Other Forestry Programs 

Sec. 7301. National and Regional Agroforestry Centers. 

Sec. 7302. National Forest Foundation Act. 

Sec. 7303. Conveyances and leases of Forest Service administrative sites. 

Sec. 7304. Forest inventory and analysis. 

Sec. 7305. Reforestation, nursery, and seed orchard support. 

Subtitle D—Forest Management 

PART I—NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM MANAGEMENT

Sec. 7401. Categorical exclusion for high priority hazard trees. 

Sec. 7402. Collaborative restoration projects. 

Sec. 7403. Wildfire resilience project size. 

Sec. 7404. Fuel breaks in forests and other wildland vegetation. 

Sec. 7405. Greater sage-grouse and mule deer habitat. 

PART II—FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES

Sec. 7411. No additional consultation required. 

Sec. 7412. Good neighbor authority. 

Sec. 7413. Collaborative forest landscape restoration program. 

Sec. 7414. Public-private wildfire technology deployment and testbed partnership. 

Sec. 7415. Forest Service participation in Experienced Services Program. 

Sec. 7416. Timber sales on National Forest System land. 

Sec. 7417. Permits and agreements with electrical utilities. 

Sec. 7418. Cooperative agreements and contracts for prescribed fire. 

Sec. 7419. Utilizing grazing for wildfire risk reduction. 

Sec. 7420. Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration Partnership program. 

Sec. 7421. Tribal Forest Management program technical correction. 

PART III—TIMBER INNOVATION

Sec. 7431. Community wood facilities program. 

Sec. 7432. Wood innovation grant program. 


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Sec. 7433. Forest and wood products data tracker. 

Sec. 7434. Biochar application demonstration project. 

Subtitle E—Save Our Sequoias 

Sec. 7501. Short title. 

Sec. 7502. Definitions. 

Sec. 7503. Shared stewardship agreement for giant sequoias. 

Sec. 7504. Giant sequoia lands coalition. 

Sec. 7505. Giant sequoia health and resiliency assessment. 

Sec. 7506. Giant sequoia emergency response. 

Sec. 7507. Giant sequoia reforestation and rehabilitation strategy. 

Sec. 7508. Giant sequoia strike teams. 

Sec. 7509. Giant sequoia collaborative restoration grants. 

Sec. 7510. Good neighbor authority for giant sequoias. 

Sec. 7511. Stewardship contracting for giant sequoias. 

Sec. 7512. Giant Sequoia Emergency Protection Program and Fund. 

Sec. 7513. Authorization of appropriations. 

Subtitle F—Other Matters 

Sec. 7701. Rural revitalization technologies. 

Sec. 7702. Resource advisory committees. 

Sec. 7703. Accurate hazardous fuels reduction reports. 

Sec. 7704. Special use authorization rental fee waiver. 

Sec. 7705. Charges and fees for harvest of forest botanical products. 

Sec. 7706. Forest Service Legacy Road and Trail Remediation Program transparency. 

Sec. 7707. Direct hire authority. 

Sec. 7708. Improving the emergency forest restoration program. 

TITLE VIII—ENERGY 

Sec. 8001. Definition of advanced biofuel. 

Sec. 8002. Biobased markets program. 

Sec. 8003. Biorefinery assistance. 

Sec. 8004. Bioproduct labeling report. 

Sec. 8005. Bioenergy program for advanced biofuels. 

Sec. 8006. Biodiesel Fuel Education Program. 

Sec. 8007. Rural Energy for America Program. 

Sec. 8008. Feedstock flexibility. 

Sec. 8009. Biomass Crop Assistance Program. 

Sec. 8010. Carbon utilization and biogas education program. 

Sec. 8011. Study on effects of solar panel installations on covered farmland. 

Sec. 8012. Limitation on USDA funding for ground mounted solar systems. 

TITLE IX—HORTICULTURE, MARKETING, AND REGULATORY 

REFORM 

Subtitle A—Horticulture 

Sec. 9001. Plant pest and disease management and disaster prevention. 

Sec. 9002. Specialty crop block grants. 

Sec. 9003. Specialty crops market news allocation. 

Sec. 9004. Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. 

Sec. 9005. National plant diagnostics network. 

Sec. 9006. Hemp production. 


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Sec. 9007. Pilot Program for the Intra-Organizational Movement of Genetically 

Engineered Microorganisms by Certain Authorized Parties. 

Subtitle B—Marketing 

Sec. 9101. Marketing orders. 

Sec. 9102. Local agriculture market program. 

Sec. 9103. Acer access and development program. 

Sec. 9104. Organic production and market data initiative. 

Sec. 9105. Organic certification. 

Sec. 9106. National organic certification cost-share program. 

Sec. 9107. Report on procurement. 

Subtitle C—Regulatory Reform 

PART I—FEDERAL INSECTICIDE, FUNGICIDE, AND RODENTICIDE ACT

Sec. 9201. Exclusion of certain substances. 

Sec. 9202. Coordination. 

Sec. 9203. Interagency working group. 

Sec. 9204. Uniformity of Pesticide Labeling Requirements. 

Sec. 9205. Authority of States. 

PART II—OTHER REGULATORY REFORM PROVISIONS

Sec. 9211. Multiple crop and pesticide use survey. 

Sec. 9212. Critical minerals. 

Sec. 9213. Safe harbor for certain discharges of wildland fire chemicals. 

Sec. 9214. Science Advisory Board of the Environmental Protection Agency. 

Sec. 9215. Office of Biotechnology Policy. 

TITLE X—CROP INSURANCE 

Sec. 10001. Specialty Crop Advisory Committee. 

Sec. 10002. Identification of holders of substantial interests. 

Sec. 10003. Actuarial soundness of certain new products. 

Sec. 10004. Coverage of revenue losses. 

Sec. 10005. Supplemental and aggregate coverage enhancements. 

Sec. 10006. Limitation on farm program participation. 

Sec. 10007. Limitation on interest accrual. 

Sec. 10008. Crop insurance support for beginning and veteran farmers and 

ranchers. 

Sec. 10009. Marketability. 

Sec. 10010. Reinsurance. 

Sec. 10011. Revenue insurance. 

Sec. 10012. Pilot program to review effectiveness of coverage penalty. 

Sec. 10013. Program compliance and integrity. 

Sec. 10014. Reviews, compliance, and integrity. 

Sec. 10015. Whole Farm improvements. 

Sec. 10016. Research and development priorities. 

TITLE XI—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Subtitle A—Livestock and Other Animals 

PART I—ANIMAL HEALTH AND PRODUCTION

Sec. 11001. Animal disease prevention and management. 


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Sec. 11002. Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program review and report. 

Sec. 11003. Dog detection training center. 

Sec. 11004. Regionalization, zoning, and compartmentalization agreements. 

Sec. 11005. Importation of live dogs. 

Sec. 11006. Sheep production and marketing grant program. 

Sec. 11007. Ensuring the free movement of livestock-derived products in interstate commerce. 

Sec. 11008. Report on support for livestock and poultry producers during a foreign animal disease outbreak. 

PART II—MEAT AND POULTRY PROCESSING AND INSPECTION

Sec. 11111. Amplifying Processing of Livestock in the United States (A– 

PLUS). 

Sec. 11112. Hazard analysis and critical control point guidance and resources 

for small and very small poultry and meat establishments. 

Sec. 11113. Outreach on cooperative interstate shipment. 

Sec. 11114. Pilot program to support custom slaughter establishments. 

Subtitle B—Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 

Sec. 11201. Office of Homeland Security. 

Sec. 11202. Farm Service Agency. 

Sec. 11203. Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement. 

Sec. 11204. Natural Resources Conservation Service. 

Sec. 11205. Burden of proof for national appeals division hearings. 

Sec. 11206. Termination of authority. 

Sec. 11207. Functions of the Office of Tribal Relations. 

Sec. 11208. Office of the Ombudsman. 

Subtitle C—National Security 

Sec. 11301. Agricultural foreign investment disclosure improvements. 

Sec. 11302. Report on agricultural land purchasing activities in the United 

States by countries designated as state sponsors of terrorism 

and certain other countries. 

Sec. 11303. Investigative actions. 

Sec. 11304. Digitization and consolidation of foreign land ownership data collection and publication. 

Subtitle D—Other Miscellaneous Provisions 

Sec. 11401. Thrifty food plan. 

Sec. 11402. Establishment of dietary guidelines. 

Sec. 11403. Organic or non-organic Whole milk permissible. 

Sec. 11404. Commission on Farm Transitions—Needs for 2050. 

Sec. 11405. Report on personnel. 

Sec. 11406. Improvements to United States Drought Monitor. 

Sec. 11407. Agricultural fiber products trust fund. 

Sec. 11408. Reports on land access and farmland ownership data collection. 

Sec. 11409. Increasing transparency regarding detention of imported plants. 

Sec. 11410. Enhancement of pet protections. 

Sec. 11411. Protecting animals with shelter. 

Sec. 11412. Report on available assistance to agricultural producers in the 

State of Texas that have suffered economic losses due to the 

failure of Mexico to deliver water. 

Sec. 11413. Experienced services program. 


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Sec. 11414. Agricultural Labor Survey. 

Sec. 11415. Extension of Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. 

Sec. 11416. Commodity futures trading commission whistleblower program. 

Sec. 11417. Qualified renewable biomass. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

4 means the Department of Agriculture. 

5 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

6 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

7 TITLE I—COMMODITIES 

8 Subtitle A—Commodity Policy 

9 SEC. 1101. REFERENCE PRICES. 

10 Section 1111 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

11 U.S.C. 9011) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘September 

13 30, 2013’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2024’’; and 

14 (2) in paragraph (19)— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

16 ‘‘$5.50’’ and inserting ‘‘$6.35’’; 

17 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

18 ‘‘$3.70’’ and inserting ‘‘$4.10’’; 

19 (C) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

20 ‘‘$3.95’’ and inserting ‘‘$4.40’’; 

21 (D) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

22 ‘‘$4.95’’ and inserting ‘‘$5.45’’; 


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1 (E) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

2 ‘‘$2.40’’ and inserting ‘‘$2.65’’; 

3 (F) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

4 ‘‘$14.00’’ and inserting ‘‘$16.90’’; 

5 (G) in subparagraph (G), by striking 

6 ‘‘$14.00’’ and inserting ‘‘$16.90’’; 

7 (H) in subparagraph (H), by striking 

8 ‘‘$8.40’’ and inserting ‘‘$10.00’’; 

9 (I) in subparagraph (I), by striking 

10 ‘‘$20.15’’ and inserting ‘‘$23.75’’; 

11 (J) in subparagraph (J), by striking 

12 ‘‘$535.00’’ and inserting ‘‘$630.00’’; 

13 (K) in subparagraph (K), by striking 

14 ‘‘$11.00’’ and inserting ‘‘$13.10’’; 

15 (L) in subparagraph (L), by striking 

16 ‘‘$19.97’’ and inserting ‘‘$23.75’’; 

17 (M) in subparagraph (M), by striking 

18 ‘‘$19.04’’ and inserting ‘‘$22.65’’; 

19 (N) in subparagraph (N), by striking 

20 ‘‘$21.54’’ and inserting ‘‘$25.65’’; and 

21 (O) in subparagraph (O), by striking 

22 ‘‘$0.367’’ and inserting ‘‘$0.42’’. 

23 SEC. 1102. 1-TIME OPPORTUNITY TO ADD BASE ACRES. 

24 Section 1112 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

25 U.S.C. 9012) is amended: 


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1 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(a) 1-TIME OPPORTUNITY TO ADD BASE ACRES.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

5 ‘‘(A) NOTICE OF OPPORTUNITY TO ADD

6 BASE ACRES.—As soon as practicable after the 

7 date of enactment of the Prioritizing American 

8 Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over Bu9 reaucracy Act, the Secretary shall provide no10 tice to the owners of a farm regarding the allo11 cation of base acres to such farm in the manner 

12 provided in this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(B) CONTENT OF NOTICE.—The notice 

14 under subparagraph (A) shall include the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(i) Information that the allocation is 

17 occurring. 

18 ‘‘(ii) Information regarding the eligi19 bility of the farm for an allocation of base 

20 acres under paragraph (2). 

21 ‘‘(iii) Information on how an owner 

22 may appeal a determination of ineligibility 

23 for an allocation of base acres under para24 graph (2) through an appeals process es25 tablished by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(C) OPT-OUT.—An owner of a farm that 

2 is eligible to receive an allocation of base acres 

3 may elect to not receive such allocation by noti4 fying the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara7 graph (E), effective beginning with the 2025 

8 crop year, a farm is eligible to receive an alloca9 tion of base acres if, with respect to such farm, 

10 the amount described in subparagraph (B) ex11 ceeds the amount described in subparagraph 

12 (C). 

13 ‘‘(B) 5-YEAR AVERAGE SUM.—The amount 

14 described in this subparagraph is, with respect 

15 to a farm, the sum of— 

16 ‘‘(i) the 5-year average of— 

17 ‘‘(I) the acreage planted on the 

18 farm to all covered commodities for 

19 harvest, grazing, haying, silage or 

20 other similar purposes for the 2019 

21 through 2023 crop years; and 

22 ‘‘(II) any acreage on the farm 

23 that the producers were prevented 

24 from planting during the 2019 

25 through 2023 crop years to covered 


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1 commodities because of drought, 

2 flood, or other natural disaster, or 

3 other condition beyond the control of 

4 the producers, as determined by the 

5 Secretary; plus 

6 ‘‘(ii) the lesser of the following: 

7 ‘‘(I) 15 percent of the total acres 

8 on the farm. 

9 ‘‘(II) The 5-year average of— 

10 ‘‘(aa) the acreage planted on 

11 the farm to eligible non-covered 

12 commodities for harvest, grazing, 

13 haying, silage, or other similar 

14 purposes for the 2019 through 

15 2023 crop years; and 

16 ‘‘(bb) any acreage on the 

17 farm that the producers were 

18 prevented from planting during 

19 the 2019 through 2023 crop 

20 years to eligible non-covered com21 modities because of drought, 

22 flood, or other natural disaster, 

23 or other condition beyond the 

24 control of the producers, as de25 termined by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(C) TOTAL NUMBER OF BASE ACRES FOR

2 COVERED COMMODITIES.—The amount de3 scribed in this subparagraph is, with respect to 

4 a farm, the total number of base acres for cov5 ered commodities on the farm (excluding unas6 signed crop base), as in effect on September 30, 

7 2024. 

8 ‘‘(D) ACREAGE PLANTED ON THE FARM TO

9 ELIGIBLE NON-COVERED COMMODITIES DE10 FINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘acreage 

11 planted on the farm to eligible non-covered 

12 commodities’ means acreage planted on a farm 

13 to commodities other than covered commodities, 

14 trees, bushes, vines, grass, or pasture (including 

15 cropland that was idle or fallow), as determined 

16 by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(E) EFFECT OF NO RECENT PLANTINGS

18 OF COVERED COMMODITIES.—In the case of a 

19 farm for which the amount determined under 

20 clause (i) of subparagraph (B) is equal to zero, 

21 such farm shall be ineligible to receive an allo22 cation of base acres under this subsection. 

23 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE ACRES.—Subject to paragraph 

24 (5), the acres eligible for allocation to base acres— 


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1 ‘‘(A) shall be equal to the difference ob2 tained by subtracting the amount determined 

3 under subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) from 

4 the amount determined under subparagraph 

5 (B) of such paragraph; and 

6 ‘‘(B) shall include unassigned crop base. 

7 ‘‘(4) ALLOCATION OF ACRES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) ALLOCATION.—For the purpose of 

9 applying this subsection to covered commod10 ities, the Secretary shall allocate the eligible 

11 acres under paragraph (3) among those covered 

12 commodities planted on the farm at any time 

13 during the 2019 through 2023 crop years. 

14 ‘‘(B) ALLOCATION FORMULA.—The alloca15 tion of eligible acres to base acres for covered 

16 commodities shall be in proportion to the ratio 

17 of— 

18 ‘‘(i) the 5-year average of— 

19 ‘‘(I) the acreage planted on the 

20 farm to each covered commodity for 

21 harvest, grazing, haying, silage, or 

22 other similar purposes for the 2019 

23 through 2023 crop years; and 

24 ‘‘(II) any acreage on the farm 

25 that the producers were prevented 


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1 from planting during the 2019 

2 through 2023 crop years to that cov3 ered commodity because of drought, 

4 flood, or other natural disaster, or 

5 other condition beyond the control of 

6 the producers, as determined by the 

7 Secretary; to 

8 ‘‘(ii) the 5-year average determined 

9 under paragraph (2)(B)(i). 

10 ‘‘(C) INCLUSION OF ALL 5 YEARS IN AVER11 AGE.—For the purpose of determining a 5-year 

12 acreage average under subparagraph (B) for a 

13 farm, the Secretary shall not exclude any crop 

14 year in which a covered commodity was not 

15 planted. 

16 ‘‘(D) TREATMENT OF MULTIPLE PLANTING

17 OR PREVENTED PLANTING.—For the purpose of 

18 determining under subparagraph (B) the acre19 age on a farm that producers planted or were 

20 prevented from planting during the 2019 

21 through 2023 crop years to covered commod22 ities, if the acreage that was planted or pre23 vented from being planted was devoted to an24 other covered commodity in the same crop year 

25 (other than a covered commodity produced 


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1 under an established practice of double crop2 ping), the owner may elect the commodity to be 

3 used for that crop year in determining the 5- 

4 year average, but may not include both the ini5 tial commodity and the subsequent commodity. 

6 ‘‘(E) LIMITATION.—The allocation of eligi7 ble acres to base acres among covered commod8 ities on a farm under this paragraph may not 

9 result in a total number of base acres for the 

10 farm in excess of the total number of acres on 

11 the farm. 

12 ‘‘(5) REDUCTION BY THE SECRETARY.—In car13 rying out this subsection, if the total number of eli14 gible acres allocated to base acres across all farms 

15 in the United States under this subsection would ex16 ceed 30,000,000 acres, the Secretary shall apply an 

17 across the board, pro-rata reduction to the number 

18 of eligible acres to ensure the number of allocated 

19 base acres under this subsection is equal to 

20 30,000,000 acres. 

21 ‘‘(6) PAYMENT YIELD.—Beginning with crop 

22 year 2025, for the purpose of making price loss cov23 erage payments under section 1116, the Secretary 

24 shall establish payment yields to base acres allocated 

25 under this subsection equal to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the payment yield established on the 

2 farm for the applicable covered commodity; and 

3 ‘‘(B) if no such payment yield for the ap4 plicable covered commodity exists, a payment 

5 yield— 

6 ‘‘(i) equal to the average payment 

7 yield for the covered commodity for the 

8 county in which the farm is situated; or 

9 ‘‘(ii) determined pursuant to section 

10 1113(c). 

11 ‘‘(7) TREATMENT OF NEW OWNERS.—In the 

12 case of a farm for which the owner on the date of 

13 the enactment of the Farm, Food, and National Se14 curity Act of 2024 was not the owner for the 2019 

15 crop year, the Secretary shall use the planting his16 tory of the prior owner or owners of such farm for 

17 purposes of determining eligibility under paragraph 

18 (2), eligible acres under paragraph (3), and the allo19 cation of acres under paragraph (4).’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘Notwith21 standing the election made under subsection (a), 

22 the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’; 

23 (3) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘Notwith24 standing the election made under subsection (a), if’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘If’’; and 


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1 (4) in subsection (d)(3)(A), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

3 SEC. 1103. PRODUCER ELECTION. 

4 Section 1115 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

5 U.S.C. 9015) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

7 paragraph (1)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘and for’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

9 for’’; and 

10 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and for the 2025 

11 through 2029 crop years (subject to subsection 

12 (h))’’ after ‘‘(subject to subsection (h))’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (c)— 

14 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

15 by striking ‘‘2014 crop year or the 2019 crop 

16 year, as applicable’’ and inserting ‘‘2014 crop 

17 year, 2019 crop year, or 2025 crop year, as ap18 plicable’’; 

19 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2014 

20 crop year or the 2019 crop year, as applicable,’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘2014 crop year, 2019 crop year, 

22 or 2025 crop year, as applicable,’’; and 

23 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

24 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

25 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

3 and’’; and 

4 (iii) by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(C) the same coverage for each covered 

7 commodity on the farm for the 2026 through 

8 2029 crop years as was applicable for the 2024 

9 crop year.’’. 

10 SEC. 1104. PRICE LOSS COVERAGE. 

11 Section 1116 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

12 U.S.C. 9016) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (c)(1)(B)— 

16 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

18 (B) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

19 striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

20 (3) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘2024’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

22 SEC. 1105. AGRICULTURE RISK COVERAGE. 

23 Section 1117 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

24 U.S.C. 9017) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

2 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2014 through 2018 crop 

3 years or the 2019 through 2023 crop years, as appli4 cable’’ and inserting ‘‘2014 through 2018 crop 

5 years, 2019 through 2023 crop years, or 2025 

6 through 2029 crop years, as applicable’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (c)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘for 

9 each of 2014 through 2024 crop years and 90 

10 percent of the benchmark revenue for each of 

11 2025 through 2029 crop years’’ before the pe12 riod at the end; 

13 (B) in paragraph (3)(C), by striking 

14 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

15 (C) in paragraph (4)(B)— 

16 (i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘2029’’; 

20 (D) in paragraph (6)(B), by striking 

21 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

22 (3) by amending subsection (d)(1)(B) to read 

23 as follows: 

24 ‘‘(B)(i) for each of the crop years 2014 

25 through 2024, 10 percent of the benchmark 


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1 revenue for the crop year applicable under sub2 section (c); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) for each of the crop years 2025 

4 through 2029, 12.5 percent of the bench5 mark revenue for the crop year applicable 

6 under subsection (c).’’; 

7 (4) in subsection (e), in the matter preceding 

8 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘2029’’; and 

10 (5) in subsection (g)(5), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

12 Subtitle B—Marketing Loans 

13 SEC. 1201. LOAN RATES FOR NONRECOURSE MARKETING 

14 ASSISTANCE LOANS. 

15 (a) AVAILABILITY OF NONRECOURSE LOANS.—Sec16 tion 1201(b)(1) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 

17 9031(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘2029’’. 

19 (b) LOAN RATES.—Section 1202 of the Agricultural 

20 Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9032) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (b)— 

22 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

23 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2024’’; 

24 (B) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

25 by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2024’’; 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

2 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; 

3 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(c) 2025 THROUGH 2029 CROP YEARS.—For pur6 poses of each of the 2025 through 2029 crop years, the 

7 loan rate for a marketing assistance loan under section 

8 1201 for a loan commodity shall be equal to the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) In the case of wheat, $3.72 per bushel. 

10 ‘‘(2) In the case of corn, $2.42 per bushel. 

11 ‘‘(3) In the case of grain sorghum, $2.42 per 

12 bushel. 

13 ‘‘(4) In the case of barley, $2.75 per bushel. 

14 ‘‘(5) In the case of oats, $2.20 per bushel. 

15 ‘‘(6) In the case of base quality of upland cot16 ton, $0.55 per pound. 

17 ‘‘(7) In the case of extra long staple cotton, 

18 $1.00 per pound. 

19 ‘‘(8) In the case of long grain rice, $7.70 per 

20 hundredweight. 

21 ‘‘(9) In the case of medium grain rice, $7.70 

22 per hundredweight. 

23 ‘‘(10) In the case of soybeans, $6.82 per bushel. 


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1 ‘‘(11) In the case of other oilseeds, $11.10 per 

2 hundredweight for each of the following kinds of oil3 seeds: 

4 ‘‘(A) Sunflower seed. 

5 ‘‘(B) Rapeseed. 

6 ‘‘(C) Canola. 

7 ‘‘(D) Safflower. 

8 ‘‘(E) Flaxseed. 

9 ‘‘(F) Mustard seed. 

10 ‘‘(G) Crambe. 

11 ‘‘(H) Sesame seed. 

12 ‘‘(I) Other oilseeds designated by the Sec13 retary. 

14 ‘‘(12) In the case of dry peas, $6.87 per hun15 dredweight. 

16 ‘‘(13) In the case of lentils, $14.30 per hun17 dredweight. 

18 ‘‘(14) In the case of small chickpeas, $11.00 

19 per hundredweight. 

20 ‘‘(15) In the case of large chickpeas, $15.40 per 

21 hundredweight. 

22 ‘‘(16) In the case of graded wool, $1.60 per 

23 pound. 

24 ‘‘(17) In the case of nongraded wool, $0.55 per 

25 pound. 


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1 ‘‘(18) In the case of mohair, $5.00 per pound. 

2 ‘‘(19) In the case of honey, $1.50 per pound. 

3 ‘‘(20) In the case of peanuts, $390 per ton.’’; 

4 and 

5 (4) by amending subsection (e) (as so redesig6 nated) to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL RULE FOR SEED COTTON AND

8 CORN.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 

10 1116(b)(2) and paragraphs (1)(B)(ii) and 

11 (2)(A)(ii)(II) of section 1117(b), the loan rate shall 

12 be deemed to equal— 

13 ‘‘(A) for seed cotton, $0.30 per pound; and 

14 ‘‘(B) for corn, $3.30 per bushel. 

15 ‘‘(2) EFFECT.—Nothing in this subsection au16 thorizes any nonrecourse marketing assistance loan 

17 under this subtitle for seed cotton.’’. 

18 SEC. 1202. REPAYMENT RATES FOR UPLAND COTTON, LONG 

19 GRAIN RICE, AND MEDIUM GRAIN RICE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1204 of the Agricultural 

21 Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9034) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding 

23 paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(subject to subsection 

24 (j))’’ after ‘‘section 1201 for upland cotton’’; and 

25 (2) in subsection (d)— 


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1 (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

2 paragraph (3); and 

3 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(2) a formula to determine the prevailing 

6 world market price for upland cotton that, during 

7 any period which price quotations for Middling (M) 

8 one and three-thirty-second inch cotton are available, 

9 is based on the average of the 3 lowest-priced 

10 growths that are quoted; and’’. 

11 (b) FLEXIBILITY FOR SEASONAL LOAN REDEMP12 TIONS.—Section 1204 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

13 U.S.C. 9034) is further amended by adding at the end 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(j) REIMBURSEMENT FOR UPLAND COTTON.—In 

16 the case of a marketing assistance loan under section 1201 

17 for upland cotton that is repaid by a producer on or after 

18 the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary 

19 shall provide a reimbursement to such producer in an 

20 amount equal to the difference obtained by subtracting— 

21 ‘‘(1) the amount the producer would have paid 

22 under such loan using the lowest prevailing world 

23 market price during the 30-day period beginning on 

24 the date on which such loan was repaid, from 

25 ‘‘(2) the amount repaid by the producer.’’. 


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1 SEC. 1203. REPAYMENT RATES FOR EXTRA LONG STAPLE 

2 COTTON. 

3 Section 1204 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

4 U.S.C. 9034) is further amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (c)— 

6 (A) by striking ‘‘shall be at the’’ and in7 serting the following: ‘‘shall be the lesser of— 

8 ‘‘(1) the’’; 

9 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

10 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

11 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(2) the prevailing world market price for the 

13 commodity, as determined and adjusted by the Sec14 retary in accordance with this section.’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (d)(1)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘upland cotton’’ and in17 serting ‘‘extra long staple cotton’’; and 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

19 (3) in subsection (e)— 

20 (A) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘EXTRA

21 LONG STAPLE COTTON,’’ after ‘‘UPLAND COT22 TON,’’; and 

23 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

24 (i) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘UP25 LAND’’ before ‘‘COTTON’’; and 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 ‘‘2024’’ and inserting ‘‘2030’’. 

3 (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

4 paragraph (4); and 

5 (D) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(3) EXTRA LONG STAPLE COTTON.—The pre8 vailing world market price for extra long staple cot9 ton determined under subsection (d)— 

10 ‘‘(A) shall be adjusted to United States 

11 quality and location, with the adjustment to in12 clude the average costs to market the com13 modity, including average transportation costs, 

14 as determined by the Secretary; and 

15 ‘‘(B) may be further adjusted, during the 

16 period beginning on the date of enactment of 

17 this paragraph and ending on July 31, 2030, if 

18 the Secretary determines the adjustment is nec19 essary— 

20 ‘‘(i) to minimize potential loan forfeit21 ures; 

22 ‘‘(ii) to minimize the accumulation of 

23 stocks of extra long staple cotton by the 

24 Federal Government; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) to ensure that extra long staple 

2 cotton produced in the United States can 

3 be marketed freely and competitively, both 

4 domestically and internationally; and 

5 ‘‘(iv) to ensure an appropriate transi6 tion between current-crop and forward7 crop price quotations, except that the Sec8 retary may use forward-crop price 

9 quotations prior to July 31 of a marketing 

10 year only if— 

11 ‘‘(I) there are insufficient cur12 rent-crop price quotations; and 

13 ‘‘(II) the forward-crop price 

14 quotation is the lowest such quotation 

15 available.’’. 

16 SEC. 1204. MODIFICATIONS TO STORAGE CREDITS. 

17 Section 1204(g) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

18 U.S.C. 9034(g)) is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘Effective’’ and inserting the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(1) CROP YEARS 2014 THROUGH 2024.—Effec22 tive’’; 

23 (2) in paragraph (1), as so redesignated, by 

24 striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2024’’; and 

25 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT OF COTTON STORAGE COSTS.— 

2 Effective for each of the 2025 through 2029 crop 

3 years, the Secretary shall make cotton storage pay4 ments for upland cotton and extra long staple cotton 

5 available in the same manner as the Secretary pro6 vided storage payments for the 2006 crop of upland 

7 cotton, except that the payment rate shall be equal 

8 to the lesser of— 

9 ‘‘(A) the submitted tariff rate for the cur10 rent marketing year; or 

11 ‘‘(B) in the case of storage in— 

12 ‘‘(i) California or Arizona, a payment 

13 rate of $4.90; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) any other State, a payment rate 

15 of $3.00.’’. 

16 SEC. 1205. ECONOMIC ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE FOR TEX17 TILE MILLS. 

18 Section 1207(c)(2) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 

19 (7 U.S.C. 9037(c)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(2) VALUE OF ASSISTANCE.—The value of the 

21 assistance provided under paragraph (1) shall be— 

22 ‘‘(A) for the period beginning on August 1, 

23 2013, and ending on July 31, 2024, 3 cents per 

24 pound; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) beginning on August 1, 2024, 5 cents 

2 per pound.’’. 

3 Subtitle C—Sugar 

4 SEC. 1301. LOAN RATE MODIFICATIONS. 

5 Section 156 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement 

6 and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7272) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘2024’’; and 

10 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(6) 24.00 cents per pound for raw cane sugar 

12 for each of the 2025 through 2029 crop years.’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (b)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘2024’’; and 

18 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

19 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

20 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(3) a rate that is equal to 136.55 percent of 

22 the loan rate per pound of raw cane sugar under 

23 subsection (a)(6) for each of the 2025 through 2029 

24 crop years.’’. 


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1 SEC. 1302. ADJUSTMENTS TO COMMODITY CREDIT COR2 PORATION STORAGE RATES. 

3 Section 167 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement 

4 and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7287) is amended— 

5 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro8 vision of law, for the 2025 crop year and each subsequent 

9 crop year thereafter, the Commodity Credit Corporation 

10 shall establish rates for the storage of forfeited sugar in 

11 an amount that is not less than— 

12 ‘‘(1) in the case of refined sugar, 34 cents per 

13 hundredweight per month; and 

14 ‘‘(2) in the case of raw cane sugar, 27 cents per 

15 hundredweight per month.’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (b)— 

17 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘SUBSE18 QUENT’’ and inserting ‘‘PRIOR’’; and 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘and subsequent’’ and in20 serting ‘‘through 2024’’. 

21 SEC. 1303. MODERNIZING BEET SUGAR ALLOTMENTS. 

22 (a) ALLOCATION TO PROCESSORS.—Section 

23 359c(g)(2) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 (7 

24 U.S.C. 1359cc(g)(2)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘In’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) IN GEN2 ERAL.—Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 

3 in’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding sub6 paragraph (A), if the Secretary makes an up7 ward adjustment under paragraph (1)(A), in 

8 adjusting allocations among beet sugar proc9 essors the Secretary shall give priority to such 

10 processors with available sugar.’’. 

11 (b) TIMING OF REASSIGNMENT.—Section 359e(b)(2) 

12 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C. 

13 1359ee(b)(2)) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘If’’ and inserting ‘‘(A) IN GEN15 ERAL.—If’’; 

16 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), 

17 and (C) as clauses (i), (ii), and (iii), respectively; 

18 and 

19 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(B) TIMING.—In carrying out this para21 graph, the Secretary shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) make an initial determination fol23 lowing the publication of the World Agri24 cultural Supply and Demand Estimates 

25 (WASDE) by the World Agricultural OutVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 look Board for the month of January that 

2 is applicable to the crop year for which al3 lotments are required; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) provide for an initial reassign5 ment under subparagraph (A)(i) not later 

6 than 30 days after the announcement of 

7 such WASDE.’’. 

8 SEC. 1304. REALLOCATIONS OF TARIFF RATE QUOTA 

9 SHORTFALL. 

10 Section 359k of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 

11 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1359kk) is amended by adding at the end 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(c) REALLOCATION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) INITIAL REALLOCATION.—Subject to para15 graph (3), following the establishment of the tariff16 rate quotas under subsection (a), the United States 

17 Trade Representative, in consultation with the Sec18 retary, shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) determine which countries do not in20 tend to fill their allocation for the quota year; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(B) reallocate any forecasted shortfall as 

23 soon as practicable. 

24 ‘‘(2) SUBSEQUENT REALLOCATION.—Subject to 

25 paragraph (3), not later than March 1 of a quota 


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1 year, the United States Trade Representative, in 

2 consultation with the Secretary, shall reallocate any 

3 additional forecasted shortfall in the fulfillment of 

4 the minimum tariff-rate quotas for raw cane sugar 

5 established under subsection (a)(1) for that quota 

6 year. 

7 ‘‘(3) EARLY CESSATION OF EFFECTIVENESS.— 

8 Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply if— 

9 ‘‘(A) the Agreement Suspending the Coun10 tervailing Duty Investigation on Sugar from 

11 Mexico (C–201–846) is terminated; and 

12 ‘‘(B) the countervailing duty order on 

13 sugar from Mexico is revoked. 

14 ‘‘(d) REFINED SUGAR.— 

15 ‘‘(1) STUDY REQUIRED.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

17 days after the date of the enactment of the 

18 Prioritizing American Farmers and Agricultural 

19 Industry Over Bureaucracy Act, the Secretary 

20 shall carry out a study on whether additional 

21 terms and conditions with respect to refined 

22 sugar imports are necessary and appropriate. 

23 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—In conducting the study 

24 required by subparagraph (A), the Secretary 

25 shall examine the following: 


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1 ‘‘(i) The need for: 

2 ‘‘(I) Defining ‘refined sugar’ as 

3 having a minimum polarization of 

4 99.8 degrees or higher. 

5 ‘‘(II) Establishing a standard for 

6 color or reflectance based units for re7 fined sugar such as those utilized by 

8 the International Commission of Uni9 form Methods of Sugar Analysis. 

10 ‘‘(III) Prescribing specifications 

11 for packaging type for refined sugar. 

12 ‘‘(IV) Prescribing specifications 

13 for transportation modes for refined 

14 sugar. 

15 ‘‘(V) Requiring affidavits or 

16 other evidence that sugar imported as 

17 refined will not undergo further refin18 ing in the United States. 

19 ‘‘(VI) Prescribing appropriate 

20 terms and conditions to avoid the cir21 cumvention of United States law rel22 ative to any sugar imports. 

23 ‘‘(VII) requiring other additional 

24 definitions, terms and conditions, or 

25 other requirements. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The potential impact of each of 

2 subclauses (I) through (VII) of clause (i) 

3 on the domestic sugar industry. 

4 ‘‘(iii) Whether, based on the need de5 scribed in clause (i) and the impact de6 scribed in clause (ii), additional terms and 

7 conditions are appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(C) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the 

9 study required by paragraph (A), the Secretary 

10 shall consult with representatives of the domes11 tic sugar industry, users of refined sugar, and 

12 relevant State and Federal agencies. 

13 ‘‘(D) REPORT.—Not later than one year 

14 after the date of enactment of the Prioritizing 

15 American Farmers and Agricultural Industry 

16 Over Bureaucracy Act, the Secretary shall sub17 mit to the Committee on Agriculture of the 

18 House of Representatives and the Committee 

19 on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 

20 Senate a report that includes the findings of 

21 the study required under subparagraph (A). 

22 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF ADDITIONAL TERMS

23 AND CONDITIONS PERMITTED.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Based on the findings 

25 in the report submitted under paragraph 


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1 (1)(D), the Secretary may establish through the 

2 rulemaking authorized under subparagraph (B) 

3 such additional terms and conditions after pro4 viding notice to the Committee on Agriculture 

5 of the House of Representatives and the Com6 mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

7 of the Senate. 

8 ‘‘(B) PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS.— 

9 The Secretary may issue regulations to estab10 lish and implement any additional terms and 

11 conditions determined necessary and appro12 priate pursuant to paragraph (1)(A), so long as 

13 such regulations— 

14 ‘‘(i) do not have an adverse impact on 

15 the domestic sugar industry; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) are consistent with the require17 ments of this part, section 156 of the Fed18 eral Agriculture Improvement and Reform 

19 Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7272), and obliga20 tions under international trade agreements 

21 that have been approved by Congress. 

22 ‘‘(3) DOMESTIC SUGAR INDUSTRY.—In this 

23 subsection, the term ‘domestic sugar industry’ 

24 means domestic— 

25 ‘‘(A) sugar beet producers and processors; 


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1 ‘‘(B) producers and processors of sugar 

2 cane; and 

3 ‘‘(C) refiners of raw cane sugar.’’. 

4 SEC. 1305. CLARIFICATION OF TARIFF RATE QUOTA AD5 JUSTMENTS. 

6 Section 359k(b)(1) of the Agricultural Adjustment 

7 Act of 1938 (7 U.S.C. 1359kk(b)(1)) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘Before’’ and inserting ‘‘Not9 withstanding any other provision of law, before’’; 

10 and 

11 (2) by striking ‘‘if there is an’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘for the sole purpose of responding directly to an’’. 

13 Subtitle D—Dairy 

14 SEC. 1401. DAIRY MARGIN COVERAGE PRODUCTION HIS15 TORY. 

16 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 1401(8) of the Agricul17 tural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9051(8)) is amended by strik18 ing ‘‘when the participating dairy operation first registers 

19 to participate in dairy margin coverage’’. 

20 (b) PRODUCTION HISTORY OF PARTICIPATING DAIRY

21 OPERATIONS.—Section 1405 of the Agricultural Act of 

22 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9055) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘(a) PRODUCTION HISTORY.—Except as provided in 

2 subsection (b), the production history of a dairy operation 

3 for dairy margin coverage is equal to the highest annual 

4 milk marketings of the participating dairy operation dur5 ing any one of the 2021, 2022, or 2023 calendar years.’’; 

6 and 

7 (2) in subsection (b)— 

8 (A) by striking paragraphs (2) and (3); 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘OPERATIONS’’ in the sub10 section heading and all that follows through ‘‘In 

11 the case’’ in the matter preceding subparagraph 

12 (A) of paragraph (1) and inserting the fol13 lowing: ‘‘OPERATIONS.—In the case’’; and 

14 (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

15 and (B) as paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively, 

16 and indenting appropriately. 

17 SEC. 1402. PREMIUMS FOR DAIRY MARGINS. 

18 (a) TIER I.—Section 1407(b) of the Agricultural Act 

19 of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9057(b)) is amended— 

20 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘5,000,000’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘6,000,000’’; and 

22 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘5,000,000’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘6,000,000’’. 

24 (b) TIER II.—Section 1407(c) of the Agricultural Act 

25 of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9057(c)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘5,000,000’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘6,000,000’’; and 

3 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘5,000,000’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘6,000,000’’. 

5 (c) PREMIUM DISCOUNTS.—Section 1407(g) of the 

6 Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9057(g)) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘January 2019’’ and in11 serting ‘‘January 2025’’; and 

12 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2023’’ each 

13 place it appears and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

14 SEC. 1403. MANDATORY REPORTING OF DAIRY PRODUCT 

15 PROCESSING COSTS. 

16 Section 273 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 

17 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1637b) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (b)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

20 (i) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by strik21 ing ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

22 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

23 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

24 and’’; and 


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1 (iii) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(C) for each manufacturer required to re4 port under subparagraph (A) for any product, 

5 require that manufacturer to report production 

6 cost and product yield information, as deter7 mined by the Secretary, for all products proc8 essed in the same facility or facilities.’’; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting 

10 ‘‘products and’’ after ‘‘those’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (d)— 

12 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

13 ‘‘ELECTRONIC REPORTING’’ and inserting ‘‘RE14 PORTING’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

16 (i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘ELEC17 TRONIC REPORTING’’ and inserting ‘‘RE18 PORTING’’; and 

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘this section’’ and in20 serting in its place ‘‘subparagraphs (A) 

21 and (B) of subsection (b)(1)’’; 

22 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘this sec23 tion’’ and inserting in its place ‘‘subparagraphs 

24 (A) and (B) of subsection (b)(1)’’; and 

25 (D) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) DAIRY PRODUCT PROCESSING COSTS.—Not 

2 later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 

3 this paragraph, and every 2 years thereafter, the 

4 Secretary shall publish a report containing the infor5 mation obtained under subparagraph (C) of sub6 section (b)(1).’’. 

7 SEC. 1404. CLASS I SKIM MILK PRICE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 8c(5)(A) of the Agricul9 tural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(5)(A)), reenacted 

10 with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agree11 ment Act of 1937, is amended by striking the third sen12 tence and inserting ‘‘For the period beginning on the ear13 lier of the date that is 30 days after the date of the enact14 ment of the Prioritizing American Farmers and Agricul15 tural Industry Over Bureaucracy Act and the date on 

16 which the Announcement of Advanced Prices and Pricing 

17 Factors is first published after such date of enactment and 

18 ending on the effective date of a modification by amend19 ment to the order involved, for purposes of determining 

20 prices for milk of the highest use classification, the Class 

21 I skim milk price per hundredweight specified in section 

22 1000.50(b) of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc23 cessor regulations), shall be the sum of the adjusted Class 

24 I differential specified in section 1000.52 of such title 7 

25 (or successor regulations), plus the adjustment to Class 


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1 I prices specified in sections 1005.51(b), 1006.51(b), and 

2 1007.51(b) of such title 7 (or successor regulations), plus 

3 the higher of the advanced pricing factors computed in 

4 sections 1000.50(q)(1) and 1000.50(q)(2) of such title 7 

5 (or successor regulations).’’. 

6 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Implementation of the 

7 amendment made by subsection (a) shall not be subject 

8 to any of the following: 

9 (1) The notice and comment provisions of sec10 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code. 

11 (2) The notice and hearing requirements of sec12 tion 8c(3) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 

13 U.S.C. 608c(3)), reenacted with amendments by the 

14 Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937. 

15 (3) The order amendment requirements of sec16 tion 8c(17) of that Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(17)). 

17 (4) A referendum under section 8c(19) of that 

18 Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(19)). 

19 SEC. 1405. EXTENSIONS. 

20 (a) FORWARD PRICING.—Section 1502 of the Food, 

21 Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8772) 

22 is amended by striking subsection (e). 

23 (b) INDEMNITY PROGRAM.—Section 3 of Public Law 

24 90–484 (7 U.S.C. 4553) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 (c) PROMOTION AND RESEARCH.—Section 113(e)(2) 

2 of the Dairy Production Stabilization Act of 1983 (7 

3 U.S.C. 4504(e)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

5 SEC. 1406. DAIRY REPORTS. 

6 Section 301 of the Dairy Production Stabilization Act 

7 of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 4514) is amended by striking ‘‘Not 

8 later’’ and all that follows through ‘‘an annual report,’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘With respect to each calendar year begin10 ning after the date of the enactment of the Prioritizing 

11 American Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over Bu12 reaucracy Act, a report (which shall be submitted not later 

13 than 18 months after the last day of such calendar year)’’. 

14 Subtitle E—Supplemental Agricul15 tural Disaster Assistance Pro16 grams 

17 SEC. 1501. LIVESTOCK INDEMNITY PAYMENT RATES. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1501(b) of the Agricul19 tural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081(b)) is amended— 

20 (1) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT RATES.— 

23 ‘‘(A) LOSSES DUE TO PREDATION.—In24 demnity payments to an eligible producer on a 

25 farm under paragraph (1)(A) shall be made at 


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1 a rate of 100 percent of the market value of the 

2 affected livestock on the applicable date, as de3 termined by the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(B) LOSSES DUE TO ADVERSE WEATHER

5 OR DISEASE.—Indemnity payments to an eligi6 ble producer on a farm under subparagraph (B) 

7 or (C) of paragraph (1) shall be made at a rate 

8 of 75 percent of the market value of the af9 fected livestock on the applicable date, as deter10 mined by the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF MARKET

12 VALUE.—The Secretary shall determine the 

13 market value described in paragraphs (A) and 

14 (B)— 

15 ‘‘(i) in coordination with the Adminis16 trator of the Agricultural Marketing Serv17 ice; 

18 ‘‘(ii) using other appropriate re19 sources, as determined by the Secretary; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(iii) on a quarterly basis. 

22 ‘‘(D) APPLICABLE DATE DEFINED.—In 

23 this paragraph, the term ‘applicable date’ 

24 means, with respect to livestock, as applicable— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the day before the date of death 

2 of the livestock; or 

3 ‘‘(ii) the day before the date of the 

4 event that caused the harm to the livestock 

5 that resulted in a reduced sale price.’’; and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(5) ADDITIONAL PAYMENT FOR UNBORN LIVE8 STOCK.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of unborn 

10 livestock death losses incurred on or after Janu11 ary 1, 2024, the Secretary shall make an addi12 tional payment to eligible producers on farms 

13 that have incurred such losses in excess of the 

14 normal mortality due to a condition specified in 

15 paragraph (1). 

16 ‘‘(B) PAYMENT RATE.—Additional pay17 ments under subparagraph (A) shall be made at 

18 a rate— 

19 ‘‘(i) determined by the Secretary; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) less than or equal to 85 percent 

21 of the payment rate established with re22 spect to the lowest weight class of the live23 stock, as determined by the Secretary, act24 ing through the Administrator of the Farm 

25 Service Agency. 


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1 ‘‘(C) PAYMENT AMOUNT.—The amount of 

2 a payment to an eligible producer that has in3 curred unborn livestock death losses shall be 

4 equal to the payment rate determined under 

5 subparagraph (B) multiplied, in the case of live6 stock described in— 

7 ‘‘(i) subparagraph (A), (B), or (F) of 

8 subsection (a)(4), by 1; 

9 ‘‘(ii) subparagraph (D) of such sub10 section, by 2; 

11 ‘‘(iii) subparagraph (E) of such sub12 section, by 12; and 

13 ‘‘(iv) subparagraph (G) of such sub14 section, by the average number of birthed 

15 animals (for one gestation cycle) for the 

16 species of each such livestock, as deter17 mined by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(D) UNBORN LIVESTOCK DEATH LOSSES

19 DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term ‘unborn 

20 livestock death losses’ means losses of any live21 stock described in subparagraph (A), (B), (D), 

22 (E), (F), or (G) of subsection (a)(4) that was 

23 gestating on the date of the death of the live24 stock.’’. 

25 (b) DETERMINATION OF LOSSES.— 


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1 (1) LIVESTOCK INDEMNITY PROGRAM.—In de2 termining livestock death losses in excess of the nor3 mal mortality for purposes of livestock indemnity 

4 payments under section 1501(b) of the Agricultural 

5 Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081(b)), the Secretary 

6 shall— 

7 (A) with respect to eligible animal attacks 

8 by animals or avian predators treat documenta9 tion showing probability or confirmation of such 

10 an attack as sufficient to qualify for a payment 

11 under such program; and 

12 (B) calculate normal mortality as the nu13 merical amount, computed by a percentage, as 

14 established for the area by the Farm Service 

15 Agency State Committee, of expected livestock 

16 deaths by category (except that such amount 

17 shall not include attacks by animals reintro18 duced into the wild by the Federal Government 

19 or protected by Federal law, including wolves 

20 and avian predators), that normally occur dur21 ing a calendar year for a producer. 

22 (2) LIVESTOCK FORAGE PROGRAM.—In deter23 mining grazing losses for covered livestock under the 

24 livestock forage program section under 1501(c) of 

25 the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081(c)), the 


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1 Secretary shall provide eligible livestock producers 

2 not less than 90 days after the calendar year in 

3 which such grazing losses occurred to submit a com4 pleted application for assistance and the required 

5 supporting documentation relating to such losses. 

6 (3) REVISION OF REGULATIONS.—The Sec7 retary shall issue or revise regulations in accordance 

8 with this section and the amendment made by this 

9 section, including sections 1416.302 and 1416.305 

10 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect 

11 on the date of the enactment of this Act). 

12 (c) CODIFICATION OF BOVINE WEIGHT CAT13 EGORIES.—For purposes of determining payments under 

14 subsection (b) of section 1501 of the Agricultural Act of 

15 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081) with respect to livestock described 

16 in subsection (a)(4)(A) of such section, the Secretary shall 

17 use the following: 

18 (1) Weight categories of either less than 400 

19 pounds or 400 pounds or more. 

20 (2) Such other weight categories as the Sec21 retary determines appropriate, except that such 

22 weight categories may only be set at an amount that 

23 is greater than 400 pounds. 


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1 SEC. 1502. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOR HONEYBEES. 

2 In determining honeybee colony losses eligible for as3 sistance under section 1501(d) of the Agricultural Act of 

4 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081(d)), the Secretary shall review the 

5 normal mortality rate used for the calculation of such as6 sistance and adjust such rate as necessary to not include 

7 losses caused by colony collapse disorder, as determined 

8 by the Secretary. 

9 SEC. 1503. TREE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1501(e)(1) of the Agri11 cultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081(e)(1)) is amended— 

12 (1) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or bien13 nial’’ after ‘‘annual’’; and 

14 (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘or pest’’ 

15 after ‘‘insect’’. 

16 (b) LOWERING MORTALITY THRESHOLD.—Section 

17 1501(e) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 

18 9081(e)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘15 per20 cent (adjusted for normal mortality)’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘normal mortality’’; 

22 (2) in paragraph (3)(A)(i), by striking ‘‘15 per23 cent mortality (adjusted for normal mortality)’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘normal mortality’’; and 

25 (3) in paragraph (3)(B)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘50 percent’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘65 percent’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘15 percent damage or 

4 mortality (adjusted for normal tree damage and 

5 mortality)’’ and inserting ‘‘normal tree damage 

6 or mortality’’. 

7 (c) ASSISTANCE.—Section 1501(e)(3) of the Agricul8 tural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081(e)(3)) is amended in 

9 the matter before subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘and (5)’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘, (5), and (6)’’. 

11 (d) REQUIREMENTS WITH RESPECT TO ASSIST12 ANCE.—Section 1501(e) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 

13 (7 U.S.C. 9081(e)) is amended by adding at the end the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(6) TIMING REQUIREMENTS.—An eligible or16 chardist or nursery tree grower shall agree, as a 

17 condition on receipt of assistance under this sub18 section, to replant new trees and salvage existing 

19 trees for which such assistance is provided not later 

20 than— 

21 ‘‘(A) 12 months after the application for 

22 such assistance is approved; or 

23 ‘‘(B) if the period specified in subpara24 graph (A) is not adequate for tree survival, at 


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1 such time as is necessary to ensure tree sur2 vival. 

3 ‘‘(7) ALTERNATIVES USED IN REPLANTING.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An eligible orchardist 

5 or nursery tree grower receiving assistance 

6 under this subsection with respect to tree loss 

7 may use such assistance to replant using— 

8 ‘‘(i) an alternative variety; 

9 ‘‘(ii) an alternative stand density; and 

10 ‘‘(iii) an alternative location. 

11 ‘‘(B) LIMITATIONS WITH RESPECT TO AL12 TERNATIVES.—The assistance provided by the 

13 Secretary to eligible orchardists and nursery 

14 tree growers for losses described in clauses (i), 

15 (ii), and (iii) of subparagraph (A), may not be 

16 greater than the amount the eligible orchardist 

17 or nursery tree grower would receive if the eligi18 ble orchardist or nursery tree grower planted 

19 the variety or stand density lost or planted in 

20 the location in which the loss occurred, as appli21 cable.’’. 

22 (e) DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION STATUS.—Section 

23 1501(e) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 

24 9801(e)) is further amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(8) DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION STATUS.— 

2 Not later than 120 days after receiving an applica3 tion for assistance under this subsection, the Sec4 retary shall— 

5 ‘‘(A) approve or deny such application; and 

6 ‘‘(B) notify the applicant of such approval 

7 or denial.’’. 

8 SEC. 1504. ASSISTANCE IN THE FORM OF BLOCK GRANTS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle E of the Agricultural Act 

10 of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081 et seq.) is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 1502. ASSISTANCE IN THE FORM OF BLOCK GRANTS. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of additional funds 

14 made available after the date of the enactment of this sec15 tion for covered losses, the Secretary may make assistance 

16 for such losses available in the form of block grants. 

17 ‘‘(b) COVERED LOSSES.—In this section, the term 

18 ‘covered losses’ means losses— 

19 ‘‘(1) of revenue, quality, or production of crops, 

20 trees, bushes, vines, poultry or livestock as a con21 sequence of a natural disaster (as determined by the 

22 Secretary); and 

23 ‘‘(2) for which assistance is not available pursu24 ant to any other Federal law.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

2 for the Agricultural Act of 2014 is amended by inserting 

3 after the item relating to section 1501 the following: 

‘‘1502. Assistance in the form of block grants.’’. 

4 Subtitle F—Administration 

5 SEC. 1601. SUSPENSION OF PERMANENT PRICE SUPPORT 

6 AUTHORITY. 

7 Section 1602 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

8 U.S.C. 9092) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ each place 

9 it appears and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

10 SEC. 1602. IMPLEMENTATION. 

11 Section 1614 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

12 U.S.C. 9097) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (b)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

15 the end; 

16 (B) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking the 

17 period at the end and adding ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(5) establish a system that provides producers 

20 the option to repay a marketing assistance loan 

21 under section 1204 during a lapse in appropriations 

22 regardless of whether an employee of the Depart23 ment is on furlough.’’; and 

24 (2) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(5) FARM, FOOD, AND NATIONAL SECURITY

2 ACT OF 2024.—The Secretary shall make available to 

3 the Farm Service Agency to carry out titles I and 

4 XI of the Prioritizing American Farmers and Agri5 cultural Industry Over Bureaucracy Act and the 

6 amendments made by those titles $50,000,000, to 

7 remain available until expended, of which— 

8 ‘‘(A) $15,000,000 shall be used to carry 

9 out the mandatory cost surveys required by 

10 paragraph (3) of section 273(d) of the Agricul11 tural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 

12 1637b(d)), as added by the Prioritizing Amer13 ican Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over 

14 Bureaucracy Act; 

15 ‘‘(B) not less than $5,000,000 shall be 

16 used to carry out paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) 

17 of subsection (b); 

18 ‘‘(C) $3,000,000 shall be used for activities 

19 described in paragraph (3)(A); and 

20 ‘‘(D) $3,000,000 shall be used for activi21 ties described in paragraph (3)(B).’’. 

22 SEC. 1603. EQUITABLE TREATMENT OF CERTAIN ENTITIES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1001 of the Food Security 

24 Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(6) QUALIFIED PASS THROUGH ENTITY.—The 

4 term ‘qualified pass through entity’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) a partnership (within the meaning of 

6 subchapter K of chapter 1 of the Internal Rev7 enue Code of 1986); 

8 ‘‘(B) a limited liability company that does 

9 not affirmatively elect to be treated as a cor10 poration; 

11 ‘‘(C) an S corporation (as defined in sec12 tion 1361 of such Code); or 

13 ‘‘(D) a joint venture or general partner14 ship.’’; and 

15 (2) in subsections (b) and (c), by striking ‘‘ex16 cept a joint venture or general partnership’’ each 

17 place it appears and inserting ‘‘except a qualified 

18 pass through entity’’. 

19 (b) ATTRIBUTION OF PAYMENTS.—Section 

20 1001(e)(3)(B)(ii) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 

21 U.S.C. 1308(e)(3)(B)(ii)) is amended— 

22 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘JOINT VEN23 TURES AND GENERAL PARTNERSHIPS’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘QUALIFIED PASS THROUGH ENTITIES’’; 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘joint venture or a general part2 nership’’ and inserting ‘‘qualified pass through enti3 ty’’; 

4 (3) by striking ‘‘joint ventures and general 

5 partnerships’’ and inserting ‘‘qualified pass through 

6 entities’’; and 

7 (4) by striking ‘‘joint venture or general part8 nership’’ and inserting ‘‘qualified pass through enti9 ty’’. 

10 (c) EXCLUSION FROM AGI CALCULATION.—Section 

11 1001D(d) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 

12 1308–3a(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘, general partner13 ship, or joint venture’’ both places it appears. 

14 SEC. 1604. PAYMENT LIMITATION. 

15 Section 1001 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 

16 U.S.C. 1308) is further amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘The’’ and in18 serting ‘‘Subject to subsection (i), the’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘The’’ and in20 serting ‘‘Subject to subsection (i), the’’; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(i) LIMITATIONS FOR CERTAIN OPERATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with the 2025 

24 crop year, in the case of a person or legal entity (ex25 cept a qualified pass through entity) for which 


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1 greater than or equal to 75 percent of the average 

2 adjusted gross income of such person or legal entity 

3 derives from farming, ranching, or silviculture activi4 ties, subsections (b) and (c) shall apply by sub5 stituting ‘$155,000’ for ‘$125,000’ each place it ap6 pears. 

7 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary shall annu8 ally adjust the amount substituted under paragraph 

9 (1) for inflation based on the Consumer Price Index 

10 for all urban consumers published by the Depart11 ment of Labor. 

12 ‘‘(3) FARMING, RANCHING, OR SILVICULTURE

13 ACTIVITIES.—In this subsection, the term ‘farming, 

14 ranching, or silviculture activities’ includes agri-tour15 ism, direct-to-consumer marketing of agricultural 

16 products, the sale of agricultural equipment owned 

17 by such person or legal entity, and other agricul18 tural-related activities, as determined by the Sec19 retary.’’. 

20 SEC. 1605. ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME LIMITATION. 

21 Section 1001D(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

22 (7 U.S.C. 1308–3a(b)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

24 (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (3) and (4)’’; and 

25 (2) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTION.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an ex3 cepted payment or benefit, the limitation estab4 lished by paragraph (1) shall not apply to a 

5 person or legal entity during a crop, fiscal, or 

6 program year, as appropriate, if greater than or 

7 equal to 75 percent of the average adjusted 

8 gross income of the person or legal entity de9 rives from farming, ranching, or silviculture ac10 tivities (as described in section 1001(i)). 

11 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTED PAYMENT OR BENEFIT.— 

12 For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘ex13 cepted payment or benefit’ means— 

14 ‘‘(i) a payment or benefit under sub15 title E of title I of the Agricultural Act of 

16 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081 et seq.); 

17 ‘‘(ii) a payment or benefit under sec18 tion 196 of the Federal Agriculture Im19 provement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 

20 U.S.C. 7333); and 

21 ‘‘(iii) beginning October 1, 2024, a 

22 payment or benefit described in paragraph 

23 (2)(C).’’. 


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1 SEC. 1606. STORAGE FACILITY LOANS. 

2 Section 1614(a) of the Food, Conservation, and En3 ergy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8789(a)) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘funds for producers’’ and in5 serting the following: ‘‘funds for— 

6 ‘‘(1) producers’’; and 

7 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert8 ing ‘‘; and’’; and 

9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(2) producers to construct or upgrade storage 

11 facilities for propane that is primarily used for agri12 cultural production (as such term is defined in sec13 tion 4279.2 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations 

14 (as in effect on the date of the enactment of this 

15 paragraph)).’’. 

16 SEC. 1607. STRENGTHENING DOMESTIC FOOD PRODUCTION 

17 SUPPLY CHAINS. 

18 Subtitle C of title I of the Agricultural Act of 2014 

19 (Public Law 113–79) is amended by adding at the end 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 1302. STRENGTHENING DOMESTIC FOOD PRODUC22 TION SUPPLY CHAINS. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to any Federal pol24 icy that would impact the administration of this subtitle, 

25 the amendments made by this subtitle, or any rule, policy, 

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1 ments, the preservation and strengthening of the domestic 

2 production described in subsection (b) shall be a priority 

3 objective of the President. 

4 ‘‘(b) DOMESTIC PRODUCTION DESCRIBED.—The do5 mestic production described in this subsection is the pro6 duction of an agricultural commodity— 

7 ‘‘(1) covered under this subtitle or an amend8 ment made by this subtitle; and 

9 ‘‘(2) from which a food ingredient that serves 

10 an important function throughout the domestic food 

11 production supply chain is derived.’’. 

12 SEC. 1608. LIMITATION ON CCC AUTHORITY. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding section 5 of the 

14 Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 

15 714c), during fiscal years 2025 through 2034, the Com16 modity Credit Corporation is authorized to use its general 

17 powers only to carry out operations as the Congress may 

18 specifically authorize or provide for. 

19 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub20 section (a) shall be construed to impact funds obligated 

21 before the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 TITLE II—CONSERVATION 

2 Subtitle A—Definitions 

3 SEC. 2001. DEFINITIONS. 

4 Section 1201(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

5 (16 U.S.C. 3801(a)) is amended— 

6 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

7 striking ‘‘subtitles A through I:’’ and inserting ‘‘sub8 titles A through J:’’; 

9 (2) in paragraph (14), by striking ‘‘term ‘In10 dian tribe’ has the meaning given the term’’ and in11 serting ‘‘terms ‘Indian tribe’ and ‘Indian Tribe’ have 

12 the meaning given those terms’’; 

13 (3) by redesignating paragraph (20) through 

14 (27) as paragraphs (22) through (29), respectively; 

15 and 

16 (4) by inserting after paragraph (19) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(20) PRECISION AGRICULTURE.—The term 

19 ‘precision agriculture’ means managing, tracking, or 

20 reducing crop or livestock production inputs, includ21 ing seed, feed, fertilizer, chemicals, water, and time, 

22 at a heightened level of spatial and temporal granu23 larity to improve efficiencies, reduce waste, and 

24 maintain environmental quality. 


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1 ‘‘(21) PRECISION AGRICULTURE TECH2 NOLOGY.—The term ‘precision agriculture tech3 nology’ means any technology (including equipment 

4 that is necessary for the deployment of such tech5 nology) that directly contributes to a reduction in, or 

6 improved efficiency of, inputs used in crop or live7 stock production, including— 

8 ‘‘(A) Global Positioning System-based or 

9 geospatial mapping technology; 

10 ‘‘(B) satellite or aerial imagery technology; 

11 ‘‘(C) yield monitors; 

12 ‘‘(D) soil mapping technology; 

13 ‘‘(E) sensors for gathering data on crop, 

14 soil, or livestock conditions; 

15 ‘‘(F) Internet of Things and telematics 

16 technologies; 

17 ‘‘(G) data management software and ad18 vanced analytics; 

19 ‘‘(H) network connectivity products and 

20 solutions; 

21 ‘‘(I) Global Positioning System guidance or 

22 auto-steer systems; 

23 ‘‘(J) variable rate technology for applying 

24 inputs, such as section control; and 


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1 ‘‘(K) any other technology, as determined 

2 by the Secretary, that directly contributes to a 

3 reduction in, or improved efficiency of, the use 

4 of crop or livestock production inputs, which 

5 may include seed, feed, fertilizer, chemicals, 

6 water, and time.’’. 

7 Subtitle B—Conservation Reserve 

8 Program 

9 SEC. 2101. DEFINITIONS. 

10 Subchapter B of chapter 1 of title XII of the Food 

11 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.) is amended 

12 by inserting before section 1231 the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 1230. DEFINITIONS. 

14 ‘‘In this subchapter: 

15 ‘‘(1) CONSERVATION BUFFER.—The term ‘con16 servation buffer’ means a practice that, once estab17 lished, provides a benefit to water quality or another 

18 resource concern, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) a grass sod waterway; 

20 ‘‘(B) a contour grass sod strip; 

21 ‘‘(C) a prairie strip; 

22 ‘‘(D) a filterstrip; 

23 ‘‘(E) a field border; 

24 ‘‘(F) a living snow fence; 

25 ‘‘(G) a riparian buffer; 


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1 ‘‘(H) a shelterbelt or windbreak; 

2 ‘‘(I) a wetland or a wetland buffer (includ3 ing a buffer for prairie potholes, a playa, or a 

4 pocosin); 

5 ‘‘(J) a saturated buffer; 

6 ‘‘(K) a bioreactor; 

7 ‘‘(L) a wellhead protection area; and 

8 ‘‘(M) other similar practices, as determined 

9 by the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(2) CONSERVATION RESERVE PLAN.—The 

11 term ‘conservation reserve plan’ means a plan for 

12 land enrolled in the conservation reserve under a 

13 contract entered into under this subchapter that— 

14 ‘‘(A) covers the full term of the contract; 

15 ‘‘(B) details the practices to be imple16 mented under the contract and a schedule for 

17 establishment, evaluation, and monitoring of 

18 the applicable vegetative cover; 

19 ‘‘(C) prescribes and schedules management 

20 to be conducted on the established cover 

21 throughout the term of the contract; 

22 ‘‘(D) sets forth the commercial use, if any, 

23 to be permitted on the land during the term of 

24 the contract; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) may be modified, with the approval of 

2 the Secretary, when necessary to achieve the 

3 purposes of the program. 

4 ‘‘(3) CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM.—The 

5 term ‘conservation reserve program’ means the con6 servation reserve program established under this 

7 subchapter. 

8 ‘‘(4) CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT OPTION.—The 

9 term ‘continuous enrollment option’ means the con10 tinuous enrollment option offered under section 

11 1231(d)(1)(B). 

12 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE LAND.—The term ‘eligible land’ 

13 means land that is authorized to be included in the 

14 conservation reserve program under section 1231(b). 

15 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE PARTNER.—The term ‘eligible 

16 partner’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) a State; 

18 ‘‘(B) a political subdivision of a State; 

19 ‘‘(C) an Indian Tribe; or 

20 ‘‘(D) a nongovernmental organization. 

21 ‘‘(7) GENERAL ENROLLMENT OPTION.—The 

22 term ‘general enrollment option’ means the general 

23 enrollment option offered under section 

24 1231(d)(1)(A). 


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1 ‘‘(8) GRASSLANDS ENROLLMENT OPTION.—The 

2 term ‘grasslands enrollment option’ means the grass3 lands enrollment option offered under section 

4 1231(d)(1)(C). 

5 ‘‘(9) LAND CAPABILITY CLASS.—The term ‘land 

6 capability class’ means a soil classification assigned 

7 using the land capability classification system in ef8 fect on December 23, 1985. 

9 ‘‘(10) PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVES ENROLLMENT

10 OPTION.—The term ‘partnership initiatives enroll11 ment option’ means the partnership initiatives en12 rollment option offered under section 

13 1231(d)(1)(D).’’. 

14 SEC. 2102. CONSERVATION RESERVE. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1231(a) of the Food Se16 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(a)) is amended to 

17 read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Through the 2029 fiscal year, 

19 the Secretary shall formulate and carry out a conservation 

20 reserve program in each State, to the maximum extent 

21 practicable, under which eligible land is enrolled in the 

22 conservation reserve through the use of contracts to assist 

23 owners and operators of such land with the establishment 

24 and maintenance of permanent cover for the purposes of— 


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1 ‘‘(1) conserving and improving the soil, water, 

2 and wildlife resources of such land; and 

3 ‘‘(2) addressing resource concerns raised by 

4 Tribal, State, regional, and national conservation 

5 initiatives.’’. 

6 (b) ELIGIBLE LAND.—Section 1231(b) of the Food 

7 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(b)) is amended to 

8 read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE LAND.—The Secretary may include in 

10 the conservation reserve program the following, in accord11 ance with subsection (d)(1): 

12 ‘‘(1) Cropland that— 

13 ‘‘(A)(i) on a field level, consists of not less 

14 than 85 percent soils with a dryland cropland 

15 land capability class of III through VII; or 

16 ‘‘(ii) cannot be farmed in accordance with 

17 a plan that complies with the requirements of 

18 subtitle B; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the Secretary determines had a crop20 ping history or was considered to be planted for 

21 not fewer than 4 of the 6 years preceding the 

22 date of enactment of the Prioritizing American 

23 Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over Bu24 reaucracy Act. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Cropland (including prairie potholes, 

2 playas, and pocosins within cropland), grasslands, 

3 and marginal pasture land (including marginal 

4 pastureland converted to wetland or established as 

5 wildlife habitat) to be— 

6 ‘‘(A) devoted to conservation buffers; 

7 ‘‘(B) established to ecologically appropriate 

8 vegetation, including trees, in or near riparian 

9 areas, intermittent, seasonal, or perennial 

10 streams, wetlands (including prairie potholes, 

11 playas, and pocosins), or saline-impaired soils; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(C) devoted to similar water quality or 

14 wildlife habitat practices. 

15 ‘‘(3) Grasslands that— 

16 ‘‘(A) contain forbs or shrubland (including 

17 improved rangeland and pastureland) for which 

18 grazing is the predominant use; 

19 ‘‘(B) are located in an area historically 

20 dominated by grasslands; and 

21 ‘‘(C) could provide habitat for animal and 

22 plant populations of significant ecological value 

23 if the land is retained in its current use or re24 stored to a natural condition. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Land described in paragraph (1), (2), or 

2 (3) that will address significant water quality, water 

3 conservation, and wildlife habitat concerns, as pro4 posed by an eligible partner and agreed to by the 

5 Secretary for purposes of section 1231A. 

6 ‘‘(5) The portion of land in a field not enrolled 

7 in the conservation reserve in a case in which— 

8 ‘‘(A) more than 50 percent of the land in 

9 the field is enrolled as a buffer or filterstrip, or 

10 more than 75 percent of the land in the field 

11 is enrolled as a conservation practice other than 

12 as a buffer or filterstrip; and 

13 ‘‘(B) the Secretary determines that the re14 mainder of the field is infeasible to farm.’’. 

15 (c) PLANTING STATUS OF CERTAIN LAND.—Section 

16 1231(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

17 3831(c)) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(c) PLANTING STATUS OF CERTAIN LAND.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of deter20 mining the eligibility of land to be enrolled in the 

21 conservation reserve established under this sub22 chapter, land shall be considered to be planted to an 

23 agricultural commodity during a crop year if, during 

24 the crop year, the land was devoted to a conserving 

25 use. 


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1 ‘‘(2) MULTI-YEAR GRASSES AND LEGUMES.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

3 subchapter, alfalfa and other multi-year grasses 

4 and legumes in a rotation practice, approved by 

5 the Secretary, shall be considered agricultural 

6 commodities. 

7 ‘‘(B) CROPPING HISTORY.—Alfalfa, when 

8 grown as part of a rotation practice, as deter9 mined by the Secretary, is an agricultural com10 modity subject to the cropping history criteria 

11 under subsection (b)(1)(B) for the purpose of 

12 determining whether eligible cropland has been 

13 planted or considered planted for 4 of the 6 

14 years referred to in such subsection.’’. 

15 (d) ENROLLMENT.—Section 1231(d) of the Food Se16 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(d)) is amended to 

17 read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(d) ENROLLMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) ENROLLMENT OPTIONS.—The Secretary 

20 shall offer enrollment in the conservation reserve 

21 under this subchapter through the following enroll22 ment options: 

23 ‘‘(A) A general enrollment option, for eligi24 ble land described in subsection (b)(1). 


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1 ‘‘(B) A continuous enrollment option, for 

2 eligible land described in subsection (b)(2) and 

3 any associated eligible land described in sub4 section (b)(5). 

5 ‘‘(C) A grassland enrollment option, for el6 igible land described in subsection (b)(3). 

7 ‘‘(D) A partnership initiatives enrollment 

8 option, for eligible land described in subsection 

9 (b)(4), and any associated eligible land de10 scribed in subsection (b)(5), that is to be en11 rolled pursuant to an agreement entered into 

12 under section 1231A(b). 

13 ‘‘(2) METHOD OF ENROLLMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(A) GENERAL ENROLLMENT OPTION.—In 

15 enrolling eligible land under the general enroll16 ment option, the Secretary shall make the con17 servation reserve program available to owners 

18 or operators of eligible land on an annual en19 rollment basis with one or more ranking peri20 ods. 

21 ‘‘(B) CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT OP22 TION.—In enrolling eligible land under the con23 tinuous enrollment option, the Secretary shall 

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1 able to owners or operators of eligible land on 

2 a continuous basis. 

3 ‘‘(C) GRASSLANDS ENROLLMENT OP4 TION.—In enrolling eligible land under the 

5 grasslands enrollment option, the Secretary 

6 shall make the conservation reserve program 

7 available to owners or operators of eligible land 

8 on an annual enrollment basis with one or more 

9 ranking periods. 

10 ‘‘(D) PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVES ENROLL11 MENT OPTION.—In enrolling eligible land under 

12 the partnership initiatives enrollment option, 

13 the Secretary shall make the conservation re14 serve program available to owners or operators 

15 of eligible land using the methods and processes 

16 for enrollment described in the applicable agree17 ment under section 1231A(b)(2)(A). 

18 ‘‘(3) MAXIMUM ACREAGE ENROLLED.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

20 maintain in the conservation reserve at any one 

21 time during fiscal years 2025 through 2029 not 

22 more than 27,000,000 acres. 

23 ‘‘(B) GRASSLANDS.—For purposes of ap24 plying the limitations in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Secretary shall enroll and 

2 maintain in the conservation reserve not 

3 fewer than 8,000,000 acres of the land de4 scribed in subsection (b)(3) by September 

5 30, 2029; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) in carrying out clause (i), to the 

7 maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 

8 shall maintain in the conservation reserve 

9 at any one time during— 

10 ‘‘(I) fiscal year 2025, 6,000,000 

11 acres; 

12 ‘‘(II) fiscal year 2026, 7,000,000 

13 acres; and 

14 ‘‘(III) fiscal years 2027 through 

15 2029, 8,000,000 acres.’’. 

16 (e) TERM OF CONTRACT.—Section 1231(e) of the 

17 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(e)) is amend18 ed to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(e) TERM OF CONTRACT.—The term of a contract 

20 under this subchapter shall be— 

21 ‘‘(1) 10 years for a contract entered into pursu22 ant to the general enrollment option or the grass23 lands enrollment option; 

24 ‘‘(2) not fewer than 10 years nor more than 15 

25 years, as determined by the Secretary, for a contract 


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1 entered into pursuant to the continuous enrollment 

2 option or the partnership initiatives enrollment op3 tion; and 

4 ‘‘(3) notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), 

5 upon request of the owner or operator of eligible 

6 land, not fewer than 10 years nor more than 30 

7 years, as determined by the Secretary, for a contract 

8 to enroll eligible land devoted to conservation buffers 

9 that improve water quality by reducing sediment 

10 loadings, nutrient loadings, and harmful algal 

11 blooms.’’. 

12 (f) CONSERVATION PRIORITY AREAS.—Section 

13 1231(f) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

14 3831(f)) is amended by striking paragraph (4). 

15 (g) REENROLLMENT; PROVISIONS FOR LAND ESTAB16 LISHED TO TREES.—Section 1231 of the Food Security 

17 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831) is amended by striking sub18 sections (g) through (i) and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(g) REENROLLMENT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY FOR CONSIDERATION.—Dur21 ing the final year of the term of a contract entered 

22 into under this subchapter, the land subject to the 

23 contract shall be eligible to be considered for re24 enrollment in the conservation reserve in accordance 

25 with paragraph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—The eligibility of land for 

2 reenrollment in the conservation reserve shall be 

3 subject to the land meeting the applicable require4 ments of subsection (b). 

5 ‘‘(h) PROVISIONS FOR LAND ESTABLISHED TO

6 TREES.— 

7 ‘‘(1) RESTRICTED TREES.—In this subsection, 

8 the term ‘restricted tree’ means a pine tree, other 

9 than a shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) or a longleaf 

10 pine (Pinus palustris). 

11 ‘‘(2) REENROLLMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) PROHIBITION FOR RESTRICTED

13 TREES.—Notwithstanding subsection (g), land 

14 subject to a contract entered into under this 

15 subchapter that is established predominately to 

16 restricted trees is not eligible to be considered 

17 for reenrollment in the conservation reserve. 

18 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION ON OTHER TREES.— 

19 Notwithstanding subsection (g), land subject to 

20 a contract entered into under this subchapter 

21 that is established predominately to trees that 

22 are not restricted trees is eligible to be consid23 ered for reenrollment in the conservation re24 serve in accordance with such subsection only if 

25 the land— 


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1 ‘‘(i) is devoted to shelterbelts, riparian 

2 forest buffers, or trees of high conservation 

3 value, as determined by the Secretary; or 

4 ‘‘(ii) consists of forested wetlands. 

5 ‘‘(3) SUBSEQUENT ENROLLMENT.—Land that 

6 has previously been subject to a contract entered 

7 into under this subchapter, and which was estab8 lished predominately to restricted trees during the 

9 term of such contract, may be subsequently enrolled 

10 in the conservation reserve in accordance with sub11 section (d) only if— 

12 ‘‘(A) the restricted trees have been har13 vested; and 

14 ‘‘(B) the new enrollment is for establish15 ment of a permanent cover other than re16 stricted trees.’’. 

17 SEC. 2103. PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVES. 

18 (a) PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVES.—Section 1231A of 

19 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831a) is 

20 amended in the header by striking ‘‘CONSERVATION RE21 SERVE ENHANCEMENT PROGRAM’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVES’’. 

23 (b) IN GENERAL.—Section 1231A(a) of the Food Se24 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831a(a)) is amended to 

25 read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish the 

2 conservation reserve enhancement program and the State 

3 acres for wildlife enhancement program under this sub4 chapter in order to leverage Federal and non-Federal 

5 funds to— 

6 ‘‘(1) target specific State, regional, or nation7 ally significant conservation concerns; and 

8 ‘‘(2) restore critical wildlife habitat.’’. 

9 (c) AGREEMENTS.—Section 1231A(b) of the Food 

10 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831a(b)) is amended 

11 to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(b) AGREEMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter 

14 into or modify an agreement with an eligible partner 

15 to carry out the conservation reserve enhancement 

16 program or the State acres for wildlife enhancement 

17 program, within a defined geographic area— 

18 ‘‘(A) to assist in enrolling eligible land in 

19 the conservation reserve under this subchapter; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) that the Secretary determines will ad22 vance the purposes of this subchapter. 

23 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An agreement entered 

2 into or modified under paragraph (1) shall de3 scribe— 

4 ‘‘(i) 1 or more specific State or na5 tionally significant resource concerns to be 

6 addressed by the agreement; 

7 ‘‘(ii) quantifiable environmental goals 

8 for addressing the concerns under clause 

9 (i); 

10 ‘‘(iii) a suitable acreage goal for en11 rollment of eligible land under the agree12 ment, as determined by the Secretary; 

13 ‘‘(iv) the location of eligible land to be 

14 enrolled in the project area identified 

15 under the agreement; 

16 ‘‘(v) the payments to be offered by the 

17 Secretary and eligible partner to an owner 

18 or operator; 

19 ‘‘(vi) an appropriate list of conserva20 tion reserve program conservation practices 

21 that are appropriate to meeting the con22 cerns described under clause (i), as deter23 mined by the Secretary in consultation 

24 with eligible partners; and 


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1 ‘‘(vii) methods and processes for en2 rollment of eligible land under the agree3 ment, as determined by the Secretary in 

4 consultation with the eligible partner. 

5 ‘‘(B) CREP MATCHING REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 An agreement entered into or modified under 

7 paragraph (1) to carry out the conservation re8 serve enhancement program shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) subject to clause (ii), require the 

10 eligible partner to provide matching 

11 funds— 

12 ‘‘(I) in an amount determined 

13 during a negotiation between the Sec14 retary and 1 or more eligible partners, 

15 if the majority of the matching funds 

16 to carry out the agreement are pro17 vided by 1 or more eligible partners 

18 that are not nongovernmental organi19 zations; or 

20 ‘‘(II) in an amount not less than 

21 30 percent of the cost required to 

22 carry out the conservation measures 

23 and practices described in the agree24 ment, if a majority of the matching 

25 funds to carry out the agreement are 


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1 provided by 1 or more nongovern2 mental organizations; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) include procedures to allow for a 

4 temporary waiver of the matching require5 ments under clause (i), or continued enroll6 ment with a temporary suspension of in7 centives or eligible partner contributions 

8 for new agreements, during a period when 

9 an eligible partner loses the authority or 

10 ability to provide matching contributions, 

11 if the Secretary determines that the tem12 porary waiver or continued enrollment with 

13 a temporary suspension will advance the 

14 purposes of this subchapter.’’. 

15 (d) PAYMENTS.—Section 1231A(c) of the Food Secu16 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831a(c)) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘under a 

18 CREP’’ and inserting ‘‘under a contract entered into 

19 pursuant to an agreement under this section’’; 

20 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘under a 

21 CREP’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘under 

22 a contract entered into pursuant to an agreement 

23 under this section’’; 

24 (3) in paragraph (4)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘re2 serve’’ after ‘‘consistent with the conservation’’; 

3 and 

4 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘The 

5 amount of payments received by’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘The amount of payments made by the Sec7 retary to’’. 

8 (e) FORESTED RIPARIAN BUFFER PRACTICE.—Sec9 tion 1231A(d) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

10 U.S.C. 3831a(d)) is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(d) FORESTED RIPARIAN BUFFER PRACTICE.—In 

12 the case of an agreement under subsection (b)(1) that in13 cludes forested riparian buffers as an eligible practice, the 

14 Secretary shall allow an owner or operator— 

15 ‘‘(1) to plant food-producing woody plants in 

16 the forested riparian buffers, on the conditions 

17 that— 

18 ‘‘(A) the plants shall contribute to the con19 servation of soil, water quality, and wildlife 

20 habitat; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the planting shall be consistent 

22 with— 

23 ‘‘(i) recommendations of the applica24 ble State technical committee established 

25 under section 1261(a); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) technical guide standards ap2 proved by the Natural Resources Conserva3 tion Service; and 

4 ‘‘(2) to harvest from plants described in para5 graph (1), on the conditions that— 

6 ‘‘(A) the harvesting shall not damage the 

7 conserving cover or otherwise have a negative 

8 impact on the conservation concerns targeted by 

9 the agreement; 

10 ‘‘(B) only native plant species appropriate 

11 to the region shall be used within 35 feet of the 

12 watercourse; and 

13 ‘‘(C) the producer shall be subject to a re14 duction in the rental rate commensurate to the 

15 value of the crop harvested.’’. 

16 (f) DROUGHT AND WATER CONSERVATION AGREE17 MENTS.—Section 1231A(e) of the Food Security Act of 

18 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831a(e)) is amended— 

19 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

20 striking ‘‘In the case of an agreement under sub21 section (b)(1) to address regional drought concerns, 

22 in accordance with the conservation purposes of the 

23 CREP’’ and inserting ‘‘In the case of an agreement 

24 under the conservation reserve enhancement pro25 gram to address regional drought concerns, in acVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00088 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 cordance with the conservation purposes of the 

2 agreement’’; and 

3 (2) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘notwith4 standing subsection (a)(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘notwith5 standing section 1230(4)’’. 

6 (g) STATUS REPORT.—Section 1231A of the Food 

7 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831a) is amended by 

8 striking subsection (f). 

9 SEC. 2104. DUTIES OF OWNERS AND OPERATORS. 

10 Section 1232 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

11 U.S.C. 3832) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘a plan’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘a conservation reserve plan’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘highly 

16 erodible cropland’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible land’’; 

17 (C) in paragraph (5)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘undertake’’ and in19 serting ‘‘conduct’’; and 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘conservation plan’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘conservation reserve plan’’; 

22 and 

23 (D) in paragraph (7), by inserting ‘‘con24 servation reserve’’ before ‘‘program’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking subsection (b) and redesignating 

2 subsection (c) as subsection (b). 

3 SEC. 2105. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

4 (a) COST-SHARE AND RENTAL PAYMENTS.—Section 

5 1233(a)(2)(A) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

6 U.S.C. 3833(a)(2)(A)) by striking ‘‘highly erodible crop7 land, marginal pastureland, or other eligible lands’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘eligible land’’. 

9 (b) SPECIFIED ACTIVITIES PERMITTED.—Section 

10 1233(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

11 3833(b)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (1)(B)(i)— 

13 (A) in subclause (I)(cc), by inserting ‘‘con14 servation reserve’’ before ‘‘program’’; 

15 (B) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘if pay16 ments are authorized for a county under the 

17 livestock forage disaster program under clause 

18 (ii) of section 1501(c)(3)(D) of the Agricultural 

19 Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081(c)(3)(D))’’ and in20 serting ‘‘if an owner or operator has received a 

21 payment under the livestock forage disaster 

22 program under clause (ii) of section 

23 1501(c)(3)(D) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 

24 (7 U.S.C. 9081(c)(3)(D)) in the fiscal year durVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00090 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 ing which the emergency grazing is conducted’’; 

2 and 

3 (C) in subclause (V), by striking ‘‘under 

4 paragraphs (4) and (5) of section 1231(b)’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘under a contract entered into pursu6 ant to the continuous enrollment option or the 

7 partnership initiatives enrollment option’’; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (2)(B)(ii)— 

9 (A) by amending subclause (I) to read as 

10 follows: 

11 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Except as 

12 provided in subclause (II), haying or 

13 grazing described in paragraph (1) 

14 shall not be permitted on land covered 

15 by a contract entered into pursuant to 

16 the partnership initiatives enrollment 

17 option.’’; and 

18 (B) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘con19 servation reserve enhancement program agree20 ment or other partnership agreement entered 

21 into under this subchapter’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘agreement entered into under section 1231A’’. 

23 (c) RESOURCE CONSERVING USE.—Section 1233(d) 

24 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3833(d))— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Beginning on 

2 the date that is 1 year before the date of termi3 nation of a contract under the program’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘During the final year of the term of a contract 

5 entered into under this subchapter’’; 

6 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

7 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘CON8 SERVATION PLAN’’ and inserting ‘‘CONSERVA9 TION RESERVE PLAN’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘a conservation plan’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘a conservation reserve plan’’; and 

12 (3) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol13 lows: 

14 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—Land improved under para15 graph (1)— 

16 ‘‘(A) shall not be eligible to be considered 

17 for reenrollment in the conservation reserve 

18 under section 1231(g), notwithstanding para19 graph (1) of such section; and 

20 ‘‘(B) may not be subsequently enrolled in 

21 the conservation reserve before the date that is 

22 5 years after the date of expiration of the con23 tract.’’. 

24 (d) NATURAL DISASTER OR ADVERSE WEATHER AS

25 MID-CONTRACT MANAGEMENT.—Section 1233(e) of the 


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1 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3833(e)) is amend2 ed by inserting ‘‘reserve’’ after ‘‘conservation’’. 

3 (e) ALLOCATION TO STATES.—Section 1233 of the 

4 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3833) is amended 

5 by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(f) ALLOCATION TO STATES.—The Secretary shall 

7 allocate acres to States for enrollment of eligible land in 

8 the conservation reserve under this subchapter, based— 

9 ‘‘(1) primarily on the proportion of eligible land 

10 in each State relative to the total acreage of eligible 

11 land in all States; and 

12 ‘‘(2) also on consideration of— 

13 ‘‘(A) historical State enrollment rates; 

14 ‘‘(B) the extent and magnitude in each 

15 State of the conservation needs and of the im16 pact of agricultural production on water qual17 ity, water quantity, wetlands, and wildlife habi18 tat; 

19 ‘‘(C) the degree to which implementation 

20 of the conservation reserve program in each 

21 State is, or will be, effective in helping pro22 ducers address such needs and mitigate such 

23 impact; and 

24 ‘‘(D) equitable geographic distribution of 

25 acres, as determined by the Secretary.’’. 


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1 SEC. 2106. PAYMENTS. 

2 (a) COST SHARING PAYMENTS.—Section 1234(b) of 

3 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3834(b)) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In making cost sharing 

8 payments to an owner or operator under a contract 

9 entered into under this subchapter, the Secretary 

10 shall pay 50 percent of the cost of, as the Secretary 

11 determines appropriate and in the public interest— 

12 ‘‘(A) establishing permanent vegetation, in13 cluding site preparation, cover, fertilizer, seed14 ing, and planting; 

15 ‘‘(B) carrying out erosion control practices 

16 necessary to stabilize the site for vegetation es17 tablished under subparagraph (A); 

18 ‘‘(C) installing fencing to protect riparian 

19 areas and buffers; 

20 ‘‘(D) carrying out water development prac21 tices associated with excluding livestock from 

22 protected riparian areas; 

23 ‘‘(E) installing fencing and carrying out 

24 water development practices to facilitate transi25 tion to livestock grazing on lands enrolled under 

26 the grasslands enrollment option; 


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1 ‘‘(F) conducting the necessary and appro2 priate mid-contract management activities to 

3 maintain the permanent cover and associated 

4 benefits; and 

5 ‘‘(G) carrying out other water quality con6 servation measures and practices.’’; 

7 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

8 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

9 (i) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘OR

10 HAYING’’ after ‘‘GRAZING’’; and 

11 (ii) by inserting ‘‘for grazing livestock 

12 or harvesting hay’’ before ‘‘pursuant to’’; 

13 and 

14 (B) in subparagraph (C), by inserting 

15 ‘‘made by the Secretary’’ before ‘‘under this 

16 subchapter’’; 

17 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘the conserva18 tion reserve enhancement program under section 

19 1231A’’ and inserting ‘‘section 1231A’’; and 

20 (4) by striking paragraph (4). 

21 (b) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—Section 1234(c) of the 

22 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3834(c)) is amend23 ed to read as follows: 

24 ‘‘(c) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) PRACTICE INCENTIVES FOR CONTINUOUS

2 PRACTICES.—In addition to the cost sharing pay3 ment described in subsection (b), the Secretary shall 

4 make a practice incentive payment to an owner or 

5 operator of eligible land enrolled under the contin6 uous enrollment option, or of eligible land described 

7 in section 1231(b)(2) (and any associated eligible 

8 land described in section 1231(b)(5)) and enrolled 

9 under the partnership initiatives enrollment option, 

10 in an amount not to exceed 50 percent of the actual 

11 cost of establishing all measures and practices de12 scribed in subsection (b)(1), including seed costs re13 lated to the establishment of cover, as determined by 

14 the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(2) SIGN-UP INCENTIVES FOR QUALIFYING

16 PRACTICES.— 

17 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION.—In addition to the 

18 annual rental payment under subsection (d), 

19 the Secretary may make an incentive payment 

20 to an owner or operator for enrolling environ21 mentally sensitive eligible land in the conserva22 tion reserve to implement or establish a quali23 fying practice. 

24 ‘‘(B) PAYMENT.—The Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) for purposes of subparagraph (A), 

2 establish an incentive payment amount for 

3 each contract with an owner or operator 

4 that does not exceed 50 percent of the first 

5 annual rental payment made to the owner 

6 or operator under subsection (d) for the el7 igible land; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) make any incentive payment 

9 under subparagraph (A) concurrent with 

10 such first annual rental payment. 

11 ‘‘(C) QUALIFYING PRACTICE.—In this 

12 paragraph, the term ‘qualifying practice’ means 

13 a practice the implementation or establishment 

14 of which is appropriate to encourage on envi15 ronmentally sensitive eligible land— 

16 ‘‘(i) as determined by the Secretary, 

17 in consultation with the applicable State 

18 technical committee, for environmentally 

19 sensitive eligible land enrolled under the 

20 continuous enrollment option; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) as identified in an agreement 

22 under section 1231A, for environmentally 

23 sensitive eligible land enrolled pursuant to 

24 such agreement. 


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1 ‘‘(3) FOREST MANAGEMENT INCENTIVE PAY2 MENTS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Using funds made 

4 available under section 1241(a)(1)(A), the Sec5 retary may make incentive payments to an 

6 owner or operator of eligible land in an amount 

7 sufficient to encourage proper thinning and 

8 other practices to improve the condition of re9 sources, promote forest management, or en10 hance wildlife habitat on the land. 

11 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—A payment described 

12 in subparagraph (A) may not exceed 100 per13 cent of the total cost of thinning and other 

14 practices conducted by the owner or operator. 

15 ‘‘(C) REDUCTION.—The Secretary shall re16 duce the amount of a payment under subpara17 graph (A) by an amount that is equal to any 

18 income received by the owner or operator as a 

19 result of the thinning or other practice, as de20 termined by the Secretary.’’. 

21 (c) ANNUAL RENTAL PAYMENTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1234(d)(1) of the 

23 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3834(d)(1)) 

24 is amended— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘highly erodible cropland 

2 or other eligible lands’’ each place it appears 

3 and inserting ‘‘eligible land’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘the program established 

5 by this subchapter’’ and inserting ‘‘the con6 servation reserve program’’. 

7 (2) METHODS OF DETERMINATION.—Section 

8 1234(d)(2) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

9 U.S.C. 3834(d)(2)) is amended— 

10 (A) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

11 as follows: 

12 ‘‘(B) MULTIPLE ENROLLMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

14 subparagraph (A), if land subject to a con15 tract entered into under this subchapter is 

16 reenrolled pursuant to section 1231(g), the 

17 annual rental payment shall be in an 

18 amount that is not more than the applica19 ble percentage of the relevant county aver20 age soil rental rate for the year in which 

21 the reenrollment occurs (as determined 

22 under paragraph (4)(E)). 

23 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For 

24 purposes of clause (i), the applicable per25 centage shall be— 


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1 ‘‘(I) for the first reenrollment 

2 that occurs after the date of enact3 ment of the Prioritizing American 

4 Farmers and Agricultural Industry 

5 Over Bureaucracy Act, 85 percent; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(II) for each subsequent re8 enrollment, the percentage that is 10 

9 percentage points less than the per10 centage that was applicable to the 

11 preceding reenrollment. 

12 ‘‘(iii) PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVES.— 

13 The limitations on annual rental payments 

14 under clauses (i) and (ii) may be waived or 

15 modified as part of the negotiation between 

16 the Secretary and an eligible partner to 

17 enter into an agreement under section 

18 1231A.’’; 

19 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘sub20 paragraph (A)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs 

21 (A) and (B)’’; and 

22 (C) by striking subparagraph (D). 

23 (3) ACCEPTANCE OF CONTRACT OFFERS.—Sec24 tion 1234(d)(3) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

25 (16 U.S.C. 3834(d)(3)) is amended— 


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1 (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

2 as follows: 

3 ‘‘(A) NATURAL RESOURCE CONSIDER4 ATIONS.—In determining the acceptability of 

5 contract offers, the Secretary shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) with the advice of the applicable 

7 State technical committee, take into con8 sideration the extent to which enrollment 

9 of the land that is the subject of the con10 tract offer would improve soil resources, 

11 water quality, or wildlife habitat or provide 

12 other environmental benefits; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) ensure, to the maximum extent 

14 practicable, an equitable balance among 

15 the conservation purposes of soil erosion, 

16 water quality, and wildlife habitat.’’; 

17 (B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

18 as follows: 

19 ‘‘(B) ESTABLISHMENT OF DIFFERENT CRI20 TERIA IN VARIOUS STATES.—The Secretary, 

21 with the advice of the applicable State technical 

22 committee, shall establish different criteria for 

23 determining the acceptability of contract offers 

24 in various States based on the extent to which 


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1 water quality or wildlife habitat may be im2 proved or erosion may be abated.’’; 

3 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as 

4 subparagraph (E); and 

5 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(C) CONSERVATION PRIORITY AREAS.—In 

8 carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary 

9 shall, to the extent practicable, maximize water 

10 quality and habitat benefits in conservation pri11 ority areas designated under section 1231(f) by 

12 promoting a significant level of enrollment of 

13 land within such areas in the conservation re14 serve by— 

15 ‘‘(i) giving additional weight to appli16 cations for the enrollment of land within 

17 such areas that will maximize water qual18 ity and habitat benefits; 

19 ‘‘(ii) holding a signup and enrollment 

20 under the general enrollment option and 

21 the grasslands enrollment option specific to 

22 the designated areas; or 

23 ‘‘(iii) whatever other means the Sec24 retary determines are appropriate and conVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00102 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 sistent with the purposes of this sub2 chapter. 

3 ‘‘(D) TRANSITION TO GRASSLAND USE.— 

4 In carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary, 

5 in consultation with the applicable State tech6 nical committee, shall give priority to contract 

7 offers for enrollment under the grasslands en8 rollment option for eligible land— 

9 ‘‘(i) that has previously been enrolled 

10 under the general enrollment option, the 

11 continuous enrollment option, or the part12 nership initiatives enrollment option; 

13 ‘‘(ii) with established cover that sup14 ports conservation objectives for a con15 servation priority area designated under 

16 section 1231(f); and 

17 ‘‘(iii) enrollment of which under the 

18 grasslands enrollment option will extend 

19 the protection of the established cover as 

20 an alternative to cropping.’’. 

21 (4) RENTAL RATES.—Section 1234(d)(4) of the 

22 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3834(d)(4)) 

23 is amended— 

24 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘as a 

25 factor’’; 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (D)— 

2 (i) in the header, by striking ‘‘FSA OF3 FICES AND CREP’’ and inserting ‘‘OFFICES

4 AND’’; 

5 (ii) by amending clause (i) to read as 

6 follows: 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

8 shall, prior to finalizing a new soil rental 

9 rate, provide a period of not fewer than 60 

10 days for the County Operating Committees 

11 of the Farm Service Agency, State Com12 mittees of the Farm Service Agency, State 

13 conservationists, conservation districts, 

14 State technical committees established 

15 under section 1261(a), and eligible part16 ners to review such rate and concur or pro17 pose an alternative soil rental rate, on the 

18 condition that documentation described in 

19 clause (ii) is provided to support the pro20 posed alternative.’’; 

21 (iii) by redesignating clause (iii) as 

22 clause (iv); and 

23 (iv) by inserting after clause (ii) the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘(iii) ACCEPTANCE OF ALTERNATIVE

2 RATES.—The Secretary shall accept and fi3 nalize an alternative soil rental rate pro4 posed in accordance with clause (i) unless 

5 the Secretary finds that such alternative 

6 rate is not appropriate, and publishes such 

7 finding on a publicly accessible website, in8 cluding a justification for such finding.’’; 

9 and 

10 (C) by amending subparagraph (E) to read 

11 as follows: 

12 ‘‘(E) RENTAL RATE LIMITATION.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The county aver14 age soil rental rate (before any adjust15 ments relating to specific practices, well16 head protection, or soil productivity) shall 

17 not exceed— 

18 ‘‘(I) for eligible land consisting of 

19 soils with a dryland cropland land ca20 pability class of I or II that is enrolled 

21 under the general enrollment option, 

22 85 percent of the estimated rental 

23 rate determined under this paragraph; 

24 ‘‘(II) for eligible land consisting 

25 of soils with a dryland cropland land 


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1 capability class of III that is enrolled 

2 under the general enrollment option, 

3 100 percent of the estimated rental 

4 rate determined under this paragraph; 

5 ‘‘(III) for eligible land consisting 

6 of soils with a dryland cropland land 

7 capability class of IV through VII 

8 that is enrolled under the general en9 rollment option, 115 percent of the es10 timated rental rate determined under 

11 this paragraph; and 

12 ‘‘(IV) for eligible land enrolled 

13 under the continuous enrollment op14 tion, 100 percent of the estimated 

15 rental rate determined under this 

16 paragraph, without regard to the land 

17 capability class of the soil. 

18 ‘‘(ii) PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVES.— 

19 For eligible land enrolled under the part20 nership initiatives enrollment option, the 

21 county average soil rental rate (before any 

22 adjustments relating to specific practices, 

23 wellhead protection, or soil productivity) 

24 shall not exceed— 


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1 ‘‘(I) for eligible land consisting of 

2 soils with a dryland cropland land ca3 pability class of I or II, 85 percent of 

4 the estimated rental rate determined 

5 under this paragraph; 

6 ‘‘(II) for eligible land consisting 

7 of soils with a dryland cropland land 

8 capability class of III, 100 percent of 

9 the estimated rental rate determined 

10 under this paragraph; 

11 ‘‘(III) for eligible land consisting 

12 of soils with a dryland cropland land 

13 capability class of IV through VII, 

14 115 percent of the estimated rental 

15 rate determined under this paragraph; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(IV) for eligible land that would 

18 otherwise be enrolled under the con19 tinuous enrollment option, 100 per20 cent of the estimated rental rate de21 termined under this paragraph, with22 out regard to the land capability class 

23 of the soil.’’. 

24 (d) PAYMENT SCHEDULE.—Section 1234(e)(2) of the 

25 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3834(e)(2)) is 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘Payments’’ and inserting ‘‘As the 

2 Secretary determines appropriate, payments’’. 

3 (e) PAYMENT LIMITATION FOR RENTAL PAY4 MENTS.—Section 1234(g)(1) of the Food Security Act of 

5 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3834(g)(1)) is amended by striking 

6 ‘‘$50,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$125,000’’. 

7 SEC. 2107. CONTRACTS. 

8 (a) OWNERSHIP OR OPERATION REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 Section 1235(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

10 U.S.C. 3835(a)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking ‘‘placing 

12 the land in the program established by’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘enrolling the land in the conservation reserve 

14 under’’; and 

15 (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘agree16 ment’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘con17 tract’’. 

18 (b) SALES OR TRANSFERS.—Section 1235(b)(3) of 

19 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3835(b)(3)) 

20 is amended by striking ‘‘program established by this sub21 chapter’’ and inserting ‘‘conservation reserve program’’. 

22 (c) EARLY TERMINATION BY OWNER OR OPER23 ATOR.— 

24 (1) EARLY TERMINATION.—Section 

25 1235(e)(1)(A) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 


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1 U.S.C. 3835(e)(1)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘Dur2 ing fiscal year 2015, the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’. 

3 (2) CERTAIN LAND EXCEPTED.—Section 

4 1235(e)(2) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

5 U.S.C. 3835(e)(2)) is amended— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

7 ‘‘Filterstrips, waterways, strips adjacent to ri8 parian areas, windbreaks, and shelterbelts’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘Conservation buffers’’; 

10 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘an 

11 erodibility index of more than 15’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘a dryland cropland land capability class of VI 

13 through VII’’; 

14 (C) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘, 

15 longleaf pine, or shortleaf pine’’ before ‘‘trees’’; 

16 (D) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

17 ‘‘State acres for wildlife enhancement,’’; and 

18 (E) in subparagraph (J), by striking 

19 ‘‘under the conservation reserve enhancement 

20 program’’ and inserting ‘‘pursuant to section 

21 1231A’’. 

22 (3) PRORATED COST RECOVERY.—Section 

23 1235(e)(4) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

24 U.S.C. 3835(e)(4)) is amended— 


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1 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘PRO2 RATED RENTAL PAYMENT’’ and inserting ‘‘PRO3 RATIONS’’; 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘If a contract’’ and insert5 ing the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) PRORATED RENTAL PAYMENT.—If a 

7 contract’’; and 

8 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(B) PRORATED COST RECOVERY.—If a 

10 contract entered into under this subchapter is 

11 terminated under this subsection before the end 

12 of the contract term, the Secretary shall require 

13 repayment of the portion of the cost sharing 

14 payments received that is proportional to the 

15 percentage of the years remaining in the con16 tract term on the date of the termination.’’. 

17 (4) RENEWED ENROLLMENT.—Section 

18 1235(e)(5) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

19 U.S.C. 3835(e)(5)) is amended— 

20 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘RE21 NEWED’’ and inserting ‘‘SUBSEQUENT’’; and 

22 (B) by striking ‘‘a subsequent bid to enroll 

23 the land’’ and inserting ‘‘an application for sub24 sequent enrollment of the land’’. 


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1 (d) TRANSITION OPTION FOR CERTAIN FARMERS OR

2 RANCHERS.— 

3 (1) TRANSITION TO COVERED FARMER OR

4 RANCHER.—Section 1235(f)(1)(C) of the Food Secu5 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3835(f)(1)(C)) is 

6 amended by inserting ‘‘reserve’’ after ‘‘conserva7 tion’’. 

8 (2) REENROLLMENT.—Section 1235(f)(2) of 

9 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

10 3835(f)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(2) REENROLLMENT.—To the extent that the 

12 maximum number of acres permitted to be enrolled 

13 under the conservation reserve program has not been 

14 met, the Secretary shall approve the first reenroll15 ment requested by a covered farmer or rancher pur16 suant to section 1231(g), subject to the require17 ments of such section.’’. 

18 (e) DROUGHT AND EMERGENCY GRAZING ASSIST19 ANCE.—Section 1235 of the Food Security Act of 1985 

20 (16 U.S.C. 3835) is further amended by adding at the 

21 end the following: 

22 ‘‘(i) DROUGHT AND EMERGENCY GRAZING ASSIST23 ANCE.—The Secretary may allow an owner or operator to 

24 receive emergency cost-share assistance for livestock water 

25 facilities and grazing infrastructure through the emerVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00111 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 gency conservation program, authorized by section 402 of 

2 the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2202), 

3 with respect to land enrolled in the conservation reserve, 

4 except that the Secretary shall ensure that there is no pay5 ment from the conservation reserve program for the same 

6 assistance.’’. 

7 Subtitle C—Environmental Quality 

8 Incentives Program 

9 SEC. 2201. DEFINITIONS. 

10 Section 1240A(6)(B)(v) of the Food Security Act of 

11 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–1(6)(B)(v)) is amended by in12 serting ‘‘(including the adoption of precision agriculture 

13 practices and the acquisition of precision agriculture tech14 nology)’’ after ‘‘planning’’. 

15 SEC. 2202. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 1240B(a) of the 

17 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(a)) is 

18 amended by striking ‘‘2031’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

19 (b) PAYMENTS.— 

20 (1) OTHER PAYMENTS.—Section 1240B(d)(6) 

21 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

22 3839aa–2(d)(6)) is amended— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘A producer shall’’ and in24 serting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(A) PAYMENTS UNDER THIS SUBTITLE.— 

2 A producer shall’’; and 

3 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(B) CONSERVATION LOAN AND LOAN

5 GUARANTEE PROGRAM PAYMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A producer receiv7 ing payments for practices on eligible land 

8 under the program may also receive a loan 

9 or loan guarantee under section 304 of the 

10 Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop11 ment Act to cover costs for the same prac12 tices on the same land. 

13 ‘‘(ii) NOTICE TO PRODUCER.—The 

14 Secretary shall inform a producer partici15 pating in the program in writing that they 

16 may apply to receive a loan or loan guar17 antee under section 304 of the Consoli18 dated Farm and Rural Development Act as 

19 it relates to costs of implementing prac20 tices under this program.’’. 

21 (2) INCREASED PAYMENTS FOR HIGH-PRIORITY

22 PRACTICES.—Section 1240B(d)(7) of the Food Se23 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(d)(7)) is 

24 amended— 


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1 (A) in the paragraph heading, by inserting 

2 ‘‘STATE-DETERMINED’’ before ‘‘HIGH-PRI3 ORITY’’; and 

4 (B) in subparagraph (A)— 

5 (i) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

6 the end; 

7 (ii) in clause (iv), by striking the pe8 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

9 (iii) by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(v) increases carbon sequestration or 

12 reduces greenhouse gas emissions, includ13 ing emissions of methane and nitrous 

14 oxide.’’. 

15 (3) INCREASED PAYMENTS FOR PRECISION AG16 RICULTURE.—Section 1240B(d) of the Food Secu17 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(d)) is amend18 ed by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(8) INCREASED PAYMENTS FOR PRECISION AG20 RICULTURE PRACTICES.—Notwithstanding para21 graph (2), the Secretary may increase the amount 

22 that would otherwise be provided for a practice 

23 under this subsection to not more than 90 percent 

24 of the costs associated with adopting precision agri25 culture practices and acquiring precision agriculture 


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1 technology for the purpose of implementing con2 servation practices.’’. 

3 (c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.—Section 1240B(f) of 

4 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(f)) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (2)(B)— 

9 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘2031’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘2031’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘2029’’. 

13 (d) WATER CONSERVATION OR IRRIGATION EFFI14 CIENCY PRACTICE.—Section 1240B(h)(1) is amended— 

15 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘; or’’ and 

16 inserting a semicolon; 

17 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 

18 and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

19 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(D) the adoption of precision agriculture 

21 practices or the acquisition of precision agri22 culture technology to achieve water conservation 

23 and energy efficiency.’’. 

24 (e) PAYMENTS FOR CONSERVATION PRACTICE RE25 LATED TO ORGANIC PRODUCTION.—Section 


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1 1240B(i)(3)(A)(ii) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

2 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(i)(3)(A)(ii)) is amended by striking 

3 ‘‘2019 through 2023, $140,000’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 

4 through 2029, $200,000’’. 

5 (f) CONSERVATION INCENTIVE CONTRACTS.—Section 

6 1240B(j)(2)(A)(i) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

7 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(j)(2)(A)(i)) is amended by inserting 

8 ‘‘(which may include the adoption of precision agriculture 

9 practices and the acquisition of precision agriculture tech10 nology)’’ after ‘‘incentive practices’’. 

11 (g) SOUTHERN BORDER INITIATIVE.—Section 

12 1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

13 3839aa–2) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(k) SOUTHERN BORDER INITIATIVE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

16 payments under the program to producers to imple17 ment conservation practices on covered lands of such 

18 producers that address and repair covered damage 

19 that may contribute to a natural resource concern or 

20 problem. 

21 ‘‘(2) CONTRACT TERM.—In the case of a con22 tract under the program entered into for the imple23 mentation of practices described in paragraph (1), 

24 such contract shall have a term of 1 year. 

25 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(A) COVERED DAMAGE.—The term ‘cov2 ered damage’ means damage to agricultural 

3 land or farming infrastructure. 

4 ‘‘(B) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘covered 

5 land’ means eligible land in a county at or near 

6 the southern border of the United States, as de7 termined by the Secretary.’’. 

8 SEC. 2203. LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS. 

9 Section 1240G of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

10 U.S.C. 3839aa–7) is amended by striking ‘‘2019 through 

11 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 

12 SEC. 2204. CONSERVATION INNOVATION GRANTS AND PAY13 MENTS. 

14 (a) COMPETITIVE GRANTS FOR INNOVATIVE CON15 SERVATION APPROACHES.—Section 1240H(a) is amend16 ed— 

17 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(1) GRANTS.—Out of the funds made available 

20 to carry out this subchapter, the Secretary may 

21 award competitive grants that are intended to stimu22 late development and evaluation of new and innova23 tive approaches to leveraging the Federal investment 

24 in environmental enhancement and protection, in 

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1 source management, through the program, including 

2 grants for the development and evaluation of new 

3 and innovative technologies that may be incor4 porated into conservation practice standards.’’; and 

5 (2) in paragraph (2)(H), by inserting before the 

6 period ‘‘(including precision agriculture practices 

7 and precision agriculture technologies)’’. 

8 (b) AIR QUALITY CONCERNS FROM AGRICULTURAL

9 OPERATIONS.—Section 1240H(b)(2) of the Food Security 

10 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–8(b)(2)) is amended by 

11 striking ‘‘2031’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

12 (c) ON-FARM CONSERVATION INNOVATION

13 TRIALS.—Section 1240H(c) of the Food Security Act of 

14 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–8(c)) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (1)(B)(i)— 

16 (A) in subclause (VI), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

17 the end; and 

18 (B) by inserting after subclause (VII) the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(VIII) perennial production sys21 tems, including agroforestry and pe22 rennial forages and grain crops; and’’; 

23 and 

24 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2031’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 (d) REPORTING AND DATABASE.—Section 

2 1240H(d)(2)(A) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

3 U.S.C. 3839aa–8(d)(2)(A)) is amended— 

4 (1) in clause (i)— 

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘, including both manage6 ment and structural conservation practices,’’ 

7 after ‘‘conservation practices’’; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

9 (2) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); 

10 (3) by inserting after clause (i) the following: 

11 ‘‘(ii) data that may be used to evalu12 ate new and emerging technologies and 

13 recommendations for State and regional 

14 applications of such new and emerging 

15 technologies; and’’; and 

16 (4) in clause (iii), as so redesignated, by insert17 ing ‘‘for consideration under the streamlined process 

18 developed under section 1242(h)(3)’’ before the pe19 riod at the end. 

20 Subtitle D—Conservation 

21 Stewardship Program 

22 SEC. 2301. CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM. 

23 Section 1240J(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

24 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–22(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘2031’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 2302. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

2 (a) CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PAYMENTS.—Sec3 tion 1240L(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

4 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(c)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by inserting before the 

6 period ‘‘(including increased costs associated with 

7 planning and adopting precision agriculture con8 servation activities and acquiring precision agri9 culture technology)’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(6) MINIMUM PAYMENT.—The amount of an 

12 annual payment under the program shall be not less 

13 than $2,500.’’. 

14 (b) SUPPLEMENTAL PAYMENTS FOR RESOURCE15 CONSERVING CROP ROTATIONS AND ADVANCED GRAZING

16 MANAGEMENT.—Section 1240L(d) of the Food Security 

17 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(d)) is amended— 

18 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘AND

19 ADVANCED GRAZING MANAGEMENT’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘, ADVANCED GRAZING MANAGEMENT, AND PRECI21 SION AGRICULTURE’’; 

22 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; 

24 or’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

25 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

26 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 


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1 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(C) precision agriculture conservation ac3 tivities.’’; and 

4 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘or advanced 

5 grazing management’’ and inserting ‘‘, advanced 

6 grazing management, or precision agriculture con7 servation activities’’. 

8 (c) PAYMENT LIMITATIONS.—Section 1240L(f) of 

9 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(f)) 

10 is amended by striking ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ and insert11 ing ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 

12 (d) ORGANIC CERTIFICATION.—Section 

13 1240L(h)(2)(A) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

14 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(h)(2)(A)) is amended by striking 

15 ‘‘2031’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

16 SEC. 2303. STATE ASSISTANCE FOR SOIL HEALTH. 

17 Subchapter B of chapter 4 of subtitle D of title XII 

18 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–21 

19 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 1240L–2. STATE ASSISTANCE FOR SOIL HEALTH. 

21 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘eligi23 ble Indian Tribe’ means an Indian Tribe that is— 


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1 ‘‘(A) implementing a soil health program 

2 for the area over which the Indian Tribe has ju3 risdiction; and 

4 ‘‘(B) meeting or exceeding performance 

5 measures established by the Indian Tribe for 

6 the soil health program. 

7 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE STATE.—The term ‘eligible 

8 State’ means a State that is— 

9 ‘‘(A) implementing a soil health program 

10 for the State; and 

11 ‘‘(B) meeting or exceeding performance 

12 measures established by the State for the soil 

13 health program. 

14 ‘‘(3) SOIL HEALTH PROGRAM.—The term ‘soil 

15 health program’ means a program to improve soil 

16 health on agricultural land that— 

17 ‘‘(A) is broadly consistent with the soil 

18 health principles of the Natural Resources Con19 servation Service, as determined by the Sec20 retary; and 

21 ‘‘(B) may include— 

22 ‘‘(i) technical assistance; 

23 ‘‘(ii) financial assistance; 

24 ‘‘(iii) on-farm research and dem25 onstration; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) education, outreach, and train2 ing; 

3 ‘‘(v) monitoring and evaluation; or 

4 ‘‘(vi) such other components as the 

5 Secretary determines appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY AND PURPOSE OF GRANTS.—For 

7 fiscal years 2025 through 2029, the Secretary shall make 

8 grants to eligible States and eligible Indian Tribes for the 

9 purpose of improving soil health on agricultural lands 

10 through the implementation of State and Tribal soil health 

11 programs. 

12 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To receive a grant under 

14 this section, an eligible State or eligible Indian Tribe 

15 shall submit to the Secretary an application at such 

16 time, in such a manner, and containing such infor17 mation as the Secretary shall require, which shall in18 clude— 

19 ‘‘(A) a description of performance meas20 ures to be used to evaluate the State or Tribal 

21 soil health program and the results of any ac22 tivities carried out using grant funds received 

23 under this section; and 

24 ‘‘(B) an assurance that grant funds re25 ceived under this section will supplement the 


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1 expenditure of State or Tribal funds in support 

2 of soil health, rather than replace such funds. 

3 ‘‘(2) TRIBAL OPTION.—An Indian Tribe shall 

4 have the option, at the sole discretion of the Indian 

5 Tribe, to be incorporated into the application of an 

6 eligible State. 

7 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY.—In making grants under this sec8 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible States and 

9 eligible Indian Tribes with a climate action plan that in10 cludes soil health, as determined by the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(e) GRANTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant to an 

13 eligible State or eligible Indian Tribe under this sec14 tion for a fiscal year may not exceed the lower of— 

15 ‘‘(A) $5,000,000; or 

16 ‘‘(B) as applicable— 

17 ‘‘(i) 50 percent of the cost of imple18 menting the State soil health program in 

19 the fiscal year; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) 75 percent of the cost of imple21 menting the Tribal soil health program in 

22 the fiscal year. 

23 ‘‘(2) TERM.—A grant under this section shall 

24 be for 1 year, and may be renewed annually. 


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1 ‘‘(f) AUDITS AND REVIEWS.—An eligible State or eli2 gible Indian Tribe receiving a grant under this section 

3 shall submit to the Secretary— 

4 ‘‘(1) for each year for which the State or Indian 

5 Tribe receives such a grant, the results of an audit 

6 of the expenditures of the grant funds; and 

7 ‘‘(2) at such intervals as the Secretary shall es8 tablish, a review and evaluation of the State or Trib9 al soil health program. 

10 ‘‘(g) EFFECT OF NONCOMPLIANCE.—If the Sec11 retary, after reasonable notice to an eligible State or eligi12 ble Indian Tribe receiving a grant under this section, finds 

13 that the State or Indian Tribe has failed to comply with 

14 the terms of the grant, the Secretary may disqualify, for 

15 1 or more years, the State or Indian Tribe from receipt 

16 of future grants under this section. 

17 ‘‘(h) FUNDING.—Of the funds made available to 

18 carry out this subchapter, $100,000,000 shall be available 

19 in each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029 to carry out 

20 this section. 

21 ‘‘(i) ADMINISTRATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) DEPARTMENT.—The Secretary may not 

23 use more than 3 percent of the funds made available 

24 to carry out this section for a fiscal year for admin25 istrative expenses. 


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1 ‘‘(2) STATES OR INDIAN TRIBES.—An eligible 

2 State or eligible Indian Tribe receiving a grant 

3 under this section may not use more than 7 percent 

4 of the granted funds for a fiscal year for administra5 tive expenses.’’. 

6 Subtitle E—Other Conservation 

7 Programs 

8 SEC. 2401. CONSERVATION OF PRIVATE GRAZING LAND. 

9 Section 1240M(e) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

10 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

12 SEC. 2402. FERAL SWINE ERADICATION AND CONTROL PRO13 GRAM. 

14 (a) FERAL SWINE ERADICATION AND CONTROL PRO15 GRAM.—Chapter 5 of subtitle D of the Food Security Act 

16 of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb et seq.) is amended by insert17 ing after section 1240M the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 1240N. FERAL SWINE ERADICATION AND CONTROL 

19 PROGRAM. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

21 feral swine eradication and control program (in this sec22 tion referred to as the ‘program’) to respond to the threat 

23 feral swine pose to agriculture, native ecosystems, and 

24 human and animal health. 


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1 ‘‘(b) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—In carrying out 

2 the program, the Secretary shall— 

3 ‘‘(1) study and assess the nature and extent of 

4 damage to the threatened areas caused by feral 

5 swine; 

6 ‘‘(2) develop methods to eradicate or control 

7 feral swine in the threatened areas; 

8 ‘‘(3) develop methods to restore damage caused 

9 by feral swine; and 

10 ‘‘(4) provide financial assistance to agricultural 

11 producers in threatened areas. 

12 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may provide finan13 cial assistance to agricultural producers under the pro14 gram to implement methods to— 

15 ‘‘(1) eradicate or control feral swine in the 

16 threatened areas; and 

17 ‘‘(2) restore damage caused by feral swine. 

18 ‘‘(d) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall ensure 

19 that the Natural Resources Conservation Service and the 

20 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service coordinate for 

21 purposes of this section through State technical commit22 tees established under section 1261(a). 

23 ‘‘(e) COST SHARING.— 

24 ‘‘(1) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of 

25 the costs of activities under the program may not 


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1 exceed 75 percent of the total costs of such activi2 ties. 

3 ‘‘(2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—The non-Fed4 eral share of the costs of activities under the pro5 gram may be provided in the form of in-kind con6 tributions of materials or services. 

7 ‘‘(f) THREATENED AREA DEFINED.—In this section, 

8 the term ‘threatened area’ means an area of a State in 

9 which feral swine have been identified as a threat to agri10 culture, native ecosystems, or human and animal health, 

11 as determined by the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(g) FUNDING.— 

13 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds 

14 made available under section 1241(a)(3)(A), the 

15 Secretary shall use to carry out this section 

16 $150,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2025 

17 through 2029. 

18 ‘‘(2) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—Of the funds 

19 made available under paragraph (1)— 

20 ‘‘(A) 40 percent shall be allocated to the 

21 Natural Resources Conservation Service to 

22 carry out the program, including the provision 

23 of financial assistance to producers for on-farm 

24 trapping and technology related to capturing 

25 and confining feral swine; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) 60 percent shall be allocated to the 

2 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to 

3 carry out the program, including the use of es4 tablished, and testing of innovative, population 

5 reduction methods. 

6 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EX7 PENSES.—Not more than 10 percent of funds made 

8 available under this section may be used for admin9 istrative expenses of the program.’’. 

10 (b) REPEAL.—Section 2408 of the Agriculture Im11 provement Act of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 8351 note) is repealed. 

12 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

13 in section 1(b) of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 

14 2018 is amended by striking the item relating to section 

15 2408. 

16 SEC. 2403. GRASSROOTS SOURCE WATER PROTECTION 

17 PROGRAM. 

18 Section 1240O(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

19 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb–2(b)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

22 (2) in paragraph (3)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; 

24 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

2 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

3 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(C) of the funds made available under 

5 section 1241(a)(3)(A), $1,000,000 beginning in 

6 fiscal year 2025, to remain available until ex7 pended.’’. 

8 SEC. 2404. VOLUNTARY PUBLIC ACCESS AND HABITAT IN9 CENTIVE PROGRAM. 

10 Section 1240R(f) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

11 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb–5(f)) is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(f) FUNDING.— 

13 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds 

14 made available under section 1241(a)(3)(A), the 

15 Secretary shall use to carry out this section 

16 $150,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2025 

17 through 2029. 

18 ‘‘(2) ENHANCED PUBLIC ACCESS TO WETLAND

19 RESERVE EASEMENTS.—To the maximum extent 

20 practicable, of the funds made available under para21 graph (1), the Secretary shall use $3,000,000 for 

22 the period of fiscal years 2025 through 2029 to en23 courage public access to land covered by wetland re24 serve easements under section 1265C through agreeVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00130 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 ments with States and Tribal governments under 

2 this section.’’. 

3 SEC. 2405. WATERSHED PROTECTION AND FLOOD PREVEN4 TION ACT. 

5 (a) ASSISTANCE TO LOCAL ORGANIZATIONS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3(a) of the Water7 shed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (16 

8 U.S.C. 1003(a)) is amended by redesignating para9 graph (6) as paragraph (7) and inserting after para10 graph (5) the following: 

11 ‘‘(6) to provide technical and financial assist12 ance for remedial actions in accordance with sub13 section (c); and’’. 

14 (2) ASSISTANCE FOR REMEDIAL ACTIONS; 

15 STREAMLINING.—Section 3 of the Watershed Pro16 tection and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1003) 

17 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE FOR REMEDIAL ACTIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsection 

20 (a)(6), the Secretary may provide technical and fi21 nancial assistance to local organizations for remedial 

22 actions for a completed work of improvement in23 stalled under this Act with respect to which— 

24 ‘‘(A) deterioration of a structural compo25 nent of the work of improvement is occurring at 


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1 an abnormal rate, including situations in which 

2 such deterioration is due to a design deficiency 

3 or to site conditions that were unknown at the 

4 time of installation of the work of improvement; 

5 ‘‘(B) the planned service life of the work of 

6 improvement exceeds the service life of a struc7 tural component of such work of improvement; 

8 or 

9 ‘‘(C) structural damage to such work of 

10 improvement, or to a structural component of 

11 such work of improvement, was caused by a 

12 storm event that exceeded the maximum storm 

13 event for which the work of improvement was 

14 designed. 

15 ‘‘(2) COST SHARE.—Financial assistance pro16 vided under this subsection shall be provided in ac17 cordance with the cost-share rate established in the 

18 agreement with the local organization for the work 

19 of improvement. 

20 ‘‘(d) STREAMLINING.—The Secretary shall, on an on21 going basis— 

22 ‘‘(1) engage with relevant Federal agencies to 

23 reduce or eliminate regulatory, policy, or procedural 

24 barriers to timely provision of assistance under this 

25 Act; 


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1 ‘‘(2) provide for streamlined procedures relating 

2 to coordination with other Federal or State agencies 

3 for required reviews and permitting of projects pur4 suant to this Act, and ensure such procedures are 

5 commensurate with the size and scale of the 

6 projects; 

7 ‘‘(3) conduct an assessment of internal Depart8 ment of Agriculture planning, technical support, and 

9 approvals to determine best practices to be used for 

10 the purpose of maximizing the decisionmaking au11 thority of State conservationists with respect to ap12 provals required for projects under this Act; and 

13 ‘‘(4) prioritize the use of agreements and con14 tracting authorities under this Act to provide fund15 ing to local organizations for the planning, design, 

16 and construction of works of improvement.’’. 

17 (b) DATA.—Section 13 of the Watershed Protection 

18 and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1010) is amended 

19 to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘SEC. 13. DATA. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall collect and 

22 maintain, and make publicly available— 

23 ‘‘(1) data, on a national and State-by-State 

24 basis, concerning— 


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1 ‘‘(A) expenditures for the individual flood 

2 control and conservation measures for which as3 sistance is provided under this Act; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the expected flood control or environ5 mental (including soil erosion) benefits that will 

6 result from the implementation of such meas7 ures; and 

8 ‘‘(2) data, with respect to each project for 

9 which assistance is provided under this Act, con10 cerning— 

11 ‘‘(A) total allocated and expended funds 

12 for planning, design, construction, remedial ac13 tions, and rehabilitation; and 

14 ‘‘(B) contracts and agreements entered 

15 into by the Secretary with a local organization 

16 to provide services, including— 

17 ‘‘(i) the services provided through 

18 such contracts and agreements; 

19 ‘‘(ii) the total funds allocated to such 

20 contracts and agreements; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) any modifications or adjust22 ments made to such contracts and agree23 ments. 

24 ‘‘(b) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary may not make 

25 publicly available under this section an agreement entered 


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1 into with an individual landowner, operator, or occupier 

2 under this Act, or any disaggregated information that 

3 identifies such individual landowner, operator, or occu4 pier.’’. 

5 (c) REHABILITATION OF STRUCTURAL MEASURES

6 NEAR, AT, OR PAST THEIR EVALUATED LIFE EXPECT7 ANCY.— 

8 (1) COST SHARE ASSISTANCE FOR REHABILITA9 TION.—Section 14(b) of the Watershed Protection 

10 and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1012(b)) is 

11 amended— 

12 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘65 per13 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘90 percent’’; and 

14 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(4) RELATION TO REQUIREMENTS OF AU16 THORIZED PROJECTS.—A rehabilitation project for 

17 which assistance is provided under this section shall 

18 not be subject to— 

19 ‘‘(A) the requirement under section 2 that 

20 a project contain benefits directly related to ag21 riculture, including rural communities, that ac22 count for at least 20 percent of the total bene23 fits of the project; or 

24 ‘‘(B) section 4(5).’’. 


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1 (2) FUNDING.—Section 14(h)(2)(E) of the Wa2 tershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (16 

3 U.S.C. 1012(h)(2)(E)) is amended by striking 

4 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

5 (d) FUNDING.—Section 15 of the Watershed Protec6 tion and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1012a) is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘$50,000,000 for fiscal year 

9 2019’’ and inserting ‘‘$150,000,000 for fiscal year 

10 2025’’; and 

11 (2) by inserting before the period at the end ‘‘, 

12 to remain available until expended’’. 

13 SEC. 2406. EMERGENCY CONSERVATION PROGRAM. 

14 Section 401 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 

15 (16 U.S.C. 2201) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (b)— 

17 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

18 ‘‘AND OTHER EMERGENCY CONSERVATION

19 MEASURES’’ after ‘‘FENCING’’; and 

20 (B) by amending paragraph (1) to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a payment 

23 to an agricultural producer under subsection (a) for 

24 the repair or replacement of fencing, or for other 

25 emergency measures to rehabilitate farmland or to 


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1 repair or replace a farmland or conservation struc2 ture, the Secretary shall give the agricultural pro3 ducer the option of receiving— 

4 ‘‘(A) before carrying out such replacement 

5 or rehabilitation, not more than 75 percent of 

6 the payment for such replacement or rehabilita7 tion, which shall be based on the fair market 

8 value of the replacement or rehabilitation, as 

9 determined by the Secretary; and 

10 ‘‘(B) before carrying out such repair, not 

11 more than 50 percent of the payment for such 

12 repair, which shall be based on the fair market 

13 value of the repair, as determined by the Sec14 retary.’’; and 

15 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(c) WILDFIRES.—A wildfire that causes damage 

17 with respect to which a payment may be made under sub18 section (a) includes any wildfire that is not caused natu19 rally, including a wildfire that is caused by the Federal 

20 Government, if the damage is caused by the spread of the 

21 fire due to natural causes.’’. 

22 SEC. 2407. EMERGENCY WATERSHED PROGRAM. 

23 (a) FLOODPLAIN EASEMENTS.—Section 403(b) of 

24 the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203(b)) 

25 is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 

2 paragraphs (5) and (6); 

3 (2) by inserting after the subsection header the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(1) EASEMENT RESTORATION.—The Secretary 

6 is authorized to restore appropriate vegetative cover, 

7 hydrological functions, and other functions and val8 ues of the land subject to a floodplain easement ac9 quired under subsection (a). 

10 ‘‘(2) EASEMENT MAINTENANCE.—The Sec11 retary is authorized to monitor, maintain, and en12 hance appropriate vegetative cover, hydrological res13 toration measures, and other restoration measures 

14 on land subject to a floodplain easement acquired 

15 under subsection (a). 

16 ‘‘(3) CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS.—In car17 rying out paragraphs (1) and (2), the Secretary 

18 may— 

19 ‘‘(A) enter into contracts with landowners; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) enter into agreements with States, 

22 nongovernmental organizations, and Indian 

23 Tribes. 

24 ‘‘(4) COMPATIBLE USE AUTHORITY.—The Sec25 retary may authorize a landowner to carry out acVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00138 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 tivities on land subject to a floodplain easement ac2 quired under subsection (a) that are— 

3 ‘‘(A) compatible uses necessary to carry 

4 out paragraph (1) or (2); or 

5 ‘‘(B) compatible economic uses (including 

6 such activities as hunting and fishing, managed 

7 timber harvest, water management, or periodic 

8 haying or grazing) if such uses are consistent 

9 with the long-term protection of the floodplain 

10 functions and values for which the easement 

11 was acquired.’’; and 

12 (3) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by 

13 striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 

14 (5)’’ each place it appears. 

15 (b) LEVEL OF RESTORATION.—Section 403 of the 

16 Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203) is 

17 amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(c) LEVEL OF RESTORATION.—In carrying out this 

19 section, the Secretary may undertake measures that in20 crease the level of protection above that which would be 

21 necessary to address the immediate impairment of the wa22 tershed if the Secretary determines that such restoration 

23 is in the best interest of the long-term health of the water24 shed and the long-term protection of the watershed from 

25 repetitive impairments.’’. 


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1 SEC. 2408. NATIONAL AGRICULTURE FLOOD VULNER2 ABILITY STUDY. 

3 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

4 of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

5 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the 

6 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 

7 Senate a national agriculture flood vulnerability report 

8 containing the results of a Conservation Effects Assess9 ment Project assessment of flood risk on agricultural 

10 lands, including— 

11 (1) an analysis of economic losses of crops and 

12 livestock resulting from flooding under different re13 currence scenarios; 

14 (2) an analysis of the downstream effects of 

15 mitigation activities carried out as part of a water16 shed management approach; 

17 (3) an analysis of available Federal and State 

18 data relating to flood risk, as applicable to agricul19 tural land, including data relating to riverine flood20 ing, coastal flooding, storm surge, extreme precipita21 tion, and flash flooding; and 

22 (4) a description of ongoing producer-level con23 servation practices and broader government initia24 tives to manage the effects of flooding and flood risk 

25 within and across watersheds, and recommendations 


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1 for additional practices and initiatives to further ad2 dress such effects and risk. 

3 Subtitle F—Funding and 

4 Administration 

5 SEC. 2501. COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION. 

6 (a) ANNUAL FUNDING.—Section 1241(a) of the Food 

7 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)) is amended— 

8 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

9 striking ‘‘2031’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

10 (2) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

12 ‘‘2019 through 2023 to provide payments under 

13 section 1234(c)’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 

14 2029 to provide payments under section 

15 1234(c)(3)’’; and 

16 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

17 ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 

18 through 2029’’; 

19 (3) in paragraph (2), by striking subparagraphs 

20 (A) through (F) and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(A) $600,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; 

22 ‘‘(B) $625,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; 

23 ‘‘(C) $650,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; 

24 ‘‘(D) $675,000,000 for fiscal year 2028; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(E) $700,000,000 for fiscal year 2029.’’; 

2 (4) in paragraph (3)— 

3 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

4 clauses (i) through (v) and inserting the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(i) $2,400,000,000 for fiscal year 

7 2025; 

8 ‘‘(ii) $2,600,000,000 for fiscal year 

9 2026; 

10 ‘‘(iii) $2,800,000,000 for fiscal year 

11 2027; 

12 ‘‘(iv) $3,100,000,000 for fiscal year 

13 2028; and 

14 ‘‘(v) $3,120,000,000 for fiscal year 

15 2029; and’’; and 

16 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

17 clauses (i) through (v) and inserting the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(i) $1,275,000,000 for fiscal year 

20 2025; 

21 ‘‘(ii) $1,300,000,000 for fiscal year 

22 2026; 

23 ‘‘(iii) $1,325,000,000 for fiscal year 

24 2027; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) $1,350,000,000 for fiscal year 

2 2028; and 

3 ‘‘(v) $1,375,000,000 for fiscal year 

4 2029.’’; and 

5 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(5) The forest conservation easement program 

7 under subtitle I, using, to the maximum extent prac8 ticable— 

9 ‘‘(A) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; 

10 ‘‘(B) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; 

11 ‘‘(C) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; 

12 ‘‘(D) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2028; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(E) $65,000,000 for fiscal year 2029. 

15 ‘‘(6) The regional conservation partnership pro16 gram under subtitle J, using, to the maximum ex17 tent practicable— 

18 ‘‘(A) $400,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; 

19 ‘‘(B) $425,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; 

20 ‘‘(C) $450,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; 

21 ‘‘(D) $450,000,000 for fiscal year 2028; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(E) $450,000,000 for fiscal year 2029.’’. 


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1 (b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Section 1241(b) of 

2 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(b)) is 

3 amended by striking ‘‘2031’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

4 (c) REGIONAL EQUITY.—Section 1241(e)(1) of the 

5 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(e)(1)) is 

6 amended by striking ‘‘subtitle I’’ and inserting ‘‘subtitle 

7 J’’. 

8 (d) ACCEPTANCE AND USE OF CONTRIBUTIONS FOR

9 PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS.—Section 1241(f) of the 

10 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(f)) is amend11 ed— 

12 (1) in paragraph (6)(A)(ii), by inserting ‘‘of’’ 

13 before ‘‘any terms’’; 

14 (2) in paragraph (8), in the matter preceding 

15 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘2031’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘2029’’; and 

17 (3) in paragraph (9)— 

18 (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

19 as follows: 

20 ‘‘(A) subtitle D (except for subchapter B 

21 of chapter 1 of such subtitle), subtitle H, sub22 title I, or subtitle J;’’; 

23 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

24 semicolon and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

25 (C) by striking subparagraph (C). 


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1 (e) ASSISTANCE TO CERTAIN FARMERS OR RANCH2 ERS FOR CONSERVATION ACCESS.—Section 1241(h) of 

3 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(h)) is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1)(B)— 

6 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘2031’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

8 (B) in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

9 striking ‘‘2031’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

10 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2031’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

12 (f) REPORT ON PROGRAM ENROLLMENTS AND AS13 SISTANCE.—Section 1241(i) of the Food Security Act of 

14 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(i)) is amended— 

15 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

16 striking ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2024 

17 through 2029’’; and 

18 (2) in paragraph (2)(E), by striking ‘‘section 

19 1265B(b)(2)(B)(ii)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

20 1265B(b)(2)(A)(iii)’’. 

21 SEC. 2502. RESCISSIONS. 

22 The unobligated balances of amounts made available 

23 by the following provisions of Public Law 117–169 (136 

24 Stat. 2015–2016) are hereby rescinded: 


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1 (1) Clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv) of section 

2 21001(a)(1)(A). 

3 (2) Clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv) of section 

4 21001(a)(2)(A). 

5 (3) Subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D) of section 

6 21001(a)(3). 

7 (4) Clauses (ii), (iii), and (iv) of section 

8 21001(a)(4)(A). 

9 SEC. 2503. DELIVERY OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1242(a) of the Food Se11 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842(a)) is amended— 

12 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para13 graph (3); and 

14 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(2) NON-FEDERAL CERTIFYING ENTITY.—The 

17 term ‘non-Federal certifying entity’ means a non18 Federal entity, an Indian Tribe, or a State agency 

19 described in subparagraph (B), (C), or (D) of sub20 section (e)(4) that has entered into an agreement 

21 under subsection (e)(5)(D).’’. 

22 (b) PURPOSE OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 

23 1242(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

24 3842(b)) is amended by inserting ‘‘timely,’’ after ‘‘con25 sistent,’’. 


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1 (c) NON-FEDERAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 1242(d) of 

2 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842(d)) is 

3 amended by inserting ‘‘(including private sector entities)’’ 

4 after ‘‘Department or non-Federal entities’’. 

5 (d) CERTIFICATION OF THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS.— 

6 Section 1242(e) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

7 U.S.C. 3842(e)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Food, Con9 servation, and Energy Act of 2008’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘Prioritizing American Farmers and Agricultural 

11 Industry Over Bureaucracy Act’’; 

12 (2) by amending paragraph (3)(A) to read as 

13 follows: 

14 ‘‘(A) ensure that persons (including com15 mercial entities, nonprofit entities, State or 

16 local governments or agencies, and other Fed17 eral agencies) with expertise in the technical as18 pects of conservation planning, watershed plan19 ning, environmental engineering, conservation 

20 practice design, implementation, and evaluation, 

21 and any other technical skills determined appro22 priate by the Secretary, are eligible to become 

23 approved providers of the technical assistance;’’; 

24 and 


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1 (3) by striking paragraphs (4) and (5) and in2 serting the following: 

3 ‘‘(4) CERTIFICATION.—A third-party provider 

4 may be certified to provide technical assistance 

5 under this section only— 

6 ‘‘(A) through a certification process admin7 istered by the Secretary, acting through the 

8 Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation 

9 Service; 

10 ‘‘(B) by a non-Federal entity (other than 

11 a State agency or an Indian Tribe) approved by 

12 the Secretary under paragraph (5) to certify a 

13 third-party provider; 

14 ‘‘(C) by an Indian Tribe approved by the 

15 Secretary under paragraph (5) to certify a 

16 third-party provider; or 

17 ‘‘(D) by a State agency that— 

18 ‘‘(i) has statutory authority to certify, 

19 administer, or license professionals in one 

20 or more fields of natural resources, agri21 culture, or engineering; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) is approved by the Secretary 

23 under paragraph (5) to certify a third24 party provider. 

25 ‘‘(5) NON-FEDERAL CERTIFYING ENTITY.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT OF APPROVAL

2 PROCESS.—Not later than 180 days after the 

3 date of enactment of the Prioritizing American 

4 Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over Bu5 reaucracy Act, the Secretary shall establish a 

6 process to approve a non-Federal entity (includ7 ing a State agency and an Indian Tribe), to be8 come a non-Federal certifying entity. 

9 ‘‘(B) APPROVAL.—Not later than 60 days 

10 after the date on which the Secretary receives 

11 an application by a non-Federal entity to certify 

12 third-party providers under this section, the 

13 Secretary shall make a decision on whether to 

14 approve such application. 

15 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBILITY.—In carrying out sub16 paragraph (B), the Secretary shall take into 

17 consideration— 

18 ‘‘(i) the ability of the applicable non19 Federal entity to assess the qualifications 

20 of a third-party provider and to certify 

21 third-party providers at scale; 

22 ‘‘(ii) the experience of the applicable 

23 non-Federal entity in working with third24 party providers and eligible participants; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) the expertise of the applicable 

2 non-Federal entity in the technical skills 

3 described in paragraph (3)(A); and 

4 ‘‘(iv) such other qualifications as the 

5 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(D) AGREEMENT.—Upon approving an 

7 application under this paragraph, the Secretary 

8 shall enter into an agreement with the non-Fed9 eral entity to become a non-Federal certifying 

10 entity. 

11 ‘‘(E) DUTIES OF NON-FEDERAL CERTI12 FYING ENTITIES.—In certifying third-party pro13 viders under this section, a non-Federal certi14 fying entity shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) assess the ability of a third-party 

16 provider to appropriately provide technical 

17 assistance to eligible participants for speci18 fied practices and conservation activities; 

19 ‘‘(ii) provide training to ensure that a 

20 third-party provider is qualified to provide 

21 technical assistance upon certification by 

22 the non-Federal certifying entity; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) submit to the Secretary, in a 

24 timely manner, information on— 


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1 ‘‘(I) each third-party provider 

2 certified by the non-Federal certifying 

3 entity, for inclusion on the registry of 

4 certified third-party providers main5 tained by the Secretary; and 

6 ‘‘(II) each third-party provider 

7 the certification of which is withdrawn 

8 by the non-Federal certifying entity. 

9 ‘‘(6) TIMELY DECISIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) CERTIFICATION BY SECRETARY.—Not 

11 later than 30 days after the date on which the 

12 Secretary receives an application from a third13 party provider to be certified under the process 

14 described in paragraph (4)(A) for particular 

15 practices and conservation activities, the Sec16 retary shall— 

17 ‘‘(i) make a final decision with respect 

18 to such application; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) if the final decision is to certify 

20 the third-party provider, include the name 

21 of the certified third-party provider on the 

22 registry of certified third-party providers 

23 maintained by the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(B) CERTIFICATION BY NON-FEDERAL

25 CERTIFYING ENTITY.—Not later than 10 days 


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1 after the date on which the Secretary receives 

2 a notification from a non-Federal certifying en3 tity that a third-party provider was certified, 

4 pursuant to subparagraph (B), (C), or (D) of 

5 paragraph (4), for particular practices and con6 servation activities, the Secretary shall include 

7 the name of the certified third-party provider 

8 on the registry of certified third-party providers 

9 maintained by the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(7) STREAMLINED CERTIFICATION.—Not later 

11 than 180 days after the date of enactment of the 

12 Prioritizing American Farmers and Agricultural In13 dustry Over Bureaucracy Act, the Secretary shall es14 tablish a streamlined process for the Secretary and 

15 non-Federal certifying entities to use to certify 

16 under this section a third-party provider that has a 

17 relevant professional certification for particular prac18 tices and conservation activities, as determined by 

19 the Secretary.’’. 

20 (e) ADMINISTRATION.—Section 1242(f) of the Food 

21 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842(f)) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘each of the 

23 programs specified in section 1241’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘conservation programs administered by the Sec25 retary’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding 

2 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or a non-Federal 

3 certifying entity’’ before ‘‘under this section’’; 

4 (3) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘(3) UPDATE OF CERTIFICATION PROCESS BY

7 THE SECRETARY.—Not later than 1 year after the 

8 date of enactment of the Prioritizing American 

9 Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over Bureauc10 racy Act, and periodically thereafter, the Secretary 

11 shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) review the certification processes 

13 under paragraphs (4)(A) and (7) of subsection 

14 (e); 

15 ‘‘(B) make any adjustments considered 

16 necessary by the Secretary to— 

17 ‘‘(i) increase the number of third18 party providers delivering technical assist19 ance; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) improve the quality of technical 

21 assistance delivered by third-party pro22 viders; 

23 ‘‘(C) conduct outreach to, and receive 

24 input on the barriers for third-party providers 

25 to become certified under this section from— 


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1 ‘‘(i) third-party providers that are, or 

2 have been, certified under this section; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) other interested parties associ4 ated with eligible participants; and 

5 ‘‘(D) set a target rate of utilization of 

6 third-party providers to deliver technical assist7 ance across all conservation programs adminis8 tered by the Secretary.’’; 

9 (4) in paragraph (4)(A)(i), by inserting ‘‘(in10 cluding maintenance)’’ after ‘‘implementation’’; 

11 (5) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(5) PAYMENT AMOUNT.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For payments pro15 vided by the Secretary under paragraph (2) or 

16 (3) of subsection (c), the Secretary shall deter17 mine payment amounts for technical assistance 

18 provided by third-party providers, which shall 

19 be at rates equivalent to, but that do not ex20 ceed, the cost to the Secretary of providing 

21 technical assistance directly to an eligible par22 ticipant. 

23 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 

24 payment amounts under subparagraph (A), the 

25 Secretary shall consider specialized equipment, 


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1 frequency of site visits, training, travel and 

2 transportation, and such other factors as the 

3 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

4 ‘‘(C) EXCLUSION.—A payment provided 

5 under subsection (c)(3) shall be excluded from 

6 calculations relating to any cost-sharing re7 quirements of the applicable conservation pro8 gram under which the payment was provided. 

9 ‘‘(6) TRANSPARENCY.—Not later than 1 year 

10 after the date of enactment of the Prioritizing Amer11 ican Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over Bu12 reaucracy Act, and periodically thereafter, the Sec13 retary shall make publicly available information 

14 on— 

15 ‘‘(A) funds obligated to third-party pro16 viders through— 

17 ‘‘(i) contracts entered into between el18 igible participants and individual third19 party providers; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) agreements with public and pri21 vate sector entities to secure third-party 

22 technical assistance; 

23 ‘‘(B) the certification process under this 

24 section, including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the number of third-party pro2 viders certified by the Secretary; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the number of non-Federal certi4 fying entities approved by the Secretary; 

5 ‘‘(iii) the number of third-party pro6 viders certified by non-Federal certifying 

7 entities (other than State agencies and In8 dian Tribes); 

9 ‘‘(iv) the number of third-party pro10 viders certified by Indian Tribes; 

11 ‘‘(v) the number of third-party pro12 viders certified by State agencies; and 

13 ‘‘(vi) the number of third-party pro14 viders certified through the streamlined 

15 certification process described in sub16 section (e)(7); 

17 ‘‘(C) how third-party providers contribute 

18 to the quality and effectiveness of conservation 

19 practices implemented and adopted through 

20 conservation programs administered by the Sec21 retary, and what improvements are needed; and 

22 ‘‘(D) the target rate of utilization of third23 party providers set under paragraph (3)(D) and 

24 how actual rate of utilization compares to the 

25 target rate.’’; and 


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1 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(7) SOIL HEALTH PLANNING.—The Secretary 

3 shall emphasize the use of third-party providers in 

4 providing technical assistance for soil health plan5 ning, including planning related to the use of cover 

6 crops, precision agriculture practices, comprehensive 

7 nutrient management planning, and other innovative 

8 plans.’’. 

9 (f) REVIEW OF CONSERVATION PRACTICE STAND10 ARDS.—Section 1242(h) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

11 (16 U.S.C. 3842(h)) is amended— 

12 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking ‘‘RE13 VIEW’’ and inserting ‘‘ESTABLISHMENT AND RE14 VIEW’’; 

15 (2) in paragraph (1)— 

16 (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

17 as follows: 

18 ‘‘(A) not later than 1 year after the date 

19 of enactment of the Prioritizing American 

20 Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over Bu21 reaucracy Act, and at least every 5 years there22 after, complete a review of each conservation 

23 practice standard, including engineering design 

24 specifications;’’; 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

3 (C) in subparagraph (D), by striking the 

4 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

5 and 

6 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(E) provide a process for public input on 

8 each conservation practice standard under such 

9 review, including a process for consideration of 

10 State and local input; 

11 ‘‘(F) publicly post a summary of any input 

12 received under subparagraph (E) and any deci13 sions made relating to such input; and 

14 ‘‘(G) revise any conservation practice 

15 standard based on the results of such review, as 

16 determined appropriate by the Secretary, and 

17 publish any such revised standard.’’; 

18 (3) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol19 lows: 

20 ‘‘(3) PROCESS FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF IN21 TERIM AND NEW CONSERVATION PRACTICE STAND22 ARDS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

24 after the date of enactment of the Prioritizing 

25 American Farmers and Agricultural Industry 


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1 Over Bureaucracy Act, the Secretary shall de2 velop a streamlined process under which the 

3 Secretary shall establish interim conservation 

4 practice standards and new conservation prac5 tice standards. 

6 ‘‘(B) DEVELOPMENT.—In developing the 

7 streamlined process under subparagraph (A), 

8 the Secretary shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) ensure that the public can engage 

10 with the Department of Agriculture, in11 cluding by recommending interim conserva12 tion practice standards; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) establish— 

14 ‘‘(I) the types of data, metrics, 

15 and other relevant information that 

16 are necessary for the establishment of 

17 interim conservation practice stand18 ards and new conservation practice 

19 standards; 

20 ‘‘(II) the process by which an in21 terim conservation practice standard 

22 may become a new conservation prac23 tice standard; and 

24 ‘‘(III) specific requirements for 

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1 servation practice for the purpose of 

2 establishing a new conservation prac3 tice standard for such practice. 

4 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing 

5 an interim conservation practice standard or a 

6 new conservation practice standard under this 

7 subsection, the Secretary shall consider— 

8 ‘‘(i) input from State technical com9 mittees on recommendations that identify 

10 innovations or advancements in conserva11 tion practices; 

12 ‘‘(ii) technological advancements, in13 cluding advancements from projects devel14 oped under section 1240H; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) State and local input in the 

16 form of— 

17 ‘‘(I) recommendations for interim 

18 conservation practice standards; and 

19 ‘‘(II) partnership-led proposals 

20 for new and innovative techniques to 

21 facilitate implementing agreements 

22 and grants under this title; and 

23 ‘‘(iv) input from native entities in the 

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1 ditional ecological knowledge that can in2 form conservation practice standards. 

3 ‘‘(D) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary 

4 shall make available on a public website a de5 tailed description of the process for recom6 mending, reviewing, and establishing interim 

7 conservation practice standards and new con8 servation practice standards under this para9 graph.’’; 

10 (4) in paragraph (4)— 

11 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

12 (A)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘Agriculture Improve14 ment Act of 2018’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘Prioritizing American Farmers and Agri16 cultural Industry Over Bureaucracy Act’’; 

17 and 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘a report on’’ and in19 serting ‘‘a report detailing’’; 

20 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘ad21 ministrative’’ and inserting ‘‘streamlined’’; 

22 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

23 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

24 (D) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 

25 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(D) any other information the Secretary 

3 determines useful to improve such streamlined 

4 process for reviewing and establishing conserva5 tion practice standards.’’; and 

6 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(5) OFFICE OF CONSERVATION INNOVATION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

9 establish within the Office of the Chief of the 

10 Natural Resources Conservation Service an Of11 fice of Conservation Innovation (referred to in 

12 this paragraph as the ‘Office’) which shall be 

13 under the direct supervision of the Chief. 

14 ‘‘(B) DUTIES.—The Office shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) provide support to the Chief in 

16 meeting the requirements of this sub17 section; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) encourage innovation in con19 servation practices through— 

20 ‘‘(I) revisions of existing con21 servation practice standards; 

22 ‘‘(II) recommendations of interim 

23 conservation practice standards; and 

24 ‘‘(III) recommendations of new 

25 conservation practice standards. 


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1 ‘‘(C) STAFF.—The Chief shall detail to the 

2 Office not more than 6 employees of the De3 partment of Agriculture who are technical spe4 cialists that possess an understanding of con5 ventional, organic, and other production tech6 niques representing— 

7 ‘‘(i) agronomy and agroecology; 

8 ‘‘(ii) grazing lands ecology (including 

9 rangeland, pastureland, and grazed forest 

10 land); 

11 ‘‘(iii) animal husbandry (including 

12 animal nutrition and feed management); 

13 ‘‘(iv) water conservation, drainage 

14 water management, and irrigation engi15 neering technology; 

16 ‘‘(v) agricultural engineering (includ17 ing animal waste management, energy, and 

18 structural measures); and 

19 ‘‘(vi) forest ecology and agroforestry. 

20 ‘‘(6) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall use fund21 ing from the annual appropriations for conservation 

22 operations of the Natural Resources Conservation 

23 Service to carry out this subsection.’’. 


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1 (g) DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY.—Section 1242 of the 

2 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842) is amended 

3 by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(j) NRCS DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may ap6 point, without regard to the provisions of subchapter 

7 I of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code (other 

8 than sections 3303 and 3328 of such title), qualified 

9 candidates, as described in paragraph (2), directly to 

10 positions within the Natural Resources Conservation 

11 Service that provide technical assistance under con12 servation programs administered by the Natural Re13 sources Conservation Service. 

14 ‘‘(2) QUALIFICATIONS.—Paragraph (1) applies 

15 to a candidate who— 

16 ‘‘(A) is qualified to provide the technical 

17 assistance described in paragraph (1), as deter18 mined by the Secretary; and 

19 ‘‘(B) meets qualification standards estab20 lished by the Office of Personnel Manage21 ment.’’. 


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1 SEC. 2504. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR CON2 SERVATION PROGRAMS. 

3 (a) TENANT PROTECTIONS.—Section 1244(d) of the 

4 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3844(d)) is amend5 ed by striking ‘‘I.’’ and inserting ‘‘J.’’. 

6 (b) ACREAGE LIMITATIONS.—Section 1244(f) of the 

7 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3844(f)) is amend8 ed— 

9 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol10 lows: 

11 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall not en12 roll more than 25 percent of the cropland in any 

13 county in the conservation reserve program estab14 lished under subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle 

15 D and wetland reserve easements under section 

16 1265C.’’; 

17 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

18 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

19 (A), by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)(A)’’ and insert20 ing ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; and 

21 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

22 ‘‘and’’ at the end and inserting ‘‘or’’; 

23 (3) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

24 (1)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; and 

25 (4) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ‘‘classes 

26 IV’’ and inserting ‘‘classes III’’. 


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1 (c) REVIEW AND GUIDANCE FOR PRACTICE COSTS

2 AND PAYMENT RATES.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1244(j)(1) of the 

4 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3844(j)(1)) 

5 is amended— 

6 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

7 (A), by striking ‘‘Not later than 1 year after 

8 the date of enactment of the Agriculture Im9 provement Act of 2018, and not later than Oc10 tober 1 of each year thereafter, the Secretary 

11 shall’’ and inserting ‘‘The Secretary shall estab12 lish a process under which the Secretary shall 

13 annually’’; 

14 (B) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

15 as follows: 

16 ‘‘(A) review, with respect to each State, 

17 the actual practice costs and rates of payments 

18 (or, where actual practice costs and rates of 

19 payments are not available, estimates of such 

20 practice costs and rates) made to producers 

21 pursuant to programs under this title for prac22 tices on eligible land; and’’; and 

23 (C) in subparagraph (B)— 

24 (i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

25 the end; 


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1 (ii) by redesignating clause (iii) as 

2 clause (iv); 

3 (iii) by inserting after clause (ii) the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(iii) accounts for the variability in 

6 costs of implementing practices on eligible 

7 land under this title; and’’; and 

8 (iv) in clause (iv), as so redesignated, 

9 by striking ‘‘regional, State, and’’ and in10 serting ‘‘State and’’. 

11 (2) GUIDANCE; REVIEW.—Section 1244(j)(2) of 

12 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

13 3844(j)(2)) is amended— 

14 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘esti15 mates for’’; and 

16 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

17 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

18 the end; 

19 (ii) by redesignating clause (ii) as 

20 clause (iii); 

21 (iii) by inserting after clause (i) the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(ii) monitoring for and identifying 

24 significant variability in practice costs in 

25 each year; and’’; and 


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1 (iv) in clause (iii), as so redesignated, 

2 by inserting ‘‘and, when appropriate, 

3 adopting any recommendations made by 

4 such State technical committee’’ after 

5 ‘‘that State’’. 

6 (3) EFFECT ON EXISTING CONTRACTS.—Sec7 tion 1244(j) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

8 U.S.C. 3844(j)) is amended by adding at the end the 

9 following: 

10 ‘‘(3) EFFECT ON EXISTING CONTRACTS.—In 

11 order to provide rates of payments that are commen12 surate with the costs of implementing practices pur13 suant to programs under this title, the Secretary 

14 shall establish processes and procedures for updating 

15 rates of payments under a contract or agreement in 

16 effect under this title to reflect the appropriate prac17 tice costs and rates of payments determined under 

18 paragraph (2)(B) for the year in which the practice 

19 is implemented.’’. 

20 (d) SOURCE WATER PROTECTION THROUGH TAR21 GETING OF AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES.—Section 1244(n) 

22 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3844(n)) 

23 is amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

25 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (i) by redesignating clause (ii) as 

2 clause (iii); 

3 (ii) in clause (i), by striking the 

4 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

5 (iii) by inserting after clause (i) the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(ii) identify in each State a source 

8 water protection coordinator who shall be 

9 responsible for coordinating such collabora10 tion with community water systems under 

11 this subsection; and’’; and 

12 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

13 ‘‘under subparagraph (A)(ii)’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘under subparagraph (A)(iii)’’; 

15 (2) in paragraph (3), strike ‘‘2031’’ and insert 

16 ‘‘2029’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(4) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE INFORMATION.—Be19 ginning on the date of enactment of the Prioritizing 

20 American Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over 

21 Bureaucracy Act, the Secretary, acting through the 

22 Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Serv23 ice, shall make publicly available— 

24 ‘‘(A) an annual report that details— 


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1 ‘‘(i) for each local priority area identi2 fied under paragraph (2)(A)(i)— 

3 ‘‘(I) the conservation programs 

4 under which assistance is provided 

5 pursuant to paragraph (1); 

6 ‘‘(II) the practices implemented 

7 pursuant to paragraph (1); and 

8 ‘‘(III) the number of contracts 

9 and acres devoted to such practices; 

10 ‘‘(ii) for each conservation program 

11 administered by the Secretary— 

12 ‘‘(I) the amount of funds obli13 gated and expended for practices im14 plemented pursuant to paragraph (1); 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(II) information regarding the 

17 status of compliance with paragraph 

18 (3); and 

19 ‘‘(iii) the practices, by State, that are 

20 receiving increased incentives and higher 

21 payment rates under paragraph (2)(A)(iii); 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) through an interactive map, aggre24 gated data detailed under subparagraph (A).’’. 


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1 (e) ENCOURAGEMENT OF HABITAT CONNECTIVITY

2 AND WILDLIFE CORRIDORS.—Section 1244 of the Food 

3 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3844) is amended by 

4 adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(q) ENCOURAGEMENT OF HABITAT CONNECTIVITY

6 AND WILDLIFE CORRIDORS.—In carrying out any con7 servation program administered by the Secretary, the Sec8 retary may, as appropriate, encourage the use of conserva9 tion practices that support the development, restoration, 

10 and maintenance of habitat connectivity and wildlife cor11 ridors.’’. 

12 SEC. 2505. EXPERIENCED SERVICES PROGRAM. 

13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—Section 

14 1252(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

15 3851(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—The Sec17 retary shall establish an experienced services program (re18 ferred to in this section as the ‘program’) for the purpose 

19 of utilizing the talents of individuals who are age 55 or 

20 older, but who are not employees of the Department of 

21 Agriculture or a State agriculture department, to provide 

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1 nical consultation, and assistance with design and imple2 mentation of conservation practices.’’. 

3 (b) FUNDING SOURCE.—Section 1252(c) of the Food 

4 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3851(c)) is amended— 

5 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), with respect to subsection (a), the Sec9 retary may carry out the program using funds made 

10 available to carry out each conservation program ad11 ministered by the Secretary.’’; and 

12 (2) by striking paragraph (3). 

13 Subtitle G—Agricultural 

14 Conservation Easement Program 

15 SEC. 2601. DEFINITIONS. 

16 Section 1265A of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

17 U.S.C. 3865a) is amended— 

18 (1) by striking paragraph (2); 

19 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 

20 (7) as paragraphs (2) through (6), respectively; and 

21 (3) in paragraph (3)(A), as so redesignated, by 

22 amending clause (i) to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(i) that is subject to a pending offer 

24 for purchase of an agricultural land ease25 ment from an eligible entity;’’. 


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1 SEC. 2602. AGRICULTURAL LAND EASEMENTS. 

2 (a) AVAILABILITY OF ASSISTANCE.—Section 

3 1265B(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

4 3865b) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘in eligible 

6 land;’’ and inserting ‘‘on eligible land; and’’; 

7 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘(iv); and’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘(iii).’’; and 

9 (3) by striking paragraph (3). 

10 (b) COST-SHARE ASSISTANCE.— 

11 (1) SCOPE OF ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE.—Sec12 tion 1265B(b)(2) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

13 (16 U.S.C. 3865b(b)(2)) is amended— 

14 (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

15 as follows: 

16 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An agreement de18 scribed in paragraph (4) shall provide for 

19 a Federal share determined by the Sec20 retary of an amount not to exceed 65 per21 cent of the fair market value of the agri22 cultural land easement, as determined by 

23 the Secretary using— 

24 ‘‘(I) the Uniform Standards of 

25 Professional Appraisal Practice; 


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1 ‘‘(II) an areawide market anal2 ysis or survey; or 

3 ‘‘(III) another industry-approved 

4 method. 

5 ‘‘(ii) SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED

6 FARMERS AND RANCHERS EXCEPTION.—In 

7 the case of eligible land with respect to 

8 which a socially disadvantaged farmer or 

9 rancher holds an ownership interest of not 

10 less than 50 percent, the Secretary may 

11 provide an amount not to exceed 90 per12 cent of the fair market value of the agri13 cultural land easement. 

14 ‘‘(iii) GRASSLANDS EXCEPTION.—In 

15 the case of grassland of special environ16 mental significance, as determined by the 

17 Secretary, the Secretary may provide an 

18 amount not to exceed 75 percent of the 

19 fair market value of the agricultural land 

20 easement.’’; 

21 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

22 (i) by amending clause (i) to read as 

23 follows: 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Under the agree25 ment, the eligible entity shall provide a 


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1 non-Federal share that is equivalent to the 

2 remainder of the fair market value of the 

3 agricultural land easement not provided by 

4 the Secretary under subparagraph (A).’’; 

5 (ii) by striking clause (ii); 

6 (iii) by redesignating clause (iii) as 

7 clause (ii); and 

8 (iv) in clause (ii), as so redesignated, 

9 in the matter preceding subclause (I), by 

10 striking ‘‘subparagraph’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘paragraph’’; and 

12 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(C) LOWER COST-SHARE OPTION.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

16 paragraph (4)(C)(v), an eligible entity may 

17 elect to enter into an agreement under 

18 paragraph (4) in which the terms and con19 ditions of an agricultural land easement 

20 funded under the agreement do not include 

21 a right of enforcement for the Secretary if 

22 the eligible entity agrees to a Federal 

23 share that does not exceed 25 percent of 

24 the fair market value of the agricultural 


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1 land easement, as determined by the Sec2 retary under subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(ii) MINIMUM TERMS AND CONDI4 TIONS.—Under an agreement described in 

5 clause (i), an eligible entity shall be au6 thorized to use its own terms and condi7 tions for agricultural land easements so 

8 long as the Secretary determines such 

9 terms and conditions— 

10 ‘‘(I) are consistent with the pur11 poses of the program; and 

12 ‘‘(II) permit effective enforce13 ment of the conservation purposes of 

14 such easements. 

15 ‘‘(iii) ENTITY ENFORCEMENT.—Under 

16 an agreement described in clause (i), the 

17 Secretary shall require the terms and con18 ditions for the agricultural land easement 

19 to include a right of enforcement for the 

20 eligible entity. 

21 ‘‘(iv) CASH CONTRIBUTION.—Under 

22 an agreement described in clause (i), the 

23 eligible entity shall provide cash resources 

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1 cultural land easement, as determined by 

2 the Secretary under subparagraph (A).’’. 

3 (2) EVALUATION AND RANKING OF APPLICA4 TIONS.—Section 1265B(b)(3) of the Food Security 

5 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3865b(b)(3)) is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(F) POOLING OF APPLICATIONS.—The 

8 Secretary may evaluate and rank applications 

9 submitted by eligible entities for the purchase 

10 of agricultural land easements from landowners 

11 who are socially disadvantaged farmers or 

12 ranchers separately from applications submitted 

13 for the purchase of agricultural land easements 

14 from other landowners.’’. 

15 (3) AGREEMENTS WITH ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

16 Section 1265B(b)(4) of the Food Security Act of 

17 1985 (42 U.S.C. 3865b(b)(4)) is amended— 

18 (A) in subparagraph (C)— 

19 (i) by striking clause (iii); 

20 (ii) by redesignating clauses (iv) and 

21 (v) as clauses (iii) and (iv), respectively; 

22 (iii) in clause (iii), as so redesignated, 

23 by striking the ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


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1 (iv) in clause (iv), as so redesignated, 

2 by striking the period at the end and in3 serting ‘‘;’’; and 

4 (v) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(v) include a right of enforcement for 

6 the Secretary that— 

7 ‘‘(I) may be used only if the 

8 terms and conditions of the easement 

9 are not enforced by the eligible entity; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(II) does not extend to a right 

12 of inspection unless— 

13 ‘‘(aa)(AA) the holder of the 

14 easement fails to provide moni15 toring reports in a timely man16 ner; or 

17 ‘‘(BB) the Secretary has a 

18 reasonable and articulable belief 

19 that the terms and conditions of 

20 the easement have been violated; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(bb) prior to the inspection, 

23 the Secretary notifies the eligible 

24 entity and the landowner of the 

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1 able opportunity for the eligible 

2 entity and the landowner to par3 ticipate in the inspection; and 

4 ‘‘(vi) include a right of the Secretary 

5 to require the transfer of the easement to 

6 a different eligible entity if the eligible en7 tity that holds the easement ceases to exist 

8 or is no longer eligible to participate in the 

9 program, as determined by the Secretary.’’; 

10 (B) in subparagraph (D)— 

11 (i) in clause (ii)— 

12 (I) in subclause (I)(ff), by strik13 ing ‘‘(v)’’ and inserting ‘‘(iv)’’; and 

14 (II) in subclause (II), by striking 

15 the ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

16 (ii) in clause (iii), by striking the pe17 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (iii) by inserting at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(iv) do not conflict with any min21 imum terms or conditions under subpara22 graph (C) that may be required.’’. 

23 (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) 

24 and (F) as subparagraphs (F) and (G), respec25 tively; and 


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1 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(E) MODIFICATION OF TERMS AND CON4 DITIONS.—An eligible entity shall be authorized 

5 to modify a term or condition of an agricultural 

6 land easement funded under an agreement 

7 under subparagraph (A) if such modification 

8 does not conflict with any minimum term or 

9 condition required by the Secretary under sub10 paragraph (C).’’. 

11 (4) CERTIFICATION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

12 Section 1265B(b)(5) of the Food Security Act of 

13 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3865b(b)(5)) is amended— 

14 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

15 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

16 by striking ‘‘under which the Secretary 

17 may’’ and inserting ‘‘, to minimize admin18 istrative burdens on the Secretary and rec19 ognize the ability of experienced eligible 

20 entities to administer easements with mini21 mal oversight by the Secretary, under 

22 which the Secretary shall’’; and 

23 (ii) in clause (iv), by inserting ‘‘, and 

24 modify,’’ after ‘‘entity to use’’; 

25 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 


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1 (i) in clause (ii)— 

2 (I) in subclause (II), by striking 

3 ‘‘10’’ and inserting ‘‘5’’; and 

4 (II) in subclause (III), by strik5 ing the ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

6 (ii) in clause (iii)— 

7 (I) in subclause (I), by striking 

8 ‘‘10’’ and inserting ‘‘5’’; and 

9 (II) in subclause (II), by striking 

10 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

11 or’’; 

12 (iii) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(iv) is an eligible entity not described 

15 in clause (ii) or (iii) that has— 

16 ‘‘(I) acquired not fewer than 10 

17 agricultural land easements under the 

18 program or any predecessor program; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(II) successfully met the respon21 sibilities of the eligible entity under 

22 the applicable agreements with the 

23 Secretary, as determined by the Sec24 retary, relating to agricultural land 

25 easements that the eligible entity has 


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1 acquired under the program or any 

2 predecessor program.’’; and 

3 (C) in subparagraph (C)— 

4 (i) in the header, by striking ‘‘REVIEW

5 AND REVISION’’ and inserting ‘‘REVIEW

6 AND REVOCATION’’; 

7 (ii) in the header of clause (i) by 

8 striking ‘‘REVIEW’’ and inserting ‘‘CER9 TIFIED ENTITY REVIEW’’; and 

10 (iii) by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(iii) EASEMENT REVIEW.—The Sec13 retary shall establish and conduct an an14 nual quality review process to— 

15 ‘‘(I) review a sample set of ease16 ments acquired by certified eligible en17 tities; 

18 ‘‘(II) ensure the integrity of the 

19 easement acquisition process under 

20 this section; 

21 ‘‘(III) establish and enforce a 

22 process for corrective actions; and 

23 ‘‘(IV) provide for a waiver of suc24 cessive easement reviews based on 

25 demonstrated compliance.’’. 


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1 SEC. 2603. WETLAND RESERVE EASEMENTS. 

2 (a) EASEMENTS.—Section 1265C(b) of the Food Se3 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3865c(b)) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (1)(D), by striking ‘‘tribes’’ 

5 and inserting ‘‘Tribes and landowners who are so6 cially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers’’; and 

7 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3)(C) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(D) POOLING OF APPLICATIONS.—The 

10 Secretary may evaluate and rank offers from 

11 landowners who are socially disadvantaged 

12 farmers or ranchers separately from offers from 

13 other landowners.’’. 

14 (b) EASEMENT RESTORATION.—Section 1265C(c)(1) 

15 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3865c(c)(1)) 

16 is amended by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘subsection (g)’’. 

18 (c) EASEMENT STEWARDSHIP.—Section 1265C of 

19 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3865c) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (g) 

22 as subsections (e) through (h), respectively; and 

23 (2) by inserting after subsection (c), the fol24 lowing: 

25 ‘‘(d) EASEMENT STEWARDSHIP.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

2 financial assistance to owners of eligible land en3 rolled under this section for the repair, necessary 

4 maintenance, and enhancement activities described 

5 in the wetland reserve easement plan developed for 

6 the eligible land under subsection (g)(1). 

7 ‘‘(2) EVALUATION OF STEWARDSHIP NEED.— 

8 The Secretary shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) regularly assess land enrolled under 

10 this section to identify maintenance and man11 agement needs, including any needed repair or 

12 enhancement of existing structural practices, in 

13 accordance with the applicable wetland reserve 

14 easement plan; 

15 ‘‘(B) consistent with the purposes of the 

16 program, create, execute, and update as nec17 essary based on the assessments carried out 

18 under subparagraph (A), a stewardship strategy 

19 for— 

20 ‘‘(i) prioritizing and addressing the 

21 needs identified under subparagraph (A); 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(ii) projecting the amount of annual 

24 funding needed for financial and technical 

25 assistance to address such needs; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) establish a 5-year schedule to address 

2 such needs. 

3 ‘‘(3) PAYMENTS.—In carrying out paragraph 

4 (1), the Secretary shall make payments in an 

5 amount that is not more than 100 percent of the eli6 gible costs, as determined by the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

8 date of enactment of the Prioritizing American 

9 Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over Bureauc10 racy Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Com11 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Representa12 tives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

13 and Forestry of the Senate a report that includes— 

14 ‘‘(A) an inventory of the existing steward15 ship needs of all wetland reserve easements, 

16 based on the assessments carried out under 

17 paragraph (2); 

18 ‘‘(B) the stewardship strategy created 

19 under paragraph (2)(B); 

20 ‘‘(C) the amounts the Secretary plans to 

21 allocate to address such stewardship needs, 

22 based on projections made pursuant to para23 graph (2)(B)(ii); and 

24 ‘‘(D) the planned use of compatible uses 

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1 ments under subsection (e)(2), or wetland re2 serve easement plans under subsection (g)(1) to 

3 ensure that each such stewardship need is ad4 dressed.’’. 

5 (d) ASSISTANCE.—Subsection (e) of section 1265C of 

6 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3865c), as so 

7 redesignated, is amended— 

8 (1) in the header, by striking ‘‘TECHNICAL AS9 SISTANCE’’ and inserting ‘‘ASSISTANCE’’; and 

10 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol11 lows: 

12 ‘‘(2) CONTRACTS OR AGREEMENTS.—The Sec13 retary may enter into 1 or more contracts or agree14 ments with a Federal, State, or local agency, a non15 governmental organization, an Indian Tribe, or a 

16 private entity to carry out necessary restoration, en17 hancement, maintenance, repair, assessment, or 

18 monitoring of a wetland reserve easement if the Sec19 retary determines that the contract or agreement 

20 will advance the purposes of the program.’’. 

21 (e) WETLAND RESERVE ENHANCEMENT OPTION.— 

22 Subsection (f) of section 1265C of the Food Security Act 

23 of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3865c), as so redesignated, is amend24 ed— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(2) FUNDING.—Of the funds made available 

6 to carry out this section, the Secretary shall reserve 

7 not less than 15 percent to carry out this sub8 section.’’. 

9 SEC. 2604. ADMINISTRATION. 

10 (a) SUBORDINATION, EXCHANGE, MODIFICATION, 

11 AND TERMINATION.—Section 1265D(c) of the Food Secu12 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3865d(c)) is amended— 

13 (1) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol14 lows: 

15 ‘‘(2) MODIFICATION AND EXCHANGE.— 

16 ‘‘(A) MODIFICATION.— 

17 ‘‘(i) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 

18 approve a modification of any interest in 

19 land, or portion of such interest, adminis20 tered by the Secretary, either directly or 

21 on behalf of the Commodity Credit Cor22 poration, under the program if the Sec23 retary determines that the modification— 

24 ‘‘(I) will support the long-term 

25 agricultural viability of the applicable 


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1 farm or ranch operation and the con2 servation values of the applicable 

3 easement; 

4 ‘‘(II) will result in equal or in5 creased conservation values; 

6 ‘‘(III) is consistent with the origi7 nal intent of the easement; 

8 ‘‘(IV) is consistent with the pur9 poses of the program; and 

10 ‘‘(V) is in the public interest or 

11 furthers the practical administration 

12 of the program, including correcting 

13 errors, exercising reserved rights, and 

14 increasing flexibility to recognize 

15 changes in water availability or ad16 ministration. 

17 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—In modifying an 

18 interest in land, or portion of such inter19 est, under this subparagraph, the Sec20 retary may not, except in the case of a 

21 modification that includes a change to an 

22 easement to add acreage, increase any pay23 ment to an eligible entity. 

24 ‘‘(iii) NEPA COMPLIANCE.—An action 

25 taken pursuant to this subparagraph may 


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1 not be considered a major Federal action 

2 under section 102(2)(C) of the National 

3 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

4 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). 

5 ‘‘(B) EXCHANGE.— 

6 ‘‘(i) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 

7 approve an exchange of any interest in 

8 land, or portion of such interest, adminis9 tered by the Secretary, either directly or 

10 on behalf of the Commodity Credit Cor11 poration, under the program if the Sec12 retary determines that— 

13 ‘‘(I) no reasonable alternative ex14 ists and the effect on the interest in 

15 land is avoided or minimized to the 

16 extent practicable; and 

17 ‘‘(II) the exchange— 

18 ‘‘(aa) results in equal or in19 creased conservation values; 

20 ‘‘(bb) results in equal or 

21 greater economic value to the 

22 United States; 

23 ‘‘(cc) is consistent with the 

24 original intent of the easement; 


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1 ‘‘(dd) is consistent with the 

2 purposes of the program; and 

3 ‘‘(ee) is in the public inter4 est or furthers the practical ad5 ministration of the program. 

6 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—In exchanging an 

7 interest in land, or portion of such inter8 est, under this subparagraph, the Sec9 retary may not increase any payment to an 

10 eligible entity.’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(6) DE MINIMIS ADJUSTMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

14 approve and make de minimis adjustments to 

15 any interest in land, or a portion of such inter16 est, administered by the Secretary, directly or 

17 on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation, 

18 under the program if the Secretary determines 

19 that the adjustment— 

20 ‘‘(i) furthers the practical administra21 tion of the program; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) is not a subordination, modifica23 tion, exchange, or termination, as deter24 mined by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(B) TYPES OF DE MINIMIS ADJUST2 MENTS.—De minimis adjustments made under 

3 this paragraph may include title corrections and 

4 other minor adjustments, including— 

5 ‘‘(i) typographical error corrections; 

6 ‘‘(ii) minor changes in legal descrip7 tions as a result of survey or mapping er8 rors; 

9 ‘‘(iii) the transfer of an interest of an 

10 eligible entity to another eligible entity; 

11 ‘‘(iv) changes to a building envelope 

12 boundary; 

13 ‘‘(v) relocation of easement access; 

14 ‘‘(vi) authorization of temporary work 

15 areas not associated with other easement 

16 administration actions; and 

17 ‘‘(vii) other adjustments determined 

18 necessary by the Secretary.’’. 

19 (b) ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME EXEMPTION.—Section 

20 1265D of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

21 3865D) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(f) ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME EXEMPTION.—The 

23 adjusted gross income limitation described in section 

24 1001D(b)(1) shall not apply to any payment or other as25 sistance under this subtitle.’’. 


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1 Subtitle H—Forest Conservation 

2 Easement Program 

3 SEC. 2701. FOREST CONSERVATION EASEMENT PROGRAM. 

4 Title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

5 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subtitle I (16 U.S.C. 3871 

7 et seq.) as subtitle J; and 

8 (2) by inserting after subtitle H (16 U.S.C. 

9 3865 et seq.) the following: 

10 ‘‘Subtitle I—Forest Conservation 

11 Easement Program 

12 ‘‘SEC. 1267. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSES. 

13 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab14 lish a forest conservation easement program for the con15 servation and restoration of eligible land and natural re16 sources through the acquisition of conservation easements 

17 or other interests in land. 

18 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the program 

19 are— 

20 ‘‘(1) to protect the viability and sustainability 

21 of working forest land, and related conservation val22 ues of eligible land, by limiting the negative effects 

23 of nonforest land uses of such land; 

24 ‘‘(2) to protect and enhance forest ecosystem 

25 and landscape functions and values; 


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1 ‘‘(3) to promote the restoration, protection, and 

2 improvement of habitat of species that are threat3 ened, endangered, or otherwise at risk; and 

4 ‘‘(4) to carry out the purposes and functions of 

5 the healthy forests reserve program established 

6 under title V of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

7 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6571 et seq.), as in effect on the 

8 day before the date of enactment of this section. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 1267A. DEFINITIONS. 

10 ‘‘In this subtitle: 

11 ‘‘(1) ACREAGE OWNED BY AN INDIAN TRIBE.— 

12 The term ‘acreage owned by an Indian Tribe’ 

13 means— 

14 ‘‘(A) land that is held in trust by the 

15 United States for Indian Tribes or individual 

16 Indians; 

17 ‘‘(B) land, the title to which is held by In18 dian Tribes or individual Indians subject to 

19 Federal restrictions against alienation or en20 cumbrance; 

21 ‘‘(C) land that is subject to rights of use, 

22 occupancy, and benefit of certain Indian Tribes; 

23 ‘‘(D) land that is held in fee title by an In24 dian Tribe; 


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1 ‘‘(E) land that is owned by a native cor2 poration formed under— 

3 ‘‘(i) section 17 of the Act of June 18, 

4 1934 (commonly known as the ‘Indian Re5 organization Act’) (25 U.S.C. 5124); or 

6 ‘‘(ii) section 8 of the Alaska Native 

7 Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1607); 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(F) a combination of 1 or more types of 

10 land described in subparagraphs (A) through 

11 (E). 

12 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en13 tity’ means— 

14 ‘‘(A) an agency of State or local govern15 ment or an Indian Tribe (including a land re16 source council established under State law); or 

17 ‘‘(B) an organization that is— 

18 ‘‘(i) organized for, and at all times 

19 since the formation of the organization has 

20 been operated principally for, 1 or more of 

21 the conservation purposes specified in 

22 clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of section 

23 170(h)(4)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code 

24 of 1986; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an organization described in sec2 tion 501(c)(3) of that Code that is exempt 

3 from taxation under section 501(a) of that 

4 Code; or 

5 ‘‘(iii) described in— 

6 ‘‘(I) paragraph (1) or (2) of sec7 tion 509(a) of that Code; or 

8 ‘‘(II) section 509(a)(3) of that 

9 Code and is controlled by an organiza10 tion described in section 509(a)(2) of 

11 that Code. 

12 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE LAND.—The term ‘eligible land’ 

13 means private land or acreage owned by an Indian 

14 Tribe— 

15 ‘‘(A) that is— 

16 ‘‘(i) forest land; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) being restored to forest land; 

18 ‘‘(B) in the case of a forest land ease19 ment— 

20 ‘‘(i) the enrollment of which would 

21 protect working forests and related con22 servation values by conserving land; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) the protection of which will fur24 ther a State or local policy consistent with 

25 the purposes of the program; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) in the case of a forest reserve ease2 ment, the enrollment of which will maintain, re3 store, enhance, or otherwise measurably— 

4 ‘‘(i) increase the likelihood of recovery 

5 of a species that is listed as endangered or 

6 threatened under section 4 of the Endan7 gered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

8 1533); or 

9 ‘‘(ii) improve the well-being of a spe10 cies that is— 

11 ‘‘(I) not listed as endangered or 

12 threatened under that section; and 

13 ‘‘(II)(aa) a candidate for that 

14 listing, a State-listed species, or a spe15 cial concern species; or 

16 ‘‘(bb) designated as a species of 

17 greatest conservation need by a State 

18 wildlife action plan. 

19 ‘‘(4) FOREST LAND EASEMENT.—The term ‘for20 est land easement’ means an easement or other in21 terest in eligible land that— 

22 ‘‘(A) is conveyed to an eligible entity for 

23 the purpose of protecting natural resources and 

24 the forest nature of the eligible land; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) permits the landowner the right to 

2 continue working forest production and related 

3 uses, consistent with an applicable forest man4 agement plan. 

5 ‘‘(5) FOREST MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The term 

6 ‘forest management plan’ means— 

7 ‘‘(A) a forest stewardship plan described in 

8 section 5(f) of the Cooperative Forestry Assist9 ance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2103a(f)); 

10 ‘‘(B) another plan approved by the applica11 ble State forester or State forestry agency; 

12 ‘‘(C) a plan developed under a third-party 

13 certification system determined appropriate by 

14 the Secretary; or 

15 ‘‘(D) another plan determined appropriate 

16 by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(6) FOREST RESERVE EASEMENT.—The term 

18 ‘forest reserve easement’ means an easement or 

19 other interest in eligible land that— 

20 ‘‘(A) is conveyed to the Secretary for the 

21 purpose of protecting natural resources and the 

22 forest nature of the eligible land; and 

23 ‘‘(B) permits the landowner the right to 

24 continue working forest production and related 

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1 serve easement plan developed under section 

2 1267C(c)(1)(A). 

3 ‘‘(7) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 

4 the forest conservation easement program estab5 lished under this subtitle. 

6 ‘‘(8) SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED FOREST LAND7 OWNER.—The term ‘socially disadvantaged forest 

8 landowner’ means a forest landowner who is a mem9 ber of a socially disadvantaged group (as defined in 

10 section 2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva11 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a))). 

12 ‘‘SEC. 1267B. FOREST LAND EASEMENTS. 

13 ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY OF ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

14 shall facilitate and provide funding for— 

15 ‘‘(1) the purchase by eligible entities of forest 

16 land easements on eligible land; 

17 ‘‘(2) the development of a forest management 

18 plan; and 

19 ‘‘(3) technical assistance to implement this sec20 tion. 

21 ‘‘(b) COST-SHARE ASSISTANCE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall protect 

23 working forests, and related conservation values of 

24 eligible land, through cost-share assistance to eligible 

25 entities for purchasing forest land easements. 


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1 ‘‘(2) SCOPE OF ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE.— 

2 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro4 vided in clause (ii), an agreement described 

5 in paragraph (4) shall provide for a Fed6 eral share of 50 percent of the fair market 

7 value of the forest land easement, as deter8 mined by the Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—An agreement de10 scribed in paragraph (4) may provide for a 

11 Federal share of not more than 75 percent 

12 of the fair market value of a forest land 

13 easement in the case of eligible land that 

14 is— 

15 ‘‘(I) a forest of special environ16 mental significance, as determined by 

17 the Secretary; or 

18 ‘‘(II) owned by a socially dis19 advantaged forest landowner. 

20 ‘‘(B) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Under an agree22 ment described in paragraph (4), the eligi23 ble entity shall provide a non-Federal 

24 share that is equivalent to the remainder 

25 of the fair market value of the forest land 


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1 easement not provided by the Secretary 

2 under subparagraph (A). 

3 ‘‘(ii) PERMISSIBLE FORMS.—The non4 Federal share provided by an eligible entity 

5 under this paragraph may comprise— 

6 ‘‘(I) cash resources; 

7 ‘‘(II) a charitable donation or 

8 qualified conservation contribution (as 

9 defined in section 170(h) of the Inter10 nal Revenue Code of 1986) from the 

11 private forest landowner from which 

12 the forest land easement will be pur13 chased; 

14 ‘‘(III) costs associated with se15 curing a deed to the forest land ease16 ment, including the cost of appraisal, 

17 survey, inspection, and title; and 

18 ‘‘(IV) other costs, as determined 

19 by the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF FAIR MARKET

21 VALUE.—For purposes of this paragraph, the 

22 Secretary shall determine the fair market value 

23 of a forest land easement using— 

24 ‘‘(i) the Uniform Standards of Profes25 sional Appraisal Practice; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an areawide market analysis or 

2 survey; or 

3 ‘‘(iii) another industry-approved meth4 od. 

5 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION AND RANKING OF APPLICA6 TIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall es8 tablish evaluation and ranking criteria to maxi9 mize the benefit of Federal investment under 

10 the program. 

11 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY.—In evaluating applica12 tions under the program, the Secretary shall 

13 give priority to an application for the purchase 

14 of a forest land easement— 

15 ‘‘(i) that maintains the viability of a 

16 working forest, as determined by the Sec17 retary; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) on eligible land for which a forest 

19 management plan has been developed at 

20 the time of application. 

21 ‘‘(C) CONSIDERATIONS.—In establishing 

22 the criteria under subparagraph (A), the Sec23 retary shall emphasize support for— 

24 ‘‘(i) protecting working forests and re25 lated conservation values of eligible land; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) reducing fragmentation of forest 

2 land; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) maximizing the areas protected 

4 from conversion to nonforest uses. 

5 ‘‘(4) AGREEMENTS WITH ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

7 enter into agreements with eligible entities to 

8 stipulate the terms and conditions under which 

9 the eligible entity is permitted to use cost-share 

10 assistance provided under this section. 

11 ‘‘(B) LENGTH OF AGREEMENTS.—An 

12 agreement under subparagraph (A) shall be for 

13 a term that is not less than 3, but not more 

14 than 5, years, unless the Secretary determines 

15 that a longer term is justified. 

16 ‘‘(C) MINIMUM TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

17 An eligible entity shall be authorized to use its 

18 own terms and conditions for forest land ease19 ments so long as the Secretary determines such 

20 terms and conditions— 

21 ‘‘(i) are consistent with— 

22 ‘‘(I) the purposes of the program; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(II) the forestry activities to be 

25 conducted on the eligible land; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) permit effective enforcement of 

2 the conservation purposes of the forest 

3 land easements; 

4 ‘‘(iii) include a requirement to imple5 ment a forest management plan on eligible 

6 land subject to a forest land easement; 

7 ‘‘(iv) include a limit on the impervious 

8 surfaces to be allowed that is consistent 

9 with the forestry activities to be conducted; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(v) include a right of enforcement for 

12 the Secretary that— 

13 ‘‘(I) may be used only if the 

14 terms and conditions of the forest 

15 land easement are not enforced by the 

16 eligible entity; and 

17 ‘‘(II) does not extend to a right 

18 of inspection unless— 

19 ‘‘(aa)(AA) the holder of the 

20 forest land easement fails to pro21 vide monitoring reports in a 

22 timely manner; or 

23 ‘‘(BB) the Secretary has a 

24 reasonable and articulable belief 

25 that the terms and conditions of 


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1 the forest land easement have 

2 been violated; and 

3 ‘‘(bb) prior to the inspection, 

4 the Secretary notifies the eligible 

5 entity and the landowner of the 

6 inspection and provides a reason7 able opportunity for the eligible 

8 entity and the landowner to par9 ticipate in the inspection. 

10 ‘‘(D) SUBSTITUTION OF QUALIFIED

11 PROJECTS.—An agreement under subparagraph 

12 (A) shall allow, upon mutual agreement of the 

13 parties, substitution of qualified projects that 

14 are identified at the time of the proposed sub15 stitution. 

16 ‘‘(E) EFFECT OF VIOLATION.—If a viola17 tion of a term or condition of an agreement 

18 under subparagraph (A) occurs— 

19 ‘‘(i) the Secretary may terminate the 

20 agreement; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary may require the el22 igible entity to refund all or part of any 

23 payments received by the eligible entity 

24 under the program, with interest on the 


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1 payments as determined appropriate by the 

2 Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(5) FOREST MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the eligible land 

5 does not have a forest management plan at the 

6 time of application, prior to the acquisition of 

7 the forest land easement the landowner shall 

8 develop, in partnership with the eligible entity, 

9 a forest management plan for the land subject 

10 to the forest land easement. 

11 ‘‘(B) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Secretary 

12 may reimburse the landowner for the cost of 

13 the development of a forest management plan 

14 for eligible land enrolled under this section. 

15 ‘‘(c) METHOD OF ENROLLMENT.—The Secretary 

16 shall enroll eligible land under this section through the use 

17 of— 

18 ‘‘(1) permanent easements; or 

19 ‘‘(2) easements for the maximum duration al20 lowed under applicable State laws. 

21 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

22 provide technical assistance, on request, to assist in com23 pliance with the terms and conditions of forest land ease24 ments. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1267C. FOREST RESERVE EASEMENTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY OF ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

3 shall provide assistance to owners of eligible land to re4 store, protect, and enhance eligible land through— 

5 ‘‘(1) forest reserve easements and related forest 

6 reserve easement plans; and 

7 ‘‘(2) technical assistance to implement this sec8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(b) EASEMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) METHOD OF ENROLLMENT.— 

11 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZED METHODS.—The Sec12 retary shall enroll eligible land under this sec13 tion— 

14 ‘‘(i) through the use of— 

15 ‘‘(I) permanent easements; 

16 ‘‘(II) 30-year easements; and 

17 ‘‘(III) easements for the max18 imum duration allowed under applica19 ble State laws; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) in the case of acreage owned by 

21 an Indian Tribe, through the use of— 

22 ‘‘(I) 30-year contracts (the com23 pensation for which shall be equiva24 lent to the compensation for 30-year 

25 easements); or 

26 ‘‘(II) permanent easements. 


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1 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—Not more than 10 per2 cent of amounts made available to carry out 

3 this section in a fiscal year may be used for 30- 

4 year easements under this section. 

5 ‘‘(2) EVALUATION AND RANKING OF OFFERS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall es7 tablish evaluation and ranking criteria for of8 fers from landowners under this section. 

9 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give 

10 priority to the enrollment of eligible land under 

11 this section that provides the greatest conserva12 tion benefit to— 

13 ‘‘(i) primarily, species listed as endan14 gered or threatened under section 4 of the 

15 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

16 U.S.C. 1533); and 

17 ‘‘(ii) secondarily, species that are— 

18 ‘‘(I) not listed as endangered or 

19 threatened under that section; and 

20 ‘‘(II)(aa) candidates for that list21 ing, State-listed species, or special 

22 concern species; or 

23 ‘‘(bb) designated as species of 

24 greatest conservation need by a State 

25 wildlife action plan. 


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1 ‘‘(C) OTHER CONSIDERATIONS.—The Sec2 retary may give additional consideration to eli3 gible land the enrollment under this section of 

4 which will— 

5 ‘‘(i) improve biological diversity; 

6 ‘‘(ii) restore native forest ecosystems; 

7 ‘‘(iii) conserve forest land that pro8 vides habitat for species described in sub9 paragraph (B); 

10 ‘‘(iv) reduce fragmentation of forest 

11 land; and 

12 ‘‘(v) increase carbon sequestration. 

13 ‘‘(3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EASE14 MENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A forest reserve ease16 ment shall include terms and conditions that— 

17 ‘‘(i) are consistent with the purposes 

18 of the program and the forestry activities 

19 to be conducted on the eligible land; 

20 ‘‘(ii) are consistent with the manage21 ment objectives of the owner of the eligible 

22 land and the implementation of the forest 

23 reserve easement plan developed under 

24 subsection (c)(1)(A); 


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1 ‘‘(iii) permit effective enforcement of 

2 the conservation purposes of the forest re3 serve easements; 

4 ‘‘(iv) provide for the efficient and ef5 fective establishment or enhancement of 

6 forest ecosystem functions and values; and 

7 ‘‘(v) include such additional provisions 

8 as the Secretary determines are desirable 

9 to carry out the program or facilitate the 

10 practical administration of the program. 

11 ‘‘(B) REQUESTED TERMS AND CONDI12 TIONS.—An owner of eligible land may request 

13 that a term or condition be included in a forest 

14 reserve easement, and the Secretary may in15 clude such term or condition, if it— 

16 ‘‘(i) is consistent with the manage17 ment objectives of the owner of the eligible 

18 land and the implementation of the forest 

19 reserve easement plan developed under 

20 subsection (c)(1)(A); and 

21 ‘‘(ii) does not conflict with any terms 

22 or conditions included under subparagraph 

23 (A). 

24 ‘‘(4) COMPENSATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) PERMANENT EASEMENTS.—In the 

2 case of eligible land enrolled in a permanent 

3 easement under this section, the Secretary shall 

4 pay the owner of the eligible land an amount 

5 equal to the difference between, as determined 

6 by the Secretary— 

7 ‘‘(i) the fair market value of the eligi8 ble land before the enrollment in the per9 manent easement; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) the fair market value of the eligi11 ble land as encumbered by the permanent 

12 easement. 

13 ‘‘(B) OTHER.—The Secretary shall pay the 

14 owner of eligible land enrolled under this sec15 tion in a 30-year contract, a 30-year easement, 

16 or an easement for the maximum duration al17 lowed under applicable State laws, not less than 

18 50 percent, and not more than 75 percent, of 

19 the compensation that would be paid under sub20 paragraph (A) if the land were being enrolled in 

21 a permanent easement. 

22 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF FAIR MARKET

23 VALUE.—The Secretary shall determine the fair 

24 market value of eligible land for purposes of 

25 this paragraph using the Uniform Standards of 


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1 Professional Appraisal Practice or another in2 dustry-approved method. 

3 ‘‘(c) EASEMENT RESTORATION AND MANAGE4 MENT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) FOREST RESERVE EASEMENT PLAN.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Land enrolled in a 

7 forest reserve easement shall be subject to a 

8 forest reserve easement plan, to be developed 

9 jointly by the landowner and the Secretary, that 

10 describes such activities to be carried out on the 

11 land as are necessary to restore, maintain, and 

12 enhance habitat for species described in sub13 section (b)(2)(B). 

14 ‘‘(B) PRACTICES AND MEASURES.—A for15 est reserve easement plan developed under sub16 paragraph (A) shall require implementation of 

17 such practices and measures as are necessary to 

18 accomplish the activities described in the plan 

19 under such subparagraph, which may include— 

20 ‘‘(i) vegetative management and 

21 silviculture practices; 

22 ‘‘(ii) structural practices and meas23 ures; 

24 ‘‘(iii) practices to increase carbon se25 questration; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) practices to improve biological 

2 diversity; and 

3 ‘‘(v) other practices and measures, as 

4 determined by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(2) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

7 provide financial assistance to owners of eligible 

8 land to carry out the activities, practices, and 

9 measures described in the forest reserve ease10 ment plan developed for the eligible land under 

11 paragraph (1). 

12 ‘‘(B) PAYMENTS.—With respect to finan13 cial assistance provided under subparagraph 

14 (A), the Secretary shall pay— 

15 ‘‘(i) in the case of a forest reserve 

16 easement plan for eligible land enrolled in 

17 a permanent easement, an amount that is 

18 not more than 100 percent of the eligible 

19 costs described in subparagraph (C), as de20 termined by the Secretary; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a forest reserve 

22 easement plan for eligible land enrolled in 

23 a 30-year contract, a 30-year easement, or 

24 an easement for the maximum duration al25 lowed under applicable State laws, an 


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1 amount that is not less than 50 percent, 

2 and not more than 75 percent, of the eligi3 ble costs described in subparagraph (C), as 

4 determined by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE COSTS.—Costs eligible for 

6 payments under this paragraph are the costs of 

7 activities, practices, and measures referred to in 

8 subparagraph (A) that are associated with the 

9 restoration or enhancement of the habitat con10 ditions specified for the applicable species in the 

11 forest reserve easement plan. 

12 ‘‘(D) TIMING OF PAYMENTS.—Payments 

13 under this paragraph shall be made— 

14 ‘‘(i) only on a determination by the 

15 Secretary that an activity, practice, or 

16 measure described in subparagraph (C) 

17 has been established in compliance with 

18 appropriate standards and specifications, 

19 which determination shall be made as soon 

20 as practicable after establishment; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) as soon as possible after such de22 termination is made. 

23 ‘‘(E) LIMITATIONS.—Financial assistance 

24 provided by the Secretary under this paragraph 


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1 to an owner of eligible land may not exceed 

2 $500,000 per easement or contract. 

3 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

5 to owners of eligible land technical assistance to as6 sist the owners in— 

7 ‘‘(A) developing a forest reserve easement 

8 plan; and 

9 ‘‘(B) complying with the terms and condi10 tions of a forest reserve easement, including the 

11 implementation of a forest reserve easement 

12 plan. 

13 ‘‘(2) CONTRACTS OR AGREEMENTS.—The Sec14 retary may enter into 1 or more contracts with pri15 vate entities or agreements with a State, nongovern16 mental organization, or Indian Tribe to provide tech17 nical assistance described in paragraph (1), if the 

18 Secretary determines that the contract or agreement 

19 will advance the purposes of the program. 

20 ‘‘(e) PROTECTIONS AND MEASURES.— 

21 ‘‘(1) PROTECTIONS.—In the case of a land22 owner who enrolls eligible land in a forest reserve 

23 easement, and whose conservation activities under 

24 the forest reserve easement plan developed for such 

25 land result in a net conservation benefit for a species 


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1 described in subsection (b)(2)(B), the Secretary shall 

2 make available to the landowner safe harbor or simi3 lar assurances and protection under— 

4 ‘‘(A) section 7(b)(4) of the Endangered 

5 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(b)(4)); or 

6 ‘‘(B) section 10(a)(1) of that Act (16 

7 U.S.C. 1539(a)(1)). 

8 ‘‘(2) MEASURES.—If protection under para9 graph (1) requires the taking of measures that are 

10 in addition to the measures covered by the forest re11 serve easement plan developed for the eligible land, 

12 the cost of the additional measures, and the cost of 

13 any permit, shall be considered costs eligible for pay14 ments under subsection (c)(2). 

15 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATION.— 

16 ‘‘(1) DELEGATION OF EASEMENT ADMINISTRA17 TION.— 

18 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES.— 

19 The Secretary may delegate any of the manage20 ment, monitoring, and enforcement responsibil21 ities of the Secretary under this section to other 

22 Federal or State agencies that have the appro23 priate authority, expertise, and resources nec24 essary to carry out those delegated responsibil25 ities. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONSERVATION ORGANIZATIONS.— 

2 The Secretary may delegate any of the manage3 ment responsibilities of the Secretary under this 

4 section to a nonprofit conservation organization 

5 if the Secretary determines the organization has 

6 the appropriate expertise and resources nec7 essary to carry out those delegated responsibil8 ities. 

9 ‘‘(2) INVOLVEMENT BY OTHER AGENCIES AND

10 ORGANIZATIONS.—In carrying out this section, the 

11 Secretary may consult with— 

12 ‘‘(A) private forest landowners; 

13 ‘‘(B) other Federal agencies; 

14 ‘‘(C) State forestry agencies; 

15 ‘‘(D) State fish and wildlife agencies; 

16 ‘‘(E) State environmental quality agencies; 

17 ‘‘(F) other State conservation agencies; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(G) nonprofit conservation organizations. 

20 ‘‘SEC. 1267D. ADMINISTRATION. 

21 ‘‘(a) INELIGIBLE LAND.—The Secretary shall not use 

22 amounts made available to carry out the program for the 

23 purposes of acquiring an easement on— 


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1 ‘‘(1) land owned by a Federal agency, other 

2 than such land that is acreage owned by an Indian 

3 Tribe; 

4 ‘‘(2) land owned in fee title by a State, includ5 ing an agency or a subdivision of a State, or a unit 

6 of local government; 

7 ‘‘(3) land subject to an easement or deed re8 striction that, as determined by the Secretary, pro9 vides similar protection as would be provided by en10 rollment in the program; or 

11 ‘‘(4) land the enrollment in the program of 

12 which would undermine the purposes of the program 

13 due to on-site or off-site conditions, such as risk of 

14 hazardous substances, permitted or existing rights of 

15 way, infrastructure development, or adjacent land 

16 uses. 

17 ‘‘(b) SUBORDINATION, EXCHANGE, MODIFICATION, 

18 AND TERMINATION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) SUBORDINATION.—The Secretary may 

20 subordinate any interest in eligible land, or portion 

21 of such an interest, administered by the Secretary 

22 (including for the purposes of utilities and energy 

23 transmission services) directly or on behalf of the 

24 Commodity Credit Corporation under the program if 

25 the Secretary determines that the subordination— 


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1 ‘‘(A) increases conservation values or has a 

2 limited negative effect on conservation values; 

3 ‘‘(B) minimally affects the acreage subject 

4 to the interest in eligible land; and 

5 ‘‘(C) is in the public interest or furthers 

6 the practical administration of the program. 

7 ‘‘(2) MODIFICATION AND EXCHANGE.— 

8 ‘‘(A) MODIFICATION.— 

9 ‘‘(i) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 

10 approve a modification of any interest in 

11 land, or portion of such interest, adminis12 tered by the Secretary, either directly or 

13 on behalf of the Commodity Credit Cor14 poration, under the program if the Sec15 retary determines that the modification— 

16 ‘‘(I) will support the viability and 

17 sustainability of working forests and 

18 the conservation values of the applica19 ble easement; 

20 ‘‘(II) will result in equal or in21 creased conservation values; 

22 ‘‘(III) is consistent with the origi23 nal intent of the easement; 

24 ‘‘(IV) is consistent with the pur25 poses of the program; and 


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1 ‘‘(V) is in the public interest or 

2 furthers the practical administration 

3 of the program, including correcting 

4 errors and exercising reserved rights. 

5 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—In modifying an 

6 interest in land, or portion of such inter7 est, under this subparagraph, the Sec8 retary may not, except in the case of a 

9 modification that includes a change to an 

10 easement to add acreage, increase any pay11 ment to an eligible entity. 

12 ‘‘(B) EXCHANGE.— 

13 ‘‘(i) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may 

14 approve an exchange of any interest in 

15 land, or portion of such interest, adminis16 tered by the Secretary, either directly or 

17 on behalf of the Commodity Credit Cor18 poration, under the program if the Sec19 retary determines that— 

20 ‘‘(I) no reasonable alternative ex21 ists and the effect on the interest in 

22 land is avoided or minimized to the 

23 extent practicable; and 

24 ‘‘(II) the exchange— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) results in equal or in2 creased conservation values; 

3 ‘‘(bb) results in equal or 

4 greater economic value to the 

5 United States; 

6 ‘‘(cc) is consistent with the 

7 original intent of the easement; 

8 ‘‘(dd) is consistent with the 

9 purposes of the program; and 

10 ‘‘(ee) is in the public inter11 est or furthers the practical ad12 ministration of the program. 

13 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—In exchanging an 

14 interest in land, or portion of such inter15 est, under this subparagraph, the Sec16 retary may not increase any payment to an 

17 eligible entity. 

18 ‘‘(3) TERMINATION.—The Secretary may ap19 prove a termination of any interest in eligible land, 

20 or portion of such an interest, administered by the 

21 Secretary, directly or on behalf of the Commodity 

22 Credit Corporation under the program if the Sec23 retary determines that— 

24 ‘‘(A) termination is in the interest of the 

25 Federal Government; 


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1 ‘‘(B) the United States will be fully com2 pensated for— 

3 ‘‘(i) the value of the interest in the 

4 land, as determined by the Secretary; 

5 ‘‘(ii) any costs relating to the termi6 nation; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) any damages determined appro8 priate by the Secretary; and 

9 ‘‘(C) the termination will— 

10 ‘‘(i) address a compelling public need 

11 for which there is no practicable alter12 native even with avoidance and minimiza13 tion; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) further the practical administra15 tion of the program. 

16 ‘‘(4) CONSENT.—The Secretary shall obtain 

17 consent from the landowner and eligible entity, if ap18 plicable, for any subordination, exchange, modifica19 tion, or termination of an interest in eligible land, or 

20 portion of such an interest, under this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(5) NOTICE.—Not fewer than 90 days before 

22 taking any termination action described in para23 graph (3), the Secretary shall provide written notice 

24 of that action to the Committee on Agriculture of 


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1 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

2 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate. 

3 ‘‘(c) LAND ENROLLED IN OTHER PROGRAMS.—In 

4 accordance with the provisions of section 2902 of the 

5 Prioritizing American Farmers and Agricultural Industry 

6 Over Bureaucracy Act, land enrolled in the healthy forests 

7 reserve program established under title V of the Healthy 

8 Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6571 et seq.) 

9 on the day before the date of enactment of this section 

10 shall be considered enrolled in the program.’’. 

11 Subtitle I—Regional Conservation 

12 Partnership Program 

13 SEC. 2801. ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSES. 

14 Section 1271(b)(2) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

15 (16 U.S.C. 3871(b)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(2) To address natural resource concerns on 

17 eligible land on a regional or watershed scale, includ18 ing through— 

19 ‘‘(A) the conservation, protection, restora20 tion, and sustainable use of soil; 

21 ‘‘(B) the conservation and protection of 

22 water, including sources of drinking water and 

23 groundwater; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the prevention and mitigation of the 

2 effects of flooding and drought, and the im3 provement or expansion of flood resiliency; and 

4 ‘‘(D) the conservation of wildlife, agricul5 tural land, and related natural resources.’’. 

6 SEC. 2802. DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 1271A(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

8 (16 U.S.C. 3871a(1)) is amended by striking subpara9 graph (D) and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(D) The forest conservation easement 

11 program established under subtitle I.’’. 

12 SEC. 2803. REGIONAL CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIPS. 

13 (a) PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS AUTHORIZED.— 

14 Section 1271B(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

15 U.S.C. 3871b(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(a) PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENTS AUTHORIZED.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter 

18 into a partnership agreement with an eligible part19 ner to implement a project that will assist producers 

20 with installing and maintaining an eligible activity 

21 on eligible land. 

22 ‘‘(2) STREAMLINING REQUIRED.—The Sec23 retary shall ensure that a partnership agreement 

24 under paragraph (1)— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is entered into not later than 180 

2 days after the date on which an application is 

3 selected under subsection (e); and 

4 ‘‘(B) contains only— 

5 ‘‘(i) the information, described under 

6 subsection (e)(3), necessary to fund and 

7 initiate the project to be implemented 

8 under the partnership agreement; and 

9 ‘‘(ii) any adjustments to the require10 ments of a covered program determined 

11 necessary by the Secretary under para12 graph (2) of section 1271E(f), and any 

13 waiver provided under paragraph (3) of 

14 such section. 

15 ‘‘(3) PROCESS FOR REQUESTING WAIVERS AND

16 ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary shall make available 

17 information on the process for requesting a waiver 

18 or an adjustment to the requirements of a covered 

19 program pursuant to section 1271E(f).’’. 

20 (b) DUTIES OF SECRETARY.—Section 1271B(d) of 

21 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871b(d)) is 

22 amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking ‘‘how the 

24 Secretary used amounts reserved by the Secretary 

25 for that year for technical assistance under section 


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1 1271D(f); and’’ and inserting ‘‘the use of funds for 

2 technical assistance under section 1271D(c);’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at 

4 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(6) ensure payments to eligible partners under 

7 a partnership agreement are made not later than 30 

8 days after the date on which the eligible partner 

9 submits to the Secretary a request for payment.’’. 

10 (c) APPLICATIONS.—Section 1271B(e)(3) of the 

11 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871b(e)(3)) is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

14 the end; 

15 (2) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as sub16 paragraph (F); and 

17 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (D) the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(E) any requests by an eligible partner 

20 for a waiver or an adjustment to the require21 ments of a covered program pursuant to section 

22 1271E(f); and’’. 

23 SEC. 2804. ASSISTANCE TO PRODUCERS. 

24 Section 1271C(d)(3) of the Food Security Act of 

25 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871c(d)(3)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as sub2 paragraph (C); 

3 (2) in subparagraph (A)(iv), by striking the 

4 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

5 (3) by inserting after subparagraph (A)(iv) the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(B) provide, under section 1271B(c)(2), 

8 not less than 50 percent of the overall costs of 

9 the scope of the project that is the subject of 

10 a partnership agreement funded pursuant to 

11 paragraph (1) in direct funding; and’’. 

12 SEC. 2805. FUNDING. 

13 (a) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.—Section 1271D of 

14 the Food Security Act of 1985 (3871d) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking subsections (a) and (b); 

16 (2) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), and 

17 (e) as subsections (a), (b), and (c), respectively; and 

18 (3) in subsection (a), as so redesignated, by 

19 striking ‘‘subsection (a)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

20 1241(a)(6)’’. 

21 (b) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 

22 Subsection (b) of section 1271D of the Food Security Act 

23 of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871d), as so redesignated, is amend24 ed to read as follows: 

25 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds made avail2 able to implement a project under a partnership 

3 agreement, the Secretary may use not more than ten 

4 percent to reimburse the eligible partner for admin5 istrative expenses relating to the project. 

6 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION.—Any amounts expended 

7 by an eligible partner for administrative expenses 

8 that are not reimbursed under paragraph (1) may be 

9 considered to be a part of the contribution of the eli10 gible partner under section 1271B(c)(2).’’. 

11 (c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Subsection (c) of sec12 tion 1271D of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

13 3871d), as so redesignated, is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(c) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, 

16 through a partnership agreement, identify— 

17 ‘‘(A) the total amount of funds that will be 

18 used for technical assistance; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the share of such funds that will be 

20 provided to eligible partners under paragraph 

21 (2). 

22 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE.— 

23 ‘‘(A) REIMBURSEMENT.—Under a partner24 ship agreement that is not funded through an 

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1 ment under section 1271C(d), the Secretary 

2 may reimburse eligible partners for the costs of 

3 technical assistance provided through such part4 nership agreement, including— 

5 ‘‘(i) the costs of technical assistance 

6 needed to facilitate the maximum conserva7 tion benefit of the applicable project; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the costs of providing outreach 

9 and education to producers for potential 

10 participation in the applicable project; 

11 ‘‘(iii) the costs of establishing baseline 

12 metrics to support the development of the 

13 assessment required under section 

14 1271B(c)(1)(E); and 

15 ‘‘(iv) other costs necessary to support 

16 the implementation of eligible activities, as 

17 determined by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(B) ADVANCEMENT OF FUNDS.—The 

19 Secretary may advance to eligible partners rea20 sonable amounts of funds for costs that may be 

21 reimbursed under subparagraph (A), as deter22 mined by the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall limit 

24 costs of the Secretary for technical assistance to 


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1 costs necessary to carry out the objectives of the 

2 program. 

3 ‘‘(4) REDUCTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE BAR4 RIERS.—The Secretary shall provide a single, sim5 plified process for reimbursements or advancements 

6 to eligible partners for the costs of technical assist7 ance under this subsection. 

8 ‘‘(5) THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS.—The Secretary 

9 shall develop and implement strategies to encourage 

10 third-party technical service providers to provide 

11 technical assistance to eligible partners pursuant to 

12 a partnership agreement.’’. 

13 SEC. 2806. ADMINISTRATION. 

14 (a) REPORTING.—Section 1271E(b) of the Food Se15 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871e(b)) is amended in 

16 the matter preceding paragraph (1) by inserting ‘‘make 

17 publicly available and’’ after ‘‘the Secretary shall’’. 

18 (b) CONSISTENCY WITH COVERED PROGRAM

19 RULES.—Section 1271E of the Food Security Act of 1985 

20 (16 U.S.C. 3871e) is amended by adding at the end the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(f) CONSISTENCY WITH COVERED PROGRAM RE23 QUIREMENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this 

25 subsection, the Secretary shall ensure that the terms 


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1 and conditions of a program contract are consistent 

2 with the requirements of the applicable covered pro3 gram to be used as part of the applicable partner4 ship agreement. 

5 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may, if 

7 the Secretary determines necessary, adjust a 

8 regulatory requirement of a covered program to 

9 be used as a part of a partnership agreement, 

10 or related guidance, as it applies to an eligible 

11 activity carried out under a program contract 

12 entered into pursuant to the partnership agree13 ment— 

14 ‘‘(i) to provide a simplified process; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) to better reflect unique local cir16 cumstances. 

17 ‘‘(B) LIMITATION.—The Secretary shall 

18 not adjust the application of statutory require19 ments for a covered program to be used as a 

20 part of a partnership agreement, including re21 quirements governing appeals, payment limits, 

22 and conservation compliance. 

23 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.—With respect to a program con24 tract for an eligible activity under the agricultural 

25 conservation easement program, the Secretary may, 


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1 in the applicable partnership agreement, waive the 

2 application of clauses (ii) or (iii)(III) of section 

3 1265A(4)(A) for purposes of determining the eligi4 bility of land. 

5 ‘‘(4) CERTIFICATION APPLICABILITY.—With re6 spect to a partnership agreement entered into for ac7 quisition of easements, the Secretary shall apply the 

8 authorities applicable to the eligible partner under 

9 section 1265B(b)(5)(A) if the eligible partner is an 

10 eligible entity certified under such section. 

11 ‘‘(5) EXEMPTION.—With respect to a program 

12 contract that includes an eligible activity under the 

13 environmental quality incentives program to be in14 stalled and maintained in a State in which irrigation 

15 has not been used significantly for agricultural pur16 poses, as determined by the Secretary, the Secretary 

17 may not consider prior irrigation history when deter18 mining the eligibility of land. 

19 ‘‘(6) APPLICATION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

20 apply to partnership agreements funded pursuant to 

21 section 1271C(d).’’. 

22 SEC. 2807. CRITICAL CONSERVATION AREAS. 

23 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1271F(a)(2)(C) of the 

24 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871f(a)(2)(C)) is 

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1 hancement of wildlife habitat connectivity and wildlife mi2 gration corridors’’ before the semicolon at the end. 

3 (b) APPLICATIONS.—Section 1271F(b) of the Food 

4 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871f(b)) is amended 

5 by striking ‘‘funds under section 1271D(d)(2)’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘funds allocated under section 1271D(a)(2)’’. 

7 Subtitle J—Repeals and 

8 Transitional Provisions 

9 SEC. 2901. SUPERSEDED CONSERVATION RESERVE PRO10 GRAM AUTHORITIES. 

11 (a) REPEALS.— 

12 (1) FARMABLE WETLAND PROGRAM.—Section 

13 1231B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

14 3831b) is repealed. 

15 (2) PILOT PROGRAMS.—Section 1231C of the 

16 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831c) is re17 pealed. 

18 (b) TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS.— 

19 (1) EFFECT ON EXISTING CONTRACTS AND

20 AGREEMENTS.—Subject to paragraph (2), this title, 

21 and the amendments made by this title, shall not af22 fect the validity or terms of any contract or agree23 ment entered into by the Secretary under subchapter 

24 B of chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food 

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1 fore the date of enactment of this Act, or any pay2 ments or technical assistance required to be made in 

3 connection with the contract or agreement. 

4 (2) MODIFICATION OF EXISTING CONTRACTS

5 AND AGREEMENTS.—The signatories to a contract 

6 or an agreement entered into under subchapter B of 

7 chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Se8 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.) before 

9 the date of enactment of this Act may mutually 

10 agree to a modification of the contract or agreement 

11 to implement this title, and the amendments made 

12 by this title. 

13 (3) EXTENSION PERMITTED.—Notwithstanding 

14 the repeal of sections 1231B and 1231C of the Food 

15 Security Act of 1985 made by subsection (a), the 

16 Secretary may extend for 1 year a contract or agree17 ment entered into under either such section before 

18 the date of enactment of this Act, if that contract 

19 or agreement expires on or before September 30, 

20 2025, under the terms and payment rate of the ex21 isting contract or agreement and in accordance with 

22 section 1231B or 1231C of the Food Security Act 

23 of 1985 (as in effect on the day before the date of 

24 enactment of this Act), as applicable. 

25 (4) FUNDING.— 


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1 (A) USE OF PRIOR YEAR FUNDS.—Not2 withstanding the amendments made by this 

3 title, any funds made available from the Com4 modity Credit Corporation to carry out sub5 chapter B of chapter 1 of title XII of the Food 

6 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.) 

7 (as in effect on the day before the date of en8 actment of this Act) for any of fiscal years 

9 2019 through 2024 shall be made available to 

10 carry out contracts and agreements that were 

11 entered into under such subchapter prior to the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, subject to the 

13 condition that no such contract or agreement 

14 may be modified so as to increase the amount 

15 of land enrolled or the amount of the payment 

16 received. 

17 (B) OTHER.—The Secretary may use 

18 funds made available to carry out subchapter B 

19 of chapter 1 of title XII of the Food Security 

20 Act of 1985 to continue to carry out contracts 

21 or agreements that were entered into under 

22 such subchapter prior to the date of enactment 

23 of this Act using the provisions of law (includ24 ing regulations) applicable to those contracts or 


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1 agreements as in existence on the day before 

2 the date of enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 2902. HEALTHY FORESTS RESERVE PROGRAM. 

4 (a) REPEAL.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Healthy For6 ests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6571 et 

7 seq.) is repealed. 

8 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of 

9 contents in section 1(b) of the Healthy Forests Res10 toration Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–148; 117 

11 Stat. 1887) is amended by striking the items relat12 ing to title V. 

13 (b) TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS.— 

14 (1) EFFECT ON EXISTING CONTRACTS, AGREE15 MENTS, AND EASEMENTS.—The repeal made by sub16 section (a) shall not affect the validity or terms of 

17 any contract, agreement, or easement entered into 

18 by the Secretary under title V of the Healthy For19 ests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6571 et 

20 seq.) before the date of enactment of this Act, or 

21 any payments or technical assistance required to be 

22 made in connection with the contract, agreement, or 

23 easement. 

24 (2) FUNDING.— 


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1 (A) USE OF PRIOR YEAR FUNDS.—Not2 withstanding the repeal made by subsection (a), 

3 any funds made available from the Commodity 

4 Credit Corporation to carry out the healthy for5 ests reserve program established under title V 

6 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 

7 (16 U.S.C. 6571 et seq.) (as in effect on the 

8 day before the date of enactment of this Act) 

9 for any of fiscal years 2019 through 2024 shall 

10 be made available to carry out contracts, agree11 ments, or easements referred to in paragraph 

12 (1), subject to the condition that no such con13 tract, agreement, or easement may be modified 

14 so as to increase the amount of any payment 

15 received. 

16 (B) OTHER.—The Secretary may use 

17 funds made available to carry out the forest 

18 conservation easement program established 

19 under subtitle I of the Food Security Act of 

20 1985 to continue to carry out contracts, agree21 ments, or easements referred to in paragraph 

22 (1) using the provisions of law (including regu23 lations) applicable to those contracts, agree24 ments, and easements as in existence on the 

25 day before the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 TITLE III—TRADE 

2 Subtitle A—Food for Peace Act 

3 SEC. 3101. FOOD AID QUALITY ASSURANCE. 

4 Section 202 of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 

5 1722) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘any other provision of 

8 law’’ and inserting ‘‘any other provision of this 

9 Act’’; 

10 (B) by inserting ‘‘, in consultation with the 

11 Secretary,’’ after ‘‘Administrator’’; and 

12 (C) by striking ‘‘as the Administrator de13 termines appropriate’’ and inserting ‘‘as the 

14 Secretary determines appropriate’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting ‘‘assist16 ance, including in the form of’’ before ‘‘agricultural 

17 commodities’’; 

18 (3) in subsection (d)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘; or’’ 

20 and inserting a semicolon; 

21 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe22 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

24 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(3) a nongovernmental organization, as deter2 mined by the Administrator.’’; 

3 (4) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the 

4 following new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION ON DIVERSION OF FUNDS.— 

6 Of the funds made available in each fiscal year 

7 under this title to the Administrator, not more than 

8 50 percent may be made available for expenses other 

9 than the procurement of United States-grown agri10 cultural commodities and ocean transportation of 

11 such commodities.’’; and 

12 (5) in subsection (h)(3), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

14 SEC. 3102. MINIMUM LEVELS OF ASSISTANCE. 

15 Section 204(a) of the Food for Peace Act (7 

16 U.S.C.1724(a)) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Committees 

18 on International Relations’’ and inserting ‘‘Commit19 tees on Foreign Affairs’’; 

20 (2) by striking paragraph (2); and 

21 (3) by redesignating paragraph (3), as amend22 ed, as paragraph (2). 


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1 SEC. 3103. FOOD AID CONSULTATIVE GROUP. 

2 Section 205(f) of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 

3 13 1725(f)) is amended by striking ‘‘December 31, 2023’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘December 31, 2029’’. 

5 SEC. 3104. ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS; OVERSIGHT, MONI6 TORING, AND EVALUATION. 

7 Section 207 of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 

8 1726a) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘the Agri10 culture Improvement Act of 2018’’and inserting ‘‘the 

11 Prioritizing American Farmers and Agricultural In12 dustry Over Bureaucracy Act’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (f)(4), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

14 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

15 SEC. 3105. INTERNATIONAL FOOD RELIEF PARTNERSHIP. 

16 Section 208(f) of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 

17 1726b(f)) is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(f) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In addi19 tion to amounts otherwise made available to carry out this 

20 section, of the funds made available in each fiscal year 

21 under this title to the Administrator, not less than 

22 $15,000,000 shall be made available in each of fiscal years 

23 2025 through 2029 to carry out this section, to remain 

24 available until expended.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3106. USE OF COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION. 

2 Subsection (b) of section 406 of the Food for Peace 

3 Act (7 U.S.C. 1736) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘(b) INCLUDED EXPENSES.—With respect to com5 modities made available under titles II and III, the Com6 modity Credit Corporation may pay all associated and in7 cidental costs of such commodities.’’. 

8 SEC. 3107. PRE-POSITIONING OF AGRICULTURAL COMMOD9 ITIES AND ANNUAL REPORT REGARDING 

10 FOOD AID PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES. 

11 Section 407 of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 

12 1736a) is amended— 

13 (1) by amending subsection (c)(1) to read as 

14 follows: 

15 ‘‘(1) ACQUISITION.—The Administrator shall 

16 transfer, arrange for the transportation, and take 

17 other steps necessary to make available agricultural 

18 commodities to be provided under title II and title 

19 III.’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (c)(4)(A), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

21 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

22 (3) in subsection (f)(2)— 

23 (A) by striking subparagraph (I); 

24 (B) by amending subparagraph (H) to 

25 read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(H) A statement of the amount of funds 

2 provided to each eligible organization that re3 ceived assistance under this Act and the man4 ner in which those funds were used, including 

5 whether such use was for commodity transpor6 tation or administrative costs.’’; 

7 (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (E) 

8 through (H) (as amended) as subparagraphs 

9 (F) through (I), respectively; and 

10 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 

11 the following new subparagraph: 

12 ‘‘(E) An assessment of activities specifi13 cally targeting women and girls and the impact 

14 of those activities in addressing the unique 

15 needs of women and girls.’’; and 

16 (4) by striking subsection (f)(3). 

17 SEC. 3108. DEADLINE FOR AGREEMENTS TO FINANCE 

18 SALES OR TO PROVIDE OTHER ASSISTANCE. 

19 Section 408 of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 

20 1736b) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘2029’’. 

22 SEC. 3109. MINIMUM LEVEL OF NONEMERGENCY FOOD AS23 SISTANCE. 

24 Section 412 of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 

25 1736f) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub4 section: 

5 ‘‘(f) MINIMUM LEVELS OF FUNDING TO ADDRESS

6 CHILD WASTING.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 

8 2025 through 2029, if the most recent Joint Child 

9 Malnutrition Estimates, published annually by the 

10 World Health Organization, the World Bank, and 

11 the United Nations Children’s Fund, report a rate 

12 of children under 5 years of age affected by child 

13 wasting above 5 percent for the year covered by such 

14 report, not less than the minimum level described in 

15 paragraph (2), to be derived from amounts otherwise 

16 made available to carry out food assistance pro17 grams for such fiscal year and in addition to 

18 amounts otherwise made available pursuant to this 

19 Act, shall be expended for the procurement of ready20 to-use therapeutic foods. 

21 ‘‘(2) MINIMUM LEVEL DESCRIBED.—The min22 imum level described in this paragraph is— 

23 ‘‘(A) $200,000,000; or 

24 ‘‘(B) in the case of a fiscal year for which 

25 the total amount made available to carry out 


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1 programs under title II is less than 

2 $1,925,000,000, the product of— 

3 ‘‘(i) $200,000,000, multiplied by 

4 ‘‘(ii) the quotient of the total amount 

5 made available to carry out programs 

6 under title II for that fiscal year divided by 

7 $1,925,000,000.’’. 

8 SEC. 3110. TERMINATION DATE FOR MICRONUTRIENT FOR9 TIFICATION PROGRAMS. 

10 Section 415(c) of the Food for Peace Act (7 

11 U.S.C.1736g–2(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and in12 serting ‘‘2029’’. 

13 SEC. 3111. JOHN OGONOWSKI AND DOUG BEREUTER FARM14 ER-TO-FARMER PROGRAM. 

15 Section 501 of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 

16 1737) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ each place it ap17 pears and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

18 Subtitle B—Agricultural Trade Act 

19 of 1978 

20 SEC. 3201. AGRICULTURAL TRADE PROMOTION AND FA21 CILITATION. 

22 (a) MODIFICATION TO FOREIGN MARKET DEVELOP23 MENT COOPERATOR PROGRAM.—Section 203(c) of the 

24 Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5623(c)(3)) is 


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1 amended by adding at the end the following new para2 graph: 

3 ‘‘(4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO IMPROVE IN4 FRASTRUCTURE IN FOREIGN MARKETS FOR UNITED

5 STATES AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As part of the pro7 gram established under this subsection, the Sec8 retary shall enter into contracts or other agree9 ments with eligible trade organizations to pro10 vide needs assessments, training, and other 

11 technical assistance to enhance the capabilities 

12 of infrastructure in new and developing foreign 

13 markets, including infrastructure relating to 

14 cold chain capacity, port improvements, and 

15 other developments, to ensure that United 

16 States agricultural commodities are not dam17 aged or lost due to deficiencies of such infra18 structure. 

19 ‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA20 TIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—There is author22 ized to be appropriated to carry out this 

23 paragraph $1,000,000 for each of the fis24 cal years 2025 through 2029. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts au2 thorized to be appropriated under this sub3 paragraph that are not used to carry out 

4 this paragraph are authorized to be made 

5 available to carry out the program estab6 lished under this subsection.’’. 

7 (b) REPORT ON COMPETITIVENESS OF UNITED

8 STATES SPECIALTY CROPS.—Section 203(e)(7) of the Ag9 ricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5623(e)(7)) is 

10 amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(7) BIENNIAL REPORT.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in con13 sultation with the United States Trade Rep14 resentative, shall submit every two years to the 

15 Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep16 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, 

17 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report 

18 detailing the competitiveness of United States 

19 specialty crops. 

20 ‘‘(B) ELEMENTS.—The report required by 

21 subparagraph (A) shall— 

22 ‘‘(i) identify and analyze acts, policies, 

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1 tions of, United States exports of specialty 

2 crops, including the imposition of— 

3 ‘‘(I) tariffs (including retaliatory 

4 tariffs) or quotas (including tariff-rate 

5 quotas); and 

6 ‘‘(II) non-tariff barriers, includ7 ing technical barriers to trade, sani8 tary and phytosanitary measures, im9 port licensing procedures, and sub10 sidies; 

11 ‘‘(ii) identify and analyze acts, poli12 cies, or practices of foreign countries that 

13 enhance the competitiveness of imported 

14 specialty crops with domestic specialty crop 

15 producers, including— 

16 ‘‘(I) the subsidization of exports 

17 from the producing country; and 

18 ‘‘(II) the impact of any lack or 

19 circumvention of labor and environ20 mental laws in the producing country; 

21 ‘‘(iii) identify and analyze any dif22 ferences in applicable food safety regula23 tions of foreign countries that may result 

24 in imported specialty crops posing a risk to 

25 United States consumers; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) make an estimate— 

2 ‘‘(I) of the impacts on the com3 petitiveness of United States specialty 

4 crops of any act, policy, or practice 

5 identified under clauses (i) and (ii); 

6 ‘‘(II) if feasible, of the value of 

7 additional specialty crops that would, 

8 during the year preceding submission 

9 of the report, have been exported from 

10 the United States to each foreign 

11 country an act, policy, or practice of 

12 which is identified under clause (i) if 

13 each such act, policy, or practice of 

14 that country did not exist; and 

15 ‘‘(III) if feasible, of the injury 

16 caused to domestic specialty crop pro17 ducers for any acts, policies, or prac18 tices identified under clause (ii). 

19 ‘‘(v) assess the extent to which each 

20 act, policy, or practice identified under 

21 clauses (i) and (ii) are subject to inter22 national agreements to which the United 

23 States is a party; 

24 ‘‘(vi) include information with respect 

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1 islative branches during the two years pre2 ceding submission of the report, or ex3 pected to be taken after submission of the 

4 report, to eliminate any act, policy, or 

5 practice identified under clauses (i) and 

6 (ii), including— 

7 ‘‘(I) any action under section 

8 301; 

9 ‘‘(II) negotiations or consulta10 tions with foreign governments, which 

11 may include engagement through the 

12 standing committee on sanitary and 

13 phytosanitary matters established 

14 under a free trade agreement to which 

15 the United States is a party; and 

16 ‘‘(III) action at the World Trade 

17 Organization, including dispute settle18 ment actions, consultations, or nego19 tiations; and 

20 ‘‘(vii) a description of— 

21 ‘‘(I) any funds provided under 

22 subsection (f)(3)(A)(iv) that were not 

23 obligated in the fiscal year preceding 

24 submission of the report; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the reason such funds were 

2 not obligated. 

3 ‘‘(C) COMMENT PERIOD.—In preparing the 

4 report required by subparagraph (A), the Sec5 retary, in coordination with the United States 

6 Trade Representative, shall seek and consider 

7 comments from the public and from the Agri8 cultural Technical Advisory Committee for 

9 Trade in Fruits and Vegetables. 

10 ‘‘(D) FORM OF REPORT.—The report re11 quired by subparagraph (A) shall be made 

12 available to the public in machine-readable for13 mat.’’. 

14 (c) MODIFICATION AND EXTENSION OF FUNDING.— 

15 Section 203(f) of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7 

16 U.S.C. 5623(f)) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ each place 

18 it appears and inserting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’; 

19 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking 

20 ‘‘$255,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$489,500,000’’; 

21 (3) in paragraph (3)(A)(i), by striking 

22 ‘‘$200,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$400,000,000’’; 

23 (4) in paragraph (3)(A)(ii), by striking 

24 ‘‘$34,500,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$69,000,000’’; and 


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1 (5) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘during the 

2 period in which that memorandum is in effect’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘during the period in which the directives 

4 in such memorandum are in effect’’. 

5 (d) REPEAL.—Section 718 of title VII of the Agri6 culture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administra7 tion, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (as 

8 enacted by section 101(a) of division A of Public Law 

9 105–277; 7 U.S.C. 5623 note) is repealed. 

10 SEC. 3202. PRESERVING FOREIGN MARKETS FOR GOODS 

11 USING COMMON NAMES. 

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 102 of the Agricultural 

13 Trade Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5602) is amended— 

14 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

15 striking ‘‘As used in this Act—’’ and inserting ‘‘In 

16 this Act:’’; 

17 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

18 (8) as paragraphs (3), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), and 

19 (4), respectively, and reordering such paragraphs in 

20 numerical sequence; 

21 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(2) COMMON NAME.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘common 

2 name’ means a name that, as determined by the 

3 Secretary— 

4 ‘‘(i) is ordinarily or customarily used 

5 for an agricultural commodity or food 

6 product; 

7 ‘‘(ii) is typically placed on the pack8 aging and product label of the agricultural 

9 commodity or food product; 

10 ‘‘(iii) with respect to wine— 

11 ‘‘(I) is— 

12 ‘‘(aa) ordinarily or custom13 arily used for a wine grape vari14 etal name; or 

15 ‘‘(bb) a traditional term or 

16 expression that is typically placed 

17 on the packaging and label of the 

18 wine; and 

19 ‘‘(II) does not mean any appella20 tion of origin for wine listed in sub21 part C of part 9 of title 27, Code of 

22 Federal Regulations (or successor reg23 ulations); and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) the use of which is consistent 

2 with standards of the Codex Alimentarius 

3 Commission. 

4 ‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making a de5 termination under subparagraph (A), the Sec6 retary may take into account— 

7 ‘‘(i) competent sources, such as dic8 tionaries, newspapers, professional journals 

9 and literature, and information posted on 

10 websites that are determined by the Sec11 retary to be reliable in reporting market 

12 information; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the use of the common name in 

14 a domestic, regional, or international prod15 uct standard, including a standard promul16 gated by the Codex Alimentarius Commis17 sion, for the agricultural commodity or 

18 food product; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) the ordinary and customary use 

20 of the common name in the production or 

21 marketing of the agricultural commodity or 

22 food product in the United States or in 

23 other countries.’’; and 

24 (4) in paragraph (7) (as so redesignated), in 

25 subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (A) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (B) in clause (vi), by striking the period at 

4 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(vii) prohibits or disallows the use of 

7 the common name of an agricultural com8 modity or food product of the United 

9 States.’’. 

10 (b) NEGOTIATIONS TO DEFEND USE OF COMMON

11 NAMES.—Title III of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 

12 (7 U.S.C. 5652 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 303. NEGOTIATIONS TO DEFEND THE USE OF COM15 MON NAMES. 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall coordinate 

17 efforts with the United States Trade Representative to se18 cure the right of United States agricultural producers, 

19 processors, and exporters to use common names for agri20 cultural commodities or food products in foreign markets 

21 through the negotiation of bilateral, plurilateral, or multi22 lateral agreements, memoranda of understanding, or ex23 changes of letters that assure the current and future use 

24 of each common name identified by the Secretary in conVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00253 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 nection with United States agricultural commodities or 

2 food products. 

3 ‘‘(b) BRIEFING.—The Secretary and the United 

4 States Trade Representative shall jointly provide to the 

5 Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representa6 tives, the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For7 estry of the Senate, the Committee on Ways and Means 

8 of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 

9 Finance of the Senate, a briefing, twice annually, on ef10 forts and successes in carrying out subsection (a).’’. 

11 SEC. 3203. INTERAGENCY SEASONAL AND PERISHABLE 

12 FRUITS AND VEGETABLE WORKING GROUP. 

13 Subtitle B of title IV of the Agricultural Trade Act 

14 of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5671 et seq.) is amended by adding 

15 at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘SEC. 418. INTERAGENCY SEASONAL AND PERISHABLE 

17 FRUITS AND VEGETABLES WORKING GROUP. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary (acting through 

19 the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign 

20 Agricultural Affairs), the United States Trade Represent21 ative, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of other 

22 Federal agencies or entities as determined to be appro23 priate by the Secretary, shall jointly establish an inter24 agency working group (referred to in this section as the 

25 ‘working group’) composed of representatives from each 


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1 agency to monitor and assess, on an ongoing basis, sea2 sonal and perishable fruits and vegetables trade data and 

3 related information. 

4 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—The working group shall con5 sult with the Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee, rel6 evant seasonal or perishable agricultural producers, and 

7 other relevant trade associations to identify threats that 

8 imports pose to domestic producers of seasonal and perish9 able fruits and vegetables. 

10 ‘‘(c) TRADE ACTIONS AND INVESTIGATIONS.—The 

11 working group shall coordinate as appropriate regarding 

12 potential additional trade actions and investigations with 

13 respect to any seasonal or perishable fruits and vegetables, 

14 as determined to be advisable by the working group. 

15 ‘‘(d) RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE SECRETARY.—The 

16 working group shall recommend programs or assistance 

17 that the Secretary could provide to producers of seasonal 

18 and perishable fruits and vegetables to address market im19 pacts.’’. 

20 Subtitle C—Other Agricultural 

21 Trade Laws 

22 SEC. 3301. GROWING AMERICAN FOOD EXPORTS. 

23 Section 1543A of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva24 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5679) is amended 


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1 in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘2029’’. 

3 SEC. 3302. FOOD FOR PROGRESS ACT OF 1985. 

4 Section 1110 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (com5 monly referred to as the ‘‘Food for Progress Act of 1985’’; 

6 7 U.S.C. 1736o) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (c)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘enter into’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘annually enter into two or more’’; and 

10 (B) by inserting ‘‘two or more’’ before ‘‘eli11 gible entities’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (f)(3), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

14 (3) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

16 (4) in subsection (k), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

18 (5) in subsection (l)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

21 (B) in the heading of paragraph (4), by 

22 striking ‘‘HUMANITARIAN OR’’; 

23 (6) in subsection (m)(2), by striking ‘‘humani24 tarian and’’; and 


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1 (7) in subsection (n)(2)(C), by striking ‘‘Com2 mittee on International Relations’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘Committee on Foreign Affairs’’. 

4 SEC. 3303. BILL EMERSON HUMANITARIAN TRUST ACT. 

5 Section 302 of the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust 

6 Act (7 U.S.C. 1736f–1) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (b)(2)(B)(i), by striking 

8 ‘‘2023’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

9 (2) by amending the matter preceding subclause 

10 (I) of subsection (c)(1)(B)(i) to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Without undue 

12 delay, any funds or commodities held in 

13 the trust may be released by the Secretary, 

14 which shall be informed by information 

15 provided by the Administrator regarding 

16 the ongoing programs of the Adminis17 trator, to provide food, and cover any asso18 ciated costs, under title II of the Food for 

19 Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1721 et seq.)—’’; 

20 (3) in subsection (c)(1)(C), by striking ‘‘the Ad21 ministrator’’ and inserting ‘‘the Secretary’’; 

22 (4) in subsection (f)(2)(A), by inserting ‘‘by the 

23 Secretary’’ after ‘‘reimbursed’’; and 

24 (5) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘2023’’ each 

25 place it appears and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 3304. PROMOTION OF AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS TO 

2 EMERGING MARKETS. 

3 Section 1542(a) of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva4 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5622 note; Public 

5 Law 101–624) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘2029’’. 

7 SEC. 3305. INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION 

8 FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 

9 Section 3307 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 

10 2018 (7 U.S.C. 3295) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (g)(1)), by striking ‘‘2019 

12 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’; 

13 (2) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub14 section (h); and 

15 (3) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(g) PROGRAM CONTINUITY.—To assist eligible 

18 countries in the long-term development of enduring, 

19 school-based agricultural education and youth extension 

20 programs, the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent 

21 practicable— 

22 ‘‘(1) implement the fellowship program in each 

23 participating host country for not fewer than 3 con24 secutive years; and 

25 ‘‘(2) ensure that contracts awarded to outside 

26 organizations are multi-year.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3306. INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURE CULTURAL IM2 MERSION AND EXCHANGE PROGRAM. 

3 Title III of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 

4 (Public Law 115–334) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 3313. INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURE CULTURAL IM7 MERSION AND EXCHANGE PROGRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE CANDIDATE.—The term ‘eligible 

10 candidate’ means an individual that— 

11 ‘‘(A) is between the ages of 19 and 30 

12 years; 

13 ‘‘(B) has demonstrated experience in agri14 cultural sciences, food systems, and food and 

15 nutrition education; 

16 ‘‘(C) is prepared to live in 1 or more host 

17 countries for at least 2 months or up to 6 

18 months; and 

19 ‘‘(D) is a resident of the United States. 

20 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE COUNTRY.—The term ‘eligible 

21 country’ means a country that has agricultural trade 

22 relations with the United States, as recognized by 

23 the Foreign Agriculture Service. 

24 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘Program’ means 

25 the International Agriculture Cultural Immersion 


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1 and Exchange Program established under subsection 

2 (b). 

3 ‘‘(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

4 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

5 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab6 lish an international cultural immersion and exchange pro7 gram, to be known as the ‘International Agriculture Cul8 tural Immersion and Exchange Program’, under which the 

9 Secretary shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) provide eligible candidates with inter11 national cultural exchange and immersion experi12 ences focused on agricultural sciences, food systems, 

13 and food and nutrition education through placement 

14 with host families in eligible countries; and 

15 ‘‘(2) place in the United States with host fami16 lies individuals that meet the requirement of sub17 section (a)(1)(A) and are residents of eligible coun18 tries to experience United States agriculture, trade 

19 relations, and culture. 

20 ‘‘(c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Program 

21 are— 

22 ‘‘(1) to develop globally minded citizens of the 

23 United States; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) to strengthen and enhance trade between 

2 eligible countries and the United States in agricul3 tural, food, nutrition, and environmental industries. 

4 ‘‘(d) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To administer the Pro6 gram, the Secretary shall enter into a cooperative 

7 agreement with a nonprofit organization that has ex8 perience in implementing international cultural ex9 change programs focused on agricultural sciences, 

10 food and nutrition education, and cultural under11 standing through placement with host families. 

12 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In carrying out paragraph (1), 

13 the Secretary shall give priority to a nonprofit orga14 nization with which the Secretary has a memo15 randum of understanding dated not earlier than 

16 January 1, 2019. 

17 ‘‘(3) MATCHING FUNDS.—As a condition of en18 tering into a cooperative agreement under this sub19 section, a nonprofit organization shall provide equal 

20 matching funds from non-Federal sources. 

21 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry 

23 out this section for each of fiscal years 2025 through 

24 2029.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3307. INTERNATIONAL FOOD SECURITY TECHNICAL 

2 ASSISTANCE. 

3 Section 1543B(f) of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva4 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 is amended by striking 

5 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

6 SEC. 3308. MCGOVERN-DOLE INTERNATIONAL FOOD FOR 

7 EDUCATION AND CHILD NUTRITION PRO8 GRAM. 

9 Section 3107 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest10 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 1736o–1) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (c)(2)(B)(ii), by inserting ‘‘or 

12 lower-middle’’ before ‘‘income’’; 

13 (2) in subsection (h)(2), by striking ‘‘Com14 mittee on International Relations’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘Committee on Foreign Affairs’’; 

16 (3) in subsection (l)(2), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

18 (4) in subsection (l)(4), by striking ‘‘not more 

19 than 10 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than 8 per20 cent, but not more than 15 percent’’. 

21 SEC. 3309. GLOBAL CROP DIVERSITY TRUST. 

22 Section 3202 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy 

23 Act of 2008 (22 U.S.C. 2220a note; Public Law 110–246) 

24 is amended— 

25 (1) by amending subsection (b)(1) to read as 

26 follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the period of fiscal 

2 years 2025 through 2029, the aggregate contribu3 tions of funds of the Federal Government provided 

4 to the Trust under this section shall not exceed 33 

5 percent of the total amount of funds contributed to 

6 the Trust from all sources and for all purposes.’’; 

7 (2) in subsection (b)(2)— 

8 (A) by inserting ‘‘under this section’’ after 

9 ‘‘Trust’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘2029’’; and 

12 (3) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

14 SEC. 3310. LOCAL AND REGIONAL FOOD AID PROCURE15 MENT PROJECTS. 

16 Section 3206(e)(1) of the Food, Conservation, and 

17 Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 1726c(e)(1)) is amended 

18 by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

19 SEC. 3311. AGRICULTURAL TRADE ENFORCEMENT TASK 

20 FORCE. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days after 

22 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall 

23 establish a joint task force, to be known as the ‘‘Agricul24 tural Trade Enforcement Task Force’’ (referred to in this 

25 section as the ‘‘Task Force’’). 


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1 (b) DUTIES.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall— 

3 (A) identify trade barriers to United States 

4 agricultural exports that are vulnerable to dis5 pute settlement under the World Trade Organi6 zation (‘‘WTO’’) or other trade agreements; 

7 (B) develop and implement a strategy for 

8 enforcing violations of trade agreements related 

9 to these trade barriers; 

10 (C) identify like-minded trading partners 

11 for specific trade barriers that could act as co12 complainants or primary complainants on dis13 putes that are systemically or economically im14 portant to the United States; and 

15 (D) report quarterly to Congress on 

16 progress towards resolving cases or filing dis17 putes. 

18 (2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out its duties 

19 under this subsection, the Task Force shall regularly 

20 consult, to the extent necessary and appropriate, 

21 with the following: 

22 (A) Relevant stakeholders in the private 

23 sector, including the agricultural trade advisory 

24 committees. 


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1 (B) Federal departments and agencies that 

2 are not represented on the Task Force. 

3 (C) Like-minded trading partners that are 

4 similarly concerned with trade barriers and are 

5 potential participants in the dispute settlement 

6 process. 

7 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Task Force shall be 

9 comprised of the following members: 

10 (A) One or more employees of the Foreign 

11 Agricultural Service, who shall be appointed by 

12 the Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Ag13 ricultural Affairs. 

14 (B) One of more employees of the Office of 

15 the United States Trade Representative, who 

16 shall be appointed jointly by the General Coun17 sel for the Office of the United States Trade 

18 Representative and the Chief Agricultural Ne19 gotiator. 

20 (C) One or more employees of other Fed21 eral agencies as needed, who shall be appointed 

22 jointly by the officials specified in subpara23 graphs (A) and (B). 

24 (2) QUALIFICATION.—Employees of the Federal 

25 agencies specified in subparagraphs (A), (B), and 


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1 (C) of paragraph (1) may be appointed as members 

2 of the Task Force only if such employees have ap3 propriate expertise in agricultural trade policy and 

4 trade enforcement. 

5 (d) REPORT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act, and on a quar8 terly basis thereafter, the Task Force shall submit 

9 to Congress a report on its progress in identifying 

10 and addressing trade barriers to United States agri11 cultural exports. 

12 (2) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The report 

13 required by this subsection shall include the fol14 lowing: 

15 (A) A description of the systemic and eco16 nomically significant trade barriers that have 

17 been identified. 

18 (B) A justification for including the identi19 fied trade barriers. 

20 (C) A description of the progress that has 

21 been made in developing dispute settlement 

22 cases and further information that is required. 

23 (D) The current status of ongoing disputes 

24 at the WTO and implementation of panel, arbi25 tration, or Appellate Body decisions. 


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1 (3) ADDITIONAL MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED IN

2 INITIAL REPORT.—The initial report required by this 

3 subsection shall, in addition to the matters described 

4 in subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) of para5 graph (2), include a plan to file a request under the 

6 WTO dispute settlement process for consultations to 

7 address India’s minimum price supports. The plan 

8 shall include— 

9 (A) an identification of like-minded trading 

10 partners that could act as co-complainants or 

11 primary complainants with respect to the re12 quest; 

13 (B) a description of specific claims the 

14 United States intends to make with respect to 

15 the request; and 

16 (C) a timeline to— 

17 (i) request consultations; and 

18 (ii) request the establishment of a 

19 panel not later than 60 days after the date 

20 of the request for consultations if India 

21 does not provide assurances that it will ad22 dress its minimum price supports. 

23 (e) CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFINGS.—The United States 

24 Trade Representative and the Secretary of Agriculture 


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1 shall provide briefings on the Task Force to appropriate 

2 Members of Congress and congressional staff. 

3 TITLE IV—CREDIT 

4 Subtitle A—Farm Ownership Loans 

5 SEC. 4101. PERSONS ELIGIBLE FOR REAL ESTATE LOANS. 

6 Section 302(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

7 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1922(a)) is amended— 

8 (1) in the 2nd sentence of paragraph (1), by 

9 striking ‘‘a majority’’ each place it appears and in10 serting ‘‘at least a 50 percent’’; 

11 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking subparagraphs 

12 (A) and (B) and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY OF QUALIFIED OPERA14 TORS.—Qualified operators, as defined by the 

15 Secretary, shall be considered to meet the oper16 ator requirement of paragraph (1). 

17 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN OPER18 ATING-ONLY ENTITIES.— An applicant that is 

19 or will become only the operator of farm real 

20 estate acquired, improved, or supported with 

21 funds under this subtitle shall be considered to 

22 meet the owner-operator requirements of para23 graph (1) if 1 or more of the individuals who 

24 is an owner of the farm real estate owns at 

25 least 50 percent (or such other percentage as 


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1 the Secretary determines is appropriate) of the 

2 applicant. 

3 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN EMBEDDED

4 ENTITIES.—An entity that is an owner-operator 

5 described in paragraph (1), or an operator de6 scribed in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph 

7 that is owned, in whole or in part, by 1 or more 

8 other entities, shall be considered to meet the 

9 direct ownership requirement imposed under 

10 paragraph (1) if at least 75 percent of the total 

11 ownership interests of the embedded entity, or 

12 of the other entities, is owned, directly or indi13 rectly, by qualified operators of the farm ac14 quired, improved, or supported with funds 

15 under this subtitle.’’. 

16 SEC. 4102. EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS. 

17 Section 302(b) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

18 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1922(b)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 

20 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘3 years’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘2 years’’; and 

22 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

24 (i) in the matter preceding clause 

25 (i)— 


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1 (I) by striking ‘‘3-year’’ and in2 serting ‘‘2-year’’; and 

3 (II) by striking ‘‘1 or 2 years’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘1 year’’; 

5 (ii) in clause (iii), by inserting ‘‘or 

6 operational’’ before ‘‘responsibilities’’; 

7 (iii) in clause (vii), by striking ‘‘or’’; 

8 and 

9 (iv) by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(ix) met any other criteria estab12 lished by the Secretary; or’’; and 

13 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘3- 

14 year’’ and inserting ‘‘2- year’’. 

15 SEC. 4103. CONSERVATION LOAN AND LOAN GUARANTEE 

16 PROGRAM. 

17 Section 304 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De18 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1924) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (d)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

21 the end; 

22 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘1985.’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘1985 (16 U.S.C. 3812); and’’; 

24 and 

25 (C) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(4) producers who use the loans to adopt pre2 cision agriculture practices or acquire precision agri3 culture technologies, including adoption or acquisi4 tion for the purpose of participating in the environ5 mental quality incentives program under subchapter 

6 A of chapter 4 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food 

7 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.).’’; 

8 and 

9 (2) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

11 SEC. 4104. LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF FARM OWNERSHIP 

12 LOANS. 

13 Section 305(a)(2) of the Consolidated Farm and 

14 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1925(a)(2)) is amended 

15 by striking ‘‘$600,000, or, in the case of a loan guaranteed 

16 by the Secretary, $1,750,000 (increased, beginning with 

17 fiscal year 2019’’ and inserting ‘‘$850,000, or, in the case 

18 of a loan guaranteed by the Secretary, $3,500,000 (in19 creased, beginning with fiscal year 2025’’. 

20 SEC. 4105. INFLATION PERCENTAGE. 

21 Section 305(c) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

22 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1925(c)) is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘of the Prices 

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1 ment of Agriculture) for the 12-month period ending 

2 on July 31 of the immediately preceding fiscal year’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘of the per acre average United States 

4 farm real estate value, the per acre average United 

5 States cropland value, and the per acre average 

6 United States pasture value for the preceding year 

7 (as published in the applicable Agricultural Land 

8 Values report of the National Agricultural Statistics 

9 Service of the Department of Agriculture), weighted 

10 equally’’; and 

11 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘of such index 

12 (as so defined) for the 12-month period that imme13 diately precedes the 12-month period described in 

14 paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘of the per acre aver15 age United States farm real estate value, the per 

16 acre average United States cropland value, and the 

17 per acre average United States pasture value for the 

18 year immediately preceding the year described in 

19 paragraph (1) (as so published), weighted equally’’. 


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1 SEC. 4106. AUTHORITY OF FARM CREDIT SYSTEM INSTITU2 TIONS TO PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR 

3 ESSENTIAL RURAL COMMUNITY FACILITIES 

4 PROJECTS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Farm Credit Act of 1971 is 

6 amended by inserting after section 4.18A (12 U.S.C. 

7 2206a) the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 4.18B. ESSENTIAL COMMUNITY FACILITIES. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A Farm Credit Bank, direct 

10 lender association, or bank for cooperatives chartered 

11 under this Act may, for the purpose of making available 

12 capital to develop, build, maintain, improve, or provide re13 lated equipment or other support for essential community 

14 facilities in rural areas, make and participate in loans and 

15 commitments, and extend other technical and financial as16 sistance for projects for essential community facilities eli17 gible for financing under section 306(a) of the Consoli18 dated Farm and Rural Development Act. 

19 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—Only an entity eligible for financ20 ing under section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and 

21 Rural Development Act may receive financing or any other 

22 assistance under subsection (a) of this section. 

23 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) FINANCING.—A Farm Credit System insti25 tution described in subsection (a) shall not provide 

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1 gregate amount that exceeds 15 percent of the total 

2 of all outstanding loans of the institution. 

3 ‘‘(2) OFFER REQUIREMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A Farm Credit Sys5 tem institution shall not provide financing or 

6 assistance under this section unless the institu7 tion— 

8 ‘‘(i) has offered, under reasonable 

9 terms and conditions acceptable to the bor10 rower involved, an interest in the financing 

11 to at least 1 domestic lending institution 

12 not referred to in subsection (a) other than 

13 the Department of Agriculture; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) has reported the offer to the 

15 Farm Credit Administration. 

16 ‘‘(B) RURAL COMMUNITY BANK PRI17 ORITY.—In offering an interest in a financing 

18 to a domestic lending institution described in 

19 subparagraph (A)(i), the Farm Credit System 

20 institution shall give priority to community 

21 banks located in the service area of the essen22 tial community facility being financed. 

23 ‘‘(d) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Within 1 

24 year after the date of the enactment of this section and 

25 annually thereafter, the Farm Credit Administration shall 


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1 provide a report to the Committee on Agriculture of the 

2 House of Representatives and the Committee on Agri3 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate on the ac4 tivities undertaken pursuant to this section by Farm Cred5 it System institutions during the period covered by the re6 port, including through partnerships between such an in7 stitution and other lending institutions, which shall also 

8 be posted on the website of the Farm Credit Administra9 tion.’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

11 subsection (a) shall take effect on October 1, 2024. 

12 SEC. 4107. DOWN PAYMENT LOAN PROGRAM. 

13 Section 310E(b)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and 

14 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1935(b)(1)) is amend15 ed— 

16 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

17 by striking ‘‘exceed 45 percent of the least’’ and in18 serting ‘‘exceed, subject to section 305(a), 45 per19 cent of the lesser’’; 

20 (2) in subparagraph (A), by adding ‘‘or’’ after 

21 the semicolon; 

22 (3) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘; or’’ and 

23 inserting a period; and 

24 (4) by striking subparagraph (C). 


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1 SEC. 4108. HEIRS PROPERTY. 

2 (a) REAUTHORIZATION OF THE HEIRS PROPERTY

3 INTERMEDIARY RELENDING PROGRAM.—Section 310I(g) 

4 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

5 U.S.C. 1936c(g)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and in6 serting ‘‘2029’’. 

7 (b) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS FOR HEIRS PROP8 ERTY RESOLUTION THROUGH DIRECT PUBLIC INTEREST

9 LEGAL SERVICES.—Section 310I of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

10 1936c) is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as 

12 subsections (g) and (h), respectively; and 

13 (2) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(f) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS FOR HEIRS PROP16 ERTY RESOLUTION THROUGH DIRECT PUBLIC INTEREST

17 LEGAL SERVICES.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter 

19 into cooperative agreements with eligible entities to 

20 provide legal or accounting services to underserved 

21 heirs, at no cost to the underserved heirs, to assist 

22 in resolving undivided ownership interests on farm23 land or forest land, or land transitioning to farmland 

24 or forest land, that has multiple owners. Such a co25 operative agreement must be for any of the following 

26 purposes: 


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1 ‘‘(A) To assist with transitioning land to 

2 agricultural production. 

3 ‘‘(B) To maintain land in agricultural pro4 duction. 

5 ‘‘(C) To increase access to programs ad6 ministered by the Secretary through the resolu7 tion of real property claims in order to allow 

8 real property owners to meet land ownership 

9 eligibility requirements for participation in a 

10 program administered by the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION OF COOPERATIVE

12 AGREEMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) DURATION.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A cooperative 

15 agreement under paragraph (1) shall be in 

16 effect for not more than 4 years, subject to 

17 clause (ii). 

18 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE.—The Secretary 

19 may extend a cooperative agreement or re20 enter into a cooperative agreement with 

21 the same or a different eligible entity to 

22 provide continued services for heirs if— 

23 ‘‘(I) property ownership is not re24 solved within the initial term of the 

25 original cooperative agreement; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the entity certifies that the 

2 entity understands that the coopera3 tive agreement is not guaranteed to be 

4 funded for more than 4 years after 

5 the commencement of the original co6 operative agreement. 

7 ‘‘(B) MANAGEMENT OF PERFORMANCE.— 

8 ‘‘(i) ANNUAL REPORTS.—An eligible 

9 entity must provide annual reports to the 

10 Secretary summarizing the progress made 

11 during each fiscal year towards achieving 

12 the goals of the cooperative agreement for 

13 the heirs for whom services are provided 

14 under the cooperative agreement. 

15 ‘‘(ii) INFORMATION AND DATA.—The 

16 Secretary may require an eligible entity to 

17 provide the Secretary with such informa18 tion or data as the Secretary deems nec19 essary to determine that the eligible entity 

20 is making acceptable progress. The data 

21 may not include personally identifiable in22 formation. 

23 ‘‘(iii) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO DEM24 ONSTRATE SUCCESS.—If an eligible entity 

25 providing services under such a cooperative 


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1 agreement does not demonstrate success, 

2 as determined by the Secretary, in resolv3 ing or reasonably attempting to resolve the 

4 property claims of an heir, the Secretary 

5 may terminate the agreement. 

6 ‘‘(C) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary 

7 may utilize requests for public input or the for8 mal rulemaking process to effectuate this sub9 section. At a minimum, the Secretary shall 

10 make publicly available the criteria for selecting 

11 an eligible entity to enter into an agreement to 

12 provide services, the administrative and per13 formance requirements for cooperative agree14 ments under this subsection, as well as codify 

15 within its internal policy its implementation 

16 process. 

17 ‘‘(D) HEIRS PROPERTY NOT IN FARM18 ING.—On a limited basis, and when determined 

19 by the Secretary to meet the purposes of a pro20 gram administered by the Secretary and to ex21 pand access to such a program, the Secretary 

22 may allow an eligible entity to provide services 

23 at no cost to an heir who is not an underserved 

24 heir if— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the land with respect to which the 

2 services are to be provided is not farmland 

3 or in agricultural production, but could be 

4 viably productive for agricultural, con5 servation, or forestry purposes; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the heir satisfies all other re7 quirements of the definition of ‘under8 served heir’; 

9 ‘‘(iii) the heir can provide proof to 

10 substantiate that the heir is in control of 

11 the real property; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) the heir certifies to the Secretary 

13 that the heir intends to apply for, and 

14 make a good faith effort to enroll the land 

15 in, a program administered by the Sec16 retary once property claims to the land are 

17 resolved through services provided under a 

18 cooperative agreement entered into under 

19 this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

21 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi22 ble entity’ means a nonprofit organization 

23 that— 

24 ‘‘(i) provides legal or accounting serv25 ices to an underserved heir at no cost to 


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1 the underserved heir to resolve property 

2 ownership issues; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) has demonstrated experience in 

4 resolving issues related to ownership and 

5 succession on farmland or forest land that 

6 has multiple owners. 

7 ‘‘(B) LIMITED RESOURCE HEIR.—An heir 

8 shall be considered a limited resource heir for 

9 purposes of this subsection if— 

10 ‘‘(i) the total household income of the 

11 heir is at or below the national poverty 

12 level for a family of 4, or less than 50 per13 cent of the county median household in14 come for the 2 immediately preceding cal15 endar years, as determined annually using 

16 data of the Department of Commerce; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) the property of the heir for which 

18 legal services are provided pursuant to a 

19 cooperative agreement entered into under 

20 this subsection is in a persistent poverty 

21 community, as determined annually on the 

22 basis of data from the Department of 

23 Commerce, or a socially vulnerable area, as 

24 designated by the Centers on Disease Con25 trol and Prevention. 


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1 ‘‘(C) UNDERSERVED HEIR.—The term ‘un2 derserved heir’ means an heir with an undivided 

3 ownership interest in farmland or forest land 

4 that has multiple owners, who is— 

5 ‘‘(i) a limited resource heir; 

6 ‘‘(ii) a member of a socially disadvan7 taged group (as defined in section 2501(a) 

8 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 

9 and Trade Act of 1990); or 

10 ‘‘(iii) a veteran (as defined in section 

11 101(2) of title 38, United States Code). 

12 ‘‘(4) ANNUAL REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Within 

13 1 year after the date of the enactment of this sub14 section, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 

15 prepare, make public, and submit to the Committee 

16 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and 

17 the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For18 estry of the Senate a written report on the activities 

19 carried out under this subsection in the year covered 

20 by the report. 

21 ‘‘(5) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF AP22 PROPRIATIONS.—To carry out this subsection, there 

23 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 

24 $60,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 

25 2029.’’. 


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1 (c) ANNUAL REPORT ON OPERATIONS AND OUT2 COMES UNDER THE RELENDING PROGRAM TO RESOLVE

3 OWNERSHIP AND SUCCESSION ON FARMLAND.—Section 

4 310I(g) of such Act, as so redesignated by subsection (b) 

5 of this section, is amended by striking ‘‘Not later than 

6 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec7 retary shall’’ and inserting ‘‘The Secretary shall annu8 ally’’. 

9 SEC. 4109. PROMPT APPROVAL OF LOANS AND LOAN GUAR10 ANTEES. 

11 Section 333A of the of the Consolidated Farm and 

12 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1983a) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (g)— 

14 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert15 ing the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) REAL ESTATE AND OPERATING GUARAN17 TEED LOANS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

19 provide to lenders a short, simplified application 

20 form for real estate and operating guaranteed 

21 loans under this title, for loans of not more 

22 than $1,000,000. 

23 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.—Within 5 business days 

24 after receipt of an application to guarantee a 

25 farm ownership or operating loan that meets 


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1 the requirements under subparagraph (A) origi2 nated by a USDA preferred lender, the Sec3 retary shall notify the lender as to whether the 

4 application is approved or disapproved. 

5 ‘‘(C) MAXIMUM GUARANTEE.—The per6 centage of the principal amount of a loan which 

7 may be guaranteed pursuant to this paragraph 

8 shall not exceed— 

9 ‘‘(i) 90 percent, in the case of a loan 

10 not exceeding $125,000; 

11 ‘‘(ii) 75 percent, in the case of a loan 

12 of more than $125,000 and not more than 

13 $500,000; or 

14 ‘‘(iii) 50 percent, in the case of a loan 

15 of more than $500,000 and not more than 

16 $1,000,000.’’; and 

17 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and 

18 (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively, and 

19 inserting after paragraph (1) the following: 

20 ‘‘(2) BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY GUARANTEED

21 LOANS TO ASSIST RURAL ENTITIES.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

23 develop an application process that accelerates, 

24 to the maximum extent practicable, the proc25 essing of applications for business and industry 


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1 guaranteed loans to assist rural entities, as de2 scribed under section 310B(a)(2)(A), for loans 

3 not exceeding $400,000. 

4 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—The accelerated appli5 cation process, as provided under subparagraph 

6 (A), shall apply to loans not exceeding 

7 $600,000 if there is not a significant increased 

8 risk of a default on the loan, as determined by 

9 the Secretary.’’; and 

10 (2) by striking subsection (h). 

11 SEC. 4110. FARMER LOAN PILOT PROJECTS. 

12 Subtitle D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De13 velopment Act is amended by inserting after section 333D 

14 (7 U.S.C. 1983d) the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 333E. PRIOR APPROVAL AUTHORIZATION PILOT PRO16 GRAM. 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

18 the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency, shall carry 

19 out a pilot program to establish a pre-approval process 

20 for direct farm ownership loans made under subtitle A in 

21 order to streamline the application process and provide 

22 greater certainty to borrowers. 

23 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

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1 gibility requirements for direct farm ownership loans 

2 under subtitle A. 

3 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—This section shall not be in4 terpreted to repeal any borrowing requirement im5 posed under subtitle A. 

6 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

7 of enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the 

8 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture 

9 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

10 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a re11 port examining the actions undertaken under, and the re12 sults of, the pilot program. 

13 ‘‘(d) TERMINATION OF EFFECTIVENESS.—The au14 thority provided by this section shall terminate effective 

15 September 30, 2029.’’. 

16 SEC. 4111. REFINANCING OF GUARANTEED LOANS INTO DI17 RECT LOANS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting 

20 through the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency 

21 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Secretary’’), shall pro22 mulgate regulations allowing certain loans guaranteed by 

23 the Farm Service Agency to be refinanced into direct loans 

24 issued by the Farm Service Agency, in accordance with 

25 this section. 


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1 (b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The regulations promulgated 

3 under subsection (a) shall provide that a guaranteed 

4 loan described in that subsection may be refinanced 

5 into a direct loan described in that subsection only 

6 if the Secretary determines that— 

7 (A) the guaranteed loan is distressed; 

8 (B) the borrower on that guaranteed loan 

9 has attempted to work with the lender and has 

10 been unsuccessful; 

11 (C) a reasonable chance for the success of 

12 the operation financed by the guaranteed loan 

13 exists; and 

14 (D) all other criteria established by the 

15 Secretary for purposes of this section to protect 

16 taxpayer funds and the loan programs of the 

17 Farm Service Agency have been satisfied. 

18 (2) REASONABLE CHANCE OF SUCCESS.—For 

19 purposes of paragraph (1)(C), the Secretary may de20 termine that a reasonable chance for the success of 

21 an operation exists if the Secretary determines 

22 that— 

23 (A) all relevant problems with the oper24 ation financed by the guaranteed loan— 

25 (i) have been identified; and 


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1 (ii) can be corrected; and 

2 (B) on correction of those problems, the 

3 operation can achieve, or be returned to, a 

4 sound financial basis. 

5 (c) NO EFFECT ON SUBSIDIES.—In carrying out this 

6 section, the Secretary shall ensure that the refinancing of 

7 guaranteed loans into direct loans has no impact on the 

8 subsidy rate of— 

9 (1) loans guaranteed by the Farm Service 

10 Agency; or 

11 (2) direct loans issued by the Farm Service 

12 Agency. 

13 (d) LOAN PROGRAMS.—In making direct loans pur14 suant to the regulations promulgated under subsection 

15 (a), the Secretary may refinance a loan guaranteed under 

16 1 program of the Farm Service Agency into a direct loan 

17 issued under another program of the Farm Service Agen18 cy, as the Secretary determines to be appropriate and in 

19 accordance with the laws applicable to the program under 

20 which the new direct loan is issued. 

21 (e) MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF DIRECT REFINANCING

22 LOANS.—A direct loan issued by the Farm Service Agency 

23 pursuant to the regulations promulgated under subsection 

24 (a) shall be subject to any otherwise applicable limitation 

25 on the maximum amount of a direct loan issued by the 


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1 Farm Service Agency, including, if applicable, the limita2 tions described in— 

3 (1) section 305 of the Consolidated Farm and 

4 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1925); and 

5 (2) section 313 of that Act (7 U.S.C. 1943). 

6 Subtitle B—Operating Loans 

7 SEC. 4201. PERSONS ELIGIBLE FOR OPERATING LOANS. 

8 Section 311(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

9 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1941) is amended— 

10 (1) in the 2nd sentence of paragraph (1), by 

11 striking ‘‘a majority’’ each place it appears and in12 serting ‘‘at least a 50 percent’’; and 

13 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

15 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULE.—An entity’’ and inserting 

16 the following: 

17 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULES.— 

18 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY OF QUALIFIED OPERA19 TORS.—Qualified operators, as defined by the 

20 Secretary, shall be considered to meet the oper21 ator requirement of paragraph (1). 

22 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN OPER23 ATING-ONLY ENTITIES.—An entity’’; and 

24 (B) by striking ‘‘ownership interests of 

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1 rectly or indirectly by the individuals that own 

2 the family farm’’ and inserting ‘‘total ownership 

3 interests of the embedded entity, or of the other 

4 entities, is owned, directly or indirectly, by 

5 qualified operators of the farm improved or 

6 supported with funds under this subtitle’’. 

7 SEC. 4202. LIMITATIONS ON AMOUNT OF OPERATING 

8 LOANS. 

9 Section 313(a)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and 

10 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1943(a)(1)) is amended 

11 by striking ‘‘$400,000, or, in the case of a loan guaranteed 

12 by the Secretary, $1,750,000 (increased, beginning with 

13 fiscal year 2019’’ and inserting ‘‘$750,000, or, in the case 

14 of a loan guaranteed by the Secretary, $3,000,000 (in15 creased, beginning with fiscal year 2025’’. 

16 SEC. 4203. LIMITATION ON MICROLOAN AMOUNTS. 

17 Section 313(c)(2) of the Consolidated Farm and 

18 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1943(c)(2)) is amended 

19 by striking ‘‘$50,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000’’. 

20 SEC. 4204. COOPERATIVE LENDING PILOT PROJECTS. 

21 Section 313(c)(4)(A) of the Consolidated Farm and 

22 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1943(c)(4)(A)) is 

23 amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 Subtitle C—Emergency Loans 

2 SEC. 4301. PERSONS ELIGIBLE FOR EMERGENCY LOANS. 

3 Section 321 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De4 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1961) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking all that precedes ‘‘shall make 

6 and insure’’ and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 321. ELIGIBILITY FOR LOANS. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

9 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec10 retary’’; 

11 (2) in the 1st sentence— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘(A)’’; 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘(B)’’; 

14 (C) by striking ‘‘(A)’’ the 1st place it ap15 pears and inserting ‘‘(i)’’; 

16 (D) by striking ‘‘(B)’’ the 1st place it ap17 pears and inserting ‘‘(ii)’’; and 

18 (E) by striking ‘‘a majority’’ each place it 

19 appears and inserting ‘‘at least a 50 percent’’; 

20 (3) by striking the 5th sentence; and 

21 (4) by adding after and below the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RULES.— 

24 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY OF QUALIFIED OPERA25 TORS.—Qualified operators, as defined by the 


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1 Secretary, shall be considered to meet the oper2 ator requirement of paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN OPER4 ATING-ONLY ENTITIES.— An applicant that is 

5 or will become only the operator of farm real 

6 estate acquired, improved, or supported with 

7 funds under this subtitle shall be considered to 

8 meet the owner-operator requirements of para9 graph (1) if 1 or more of the individuals who 

10 is an owner of the real estate owns at least 50 

11 percent (or such other percentage as the Sec12 retary determines is appropriate) of the appli13 cant. 

14 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN EMBEDDED

15 ENTITIES.—An entity that is an owner-operator 

16 described in paragraph (1), or an operator de17 scribed in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph 

18 that is owned, in whole or in part, by 1 or more 

19 other entities, shall be considered to meet the 

20 direct ownership requirement imposed under 

21 paragraph (1) if at least 75 percent of the total 

22 ownership interests of the embedded entity, or 

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1 quired, improved, or supported with funds 

2 under this subtitle.’’. 

3 Subtitle D—Administrative 

4 Provisions 

5 SEC. 4401. BEGINNING FARMER AND RANCHER INDIVIDUAL 

6 DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNTS PILOT PROGRAM. 

7 Section 333B(h) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

8 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1983b(h)) is amended by 

9 striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

10 SEC. 4402. LOAN AUTHORIZATION LEVELS. 

11 Section 346(b)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and 

12 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1994(b)(1)) is amended 

13 in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) by striking 

14 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

15 SEC. 4403. LOAN FUND SET-ASIDES. 

16 Section 346(b)(2)(A)(ii)(III) of the Consolidated 

17 Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

18 1994(b)(2)(A)(ii)(III)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

20 SEC. 4404. USE OF ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR DIRECT OPER21 ATING MICROLOANS UNDER CERTAIN CONDI22 TIONS. 

23 Section 346(b)(5)(C) of the Consolidated Farm and 

24 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1994(b)(5)(C)) is 

25 amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 Subtitle E—Miscellaneous 

2 SEC. 4501. EXPORT FINANCE AUTHORITY. 

3 Section 3.7(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Farm Credit Act of 

4 1971 (12 U.S.C. 2128(b)(2)(A)(i)) is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘50 percent of the bank’s cap6 ital’’ and inserting ‘‘15 percent of the total assets of 

7 the bank’’; and 

8 (2) by striking ‘‘an amount equal to 50 percent 

9 of the bank’s capital’’ and inserting ‘‘15 percent of 

10 the total assets of the bank’’. 

11 SEC. 4502. SUPPORT FOR RURAL WATER AND WASTE SYS12 TEMS. 

13 Section 3.7(f) of the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 

14 U.S.C. 2128(f)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, or in the case 

15 of such loans, commitments, and assistance that are guar16 anteed, the term ‘rural area’ means an area described in 

17 section 343(a)(13)(A) of the Consolidated Farm and 

18 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(A))’’ be19 fore the period at the end. 

20 SEC. 4503. FARMER LOAN DATA COLLECTION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 

22 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 

23 4.20 the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 4.21. SMALL FARMER LOAN DATA COLLECTION. 

2 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to af3 firm that the Farm Credit Administration is the sole and 

4 independent regulator of the Farm Credit System. 

5 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘small 

6 farmer’ means a ‘small farmer, rancher, or producer or 

7 harvester of aquatic products’ as defined pursuant to sec8 tion 4.19. 

9 ‘‘(c) COLLECTION OF DEMOGRAPHIC DATA BY FARM

10 CREDIT SYSTEM LENDERS.—Notwithstanding any other 

11 provision of law, Farm Credit System institutions, pursu12 ant to regulations promulgated by the Farm Credit Ad13 ministration, shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) request that loan applicants and borrowers 

15 that are small farmers disclose information identi16 fying their race, sex, and ethnicity; 

17 ‘‘(2) collect and maintain the information re18 sulting from the requests; and 

19 ‘‘(3) report to the Farm Credit Administration 

20 on an annual basis the information collected pursu21 ant to the requests. 

22 ‘‘(d) DIRECTIONS TO THE FARM CREDIT ADMINIS23 TRATION.—The Farm Credit Administration— 

24 ‘‘(1) shall collect the information gathered by 

25 Farm Credit System institutions under this section 


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1 and make the information available to the public on 

2 an annual basis; and 

3 ‘‘(2) shall not require, in prescribing regulations 

4 to implement this section, that any Farm Credit 

5 System institution contradict the wishes of a cus6 tomer who does not wish to voluntarily report race, 

7 sex, or ethnicity by requiring the Farm Credit Sys8 tem institution to report the race, sex, or ethnicity 

9 of the customer based on visual observation, sur10 name, or any other method. 

11 ‘‘(e) PROTECTION OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE

12 INFORMATION.—In reporting the information collected 

13 under this section, the Farm Credit Administration shall 

14 not include any information that would reveal the identity 

15 of any loan applicant or borrower. 

16 ‘‘(f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall apply 

17 only to applications received and loans made 1 year or 

18 more after the date of the enactment of this section.’’. 

19 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

20 704B(h)(1) of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (15 

21 U.S.C. 1691c–2(h)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, other 

22 than any entity that is supervised by the Farm Credit Ad23 ministration’’ before the period at the end. 

24 (c) COMPLIANCE.— 


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1 (1) EFFECTIVE DATE.—A Farm Credit System 

2 institution shall not be required to comply with any 

3 regulation promulgated pursuant to this section until 

4 January 1, 2026. 

5 (2) CESSATION.—If a financial institution sub6 ject to subpart B of part 1002 of title 12, Code of 

7 Federal Regulations, is not required to comply with 

8 the rule, whether because a court invalidates the rule 

9 or the rule is otherwise repealed, the Farm Credit 

10 System institutions shall not be required to comply 

11 with any regulation promulgated pursuant to this 

12 section or an amendment made by this section. 

13 SEC. 4504. LOAN GUARANTEES. 

14 Section 8.0(7)(B) of the Farm Credit Act of 1971 

15 (12 U.S.C. 2279aa(7)(B)) is amended by inserting ‘‘ or 

16 section 9007(c)(1) of the Farm Security and Rural Invest17 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8107(c)(1))’’ before the 1st 

18 comma. 

19 SEC. 4505. STANDARDS FOR QUALIFIED LOANS. 

20 Section 8.8 of the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 

21 U.S.C. 2279aa–8) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (a)(3), by striking ‘‘mortgage 

23 investors’’ and inserting ‘‘investors in those types of 

24 loans’’; and 

25 (2) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

2 ‘‘LIMITATION’’ and inserting ‘‘LIMITATIONS’’; 

3 and 

4 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(3) FURTHER LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding 

6 paragraphs (1) and (2), the Farm Credit Adminis7 tration may establish such other loan amount limita8 tions to reflect the treatment as a qualified loan of 

9 a moderately sized agricultural mortgage loan, as 

10 determined by the Farm Credit Administration, with 

11 appropriate periodic adjustments for geographic dif12 ferences and valuations, consistent with maintaining 

13 the safety and soundness of the Corporation.’’. 

14 SEC. 4506. STATE AGRICULTURAL MEDIATION PROGRAMS. 

15 (a) DEFINITION OF STATE.—Section 501 of the Agri16 cultural Credit Act of 1987 (7 U.S.C. 5101) is amended 

17 by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION OF STATE.—In this title, the term 

19 ‘State’ has the meaning given the term in section 1404 

20 of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977, and includes 

21 any Indian tribe (as defined in section 4 of the Indian 

22 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act).’’. 

23 (b) MATCHING GRANTS TO STATES.—Section 502 of 

24 the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 (7 U.S.C. 5102) is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘$500,000’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘$700,000’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(c) CARRYOVER OF FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—The 

5 Secretary shall permit a State that receives financial as6 sistance under subsection (a) for a fiscal year to carry over 

7 not more than 25 percent of the financial assistance that 

8 is not expended by the end of the fiscal year, for use dur9 ing the next fiscal year without deducting the amount 

10 from any assistance provided under this Act in subsequent 

11 fiscal years.’’. 

12 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

13 506 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 5106) is amended by striking 

14 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

15 SEC. 4507. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 

16 (a) ELIMINATION OF OBSOLETE REFERENCES TO

17 COUNTY COMMITTEES.— 

18 (1) Section 333A(a)(2)(B)(vi) of the Consoli19 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

20 1983a(a)(2)(B)(vi)) is amended by striking ‘‘by the 

21 county committee’’ and inserting ‘‘of the applica22 tion’’. 

23 (2) Section 336 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1986) is 

24 amended— 


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1 (A) by striking the last sentence of sub2 section (b); and 

3 (B) by striking subsection (c) and redesig4 nating subsection (d) as subsection (c). 

5 (3) Section 339 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1989) is 

6 amended— 

7 (A) in subsection (c)(4)(A), by striking 

8 ‘‘county committee certification that the bor9 rower of the loan meets the eligibility require10 ments and’’ and inserting ‘‘the borrower meet11 ing’’; and 

12 (B) in subsection (d)(4)(A), by striking 

13 ‘‘county committee certification that the bor14 rower meets the eligibility requirements or’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘the borrower meeting’’. 

16 (4) Section 359(c)(1) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

17 2006a(c)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘(as determined 

18 by the appropriate county committee during the de19 termination of eligibility for the loan)’’. 

20 (b) REVISION OF LOAN ASSESSMENT REQUIRE21 MENTS.—Section 360(d)(1) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

22 2006b(d)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘annual review of di23 rect loans, and periodic review (as determined necessary 

24 by the Secretary) of guaranteed loans’’ and inserting 


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1 ‘‘periodic review (as determined by the Secretary) of direct 

2 and guaranteed loans’’. 

3 (c) UPDATING OF OUTDATED REFERENCES TO THE

4 FARMERS HOME ADMINISTRATION AND THE RURAL DE5 VELOPMENT AGENCY.— 

6 (1) Section 309(e) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

7 1928(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘Farmers Home 

8 Administration and the Rural Development Adminis9 tration’’ and inserting ‘‘Farm Service Agency and 

10 Rural Development’’. 

11 (2) Section 331(a)(5) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

12 1981(a)(5)) is amended by striking ‘‘Farmers Home 

13 Administration’’ each place it appears and inserting 

14 ‘‘Farm Service Agency and Rural Development’’. 

15 (3) Section 331(a)(7) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

16 1981(a)(7)) is amended by striking ‘‘Farmers Home 

17 Administration’’ and inserting ‘‘Farm Service Agen18 cy and Rural Development’’. 

19 (4) Section 331(a)(8) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

20 1981(a)(8)) is amended by striking ‘‘Rural Develop21 ment Administration or by the Farmers Home Ad22 ministration’’ ‘‘Farm Service Agency and Rural De23 velopment’’. 

24 (5) Section 331(b)(4) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

25 1981(b)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘Consolidated’’. 


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1 (6) Section 331(b) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

2 1981(b)) is amended in each of paragraphs (5) and 

3 (7) by striking ‘‘Farmers Home Administration’’ 

4 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Farm Service 

5 Agency and Rural Development’’. 

6 (7) Section 331(b)(8) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

7 1981(b)(8)) is amended by striking ‘‘Rural Develop8 ment Administration or by the Farmers Home Ad9 ministration’’ and inserting ‘‘Farm Service Agency 

10 and Rural Development’’. 

11 (8) Section 331A(a) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

12 1981a(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘Farmers Home 

13 Administration or by the Rural Development Admin14 istration’’ and inserting ‘‘Farm Service Agency or by 

15 Rural Development’’. 

16 (9) Section 335(a) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

17 1985(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘Farmers Home 

18 Administration or the Rural Development Adminis19 tration’’ and inserting ‘‘Farm Service Agency or 

20 Rural Development’’. 

21 (10) Section 335(f)(1) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

22 1985(f)(1)) is amended— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘Agricultural Stabilization 

24 and Conservation Service payments’’ and insert25 ing ‘‘Farm Service Agency farm program’’; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘Farmers Home Adminis2 tration liens’’ and inserting ‘‘liens for a farmer 

3 program loan’’; and 

4 (C) by striking ‘‘Farmers Home Adminis5 tration farmer’’ and inserting ‘‘Farm Service 

6 Agency farmer’’. 

7 (11) Section 338(a) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

8 1988(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘Farmers Home 

9 Administration or the Rural Development Adminis10 tration’’ and inserting ‘‘Farm Service Agency and 

11 Rural Development’’. 

12 (12) Section 347 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1995) 

13 is amended by striking ‘‘Farmers Home Administra14 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘Farm Service Agency and 

15 Rural Development’’. 

16 (13) Section 356 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2004) 

17 is amended— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘Farmers Home Adminis19 tration may’’ and inserting ‘‘Farm Service 

20 Agency and Rural Development may’’; and 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘the inventory of the 

22 Farmers Home Administration’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘inventory’’. 

24 (14) Section 370(a) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

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1 opment Administration, the Farmers Home Admin2 istration, the Rural Electrification Administration’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘Rural Development, the Farm Serv4 ice Agency, the Rural Utilities Service’’. 

5 (15) Each of the following provisions of such 

6 Act is amended by striking ‘‘Farmers Home Admin7 istration’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Farm 

8 Service Agency’’: 

9 (A) Section 309(g)(1) (7 U.S.C. 

10 1929(g)(1)). 

11 (B) Section 331A(a) (7 U.S.C. 1981a(a)). 

12 (C) Section 333A(a)(2)(B) (7 U.S.C. 

13 1983a(a)(2)(B)). 

14 (D) Section 333A(e)(1) (7 U.S.C. 

15 1983a(e)(1)). 

16 (E) Section 335(d) (7 U.S.C. 1985(d)). 

17 (F) Section 353A (7 U.S.C. 2001a). 

18 (G) Section 349(e)(1)(B) (7 U.S.C. 

19 1997(e)(1)(B)). 

20 (H) Section 361 (7 U.S.C. 2006c). 

21 (d) Section 335(c)(1) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

22 1985(c)(1)) is amended— 

23 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘15’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘60’’; 

25 (2) in subparagraph (B)(i)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘135’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘180’’; and 

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘suitable for farming and 

4 ranching, as determined by the Secretary’’ be5 fore the comma; and 

6 (3) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘not later 

7 than 135 days after acquiring the real property, the 

8 Secretary shall, not later than 30 days after the 

9 135-day period,’’ and inserting ‘‘or if the property is 

10 not suitable for farming and ranching as determined 

11 by the Secretary, not later than 60 days after the 

12 180-day period, the Secretary shall’’. 

13 (e) CORRECTION OF INFEASIBLE INVENTORY PROP14 ERTY DISPOSITION FRAMEWORK.— 

15 (1) Section 331(b)(1) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

16 1981(b)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘, and until Jan17 uary’’ and all that follows through ‘‘fit)’’. 

18 (2) Section 335(f) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

19 1985(f)) is amended— 

20 (A) by striking paragraphs (3) through (5) 

21 and redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph 

22 (3); and 

23 (B) by striking paragraph (7) and insert24 ing the following: 


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1 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall issue regulations consistent 

2 with this section that ensures the release of funds to each 

3 borrower.’’. 

4 (f) REPLACEMENT OF REFERENCES TO DISTRICT

5 OFFICE WITH REFERENCES TO DISTRICT DIRECTOR.— 

6 Section 333A(a)(2)(B) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

7 1983a(a)(2)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘district office’’ 

8 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘District Director’’. 

9 (g) CORRECTION OF OBSOLETE REFERENCE TO

10 FORMER TRUST TERRITORIES.—Section 343(a)(6) of 

11 such Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(6)) is amended by striking 

12 ‘‘the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of 

14 Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands’’. 

15 (h) REVISION OF FARMER PROGRAM LOAN DEFINI16 TION.—Section 343(a)(10) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

17 1991(a)(10)) is amended by inserting ‘‘before June 18, 

18 2008, conservation loan (CL) under section 304 on or 

19 after June 18, 2008,’’ before ‘‘emergency loan (EM)’’. 

20 (i) ELIMINATION OF INCONSISTENCY BETWEEN

21 RULES APPLICABLE TO BEGINNING FARMERS.—Section 

22 343(a)(11)(C) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(11)(C)) is 

23 amended by striking ‘‘related to one another by blood or 

24 marriage’’ and inserting ‘‘qualified beginning farmers’’. 


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1 (j) UPDATING OF PROVISIONS TO REFLECT

2 REPURPOSING OF CONSERVATION LOAN PROVISIONS.— 

3 (1) Section 303(a) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

4 1923(a)) is amended in each of paragraphs (1)(D) 

5 and (2)(D) by striking ‘‘described in section 304’’. 

6 (2) Section 310D of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1934) 

7 is amended by striking ‘‘, or paragraphs (1) through 

8 (5) of section 304(a),’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

9 304(a)’’. 

10 (k) UPDATING OF NOTICE PROVISION REQUIREMENT

11 AND LIFETIME DEBT FORGIVENESS LIMIT.—Section 353 

12 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2001) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (i)(1), by striking ‘‘registered 

14 or certified mail’’ and inserting ‘‘any method that 

15 provides documentation of delivery’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (o), by striking ‘‘$300,000’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘$600,000’’. 

18 (l) UPDATING OF OBSOLETE REFERENCE TO THE

19 SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE.—Section 306(a)(13) of 

20 such Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(13)) is amended by striking 

21 ‘‘Soil Conservation Service’’ and inserting ‘‘Natural Re22 sources Conservation Service’’. 

23 (m) CLARIFICATION OF INTEREST RATE REQUIRE24 MENTS.— 


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1 (1) Section 307(a)(3)(B) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

2 1927(a)(3)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘not be—’’ 

3 and all that follows and inserting ‘‘be equal to the 

4 interest rate for direct farm ownership loans under 

5 this subtitle, not to exceed 5 percent per year.’’. 

6 (2) Section 316(a)(2) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

7 1946(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘not be—’’ and 

8 all that follows and inserting ‘‘be equal to the inter9 est rate for direct farm ownership loans under this 

10 subtitle, not to exceed 5 percent per year.’’. 

11 (n) CORRECTION OF HEADING.—Section 309(h)(6) 

12 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1929(h)(6)) is amended in the para13 graph heading by striking ‘‘BEGINNING FARMER LOANS’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘DOWN PAYMENT LOAN PROGRAM PARTICI15 PANT’’. 

16 (o) ELIMINATION OF SUPERFLUOUS RESTRIC17 TIONS.—Section 312 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1942) is 

18 amended by striking subsection (d) and redesignating sub19 section (e) as subsection (d). 

20 (p) ELIMINATION OF CONFUSING REFERENCES TO

21 LOAN GUARANTEES.—Section 319 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

22 1949) is amended— 

23 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘OR

24 GUARANTEE’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘or with respect to whom there 

2 is an outstanding guarantee under this subtitle’’. 

3 (q) ELIMINATION OF OBSOLETE REPORTING RE4 QUIREMENTS.—Section 346 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1994) 

5 is amended by striking subsections (c) and (d). 

6 (r) CORRECTION OF OBSOLETE APPEALS PROVI7 SIONS.— 

8 (1) Section 352(c)(3) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

9 2000(c)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 333B’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘subtitle H of title II of Federal Crop 

11 Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture 

12 Reorganization Act of 1994’’. 

13 (2) Section 353 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 2001) is 

14 amended— 

15 (A) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘under 

16 section 333B’’; and 

17 (B) in subsection (j)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘filed with the appeals 

19 division under section 333B’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘to the National Appeals Division’’; 

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘appeals division 

22 shall’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary shall’’; and 

23 (iii) by striking ‘‘county supervisor’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’. 


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1 (s) ELIMINATION OF UNNECESSARY CONSTRAINT ON

2 PILOT PROJECTS.—Section 333D(a) of such Act (7 

3 U.S.C. 1983d(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘that are con4 sistent with subtitle A through this subtitle’’. 

5 (t) CORRECTION OF HEADING.—The paragraph 

6 heading in section 8.8(a)(3) of the Farm Credit Act of 

7 1971 (12 U.S.C. 2279aa–8(a)(3)) is amended by striking 

8 ‘‘MORTGAGE LOANS’’ and inserting ‘‘LOAN QUALITY’’. 

9 TITLE V—RURAL DEVELOPMENT 

10 Subtitle A—Improving Health 

11 Outcomes in Rural America 

12 SEC. 5101. PRIORITIZATIONS FOR DISTANCE LEARNING 

13 AND TELEMEDICINE AND COMMUNITY FA14 CILITIES PROGRAM. 

15 Section 6101(a) of the Agriculture Improvement Act 

16 of 2018 (132 Stat. 4726; Public Law 115–334) is amend17 ed— 

18 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

19 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

20 (A), by striking ‘‘2025’’ and inserting ‘‘2026’’; 

21 (B) in subparagraph (A)— 

22 (i) in clause (i)— 

23 (I) in the heading, by striking 

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1 ASIDE’’ and inserting ‘‘SET-ASIDE’’; 

2 and 

3 (II) by inserting ‘‘, mental 

4 health, behavioral health, or maternal 

5 health’’ before ‘‘treatment’’; and 

6 (ii) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘mental 

7 health, behavioral health, maternal health, 

8 or’’ before ‘‘substance’’; 

9 (C) in subparagraph (B)— 

10 (i) in clause (i)— 

11 (I) in the heading, by striking 

12 ‘‘SUBSTANCE ABUSE DISORDER SE13 LECTION’’ and inserting ‘‘SELEC14 TION’’; 

15 (II) in subclause (I), by inserting 

16 ‘‘mental health, behavioral health, ma17 ternal health, or’’ before ‘‘substance’’; 

18 and 

19 (III) in subclause (II), by insert20 ing ‘‘mental health concerns, behav21 ioral health concerns, maternal health 

22 concerns, or’’ before ‘‘substance’’; and 

23 (ii) in clause (ii), by inserting ‘‘, be24 havioral health treatment, mental health 


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1 treatment, or maternal health, respec2 tively’’ before the period; and 

3 (D) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘be4 havioral health, mental health, maternal health, 

5 or’’ before ‘‘substance’’; and 

6 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2025’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘2026’’. 

8 SEC. 5102. DISTANCE LEARNING AND TELEMEDICINE 

9 LOANS AND GRANTS. 

10 Section 2335A of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva11 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 950aaa–5) is 

12 amended by striking ‘‘$82,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

13 2019 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘$82,000,000 for each 

14 of fiscal years 2025 through 2029, to remain available for 

15 2 fiscal years after the fiscal year for which appropriated’’. 

16 Subtitle B—Connecting Rural 

17 Americans to High Speed 

18 Broadband 

19 SEC. 5201. RURAL BROADBAND PROGRAM LOANS AND 

20 GRANTS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 601 of the Rural Elec22 trification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb) is amended— 

23 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘AC24 CESS TO BROADBAND TELECOMMUNICATIONS


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1 SERVICES IN RURAL AREAS’’ and inserting ‘‘RE2 CONNECT RURAL BROADBAND PROGRAM’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘The purpose’’ 

4 and all that follows through ‘‘provide funds for’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘The Secretary shall establish a program, 

6 which shall be known as the ‘ReConnect Rural 

7 Broadband Program’, to provide grants, loans, and 

8 loan guarantees to finance’’; 

9 (3) in subsection (c)— 

10 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert11 ing the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

13 grants, loans, and loan guarantees to eligible entities 

14 described in subsection (d) for the purpose of financ15 ing the construction, improvement, or acquisition of 

16 facilities and equipment necessary for delivering 

17 broadband service in rural areas.’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking subpara19 graphs (A) and (B) and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In making grants, 

21 making loans, and guaranteeing loans under 

22 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give the 

23 highest priority to applications for projects to 

24 provide broadband service to unserved rural 


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1 communities that do not have any residential 

2 broadband service of at least— 

3 ‘‘(i) a 25–Mbps downstream trans4 mission capacity; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) a 3–Mbps upstream transmission 

6 capacity. 

7 ‘‘(B) OTHER.—After giving priority to the 

8 applications described in subparagraph (A), the 

9 Secretary shall then give priority to applica10 tions— 

11 ‘‘(i) for projects to provide broadband 

12 service to rural communities— 

13 ‘‘(I) with a population of less 

14 than 10,000 inhabitants; or 

15 ‘‘(II) in geographically under16 served and distressed areas, includ17 ing— 

18 ‘‘(aa) a socially vulnerable 

19 community (as determined by the 

20 Secretary); 

21 ‘‘(bb) a persistent poverty 

22 county (as determined by the 

23 Secretary); or 


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1 ‘‘(cc) in an economically dis2 tressed area (as determined by 

3 the Secretary); 

4 ‘‘(ii) that were developed with the par5 ticipation of, and will receive a substantial 

6 portion of the funding or in-kind assistance 

7 for the project from, 2 or more stake8 holders, including— 

9 ‘‘(I) State, local, and tribal gov10 ernments; 

11 ‘‘(II) nonprofit institutions; 

12 ‘‘(III) community anchor institu13 tions, such as— 

14 ‘‘(aa) public libraries; 

15 ‘‘(bb) elementary schools 

16 and secondary schools (as defined 

17 in section 8101 of the Elemen18 tary and Secondary Education 

19 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801)); 

20 ‘‘(cc) institutions of higher 

21 education (including 1862 Land22 Grant Institutions, 1890 Land23 Grant Institutions, 1994 Land24 Grant Institutions, Hispanic25 Serving Institutions, and HistoriVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00315 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 cally Black Colleges and Univer2 sities); 

3 ‘‘(dd) health care facilities; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ee) facilities essential for 

6 local or regional commerce or for 

7 the movement of goods; 

8 ‘‘(IV) private entities; 

9 ‘‘(V) philanthropic organizations; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(VI) cooperatives; or 

12 ‘‘(iii) that are submitted by an eligible 

13 entity or is owned by an entity that has 

14 provided broadband service or other utility 

15 service for at least 5 years in rural areas 

16 in the State in which the project would be 

17 carried out.’’; 

18 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

19 (i) in subparagraph (B)— 

20 (I) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end 

21 of clause (i); 

22 (II) by striking the period at the 

23 end of clause (ii) and inserting ‘‘; 

24 and’’; and 


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1 (III) by adding at the end the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(iii) shall be subject to a grant 

4 agreement of not less than 10 years.’’; 

5 (ii) by striking subparagraphs (C) and 

6 (D) and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(C) APPLICATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) GRANT-ONLY APPLICATIONS.— 

9 The Secretary shall establish an applica10 tion process that permits an application for 

11 a grant-only award. 

12 ‘‘(ii) COMBINED APPLICATIONS.—The 

13 Secretary shall establish an application 

14 process that— 

15 ‘‘(I) permits a single application 

16 for a grant and a loan under title I or 

17 II, or this title, that is associated with 

18 the grant; and 

19 ‘‘(II) provides a single decision to 

20 award the grant and the loan.’’; 

21 (iii) by redesignating subparagraph 

22 (E) as subparagraph (D); and 

23 (iv) by striking subparagraph (F); and 

24 (D) by striking paragraph (4) and insert25 ing the following: 


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1 ‘‘(4) FEES.— 

2 ‘‘(A) INITIAL GUARANTEE FEE.—The Sec3 retary may assess an initial guarantee fee for 

4 any insured or guaranteed loan issued or modi5 fied under this section in an amount that does 

6 not exceed 3 percent of the guaranteed prin7 cipal portion of the loan. 

8 ‘‘(B) PERIODIC RETENTION FEE.—The 

9 Secretary may assess a periodic retention fee 

10 for any insured or guaranteed loan or modified 

11 under this section in an amount that does not 

12 exceed 0.75 percent of the outstanding principal 

13 of the guarantee loan. 

14 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE.—In altering any fee 

15 charged for any insured or guaranteed loan 

16 issued or modified under this section, the Sec17 retary, not less than 30 days in advance of any 

18 fee change, shall provide a public disclosure, of 

19 the financial data, economic and behavioral as20 sumptions, calculations, and other factors used 

21 to determine the new fee rates.’’; 

22 (4) in subsection (d)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

24 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (I) in clause (i), by adding ‘‘and’’ 

2 at the end; and 

3 (II) by striking ‘‘require; and’’ 

4 and all that follows through ‘‘agree’’ 

5 and insert ‘‘require, and agree’’; 

6 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

7 (B) as subparagraph (E) and inserting 

8 after subparagraph (A) the following: 

9 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—An entity eligible to 

10 obtain assistance under subsection (c) may in11 clude— 

12 ‘‘(i) a State or local government, in13 cluding any agency, subdivision, instru14 mentality, or political subdivision of a 

15 State or local government; 

16 ‘‘(ii) a territory or possession of the 

17 United States; 

18 ‘‘(iii) an Indian Tribe (as defined in 

19 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

20 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

21 5304)); 

22 ‘‘(iv) a cooperative or mutual organi23 zation; 

24 ‘‘(v) an organization of 2 or more in25 corporated areas that have established an 


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1 intermunicipal legal agreement for the pur2 poses of delivering communication services 

3 to residents; 

4 ‘‘(vi) a corporation; or 

5 ‘‘(vii) a limited liability company or 

6 limited liability partnership. 

7 ‘‘(C) INELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An indi8 vidual or legal general partnership that is 

9 formed with individuals shall not be eligible to 

10 obtain a grant, loan, or grant and loan com11 bination under subsection (c). 

12 ‘‘(D) AFFILIATED OWNED AND OPERATED

13 NETWORKS.—Under this subsection, the Sec14 retary may fund the construction of networks 

15 owned and operated by an affiliate of an eligible 

16 entity receiving the grant, loan, or loan guar17 antee, if the eligible entity, the affiliate, or 

18 both, as determined necessary by the Secretary, 

19 furnishes adequate security for the grant, loan, 

20 or loan guarantee.’’; and 

21 (iii) in subparagraph (E) (as so redes22 ignated by clause (ii) of this subpara23 graph), by inserting ‘‘, directly or in con24 junction with any combination of affili25 ates,’’ before ‘‘may not’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

2 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

3 (I) by striking ‘‘subparagraphs 

4 (B) and (C)’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara5 graph (B)’’; 

6 (II) by striking ‘‘is submitted—’’ 

7 and all that follows through ‘‘(i) not 

8 less than 50’’ and inserting ‘‘is sub9 mitted not less than 75’’; and 

10 (III) by striking ‘‘(e); and’’ and 

11 all that follows and inserting ‘‘(e).’’; 

12 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

13 ‘‘(A)(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘(A)’’; and 

14 (iii) by striking subparagraph (C); 

15 and 

16 (C) by striking paragraphs (4) and (5); 

17 (5) in subsection (e)— 

18 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘Subject to paragraph 

20 (2), for’’ and inserting ‘‘For’’; 

21 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

22 ‘‘25’’ and inserting ‘‘50’’; and 

23 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

24 ‘‘3’’ and inserting ‘‘25’’; 


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1 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert2 ing the following: 

3 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary may ad4 just, through a 30-day public notice and comment 

5 period published in the Federal Register, an increase 

6 in the minimum level of broadband service under 

7 paragraph (1) of no more than 50 percent from the 

8 preceding year, if less than 95 percent of the funds 

9 of the program are obligated in the preceding 2 

10 funding rounds.’’; and 

11 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

12 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik13 ing ‘‘BUILDOUT’’ and inserting ‘‘PROJECT

14 AGREEMENT’’; and 

15 (ii) by striking subparagraphs (B) 

16 through (D) and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(B) BROADBAND BUILDOUT STANDARDS

18 DEFINED.—A project must meet the following 

19 applicable broadband standard in order to be 

20 considered for assistance; 

21 ‘‘(i) A project with an award term of 

22 less than 8 years must provide service at 

23 2 times the minimum broadband speed es24 tablished in subsection (e)(1). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) A project with an award term of 

2 at least 8 years and less than 14 years 

3 must provide service at 5 times the min4 imum broadband speed established in sub5 section (e)(1). 

6 ‘‘(iii) A project with an award term of 

7 14 or more years must provide service at 

8 10 times the minimum broadband speed 

9 established in subsection (e)(1). 

10 ‘‘(C) NETWORK UPGRADE PLANNING.— 

11 The Secretary may prioritize an applicant seek12 ing to meet the broadband buildout standards 

13 under clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (B) if 

14 the applicant submits information regarding the 

15 potential for the physical infrastructure of the 

16 network to be upgraded to meet the broadband 

17 buildout standards under subparagraph (B)(iii) 

18 at the time of the application, assuming reason19 able progress in relevant networking tech20 nologies.’’; 

21 (6) by striking subsection (j) and inserting the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 


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1 out this section $350,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 

2 through 2029, to remain available until expended.’’; and 

3 (7) in subsection (k), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

5 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 270 days after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

7 promulgate rules to carry out the amendments made by 

8 subsection (a) of this section, and complete the biennial 

9 review process required by section 601(e)(2) of the Rural 

10 Electrification Act of 1936. 

11 (c) SUNSET.—The authorities provided by section 

12 779 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public 

13 Law 115–141) shall have no force or effect beginning 270 

14 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

15 (d) TRANSITION RULES.— 

16 (1) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR ADMINISTRA17 TIVE COSTS.—Not more than 1 percent of the unob18 ligated balances of amounts made available, as of 

19 the date that is 270 days after the date of the enact20 ment of this Act, to carry out the pilot program de21 scribed in section 779 of the Consolidated Appro22 priations Act, 2018 (Public Law 115–141) may be 

23 used for the costs of transitioning from the pilot 

24 program to the program under section 601 of the 


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1 Rural Electrification Act of 1936, as amended by 

2 this Act. 

3 (2) CONSOLIDATION OF FUNDS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The unobligated bal5 ances of all amounts made available on or be6 fore June 30, 2025, to carry out the pilot pro7 gram described in section 779 of the Consoli8 dated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Public Law 

9 115–141) that are in excess of the amount de10 scribed in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph 

11 are hereby transferred to and merged with 

12 amounts made available to carry out the pro13 gram authorized under section 601 of the Rural 

14 Electrification Act of 1936. 

15 (B) UNFUNDED APPROVALS.—The amount 

16 described in this subparagraph is the amount 

17 required to fully fund each project approved as 

18 of the date that is 270 days after the date of 

19 the enactment of this Act, under the pilot pro20 gram described in such section 779 for which 

21 amounts were not obligated or partially obli22 gated as of such date. 


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1 SEC. 5202. EXPANSION OF MIDDLE MILE INFRASTRUCTURE 

2 INTO RURAL AREAS. 

3 Section 602(g) of the Rural Electrification Act of 

4 1936 (7 U.S.C. 950bb–1(g)) is amended by striking 

5 ‘‘2018 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 

6 2029’’. 

7 SEC. 5203. INNOVATIVE BROADBAND ADVANCEMENT PRO8 GRAM. 

9 Section 603 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 

10 (7 U.S.C. 950bb–2) is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 603. INNOVATIVE BROADBAND ADVANCEMENT PRO12 GRAM. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

14 program to be known as the ‘Innovative Broadband Ad15 vancement Program’, under which the Secretary may pro16 vide a grant, a loan, or both to an eligible entity for the 

17 purpose of demonstrating innovative broadband tech18 nologies or methods of broadband deployment that signifi19 cantly decrease the cost of broadband deployment, and 

20 provide substantially faster broadband speeds than are 

21 available, in a rural area. 

22 ‘‘(b) TERRESTRIAL BROADBAND DEMONSTRATION

23 PROJECTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

25 grants or loans to eligible entities for the purpose of 

26 deploying innovative broadband technologies to 


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1 qualified consumers who subscribe to terrestrial 

2 broadband service in rural areas. 

3 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to obtain as4 sistance under this subsection for a project, an enti5 ty shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) submit to the Secretary an applica7 tion— 

8 ‘‘(i) that describes a terrestrial 

9 broadband demonstration project designed 

10 to decrease the cost of broadband deploy11 ment, and substantially increase broadband 

12 speed to not less than the maximum 

13 broadband project agreement requirements 

14 established under section 601(e)(4), to 

15 qualified consumers in a rural area to be 

16 served by the project; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) at such time, in such manner, 

18 and containing such other information as 

19 the Secretary may require; 

20 ‘‘(B) demonstrate that the entity is able to 

21 carry out the project; and 

22 ‘‘(C) agree to complete the project build23 out within 5 years after the date the assistance 

24 is first provided for the project. 


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1 ‘‘(3) PRIORITIZATION.—In awarding assistance 

2 under this subsection, the Secretary shall give pri3 ority to proposals for projects that— 

4 ‘‘(A) involve partnerships between or 

5 among multiple entities; 

6 ‘‘(B) would provide broadband service to 

7 the greatest number of rural entities at or 

8 above the broadband requirements referred to 

9 in paragraph (2)(A)(i); 

10 ‘‘(C) the Secretary determines could be 

11 replicated in rural areas described in paragraph 

12 (2); and 

13 ‘‘(D) are located in States and territories 

14 selected by the Secretary to be diverse on the 

15 basis of geography, topography, and demo16 graphics. 

17 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED CONSUMER.—In this sub18 section, the term ‘qualified consumer’ means— 

19 ‘‘(A) an individual or member of a house20 hold who lives in a rural area; 

21 ‘‘(B) a rural small business; or 

22 ‘‘(C) an essential community facility, as 

23 defined pursuant to section 306(a) of the Con24 solidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

25 U.S.C. 1926(a)). 


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1 ‘‘(5) RURAL AREA.—In this subsection, the 

2 term ‘rural area’ has the meaning provided in sec3 tion 601(b)(3). 

4 ‘‘(c) SATELLITE BROADBAND DEMONSTRATION

5 PROJECTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subsection 

7 is to reduce or eliminate the costs to access satellite 

8 broadband service for remote subscribers. 

9 ‘‘(2) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

10 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi11 ble entity’ means a broadband service provider 

12 that provides Internet access directly to quali13 fied consumers in remote areas via satellite 

14 technology. 

15 ‘‘(B) QUALIFIED CONSUMER.—The term 

16 ‘qualified consumer’ means a consumer served 

17 by an eligible entity that receives a grant under 

18 paragraph (3), who is— 

19 ‘‘(i) an individual or a member of a 

20 household at or below the poverty line (as 

21 defined in section 673(2) of the Omnibus 

22 Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, includ23 ing any revision required by such section, 

24 applicable to a family of the size involved); 

25 or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an essential community facility, 

2 as defined pursuant to section 306(a) of 

3 the Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop4 ment Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)). 

5 ‘‘(C) SATELLITE BROADBAND EQUIP6 MENT.—The term ‘satellite broadband equip7 ment’ means user terminals, wi-fi routers, 

8 power supplies, mounts, and any other equip9 ment necessary to connect a qualified consumer 

10 to satellite broadband service. 

11 ‘‘(D) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

12 means the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

13 through the Administrator of the Rural Utilities 

14 Service. 

15 ‘‘(E) REMOTE.—The term ‘remote’ means 

16 a region classified within level 3 or level 4 of 

17 the frontier and remote zip code areas pub18 lished by the Economic Research Service of the 

19 Department of Agriculture. 

20 ‘‘(3) GRANTS TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph 

22 (B), the Secretary shall make grants to eligible 

23 entities for the purpose of reducing or elimi24 nating the cost associated with the purchase or 

25 installation, or both, of satellite broadband 


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1 equipment to qualified consumers to subscribe 

2 to satellite broadband service in remote areas. 

3 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—As a condition of 

4 receiving a grant under this subsection, an eli5 gible entity shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) provide retail broadband service 

7 delivered via satellite technology to quali8 fied consumers, that— 

9 ‘‘(I) enables a qualified consumer 

10 to the service to originate and receive 

11 high-quality voice, data, graphics, 

12 video; and 

13 ‘‘(II) has a latency which does 

14 not exceed 250 milliseconds; 

15 ‘‘(ii) submit to the Secretary an appli16 cation at such time, in such manner, and 

17 containing such other information as the 

18 Secretary may require; 

19 ‘‘(iii) agree to reduce or eliminate the 

20 cost associated with the purchase, installa21 tion, or both, of satellite broadband equip22 ment for qualified consumers; and 

23 ‘‘(iv) agree to provide qualified con24 sumers with the reduction or elimination of 


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1 that cost within 1 year of the assistance 

2 being obligated to the eligible entity. 

3 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBILITY MAP OF QUALIFIED CON4 SUMERS.—Within 1 year after the date of the 

5 enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, 

6 the Secretary shall publish a map of the remote 

7 areas of qualified consumers that do not have 

8 access to terrestrial broadband service of at 

9 least— 

10 ‘‘(i) a 25–Mbps downstream trans11 mission capacity; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) a 3–Mbps upstream transmission 

13 capacity. 

14 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Within 1 year after the date of the 

15 enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the 

16 Secretary shall submit a comprehensive report to the Com17 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and 

18 the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of 

19 the Senate that shall provide the outcomes, effectiveness, 

20 and impact of the Innovative Broadband Advancement 

21 Program, including— 

22 ‘‘(1) an assessment of the broadband infra23 structure funded, including the scope, scale, nature 

24 and geographic locations of each award; 


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1 ‘‘(2) the broadband access and speeds achieved, 

2 including the download and upload speeds, latency, 

3 and overall network reliability; 

4 ‘‘(3) any technical or logistical challenges en5 countered by the eligible entities; and 

6 ‘‘(4) any recommendations for future innovative 

7 broadband deployment initiatives in rural areas. 

8 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

10 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.’’. 

11 SEC. 5204. COMMUNITY CONNECT GRANTS. 

12 Section 604 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 

13 (7 U.S.C. 950bb–3) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)(2)— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘10’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘25’’; and 

17 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘1’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘3’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (c)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

21 the end; 

22 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe23 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (C) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) provides broadband speeds not less than 

2 the broadband project agreement requirements es3 tablished under section 601(e)(4)(B)(ii) to the eligi4 ble entity within the proposed eligible service area.’’; 

5 and 

6 (3) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘2019 through 

7 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 

8 SEC. 5205. RATE REGULATION. 

9 Title VI of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 

10 U.S.C. 950bb–950bb–5) is amended by adding at the end 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 607. RATE REGULATION. 

13 ‘‘Nothing in this title authorizes the Secretary to reg14 ulate rates charged for broadband service.’’. 

15 SEC. 5206. PUBLIC NOTICE, ASSESSMENTS, TECHNICAL AS16 SISTANCE, AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

17 Section 701 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 

18 (7 U.S.C. 950cc) is amended— 

19 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘TECH20 NICAL ASSISTANCE,’’ before ‘‘AND’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (a)(1)(B)(i), by inserting ‘‘, 

22 including a complete shapefile map’’ before the semi23 colon; 

24 (3) in subsection (b)— 

25 (A) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

3 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

4 (B) as subparagraph (C) and inserting 

5 after subparagraph (A) the following: 

6 ‘‘(B) validate the information submitted by 

7 service providers under subparagraph (A) 

8 through procedures established by the Sec9 retary, which shall include an agency deter10 mination provided to the submitter, an oppor11 tunity of the submitter to respond, and a final 

12 non-appealable determination of the Secretary; 

13 and’’; and 

14 (iii) in subparagraph (C) (as so redes15 ignated by clause (ii) of this subpara16 graph), by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘subparagraph (A)’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking all that 

19 precedes subparagraph (B) and inserting the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(2) ASSESSMENT OF ELIGIBILITY.—In making 

22 any determination to award a loan, loan guarantee, 

23 or grant for any retail broadband project provided 

24 assistance or for which assistance is sought that is 

25 administered by the Secretary, the Secretary shall 


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1 confirm that each unserved rural community identi2 fied in the application is eligible for funding by— 

3 ‘‘(A) utilizing the map created by the Fed4 eral Communications Commission under section 

5 802(c)(1)(A) of the Communications Act of 

6 1934 and the Deployment Locations Map estab7 lished under section 60104(b) of the Infrastruc8 ture Investment and Jobs Act (47 U.S.C. 

9 1704(b));’’; and 

10 (4) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(e) BROADBAND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PRO13 GRAM.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make 

15 grants to private, nonprofit, or public organizations 

16 to provide or receive eligible entities broadband tech17 nical assistance and training to expand access to 

18 broadband service in rural communities through the 

19 broadband programs of the Department of Agri20 culture including— 

21 ‘‘(A) preparing applications for grants, 

22 loans and loan guarantees under this section; 

23 ‘‘(B) identifying resources to finance 

24 broadband facilities from public and private 

25 sources, including other Federal agencies; 


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1 ‘‘(C) preparing feasibility studies, financial 

2 forecasts, market surveys, environmental stud3 ies, and technical design information to support 

4 broadband services; 

5 ‘‘(D) preparing reports and surveys nec6 essary to support the need for broadband serv7 ices, the price range, and request financial as8 sistance; 

9 ‘‘(E) analyzing and improving operations 

10 related to the management, including financial 

11 management, of broadband facilities and to the 

12 efficiency of the entity; 

13 ‘‘(F) collecting broadband infrastructure 

14 data; or 

15 ‘‘(G) assisting with other areas of need 

16 identified by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—To be eligible to ob18 tain assistance under this subsection, an entity shall 

19 be— 

20 ‘‘(A) a federally recognized tribe or tribal 

21 entity; 

22 ‘‘(B) a State or local government, includ23 ing any agency, subdivision, instrumentality, or 

24 political subdivision thereof; 


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1 ‘‘(C) a territory or possession of the 

2 United States; 

3 ‘‘(D) an institution of higher education (in4 cluding a 1862 Land-Grant Institution, 1890 

5 Land-Grant Institution, 1994 Land-Grant In6 stitution, Hispanic-Serving Institution, or His7 torically Black College or University); 

8 ‘‘(E) a nonprofit organization described in 

9 section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code 

10 of 1986; 

11 ‘‘(F) a cooperative or mutual organization; 

12 ‘‘(G) a corporation; or 

13 ‘‘(H) a limited liability company or limited 

14 liability partnership. 

15 ‘‘(3) SELECTION PRIORITY.—In selecting recipi16 ents of grants under this paragraph, the Secretary 

17 shall give priority to organizations that have experi18 ence in providing technical assistance and training 

19 to rural entities. 

20 ‘‘(4) NATIONAL APPLICATIONS.—The Secretary 

21 shall allow applications for grants under this para22 graph from qualified organizations for the sole pur23 pose of providing on-site community technical assist24 ance and training on a national or multi-State re25 gional basis. 


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1 ‘‘(f) ASSISTANCE FOR COMMUNITY BROADBAND

2 MAPPING.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 

4 grants to eligible entities for the purpose of col5 lecting broadband service data to assist the Sec6 retary in— 

7 ‘‘(A) establishing the availability of 

8 broadband service or middle mile infrastructure 

9 in a rural area; 

10 ‘‘(B) determining the eligibility of a com11 munity for assistance under any broadband pro12 gram administered by the Secretary; 

13 ‘‘(C) undertaking a service area assess14 ment under this section; or 

15 ‘‘(D) collecting information to submit a 

16 challenge to the National Broadband Map cre17 ated by the Federal Communications Commis18 sion pursuant to section 802(c)(1) of the Com19 munications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(c)(1)). 

20 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—To apply for a grant 

21 under this section, an entity shall submit an applica22 tion which identifies— 

23 ‘‘(A) the data collection area; 

24 ‘‘(B) the purpose of the data collection; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the types of broadband service data 

2 to be collected; 

3 ‘‘(D) the survey and data collection meth4 ods utilized; and 

5 ‘‘(E) any other information the Secretary 

6 determines necessary to promote the integrity 

7 of broadband service collected under this sec8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION OF GRANT AMOUNT.—The 

10 amount of a grant made available under this sub11 section shall not exceed $50,000. 

12 ‘‘(4) BROADBAND SERVICE DATA USAGE.—The 

13 Secretary shall ensure that any broadband service 

14 data collected under this section is— 

15 ‘‘(A) measured or assessed in accordance 

16 with such standards as are established by the 

17 Federal Communications Commission pursuant 

18 to section 802(a)(1)(A) of the Communications 

19 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(a)(1)(A)); 

20 ‘‘(B) accurate and verifiable in accordance 

21 with such standards as are established by the 

22 Federal Communications Commission pursuant 

23 to section 802(a)(1)(A) of the Communications 

24 Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 642(a)(1)(A)); 


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1 ‘‘(C) included in any broadband maps or 

2 data sets maintained by the Secretary; and 

3 ‘‘(D) made available to the Chair of the 

4 Federal Communications Commission and the 

5 Administrator of the National Telecommuni6 cations and Information Administration for in7 clusion in any broadband maps or data sets ei8 ther may maintain. 

9 ‘‘(5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

10 ‘‘(A) BROADBAND SERVICE.—The term 

11 ‘broadband service’ has the same meaning given 

12 the term in section 601. 

13 ‘‘(B) BROADBAND SERVICE DATA.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term 

15 ‘broadband service data’ means informa16 tion related to— 

17 ‘‘(I) the location and type of 

18 broadband service; 

19 ‘‘(II) the location and type of 

20 broadband infrastructure; 

21 ‘‘(III) the advertised, maximum, 

22 and average speed of broadband serv23 ice; 


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1 ‘‘(IV) the average price of the 

2 most subscribed tier of broadband 

3 service; 

4 ‘‘(V) the speed tiers of broadband 

5 service available in the area; or 

6 ‘‘(VI) any additional metric the 

7 Secretary deems appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(ii) FURTHER DEFINITION.—The 

9 Secretary shall further define the term 

10 ‘broadband service area’ to ensure that 

11 data is measured and collected in a man12 ner consistent with the reporting require13 ments under this section, and any 

14 broadband coordination or data-sharing ob15 ligations. 

16 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligi17 ble entity’ means— 

18 ‘‘(i) a unit of local government in a 

19 rural area; 

20 ‘‘(ii) a tribal government or unit of 

21 tribal government; 

22 ‘‘(iii) an economic development or 

23 other community organization; 

24 ‘‘(iv) an eligible entity under title I or 

25 II that serves persons in rural areas; 


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1 ‘‘(v) an internet service provider that 

2 has not more than 100,000 subscribers; or 

3 ‘‘(vi) any other entity eligible under a 

4 title VI program that is not an internet 

5 service provider. 

6 ‘‘(D) MIDDLE MILE INFRASTRUCTURE.— 

7 The term ‘middle mile infrastructure’ has the 

8 meaning given the term in section 602. 

9 ‘‘(E) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘rural area’ 

10 has the meaning given the term in section 601. 

11 ‘‘(6) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT MADE AVAILABLE

12 FOR GRANTS.—The Secretary may not expend more 

13 than 1 percent of the amounts made available under 

14 subsection (g) for each of fiscal years 2025 through 

15 2029 to carry out this subsection. 

16 ‘‘(g) LIMITATIONS ON RESERVATION OF FUNDS.— 

17 Not less than 3 but not more than 5 percent of the 

18 amounts appropriated to the program to carry out title 

19 VI shall be set aside to be used for— 

20 ‘‘(1) conducting oversight under such title; 

21 ‘‘(2) implementing accountability measures and 

22 related activities authorized under such title; or 

23 ‘‘(3) carrying out this section.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5207. LIMITATION ON OVERBUILDING. 

2 Title VI of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 

3 U.S.C. 950bb et seq.) is further amended by adding at 

4 the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 608. LIMITATION ON OVERBUILDING. 

6 ‘‘Any area in a proposed service area under this title 

7 shall not be considered unserved if an applicant in another 

8 Federal or State broadband program has received an obli9 gation of funding to offer retail broadband service in the 

10 area not more than 5 years from the date of the obligation 

11 of funds, at a speed of at least 100 Mbps download and 

12 20 Mbps upload.’’. 

13 Subtitle C—Miscellaneous 

14 SEC. 5301. RURAL ENERGY SAVINGS PROGRAM. 

15 Section 6407 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest16 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8107a) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (b)— 

18 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

19 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

20 ‘‘, if the entity continues to serve rural 

21 areas (as defined in section 343(a)(13)(A) 

22 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De23 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(A))’’ 

24 before the semicolon; 

25 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

26 ‘‘or’’ at the end; and 


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1 (iii) by redesignating subparagraph 

2 (C) as subparagraph (E) and inserting 

3 after subparagraph (B) the following: 

4 ‘‘(C) any Indian Tribe (as defined in sec5 tion 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and 

6 Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)); 

7 ‘‘(D) any public, quasi-public, or nonprofit 

8 entity that uses innovative financing techniques 

9 and market development tools to accelerate the 

10 deployment of energy efficiency technology; or’’; 

11 (B) by striking paragraph (2) and insert12 ing the following: 

13 ‘‘(2) ENERGY EFFICIENCY MEASURES.—The 

14 term ‘energy efficiency measures’ means, with re15 spect to any property service by an eligible entity— 

16 ‘‘(A) a structural improvement or invest17 ment in a cost-effective, commercial technology 

18 to increase energy efficiency (including cost-ef19 fective on-or off-grid renewable energy or en20 ergy storage system); and 

21 ‘‘(B) the replacement of a manufactured 

22 housing unit or large appliance with a substan23 tially similar manufacturing housing unit or ap24 pliance, respectively, if that replacement is a 


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1 cost-effective option with respect to energy sav2 ings.’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (c)— 

4 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

5 ‘‘AND GRANTS’’ before ‘‘TO’’; 

6 (B) by striking paragraph (1) and insert7 ing the following: 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to this subsection, 

9 the Secretary shall provide— 

10 ‘‘(A) loans to eligible entities that agree to 

11 use the loan funds to make loans under sub12 section (d) to qualified consumers for the pur13 pose of implementing energy efficiency meas14 ures; and 

15 ‘‘(B) at the election of any eligible entity 

16 that receives a loan under subparagraph (A) of 

17 this paragraph, a grant in accordance with 

18 paragraph (11).’’; 

19 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

20 through (9) as paragraphs (3) through (10), re21 spectively, and inserting after paragraph (1) the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(2) PRIORITIZATION.—The Secretary shall 

24 give priority to applications from eligible entities 

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1 ing in rural areas, as defined in section 

2 343(a)(13)(A) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

3 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(A)).’’; 

4 (D) in paragraph (3) (as so redesignated 

5 by subparagraph (C) of this paragraph)— 

6 (i) in the paragraph heading, by in7 serting ‘‘FOR LOANS’’ before the period; 

8 and 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (A)(i), by strik10 ing ‘‘that is’’; 

11 (E) by striking paragraph (6) (as so redes12 ignated by subparagraph (C) of this paragraph) 

13 and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(6) REPAYMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara16 graph (B) of this paragraph, with respect to a 

17 loan under paragraph (1)(A)— 

18 ‘‘(i) the term shall not exceed 20 

19 years from the date on which the loan is 

20 closed; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) except as provided in paragraph 

22 (8), the repayment of each advance shall 

23 be amortized for a period not to exceed 10 

24 years. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXTENSIONS.—The Secretary may 

2 extend the term of a loan under subparagraph 

3 (A)(i), or the deadline for repayment of an ad4 vance under subparagraph (A)(ii), as the Sec5 retary determines appropriate.’’; 

6 (F) in paragraph (8) (as so redesignated 

7 by subparagraph (C) of this paragraph)— 

8 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

9 ‘‘(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘(1)(A)’’; and 

10 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

11 ‘‘Repayment’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to an 

12 applicable extension under paragraph 

13 (6)(B), repayment’’; 

14 (G) by striking paragraph (9) (as so redes15 ignated by subparagraph (C) of this paragraph) 

16 and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(9) LIMITATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) SPECIAL ADVANCES.—All special ad19 vances shall be made under a loan described in 

20 paragraph (1) during the first 10 years of the 

21 term of the loan. 

22 ‘‘(B) REPLACEMENT OF MANUFACTURED

23 HOUSING UNITS OR LARGE APPLIANCES.—Not 

24 more than 10 percent of the total annual 

25 amount of budget authority for loans described 


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1 in paragraph (1) may be used for the replace2 ment of manufactured housing units or large 

3 appliances.’’; and 

4 (H) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(11) GRANTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—At the election of an 

7 eligible entity that receives a loan under this 

8 subsection, the Secretary may provide to the eli9 gible entity a grant to pay for a portion of the 

10 costs incurred in— 

11 ‘‘(i) making repairs to the property of 

12 a qualified consumer that facilitates the 

13 energy efficiency measures for the property 

14 financed through a loan provided to the 

15 qualified consumer under subsection (d); or 

16 ‘‘(ii) providing technical assistance, 

17 outreach, and training. 

18 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro20 vided in clause (ii), the amount of a grant 

21 provided to an eligible entity under this 

22 paragraph shall be equal to not more than 

23 5 percent of the amount of the loan pro24 vided to the eligible entity under this sub25 section. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) PERSISTENT POVERTY COUN2 TIES.—The amount of a grant provided 

3 under this paragraph to an eligible entity 

4 that will use the grant to make loans 

5 under subsection (d) to qualified con6 sumers located in a persistent poverty 

7 county (as determined by the Secretary) 

8 shall be equal to 10 percent of the amount 

9 of the loan provided to the eligible entity 

10 under this subsection.’’; 

11 (3) in subsection (d)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (i) in the matter preceding subpara14 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘or grant’’ before 

15 ‘‘funds’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking subparagraphs (B) and 

17 (C) and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(B)(i) may have a term and amortization 

19 schedule the length of which is the useful life 

20 of the energy efficiency measures implemented 

21 using the loan, if the loan term does not exceed 

22 20 years; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) shall finance energy efficiency meas24 ures for the purpose of decreasing energy usage 

25 or costs of the qualified consumer by an 


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1 amount that ensures, to the maximum extent 

2 practicable, that the applicable loan term de3 scribed in clause (i) will not pose an undue fi4 nancial burden on the qualified consumer, as 

5 determined by the eligible entity; 

6 ‘‘(C) shall not be used to fund purchases 

7 of, or modifications to, personal property unless 

8 the personal property— 

9 ‘‘(i) is a manufactured housing unit or 

10 large appliance described in subsection 

11 (b)(2)(B); or 

12 ‘‘(ii) is or becomes attached to real 

13 property as a fixture;’’; and 

14 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(3) CLARIFICATION OF ELIGIBILITY.—Not16 withstanding any other provision of law (including 

17 regulations), an eligible entity may make a loan 

18 under this subsection to any qualified consumer lo19 cated within the service territory of the eligible enti20 ty, regardless of whether the qualified consumer is 

21 located in a rural area.’’; 

22 (4) in subsection (e)— 

23 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

24 ‘‘OUTREACH,’’ before ‘‘AND TECHNICAL ASSIST25 ANCE’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

2 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

3 ‘‘and technical assistance of the program’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘outreach, and technical as5 sistance relating to the program under this 

6 section’’; and 

7 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by insert8 ing ‘‘, outreach,’’ before ‘‘and training’’; 

9 and 

10 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(3) FUNDING.—Not less than 3 but not more 

12 than 5 percent of amounts appropriated under sub13 section (i) may be used to provide outreach, train14 ing, and technical assistance under this subsection.’’; 

15 and 

16 (5) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘2014 through 

17 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 

18 SEC. 5302. REGIONAL COMMISSION REAUTHORIZATION. 

19 (a) STATE CAPACITY BUILDING PROGRAM.—Section 

20 6304(c)(9)(A) of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 

21 2018 (40 U.S.C. 15501 note) is amended by striking 

22 ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 

23 2029’’. 

24 (b) REGIONAL COMMISSION.—Section 15751(a) of 

25 title 40, United States Code, is amended by striking 


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1 ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 

2 2029’’. 

3 SEC. 5303. PROMOTING PRECISION AGRICULTURE. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) ADVANCED WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS

6 TECHNOLOGY.—The term ‘‘advanced wireless com7 munications technology’’ means advanced technology 

8 that contributes to mobile (5G or beyond) networks, 

9 next-generation Wi-Fi networks, or other future net10 works using other technologies, regardless of wheth11 er the network is operating on an exclusive licensed, 

12 shared licensed, or unlicensed frequency band. 

13 (2) ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE.—The term ‘‘ar14 tificial intelligence’’ has the meaning given the term 

15 in section 238(g) of the John S. McCain National 

16 Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 

17 (Public Law 115–232; 10 U.S.C. note prec. 4061). 

18 (3) FOREIGN ADVERSARY.—The term ‘‘foreign 

19 adversary’’ means any foreign government or foreign 

20 nongovernment person engaged in a long-term pat21 tern or serious instances of conduct significantly ad22 verse to the national security of the United States, 

23 or security and safety of United States persons. 

24 (4) PRECISION AGRICULTURE; PRECISION AGRI25 CULTURE TECHNOLOGY.—The terms ‘‘precision agriVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00353 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 culture’’ and ‘‘precision agriculture technology’’ have 

2 the meanings given the terms in section 1201 of the 

3 Food Security Act of 1985. 

4 (5) TRUSTED.—The term ‘‘trusted’’ means, 

5 with respect to a provider of advanced communica6 tions service or a supplier of communications equip7 ment or service, that the Secretary has determined 

8 that the provider or supplier is not owned by, con9 trolled by, or subject to the influence of, a foreign 

10 adversary. 

11 (6) VOLUNTARY CONSENSUS STANDARDS DE12 VELOPMENT ORGANIZATION.—The term ‘‘voluntary 

13 consensus standards development organization’’ 

14 means an organization that develops standards in a 

15 process that meets the principles for the develop16 ment of voluntary consensus standards (as defined 

17 in the document of the Office of Management and 

18 Budget entitled ‘‘Federal Participation in the Devel19 opment and Use of Voluntary Consensus Standards 

20 and in Conformity Assessment Activities’’ (OMB 

21 Circular A–119)). 

22 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 

23 (1) to enhance the participation of precision ag24 riculture in the United States; and 


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1 (2) to promote United States leadership in vol2 untary consensus standards development organiza3 tions that set standards for precision agriculture. 

4 (c) INTERCONNECTIVITY STANDARDS FOR PRECI5 SION AGRICULTURE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in 

8 consultation with the Director of the National Insti9 tute of Standards and Technology and the Federal 

10 Communications Commission, shall— 

11 (A) develop voluntary, consensus-based, 

12 private sector-led interconnectivity standards, 

13 guidelines, and best practices for precision agri14 culture that will promote economies of scale and 

15 ease the burden of the adoption of precision ag16 riculture; and 

17 (B) in carrying out subparagraph (A)— 

18 (i) coordinate with relevant public and 

19 trusted private sector stakeholders and 

20 other relevant industry organizations, in21 cluding voluntary consensus standards de22 velopment organizations; and 

23 (ii) consult with sector-specific agen24 cies, other appropriate agencies, and State 

25 and local governments. 


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1 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Secretary, in car2 rying out paragraph (1), shall, in consultation with 

3 the Federal Communications Commission and the 

4 Director of the National Institute of Standards and 

5 Technology, consider— 

6 (A) the evolving demands of precision agri7 culture; 

8 (B) the connectivity needs of precision ag9 riculture technology; 

10 (C) the cybersecurity challenges facing pre11 cision agriculture, including cybersecurity 

12 threats for agriculture producers and agri13 culture supply chains; 

14 (D) the impact of advanced wireless com15 munications technology on precision agriculture; 

16 and 

17 (E) the impact of artificial intelligence on 

18 precision agriculture. 

19 (d) GAO ASSESSMENT OF PRECISION AGRICULTURE

20 STANDARDS.— 

21 (1) STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the 

22 Secretary develops standards under subsection (c), 

23 and every 2 years thereafter for the following 8 

24 years, the Comptroller General of the United States 

25 shall conduct a study that assesses those standards, 


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1 including the extent to which those standards, as ap2 plicable— 

3 (A) are voluntary; 

4 (B) were developed in coordination with 

5 relevant industry organizations, including vol6 untary consensus standards development orga7 nizations; and 

8 (C) have successfully encouraged the adop9 tion of precision agriculture. 

10 (2) REPORT.—The Comptroller General of the 

11 United States shall submit to the Committee on 

12 Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Sen13 ate, the Committee on Science, Space, and Tech14 nology of the House of Representatives, the Com15 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Representa16 tives, and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

17 and Forestry of the Senate a report that summa18 rizes the findings of each study conducted under 

19 paragraph (1). 

20 SEC. 5304. FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN GUARANTEED LOANS. 

21 Section 310B of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

22 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932) is amended by inserting 

23 after subsection (e) the following: 

24 ‘‘(f) FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN CAPACITY AND RESIL25 IENCE GUARANTEED LOANS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN

2 GUARANTEED LOAN.—In this subsection, the term 

3 ‘food supply chain guaranteed loan’ means a busi4 ness and industry guaranteed loan that is made or 

5 guaranteed by the Secretary under subsection 

6 (a)(2)(A), including a guarantee described in sub7 section (a)(3). 

8 ‘‘(2) PURPOSE.—A food supply chain guaran9 teed loan may be made for the purpose of financing 

10 new investments in the start-up or expansion of 

11 projects in the United States that will increase the 

12 capacity of the food supply chain in the United 

13 States to aggregate, process, manufacture, store, 

14 transport, wholesale, or distribute food, agricultural 

15 products, or agricultural inputs. 

16 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.—The maximum amount of 

17 a food supply chain guaranteed loan shall not exceed 

18 $40,000,000. 

19 ‘‘(4) LOAN GUARANTEES IN NONRURAL

20 AREAS.—The Secretary may guarantee a food supply 

21 chain guaranteed loan to an eligible entity for a fa22 cility that is not located in a rural area if— 

23 ‘‘(A) the primary purpose of the loan guar24 antee is for a facility to aggregate, process, 

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1 tribute food agricultural products, or agricul2 tural inputs for agricultural producers or proc3 essors that are located within 80 miles of the 

4 facility; 

5 ‘‘(B) the applicant demonstrates to the 

6 Secretary that the primary benefit of the loan 

7 guarantee will be to provide employment for 

8 residents of a rural area; and 

9 ‘‘(C) the total principal amount of food 

10 supply chain guaranteed loans guaranteed for a 

11 fiscal year under this paragraph does not ex12 ceed 10 percent of the total principal amount of 

13 food supply chain guaranteed loans made for 

14 the fiscal year under subsection (a)(2)(A). 

15 ‘‘(5) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal 

17 years 2025 through 2029, the Secretary shall 

18 reserve not more than 5 percent of the funds 

19 made available to carry out subsection (a) to 

20 carry out this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Funds re22 served under subparagraph (A) for a fiscal year 

23 shall be reserved until April 1 of the fiscal 

24 year.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5305. NEW, MOBILE, AND EXPANDED MEAT PROC2 ESSING AND RENDERING GRANTS. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti5 ty’’ means— 

6 (A) a public, private, or cooperative organi7 zation organized on a for-profit or nonprofit 

8 basis, including a small establishment and very 

9 small establishment; 

10 (B) an Indian Tribe (as defined in section 

11 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu12 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)); 

13 (C) a land-grant college or university (as 

14 defined in section 1404 of the National Agricul15 tural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy 

16 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)); 

17 (D) a non-land-grant college of agriculture 

18 (as defined in that section); and 

19 (E) a State department of agriculture or 

20 other applicable State office with authority over 

21 meat and poultry processing and rendering. 

22 (2) SMALL ESTABLISHMENT; VERY SMALL ES23 TABLISHMENT.—The terms ‘‘small establishment’’ 

24 and ‘‘very small establishment’’ have the meanings 

25 given the terms ‘‘smaller establishment’’ and ‘‘very 

26 small establishment’’, respectively, in the final rule 


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1 entitled ‘‘Pathogen Reduction; Hazard Analysis and 

2 Critical Control Point (HACCP) Systems’’ (61 Fed. 

3 Reg. 38806 (July 25, 1996)) (or successor regula4 tions). 

5 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 

6 (1) to create more resilient local and regional 

7 food systems; 

8 (2) to expand, diversify, and increase resilience 

9 in meat and poultry processing and rendering activi10 ties; 

11 (3) to increase farmer and rancher access to 

12 animal slaughter options; 

13 (4) to improve compliance of processors with 

14 livestock and poultry processing statutes (including 

15 regulations), including the Federal Meat Inspection 

16 Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and the Poultry Prod17 ucts Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.); 

18 (5) to reduce barriers to entry for new meat 

19 and poultry processors and renderers; 

20 (6) to establish new, or update, expand, or oth21 erwise improve existing, meat and poultry processing 

22 and rendering facilities; and 

23 (7) to support the processing and slaughtering 

24 of niche production methods such as halal, kosher, 

25 and other specific cultural methods. 


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1 (c) GRANTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall award 

3 grants to eligible entities to use in accordance with 

4 subsection (d). 

5 (2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The maximum 

6 amount of a grant awarded under paragraph (1) 

7 shall not exceed $500,000. 

8 (3) DURATION.—The term of a grant awarded 

9 under paragraph (1) shall not exceed 3 years. 

10 (4) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under para11 graph (1), the Secretary shall give priority to small 

12 establishments and very small establishments. 

13 (d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiving a 

14 grant under this section shall use the grant to carry out 

15 activities in support of the purposes described in sub16 section (b), including activities— 

17 (1) to identify and analyze business opportuni18 ties, including feasibility studies required for credit 

19 worthiness; 

20 (2) to achieve compliance with applicable Fed21 eral, State, or local regulations; 

22 (3) to conduct regional, community, and local 

23 economic development planning and coordination 

24 and leadership development; 


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1 (4) to incentivize new, innovative, or mobile en2 terprises for increasing or improving local and re3 gional meat or poultry processing and rendering; 

4 (5) to implement humane handling infrastruc5 ture, including holding space for livestock prior to 

6 slaughter, shade structures, and structures and 

7 equipment for humane slaughter; 

8 (6) to develop a feasibility study or business 

9 plan for, or carry out any other activity associated 

10 with, establishing or expanding a small meat or 

11 poultry slaughter, processing, or rendering facility; 

12 (7) to purchase equipment that enables the fur13 ther use or value-added sale of coproducts or by14 products; and 

15 (8) to purchase cold storage and related equip16 ment. 

17 (e) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the ac18 tivities carried out using a grant awarded under this sec19 tion shall not exceed— 

20 (1) 90 percent in the case of a grant in the 

21 amount of $100,000 or less; or 

22 (2) 75 percent in the case of a grant in an 

23 amount greater than $100,000. 

24 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

25 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 


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1 out this section $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 

2 through 2029. 

3 SEC. 5306. EXPANDING CHILDCARE IN RURAL AMERICA INI4 TIATIVE. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) CHILDCARE.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘childcare’’ 

8 means any program that— 

9 (i) provides quality care and early 

10 education for children who have not yet en11 tered first grade; and 

12 (ii) is operated by— 

13 (I) an eligible childcare provider 

14 described in section 658P(6)(A) of the 

15 Child Care and Development Block 

16 Grant Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

17 9858n(6)(A)); or 

18 (II) a childcare provider that, on 

19 the date of enactment of this Act— 

20 (aa) is licensed, regulated, 

21 or registered in the State, terri22 tory, or Indian Tribe in which 

23 the provider is located; and 


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1 (bb) meets applicable State, 

2 Tribal, territorial, and local 

3 health and safety requirements. 

4 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘childcare’’ 

5 includes— 

6 (i) a school-based program described 

7 in subparagraph (A); 

8 (ii) a facility used for a program de9 scribed in subparagraph (A); and 

10 (iii) a service provided under a pro11 gram described in subparagraph (A). 

12 (2) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘‘Initiative’’ means 

13 the Expanding Childcare in Rural America Initiative 

14 established under subsection (b). 

15 (3) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘‘rural area’’ has 

16 the meaning given the term in section 343(a)(13)(A) 

17 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 

18 Act. 

19 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

20 an initiative, to be known as the ‘‘Expanding Childcare 

21 in Rural America Initiative’’, under which the Secretary 

22 shall provide, for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2027, 

23 priority in accordance with subsection (c) to address the 

24 availability, quality, and cost of childcare in rural areas. 

25 (c) CHILDCARE PRIORITIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

2 provision of law, in selecting recipients of loans and 

3 grants under a program described in paragraph (2), 

4 the Secretary shall give priority to any qualified ap5 plicant that proposes to use the loan or grant to ad6 dress the availability, quality, or cost of childcare. 

7 (2) DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAMS.—The pro8 grams referred to in paragraph (1) are the following: 

9 (A) The essential community facilities loan 

10 and grant programs authorized under section 

11 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

12 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)). 

13 (B) The business and industry direct and 

14 guaranteed loan program authorized under sec15 tion 310B(g) of that Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(g)). 

16 (C) The rural microentrepreneur assistance 

17 program authorized under section 379E of that 

18 Act (7 U.S.C. 2008s). 

19 (D) The intermediary relending program 

20 authorized under the Food Security Act of 

21 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1936b). 

22 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—In providing funding in ac23 cordance with the Initiative, the Secretary shall ensure a 

24 balanced geographical distribution of the benefits under 

25 the Initiative. 


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1 (e) EVALUATION; REPORT.— 

2 (1) EVALUATION.—Not later than 3 years after 

3 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

4 shall conduct a comprehensive quantitative and qual5 itative evaluation of the projects carried out using 

6 assistance provided under the Initiative, including— 

7 (A) a description of— 

8 (i) the types of projects carried out; 

9 (ii) the communities in which the 

10 projects are carried out; 

11 (iii) the organizations and entities 

12 participating in the projects; and 

13 (iv) the types of partnerships devel14 oped to carry out the projects; and 

15 (B) the economic and social impacts of the 

16 investments in the projects. 

17 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

19 submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

20 and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on 

21 Agriculture of the House of Representatives a report 

22 describing the evaluation conducted under paragraph 

23 (1), including a thorough analysis of the outcomes of 

24 the evaluation. 


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1 SEC. 5307. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR GEOGRAPHICALLY 

2 UNDERSERVED AND DISTRESSED AREAS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Within 1 year after the date of 

4 the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall directly, 

5 or through cooperative agreements, provide technical as6 sistance and strengthen local capacity to improve access 

7 to rural development programs administered by the Sec8 retary for local partners (including local governments, co9 operatives, businesses, and community anchor institu10 tions) in geographically underserved and distressed areas. 

11 (b) REPORTS.—Beginning 1 year after the date of 

12 the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall annually 

13 publish, make available to the public, and submit to the 

14 Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives 

15 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For16 estry of the Senate a report on how the provision of tech17 nical assistance under subsection (a) has affected geo18 graphically underserved and distressed areas in the year 

19 covered by the report. 

20 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) GEOGRAPHICALLY UNDERSERVED AND DIS22 TRESSED AREA.—The term ‘‘geographically under23 served and distressed area’’ means a rural area (as 

24 defined in section 343(a)(13)(A) of the Consolidated 

25 Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

26 1991(a)(13)(A)))— 


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1 (A) in a socially vulnerable community (as 

2 determined by the Secretary); 

3 (B) in a persistent poverty county (as de4 termined by the Secretary); 

5 (C) in an economically distressed area (as 

6 determined by the Secretary); or 

7 (D) in a colonia. 

8 (2) COMMUNITY ANCHOR INSTITUTION.—The 

9 term ‘‘community anchor institution’’ means— 

10 (A) a public library; 

11 (B) an elementary or secondary school; 

12 (C) an institution of higher education; 

13 (D) a health care facility; or 

14 (E) any other nonprofit or governmental 

15 community support organization. 

16 SEC. 5308. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RURAL DEVELOPMENT 

17 INNOVATION CENTER. 

18 Subtitle D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De19 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1981- 2008w) is amended by 

20 adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 379J. RURAL DEVELOPMENT INNOVATION CENTER. 

22 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT MISSION

23 AREAS.—In this section, the term ‘Rural Development 

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1 ing the Rural Utilities Service, Rural Business-Coopera2 tive Service, and the Rural Housing Service. 

3 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established 

4 within the Rural Development Mission Areas a Rural De5 velopment Innovation Center (the ‘Innovation Center’) to 

6 promote and facilitate innovation in the administration 

7 and implementation of rural development programs and 

8 initiatives. 

9 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—The Innovation Center shall— 

10 ‘‘(1) review all processes for Rural Development 

11 Mission Area programs to identify inefficiencies, 

12 redundancies, and barriers to access, including— 

13 ‘‘(A) unnecessary delays in loan and grant 

14 applications processing and approvals; 

15 ‘‘(B) high application costs; and 

16 ‘‘(C) deficiencies in technical assistance for 

17 programs; 

18 ‘‘(2) establish and maintain an ongoing public 

19 process for public and private stakeholders to pro20 vide perspectives on the challenges faced when ap21 plying for, utilizing, or participating in Rural Devel22 opment Mission Area programs; 

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1 ciency and effectiveness of rural development pro2 grams and initiatives; 

3 ‘‘(4) foster and maintain partnerships with pub4 lic and private stakeholders to leverage expertise and 

5 resources for the Rural Development Mission Areas; 

6 ‘‘(5) promote cross-agency collaborations and 

7 identify best practices in rural economic develop8 ment; 

9 ‘‘(6) identify and implement technological solu10 tions and software applications to improve the effec11 tiveness and efficiency of Rural Development Mis12 sion Area programs, including enhancing data man13 agement systems; 

14 ‘‘(7) conduct research, analysis, and evaluation 

15 to modernize, simplify, and improve Rural Develop16 ment Mission Area programs, and ensure that the 

17 programs are accessible, transparent, and user18 friendly; and 

19 ‘‘(8) disseminate information, guidance, and 

20 training materials to Rural Development Mission 

21 Area personnel and stakeholders on innovative rural 

22 development practices and opportunities. 

23 ‘‘(d) MODERNIZATION PLAN.—The Innovation Cen24 ter shall develop, and periodically update, a modernization 

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1 menting rural development programs and initiatives 

2 that— 

3 ‘‘(1) outlines strategies aimed at harnessing the 

4 potential of emerging technologies for program deliv5 ery and overall service; 

6 ‘‘(2) enhances program efficiencies by identi7 fying and implementing measures to streamline pro8 gram and administrative processes, reduce 

9 redundancies, and optimize resource allocation; 

10 ‘‘(3) expands the availability and accessibility of 

11 digital services, leveraging digital platforms and 

12 tools to broaden the reach of the programs and im13 prove the overall user experience for rural stake14 holders; 

15 ‘‘(4) integrates data-driven solutions to optimize 

16 program delivery and maximize impact and effective17 ness of the efforts in rural development; and 

18 ‘‘(5) establishes periodic milestones and goals to 

19 track the progress of the modernization plan. 

20 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit an annual 

21 report to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 

22 Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri23 tion, and Forestry of the Senate on— 

24 ‘‘(1) the activities and accomplishments of the 

25 Innovation Center, including progress in advancing 


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1 rural development innovation and the outcome 

2 achieved; 

3 ‘‘(2) a comprehensive working plan designed to 

4 actively engage public and private stakeholders, as 

5 described in subsection (c)(2); and 

6 ‘‘(3) the progress on the modernization plan de7 scribed in subsection (d).’’. 

8 SEC. 5309. RURAL HEALTH LIAISON REPORT. 

9 Section 236 of the Department of Agriculture Reor10 ganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6946) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (b)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

13 the end; 

14 (B) in paragraph (9), by striking the pe15 riod and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

16 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(10) coordinate with the National Institute of 

18 Food and Agriculture in implementation of the 

19 Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network pro20 vided for in section 7522 of the Food, Conservation, 

21 and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 5936).’’; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—The Rural Health Liaison shall sub24 mit an annual report to the Committee on Agriculture of 

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1 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate outlining 

2 the activities conducted under subsection (b).’’. 

3 SEC. 5310. PRECISION AGRICULTURE TASK FORCE AMEND4 MENTS. 

5 Section 12511(b) of the Agriculture Improvement 

6 Act of 2018 (132 Stat. 4992) is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

8 (A) in subparagraph (A)— 

9 (i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘2025’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘2026’’; and 

11 (ii) by redesignating clauses (iv) 

12 through (vi) as clauses (vi) through (viii), 

13 respectively, and inserting after clause (iii) 

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(iv) conduct a comprehensive evalua16 tion of international standards and guide17 lines pertaining to precision agriculture 

18 policies and offer recommendations on 

19 their suitability and integration within the 

20 United States regulatory framework; 

21 ‘‘(v) review the competitive and secu22 rity implications of the use and deployment 

23 of precision agricultural technologies by 

24 foreign governments or state sponsored en25 tities in third countries;’’; and 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘(v) 

2 and (vi)’’ and inserting ‘‘(vii) and (viii)’’; and 

3 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘2025’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘2026’’. 

5 Subtitle D—Additional Amend6 ments to the Consolidated Farm 

7 and Rural Development Act 

8 SEC. 5401. WATER, WASTE DISPOSAL, AND WASTEWATER 

9 FACILITY GRANTS. 

10 Section 306(a)(2)(B)(vii) of the Consolidated Farm 

11 and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(2)(B)(vii)) 

12 is amended by striking ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 

14 SEC. 5402. RURAL WATER AND WASTEWATER CIRCUIT 

15 RIDER PROGRAM. 

16 Section 306(a)(22) of the Consolidated Farm and 

17 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(22)) is amend18 ed to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(22) RURAL WATER AND WASTEWATER CIR20 CUIT RIDER PROGRAM.— 

21 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, 

22 through the Rural Utilities Service, shall con23 tinue a national rural water and wastewater cir24 cuit rider program that is consistent with the 

25 activities and results of the program conducted 


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1 before the date of enactment of this Act, and 

2 with this section, as determined by the Sec3 retary. 

4 ‘‘(B) PURPOSE.—The Rural Water and 

5 Wastewater Circuit Rider Program shall pro6 vide a network of expert rural water Circuit 

7 Riders located in all 50 States, including 

8 United States territories and Freely Associated 

9 States, which work one-on-one with eligible 

10 rural water and wastewater systems in major 

11 assistance categories described in subparagraph 

12 (D). The program is intended to help rural 

13 water systems operate effectively and efficiently 

14 and achieve long-term sustainability and com15 pliance with certain Federal laws and require16 ments, including the Safe Water Drinking Act 

17 (42 U.S.C. 300f et seq.) and the Clean Water 

18 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.). 

19 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In selecting re20 cipients of grants, contracts, and cooperative 

21 agreements to be made available for activities 

22 listed under subparagraph (D), the Secretary 

23 shall select nonprofit organizations that have 

24 demonstrated experience providing technical as25 sistance and disaster and recovery assistance 


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1 for water and wastewater utilities nationwide. 

2 Awardees shall rely on personnel that possess 

3 active water and wastewater operators’ licenses 

4 or overall knowledge of water utilities necessary 

5 to carry out eligible activities under subpara6 graph (D). 

7 ‘‘(D) ELIGIBLE USES OF FUNDS.—An eli8 gible entity shall use funds under the Rural 

9 Water and Wastewater Circuit Rider program 

10 for a rural water, wastewater, or wastewater 

11 disposal facility for— 

12 ‘‘(i) technical assistance, including— 

13 ‘‘(I) Board training; 

14 ‘‘(II) managerial and financial 

15 operations with the effort to enhance 

16 the long-term sustainability of rural 

17 water and wastewater systems, includ18 ing partnerships, consolidation, and 

19 regionalization; 

20 ‘‘(III) physical operation and 

21 maintenance of rural water and 

22 wastewater infrastructure; 

23 ‘‘(IV) water treatment; 

24 ‘‘(V) regulatory compliance; 

25 ‘‘(VI) facility security; 


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1 ‘‘(VII) loan application and re2 porting; 

3 ‘‘(VIII) cybersecurity; or 

4 ‘‘(IX) other areas the Secretary 

5 deems appropriate; 

6 ‘‘(ii) disaster and recovery assistance 

7 including— 

8 ‘‘(I) direct on-site personnel and 

9 equipment to eligible utilities; 

10 ‘‘(II) coordinating in statewide 

11 emergency response networks; 

12 ‘‘(III) facilitating the develop13 ment of action plans between utilities, 

14 local governments, the Federal Emer15 gency Management Agency and the 

16 State emergency management agen17 cies; 

18 ‘‘(IV) resiliency and mitigation 

19 planning; 

20 ‘‘(V) GIS mapping; 

21 ‘‘(VI) updating vulnerability as22 sessments, preparation of emergency 

23 response plans, communication proto24 cols, hazard recognition and evalua25 tion skills; 


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1 ‘‘(VII) conducting preliminary 

2 damage assessments of critical infra3 structure; 

4 ‘‘(VIII) addressing outstanding 

5 deficiencies focused on resolving 

6 health-based regulatory, operational, 

7 financial, and managerial deficiencies 

8 that impact the sustainability of the 

9 affected utilities; 

10 ‘‘(IX) application and reporting 

11 assistance for Federal and State re12 quirements including Federal Emer13 gency Management Agency and insur14 ance recovery claims; 

15 ‘‘(X) providing for disaster readi16 ness, support, and response activities 

17 targeted to disadvantaged commu18 nities that lack the financial resources 

19 and human capital necessary to ade20 quately address significant health, 

21 safety, or sanitary concerns; and 

22 ‘‘(XI) other areas the Secretary 

23 deems appropriate. 

24 ‘‘(iii) ADDITIONAL USES.—In response 

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1 lated to natural disasters and emergencies, 

2 not more than 5 percent of each award 

3 may be used to purchase or reimburse the 

4 rental costs of appropriate emergency 

5 equipment, as determined by the Sec6 retary. 

7 ‘‘(E) ELIGIBLE PROJECT AREAS.—To re8 ceive assistance under the Rural Water and 

9 Wastewater Circuit Rider Program and carry 

10 out activities, an eligible entity must serve— 

11 ‘‘(i) an area with a population of— 

12 ‘‘(I) 10,000 or fewer inhabitants 

13 for technical assistance under sub14 paragraph (D)(i); or 

15 ‘‘(II) 50,000 or fewer inhabitants 

16 for disaster and recovery assistance 

17 under subparagraph (D)(ii); and 

18 ‘‘(ii) a public body, non-profit cor19 poration, or Indian tribe with legal author20 ity to own and operate the water facility. 

21 ‘‘(F) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA22 TIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated 

23 to carry out this paragraph $25,000,000 for fis24 cal year 2025 through fiscal year 2029.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5403. ZERO AND LOW INTEREST LOANS FOR DIS2 TRESSED WATER SYSTEMS. 

3 Section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

4 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)) is amended by in5 serting after paragraph (22) the following: 

6 ‘‘(23) ASSISTANCE FOR DISTRESSED WATER

7 SYSTEMS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) To promote the long-term sustain9 ability and financial viability of eligible rural 

10 community waste disposal and water facilities 

11 as described in subparagraph (B), for any enti12 ty described in subparagraph (C), the Secretary 

13 may— 

14 ‘‘(i) make a zero percent interest loan 

15 or a 1 percent interest loan pursuant to 

16 paragraph (1); 

17 ‘‘(ii) forgive the principal or interest, 

18 or modify any term or condition of a new 

19 or existing loan made pursuant to para20 graph (1); 

21 ‘‘(iii) refinance all or part of any 

22 other loan made for an eligible purpose 

23 under paragraph (1) of this subsection or 

24 section 306C; or 


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1 ‘‘(iv) waive any fee required to insure 

2 or guarantee a loan pursuant to paragraph 

3 (1) or (24). 

4 ‘‘(B) To promote the long-term sustain5 ability and financial viability of eligible entities, 

6 the Secretary shall— 

7 ‘‘(i) provide assistance to an eligible 

8 entity for the purpose of— 

9 ‘‘(I) ensuring the entity has nec10 essary resources to maintain public 

11 health, safety, or order; 

12 ‘‘(II) addressing financial hard13 ships of the eligible entity, its cus14 tomers, and the community it serves; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(III) identifying the financial 

17 stability of the eligible entity, includ18 ing— 

19 ‘‘(aa) operational practices; 

20 ‘‘(bb) revenue enhance21 ments; 

22 ‘‘(cc) policy revisions; 

23 ‘‘(dd) partnerships, regional24 ization, or consolidation of water 

25 systems; and 


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1 ‘‘(ee) contract services; 

2 ‘‘(ii) require an applicant to— 

3 ‘‘(I) receive financial planning as4 sistance; and 

5 ‘‘(II) prepare a long-term finan6 cial plan. 

7 ‘‘(C) An entity shall be eligible for assist8 ance under this paragraph if the entity— 

9 ‘‘(i) is a rural water, wastewater, or 

10 wastewater disposal system with respect to 

11 which assistance may be provided under a 

12 water or wastewater, or waste disposal pro13 gram under this subsection or section 

14 306A, 306C, or 306D, and 

15 ‘‘(ii) is— 

16 ‘‘(I) located in a socially dis17 advantaged community, a persistent 

18 poverty county, colonia, or distressed 

19 tribal area, as determined by the Sec20 retary; or 

21 ‘‘(II) facing an economic hard22 ship as defined by the Secretary.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5404. TRIBAL COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY ESSENTIAL 

2 COMMUNITY FACILITIES. 

3 Section 306(a)(25)(C) of the Consolidated Farm and 

4 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(25)(C)) is 

5 amended by striking ‘‘2008 through 2023’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 

7 SEC. 5405. EMERGENCY AND IMMINENT COMMUNITY 

8 WATER ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 306A(i)(2) of the Consoli10 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

11 1926a(i)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 

13 SEC. 5406. WATER SYSTEMS FOR RURAL AND NATIVE VIL14 LAGES IN ALASKA. 

15 Section 306D(d)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and 

16 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926d(d)(1)) is amend17 ed by striking ‘‘2008 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 

18 through 2029’’. 

19 SEC. 5407. RURAL DECENTRALIZED WATER SYSTEMS. 

20 Section 306E of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

21 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926e) is amended to read 

22 as follows: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 306E. RURAL DECENTRALIZED WATER SYSTEMS. 

24 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

25 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUAL.—The term ‘eligible 

26 individual’ means an individual who is a member of 


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1 a household the members of which have a combined 

2 income (for the most recent 12-month period for 

3 which the information is available) that is not more 

4 than 80 percent of the median nonmetropolitan 

5 household income for the State or territory in which 

6 the individual resides, according to the most recent 

7 decennial census of the United States. 

8 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE GRANT RECIPIENT.—The term 

9 ‘eligible grant recipient’ means a private nonprofit 

10 organization that uses a grant provided under this 

11 section for the purposes described in subsection 

12 (b)(1). 

13 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED WATER QUALITY TESTING.— 

14 The term ‘qualified water quality testing’ means a 

15 baseline analysis of the bacterial and chemical char16 acteristics of concern from a drinking water sample 

17 collected at the point of consumption and tested by 

18 a laboratory certified to conduct water quality test19 ing that is provided to— 

20 ‘‘(A) the Secretary; and 

21 ‘‘(B) the eligible grant recipient receiving a 

22 grant under this section and any eligible indi23 vidual served by the eligible grant recipient. 

24 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 

2 grants to an eligible grant recipient for the purpose 

3 of— 

4 ‘‘(A) providing loans and subgrants to eli5 gible individuals for— 

6 ‘‘(i) the construction, refurbishing, 

7 and servicing of individual household water 

8 well systems and individually owned house9 hold decentralized wastewater systems in 

10 rural areas that are or will be owned by 

11 the eligible individuals; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) in the event of ground well water 

13 contamination, the installation or replace14 ment of water treatment, where needed as 

15 determined by a qualified water quality 

16 test or other third party documentation to 

17 the satisfaction of the Secretary; 

18 ‘‘(B) performing qualified water quality 

19 testing of individual household water well sys20 tems and individually utilized household decen21 tralized wastewater systems in rural areas that 

22 are or will be utilized by the eligible individuals; 

23 or 

24 ‘‘(C) providing technical assistance to eligi25 ble individuals for— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the installation or replacement of 

2 individual household water well systems 

3 and individually owned household decen4 tralized wastewater systems in rural areas 

5 that are or will be owned by the eligible in6 dividuals; 

7 ‘‘(ii) interpreting qualified water qual8 ity tests; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) addressing ground well water 

10 contamination. 

11 ‘‘(2) TERMS AND AMOUNTS FOR LOANS AND

12 SUBGRANTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) TERMS OF LOANS.—A loan made 

14 with grant funds under this section— 

15 ‘‘(i) shall have an interest rate of 1 

16 percent; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) shall have a term not to exceed 

18 20 years. 

19 ‘‘(B) AMOUNTS.—A loan or subgrant made 

20 with grant funds under this section shall not 

21 exceed $20,000 for each water well system or 

22 decentralized wastewater system described in 

23 paragraph (1). 

24 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—A recipient 

25 of a grant made under this section may use grant 


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1 funds to pay administrative expenses associated with 

2 providing the assistance described in paragraph (1), 

3 as determined by the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(4) WATER TREATMENT STANDARDS.—Water 

5 treatment provided under this section shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) incorporate components that are 

7 third-party certified as compliant with relevant 

8 consensus-based standards for drinking water 

9 treatment units or systems, as determined by 

10 the Secretary; and 

11 ‘‘(B) be installed, according to the instruc12 tions of the manufacturer, by a qualified, cer13 tified, or licensed water treatment professional, 

14 including a professional credentialed through a 

15 manufacturer or third-party. 

16 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY IN AWARDING GRANTS.—In awarding 

17 grants under this section, the Secretary shall give priority 

18 to an applicant that has substantial expertise and experi19 ence in promoting the safe and effective use of individually 

20 owned household water well systems, individually owned 

21 household decentralized wastewater systems, and ground 

22 water. 

23 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION.—An eligible grant recipient cannot 

24 use more than 10 percent of a grant awarded under this 


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1 section for the activities described under subparagraphs 

2 (B) and (C) of subsection (b)(1). 

3 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.’’. 

6 SEC. 5408. ASSISTANCE TO RURAL ENTITIES. 

7 Section 310B(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

8 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(a)) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(C) PRECISION AGRICULTURE; PRECISION

12 AGRICULTURE TECHNOLOGY.—The terms ‘pre13 cision agriculture’ and ‘precision agriculture 

14 technology’ have the meanings given those 

15 terms in section 1201 of the Food Security Act 

16 of 1985.’’; and 

17 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub19 paragraph (C); 

20 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

21 subparagraph (D) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(E) expanding the adoption of precision 

24 agriculture practices, including by financing the 

25 acquisition of precision agriculture technology, 


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1 in order to promote best practices, reduce costs, 

2 and improve the environment.’’. 

3 SEC. 5409. SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT GRANTS. 

4 Section 310B(b) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

5 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(b)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘governments 

7 and related agencies’’ and inserting ‘‘governments, 

8 related agencies, and Indian tribes’’; and 

9 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2014 

10 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 

11 SEC. 5410. RURAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. 

12 Section 310B(c)(4)(A) of the Consolidated Farm and 

13 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(c)(4)(A)) is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘2014 through 2023’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 

16 SEC. 5411. RURAL COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. 

17 Section 310B(e) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

18 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(e)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(C) COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT.—The 

22 term ‘cooperative development’ means activities 

23 including education, training, and technical as24 sistance, to support the start-up, expansion, or 


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1 ongoing sustainability of new and existing co2 operatives.’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (5)— 

4 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘un5 derserved and economically distressed areas in 

6 rural areas of the United States’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘socially vulnerable, underserved, or distressed 

8 communities’’; and 

9 (B) in subparagraph (F)— 

10 (i) by inserting ‘‘at least’’ before ‘‘a 

11 25 percent’’; and 

12 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, and all applications 

13 that satisfy this subparagraph shall be 

14 given the same priority for the scoring cri15 terion based on satisfying this subpara16 graph’’ before the period; 

17 (3) in paragraph (6), by striking subparagraph 

18 (B) and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(B) AWARD RENEWALS FOR QUALIFIED

20 NON-PROFIT INSTITUTIONS.—The Secretary 

21 shall award a grant under this subsection to a 

22 non-profit institution on the same terms and for 

23 the establishment or operation of the same cen24 ter or centers for cooperative development for 

25 which the non-profit institution was awarded a 


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1 grant in the current fiscal year, if the non-prof2 it institution— 

3 ‘‘(i) is a recipient of an award under 

4 this subsection; 

5 ‘‘(ii) requests a renewal under this 

6 subparagraph; 

7 ‘‘(iii) has submitted a complete appli8 cation under this subsection in the pre9 ceding 2 fiscal years; and 

10 ‘‘(iv) has operated the center or cen11 ters for cooperative development in a man12 ner which successfully meets the param13 eters described in paragraph (5), as deter14 mined by the Secretary.’’; 

15 (4) in paragraph (10), by adding at the end the 

16 following: ‘‘The Secretary shall analyze the data re17 sulting from the research, and include the data and 

18 the analysis in the annual report submitted by the 

19 interagency working group under paragraph (12).’’; 

20 (5) in paragraph (12), by adding at the end the 

21 following: ‘‘Not later than 180 days after the date 

22 of the enactment of this sentence and annually 

23 thereafter, the interagency working group shall sub24 mit to the Congress a report describing the activities 

25 carried out by the working group.’’; and 


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1 (6) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘2014 

2 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 

3 SEC. 5412. LENDER FEES IN GUARANTEED LOAN PRO4 GRAMS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 333 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

6 1983) is amended— 

7 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 

8 ‘‘In connection’’; 

9 (2) in paragraph (5), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the 

10 end; 

11 (3) in paragraph (6)(E), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

12 and inserting a period; 

13 (4) by striking paragraph (7); and 

14 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(b) FEES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) INITIAL GUARANTEE FEE.—The Secretary 

17 may assess an initial guarantee fee for any insured 

18 or guaranteed loan issued or modified under section 

19 306(a) in an amount that does not exceed 3 percent 

20 of the guaranteed principal portion of the loan. 

21 ‘‘(2) PERIODIC RETENTION FEE.—The Sec22 retary may assess a periodic retention fee for any in23 sured or guaranteed loan or modified under section 

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1 cent of the outstanding principal of the guaranteed 

2 loan. 

3 ‘‘(3) DISCLOSURE.—In altering any fee charged 

4 for any insured or guaranteed loan issued or modi5 fied under section 306(a), the Secretary, not less 

6 than 30 days in advance of any fee change, shall 

7 provide a public disclosure, of the financial data, 

8 economic and behavioral assumptions, calculations, 

9 and other factors used to determine the new fee 

10 rates.’’. 

11 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 310B(g)(5) 

12 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(g)(5)) is amended to read as 

13 follows: 

14 ‘‘(5) FEES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) INITIAL GUARANTEE FEE.—The Sec16 retary may assess an initial guarantee fee for 

17 any guaranteed business and industry loan in 

18 an amount that does not exceed 3 percent of 

19 the guaranteed principal portion of the loan. 

20 ‘‘(B) PERIODIC RETENTION FEE.—The 

21 Secretary may assess a periodic retention fee 

22 for any guaranteed business and industry loan 

23 in an amount that does not exceed 0.75 percent 

24 of the outstanding principal of the guaranteed 

25 loan. 


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1 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE.—In altering any fee 

2 charged for any guaranteed business and indus3 try loan, the Secretary, not less than 30 days 

4 in advance of any fee change, shall provide a 

5 public disclosure, of the financial data, eco6 nomic and behavioral assumptions, calculations, 

7 and other factors used to determine the new fee 

8 rates.’’. 

9 SEC. 5413. LOCALLY OR REGIONALLY PRODUCED AGRICUL10 TURAL FOOD PRODUCTS. 

11 Section 310B(g)(9)(B)(iv)(I) of the Consolidated 

12 Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

13 1932(g)(9)(B)(iv)(I)) is amended by striking ‘‘2008 

14 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 

15 SEC. 5414. APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FOR 

16 RURAL AREAS PROGRAM. 

17 Section 310B(i)(4) of the Consolidated Farm and 

18 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(i)(4)) is amended 

19 by striking ‘‘2008 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 

20 through 2029’’. 

21 SEC. 5415. RURAL ECONOMIC AREA PARTNERSHIP ZONES. 

22 Section 310B(j) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

23 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(j)) is amended by strik24 ing ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 5416. INTERMEDIARY RELENDING PROGRAM. 

2 Section 310H(i) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

3 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1936b(i)) is amended by strik4 ing ‘‘2014 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 

5 2029’’. 

6 SEC. 5417. RURAL HEALTH CARE FACILITY ASSISTANCE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 342 of the Consolidated 

8 Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1990a) is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘Assistance’’ and inserting the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(a) REFINANCING OF CERTAIN RURAL HEALTH

13 CARE FACILITY DEBT.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Assistance’’; 

15 (2) by striking ‘‘rural hospital’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘an eligible health care facility’’; 

17 (3) by striking ‘‘a community’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘an area’’; 

19 (4) by striking ‘‘hospital,’’ and inserting ‘‘eligi20 ble health care facility,’’; and 

21 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—To promote the long23 term sustainability and financial viability of an eligi24 ble health care facility, the Secretary shall— 

25 ‘‘(A) provide assistance to an eligible 

26 health care facility for the purpose of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) ensuring the facility has nec2 essary resources to maintain public health, 

3 safety, or order; 

4 ‘‘(ii) addressing financial hardships of 

5 the facility, its patients, and the area it 

6 serves; and 

7 ‘‘(iii) identifying the financial stability 

8 of the facility, including— 

9 ‘‘(I) operational practices; 

10 ‘‘(II) revenue enhancements; 

11 ‘‘(III) policy revisions; 

12 ‘‘(IV) partnerships, regionaliza13 tion, or consolidation of rural health 

14 systems; and 

15 ‘‘(V) contract services; and 

16 ‘‘(B) require an applicant to— 

17 ‘‘(i) receive financial planning assist18 ance; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) prepare a long-term financial 

20 plan. 

21 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.—In the case of an application 

22 for refinancing pursuant to this section, the Sec23 retary may waive the requirement of section 

24 302(a)(1)(D) if the eligible health care facility is in25 solvent. 


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1 ‘‘(b) RURAL HEALTH CARE FACILITY TECHNICAL

2 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In lieu of any other author4 ity under which the Secretary may provide technical 

5 assistance to any eligible health care facility, the 

6 Secretary shall establish, and maintain, directly or 

7 by grant, contract, or cooperative agreement, a 

8 Rural Health Care Facility Technical Assistance 

9 Program (in this section referred to as the ‘Pro10 gram’) to provide technical assistance and training, 

11 tailored to the capacity and needs of each eligible 

12 health care facility, to help eligible health care facili13 ties in rural areas— 

14 ‘‘(A) identify development needs for main15 taining essential health care services, and sup16 port action plans for operational and quality 

17 improvement projects to meet the development 

18 needs; 

19 ‘‘(B) better manage their financial and 

20 business strategies, including providing finan21 cial planning assistance and preparing long22 term financial plans; and 

23 ‘‘(C) identify, and apply for assistance 

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1 ment of Agriculture for which the facilities are 

2 eligible. 

3 ‘‘(2) GOALS.—The goals of the Program shall 

4 be to— 

5 ‘‘(A) improve the long-term financial posi6 tion and operational efficiency of the eligible 

7 health care facilities; 

8 ‘‘(B) prevent the closure of eligible health 

9 care facilities; 

10 ‘‘(C) strengthen the delivery of health care 

11 in rural areas; 

12 ‘‘(D) help eligible health care facilities bet13 ter access and compete for loans and grants 

14 from programs administered by the Department 

15 of Agriculture; and 

16 ‘‘(E) continue the activities of the Rural 

17 Hospital Technical Assistance Program in ef18 fect as of the date of the enactment of this sub19 section. 

20 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM PARTICIPATION.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

22 engage in outreach and engagement strategies 

23 to encourage eligible health care facilities to 

24 participate in the Program. 


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1 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE HEALTH CARE FACILITY

2 SELECTION.—In selecting eligible health care 

3 facilities to participate in the Program, the Sec4 retary shall give priority to borrowers and 

5 grantees of the Rural Housing Service, Rural 

6 Business-Cooperative Service, and Rural Utili7 ties Service. The Secretary may also consider— 

8 ‘‘(i) the age and physical state of the 

9 health care facility involved; 

10 ‘‘(ii) the financial vulnerability of the 

11 eligible health care facility, and the ability 

12 of the eligible health care facility to meet 

13 debt obligations; 

14 ‘‘(iii) the electronic health record im15 plementation needs of the health care facil16 ity; 

17 ‘‘(iv) whether the eligible health care 

18 facility is located in a health professional 

19 shortage area or a medically underserved 

20 area; 

21 ‘‘(v) whether the eligible health care 

22 facility serves a medically underserved pop23 ulation; and 


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1 ‘‘(vi) such other criteria and priorities 

2 as are determined by the Secretary of Ag3 riculture. 

4 ‘‘(C) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not 

5 later than 1 year after the date of the enact6 ment of this section, and annually thereafter, 

7 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 

8 Agriculture of the House of Representatives 

9 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

10 and Forestry of the Senate a written report de11 scribing the progress and results of the pro12 gram conducted under this section, which 

13 should include— 

14 ‘‘(i) a brief description of each project 

15 to provide technical assistance to an eligi16 ble health care facility under this section, 

17 including— 

18 ‘‘(I) the name and location of the 

19 facility; 

20 ‘‘(II) a description of the assist21 ance provided; 

22 ‘‘(III) a description of the out23 comes for completed projects; 

24 ‘‘(IV) the cost of the technical 

25 assistance; and 


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1 ‘‘(V) any other information the 

2 Secretary deems appropriate; 

3 ‘‘(ii) a summary of the technical as4 sistance projects completed; 

5 ‘‘(iii) a summary of the outcomes of 

6 the technical assistance projects; 

7 ‘‘(iv) an assessment of the effective8 ness of the Program; and 

9 ‘‘(v) recommendations for improving 

10 the Program. 

11 ‘‘(D) LIMITATIONS ON AUTHORIZATION OF

12 APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry out this section, 

13 there are authorized to be appropriated to the 

14 Secretary not more than $2,000,000 for each of 

15 fiscal years 2025 through 2029. 

16 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 ‘‘(1) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘rural area’ has 

18 the meaning given the term in section 343(a)(13)(A) 

19 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 

20 Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(A)). 

21 ‘‘(2) DEVELOPMENT NEEDS.—The term ‘devel22 opment needs’ includes— 

23 ‘‘(A) constructing, expanding, renovating 

24 or otherwise modernizing health care facilities; 

25 ‘‘(B) increasing telehealth capabilities; 


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1 ‘‘(C) acquiring or upgrading health care 

2 information systems such as electronic health 

3 records; 

4 ‘‘(D) providing financial planning assist5 ance and preparing long-term financial plan; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(E) such other needs as the Secretary 

8 deems critical to maintaining health care serv9 ices in the community in which an eligible 

10 health care facility is located. 

11 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE HEALTH CARE FACILITY.—The 

12 term ‘eligible health care facility’ means a facility 

13 that is located in a rural area and is— 

14 ‘‘(A) a hospital (as defined in section 

15 1861(e) of the Social Security Act; 

16 ‘‘(B) a psychiatric hospital (as defined in 

17 section 1861(f) of such Act); 

18 ‘‘(C) a long-term care hospital (as defined 

19 in section 1861(ccc) of such Act); 

20 ‘‘(D) a critical access hospital (as defined 

21 in section 1861(mm)(1) of such Act); 

22 ‘‘(E) a rural health clinic (as defined in 

23 section 1861(aa)(2) of such Act); 


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1 ‘‘(F) a religious nonmedical health care in2 stitution (as defined in section 1861(ss)(1) of 

3 such Act); 

4 ‘‘(G) a sole community hospital (as defined 

5 in section 1886(d)(5)(C)(iii) of such Act); 

6 ‘‘(H) a rural emergency hospital (as de7 fined in section 1861(kkk)(2) of such Act); 

8 ‘‘(I) a home health agency (as defined in 

9 section 1861(o) of such Act); or 

10 ‘‘(J) a community health center (as de11 fined in section 330 of the Public Health Serv12 ice Act). 

13 ‘‘(4) HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SHORTAGE

14 AREA.—The term ‘health professional shortage area’ 

15 has the meaning given the term in section 

16 332(a)(1)(A) of the Public Health Service Act. 

17 ‘‘(5) MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED AREA.—The 

18 term ‘medically underserved area’ has the meaning 

19 given the term in section 330I(a)(5) of the Public 

20 Health Service Act. 

21 ‘‘(6) MEDICALLY UNDERSERVED POPU22 LATION.—The term ‘medically underserved popu23 lation’ has the meaning given the term in section 

24 330(b)(3) of the Public Health Service Act.’’. 


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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

2 subsection (a) shall take effect on the completion of a rule3 making carrying out such amendments. 

4 SEC. 5418. ELIMINATION OF PROHIBITION ON USE OF 

5 LOANS FOR CERTAIN PURPOSES. 

6 Section 363 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De7 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 2006e) is hereby repealed. 

8 SEC. 5419. RURAL BUSINESS-COOPERATIVE SERVICE PRO9 GRAMS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAIN10 ING. 

11 Section 368(d)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and 

12 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2008c(d)(1)) is amend13 ed by striking ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 

14 through 2029’’. 

15 SEC. 5420. NATIONAL RURAL DEVELOPMENT PARTNER16 SHIP. 

17 Section 378 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De18 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 2008m) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (g)(1), by striking ‘‘2008 

20 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’; 

21 and 

22 (2) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 5421. GRANTS FOR NOAA WEATHER RADIO TRANSMIT2 TERS. 

3 Section 379B(d) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

4 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2008p(d)) is amended by 

5 striking ‘‘2014 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 

6 through 2029’’. 

7 SEC. 5422. RURAL MICROENTREPRENEUR ASSISTANCE 

8 PROGRAM. 

9 Section 379E of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

10 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2008s) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)(4), by striking ‘‘$50,000’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘$75,000’’; 

13 (2) in subsection (c)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘shall 

14 not exceed 75 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘may be up to 

15 100 percent, and a loan under this section for a 

16 project may be used to cover not more than 50 per17 cent of any renovation, construction, or related costs 

18 of real estate improvements under the project’’; and 

19 (3) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘2019 through 

20 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 

21 SEC. 5423. HEALTH CARE SERVICES. 

22 Section 379G(e) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

23 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2008u(e)) is amended by 

24 striking ‘‘2008 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 

25 through 2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 5424. STRATEGIC ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVEL2 OPMENT. 

3 Section 379H(d)(4) of the Consolidated Farm and 

4 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2008v(d)(4)) is amend5 ed by striking ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 

6 through 2029’’. 

7 SEC. 5425. RURAL INNOVATION STRONGER ECONOMY 

8 GRANT PROGRAM. 

9 Section 379I of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

10 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2008w) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

13 (i) in clause (iii)— 

14 (I) by striking subclause (I) and 

15 inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(I) an institution of higher edu17 cation (as defined in section 101, and 

18 subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 

19 102(a)(1), of the Higher Education 

20 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001, 

21 1002(a)(1)));’’; 

22 (II) by redesignating subclauses 

23 (II) and (III) as subclauses (III) and 

24 (IV), respectively, and inserting after 

25 subclause (I) the following: 


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1 ‘‘(II) an area career and tech2 nical education school (as defined in 

3 section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Ca4 reer and Technical Education Act of 

5 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302);’’; and 

6 (III) in subclause (IV) (as so re7 designated by subclause (II) of this 

8 clause), by striking ‘‘and’’; 

9 (ii) in clause (iv)— 

10 (I) by striking subclause (IV) 

11 and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘(IV) an institution of higher 

13 education (as defined in section 101, 

14 and subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

15 section 102(a)(1), of the Higher Edu16 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001, 

17 1002(a)(1)));’’; and 

18 (II) by redesignating subclause 

19 (V) as subclause (VI) and inserting 

20 after subclause (IV) the following: 

21 ‘‘(V) an area career and technical 

22 education school (as defined in section 

23 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 

24 Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 

25 U.S.C. 2302); or’’; and 


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1 (iii) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(v) in the case of a career pathway 

4 program, includes 1 or more members of 

5 the local workforce development board es6 tablished under section 107 of the Work7 force Innovation and Opportunity Act and 

8 serving the region to ensure the program is 

9 integrated with the activities carried out by 

10 the local workforce development board; 

11 and’’; and 

12 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(6) CAREER PATHWAY.—The term ‘career 

14 pathway’ has the meaning given the term in section 

15 3(7) of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity 

16 Act (29 U.S.C. 3102(7)). 

17 ‘‘(7) INDUSTRY OR SECTOR PARTNERSHIP.— 

18 The term ‘industry or sector partnership’ has the 

19 meaning given the term in section 3 of the Work20 force Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 

21 3102).’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (b)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

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1 reer pathway training programs or indus2 try or sector partnerships aligned with in3 dustry sectors in rural communities’’ be4 fore ‘‘, including’’; 

5 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

6 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon; 

7 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

8 the period and inserting a semicolon; and 

9 (iv) by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(C) address workforce challenges, includ12 ing worker displacement, faced by specific in13 dustry sectors in rural communities; and 

14 ‘‘(D) promote targeted skills development 

15 and training initiatives to stimulate innovation 

16 and enhance economic development in rural re17 gions.’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

19 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

20 (I) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘, 

21 career pathway programs, or industry 

22 or sector partnerships’’ before the 

23 semicolon; and 

24 (II) in clause (ii)— 


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1 (aa) by inserting ‘‘, career 

2 pathway programs, or industry or 

3 sector partnerships’’ before ‘‘to 

4 provide’’; and 

5 (bb) by inserting ‘‘leadership 

6 development,’’ before ‘‘cus7 tomized training’’; 

8 (ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

9 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

10 (iii) by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(G) the ability of the eligible entity to 

13 carry out activities to address the issues of 

14 worker displacement, an aging workforce, and 

15 youth migration.’’; and 

16 (C) by striking paragraph (5) and insert17 ing the following: 

18 ‘‘(5) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Sec19 retary shall ensure regional diversity of recipients of 

20 grants or participants in providing grants under 

21 paragraph (1) for jobs accelerators, career pathway 

22 programs, and related programming.’’; 

23 (3) in subsection (d)(1)— 

24 (A) in subparagraph (B)(xi), by striking 

25 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(C) to support career pathway programs 

3 or industry or sector partnerships to be carried 

4 out within industries in rural communities, in5 cluding— 

6 ‘‘(i) telecommunications or broadband 

7 services; 

8 ‘‘(ii) water, waste water, or disposal 

9 services; 

10 ‘‘(iii) electric supply services; 

11 ‘‘(iv) forestry and logging operations; 

12 ‘‘(v) conservation practices and man13 agement; 

14 ‘‘(vi) health care and child care; 

15 ‘‘(vii) manufacturing; 

16 ‘‘(viii) agribusiness related to produc17 tion, processing, and distribution; 

18 ‘‘(ix) veterinarian services; and 

19 ‘‘(x) any other sectors identified by 

20 the local workforce development board 

21 serving the region to be an in-demand in22 dustry sector or occupation, as defined in 

23 section 3 of the Workforce Innovation and 

24 Opportunity Act.’’; 

25 (4) in subsection (e)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’; 

2 (B) in paragraph (2)(B)— 

3 (i) in clause (xvii), by striking ‘‘or’’; 

4 (ii) by redesignating clause (xviii) as 

5 clause (xix) and inserting after clause 

6 (xvii) the following: 

7 ‘‘(xviii) the number of individuals who 

8 have completed skills development, recog9 nized postsecondary credentials, or gained 

10 specialized education through career path11 ways programs or industry or sector part12 nerships; or’’; and 

13 (iii) in clause (xix) (as so redesignated 

14 by subparagraph (B) of this paragraph), 

15 by striking the period and inserting ‘‘; 

16 and’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(3) in the case of a career pathway program 

19 or industry or sector partnership, report to the Sec20 retary the employment and earnings outcomes for 

21 individuals who participate in the program on the in22 dicators described in subclauses (I) through (III) of 

23 section 116(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Workforce Innovation 

24 and Opportunity Act.’’; and 


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1 (5) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘2019 through 

2 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 

3 SEC. 5426. DELTA REGIONAL AUTHORITY. 

4 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

5 382M(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Develop6 ment Act (7 U.S.C. 2009aa–12(a)) is amended by striking 

7 ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 

8 2029’’. 

9 (b) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—Section 382N of 

10 such Act (7 U.S.C. 2009aa–13) is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

12 (c) CLARIFICATION OF DELTA REGIONAL AUTHOR13 ITY AREAS.—Section 4(2)(D) of the Delta Development 

14 Act (42 U.S.C. 3121 note; Public Law 100–460) is 

15 amended by inserting ‘‘Sabine, Vernon,’’ after ‘‘Webster,’’. 

16 SEC. 5427. LIMITATION ON RURAL BUSINESS INVESTMENT 

17 COMPANIES CONTROLLED BY FARM CREDIT 

18 SYSTEM INSTITUTIONS. 

19 Section 384J(c) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

20 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2009cc-9(c)) is amended by 

21 striking ‘‘50’’ and inserting ‘‘75’’. 

22 SEC. 5428. RURAL BUSINESS INVESTMENT PROGRAM. 

23 Section 384S of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

24 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2009cc–18) is amended by 


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1 striking ‘‘2014 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 

2 through 2029’’. 

3 SEC. 5429. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS. 

4 Each of the following provisions of the Consolidated 

5 Farm and Rural Development Act are amended by strik6 ing ‘‘urbanized’’ and inserting ‘‘urban’’: 

7 (1) Section 343(a)(13)(A)(ii) (7 U.S.C. 

8 1991(a)(13)(A)(ii)). 

9 (2) Section 343(a)(13)(D)(i)(I) (7 U.S.C. 

10 1991(a)(13)(D)(i)(I)), in the matter preceding item 

11 (aa). 

12 (3) Section 343(a)(13)(D)(i)(I)(bb) (7 U.S.C. 

13 1991(a)(13)(D)(i)(I)(bb)). 

14 (4) Section 343(a)(13)(D)(i)(II) (7 U.S.C. 

15 1991(a)(13)(D)(i)(II)). 

16 (5) Section 343(a)(13)(E) (7 U.S.C. 

17 1991(a)(13)(E)). 

18 (6) Section 343(a)(13)(F)(i)(II) (7 U.S.C. 

19 1991(a)(13)(F)(i)(II)). 

20 (7) Section 384I(c)(4)(C) (7 U.S.C. 2009cc– 

21 8(c)(4)(C)). 


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1 SEC. 5430. RURAL WATER AND WASTEWATER TECHNICAL 

2 ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING PROGRAMS. 

3 Section 306(a)(14) of the Consolidated Farm and 

4 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 926(a)(14)) is amend5 ed— 

6 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘technical assistance and 

8 training to—’’ and inserting ‘‘for—’’; 

9 (B) in clause (v), by striking the period 

10 and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

11 (C) by redesignating clauses (i) through 

12 (v) as subclauses (I) through (V), respectively, 

13 and moving each such provision 2 ems to the 

14 right; and 

15 (D) by inserting before the matter so re16 designated the following: 

17 ‘‘(i) technical assistance and training 

18 to—’’; and 

19 (E) by adding after and below the end the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(ii) disaster and recovery assist22 ance.’’; and 

23 (2) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘or dis24 aster and recovery assistance’’ before ‘‘described’’. 


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1 Subtitle E—Additional Amend2 ments to the Rural Electrifica3 tion Act of 1936 

4 SEC. 5501. GUARANTEES FOR BONDS AND NOTES ISSUED 

5 FOR UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE PURPOSES. 

6 Section 313A(f) of the Rural Electrification Act of 

7 1936 (7 U.S.C. 940c–1(f)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

9 SEC. 5502. EXTENSION OF THE RURAL ECONOMIC DEVEL10 OPMENT LOAN AND GRANT PROGRAM. 

11 Section 313B of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 

12 (7 U.S.C. 940c–2) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(b) REPAYMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In the case of zero interest 

17 loans, the Secretary shall establish such reasonable 

18 repayment terms as will encourage borrower partici19 pation. 

20 ‘‘(2) LETTERS OF CREDIT.—The Secretary 

21 shall not require a letter of credit or other similar 

22 guarantee from a recipient of a zero-interest loan 

23 under this section if the borrower assigns the Sec24 retary a security interest in any collateral provided 

25 to secure a loan made with funds loaned under this 


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1 section, or makes other similar arrangements to the 

2 satisfaction of the Secretary.’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘2019 

4 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 

5 SEC. 5503. EXPANSION OF 911 ACCESS. 

6 Section 315(d) of the Rural Electrification Act of 

7 1936 (7 U.S.C. 940e(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘2008 

8 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 

9 TITLE VI—RESEARCH, EXTEN10 SION, AND RELATED MAT11 TERS 

12 Subtitle A—National Agricultural 

13 Research, Extension, and Teach14 ing Policy Act of 1977 

15 SEC. 6101. NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, EXTEN16 SION, EDUCATION, AND ECONOMICS ADVI17 SORY BOARD. 

18 Section 1408 of the National Agricultural Research, 

19 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

20 3123) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (b)— 

22 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘15’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘16’’; 

24 (B) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end 

25 the following: 


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1 ‘‘(E) 1 member representing the industry, 

2 consumer, or rural interests of insular areas.’’; 

3 and 

4 (C) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘7’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘3’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

8 SEC. 6102. SPECIALTY CROP COMMITTEE. 

9 Section 1408A of the National Agricultural Research, 

10 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

11 3123a) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘Not 

14 later than’’ and all that follows through ‘‘initial 

15 members of’’ and inserting ‘‘The Secretary shall 

16 continue to implement, and appoint the mem17 bers of’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (i) in subparagraph (C), by adding a 

20 period at the end; and 

21 (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

22 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘executive 

24 committee’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary’’. 


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1 SEC. 6103. VETERINARY MEDICINE LOAN REPAYMENT. 

2 Section 1415A of the National Agricultural Research, 

3 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

4 3151a) is amended— 

5 (1) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF VETERINARIAN SHORTAGE

8 SITUATIONS.—In determining ‘veterinarian shortage situ9 ations’, the Secretary— 

10 ‘‘(1) may consider— 

11 ‘‘(A) geographical areas that the Secretary 

12 determines have a shortage of veterinarians; 

13 ‘‘(B) areas of veterinary practice that the 

14 Secretary determines have a shortage of veteri15 narians, such as food animal medicine, public 

16 health, epidemiology, and food safety; and 

17 ‘‘(C) areas described in subparagraphs (A) 

18 and (B) identified by appropriate State agen19 cies; and 

20 ‘‘(2) shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) develop quantitative mechanisms for 

22 predicting the emergence of new veterinarian 

23 shortage situations in the short-term and long24 term; and 

25 ‘‘(B) make available to State agencies de26 scribed in paragraph (1)(C) the quantitative 


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1 mechanisms developed under subparagraph 

2 (A).’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(9) ELIGIBILITY.—The Secretary shall not 

6 make a veterinarian ineligible for the program under 

7 this section based on a veterinarian’s participation in 

8 a comparable Federal, State, or local program. 

9 ‘‘(10) APPLICATION PROCESS.—Not later than 

10 1 year after the date of the enactment of the 

11 Prioritizing American Farmers and Agricultural In12 dustry Over Bureaucracy Act, the Secretary shall es13 tablish streamlined application procedures and 

14 guidelines for entering into agreements with veteri15 narians under this section.’’. 

16 SEC. 6104. VETERINARY SERVICES GRANT PROGRAM. 

17 Section 1415B of the National Agricultural Research, 

18 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

19 3151b) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)(i), by striking ‘‘, 

22 as defined in’’ and all that follows through 

23 ‘‘1991(a))’’; and 

24 (B) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘‘rural area’’ has 

2 the meaning given such term in section 343(a) of 

3 the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act 

4 (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)).’’; 

5 (2) in subsection (b)(2)— 

6 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) 

7 and (C) as subparagraphs (C) and (D), respec8 tively; and 

9 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(B) expand, retain, or attract additional 

12 veterinary practices in rural areas;’’; 

13 (3) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(5) APPLICATION PROCESS.—Not later than 1 

16 year after the date of enactment of the Prioritizing 

17 American Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over 

18 Bureaucracy Act the Secretary shall establish a 

19 streamlined application process.’’; and 

20 (4) in subsection (d)— 

21 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

22 ‘‘TO RELIEVE VETERINARIAN SHORTAGE SITU23 ATIONS AND SUPPORT VETERINARY SERV24 ICES’’; and 

25 (B) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (i) in the matter preceding subpara2 graph (A), by striking ‘‘situations and sup3 port’’ and inserting ‘‘situations, to expand, 

4 retain, or attract additional veterinary 

5 practices in rural areas, and to support’’; 

6 and 

7 (ii) by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(G) To cover expenses associated with 

10 starting a new veterinary practice or attracting 

11 new veterinarians to existing practices, includ12 ing— 

13 ‘‘(i) relocation expenses; 

14 ‘‘(ii) the purchase of necessary start15 up equipment; and 

16 ‘‘(iii) housing or living stipends for 

17 veterinary students, veterinary interns, 

18 externs, fellows, and residents, and veteri19 nary technician students.’’. 

20 SEC. 6105. GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS FOR FOOD AND AG21 RICULTURE SCIENCES EDUCATION. 

22 Section 1417(m)(2) of the National Agricultural Re23 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

24 U.S.C. 3152(m)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 6106. AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD POLICY RESEARCH 

2 CENTERS. 

3 Section 1419A(e) of the National Agricultural Re4 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

5 U.S.C. 3155(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and in6 serting ‘‘2029’’. 

7 SEC. 6107. EDUCATION GRANTS TO ALASKA NATIVE SERV8 ING INSTITUTIONS AND NATIVE HAWAIIAN 

9 SERVING INSTITUTIONS. 

10 Section 1419B of the National Agricultural Research, 

11 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

12 3156) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end 

15 the following: ‘‘The term of such grants may be 

16 for a period of more than 1 year, but not more 

17 than 5 years.’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

20 (2) in subsection (b)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end 

22 the following: ‘‘The term of such grants may be 

23 for a period of more than 1 year, but not more 

24 than 5 years.’’; and 

25 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

26 and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 6108. NUTRITION EDUCATION PROGRAM. 

2 Section 1425(g) of the National Agricultural Re3 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

4 U.S.C. 3175(g)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and in5 serting ‘‘2029’’. 

6 SEC. 6109. CONTINUING ANIMAL HEALTH AND DISEASE RE7 SEARCH PROGRAMS. 

8 Section 1433 of the National Agricultural Research, 

9 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

10 3195) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(4) CARRYOVER.—The balance of any annual 

14 funds provided to an eligible institution for a fiscal 

15 year under this subsection that remains unexpended 

16 at the end of that fiscal year may be carried over 

17 for use during the following fiscal year.’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

20 SEC. 6110. EXTENSION AND AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AT 

21 1890 LAND-GRANT COLLEGES, INCLUDING 

22 TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY. 

23 (a) EXTENSION.—Section 1444(a)(2) of the National 

24 Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy 

25 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3221(a)(2)) is amended by striking 

26 ‘‘20 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘40 percent’’. 


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1 (b) RESEARCH.—Section 1445 of the National Agri2 cultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 

3 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3222) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘30 per5 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘40 percent’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘the research 

7 director’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘the 

8 agricultural research director’’; and 

9 (3) in subsection (d)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘a research director’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘an agricultural research director’’; 

12 and 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘or other officer’’. 

14 SEC. 6111. SCHOLARSHIPS FOR STUDENTS AT 1890 INSTITU15 TIONS. 

16 Section 1446(b) of the National Agricultural Re17 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

18 U.S.C. 3222a(b)) is amended— 

19 (1) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 

22 the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

23 shall make available to carry out this section— 

24 ‘‘(A) $40,000,000, not later than October 

25 1, 2019, to remain available until expended; 


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1 ‘‘(B) $10,000,000, not later than Novem2 ber 17, 2023, to remain available until ex3 pended; and 

4 ‘‘(C) $100,000,000, not later than October 

5 1, 2024, to remain available until expended.’’; 

6 and 

7 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

9 SEC. 6112. GRANTS TO UPGRADE AGRICULTURAL AND 

10 FOOD SCIENCES FACILITIES AT 1890 LAND11 GRANT COLLEGES, INCLUDING TUSKEGEE 

12 UNIVERSITY. 

13 Section 1447(b) of the National Agricultural Re14 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

15 U.S.C. 3222b(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and in16 serting ‘‘2029’’. 

17 SEC. 6113. GRANTS TO UPGRADE AGRICULTURE AND FOOD 

18 SCIENCES FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT AND 

19 SUPPORT TROPICAL AND SUBTROPICAL AG20 RICULTURAL RESEARCH AT INSULAR AREA 

21 LAND-GRANT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES. 

22 Section 1447B(d) of the National Agricultural Re23 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

24 U.S.C. 3222b–2(d)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 6114. MATCHING FUNDS REQUIREMENT FOR RE2 SEARCH AND EXTENSION ACTIVITIES AT ELI3 GIBLE INSTITUTIONS. 

4 Section 1449 of the National Agricultural Research, 

5 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

6 3222d) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (b)— 

8 (A) by striking ‘‘Not later than September 

9 30, 1999’’ and inserting ‘‘Beginning on Sep10 tember 30, 2025, and not later than September 

11 30 of each fiscal year thereafter’’; and 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘fiscal year 1999’’ and in13 serting ‘‘the fiscal year ending on that Sep14 tember 30’’; and 

15 (2) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol16 lows: 

17 ‘‘(c) STATE MATCHING FUNDS REQUIREMENT.— 

18 Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, for 

19 each fiscal year, a State shall provide to each eligible insti20 tution located in the State matching funds from non-Fed21 eral sources in an amount equal to the amounts provided 

22 to the eligible institution under sections 1444 and 1445 

23 for the purposes described in subsection (b)(1).’’. 


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1 SEC. 6115. NEW BEGINNING FOR TRIBAL STUDENTS. 

2 Section 1450 of the National Agricultural Research, 

3 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

4 3222e) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (5); 

6 and 

7 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

9 SEC. 6116. EDUCATION GRANTS PROGRAMS FOR HISPANIC10 SERVING INSTITUTIONS. 

11 Section 1455(c) of the National Agricultural Re12 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

13 U.S.C. 3241(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and in14 serting ‘‘2029’’. 

15 SEC. 6117. BINATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND 

16 DEVELOPMENT. 

17 Section 1458(e) of the National Agricultural Re18 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

19 U.S.C. 3291(e)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘entered into’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘, as entered into in 1977,’’; 

22 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘United 

23 States and Israel’’ and inserting ‘‘United States, 

24 Israel, or other signatories of the Abraham Accords 

25 Declaration’’; and 

26 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) BARD FUND ACCELERATOR.—The BARD 

2 Fund shall establish an accelerator program that 

3 supports mid-stage research, as determined by the 

4 technology readiness level, in priority areas estab5 lished by the BARD Fund that— 

6 ‘‘(A) fast-tracks cooperative research be7 tween scientists participating in activities de8 scribed in paragraph (2); 

9 ‘‘(B) accelerates the successful develop10 ment of agricultural research through resources 

11 and services developed or orchestrated by the 

12 BARD Fund; 

13 ‘‘(C) provides management guidance, tech14 nical assistance, and consulting to scientists 

15 participating in activities described in para16 graph (2); or 

17 ‘‘(D) advances cooperative agricultural re18 search projects of mutual interest to the United 

19 States, Israel, or other signatories of the Abra20 ham Accords Declaration.’’. 


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1 SEC. 6118. GRANTS AND PARTNERSHIPS FOR INTER2 NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, EX3 TENSION, AND EDUCATION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1458A of the National 

5 Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy 

6 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3292) is amended— 

7 (1) by amending the section heading to read as 

8 follows ‘‘GRANTS AND PARTNERSHIPS FOR

9 INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, 

10 EXTENSION, AND EDUCATION’’; 

11 (2) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in12 serting the following: 

13 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 ‘‘(1) DEVELOPING COUNTRY.—The term ‘devel15 oping country’ means a country that meets such cri16 teria as determined by the Secretary, established 

17 using a gross national income per capita test se18 lected by the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘eligi20 ble institution’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) a land-grant colleges or university; 

22 ‘‘(B) a non-land-grant college of agri23 culture; 

24 ‘‘(C) a Hispanic-serving agricultural col25 lege or university; and 

26 ‘‘(D) a cooperating forestry school. 


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1 ‘‘(3) INTERNATIONAL PARTNER INSTITUTION.— 

2 The term ‘international partner institution’ means a 

3 higher education institution in a developing country 

4 that is performing, or desiring to perform, activities 

5 similar to agricultural research, extension, and edu6 cation activities carried out through eligible institu7 tions in the United States. 

8 ‘‘(b) GRANTS AND PARTNERSHIPS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) GRANTS.—The Secretary may make com10 petitive grants to eligible institutions in order to 

11 strengthen United States economic competitiveness 

12 and to promote international market development 

13 through— 

14 ‘‘(A) enhancing the international content 

15 of the curricula in colleges and universities so 

16 as to ensure that United States students ac17 quire an understanding of the international di18 mensions and trade implications of their stud19 ies; 

20 ‘‘(B) ensuring that United States sci21 entists, extension agents, and educators in22 volved in agricultural research and development 

23 activities outside of the United States have the 

24 opportunity to convey the implications of their 

25 activities and findings to their peers and stuVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00432 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 dents in the United States and to the users of 

2 agricultural research, extension, and teaching; 

3 ‘‘(C) enhancing the capabilities of colleges 

4 and universities to do collaborative research 

5 with other countries, in cooperation with other 

6 Federal agencies, on issues relevant to United 

7 States agricultural competitiveness; 

8 ‘‘(D) enhancing the capabilities of colleges 

9 and universities to provide cooperative extension 

10 education to promote the application of new 

11 technology developed in foreign countries to 

12 United States agriculture; and 

13 ‘‘(E) enhancing the capability of United 

14 States colleges and universities, in cooperation 

15 with other Federal agencies, to provide leader16 ship and educational programs that will assist 

17 United States natural resources and food pro18 duction, processing, and distribution businesses 

19 and industries to compete internationally, in20 cluding through the use of product market iden21 tification, international policies limiting or en22 hancing market production, the development of 

23 new or enhancement of existing markets, and 

24 production efficiencies. 


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1 ‘‘(2) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Secretary may pro2 mote cooperation and coordination between eligible 

3 institutions and international partner institutions 

4 through— 

5 ‘‘(A) improving extension by— 

6 ‘‘(i) encouraging the exchange of re7 search materials and results between eligi8 ble institutions and international partner 

9 institutions; 

10 ‘‘(ii) facilitating the broad dissemina11 tion of agricultural research through exten12 sion; 

13 ‘‘(iii) assisting with efforts to plan 

14 and initiate extension services in devel15 oping countries; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) developing self-sustaining re17 gional agricultural markets and promoting 

18 the application of new agricultural tech19 nologies and techniques; 

20 ‘‘(B) improving agricultural research by— 

21 ‘‘(i) in partnership with international 

22 partner institutions, encouraging research 

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1 riculture, forestry, livestock, and fisheries, 

2 including local challenges; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) supporting and strengthening na4 tional agricultural research systems in de5 veloping countries; 

6 ‘‘(C) supporting the participation of eligi7 ble institutions in programs of international or8 ganizations, such as the United Nations, the 

9 World Bank, regional development banks, and 

10 international agricultural research centers; 

11 ‘‘(D) improving agricultural teaching and 

12 education by— 

13 ‘‘(i) in partnership with international 

14 partner institutions, supporting education 

15 and teaching relating to food and agricul16 tural sciences, including technical assist17 ance, degree training, research collabora18 tions, classroom instruction, workforce 

19 training, and education programs; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) assisting with efforts to increase 

21 student capacity, including to encourage 

22 equitable access for women and other un23 derserved populations, at international 

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1 ships with, and improving the capacity of, 

2 eligible institutions; 

3 ‘‘(E) assisting eligible institutions in 

4 strengthening their capacity for food, agricul5 tural, and related research, extension, and 

6 teaching programs relevant to agricultural de7 velopment activities in developing countries to 

8 promote the application of new technology to 

9 improve education delivery; 

10 ‘‘(F) providing support for the internation11 alization of resident instruction programs of eli12 gible institutions; 

13 ‘‘(G) establishing a program, to be coordi14 nated by the Director of the National Institute 

15 of Food and Agriculture and the Administrator 

16 of the Foreign Agricultural Service, to place in17 terns from eligible institutions in, or in service 

18 to benefit, developing countries; and 

19 ‘‘(H) establishing a program to provide fel20 lowships to students at eligible institutions to 

21 study at foreign agricultural colleges and uni22 versities.’’; 

23 (3) in subsection (c), in the matter preceding 

24 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘covered Institutions’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘eligible institutions’’; and 


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1 (4) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

3 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1459A of 

4 the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

5 Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3292b) is repealed. 

6 SEC. 6119. RESEARCH EQUIPMENT GRANTS. 

7 Section 1462A(e) of the National Agricultural Re8 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

9 U.S.C. 3310a(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and in10 serting ‘‘2029’’. 

11 SEC. 6120. UNIVERSITY RESEARCH. 

12 Section 1463 of the National Agricultural Research, 

13 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

14 3311) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ each place it ap15 pears in subsections (a) and (b) and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

16 SEC. 6121. EXTENSION SERVICE. 

17 Section 1464 of the National Agricultural Research, 

18 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

19 3312) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘2029’’. 

21 SEC. 6122. SUPPLEMENTAL AND ALTERNATIVE CROPS. 

22 Section 1473D of the National Agricultural Re23 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

24 U.S.C. 3319d) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (c)(3)— 

4 (A) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

5 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

6 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (F) as 

7 subparagraph (G); and 

8 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (E) 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(F) to examine potential benefits and opportu11 nities for supplemental and alternative crops (includ12 ing winter-planted rapeseed and winter-planted 

13 canola crops); and’’; and 

14 (3) in subsection (e)(3), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

16 SEC. 6123. GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE AGRI17 CULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES PRO18 GRAMS. 

19 Section 1473E of the National Agricultural Research, 

20 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

21 3319e) is amended— 

22 (1) by amending the section heading to read as 

23 follows: ‘‘GRANTS FOR COMMUNITY COLLEGE

24 AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES

25 PROGRAMS’’; 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub2 section (e); 

3 (3) by striking subsections (a) through (c) and 

4 inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en7 tity’ means— 

8 ‘‘(A) a junior or community college (as de9 fined in section 312 of the Higher Education 

10 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1058)) supporting agri11 culture advancement; 

12 ‘‘(B) a consortium or alliance of 2-year 

13 public colleges supporting agriculture advance14 ment; or 

15 ‘‘(C) an area career and technical edu16 cation school (as defined in section 3 of the 

17 Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Edu18 cation Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302)) that of19 fers a program of study in agriculture. 

20 ‘‘(2) WORK-BASED LEARNING.—The term 

21 ‘work-based learning’ has the meaning given such 

22 term in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and 

23 Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302). 

24 ‘‘(b) COMPETITIVE GRANTS.—The Secretary shall 

25 make competitive grants to eligible entities to conduct 


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1 workforce training, education, research, and outreach ac2 tivities relating to food and agricultural sciences. 

3 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—In making grants under subsection 

4 (b), the Secretary shall give priority to an eligible entity 

5 coordinating with a local agriculture industry operator to 

6 provide work-based learning, experiential training, and 

7 other opportunities for students. 

8 ‘‘(d) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

9 a grant under subsection (b) may use the funds made 

10 available through the grant— 

11 ‘‘(1) to offer educational programming on agri12 cultural industry jobs, including farm business man13 agement-related subjects, such as accounting, para14 legal studies, and finance; 

15 ‘‘(2) to develop apprenticeships and other work16 based learning opportunities; and 

17 ‘‘(3) other services that would increase work18 force training, education, research, and outreach ac19 tivities relating to food and agricultural sciences, as 

20 determined by the Secretary.’’; and 

21 (4) in subsection (e), as so redesignated, by 

22 striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 6124. CAPACITY BUILDING GRANTS FOR NLGCA INSTI2 TUTIONS. 

3 Section 1473F(b) of the National Agricultural Re4 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

5 U.S.C. 3319i(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and in6 serting ‘‘2029’’. 

7 SEC. 6125. AGRICULTURE ADVANCED RESEARCH AND DE8 VELOPMENT AUTHORITY. 

9 Section 1473H of the National Agricultural Re10 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

11 U.S.C. 3319k) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (i) by inserting ‘‘, including precision 

15 agriculture,’’ after ‘‘equipment’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘relating to the re17 search and development of qualified prod18 ucts and projects’’; 

19 (B) in paragraph (5)— 

20 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik21 ing ‘‘PERSON’’ and inserting ‘‘ELIGIBLE

22 ENTITY’’; 

23 (ii) in the matter preceding subpara24 graph (A), by striking ‘‘person’’ and in25 serting ‘‘eligible entity’’; 


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1 (iii) by striking subparagraph (E); 

2 and 

3 (iv) by redesignating subparagraphs 

4 (F) through (H) as subparagraphs (E) 

5 through (G), respectively; 

6 (C) in paragraph (6)— 

7 (i) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by strik8 ing ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by strik10 ing the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

11 or’’; and 

12 (iii) by adding at the end the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(D) any other product or project, as de15 termined by the Secretary.’’; and 

16 (D) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘that is 

17 developed to assist in the discovery, develop18 ment, or manufacture of a qualified product or 

19 project’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (b)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (2), by amending sub22 paragraph (B) to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(B) to overcome the long-term and high24 risk technological barriers in the development of 

25 agricultural technologies, research tools, and 


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1 qualified products and projects that enhance ex2 port competitiveness, environmental sustain3 ability, water conservation, and resilience to ex4 treme weather, drought, infectious diseases, 

5 plant and animal pathogens, and plant and ani6 mal pests;’’; 

7 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

8 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

9 ‘‘persons’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible entities’’; 

10 and 

11 (ii) in subparagraph (G), by striking 

12 ‘‘persons’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible entities’’; 

13 and 

14 (C) in paragraph (7)(A)— 

15 (i) by striking ‘‘a person’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘an eligible entity’’; and 

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘the person’’ and in18 serting ‘‘the eligible entity’’; 

19 (3) in subsection (c)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘per21 sons’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible entities’’; and 

22 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(4) USE OF STRATEGIC PLAN.—The Secretary 

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1 graph (1) to inform the administration of AGARDA 

2 under this section.’’; 

3 (4) in subsection (d)(3), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

5 (5) in subsection (e)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘5 

7 years’’ and inserting ‘‘11 years’’; and 

8 (B) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘5- 

9 year’’ and inserting ‘‘11-year’’. 

10 SEC. 6126. AQUACULTURE ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS. 

11 Section 1477(a)(2) of the National Agricultural Re12 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

13 U.S.C. 3324(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

14 insert ‘‘2029’’. 

15 SEC. 6127. SPECIAL AUTHORIZATION FOR BIOSECURITY 

16 PLANNING AND RESPONSE. 

17 Section 1484(a)(3) of the National Agricultural Re18 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

19 U.S.C. 3351(a)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

21 SEC. 6128. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PROTECTION GRANT 

22 PROGRAM. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1485 of the National Ag24 ricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act 

25 of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3352) is amended— 


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1 (1) by amending the section heading to read as 

2 follows: ‘‘AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PROTEC3 TION GRANT PROGRAM’’; 

4 (2) by striking subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), 

5 and (f) and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

7 competitive grant program under which the Secretary will 

8 award grants to eligible entities to support research, ex9 tension, and education activities that improve the capa10 bility of the United States to protect the food and agricul11 tural system from any chemical, biological, cybersecurity, 

12 or bioterrorism attack. 

13 ‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants made under this sec14 tion shall be used to— 

15 ‘‘(1) encourage basic and applied research and 

16 development of agricultural countermeasures; 

17 ‘‘(2) promote the development and expansion of 

18 teaching programs in agriculture, veterinary medi19 cine, and other disciplines closely allied to the food 

20 and agriculture system to increase the number of 

21 trained individuals with an expertise in agricultural 

22 biosecurity and cybersecurity; 

23 ‘‘(3) expand or upgrade facilities to meet bio24 safety and biosecurity requirements necessary to 

25 protect facility staff, members of the public, and the 


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1 food supply while carrying out agricultural biosecu2 rity research; 

3 ‘‘(4) costs associated with the acquisition of 

4 equipment and other capital costs related to expan5 sion of food, agriculture, and veterinary medicine 

6 teaching programs in agricultural biosecurity and cy7 bersecurity; or 

8 ‘‘(5) otherwise improve the capacity of the 

9 United States to respond in a timely manner to 

10 emerging or existing threats. 

11 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Entities eligible to receive 

12 a grant under this section include— 

13 ‘‘(1) State agricultural experiment stations; 

14 ‘‘(2) State departments of agriculture; 

15 ‘‘(3) colleges and universities; 

16 ‘‘(4) university research foundations; 

17 ‘‘(5) other research institutions and organiza18 tions; 

19 ‘‘(6) Federal agencies; 

20 ‘‘(7) national laboratories; or 

21 ‘‘(8) any group consisting of 2 or more of the 

22 entities described in paragraphs (1) through (7).’’; 

23 (3) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub24 section (d); and 


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1 (4) in subsection (d), as so redesignated, by 

2 striking ‘‘for each fiscal year.’’ and inserting ‘‘for 

3 each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.’’. 

4 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

5 (1) Section 14112 of the Food, Conservation, 

6 and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8912) is re7 pealed. 

8 (2) Section 14113 of the Food, Conservation, 

9 and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8913) is re10 pealed. 

11 (3) Section 14121 of the Food, Conservation, 

12 and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8921) is re13 pealed. 

14 (4) Section 14122 of the Food, Conservation, 

15 and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8922) is re16 pealed. 

17 SEC. 6129. DISTANCE EDUCATION GRANTS FOR INSULAR 

18 AREAS. 

19 Section 1490(f)(2) of the National Agricultural Re20 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

21 U.S.C. 3362(f)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and in22 serting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 6130. RESIDENT INSTRUCTION GRANTS FOR INSULAR 

2 AREAS. 

3 Section 1491(c)(2) of the National Agricultural Re4 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

5 U.S.C. 3363(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

7 SEC. 6131. REPEALS. 

8 (a) Section 1410 of the National Agricultural Re9 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 ((7 

10 U.S.C. 3125) is repealed. 

11 (b) Section 1419C of the National Agricultural Re12 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

13 U.S.C. 3158) is repealed. 

14 (c) Section 1447A of the National Agricultural Re15 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

16 U.S.C. 3222b–1) is repealed. 

17 (d) Subtitle M of the National Agricultural Research, 

18 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

19 3331 et seq.) is repealed. 

20 Subtitle B—Food, Agriculture, Con21 servation, and Trade Act of 1990 

22 SEC. 6201. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE RESEARCH AND 

23 EDUCATION. 

24 Subtitle B of title XVI of the Food, Agriculture, Con25 servation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.) 

26 is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ each place it appears in 


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1 sections 1624 (7 U.S.C. 5814), 1627(d) (7 U.S.C. 

2 5821(d)), 1628(f)(2) (7 U.S.C. 1631(f)(2)), and 1629(i) 

3 (7 U.S.C. 5832(i)), and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

4 SEC. 6202. NATIONAL GENETICS RESOURCES PROGRAM. 

5 Section 1635(b)(2) of the Food, Agriculture, Con6 servation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5844(b)(2)) 

7 is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

8 SEC. 6203. AGRICULTURAL GENOME TO PHENOME INITIA9 TIVE. 

10 Section 1671(g) of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva11 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5924(g)) is amend12 ed by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

13 SEC. 6204. HIGH-PRIORITY RESEARCH AND EXTENSION INI14 TIATIVES. 

15 Section 1672 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 

16 and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (d)— 

18 (A) by striking paragraphs (5), (6), (9), 

19 (10), (11), (13), and (18); 

20 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (7), (8), 

21 (12), (14), (15), (16), (17), (19), and (20) as 

22 paragraphs (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), 

23 (12), and (13); 


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1 (C) in paragraph (11), as so redesignated, 

2 by inserting ‘‘and harmful algal blooms’’ after 

3 ‘‘macro-algae systems’’; and 

4 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(14) FERTILIZER AND NUTRIENT MANAGE6 MENT INITIATIVE.—Research and extension grants 

7 may be made under this section for the purposes of 

8 carrying out research to improve fertilizer use effi9 ciency in crops and examining nutrient management 

10 based on the source, rate, timing, and placement of 

11 crop nutrients. 

12 ‘‘(15) TROPICAL PLANT HEALTH INITIATIVE.— 

13 Research and extension grants may be made under 

14 this section for the purposes of— 

15 ‘‘(A) developing and disseminating science16 based tools and treatments to combat plant 

17 pests and noxious weeds (as those terms are de18 fined in section 403 of the Plant Protection Act 

19 (7 U.S.C. 7702)) that impact tropical plants, 

20 including— 

21 ‘‘(i) coffee plants; 

22 ‘‘(ii) macadamia trees; 

23 ‘‘(iii) cacao trees; 

24 ‘‘(iv) plantains and bananas; 

25 ‘‘(v) mangos; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) tropical floriculture and nursery 

2 crops; and 

3 ‘‘(vii) any other tropical plant as de4 termined by the Secretary; 

5 ‘‘(B) establishing an areawide integrated 

6 pest management program in areas affected by, 

7 or areas at risk of being affected by, plant pests 

8 or noxious weeds; 

9 ‘‘(C) surveying and collecting data on trop10 ical plant production and health; 

11 ‘‘(D) investigating tropical plant biology, 

12 immunology, ecology, genomics, and 

13 bioinformatics; and 

14 ‘‘(E) conducting research on various fac15 tors that may contribute to, or be associated 

16 with, tropical plant immune systems and other 

17 serious threats to tropical plants. 

18 ‘‘(16) BIOCHAR RESEARCH.—Research and ex19 tension grants may be made under this section for 

20 the purpose of testing the full range of biochar types 

21 across soil types, soil health and soil management 

22 conditions, application methods, and climatic and 

23 agronomic regions, including through the establish24 ment of a national biochar research network, to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) assess the soil carbon sequestration 

2 potential of various biochars and management 

3 systems integrating biochar use; 

4 ‘‘(B) understand how to use biochar pro5 ductively to contribute to climate mitigation, 

6 crop production, resilience to extreme weather 

7 events, ecosystem and soil health, natural re8 source conservation, and farm profitability; and 

9 ‘‘(C) deliver science-based, region-specific, 

10 cost-effective, and practical information to 

11 farmers, ranchers, foresters, land reclamation 

12 managers, urban land managers, and other land 

13 and natural resource managers and businesses 

14 on sustainable biochar production and applica15 tion. 

16 ‘‘(17) WILDFIRE SMOKE EXPOSURE RE17 SEARCH.—Research and extension grants may be 

18 made under this section for the purposes of studying 

19 the impact of wildfire smoke exposure on specialty 

20 crops, including wine grapes, hops, stone fruit, and 

21 apples, by— 

22 ‘‘(A) conducting research— 

23 ‘‘(i) to identify the compounds respon24 sible for smoke exposure; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) to establish standard methodolo2 gies for sampling and testing smoke-ex3 posed specialty crops and smoke-affected 

4 products, including fast and inexpensive 

5 screening methods; 

6 ‘‘(B) establishing a reliable database of 

7 background levels of smoke exposure com8 pounds that occur naturally in specialty crops; 

9 ‘‘(C) developing risk assessment tools or 

10 mitigation methods to reduce or eliminate 

11 smoke exposure; and 

12 ‘‘(D) studying compounds that can act as 

13 a barrier between specialty crops and smoke 

14 compounds. 

15 ‘‘(18) INVASIVE SPECIES RESEARCH.—Research 

16 and extension grants may be made under this sec17 tion for the purposes of developing and dissemi18 nating science-based tools and treatments to manage 

19 or eradicate (including through methods of biocon20 trol and sterile insect techniques) invasive species of 

21 plants and animals, such as the spotted lanternfly 

22 (Lycorma delicatula), navel orangeworm (Amyelois 

23 transitella), and spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila 

24 suzukii). 


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1 ‘‘(19) MICROPLASTICS AND PER- AND

2 POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES ON FARMLAND.— 

3 Research and extension grants may be made under 

4 this section for the purposes of carrying out or en5 hancing research on the agricultural impacts of 

6 microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl sub7 stances, including structural firefighting foam, in 

8 land-applied biosolids or compost on farmland, in9 cluding by— 

10 ‘‘(A) conducting surveys and collecting 

11 data on concentration, particle size, and chem12 ical composition of such substances in land-ap13 plied biosolids on farmland; 

14 ‘‘(B) the development or analysis of tech15 niques, including wastewater treatment and 

16 composting, to filter out or biodegrade such 

17 substances from biosolids intended to be used 

18 for agricultural purposes; 

19 ‘‘(C) conducting an analysis of the impact 

20 on agricultural crops and soil health of such 

21 substances in land-applied biosolids on farm22 land, including the uptake of such substances 

23 by various crops or livestock; 


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1 ‘‘(D) conducting research to better under2 stand how wastewater processing impacts such 

3 substances; 

4 ‘‘(E) conducting research to better under5 stand the fate, residence time, and transport of 

6 such substances on farmland; and 

7 ‘‘(F) conducting research on how to reme8 diate soil and water systems contaminated with 

9 such substances. 

10 ‘‘(20) AGRICULTURAL BYPRODUCTS RE11 SEARCH.—Research and extension grants may be 

12 made under this section for the purposes of con13 verting agricultural byproducts or forest residuals 

14 into valuable materials and products, including inno15 vations in production processes for easily deployable 

16 refining facilities, developing alternatives to agricul17 tural burning, and fostering energy production 

18 through recycling animal byproducts, wet waste, and 

19 plant-based waste. 

20 ‘‘(21) SOIL HEALTH RESEARCH.—Research and 

21 extension grants may be made under this section for 

22 the purposes of— 

23 ‘‘(A) developing management practices 

24 that improve soil health, including establishing 

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1 position of soil organic compounds that are ben2 eficial to soil quality and the environment; and 

3 ‘‘(B) disseminating such practices through 

4 methods such as innovative coursework and 

5 work-based learning. 

6 ‘‘(22) WHITE OAK RESEARCH.—Research and 

7 extension grants may be made under this section for 

8 the purposes of white oak research, including con9 ducting research on— 

10 ‘‘(A) white oak genes with resistance and 

11 stress tolerance; 

12 ‘‘(B) white oak trees that exhibit vigor for 

13 the purpose of increasing survival and growth; 

14 ‘‘(C) establishing a diverse white oak seed 

15 bank capable of responding to stressors; 

16 ‘‘(D) providing a sustainable supply of 

17 white oak seedlings and genetic resources; 

18 ‘‘(E) reforestation of white oak through 

19 natural and artificial regeneration; and 

20 ‘‘(F) the best methods for reforesting 

21 abandoned mine land sites. 

22 ‘‘(23) ALTERNATIVE GROWING MEDIA RE23 SEARCH.—Research and extension grants may be 

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1 tion, utilization, and evaluation of alternative grow2 ing media, including science-based techniques that 

3 maximize functions in the growth of plants and har4 vest yields. 

5 ‘‘(24) RANGELAND RESEARCH.—Research and 

6 extension grants may be made under this section for 

7 the purposes of carrying out or enhancing research 

8 on the development of forage production and im9 proved grazing and range management, including 

10 the adoption of virtual fencing technology that si11 multaneously enhance wildlife habitat, protect water12 sheds, and reduce hazards of erosion and flooding. 

13 ‘‘(25) SPECIALTY CROP MECHANIZATION AND

14 AUTOMATION RESEARCH.—Research and extension 

15 grants may be made under this section for the pur16 pose of developing and evaluating mechanization and 

17 automation technologies for specialty crops.’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (e)(5), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

20 (3) in subsection (f)(5), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

22 (4) in subsection (g)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking 

24 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking 

2 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

3 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

5 (5) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub6 section (i); 

7 (6) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(h) REPORT.—Not later than February 1, 2026, 

10 and not less frequently than once every other year there11 after, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Ag12 riculture of the House of Representatives and the Com13 mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Sen14 ate a report describing how the Department carried out 

15 research and extension activities specified in subsections 

16 (d) through (f) for the previous two fiscal years, including 

17 the amount of funding allocated to each high-priority re18 search and extension initiative, through— 

19 ‘‘(1) amounts made available under appropria20 tions Acts to the Agricultural Research Service; 

21 ‘‘(2) amounts made available to the National 

22 Institute of Food and Agriculture under capacity 

23 and infrastructure programs (as defined in section 

24 251 of the Department of Agriculture Reorganiza25 tion Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6971)); 


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1 ‘‘(3) amounts made available to the National 

2 Institute of Food and Agriculture under competitive 

3 programs (as defined in such section); and 

4 ‘‘(4) amounts made available through other 

5 agencies within the Department.’’; and 

6 (7) in subsection (i) (as redesignated by para7 graph (4)), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘2029’’. 

9 SEC. 6205. ORGANIC AGRICULTURE RESEARCH AND EXTEN10 SION INITIATIVE. 

11 Section 1672B of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva12 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925b) is amend13 ed— 

14 (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

15 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘2029’’; 

17 (2) by striking subsection (e); 

18 (3) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub19 section (e); and 

20 (4) in subsection (e), as so redesignated— 

21 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

23 (B) by striking paragraph (3). 


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1 SEC. 6206. FARM BUSINESS MANAGEMENT. 

2 Section 1672D(d)(2) of the Food, Agriculture, Con3 servation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925f(d)(2)) 

4 is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

5 SEC. 6207. URBAN, INDOOR, AND OTHER EMERGING AGRI6 CULTURAL PRODUCTION RESEARCH, EDU7 CATION, AND EXTENSION INITIATIVE. 

8 Section 1672E of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva9 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925g)— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

12 (1)— 

13 (i) by striking ‘‘the Urban Agriculture 

14 and Innovative Production Advisory Com15 mittee established under section 222(b) of 

16 the Department of Agriculture Reorganiza17 tion Act of 1994’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

18 Urban Agriculture and Innovative Produc19 tion Advisory Committee and the Office of 

20 Urban Agriculture and Innovative Produc21 tion established under section 222 of the 

22 Department of Agriculture Reorganization 

23 Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6923)’’; and 

24 (ii) by striking ‘‘emerging agricultural 

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1 cultural production practices (as described 

2 in subsection (a)(3) of such section)’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘emerg4 ing agricultural production’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘emerging agricultural production practices’’; 

6 (C) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

7 the end; 

8 (D) in paragraph (8), by striking the pe9 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

10 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(9) managing waste streams to improve the 

12 environmental footprint; or 

13 ‘‘(10) advising land-grant colleges and univer14 sities (as defined in section 1404 of the National Ag15 ricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy 

16 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)), minority-serving in17 stitutions (as described in section 371(a) of the 

18 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

19 1067q(a))), junior or community colleges (as defined 

20 in section 312(f) of such Act (20 U.S.C. 1058(f))), 

21 and vocational schools, with respect to career and 

22 technical education.’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (d)(2), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 6208. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE. 

2 Section 1673 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 

3 and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5926) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking subsections (a), (b), and (c) and 

5 inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(a) CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agri8 culture shall establish at least one center of excel9 lence for the purpose of carrying out research, ex10 tension, and education activities for each of the 

11 areas of focus described in paragraph (3). 

12 ‘‘(2) HOST INSTITUTIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Institutions eligible to 

14 host or co-host a center of excellence estab15 lished under this subsection include— 

16 ‘‘(i) 1862 Institutions, as defined in 

17 section 2 of the Agricultural Research, Ex18 tension, and Education Reform Act of 

19 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601); 

20 ‘‘(ii) 1890 Institutions, as defined in 

21 section 2 of the Agricultural Research, Ex22 tension, and Education Reform Act of 

23 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601); 

24 ‘‘(iii) 1994 Institutions, as defined in 

25 section 532 of the Equity in Educational 


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1 Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 

2 301 note); 

3 ‘‘(iv) non-land-grant colleges of agri4 culture, as defined in section 1404 of the 

5 National Agricultural Research, Extension, 

6 and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

7 3103); 

8 ‘‘(v) Hispanic-serving agricultural col9 leges or universities, as defined in section 

10 1404 of the National Agricultural Re11 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy 

12 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103); and 

13 ‘‘(vi) accredited schools of veterinary 

14 medicine. 

15 ‘‘(B) DISTRIBUTION.—To the maximum 

16 extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure 

17 the geographic diversity of institutions selected 

18 to host or co-host a center of excellence estab19 lished under this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—An institution may 

21 host or co-host only one center of excellence 

22 under this subsection at a time. 

23 ‘‘(D) DUTIES.—The institution or institu24 tions selected to host or co-host a center of ex25 cellence established under this subsection shall 


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1 partner with the Agricultural Research Service, 

2 other Federal agencies, State governments, 

3 other institutions of higher education (as de4 fined in section 101 of the Higher Education 

5 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)), agricultural in6 dustry groups, or other relevant entities to— 

7 ‘‘(i) reduce duplicative efforts and 

8 focus on filling gaps across research, ex9 tension, and education activities by en10 hancing coordination and improving cost11 effectiveness; 

12 ‘‘(ii) leverage available resources by 

13 using public-private partnerships; 

14 ‘‘(iii) implement training and edu15 cational initiatives to increase awareness 

16 and effectively disseminate solutions to tar17 get audiences through extension activities; 

18 ‘‘(iv) increase the economic returns to 

19 rural communities by identifying, attract20 ing, and directing funds to high-priority 

21 agricultural issues; 

22 ‘‘(v) rapidly respond to emerging 

23 issues that threaten any sector of the 

24 United States agricultural industry; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) focus on workforce development 

2 for employers to recruit and retain high3 quality employees in rural areas; and 

4 ‘‘(vii) engage in assistance for admin5 istrative management and education re6 garding potentially valuable intellectual 

7 property derived from federally-supported 

8 research, extension, and education activi9 ties. 

10 ‘‘(3) AREAS OF FOCUS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) AQUACULTURE.—A center of excel12 lence established under this subsection may en13 gage in research, extension, and education ac14 tivities focused on developing and applying 

15 aquaculture methods, including through the 

16 propagation and rearing of economically and 

17 ecologically valuable aquatic and marine species. 

18 ‘‘(B) BEGINNING FARMERS AND RANCH19 ERS.—A center of excellence established under 

20 this subsection may engage in research, exten21 sion and education activities focused on training 

22 beginning farmers and ranchers, including farm 

23 and agribusiness management, mentoring and 

24 technical assistance, and access to capital. 


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1 ‘‘(C) BIOSECURITY AND CYBERSECU2 RITY.—A center of excellence established under 

3 this subsection may engage in research, exten4 sion, and education activities focused on agri5 cultural biosecurity and cybersecurity efforts to 

6 defend the United States food supply from any 

7 attacks. 

8 ‘‘(D) BIOSYSTEMS AND AGRICULTURAL

9 ENGINEERING.—A center of excellence estab10 lished under this subsection may engage in re11 search, extension, and education activities fo12 cused on biosystems and agricultural engineer13 ing, including precision agriculture technologies 

14 and mechanization and automation technologies 

15 for specialty crops. 

16 ‘‘(E) BIOTECHNOLOGY.—A center of excel17 lence established under this subsection may en18 gage in research, extension, and education ac19 tivities focused on development of animal and 

20 plant biotechnologies that will increase agricul21 tural productivity. 

22 ‘‘(F) CROP PRODUCTION, PROTECTION, 

23 AND RESILIENCE.—A center of excellence estab24 lished under this subsection may engage in re25 search, extension, and education activities foVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00466 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 cused on crop production and protection, in2 cluding the development, manufacture, and use 

3 of fertilizer, crop protection tools, and adju4 vants in increasing productivity and protecting 

5 crops from damaging pests and diseases. 

6 ‘‘(G) DIGITAL AGRICULTURE.—A center of 

7 excellence established under this subsection may 

8 engage in research, extension, and education ac9 tivities focused on developing, evaluating, and 

10 deploying digital agriculture, including artificial 

11 intelligence and remote sensing systems. 

12 ‘‘(H) FARM BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL

13 MANAGEMENT.—A center of excellence estab14 lished under this subsection may engage in re15 search, extension, and education activities fo16 cused on farm business and financial manage17 ment activities, including marketing plans, pro18 duction diversification, and cash forward con19 tracting. 

20 ‘‘(I) FOOD QUALITY.—A center of excel21 lence established under this subsection may en22 gage in research, extension, and education ac23 tivities focused on improving food quality, in24 cluding research on the uptake of per- and 

25 polyfluoroalkyl substances in food, the presence 


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1 of microplastics in biosolids, and the efficacy 

2 and feasibility of reducing levels of inorganic 

3 arsenic, lead, cadmium, or mercury in food. 

4 ‘‘(J) FOREIGN ANIMAL DISEASE.—A center 

5 of excellence established under this subsection 

6 may engage in research, extension, and edu7 cation activities focused on foreign animal dis8 eases, including the ecology and etiology of 

9 emerging diseases, control methods, and imple10 mentation strategies to enhance preparedness 

11 and response efforts to protect the livestock and 

12 poultry industry. 

13 ‘‘(K) FORESTRY.—A center of excellence 

14 established under this subsection may engage in 

15 research, extension, and education activities fo16 cused on forest productivity and forest health, 

17 including invasive species control, biochar and 

18 pyrolysis development and commercialization, 

19 reforestation and restoration of damaged land20 scapes, and new wood-based materials. 

21 ‘‘(L) INVASIVE SPECIES.—A center of ex22 cellence established under this subsection may 

23 engage in research, extension, and education ac24 tivities focused on the control and eradication of 

25 invasive species that pose a persistent and 


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1 growing threat to United States agricultural 

2 production, forest resources, global food secu3 rity, and rural economies. 

4 ‘‘(M) LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY.—A cen5 ter of excellence established under this sub6 section may engage in research, extension, and 

7 education activities focused on issues impacting 

8 livestock (including equines) and poultry pro9 duction in the United States, including eco10 nomic research to understand policy implica11 tions for producers. 

12 ‘‘(N) VETERINARY MEDICINE.—A center of 

13 excellence established under this subsection may 

14 engage in research, extension, and education ac15 tivities focused on developing large animal vet16 erinarians and addressing the veterinarian 

17 shortage in rural areas. 

18 ‘‘(O) WATER QUALITY AND QUANTITY.—A 

19 center of excellence established under this sub20 section may engage in research, extension, and 

21 education activities focused on water quality 

22 and quantity efforts, including drought, water 

23 management, natural resource benefits, and the 

24 health and resilience of the water supply in the 

25 United States. 


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1 ‘‘(4) TERMS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) DURATION.—The term of an award 

3 under this subsection shall be for a five-year pe4 riod, and may be renewed for not more than 

5 one additional five-year period. 

6 ‘‘(B) CONSTRUCTION PROHIBITED.— 

7 Funds made available under this subsection 

8 shall not be used for the construction of a new 

9 building or facility or the acquisition, expan10 sion, remodeling, or alteration of an existing 

11 building or facility (including site grading and 

12 improvement, and architect fees). 

13 ‘‘(5) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one 

14 year after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

15 and every year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit 

16 to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 

17 Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, 

18 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report de19 scribing— 

20 ‘‘(A) the projects initiated by each center 

21 of excellence established under this subsection 

22 in the preceding year; 

23 ‘‘(B) the amount of funding for each such 

24 project and the funding source; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the institutions participating in each 

2 such project and their shares of the overall 

3 funding for each project; 

4 ‘‘(D) the level of cost sharing for each such 

5 project; 

6 ‘‘(E) any technology transfer and intellec7 tual property management actions taken by 

8 each such center of excellence, such as the num9 ber of relevant invention disclosures, any provi10 sional patents filed, any non-provisional patents 

11 filed and issued, the number of licenses exe12 cuted, and any start-up companies registered; 

13 and 

14 ‘‘(F) any additional information deemed 

15 necessary.’’; 

16 (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub17 section (b); 

18 (3) in subsection (b), as so redesignated— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

20 (i) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘In addition to the centers of ex22 cellence established under subsection (a), 

23 the Secretary’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘not less than 3 cen2 ters of excellence’’ and inserting ‘‘not less 

3 than 8 centers of excellence’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

6 (I) in the subparagraph heading, 

7 by striking ‘‘AND WORKFORCE DEVEL8 OPMENT’’ and inserting ‘‘, WORK9 FORCE DEVELOPMENT, AND RURAL

10 STUDIES’’; and 

11 (II) by inserting ‘‘economics, psy12 chology, rural sociology, data 

13 sciences,’’ after ‘‘mathematics,’’; 

14 (ii) in subparagraph (E), by inserting 

15 ‘‘and nature-based solutions to improve the 

16 composition of soil organic compounds, in17 cluding carbon, that are beneficial to soil 

18 quality and the environment’’ before the 

19 period at the end; and 

20 (iii) by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(G) FOREST HEALTH AND CONSERVA23 TION.—A center of excellence established under 

24 paragraph (1) may focus on forest health, sus25 tainable forest management, agroforestry, enVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00472 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 hancing forest resilience to catastrophic wild2 fire, supporting rural infrastructure, and urban 

3 and community forestry programs to promote 

4 healthy forest ecosystems and resilient commu5 nities. 

6 ‘‘(H) FOOD SAFETY, BIOPROCESSING, AND

7 VALUE-ADDED AGRICULTURE.—A center of ex8 cellence established under paragraph (1) may 

9 focus on food safety, bioprocessing, value-added 

10 agriculture enterprise development, and innova11 tive food and agriculture product develop12 ment.’’; and 

13 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

15 SEC. 6209. THINKDIFFERENTLY NATIONAL AGRABILITY 

16 PROJECT. 

17 Section 1680 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 

18 and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5933) is amended— 

19 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘ASSIST20 IVE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM FOR FARMERS

21 WITH DISABILITIES’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘THINKDIFFERENTLY NATIONAL AGRABILITY

23 PROJECT’’; 

24 (2) in subsection (a)(3)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

3 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the 

4 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(F) provide education and support to 

7 youth and young adults with disabilities inter8 ested in farming and farm-related occupa9 tions.’’; and 

10 (3) in subsection (c)— 

11 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

12 ‘‘AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS’’ and 

13 inserting ‘‘FUNDING’’; 

14 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 

15 (2) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; and 

16 (C) by inserting before paragraph (2), as 

17 so redesignated, the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 

19 the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

20 shall use to carry out this section $8,000,000, to re21 main available until expended.’’; 

22 (D) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated— 

23 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik24 ing ‘‘IN GENERAL’’ and inserting ‘‘AU25 THORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS’’; 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘Subject to paragraph 

2 (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to paragraph 

3 (3)’’; and 

4 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

5 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

6 (E) by amending paragraph (3), as so re7 designated, to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL GRANT.—Not more than 

9 15 percent of the amounts made available 

10 under this subsection shall be used to carry out 

11 subsection (b).’’. 

12 SEC. 6210. FARMING OPPORTUNITIES TRAINING AND OUT13 REACH. 

14 Section 2501 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 

15 and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (c)(2)— 

17 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

18 (A)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘Secretary of Agri20 culture’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Agri21 culture, acting through the Director of the 

22 National Institute of Food and Agri23 culture,’’; and 

24 (ii) by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘2029’’; and 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘2023’’ each place it appears in 

2 subsections (d)(1) and (l)(2) and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

3 SEC. 6211. NATIONAL RURAL INFORMATION CENTER 

4 CLEARINGHOUSE. 

5 Section 2381(e) of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva6 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 3125b(e)) is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

8 SEC. 6212. REPEAL. 

9 Subtitle D of title XVI of the Food, Agriculture, Con10 servation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5851 et seq.) 

11 is repealed. 

12 Subtitle C—Agricultural Research, 

13 Extension, and Education Re14 form Act of 1998 

15 SEC. 6301. NATIONAL FOOD SAFETY TRAINING, EDUCATION, 

16 EXTENSION, OUTREACH, AND TECHNICAL AS17 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

18 Section 405 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, 

19 and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7625) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) by striking subsection (d); 

22 (2) by redesignating subsections (e) through (j) 

23 as subsections (d) through (i), respectively; and 

24 (3) in subsection (i), as so redesignated, by 

25 striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 6302. INTEGRATED RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EX2 TENSION COMPETITIVE GRANTS PROGRAM. 

3 Section 406(f) of the Agricultural Research, Exten4 sion, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 

5 7626(f)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘2029’’. 

7 SEC. 6303. SUPPORT FOR RESEARCH REGARDING DISEASES 

8 OF WHEAT, TRITICALE, AND BARLEY CAUSED 

9 BY FUSARIUM GRAMINEARUM OR BY 

10 TILLETIA INDICA. 

11 Section 408(e)(3) of the Agricultural Research, Ex12 tension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 

13 7628(e)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘2029’’. 

15 SEC. 6304. GRANTS FOR YOUTH ORGANIZATIONS. 

16 Section 410(d)(2) of the Agricultural Research, Ex17 tension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 

18 7630(d)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘2029’’. 

20 SEC. 6305. SPECIALTY CROP RESEARCH INITIATIVE. 

21 Section 412 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, 

22 and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7632) is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (f)(3), by striking ‘‘subsection 

25 (d) and (j)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (d), (j), and 

26 (k)’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (g)(3), by adding at the end 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(C) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 

4 the matching funds requirement under subpara5 graph (A) with respect to a grant if the Sec6 retary determines that— 

7 ‘‘(i) the results of the grant are of a 

8 particular benefit to a specific specialty 

9 crop, but such results are likely to be ap10 plicable to specialty crops or agricultural 

11 commodities, generally; or 

12 ‘‘(ii)(I) the grant— 

13 ‘‘(aa) involves a minor com14 modity; and 

15 ‘‘(bb) deals with scientifically im16 portant research; and 

17 ‘‘(II) the recipient is unable to satisfy 

18 the matching funds requirement.’’; 

19 (3) in subsection (j)(5), by striking ‘‘subsection 

20 (k)(1)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (l)(1)(C)’’; 

21 (4) by redesignating subsection (k) as sub22 section (l); 

23 (5) by inserting after subsection (j) the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(k) SPECIALTY CROP MECHANIZATION AND AUTO2 MATION RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROGRAM.—The 

3 Secretary shall establish a competitive research and exten4 sion grant program to award grants to eligible entities to 

5 increase the competitiveness of specialty crops in the 

6 United States through the advancement and acceleration 

7 of mechanization and automation, including projects 

8 that— 

9 ‘‘(1) create or improve cost-effective mechaniza10 tion and automation technologies to— 

11 ‘‘(A) reduce the manual labor requirements 

12 of a specialty crop grower; or 

13 ‘‘(B) increase the efficiency of— 

14 ‘‘(i) crop production; 

15 ‘‘(ii) resource management; 

16 ‘‘(iii) harvesting; 

17 ‘‘(iv) processing; 

18 ‘‘(v) post-harvest technologies; or 

19 ‘‘(vi) packing; 

20 ‘‘(2) increase adoption of mechanization and 

21 automation technologies by— 

22 ‘‘(A) emphasizing adoption drivers, includ23 ing— 

24 ‘‘(i) connectivity; 

25 ‘‘(ii) autonomy; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) reliability; 

2 ‘‘(iv) durability; 

3 ‘‘(v) in-field validation; or 

4 ‘‘(vi) cost-effectiveness; or 

5 ‘‘(B) investing in, and developing human 

6 capital to, increase the capacity to— 

7 ‘‘(i) utilize new technologies; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) manage a more tech-focused 

9 farm workforce; or 

10 ‘‘(3) accelerate automation and mechanization 

11 through— 

12 ‘‘(A) prototype development; 

13 ‘‘(B) in-field trial testing; 

14 ‘‘(C) ongoing industry engagement; or 

15 ‘‘(D) rapid commercialization.’’; and 

16 (6) in subsection (l), as redesignated by para17 graph (4)— 

18 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

19 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

20 ‘‘section $80,000,000 for fiscal year 2014’’ 

21 and inserting the following: ‘‘section— 

22 ‘‘(i) $80,000,000 for each of fiscal 

23 years 2014 through 2024; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) $175,000,000 for fiscal year 

25 2025,’’; 


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1 (ii) by amending subparagraph (C) to 

2 read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(C) RESERVATION.— 

4 ‘‘(i) EMERGENCY CITRUS DISEASE RE5 SEARCH AND EXTENSION PROGRAM.— 

6 ‘‘(I) FISCAL YEARS 2014

7 THROUGH 2018.—For each of fiscal 

8 years 2014 through 2018, the Sec9 retary shall reserve not less than 

10 $25,000,000 of the funds made avail11 able under subparagraph (B) to carry 

12 out the program established under 

13 subsection (j). 

14 ‘‘(II) FISCAL YEARS 2025

15 THROUGH 2029.—For each of fiscal 

16 years 2025 through 2029, the Sec17 retary shall reserve not less than 

18 $25,000,000 of the funds made avail19 able under subparagraph (B) to carry 

20 out the program established under 

21 subsection (j). 

22 ‘‘(ii) SPECIALTY CROP MECHANIZA23 TION AND AUTOMATION RESEARCH AND

24 EXTENSION PROGRAM.—For each of fiscal 

25 years 2025 through 2029, the Secretary 


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1 shall reserve not less than $20,000,000 of 

2 the funds made available under subpara3 graph (B) to carry out the program estab4 lished under subsection (k).’’; and 

5 (iii) by amending subparagraph (D) to 

6 read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(D) REALLOCATION.—Notwithstanding 

8 paragraph (4), any funds reserved under sub9 paragraph (C) that remain unobligated at the 

10 end of the fiscal year following the fiscal year 

11 in which such funds are first made available 

12 shall be reallocated to carry out activities of the 

13 specialty crop research initiative established 

14 under subsection (b).’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

16 (i) in the paragraph heading, by strik17 ing ‘‘FOR FISCAL YEARS 2014 THROUGH

18 2023’’; and 

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘2029’’; 

21 (C) by striking paragraph (3); and 

22 (D) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 

23 (5) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively. 


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1 SEC. 6306. AGRICULTURE GRANTS FOR VETERAN EDU2 CATION AND TRAINING SERVICES. 

3 Title IV of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

4 Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7624 et seq.) 

5 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 414. AGRICULTURE GRANTS FOR VETERAN EDU7 CATION AND TRAINING SERVICES. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

9 program under which the Secretary will award competitive 

10 grants to eligible entities for the purpose of establishing 

11 and enhancing farming and ranching opportunities for 

12 veterans (as defined in section 101(2) of title 38, United 

13 States Code). 

14 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity is eligible for 

15 a grant under this section if such entity is— 

16 ‘‘(1) a cooperative extension service; 

17 ‘‘(2) a land-grant college or university (as de18 fined in section 1404 of the National Agricultural 

19 Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 

20 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)); 

21 ‘‘(3) a non-land-grant college of agriculture (as 

22 defined in such section); 

23 ‘‘(4) a Hispanic-serving agricultural college and 

24 university (as defined in such section); 

25 ‘‘(5) a State department of agriculture; 

26 ‘‘(6) a nonprofit organization; 


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1 ‘‘(7) a community-based organization; or 

2 ‘‘(8) a combination of 2 or more eligible entities 

3 described in paragraphs (1) through (7). 

4 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 

5 a grant under this section shall use the funds received 

6 through the grant— 

7 ‘‘(1) to provide training and classroom edu8 cation that leads to a comprehensive understanding 

9 of farm and ranch business operations and manage10 ment practices; 

11 ‘‘(2) to develop or identify curriculum that vet12 eran farmers and ranchers can adopt to help man13 age their enterprise; 

14 ‘‘(3) to offer education, workshops, tours, and 

15 instructor-supervised field experiences; or 

16 ‘‘(4) to support any other activity, as identified 

17 by the Secretary, to increase the number of veterans 

18 pursuing knowledge and skills development in agri19 culture. 

20 ‘‘(d) MATCHING FUNDS.—An entity that receives a 

21 grant under this section shall provide non-Federal match22 ing funds for the purposes of carrying out this section in 

23 an amount equal to not less than the amount of the grant. 


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1 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

2 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

3 $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.’’. 

4 SEC. 6307. FOOD ANIMAL RESIDUE AVOIDANCE DATABASE 

5 PROGRAM. 

6 Section 604(e) of the Agricultural Research, Exten7 sion, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 

8 7642(e)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘2029’’. 

10 SEC. 6308. OFFICE OF PEST MANAGEMENT POLICY. 

11 Section 614(f)(2) of the Agricultural Research, Ex12 tension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 

13 7653(f)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘2029’’. 

15 SEC. 6309. FORESTRY PRODUCTS ADVANCED UTILIZATION 

16 RESEARCH. 

17 Section 617(f)(1) of the Agricultural Research, Ex18 tension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 

19 7655b(f)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘2029’’. 

21 SEC. 6310. REPEALS. 

22 The Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education 

23 Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601 et seq.) is amended— 

24 (1) by striking section 404 (7 U.S.C. 7624); 

25 and 


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1 (2) by striking section 411 (7 U.S.C. 7631). 

2 Subtitle D—Food, Conservation, 

3 and Energy Act of 2008 

4 SEC. 6401. GRAZINGLANDS RESEARCH LABORATORY. 

5 Section 7502 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy 

6 Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–246; 122 Stat. 2019) is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘, for the 15-year period beginning 

8 on the date of enactment of this Act’’. 

9 SEC. 6402. FARM AND RANCH STRESS ASSISTANCE NET10 WORK. 

11 Section 7522 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy 

12 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 5936) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by inserting ‘‘, in14 cluding crisis hotlines’’ after ‘‘websites’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

17 (3) by redesignating subsection (f) as sub18 section (g); and 

19 (4) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(f) REFERRALS TO PROVIDERS.—As part of the ef22 forts of the recipient of a grant under subsection (a) to 

23 connect individuals to behavioral health counseling and 

24 wellness support and to ensure individuals have access to 

25 a comprehensive scope of mental health and substance use 


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1 treatments and supports, when applicable, the grant re2 cipient may establish referral relationships with— 

3 ‘‘(1) certified community behavioral health clin4 ics described in section 223 of the Protecting Access 

5 to Medicare Act of 2014 (42 U.S.C. 1396a note; 

6 Public Law 113–93); 

7 ‘‘(2) health centers (as defined in section 

8 330(a) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

9 254b(a))); 

10 ‘‘(3) rural health clinics (as defined in section 

11 1861(aa) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

12 1395x(aa))); 

13 ‘‘(4) Federally qualified health centers (as de14 fined in that section); and 

15 ‘‘(5) critical access hospitals (as defined in sec16 tion 1861(mm) of the Social Security Act (42 

17 U.S.C. 1395x(mm))).’’. 

18 SEC. 6403. SUN GRANT PROGRAM. 

19 Section 7526 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy 

20 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8114) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)— 

22 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and 

23 bioproduct’’ before ‘‘technologies’’; 

24 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘prod25 uct’’ and inserting ‘‘bioproduct’’; and 


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1 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘prod2 uct’’ and inserting ‘‘bioproduct’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ‘‘4 percent’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘30 percent’’; and 

5 (3) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

7 SEC. 6404. REPEALS. 

8 The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 

9 U.S.C. 8701 et seq.) is amended— 

10 (1) by striking section 7521 (7 U.S.C. 3202); 

11 and 

12 (2) by striking section 7525 (7 U.S.C. 5937). 

13 Subtitle E—Amendments to Other 

14 Laws 

15 SEC. 6501. EQUITY IN EDUCATIONAL LAND-GRANT STATUS 

16 ACT OF 1994. 

17 The Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act 

18 of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note; Public Law 103–382) is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in section 533(b), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

22 (2) in section 534(a)(1), by striking ‘‘equal to’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘that is not less than’’; 


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1 (3) in section 535, by striking ‘‘2023’’ each 

2 place it appears in subsections (b)(1) and (c) and in3 serting ‘‘2029’’; 

4 (4) in section 536— 

5 (A) by striking subsection (b); 

6 (B) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub7 section (b); and 

8 (C) in subsection (b) (as so redesignated), 

9 by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

10 SEC. 6502. RESEARCH FACILITIES ACT. 

11 Section 6 of the Research Facilities Act (7 U.S.C. 

12 390d) is amended— 

13 (1) in the section heading by striking ‘‘AU14 THORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘FUNDING’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (a)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Sub18 ject to’’ and inserting the following: 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

20 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 

21 the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

22 shall make available to carry out the competitive 

23 grant program under section 4, $2,500,000,000 for 

24 fiscal year 2025, to remain available until expended. 


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1 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 Subject to’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (2), as so designated, by 

4 striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

5 SEC. 6503. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD RESEARCH INITIA6 TIVE. 

7 Subsection (b) of the Competitive, Special, and Fa8 cilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157(b)) is amend9 ed— 

10 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

11 (A) in subparagraph (A)(iii)— 

12 (i) by inserting ‘‘regionally adapted’’ 

13 before ‘‘cultivar’’; and 

14 (ii) by inserting ‘‘breeding for environ15 mental resilience,’’ before ‘‘and 

16 participatory breeding’’; 

17 (B) in subparagraph (B)(i), by inserting ‘‘, 

18 including methods of increasing survival rate 

19 and adaptability of shellfish’’ after ‘‘aqua20 culture’’; 

21 (C) in subparagraph (E)— 

22 (i) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

23 the end; 

24 (ii) in clause (v), by striking the pe25 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 


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1 (iii) by adding at the end the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(vi) hydroponics, aquaponics, 

4 aeroponics, and other production tech5 nologies used in controlled-environment ag6 riculture production.’’; and 

7 (D) in subparagraph (F)— 

8 (i) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘, includ9 ing supply chain coordination and capacity 

10 building’’ after ‘‘overseas markets’’; 

11 (ii) in clause (vii), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

12 at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

13 (iii) in clause (viii), by striking the pe14 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

15 (iv) by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(ix) workforce training and develop18 ment, including meat and poultry proc19 essing (including rendering) and precision 

20 agriculture.’’; 

21 (2) in paragraph (7)— 

22 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) 

23 through (I) as subparagraphs (E) through (J), 

24 respectively; 


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1 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(D) area career and technical education 

4 schools;’’; and 

5 (C) in subparagraph (J), as so redesig6 nated, by striking ‘‘(H)’’ and inserting ‘‘(I)’’; 

7 and 

8 (3) in paragraph (11)(A), in the matter pre9 ceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘2029’’. 

11 SEC. 6504. EXTENSION DESIGN AND DEMONSTRATION INI12 TIATIVE. 

13 Subsection (d)(6) of the Competitive, Special, and 

14 Facilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157(d)(6)) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

16 SEC. 6505. BIOMASS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

17 Section 9008(h)(2) of the Farm Security and Rural 

18 Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8108(h)(2)) is amended 

19 by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

20 SEC. 6506. RENEWABLE RESOURCES EXTENSION ACT OF 

21 1978. 

22 The Renewable Resources Extension Act of 1978 (16 

23 U.S.C. 1671 et seq.) is amended— 


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1 (1) in section 6 (16 U.S.C. 1675), in the first 

2 sentence, by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

3 and 

4 (2) in section 8 (16 U.S.C. 1671 note), by 

5 striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

6 SEC. 6507. NATIONAL AQUACULTURE ACT OF 1980. 

7 The National Aquaculture Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 

8 2801 et seq.) is amended— 

9 (1) in section 4 (16 U.S.C. 2803)— 

10 (A) in subsection (a)(2), by striking 

11 ‘‘acquaculture’’ and inserting ‘‘aquaculture’’; 

12 (B) in subsection (d), in the matter pre13 ceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, not less 

14 than once every 3 years,’’ after ‘‘periodic re15 views’’; and 

16 (C) in subsection (e)— 

17 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

18 (1), by inserting ‘‘, not less than once 

19 every 3 years,’’ after ‘‘undertake a con20 tinuing assessment of aquaculture in the 

21 United States’’; 

22 (ii) in paragraph (5), by striking 

23 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


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1 (iii) in paragraph (6), by striking the 

2 period at the end and inserting a semi3 colon; and 

4 (iv) by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(7) a catalog of new and existing capital con7 straints, as described in the capital requirements 

8 plan formulated under section 8(b), that affect the 

9 development of the aquaculture industry in the 

10 United States; and 

11 ‘‘(8) a catalog of new and existing Federal or 

12 State regulatory barriers, as described in the regu13 latory constraints plan formulated under section 

14 9(b), to the initiation and operation of commercial 

15 aquaculture ventures.’’; 

16 (2) in section 5 (16 U.S.C. 2804), by striking 

17 subsection (d) and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(d) AQUACULTURE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

20 after the date of enactment of the Prioritizing Amer21 ican Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over Bu22 reaucracy Act, the Secretary shall establish an advi23 sory committee, to be known as the Aquaculture Ad24 visory Committee (referred to in this subsection as 

25 the ‘Committee’), to advise the Secretary on— 


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1 ‘‘(A) oversight of programs of the Depart2 ment and other members of the coordinating 

3 group to support development of, and to ad4 vance, aquaculture best practices using the best 

5 available science, in consultation with farmers 

6 and industry partners; 

7 ‘‘(B) providing technical assistance to 

8 aquaculture farmers and businesses, including 

9 technical assistance that pertains to shellfish, 

10 algae, and land-based aquaculture systems, 

11 using the best available science; and 

12 ‘‘(C) any other aspects of the implementa13 tion of this Act. 

14 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

16 be composed of 14 members, who are not offi17 cers or employees of the Federal Government. 

18 ‘‘(B) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—The Sec19 retary shall appoint the members of the Com20 mittee not later than 180 days after the date of 

21 enactment of this section. 

22 ‘‘(C) PERIOD OF INITIAL APPOINTMENT; 

23 VACANCIES.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro25 vided in clause (ii), a member of the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00495 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 mittee shall be appointed for a term of 3 

2 years. 

3 ‘‘(ii) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Of the 

4 members first appointed to the Com5 mittee— 

6 ‘‘(I) 5 of the members, as deter7 mined by the Secretary, shall be ap8 pointed for a term of 3 years; 

9 ‘‘(II) 5 of the members, as deter10 mined by the Secretary, shall be ap11 pointed for a term of 2 years; and 

12 ‘‘(III) 4 of the members, as de13 termined by the Secretary, shall be 

14 appointed for a term of 1 year. 

15 ‘‘(iii) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in 

16 the Committee— 

17 ‘‘(I) shall not affect the powers of 

18 the Committee; and 

19 ‘‘(II) shall be filled as soon as 

20 practicable in the same manner as the 

21 original appointment. 

22 ‘‘(D) CONSECUTIVE TERMS.—An initial 

23 appointee of the Committee may serve an addi24 tional consecutive term if the member is re25 appointed by the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(3) MEETINGS.— 

2 ‘‘(A) FREQUENCY.—The Committee shall 

3 meet not fewer than 3 times per year. 

4 ‘‘(B) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 

5 180 days after the date on which the members 

6 are appointed under paragraph (2)(B), the 

7 Committee shall hold the first meeting of the 

8 Committee. 

9 ‘‘(4) DUTIES.—The Committee shall— 

10 ‘‘(A) develop recommendations and advise 

11 the Secretary on aquaculture policies, initia12 tives, and outreach administered by the Depart13 ment; 

14 ‘‘(B) evaluate and review ongoing research 

15 and extension activities relating to aquaculture 

16 practices; 

17 ‘‘(C) identify new and existing barriers to 

18 successful aquaculture practices; and 

19 ‘‘(D) provide additional assistance and ad20 vice to the Secretary as appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(5) PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) COMPENSATION.—A member of the 

23 Committee shall serve without compensation. 

24 ‘‘(B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of 

25 the Committee shall be allowed travel expenses, 


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1 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in ac2 cordance with section 5703 of title 5, United 

3 States Code. 

4 ‘‘(6) TERMINATION.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara6 graph (B), the Committee shall terminate on 

7 the date that is 5 years after the date on which 

8 the members are appointed under paragraph 

9 (2)(B). 

10 ‘‘(B) EXTENSIONS.—Before the date on 

11 which the Committee terminates, the Secretary 

12 may renew the Committee for 1 or more 2-year 

13 periods. 

14 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

15 the date of the enactment of the Prioritizing American 

16 Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over Bureaucracy Act, 

17 and each year thereafter, the Secretary, acting through 

18 the coordinating group and in consultation with the Sec19 retary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior, 

20 shall prepare on an annual basis, and submit to Congress, 

21 a report on the status of aquaculture in the United States. 

22 Such report shall contain— 

23 ‘‘(1) a description and evaluation of the actions 

24 undertaken with respect to the Plan during the re25 porting period; 


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1 ‘‘(2) an explanation of any revisions made to 

2 the Plan during the reporting period; 

3 ‘‘(3) the results of the continuing assessment 

4 established under section 4(e); 

5 ‘‘(4) an evaluation of the role each Federal de6 partment or agency has in supporting the aqua7 culture industry; 

8 ‘‘(5) the total amount and value of expenditures 

9 of Federal departments or agencies on— 

10 ‘‘(A) aquaculture purchases; 

11 ‘‘(B) aquaculture promotion and outreach 

12 supporting the aquaculture industry; 

13 ‘‘(C) grants made to the aquaculture in14 dustry; and 

15 ‘‘(D) grants to facilitate aquaculture re16 search and the subject matter of such research; 

17 ‘‘(6) a summary of the activities and rec18 ommendations of the Aquaculture Advisory Com19 mittee established under subsection (d); 

20 ‘‘(7) a summary of the activities and rec21 ommendations of the coordinating group; and 

22 ‘‘(8) such other comments and recommenda23 tions as the Secretary determines appropriate.’’; and 


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1 (3) in section 10 (16 U.S.C. 2809), by striking 

2 ‘‘2023’’ each place it appears in paragraphs (1), (2), 

3 and (3) and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

4 SEC. 6508. REPORTS ON DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS FOR AG5 RICULTURAL RESEARCH AND EXTENSION AT 

6 1862 AND 1890 LAND-GRANT COLLEGES, IN7 CLUDING TUSKEGEE UNIVERSITY. 

8 Section 7116 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 

9 2018 (7 U.S.C. 2207d) is amended— 

10 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

11 striking ‘‘Not later than’’ and inserting the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than’’; and 

14 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(b) OUTREACH.—Not later than February 1 of each 

16 fiscal year, the Secretary shall provide information relat17 ing to each matching requirement applicable to the State 

18 under the programs referred to in subsection (a) to the 

19 Governor and legislature of each State in which an 1862 

20 Institution or 1890 Institution (as those terms are defined 

21 in section 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

22 Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601)) is lo23 cated. 

24 ‘‘(c) ATTESTATIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less frequently than 

2 once each calendar year, the Governor of each State 

3 described in subsection (b) shall submit to the Sec4 retary an attestation that describes if the State is 

5 able to fulfill each matching requirement with re6 spect to which information is provided by the Sec7 retary under such subsection for such State and cal8 endar year. 

9 ‘‘(2) REPORTS.—Not later than December 31 

10 of each calendar year, the Secretary shall submit to 

11 Congress, and make publicly available on the website 

12 of the Department of Agriculture, an annual report 

13 describing the attestations received under paragraph 

14 (1) during that calendar year.’’. 

15 SEC. 6509. REPEAL. 

16 Section 1431 of the National Agricultural Research, 

17 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act Amendments of 1985 

18 (title XIV of Public Law 99–198; 99 Stat. 1556) is re19 pealed. 

20 Subtitle F—Other Matters 

21 SEC. 6601. FOUNDATION FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE RE22 SEARCH. 

23 Section 7601 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

24 U.S.C. 5939) is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (d)(1)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

2 (i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘of Agri3 culture; and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

4 and 

5 (ii) by striking clause (iii); and 

6 (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘the 

7 roadmap for agricultural research, education, 

8 and extension authorized by section 7504 of the 

9 Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (7 

10 U.S.C. 7614a)’’ and inserting ‘‘the national re11 search policies and priorities set forth in section 

12 1402 of the National Agricultural Research, 

13 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

14 U.S.C. 3101)’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (e)(2)(C)(i)— 

16 (A) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘National 

17 Academy of Sciences’’ and inserting ‘‘National 

18 Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, 

19 and Economics Advisory Board established 

20 under section 1408 of the National Agricultural 

21 Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act 

22 of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3123)’’; and 

23 (B) in subclause (II), by striking ‘‘indus24 try’’ and inserting ‘‘national farm, producer, or 

25 research organizations’’; and 


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1 (3) in subsection (f)(3)(B)(i)— 

2 (A) in subclause (I)— 

3 (i) in the matter preceding item (aa), 

4 by striking ‘‘and post online’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘online and submit to the Committee on 

6 Agriculture of the House of Representa7 tives and the Committee on Agriculture, 

8 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate’’; 

9 (ii) in item (bb), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

10 the end; 

11 (iii) in item (cc), by striking the pe12 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

13 and 

14 (iv) by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(dd) the source and a de17 scription of all gifts to the Foun18 dation of real or personal prop19 erty; 

20 ‘‘(ee) the source and amount 

21 of each gift to the Foundation of 

22 money, including a specification 

23 of any restrictions on the pur24 poses for which a gift to the 

25 Foundation may be used; 


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1 ‘‘(ff) the source and amount 

2 of any Federal or State grant, 

3 contract, or cooperative agree4 ment awarded to the Foundation; 

5 ‘‘(gg) an accounting of the 

6 use of funds made available 

7 under subsection (g)(1); 

8 ‘‘(hh) a description of the 

9 Foundation’s outreach activities 

10 to agricultural stakeholders and 

11 potential research partners; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) a description of the 

13 Foundation’s consultation proc14 ess with the Department under 

15 subsection (d)(1)(B).’’; 

16 (B) by striking subclauses (II) and (III); 

17 and 

18 (C) by redesignating subclause (IV) as 

19 subclause (II). 

20 SEC. 6602. AGRICULTURE INNOVATION CENTER DEM21 ONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

22 Section 6402 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest23 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 1632b) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (d)— 

25 (A) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘Each Agriculture In2 novation Center’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to 

3 paragraph (3), each Agriculture Innovation 

4 Center’’; and 

5 (ii) by striking ‘‘following::’’ and in6 serting ‘‘following:’’; and 

7 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the 

9 requirement described in paragraph (2) with respect 

10 to an eligible entity if the Secretary determines that 

11 the eligible entity has a board of directors adequate 

12 for the purpose of carrying out this section.’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

15 SEC. 6603. LIVESTOCK INSECTS LABORATORY. 

16 The Act of December 23, 1987 (Public Law 100– 

17 208; 101 Stat. 1439) is amended by striking ‘‘Knipling18 Bushland Research Laboratory’’ each place it appears and 

19 inserting ‘‘Knipling-Bushland Research Center’’. 

20 SEC. 6604. HATCH ACT OF 1887. 

21 Section 5 of the Hatch Act of 1887 (7 U.S.C. 361e) 

22 is amended— 

23 (1) in the second sentence— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘known as a director’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘known as an experiment station di3 rector’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘or other officer appointed 

5 by the government board of the station’’; 

6 (2) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘or other 

7 officer’’; and 

8 (3) by striking ‘‘the authorized receiving offi9 cer’’ and inserting ‘‘the experiment station director’’. 

10 SEC. 6605. COMMISSION ON NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STA11 TISTICS SERVICE MODERNIZATION. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com13 mission to be known as the Commission on National Agri14 cultural Statistics Service Modernization (referred to in 

15 this section as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

16 (b) STUDY.—The Commission shall conduct a study 

17 of the National Agricultural Statistics Service and provide 

18 recommendations on— 

19 (1) how data collection can be modernized and 

20 streamlined to— 

21 (A) improve the quality of statistics re22 ported; 

23 (B) account for differences of national, re24 gional, and local production; 


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1 (C) accelerate adoption of new and innova2 tive technologies to reduce the number of sur3 veys needed; 

4 (D) improve producer response rates in 

5 statistical surveys and identifying ways to re6 duce survey fatigue; 

7 (E) increase transparency and confidence 

8 in statistical reports through improved collabo9 ration with agricultural stakeholders; 

10 (F) use more real-time statistical and envi11 ronmental data to complement existing survey12 based data and reporting; and 

13 (G) improve collection and generation of 

14 timely data on the specialty crop industry; and 

15 (2) how the recommendations under paragraph 

16 (1) with respect to modernizing and streamlining 

17 data collection can be implemented and the esti18 mated costs of such implementation. 

19 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

20 (1) COMPOSITION.—The Commission shall be 

21 composed of 11 members, as follows: 

22 (A) The Administrator of the National Ag23 ricultural Statistics Service. 

24 (B) The Administrator of the Economic 

25 Research Service. 


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1 (C) The Chief Economist of the Depart2 ment. 

3 (D) The Chair of the World Agricultural 

4 Outlook Board of the Department. 

5 (E) A representative from the Bureau of 

6 Labor Statistics. 

7 (F) 3 members appointed by the Com8 mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

9 of the Senate, of which— 

10 (i) 1 shall be appointed by the chair 

11 of the Committee; 

12 (ii) 1 shall be appointed by the rank13 ing member of the Committee; and 

14 (iii) 1 shall be appointed jointly by the 

15 chair and ranking member of the Com16 mittee. 

17 (G) 3 members appointed by the Com18 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Rep19 resentatives, of which— 

20 (i) 1 shall be appointed by the chair 

21 of the Committee; 

22 (ii) 1 shall be appointed by the rank23 ing member of the Committee; and 


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1 (iii) 1 shall be appointed jointed by 

2 the chair and ranking member of the Com3 mittee. 

4 (2) DATE OF APPOINTMENTS.—The appoint5 ment of all members of the Commission shall be 

6 made not later than 60 days after the date of enact7 ment of this Act. 

8 (3) TERM; VACANCIES.— 

9 (A) TERM.—A member shall be appointed 

10 for the life of the Commission. 

11 (B) VACANCIES.—A vacancy on the Com12 mission— 

13 (i) shall not affect the powers of the 

14 Commission; and 

15 (ii) shall be filled in the same manner 

16 as the original appointment was made. 

17 (4) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 60 days 

18 after the date on which all members of the Commis19 sion have been appointed, the Commission shall hold 

20 the initial meeting of the Commission. 

21 (d) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of the 

22 Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction 

23 of business, but a lesser number of members may hold 

24 hearings. 


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1 (e) CHAIR.—The Chair of the Commission shall be 

2 selected by a majority of the members of the Commission. 

3 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date 

4 of enactment of this Act, the Commission shall submit to 

5 the President, the Committee on Agriculture of the House 

6 of Representatives, and the Committee on Agriculture, 

7 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report containing 

8 the results of the study required by subsection (b), includ9 ing— 

10 (1) an inventory of surveys conducted by the 

11 Commission, and the frequency with which they are 

12 conducted; and 

13 (2) such recommendations for administrative, 

14 regulatory, and legislative changes as the Commis15 sion considers appropriate. 

16 (g) HEARINGS.—The Commission shall hold such 

17 hearings, meet and act at such times and places, take such 

18 testimony, and receive such evidence as the Commission 

19 considers advisable to carry out this section. 

20 (h) STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.—The Commission 

21 shall establish a process to collect feedback from agricul22 tural stakeholders to inform the results of the study re23 quired under subsection (b) and the report required under 

24 subsection (f). 


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1 (i) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.—The 

2 Commission may secure directly from a Federal agency 

3 such information as the Commission considers necessary 

4 to carry out this section. On request of the Chairperson 

5 of the Commission, the head of the agency shall provide 

6 the information to the Commission. 

7 (j) POSTAL SERVICES.—The Commission may use 

8 the United States mail in the same manner and under the 

9 same conditions as other agencies of the Federal Govern10 ment. 

11 (k) ASSISTANCE FROM SECRETARY.—The Secretary 

12 shall provide to the Commission appropriate office space 

13 and such reasonable administrative and support services 

14 as the Commission may request. 

15 (l) COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS.— 

16 (1) NON-FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of 

17 the Commission who is not an officer or employee of 

18 the Federal Government shall be compensated at a 

19 rate equal to the daily equivalent of the annual rate 

20 of basic pay prescribed for level IV of the Executive 

21 Schedule under section 5315 of title 5, United 

22 States Code, for each day (including travel time) 

23 during which the member is engaged in the perform24 ance of the duties of the Commission. 


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1 (2) FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—A member of the 

2 Commission who is an officer or employee of the 

3 Federal Government shall serve without compensa4 tion in addition to the compensation received for the 

5 services of the member as an officer or employee of 

6 the Federal Government. 

7 (3) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the 

8 Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, includ9 ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates author10 ized for an employee of an agency under subchapter 

11 I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 

12 away from the home or regular place of business of 

13 the member in the performance of the duties of the 

14 Commission. 

15 (m) FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE ACT.—Sec16 tions 1009 and 1013 of title 5, United States Code, shall 

17 not apply to the Commission or any proceeding of the 

18 Commission. 

19 (n) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

20 on September 30, 2029. 

21 (o) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity Cred22 it Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out this 

23 section $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2025, to remain avail24 able until expended. 


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1 SEC. 6606. RESTORATION OF 4–H NAME AND EMBLEM AU2 THORITY. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) 4–H CLUB.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘4–H club’’ 

6 means a 4–H club recognized under the 4–H 

7 Program. 

8 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘4–H club’’ 

9 includes an authorized agent of a 4–H club. 

10 (2) 4–H EMBLEM OR NAME.—The term ‘‘4–H 

11 emblem or name’’ means the 4–H sign or emblem, 

12 consisting of a green four-leaf clover with stem and 

13 the letter ‘‘H’’ in white or gold on each leaflet, and 

14 the words ‘‘4–H’’, ‘‘4–H Club’’, and ‘‘4–H Clubs’’, 

15 used to identify and distinguish the 4–H Program 

16 and the activities, clubs, members, goods, and serv17 ices of the 4–H Program. 

18 (3) 4–H PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘4–H Pro19 gram’’— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘4–H Pro21 gram’’ means the youth development program 

22 of the land-grant colleges or universities, the 

23 Cooperative Extension System (as defined by 

24 the Secretary), and the Department. 


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1 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘4–H Pro2 gram’’ includes an authorized agent of the 4– 

3 H Program. 

4 (4) LAND-GRANT COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY.— 

5 The term ‘‘land-grant college or university’’— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘land-grant 

7 college or university’’ means an 1862 Institu8 tion, an 1890 Institution, or a 1994 Institution 

9 (as those terms are defined in section 2 of the 

10 Agricultural Research, Extension, and Edu11 cation Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601)). 

12 (B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘‘land-grant 

13 college or university’’ includes an authorized 

14 agent of a land-grant college or university. 

15 (b) EFFECT OF REPEAL; RATIFICATION.— 

16 (1) CIVIL ACTS.—Any civil act or action of the 

17 4–H Program, a 4–H club, the Secretary, or a land18 grant college or university taken with respect to the 

19 use of the 4–H emblem or name, or the recognition 

20 of any 4–H club, during the period beginning on 

21 May 8, 1914, and ending on the date of enactment 

22 of this Act, is deemed to be of legal force and effect 

23 and ratified as if section 1002(3) of the Clean Up 

24 the Code Act of 2019 (title X of division O of Public 


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1 Law 116–260; 134 Stat. 2155) had not been en2 acted into law. 

3 (2) EFFECT ON CRIMINAL LAW.—Nothing in 

4 this subsection affects the effect on criminal law of 

5 the repeal made by section 1002(3) of the Clean Up 

6 the Code Act of 2019 (title X of division O of Public 

7 Law 116–260; 134 Stat. 2155). 

8 (c) AUTHORIZATIONS FOR USE OF 4–H EMBLEM OR

9 NAME; FEES; DEPOSITS.— 

10 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary may— 

11 (A) use the 4–H emblem or name; and 

12 (B) grant authorizations to use the 4–H 

13 emblem or name, as provided by regulations 

14 issued by the Secretary. 

15 (2) FEES.—An authorization under paragraph 

16 (1) may be granted— 

17 (A) without a fee or other consideration; or 

18 (B) for a fee or other consideration. 

19 (3) USE OF FEES.—The Secretary shall deposit 

20 into a special account any fees collected under para21 graph (2)(B), the amounts in which shall remain 

22 available to the Secretary until expended, without 

23 further appropriation, for furthering the 4–H Pro24 gram. 


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1 (d) UNAUTHORIZED USE OF 4–H EMBLEM OR

2 NAME.— 

3 (1) PROHIBITION.—Whoever, other than the 4– 

4 H Program, a 4–H club, the Department, a land5 grant college or university, and those authorized by 

6 them, uses in commerce the 4–H emblem or name 

7 or any reproduction, counterfeit, copy, or colorable 

8 imitation of the 4–H emblem or name to indicate 

9 membership in an association, organization, or other 

10 collective group, or in connection with the sale, offer11 ing for sale, distribution, or advertising of goods or 

12 services, on or in connection with which that use is 

13 likely to cause confusion, to cause mistake, or to de14 ceive as to membership or participation in, an affili15 ation, connection, or association with, or authoriza16 tion or approval by, a 4–H club or the 4–H Pro17 gram, shall be subject to the civil action under para18 graph (2). 

19 (2) CIVIL ACTION.—The Attorney General, on 

20 behalf of the Secretary, or contract counsel procured 

21 by the Secretary, may bring a civil action in an ap22 propriate district court of the United States against 

23 whoever engages in any of the prohibited acts de24 scribed in paragraph (1) for the remedies provided 

25 in the Act of July 5, 1946 (commonly known as the 


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1 ‘‘Trademark Act of 1946’’ or the ‘‘Lanham Act’’) 

2 (15 U.S.C. 1051 et seq.). 

3 (e) SAVINGS CLAUSES.— 

4 (1) PRIOR AUTHORIZED USES.—Nothing in this 

5 section makes unlawful the use of any emblem, 

6 name, sign, symbol, insignia, or words that was law7 ful on December 26, 2020. 

8 (2) DELEGATION.—Nothing in this section lim9 its the authority of the Secretary to delegate the au10 thority of the Secretary as otherwise authorized by 

11 law. 

12 SEC. 6607. UNDER SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE FOR RE13 SEARCH, EDUCATION, AND ECONOMICS. 

14 Section 251 of the Department of Agriculture Reor15 ganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6971) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (c)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

18 at the end and inserting a semicolon; 

19 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe20 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

21 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(3) be responsible for the coordination of re23 search activities with other Federal agencies.’’; 


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1 (2) in subsection (e)(3)(C), by striking ‘‘not less 

2 than 3 years’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than 1 year’’; 

3 and 

4 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(h) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

7 out cross-cutting and collaborative research and de8 velopment activities focused on the joint advance9 ment of the mission requirements and priorities of 

10 the Department of Agriculture and other Federal 

11 agencies. 

12 ‘‘(2) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

13 ‘‘(A) DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

15 year after the date of enactment of the 

16 Prioritizing American Farmers and Agri17 cultural Industry Over Bureaucracy Act, 

18 the Secretary and the Secretary of Energy 

19 (referred to in this subparagraph as the 

20 ‘Secretaries’) shall coordinate the activities 

21 under paragraph (1) through the establish22 ment of memoranda of understanding or 

23 other appropriate interagency agreements. 

24 Such a memorandum or such an agree25 ment shall require the use of a competitive, 


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1 merit-reviewed process as appropriate. Ac2 tivities may include components proposed 

3 by Federal agencies, National Labora4 tories, institutions of higher education, 

5 nonprofit organizations, and other entities 

6 deemed appropriate under the memo7 randum or agreement. 

8 ‘‘(ii) COORDINATION.—In carrying out 

9 the activities under paragraph (1), the Sec10 retaries may— 

11 ‘‘(I) conduct collaborative re12 search in a variety of focus areas; 

13 ‘‘(II) develop methods to accom14 modate large voluntary standardized 

15 and integrated data sets on agricul16 tural, environmental, supply chain, 

17 and economic information with vari18 able accuracy and scale; 

19 ‘‘(III) promote collaboration and 

20 open community-based development 

21 between— 

22 ‘‘(aa) Federal agencies; 

23 ‘‘(bb) National Laboratories; 

24 ‘‘(cc) institutions of higher 

25 education (as defined in section 


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1 101 of the Higher Education Act 

2 of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); 

3 ‘‘(dd) nonprofit institutions; 

4 ‘‘(ee) industry partners; and 

5 ‘‘(ff) other entities deemed 

6 appropriate under the memo7 randum or agreement involved; 

8 ‘‘(IV) support research infra9 structure, including new facilities and 

10 equipment, and workforce develop11 ment as the Secretaries determine 

12 necessary; 

13 ‘‘(V) conduct collaborative re14 search, development, and demonstra15 tion of methods and technologies; and 

16 ‘‘(VI) facilitate relations between 

17 public and private entities to carry on 

18 the activities of this clause upon the 

19 termination of any agreement estab20 lished under this subparagraph. 

21 ‘‘(iii) AGREEMENTS.—In carrying out 

22 the activities under this subparagraph, the 

23 Secretaries are authorized to— 

24 ‘‘(I) carry out reimbursable 

25 agreements between the Department 


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1 of Agriculture, the Department of En2 ergy, and other entities in order to 

3 maximize the effectiveness of research 

4 and development; and 

5 ‘‘(II) collaborate with other Fed6 eral agencies, as appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(B) NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 

9 year after the date of enactment of the 

10 Prioritizing American Farmers and Agri11 cultural Industry Over Bureaucracy Act, 

12 the Secretary and the Director of the Na13 tional Science Foundation (referred to in 

14 this subparagraph as the ‘‘Director’’) shall 

15 coordinate the activities under paragraph 

16 (1) through the establishment of memo17 randa of understanding or other appro18 priate interagency agreements. Such a 

19 memorandum or such an agreement shall 

20 require the use of a competitive, merit-re21 viewed process as appropriate. Activities 

22 may include components proposed by Fed23 eral agencies, institutions of higher edu24 cation, nonprofit organizations, and other 


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1 entities deemed appropriate under the 

2 memorandum or agreement. 

3 ‘‘(ii) COORDINATION.—In carrying out 

4 the activities under paragraph (1), the Sec5 retary and the Director may— 

6 ‘‘(I) conduct collaborative re7 search in a variety of focus areas; 

8 ‘‘(II) promote collaboration and 

9 open, community-based development 

10 between— 

11 ‘‘(aa) Federal agencies; 

12 ‘‘(bb) institutions of higher 

13 education; 

14 ‘‘(cc) community colleges (as 

15 defined in section 3167B of the 

16 Energy Science Education En17 hancement Act (42 U.S.C. 

18 7381c–3)); 

19 ‘‘(dd) area career and tech20 nical education schools (as de21 fined in section 3 of the Carl D. 

22 Perkins Career and Technical 

23 Education Act of 2006 (20 

24 U.S.C. 2302)); 

25 ‘‘(ee) nonprofit institutions; 


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1 ‘‘(ff) industry partners; and 

2 ‘‘(gg) other entities deemed 

3 appropriate under the memo4 randum or agreement; 

5 ‘‘(III) support research infra6 structure, including new facilities, 

7 equipment and broadband deploy8 ment, as the Secretary and Director 

9 determine necessary; 

10 ‘‘(IV) develop translational tech11 nologies for commercial utilization; 

12 ‘‘(V) organize education, train13 ing, and research initiatives relating 

14 to STEM education and workforce de15 velopment, which may include— 

16 ‘‘(aa) activities supported by 

17 the Cooperative Extension Sys18 tem; 

19 ‘‘(bb) industrial partnership 

20 programs; 

21 ‘‘(cc) workshops for edu22 cating kindergarten through 

23 grade 12 teachers on how to in24 crease agricultural literacy; 


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1 ‘‘(dd) development of agri2 cultural-based science curricula 

3 for kindergarten through grade 

4 12 students; and 

5 ‘‘(ee) distribution of re6 sources for educators to imple7 ment curricula; and 

8 ‘‘(VI) facilitate relationships be9 tween public and private entities to 

10 carry on the activities under this 

11 clause upon the termination of any 

12 agreement established under this sub13 paragraph. 

14 ‘‘(iii) AGREEMENTS.—In carrying out 

15 the activities under this subparagraph, the 

16 Secretary and the Director are authorized 

17 to— 

18 ‘‘(I) carry out reimbursable 

19 agreements between the Department 

20 of Agriculture, the National Science 

21 Foundation, and other entities in 

22 order to maximize the effectiveness of 

23 research and development; and 

24 ‘‘(II) collaborate with other Fed25 eral agencies as appropriate. 


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1 ‘‘(C) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—In ad2 dition to the memoranda of understanding with 

3 Federal agencies described in subparagraphs 

4 (A) and (B), the Secretary shall, as appro5 priate, enter into memoranda of understanding 

6 with the heads of other Federal agencies to co7 ordinate the activities under paragraph (1). 

8 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than two years after 

9 the date of enactment of the Prioritizing American 

10 Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over Bureauc11 racy Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appro12 priate congressional committees a report detailing— 

13 ‘‘(A) interagency coordination between 

14 each Federal agency involved in the research 

15 and development activities carried out under 

16 this section; 

17 ‘‘(B) potential opportunities to expand the 

18 technical capabilities of each Federal agency in19 volved in the research and development activi20 ties carried out under this section; 

21 ‘‘(C) collaborative research achievements; 

22 ‘‘(D) areas of future mutually beneficial 

23 successes; 

24 ‘‘(E) continuation of coordination activities 

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1 search and development activities carried out 

2 under this section; 

3 ‘‘(F) potential opportunities for additional 

4 memoranda of understanding with other Fed5 eral agencies; and 

6 ‘‘(G) any additional information as the 

7 Secretary deems appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(4) RESEARCH SECURITY.—The activities au9 thorized under this section shall be applied in a 

10 manner consistent with subtitle D of title VI of the 

11 Research and Development, Competition, and Inno12 vation Act (enacted as division B of the CHIPS Act 

13 of 2022 (Public Law 117–167; 42 U.S.C. 19231 et 

14 seq.)).’’. 

15 SEC. 6608. AGRICULTURAL INNOVATION CORPS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish an 

17 Agricultural Innovation Corps (referred to in this section 

18 as the ‘‘Ag I–Corps’’) to promote technology transfer and 

19 increase the economic impact of federally-funded research 

20 through— 

21 (1) supporting agricultural researchers, stu22 dents, and institutions of higher education (as de23 fined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 

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1 tories through a standardized entrepreneurial train2 ing program; and 

3 (2) bringing together Agriculture Research 

4 Service researchers and institutions of higher edu5 cation within a distinct geographical region to col6 laborate and deliver a standardized entrepreneurial 

7 training curriculum. 

8 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—Agricultural researchers, stu9 dents, and institutions of higher education receiving funds 

10 from the Department shall be eligible to participate in Ag 

11 I–Corps. 

12 (c) FOLLOW-ON GRANTS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 

14 funds available from the Small Business Innovation 

15 Research Program for competitive grants to Ag I– 

16 Corps participants to help support— 

17 (A) prototype or proof-of-concept develop18 ment; and 

19 (B) such activities as the Secretary con20 siders necessary to build local, regional, and na21 tional infrastructure for agricultural entrepre22 neurship. 

23 (2) LIMITATION.—Grants under paragraph (1) 

24 shall be limited to participants in Ag I–Corps with 

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1 opment of such innovations, are not eligible to par2 ticipate in a Small Business Innovation Research 

3 Program or Small Business Technology Transfer 

4 Program (as defined in section 9 of the Small Busi5 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 638)). 

6 (d) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Secretary may engage in 

7 partnerships with other Federal agencies, State and local 

8 governments, economic development organizations, and 

9 nonprofit organizations to provide access to Ag I–Corps 

10 to support entrepreneurship education and training for ag11 ricultural researchers, students, and institutions of higher 

12 education under this section. 

13 (e) REPORT.—Not later than September 30, 2025, 

14 and not less frequently than once every other year, the 

15 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture 

16 of the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

17 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a re18 port on the efficacy of Ag I–Corps, including metrics on 

19 the effectiveness of the program. 


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1 TITLE VII—FORESTRY 

2 Subtitle A—Cooperative Forestry 

3 Assistance Act of 1978 

4 SEC. 7101. SUPPORT FOR STATE ASSESSMENTS AND STRAT5 EGIES FOR FOREST RESOURCES. 

6 Section 2A(f) of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance 

7 Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2101a(f)) is amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

10 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘to carry out 

11 this section’’ and all that follows through the period 

12 at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘the Sec13 retary may use any other funds made available 

14 under this Act to develop and implement the State15 wide assessment and State-wide strategy required by 

16 subsection (a), except that the total amount of com17 bined funding used to develop and implement such 

18 assessment and strategy may not exceed 

19 $10,000,000 in any fiscal year.’’. 

20 SEC. 7102. FOREST LEGACY PROGRAM TECHNICAL COR21 RECTION. 

22 Section 7(l)(3) of the Cooperative Forestry Assist23 ance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2103c) is amended— 

24 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘the State 

25 of Vermont’’ and inserting ‘‘any State’’; and 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii), in the matter pre2 ceding subclause (I), by striking ‘‘of Vermont’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘involved’’. 

4 SEC. 7103. STATE AND PRIVATE FOREST LANDSCAPE-SCALE 

5 RESTORATION PROGRAM. 

6 Section 13A(l)(3) of the Cooperative Forestry Assist7 ance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2109a(l)(3)) is amended by 

8 striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

9 Subtitle B—Healthy Forests 

10 Restoration Act of 2003 

11 SEC. 7201. DEFINITION OF AT-RISK COMMUNITY. 

12 Section 101(1) of the Healthy Forests Restoration 

13 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511(1)) is amended to read as 

14 follows: 

15 ‘‘(1) AT-RISK COMMUNITY.—The term ‘at-risk 

16 community’ means an area that is comprised of— 

17 ‘‘(A) an interface community as defined in 

18 the notice entitled ‘Wildland Urban Interface 

19 Communities Within the Vicinity of Federal 

20 Lands That Are at High Risk From Wildfire’ 

21 issued by the Secretary of Agriculture and the 

22 Secretary of the Interior in accordance with 

23 title IV of the Department of the Interior and 

24 Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 


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1 (114 Stat. 1009) (66 Fed. Reg. 753, January 

2 4, 2001); or 

3 ‘‘(B) a group of homes or other structures 

4 with basic infrastructure and services (such as 

5 utilities and collectively maintained transpor6 tation routes) at risk from wildfire as recog7 nized by a local, State, regional, Tribal, terri8 torial, or national wildfire risk assessment.’’. 

9 SEC. 7202. PROMOTING CROSS-BOUNDARY WILDFIRE MITI10 GATION. 

11 Section 103(e)(5) of the Healthy Forests Restoration 

12 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6513(e)(5)) is amended by strik13 ing ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

14 SEC. 7203. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR HAZ15 ARDOUS FUEL REDUCTION ON FEDERAL 

16 LAND. 

17 Section 108 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

18 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6518) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

20 SEC. 7204. WATER SOURCE PROTECTION PROGRAM. 

21 Section 303 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

22 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6542(g)(4)(B)) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

2 through (7) as paragraphs (2) through (8), re3 spectively; 

4 (B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as 

5 so redesignated, the following: 

6 ‘‘(1) ADJACENT LAND.—The term ‘adjacent 

7 land’ means non-Federal land, including State, local, 

8 and private land, that is adjacent to, and within the 

9 same watershed as, National Forest System land on 

10 which a watershed protection and restoration project 

11 is carried out under this section.’’; and 

12 (C) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated— 

13 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

14 (G) and (H) as subparagraphs (K) and 

15 (L), respectively; and 

16 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

17 (F) the following: 

18 ‘‘(G) an acequia association; 

19 ‘‘(H) a local, regional, or other public enti20 ty that manages stormwater or wastewater re21 sources or other related water infrastructure; 

22 ‘‘(I) a land-grant mercedes; 

23 ‘‘(J) a local, regional, or other private enti24 ty that has water delivery authority;’’; 

25 (2) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and 

2 inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall’’; and 

4 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—A watershed protection 

6 and restoration project under the Program shall be 

7 designed to— 

8 ‘‘(A) protect and restore watershed health, 

9 water supply and quality, a municipal or agri10 cultural water supply system, and water-related 

11 infrastructure; 

12 ‘‘(B) protect and restore forest health from 

13 insect infestation and disease or wildfire; or 

14 ‘‘(C) advance any combination of the pur15 poses described in subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

16 ‘‘(3) PRIORITIES.—In selecting watershed pro17 tection and restoration projects under the Program, 

18 the Secretary shall give priority to projects that 

19 would— 

20 ‘‘(A) provide risk management benefits as21 sociated with: drought; wildfire; post-wildfire 

22 conditions; extreme weather; flooding; resilience 

23 to climate change; and watershed and fire resil24 ience, including minimizing risks to watershed 

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1 lated infrastructure, including municipal and 

2 agricultural water supply systems; 

3 ‘‘(B) support aquatic restoration and con4 servation efforts that complement existing or 

5 planned forest restoration or wildfire risk re6 duction efforts; or 

7 ‘‘(C) provide quantifiable benefits to water 

8 supply or quality and include the use of nature9 based solutions, such as restoring wetland and 

10 riparian ecosystems. 

11 ‘‘(4) CONDITIONS FOR PROJECTS ON ADJACENT

12 LAND.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No project or activity 

14 may be carried out under this section on adja15 cent land unless the owner of the adjacent land 

16 agrees in writing that the owner is a willing and 

17 engaged partner in carrying out that project or 

18 activity. 

19 ‘‘(B) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section 

20 shall be construed to authorize any change in— 

21 ‘‘(i) the ownership of adjacent land on 

22 which a project or activity is carried out 

23 under this section; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) the management of adjacent land 

25 on which a project or activity is carried out 


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1 under this section, except during the car2 rying out of that project or activity.’’; 

3 (3) in subsection (c)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘with 

5 end water users’’ and inserting ‘‘with end water 

6 users to protect and restore the condition of 

7 National Forest watersheds and adjacent land 

8 that provide water— 

9 ‘‘(A) to the end water users subject to the 

10 agreement; or 

11 ‘‘(B) for the benefit of another end water 

12 user’’; 

13 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

15 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

16 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

17 (D) as subparagraph (E); and 

18 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

19 (C) the following: 

20 ‘‘(D) a good neighbor agreement entered 

21 into under section 8206 of the Agricultural Act 

22 of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a); or’’; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

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1 eral partners in carrying out assessments, planning, 

2 project design, and project implementation under 

3 this section.’’; 

4 (4) in subsection (d)— 

5 (A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as 

6 follows: 

7 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—A water source manage8 ment plan shall be— 

9 ‘‘(A) designed to protect and restore eco10 logical integrity (as defined in section 219.19 of 

11 title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (as in ef12 fect on the date of enactment of this subpara13 graph)); 

14 ‘‘(B) based on the best available scientific 

15 information; and 

16 ‘‘(C) conducted in a manner consistent 

17 with the forest plan applicable to the National 

18 Forest System land on which the watershed 

19 protection and restoration project is carried 

20 out.’’; and 

21 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(4) REDUCING REDUNDANCY.—An existing 

23 watershed plan, such as a watershed protection and 

24 restoration action plan developed under section 

25 304(a)(3), or other applicable watershed planning 


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1 documents as approved by the Secretary may be 

2 used as the basis for a water source management 

3 plan under this subsection.’’; 

4 (5) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘primary 

5 purpose of’’ and all that follows through the period 

6 at the end and inserting ‘‘primary purpose of ad7 vancing any of the purposes described in subsection 

8 (b)(2).’’; 

9 (6) in subsection (g), by amending paragraph 

10 (2) to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(2) MATCHING FUNDS REQUIRED.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara13 graph (B), the Secretary shall require the con14 tribution of funds or in-kind support from non15 Federal partners to be in an amount that is not 

16 less than 50 percent of the amount of Federal 

17 funds. 

18 ‘‘(B) WAIVER.—The requirement in sub19 paragraph (A) may be waived at the discretion 

20 of the Secretary.’’; and 

21 (7) in subsection (g)(4)— 

22 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

23 ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 

24 through 2029’’; and 

25 (B) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(D) SET-ASIDE FOR PARTNER PARTICIPA2 TION IN PLANNING AND TECHNICAL ASSIST3 ANCE.—Of the amounts made available under 

4 subparagraph (B) to carry out this section for 

5 each fiscal year, the Secretary may not use 

6 more than 10 percent for non-Federal partner 

7 planning and technical assistance efforts in de8 veloping or implementing a water source man9 agement plan under subsection (d).’’. 

10 SEC. 7205. WATERSHED CONDITION FRAMEWORK TECH11 NICAL CORRECTIONS. 

12 Section 304(a) of the Healthy Forests Restoration 

13 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6543(a)) is amended in para14 graphs (3) and (5) by striking ‘‘protection and’’. 

15 SEC. 7206. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS TO COM16 BAT INSECT INFESTATIONS AND RELATED 

17 DISEASES. 

18 Section 406 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

19 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6556) is amended by striking ‘‘Octo20 ber 1, 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘October 1, 2029’’. 

21 SEC. 7207. INSECT AND DISEASE INFESTATION. 

22 Section 602(d)(2) of the Healthy Forests Restoration 

23 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591a(d)(2)) is amended by strik24 ing ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 7208. STEWARDSHIP END RESULT CONTRACTING 

2 PROJECTS. 

3 Section 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

4 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘, including 

6 retaining and expanding existing forest products in7 frastructure’’ before the period at the end; 

8 (2) in subsection (d)(3)(B), by striking ‘‘10’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘20’’; and 

10 (3) in subsection (e)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘OTHER LAWS.—’’ and all 

12 that follows through ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ and in13 serting ‘‘OTHER LAWS.—Notwithstanding’’; 

14 and 

15 (B) by striking subparagraph (B). 

16 Subtitle C—Other Forestry 

17 Programs 

18 SEC. 7301. NATIONAL AND REGIONAL AGROFORESTRY CEN19 TERS. 

20 Section 1243 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 

21 and Trade Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 1642 note; Public Law 

22 101–624) is amended— 

23 (1) by striking the section heading and insert24 ing ‘‘NATIONAL AND REGIONAL AGRO25 FORESTRY CENTERS’’; 


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1 (2) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), (c), 

2 and (d) as subsections (b), (d), (e), and (h), respec3 tively; 

4 (3) by inserting before subsection (b) (as so re5 designated) the following: 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF AGROFORESTRY.—In this sec7 tion, the term ‘agroforestry’ means a management system 

8 that intentionally integrates trees and shrubs into crop 

9 and animal farming systems to build more profitable and 

10 weather-resilient farms, ranches, and communities, ad11 dress natural resource concerns and conservation needs, 

12 and establish productive and sustainable land use prac13 tices, including— 

14 ‘‘(1) riparian forest buffers; 

15 ‘‘(2) alley cropping; 

16 ‘‘(3) silvopasture; 

17 ‘‘(4) forest farming and multistory cropping; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(5) windbreaks, shelterbelts, hedgerows, and, 

20 where applicable, field borders, and living snow 

21 fences.’’; 

22 (4) in subsection (b) (as so redesignated)— 

23 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

24 ‘‘SEMIARID’’ and inserting ‘‘NATIONAL’’; 


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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘(referred to in this sec2 tion as the ‘Secretary’)’’ after ‘‘Secretary of Ag3 riculture’’; 

4 (C) by striking ‘‘Semiarid Agroforestry Re5 search, Development, and Demonstration Cen6 ter (hereafter referred to in this section as the 

7 ‘Center’)’’ and inserting ‘‘National Agroforestry 

8 Research, Development, and Demonstration 

9 Center’’; and 

10 (D) by striking ‘‘subsection (b)’’ and in11 serting ‘‘subsection (d)’’; 

12 (5) by inserting after subsection (b) (as so re13 designated) the following: 

14 ‘‘(c) REGIONAL AGROFORESTRY CENTERS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

16 through the Chief of the Forest Service and in co17 operation with the Natural Resources Conservation 

18 Service, shall, subject to the availability of appro19 priations, establish 1 or more regional agroforestry 

20 centers to advance agroforestry research, outreach, 

21 technical assistance, and adoption. 

22 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The Secretary, acting 

23 through the Chief of the Forest Service and in co24 operation with the Natural Resources Conservation 

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1 ordinate the 1 or more regional agroforestry centers 

2 established under paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(3) LOCATION.—In selecting the locations for 

4 the 1 or more regional agroforestry centers under 

5 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall prioritize loca6 tions at which the Department of Agriculture has, 

7 on the date of enactment of the Prioritizing Amer8 ican Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over Bu9 reaucracy Act, at least 1 employee providing coordi10 nation among a diverse group of research institu11 tions and other partners. 

12 ‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATION.—Regional agroforestry 

13 centers established under paragraph (1) shall by ad14 ministered by the National Agroforestry Center.’’; 

15 (6) in subsection (d) (as so redesignated)— 

16 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

17 (1)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘the Center’’ and in19 serting ‘‘each of the centers established 

20 under subsections (b) and (c) (referred to 

21 in this section as the ‘Centers’)’’; 

22 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and organizations’’ 

23 after ‘‘nonprofit foundations’’; and 

24 (iii) by inserting ‘‘demonstration 

25 projects,’’ after ‘‘studies,’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

2 (i) by striking ‘‘on semiarid lands 

3 that’’ and inserting ‘‘that build soil health 

4 and’’; and 

5 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, including agro6 forestry systems on semiarid land and 

7 other fragile agroecosystems where perma8 nent woody perennial plant communities 

9 can enhance carbon sequestration and re10 duce greenhouse gas emissions’’ before the 

11 semicolon; 

12 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘forestry 

13 products for commercial sale from semiarid 

14 land’’ and inserting ‘‘agroforestry products for 

15 commercial sale’’; 

16 (D) in paragraph (4)— 

17 (i) by striking ‘‘in semiarid regions’’; 

18 and 

19 (ii) by striking ‘‘the Great Plains re20 gion’’ and inserting ‘‘particular regions’’; 

21 (E) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘tech22 nical assistance, demonstration projects, and’’ 

23 before ‘‘technology’’; 


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1 (F) by redesignating paragraphs (7) 

2 through (11) as paragraphs (8) through (12), 

3 respectively; 

4 (G) by striking paragraph (6) and insert5 ing the following: 

6 ‘‘(6) develop improved silvopasture, alley crop7 ping, forest farming, multistory cropping, riparian 

8 buffer, windbreak and shelterbelt, and other peren9 nial production and conservation systems and tech10 nologies to improve soil health, carbon sequestration, 

11 drought preparedness, soil and water conservation, 

12 environmental quality, and biological diversity; 

13 ‘‘(7) address barriers to the adoption of agro14 forestry practices, including— 

15 ‘‘(A) insufficient access to plant material; 

16 ‘‘(B) insufficient infrastructure to contain 

17 equipment and plant material; 

18 ‘‘(C) insufficient machinery to implement 

19 agroforestry practices; 

20 ‘‘(D) insufficient technical service assist21 ance; and 

22 ‘‘(E) insufficient research related to agro23 forestry systems, including silvopasture and 

24 alley cropping;’’; 


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1 (H) in paragraph (8) (as so redesignated), 

2 by striking ‘‘on semiarid lands’’; 

3 (I) in paragraph (9) (as so redesignated), 

4 by striking ‘‘on semiarid lands worldwide’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘worldwide, including on semiarid 

6 land’’; and 

7 (J) in paragraph (10) (as so redesig8 nated)— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘on semiarid lands’’; 

10 and 

11 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and extreme weath12 er’’ after ‘‘pollution’’; 

13 (7) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated)— 

14 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) 

15 by striking ‘‘the Center’’ and inserting ‘‘each of 

16 the Centers’’; 

17 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

18 the end; 

19 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (i) by striking ‘‘forestry’’ and insert21 ing ‘‘forestry, agroforestry,’’; and 

22 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

23 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (D) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) facilitate agroforestry adoption by dissemi2 nating comprehensive information on Federal, State, 

3 local, and Tribal programs that provide support for 

4 agroforestry.’’; 

5 (8) by inserting after subsection (e) (as so re6 designated) the following: 

7 ‘‘(f) REGIONAL SUPPORT.—The Secretary shall pro8 vide targeted regional support for agroforestry projects, 

9 including demonstration sites. 

10 ‘‘(g) SURVEY.—Not later than 5 years after the date 

11 of the enactment of the Prioritizing American Farmers 

12 and Agricultural Industry Over Bureaucracy Act and 

13 every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary shall conduct a Na14 tional Agroforestry Producers Survey.’’; and 

15 (9) in subsection (h) (as so redesignated)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘There are’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘In addition to amounts otherwise available, 

18 there is’’; and 

19 (B) by striking ‘‘$5,000,000 for each of 

20 fiscal years 2019 through 2023’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘$7,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 

22 through 2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 7302. NATIONAL FOREST FOUNDATION ACT. 

2 (a) MATCHING FUNDS.—Section 405(b) of the Na3 tional Forest Foundation Act (16 U.S.C. 583j–3(b)) is 

4 amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

5 (b) WHITE OAK RESTORATION FUND.—Section 409 

6 of the National Forest Foundation Act (16 U.S.C. 583j– 

7 7) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘The activities’’ and inserting 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The activities’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(b) WHITE OAK RESTORATION FUND.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Funds described in para14 graph (2) shall be made available for activities— 

15 ‘‘(A) on national forests that are approved 

16 by the Secretary, acting through the Chief of 

17 the Forest Service; and 

18 ‘‘(B) to— 

19 ‘‘(i) re-establish white oak forests 

20 where appropriate; 

21 ‘‘(ii) improve management of existing 

22 white oak forests to foster natural regen23 eration of white oak; 

24 ‘‘(iii) improve and expand white oak 

25 nursery stock; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) adapt and improve white oak 

2 seedlings. 

3 ‘‘(2) FUND.—The National Forest Foundation 

4 may accept gifts, devises, or bequests for the pur5 poses of carrying out the activities specified in para6 graph (1). 

7 ‘‘(3) SUMMARY.—Beginning 1 year after the 

8 date of the enactment of this section, the National 

9 Forest Foundation shall include in the budget jus10 tification materials submitted to Congress in support 

11 of the budget of each such Foundation for each fis12 cal year (as submitted with the budget of the Presi13 dent under section 1105(a) of title 31, United States 

14 Code) a summary of the activities carried out under 

15 paragraph (1) and the funds accepted under para16 graph (2) that includes— 

17 ‘‘(A) the amount— 

18 ‘‘(i) accepted under paragraph (2) in 

19 the preceding fiscal year; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) described in clause (i) that is un21 obligated on the date of the report; and 

22 ‘‘(B) a description of the activities under 

23 paragraph (1) funded during the preceding fis24 cal year.’’. 


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1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

2 410(b) of the National Forest Foundation Act (16 U.S.C. 

3 583j-8(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘2029’’. 

5 SEC. 7303. CONVEYANCES AND LEASES OF FOREST SERV6 ICE ADMINISTRATIVE SITES. 

7 (a) CONVEYANCE OF FOREST SERVICE ADMINISTRA8 TIVE SITES.—Section 503(f) of the Forest Service Facility 

9 Realignment and Enhancement Act of 2005 (16 U.S.C. 

10 580d note; Public Law 109–54) is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘September 30, 2019’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 

12 2029’’. 

13 (b) AUTHORIZATION FOR LEASE OF FOREST SERV14 ICE ADMINISTRATIVE SITES.—Section 8623 of the Agri15 culture Improvement Act of 2018 (16 U.S.C. 580d note; 

16 Public Law 115–334) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(D), by striking ‘‘dwell18 ing;’’ and inserting ‘‘dwelling or multiunit dwell19 ing;’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (e)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (3)(B)(ii)— 

22 (i) in subclause (I), by inserting ‘‘such 

23 as housing,’’ after ‘‘improvements,’’; 

24 (ii) in subclause (II), by striking 

25 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


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1 (iii) in subclause (III), by striking 

2 ‘‘or’’ at the end and inserting ‘‘and’’; and 

3 (iv) by adding at the end the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(IV) services occurring off the 

6 administrative site that— 

7 ‘‘(aa) occur at another ad8 ministrative site on the same or a 

9 different unit of the National 

10 Forest System in which the ad11 ministrative site is located; 

12 ‘‘(bb) benefit the National 

13 Forest System; and 

14 ‘‘(cc) support activities oc15 curring within the unit of the 

16 National Forest System in which 

17 the administrative site is located; 

18 or’’; and 

19 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(6) LEASE TERM.—The term of a lease of an 

21 administrative site under this section shall be not 

22 greater than 100 years.’’; 

23 (3) in subsection (g)— 

24 (A) by inserting ‘‘(or other party)’’ after 

25 ‘‘leaseholder’’; and 


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1 (B) by inserting ‘‘or constructed’’ after 

2 ‘‘improved’’; and 

3 (4) in subsection (i), by striking ‘‘2023’’ each 

4 place it appears and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

5 SEC. 7304. FOREST INVENTORY AND ANALYSIS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3(e) of the Forest and 

7 Rangeland Renewable Resources Research Act of 1978 

8 (16 U.S.C. 1642(e)) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘their resources’’ and in11 serting ‘‘the resources of those forests, includ12 ing forest carbon,’’; 

13 (B) by striking ‘‘In compliance’’ and in14 serting the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In compliance’’; and 

16 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL METHODS.—Under the 

18 program under this subsection, the Secretary 

19 shall carry out, as a data collection method— 

20 ‘‘(i) a national timber products output 

21 survey; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) a national woodland owner sur23 vey.’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (3)(C), by inserting ‘‘including 

2 with respect to available forest carbon data,’’ after 

3 ‘‘2 decades,’’; 

4 (3) in paragraph (4)— 

5 (A) in the second sentence, by striking 

6 ‘‘The standards’’ and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The standards de8 scribed in subparagraph (A)’’; 

9 (B) by striking ‘‘(4) NATIONAL STANDARDS

10 AND DEFINITIONS.—To ensure’’ and inserting 

11 the following: 

12 ‘‘(4) NATIONAL CONSISTENCY.— 

13 ‘‘(A) STANDARDS AND DEFINITIONS.—To 

14 ensure’’; and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(C) TERMINOLOGY.—The Secretary shall 

17 include a clear description of the definition of 

18 ‘forest’ used for purposes of reporting data 

19 from inventories and analyses of forests and the 

20 resources of forests under this subsection 

21 with— 

22 ‘‘(i) any data or report provided under 

23 the program under this subsection; 

24 ‘‘(ii) Renewable Resource Assessments 

25 prepared under section 3(a) of the Forest 


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1 and Rangeland Renewable Resources Plan2 ning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1601(a)); and 

3 ‘‘(iii) any data or report provided to 

4 an entity outside the United States.’’; 

5 (4) in paragraph (6)— 

6 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

7 (A), by striking ‘‘Not later than 180 days after 

8 the date of enactment of this subsection,’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘In accordance with paragraph (7),’’; 

10 and 

11 (B) by striking subparagraphs (D) and (E) 

12 and inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(D) the organization and procedures nec14 essary to understand and report on changes in 

15 land cover and use; 

16 ‘‘(E) the organization and procedures nec17 essary to sample and evaluate carbon-related 

18 data variables, including soil carbon, collected 

19 from forest inventory and analysis plots, timber 

20 products output surveys, and national woodland 

21 owner surveys to ensure that carbon accounting 

22 information needs can be met; and’’; and 

23 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(7) UPDATES TO STRATEGIC PLAN.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

2 days after the date of enactment of this para3 graph, the Secretary shall prepare an update to 

4 the strategic plan under paragraph (6) to in5 clude— 

6 ‘‘(i) a plan to implement nationally 

7 consistent data collection protocols and 

8 procedures to improve the statistical preci9 sion of base program estimates; 

10 ‘‘(ii) pathways to integrate and report 

11 on status and trends in forest carbon 

12 pools, including below-ground carbon; 

13 ‘‘(iii) plans, including the identifica14 tion of challenges, to collaborate with other 

15 Federal agencies, non-Federal partners, 

16 and the private sector to integrate existing 

17 nationally available data sets and best 

18 available commercial technologies, such as 

19 remote sensing, spatial analysis techniques, 

20 and other new technologies; 

21 ‘‘(iv) a plan to increase transparency 

22 and clarity in reporting in accordance with 

23 paragraph (4)(C); 

24 ‘‘(v) a plan to expand current data 

25 collection, further integrate remote sensing 


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1 technology, or both, to include procedures 

2 to improve the statistical precision of esti3 mates at the sub-State level; 

4 ‘‘(vi) a plan to expand current data 

5 collection, further integrate remote sensing 

6 technology, or both, to include information 

7 on renewable biomass supplies and carbon 

8 stocks at the local, State, regional, and na9 tional levels, including by ownership type; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(vii) such other matters as the Sec12 retary determines to be appropriate based 

13 on recommendations of the Forest Inven14 tory and Analysis National User Group. 

15 ‘‘(B) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 180 

16 days after the date of enactment of this para17 graph, the Secretary shall submit to the Com18 mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

19 of the Senate and the Committee on Agri20 culture of the House of Representatives the up21 date to the strategic plan prepared under sub22 paragraph (A). 

23 ‘‘(C) FURTHER UPDATES.—Not later than 

24 5 years after the date on which the update is 


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1 submitted under subparagraph (B), and every 5 

2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall— 

3 ‘‘(i) prepare an additional update to 

4 the strategic plan; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) submit the additional update to 

6 the committees described in subparagraph 

7 (B). 

8 ‘‘(8) ACCESSIBILITY.—The Secretary shall en9 sure that data collected under this subsection is— 

10 ‘‘(A) easily accessible to all public- and pri11 vate-sector entities; and 

12 ‘‘(B) collected and made accessible using 

13 means that ensure the confidentiality, in ac14 cordance with section 1770 of the Food Secu15 rity Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 2276), of— 

16 ‘‘(i) plot locations; 

17 ‘‘(ii) nonaggregated data of woodland 

18 owners; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) nonaggregated data from timber 

20 product output survey. 

21 ‘‘(9) BIENNIAL COMPILATIONS.—Biennially, the 

22 Secretary shall prepare and make publicly available 

23 a compilation of national forest inventory and anal24 ysis forest statistics, which shall be similar to the ta25 bles contained in the Renewable Resource AssessVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00556 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 ments prepared under section 3(a) of the Forest and 

2 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 

3 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1601(a)), accompanied by relevant 

4 geospatial products. 

5 ‘‘(10) EXTERNAL COMPLEX DATA REQUESTS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

7 establish an office, a data platform, or team to 

8 process and respond to complex data requests 

9 submitted by external organizations relating to 

10 the program under this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(B) FEES.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—To cover the costs 

13 of processing of and responding to complex 

14 data requests described in subparagraph 

15 (A), the Secretary may impose fees on ex16 ternal organizations submitting the re17 quests. 

18 ‘‘(ii) FEES COLLECTED.—Fees col19 lected under clause (i) may only be used 

20 for the purposes described in such clause. 

21 ‘‘(11) REPORTS.—Each year, the Secretary 

22 shall publish as part of the forest inventory and 

23 analysis business report a detailed description of the 

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1 grammatic elements of the strategic plan described 

2 in paragraph (6), including— 

3 ‘‘(A) the costs and priorities of the stra4 tegic plan; and 

5 ‘‘(B) how the program under this sub6 section leverages new technology, improves and 

7 standardizes collection protocols, and increases 

8 workforce capacity.’’. 

9 (b) REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGIES.—Section 

10 8632(1) of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (16 

11 U.S.C. 1642 note; Public Law 115–334) is amended by 

12 striking ‘‘technologies’’ and inserting ‘‘technologies, such 

13 as microwave, LiDAR, hyperspectral, and high-resolution 

14 remote sensing data, and advanced computing tech15 nologies for improved modeling to provide tabular statis16 tical estimates and geospatial products,’’. 

17 SEC. 7305. REFORESTATION, NURSERY, AND SEED OR18 CHARD SUPPORT. 

19 (a) PARTNERSHIPS, COLLABORATION, AND OTHER

20 ASSISTANCE IN SUPPORT OF NURSERIES AND SEED OR21 CHARDS.—The Secretary, acting through the Chief of the 

22 Forest Service, shall— 

23 (1) partner with Federal and State agencies, 

24 Indian Tribes, private nurseries, and other relevant 

25 entities to provide training, technical assistance, and 


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1 research to nursery and tree establishment programs 

2 that support natural regeneration, reforestation, 

3 agroforestry, and afforestation; 

4 (2) promote information sharing to improve the 

5 technical knowledge, practices, and understanding of 

6 the demands, climate change impacts, and other 

7 issues necessary to address all facets of the reforest8 ation pipeline; 

9 (3) provide technical and financial assistance to 

10 international nursery and tree establishment pro11 grams through— 

12 (A) international programs conducted by 

13 the Forest Service pursuant to the Inter14 national Forestry Cooperation Act of 1990 (16 

15 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.); 

16 (B) the Institute of Pacific Islands For17 estry of the Forest Service; and 

18 (C) the International Institute of Tropical 

19 Forestry of the Forest Service; 

20 (4) collaborate with other relevant Federal de21 partments and agencies, including the Foreign Agri22 cultural Service of the Department, the United 

23 States Agency for International Development, the 

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1 tions to provide technical and financial assistance re2 lated to nurseries and reforestation; 

3 (5) coordinate the efforts of the Department 

4 to— 

5 (A) address the challenges associated with 

6 the reforestation pipeline; and 

7 (B) leverage economic development assist8 ance for work with private nurseries; and 

9 (6) expand science-based reforestation supply 

10 chains through research, seed collection and storage, 

11 and nursery infrastructure and operations in coordi12 nation with the Administrator of the Agricultural 

13 Research Service. 

14 (b) NURSERY AND SEED ORCHARD FINANCIAL AS15 SISTANCE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

18 shall establish a program to provide grants to eligi19 ble recipients to support nurseries and seed or20 chards. 

21 (2) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—The Secretary may 

22 make a grant under this subsection to an eligible re23 cipient for a project to carry out at least one of the 

24 following: 


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1 (A) Develop, expand, enhance, or improve 

2 nursery production capacity or other infrastruc3 ture to— 

4 (i) improve seed collection, processing, 

5 and storage; 

6 (ii) increase seedling production, stor7 age, and distribution; or 

8 (iii) enhance seedling survival and 

9 properly manage tree genetic resources. 

10 (B) Establish, improve, or expand a nurs11 ery or seed orchard, including by acquiring 

12 equipment for such nursery or seed orchard. 

13 (C) Develop or implement quality control 

14 measures at nurseries or seed orchards. 

15 (D) Promote workforce development within 

16 any facet of the reforestation pipeline. 

17 (E) Carry out such other activity as the 

18 Secretary determines appropriate. 

19 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

20 (1) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

21 recipient’’ means— 

22 (A) a State forestry agency; 

23 (B) an Indian Tribe; 

24 (C) a private nursery that has experience 

25 growing high-quality native trees of appropriate 


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1 genetic sources in bareroot or container 

2 stocktypes specific for reforestation, restoration, 

3 or conservation, including native plants and 

4 seeds that are of cultural significance to Indian 

5 Tribes; 

6 (D) an institution of higher education (as 

7 defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 

8 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)); and 

9 (E) a county or local government with a 

10 nursery or seed orchard. 

11 (2) NURSERY.—The term ‘‘nursery’’ means a 

12 tree or native plant nursery. 

13 (3) SEED ORCHARD.—The term ‘‘seed orchard’’ 

14 means a tree or native plant seed orchard. 

15 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

16 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 

17 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or 

18 possession of the United States. 

19 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

20 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

21 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029. 


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1 Subtitle D—Forest Management 

2 PART I—NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM 

3 MANAGEMENT 

4 SEC. 7401. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION FOR HIGH PRIORITY 

5 HAZARD TREES. 

6 (a) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

8 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

9 shall develop a categorical exclusion (as defined in 

10 section 1508.4 of title 40, Code of Federal Regula11 tions (or a successor regulation)) for high priority 

12 hazard tree activities. 

13 (2) ADMINISTRATION.—In developing and ad14 ministering the categorical exclusion under para15 graph (1), the Secretary shall— 

16 (A) comply with the National Environ17 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

18 seq.); and 

19 (B) apply the extraordinary circumstances 

20 procedures under section 220.6 of title 36, Code 

21 of Federal Regulations (or successor regula22 tions), in determining whether to use the cat23 egorical exclusion. 

24 (b) PROJECT SIZE LIMITATIONS.—A project under 

25 this section may not exceed 3,000 acres. 


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1 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 (1) HIGH-PRIORITY HAZARD TREE.—The term 

3 ‘‘high-priority hazard tree’’ means a standing tree 

4 that— 

5 (A) presents a visible hazard to people or 

6 Federal property due to conditions such as de7 terioration of or damage to the root system, 

8 trunk, stem, or limbs of the tree, or the direc9 tion or lean of the tree, as determined by the 

10 Secretary; 

11 (B) is determined by the Secretary to be 

12 highly likely to fail and, if it failed, would be 

13 highly likely to cause injury to people or dam14 age to Federal property; and 

15 (C) is within 300 feet of— 

16 (i) a National Forest System road 

17 with a maintenance level of 3, 4, or 5, a 

18 National Forest System trail; or 

19 (ii) a developed recreation site on Na20 tional Forest System lands that is operated 

21 and maintained by the Secretary. 

22 (2) HIGH-PRIORITY HAZARD TREE ACTIVI23 TIES.—The term ‘‘high priority hazard tree activi24 ties’’— 


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1 (A) means forest management activities 

2 that mitigate the risks associated with high-pri3 ority hazard trees, including pruning, felling, 

4 and disposal of those trees; and 

5 (B) does not include any activity— 

6 (i) conducted in a wilderness area or 

7 wilderness study area; 

8 (ii) for the construction of a perma9 nent road or permanent trail; 

10 (iii) conducted on Federal land on 

11 which, by Act of Congress or Presidential 

12 proclamation, the removal of vegetation is 

13 restricted or prohibited; 

14 (iv) that would be inconsistent with 

15 the applicable land and resource manage16 ment plan; or 

17 (v) conducted in an inventoried 

18 roadless area. 

19 SEC. 7402. COLLABORATIVE RESTORATION PROJECTS. 

20 Section 603(c)(1) of the Healthy Forests Restoration 

21 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591b(c)(1)) is amended by strik22 ing ‘‘3000 acres’’ and inserting ‘‘10,000 acres’’. 


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1 SEC. 7403. WILDFIRE RESILIENCE PROJECT SIZE. 

2 Section 605(c)(1) of the Healthy Forests Restoration 

3 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591d(c)(1)) is amended by strik4 ing ‘‘3000 acres’’ and inserting ‘‘10,000 acres’’. 

5 SEC. 7404. FUEL BREAKS IN FORESTS AND OTHER 

6 WILDLAND VEGETATION. 

7 Section 40806(d)(1) of the Infrastructure Investment 

8 and Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592b(d)(1)) is amended by 

9 striking ‘‘3,000 acres’’ and inserting ‘‘10,000 acres’’. 

10 SEC. 7405. GREATER SAGE-GROUSE AND MULE DEER HABI11 TAT. 

12 Section 606 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act 

13 of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591e) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(A)— 

15 (A) by striking clause (ii); 

16 (B) by redesignating clauses (iii) through 

17 (vii) as clauses (ii) through (vi), respectively; 

18 and 

19 (C) in clause (iii), as so redesignated, by 

20 striking ‘‘in a sagebrush steppe ecosystem’’; 

21 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘concurrently 

22 for both greater sage-grouse and’’ and inserting ‘‘for 

23 greater sage-grouse or’’; 

24 (3) by amending subsection (g) to read as fol25 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(g) LIMITATION.—A covered vegetation manage2 ment activity that is covered by the categorical exclusion 

3 under subsection (b) may not exceed 4,500 acres in a for4 ested ecosystem or 7,500 acres in a rangeland eco5 system.’’. 

6 PART II—FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES 

7 SEC. 7411. NO ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION REQUIRED. 

8 (a) FOREST SERVICE PLANS.—Section 6(d)(2) of the 

9 Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 

10 of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604(d)(2)) is amended to read as 

11 follows: 

12 ‘‘(2) NO ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION RE13 QUIRED UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—Not14 withstanding any other provision of law, the Sec15 retary shall not be required to reinitiate consultation 

16 under section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act 

17 of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)) or section 402.16 of 

18 title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 

19 regulation), on an approved land management plan 

20 prepared, amended, or revised under this section 

21 when, after the date of such approval, amendment, 

22 or revision— 

23 ‘‘(A) a species is listed as a threatened or 

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1 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

2 1533); 

3 ‘‘(B) a critical habitat for a threatened or 

4 endangered species is designated under that 

5 section; or 

6 ‘‘(C) new information concerning a threat7 ened or endangered species or critical habitat 

8 for such a species becomes available.’’. 

9 (b) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT PLANS.—Sec10 tion 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

11 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712) is amended by adding at the 

12 end the following: 

13 ‘‘(g) NO ADDITIONAL CONSULTATION REQUIRED

14 UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES.—Notwithstanding 

15 any other provision of law, the Secretary shall not be re16 quired to reinitiate consultation under section 7(a)(2) of 

17 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

18 1536(a)(2)) or section 402.16 of title 50, Code of Federal 

19 Regulations (or a successor regulation), on an approved 

20 land management plan prepared, amended, or revised 

21 under this section when, after the date of such approval, 

22 amendment, or revision— 

23 ‘‘(1) a species is listed as a threatened or en24 dangered species under section 4 of the Endangered 

25 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533); 


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1 ‘‘(2) a critical habitat for a threatened or en2 dangered species is designated under that section; or 

3 ‘‘(3) new information concerning a threatened 

4 or endangered species or critical habitat for such a 

5 species becomes available.’’. 

6 SEC. 7412. GOOD NEIGHBOR AUTHORITY. 

7 (a) TREATING TRIBES AND COUNTIES AS GOOD

8 NEIGHBORS.—Section 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 

9 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)(6), by striking ‘‘or Indian 

11 tribe’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (b)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by inserting ‘‘, 

14 Indian tribe,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking clause 

16 (i) and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Funds received 

18 from the sale of timber by a Governor, an 

19 Indian tribe, or a county under a good 

20 neighbor agreement shall be retained and 

21 used by the Governor, Indian tribe, or 

22 county, as applicable— 

23 ‘‘(I) to carry out authorized res24 toration services under the good 

25 neighbor agreement; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) if there are funds remain2 ing after carrying out subclause (I), 

3 to carry out authorized restoration 

4 services under other good neighbor 

5 agreements.’’; 

6 (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, In7 dian tribe,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’; and 

8 (D) by striking paragraph (4). 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 8206(a) 

10 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a(a)) is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (1)(B), by inserting ‘‘, Indian 

13 tribe,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’; and 

14 (2) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘, Indian 

15 tribe,’’ after ‘‘Governor’’. 

16 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

17 this section apply to any project initiated pursuant to a 

18 good neighbor agreement (as defined in section 8206(a) 

19 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a(a)))— 

20 (1) before the date of enactment of this Act, if 

21 the project was initiated after the date of enactment 

22 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Public 

23 Law 115–334; 132 Stat. 4490); or 

24 (2) on or after the date of enactment of this 

25 Act. 


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1 SEC. 7413. COLLABORATIVE FOREST LANDSCAPE RESTORA2 TION PROGRAM. 

3 Section 4003 of the Omnibus Public Land Manage4 ment Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (b)(3)— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘or 

7 pathogens’’ after ‘‘species’’; 

8 (B) in subparagraph (G), by striking 

9 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

10 (C) in subparagraph (H), by adding ‘‘and’’ 

11 after the semicolon at the end; and 

12 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(I) address standardized monitoring ques14 tions and indicators;’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (d)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

17 (i) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

18 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

19 (ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

20 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

21 and’’; and 

22 (iii) by adding at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(G) proposals that seek to use innovative 

25 implementation mechanisms, including con26 servation finance agreements, good neighbor 


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1 agreements entered into under section 8206 of 

2 the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 

3 2113a), and similar implementation mecha4 nisms; and 

5 ‘‘(H) proposals that seek to reduce the risk 

6 of uncharacteristic wildfire or increase ecologi7 cal restoration activities— 

8 ‘‘(i) within areas across land owner9 ships, including State, Tribal, and private 

10 land; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) within the wildland-urban inter12 face; and 

13 ‘‘(I) proposals that seek to enhance water14 shed health and drinking water sources.’’; and 

15 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

16 (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to 

17 read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(A) 4 proposals in any 1 region of the 

19 National Forest System to be funded during 

20 any fiscal year; and’’; 

21 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

22 (iii) by redesignating subparagraph 

23 (C) as subparagraph (B); and 

24 (3) in subsection (f)(6), by striking ‘‘2019 

25 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 7414. PUBLIC-PRIVATE WILDFIRE TECHNOLOGY DE2 PLOYMENT AND TESTBED PARTNERSHIP. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES.—The term 

5 ‘‘appropriate committees’’ means— 

6 (A) the Committees on Agriculture, Nat7 ural Resources, and Science, Space, and Tech8 nology of the House of Representatives; and 

9 (B) the Committees on Agriculture, Nutri10 tion, and Forestry, Energy and Natural Re11 sources, and Commerce, Science, and Transpor12 tation of the Senate. 

13 (2) COVERED AGENCY.—The term ‘‘covered 

14 agency’’ means— 

15 (A) the National Park Service; 

16 (B) the United States Fish and Wildlife 

17 Service; 

18 (C) the Bureau of Land Management; 

19 (D) the Bureau of Reclamation; 

20 (E) the Forest Service; 

21 (F) the Department of Defense; 

22 (G) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

23 Administration; 

24 (H) the United States Fire Administra25 tion; 


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1 (I) the Federal Emergency Management 

2 Agency; 

3 (J) the National Aeronautics and Space 

4 Administration; 

5 (K) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and 

6 (L) any other Federal agency involved in 

7 wildfire response. 

8 (3) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en9 tity’’ means— 

10 (A) a private entity; 

11 (B) a nonprofit organization; or 

12 (C) an institution of higher education (as 

13 defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 

14 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)). 

15 (4) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

16 means the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec17 retary of the Interior, acting jointly. 

18 (5) PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Pilot Pro19 gram’’ means the deployment and testbed pilot pro20 gram developed under subsection (b). 

21 (b) DEPLOYMENT AND TESTBED PILOT PROGRAM

22 ESTABLISHED.—Not later than 60 days after the date of 

23 the enactment of this Act, the Secretaries, in coordination 

24 with the heads of the covered agencies, shall establish a 

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1 tive wildfire prevention, detection, communication, and 

2 mitigation technologies. 

3 (c) FUNCTIONS.—In carrying out the Pilot Program, 

4 the Secretaries shall— 

5 (1) incorporate the Pilot Program into an exist6 ing interagency coordinating group on wildfires; 

7 (2) in consultation with the heads of covered 

8 agencies, identify key technology priority areas with 

9 respect to the deployment of wildfire prevention, de10 tection, communication, and mitigation technologies, 

11 including— 

12 (A) hazardous fuels reduction treatments 

13 or activities; 

14 (B) dispatch communications; 

15 (C) remote sensing and tracking; 

16 (D) safety equipment; and 

17 (E) common operating pictures or oper18 ational dashboards; and 

19 (3) partner with each covered entity selected to 

20 participate in the Pilot Program with the appro21 priate covered agency to coordinate real-time and 

22 on-the-ground testing of technology during wildland 

23 fire mitigation activities and training. 

24 (d) APPLICATIONS.—To participate in the Pilot Pro25 gram, a covered entity shall submit to the Secretaries an 


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1 application at such time, in such manner, and containing 

2 such information as the Secretaries may require, which 

3 shall include a proposal to test technologies specific to key 

4 technology priority areas identified under subsection 

5 (c)(2). 

6 (e) PRIORITIZATION OF EMERGING TECH7 NOLOGIES.—In selecting covered entities to participate in 

8 the Pilot Program, the Secretaries shall give priority to 

9 covered entities developing and applying emerging tech10 nologies that address issues identified by the Secretaries, 

11 including artificial intelligence, quantum sensing, com12 puting and quantum-hybrid applications, augmented re13 ality, and 5G private networks and device-to-device com14 munications supporting nomadic mesh networks, for wild15 fire mitigation. 

16 (f) OUTREACH.—The Secretaries, in coordination 

17 with the heads of the covered agencies, shall make publicly 

18 available the key technology priority areas identified under 

19 subsection (c)(2) and invite covered entities to apply to 

20 test and demonstrate their technologies to address those 

21 priority areas. 

22 (g) REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later 

23 than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

24 and each year thereafter for the duration of the Pilot Pro25 gram, the Secretaries shall submit to the appropriate comVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00576 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 mittees a report that includes the following with respect 

2 to the Pilot Program: 

3 (1) A list of participating covered entities. 

4 (2) A brief description of the technologies test5 ed by such covered entities. 

6 (3) An estimate of the cost of acquiring the 

7 technology tested in the program and applying it at 

8 scale. 

9 (4) Outreach efforts by Federal agencies to cov10 ered entities developing wildfire technologies. 

11 (5) Assessments of, and recommendations relat12 ing to, new technologies with potential adoption and 

13 application at-scale in Federal land management 

14 agencies’ wildfire prevention, detection, communica15 tion, and mitigation efforts. 

16 (h) TERMINATION.—The Pilot Program shall expire 

17 on September 30, 2029. 

18 SEC. 7415. FOREST SERVICE PARTICIPATION IN EXPERI19 ENCED SERVICES PROGRAM. 

20 Section 8302 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 

21 U.S.C. 3851a) is amended— 

22 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘ACES’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘EXPERIENCED SERVICES’’; 

24 (2) in subsection (a)— 

25 (A) by striking ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘Agriculture Conserva2 tion’’; and 

3 (C) by inserting ‘‘, professional, or admin4 istrative’’ after ‘‘technical’’; and 

5 (3) by striking subsection (b). 

6 SEC. 7416. TIMBER SALES ON NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM 

7 LAND. 

8 Section 14 of the National Forest Management Act 

9 of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (d) by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘$50,000’’; and 

12 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(j) In the event of extreme risks to a unit of Na14 tional Forest System land, including catastrophic wildfire, 

15 insect and disease outbreak, wind, hurricane, flood, 

16 drought, or to avoid impacts from such extreme events, 

17 the Secretary may, without an appraisal and under such 

18 rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary, dispose 

19 of by sale or otherwise, portions of trees, or forest prod20 ucts located on such unit of National Forest System 

21 lands.’’. 

22 SEC. 7417. PERMITS AND AGREEMENTS WITH ELECTRICAL 

23 UTILITIES. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—In any special use permit or ease25 ment on National Forest System lands provided to an elecVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00578 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 tric utility company (as defined in section 1262 of the En2 ergy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16451)) the Secretary 

3 may provide permission to cut and remove trees or other 

4 vegetation from within the vicinity of distribution lines or 

5 transmission lines, including hazardous vegetation that in6 creases fire risk, without requiring a separate timber sale 

7 if that cutting and removal is consistent with the applica8 ble land management plan. 

9 (b) USE OF PROCEEDS.—A special use permit or 

10 easement that includes permission for the cutting and re11 moval of trees or other vegetation described in subsection 

12 (a), shall include a requirement that, if the applicable elec13 trical utility sells any portion of the material removed 

14 under the permit or easement, the electrical utility shall 

15 provide to the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the 

16 Forest Service, any proceeds received from the sale, less 

17 any transportation costs incurred in the sale. 

18 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec19 tion shall be construed to require the sale of any material 

20 removed under a special use permit or easement that in21 cludes permission for the cutting and removal of trees or 

22 other vegetation described in subsection (a). 


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1 SEC. 7418. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS AND CONTRACTS 

2 FOR PRESCRIBED FIRE. 

3 (a) AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENTS AND

4 CONTRACTS FOR PRESCRIBED FIRE.— 

5 (1) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary, the Sec6 retary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Defense 

7 may each enter into a cooperative agreement or con8 tract with an eligible entity, for a period of less than 

9 or equal to 10 years, that authorizes the eligible en10 tity to coordinate, plan, or conduct a prescribed fire 

11 on Federal land or to conduct a prescribed fire 

12 training event. 

13 (2) SUBCONTRACTS.—A State, Indian Tribe, or 

14 county that enters into a cooperative agreement or 

15 contract under paragraph (1) may enter into a sub16 contract, in accordance with applicable contracting 

17 procedures of the State, Indian Tribe, or county, to 

18 conduct a prescribed fire on Federal land or to con19 duct a prescribed fire training event pursuant to 

20 that cooperative agreement or contract. 

21 (3) APPLICABLE LAW.—A prescribed fire con22 ducted under this subsection shall be carried out on 

23 a project-by-project basis under existing authorities 

24 of the applicable Federal agency responsible for the 

25 management of the Federal land. 


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1 (4) PRESERVATION OF DECISION AUTHORITY.— 

2 An eligible entity may not carry out a project au3 thorized under this subsection pursuant to a cooper4 ative agreement or contract without the prior writ5 ten approval of each Secretary that entered in to 

6 such cooperative agreement or contract. 

7 (5) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this 

8 subsection, the term ‘‘eligible entity’’ means a State, 

9 Indian Tribe, county or local government, Depart10 ment of Defense military installation (as defined in 

11 section 2801(c) of title 10, United States Code), fire 

12 district, nongovernmental organization, or private 

13 entity. 

14 (b) TRIBAL FOREST PROTECTION ACT OF 2004 

15 AMENDMENTS.—The Tribal Forest Protection Act of 

16 2004 (25 U.S.C. 3115a et seq.) is amended by adding at 

17 the end the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 3. TRIBAL PRESCRIBED BURN DEMONSTRATION 

19 PROJECT. 

20 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter into a 

21 contract or agreement with an Indian tribe under this Act 

22 that provides for prescribed burns on Federal land under 

23 the additional authorities provided in this section. 


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1 ‘‘(b) SCOPE OF CONTRACT OR AGREEMENT.—Con2 tracts or agreements entered into under this section may, 

3 notwithstanding any other provision of law— 

4 ‘‘(1) utilize burn plans that, once approved by 

5 the Secretary, allow multiple prescribed burns to be 

6 conducted in accordance with the burn plan to elimi7 nate the need for individual burn plans for each pre8 scribed burn and enable forest managers to have the 

9 flexibility to conduct prescribed burns when condi10 tions allow; and 

11 ‘‘(2) include terms that— 

12 ‘‘(A) authorize the Secretary to delegate 

13 their authority to an Indian tribe to plan, co14 ordinate, and execute prescribed burns on the 

15 behalf of the Secretary within the scope of the 

16 burn plan including, but not limited to, apply17 ing the National Wildfire Coordinating Group 

18 standards for Prescribed Fire Planning and Im19 plementation, to the extent authorized by Fed20 eral law; 

21 ‘‘(B) any applicable Federal standard that 

22 requires a certain number of personnel to be 

23 on-hand during prescribed burns may be satis24 fied by regional Federal, State, or tribal re25 sources and personnel; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) where appropriate, the Secretary shall 

2 work with other Federal agencies and Tribal, 

3 State, and local governments to coordinate and 

4 communicate the shared objectives of the pre5 scribed burn and ensure activities comply with 

6 applicable law and regulations.’’. 

7 (c) COOPERATIVE FUNDS AND DEPOSITS ACT

8 AMENDMENTS.—Public Law 94–148 is amended— 

9 (1) in section 1 (16 U.S.C. 565a–1), by insert10 ing ‘‘prescribed fire and prescribed fire training 

11 events,’’ after ‘‘including fire protection,’’; and 

12 (2) in section 2 (16 U.S.C. 565a–2), by insert13 ing ‘‘, section 3 of the Tribal Forest Protection Act 

14 of 2004, or section 7418(a) of the Prioritizing 

15 American Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over 

16 Bureaucracy Act’’ after ‘‘authorized by section 1’’. 

17 SEC. 7419. UTILIZING GRAZING FOR WILDFIRE RISK RE18 DUCTION. 

19 The Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Forest 

20 Service, in coordination with holders of permits to graze 

21 livestock on Federal land, shall develop a strategy to in22 crease opportunities to utilize livestock grazing and associ23 ated rangeland improvements as a wildfire risk reduction 

24 strategy, including— 


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1 (1) completing the reviews required under the 

2 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

3 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)) to allow permitted grazing on 

4 vacant grazing allotments during instances of 

5 drought, wildfire, or other natural disasters that dis6 rupt grazing on allotments already permitted; 

7 (2) using targeted grazing; 

8 (3) increasing the use of all instruments appli9 cable to grazing, including temporary permits, to 

10 promote targeted grazing to reduce fuels and 

11 invasive annual grasses; and 

12 (4) increasing the use of grazing as a postfire 

13 recovery and restoration strategy, where appropriate. 

14 SEC. 7420. JOINT CHIEFS LANDSCAPE RESTORATION PART15 NERSHIP PROGRAM. 

16 Section 40808 of the Infrastructure Investment and 

17 Jobs Act is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (g)(2), by inserting ‘‘and at 

19 least once every 2 fiscal years thereafter’’ after ‘‘and 

20 2023’’; and 

21 (2) in subsection (h)(1), by striking ‘‘and 

22 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘through 2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 7421. TRIBAL FOREST MANAGEMENT PROGRAM TECH2 NICAL CORRECTION. 

3 Section 8703 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 

4 2018 is amended— 

5 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘DEMONSTRA6 TION PROJECT’’ and inserting ‘‘PROGRAM’’; and 

7 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘demonstra8 tion projects by’’ and inserting ‘‘a program under’’. 

9 PART III—TIMBER INNOVATION 

10 SEC. 7431. COMMUNITY WOOD FACILITIES PROGRAM. 

11 Section 9013 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest12 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8113) is amended— 

13 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘COMMUNITY

14 WOOD ENERGY AND WOOD INNOVATION PRO15 GRAM’’ and inserting ‘‘COMMUNITY WOOD FA16 CILITIES PROGRAM’’; 

17 (2) in subsection (a)— 

18 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)(iii), in the matter 

19 preceding subclause (I) by striking ‘‘woody bio20 mass, including residuals’’ and inserting ‘‘pri21 marily forest biomass, including processing or 

22 manufacturing residuals’’; and 

23 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘Com24 munity Wood Energy and Wood Innovation 

25 Program’’ and inserting ‘‘Community Wood Fa26 cilities Program’’; 


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1 (3) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘to be known 

2 as’’ and all that follows through the period at the 

3 end and inserting ‘‘to be known as the ‘Community 

4 Wood Facilities Program’.’’; 

5 (4) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘exceed—’’ in 

6 the matter preceding paragraph (1) and all that fol7 lows through the period at the end of paragraph (2) 

8 and inserting ‘‘exceed $5,000,000.’’; 

9 (5) in subsection (e)— 

10 (A) by striking paragraph (1); 

11 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

12 through (8) as (1) through (7), respectively; 

13 and 

14 (C) in paragraph (1), as so redesignated, 

15 by inserting ‘‘or market competitiveness’’ after 

16 ‘‘cost effectiveness’’; 

17 (6) in subsection (f)— 

18 (A) by striking paragraph (2); 

19 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and 

20 (4) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; and 

21 (C) in paragraph (2), as so redesignated, 

22 by striking ‘‘use or retrofitting (or both) of ex23 isting sawmill’’ and inserting ‘‘construction, use 

24 or retrofitting of forest products manufac25 turing’’; 


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1 (7) in subsection (g)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘5 

3 megawatts of thermal energy or combined ther4 mal and electric energy’’ and inserting ‘‘15 

5 megawatts of thermal energy or combined ther6 mal and electric energy’’; and 

7 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘25 per8 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘50 percent’’; and 

9 (8) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

11 SEC. 7432. WOOD INNOVATION GRANT PROGRAM. 

12 (a) APPLICATION TO TRANSPORTATION COSTS.— 

13 Section 8643(b)(1) of the Agriculture Improvement Act 

14 of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 7655d(b)(1)) is amended by inserting 

15 ‘‘, including the construction of new facilities that advance 

16 the purposes of the program and for the hauling of mate17 rial removed to reduce hazardous fuels to locations where 

18 that material can be utilized’’ before the period at the end. 

19 (b) TARGETING TO SUPPORT ECONOMIC DEVELOP20 MENT, ENHANCED BUILDING DESIGN, AND IMPACT AS21 SESSMENT.—Section 8643(c) of the Agriculture Improve22 ment Act of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 7655d(c)) is amended to read 

23 as follows: 

24 ‘‘(c) TARGETING TO SUPPORT ECONOMIC DEVELOP25 MENT, ENHANCED BUILDING DESIGN, AND IMPACT ASVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00587 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 SESSMENT.—In selecting among proposals of eligible enti2 ties under subsection (b)(2), the Secretary may give pri3 ority to proposals for projects that— 

4 ‘‘(1) include the use or retrofitting (or both) of 

5 existing sawmill facilities located in counties in 

6 which the average annual unemployment rate ex7 ceeded the national average unemployment rate by 

8 more than 1 percent in the previous calendar year; 

9 ‘‘(2) recognize or enhance carbon reduction 

10 strategies in building design and interior wood prod11 ucts, including forest impacts, which can be im12 proved or by North American manufacturing; or 

13 ‘‘(3) includes in the proposal of the entity an 

14 analysis of the benefits that forest management 

15 under the proposal will have on the resilience and 

16 economy of the community, including benefits associ17 ated with— 

18 ‘‘(A) wood products from anticipated wood 

19 supply areas; 

20 ‘‘(B) wildfire risk reduction; 

21 ‘‘(C) increased fiber flow; 

22 ‘‘(D) the increase of forest or mill jobs; 

23 and 

24 ‘‘(E) support for forested communities.’’. 


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1 (c) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—Section 8643(d) of 

2 the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 

3 7655d(d)) is amended by inserting ‘‘50 percent of’’ before 

4 ‘‘the amount’’. 

5 SEC. 7433. FOREST AND WOOD PRODUCTS DATA TRACKER. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting 

8 through the Chief of the Forest Service, in collaboration 

9 with the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation 

10 Service and in consultation with federally-recognized In11 dian Tribes, State foresters, and private sector partners, 

12 shall establish a publicly available platform to provide 

13 measurement, monitoring, verification, and reporting data 

14 regarding the carbon emissions, sequestration, storage, 

15 and related atmospheric impacts of forest management 

16 and wood products. 

17 (b) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out subsection (a), the 

18 Secretary shall source data, information, and data anal19 ysis from Department programs and interagency pro20 grams, including— 

21 (1) the Forest Inventory and Analysis program, 

22 including the Timber Products Output survey; 

23 (2) Forest Service and Natural Resources Con24 servation Service soil carbon estimations; 

25 (3) the Forest Products Laboratory; 


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1 (4) the Federal Life Cycle Assessment Com2 mons; 

3 (5) Department entity level guidelines; and 

4 (6) other relevant programmatic data and infor5 mation sources, as published and made available. 

6 (c) PRIORITIES.—The platform established by sub7 section (a) shall provide tools that calculate— 

8 (1) the above- and below-ground forest carbon 

9 stocks and stock changes associated with species 

10 composition, forest management regime, and land11 owner types (including small area estimations for re12 gional and localized geographies across the United 

13 States) made available through Forest Inventory and 

14 Analysis updates and annual reports; 

15 (2) the embodied carbon involved in the manu16 facture of products, using data from published envi17 ronmental product declarations and life cycle assess18 ments, updated as new and more refined data be19 comes available; 

20 (3) the long-term stored carbon in manufac21 tured timber products; and 

22 (4) the carbon displacement of wood products, 

23 compared to other materials, using substitution fac24 tors. 


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1 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec2 tion may be construed to provide authority with respect 

3 to the generation, consumption, or trading of carbon or 

4 environmental credits from National Forest System lands 

5 in any voluntary or compliance environmental markets. 

6 SEC. 7434. BIOCHAR APPLICATION DEMONSTRATION 

7 PROJECT. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 (1) BIOCHAR.—The term ‘‘biochar’’ means car10 bonized biomass produced by converting feedstock 

11 through reductive thermal processing with limited 

12 oxygen for non-fuel uses. 

13 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti14 ty’’ means— 

15 (A) an individual; 

16 (B) a public or private entity; or 

17 (C) a State, local, or Tribal government. 

18 (3) FEEDSTOCK.—The term ‘‘feedstock’’ means 

19 excess woody and agricultural biomass in the form 

20 of plant matter or materials that serves as the raw 

21 material for the production of biochar. 

22 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary, acting through the Chief of the For24 est Service. 


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1 (b) BIOCHAR APPLICATION DEMONSTRATION

2 PROJECTS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

4 the date of the enactment of this section, the Sec5 retary shall conduct performance-driven research 

6 and development, education, technical assistance, 

7 outreach, and demonstration projects for the pur8 pose of facilitating the use of biochar, developing ad9 ditional biochar applications, and commercializing 

10 biochar in accordance with this subsection. 

11 (2) LOCATION OF DEMONSTRATION

12 PROJECTS.—The Secretary shall, to the maximum 

13 extent practicable, establish a biochar application 

14 demonstration project in each Forest Service region. 

15 (3) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out paragraph 

16 (1), the Secretary shall— 

17 (A) conduct research and development, 

18 education, technical assistance, outreach, and 

19 demonstration projects— 

20 (i) in close coordination with the For21 est Products Lab after receipt of input 

22 from the forest products industry, con23 servation organizations, and institutions of 

24 higher education; and 


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1 (ii) that meets measurable perform2 ance goals for the achievement of the pri3 orities described in paragraph (4); and 

4 (B) enter into partnerships and provide fi5 nancial and technical assistance to carry out 

6 demonstration projects with eligible entities 

7 that –— 

8 (i) acquire and test various feedstocks 

9 and their efficacy; 

10 (ii) develop and optimize commercially 

11 and technologically viable biochar produc12 tion units, including mobile and permanent 

13 units; 

14 (iii) demonstrate the production of 

15 biochar from forest residues and the use of 

16 biochar to restore forest health and resil17 iency; 

18 (iv) build, expand, or establish biochar 

19 facilities; 

20 (v) conduct research on new and inno21 vative uses of biochar or demonstrate cost22 effective market opportunities for biochar 

23 and biochar-based products; 

24 (vi) carry out any activities the Sec25 retary determines appropriate that meet 


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1 the measurable performance goals for the 

2 achievement of priorities described in para3 graph (4). 

4 (4) PRIORITIES.—The research and develop5 ment, education, technical assistance, outreach, and 

6 demonstration projects conducted under paragraph 

7 (1) shall give priority to— 

8 (A) projects to improve the commercializa9 tion of biochar and create the greatest potential 

10 for long-term market growth; 

11 (B) projects that create new jobs and con12 tribute to local economies, particularly in rural 

13 areas; 

14 (C) projects demonstrating— 

15 (i) new and innovative applications of 

16 biochar; 

17 (ii) viable markets for cost-effective 

18 biochar-based products; 

19 (iii) economic viability of production 

20 and markets; 

21 (iv) the ecosystem services of biochar; 

22 (v) the benefits of biochar to restore 

23 forest heath and resiliency, including for 

24 forest soils and watersheds; 


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1 (vi) have the most carbon sequestra2 tion potential; or 

3 (vii) any combination of purposes 

4 specified in clauses (i) through (vi); or 

5 (D) projects located in local markets that 

6 have the greatest need for the biochar produc7 tion units— 

8 (i) near forestlands identified as hav9 ing high or very high or extreme risk of 

10 wildfire, forestlands experiencing signifi11 cant die off due to insects and diseases, 

12 forestlands impacted by extreme weather 

13 events, or forestlands needing soil or water 

14 quality remediation; 

15 (ii) near sufficient quantities of feed16 stocks; or 

17 (iii) where a high level of demand for 

18 biochar or other commercial byproducts of 

19 biochar exists. 

20 (c) FEEDSTOCK REQUIREMENTS.—To the maximum 

21 extent practicable, a biochar application demonstration 

22 project under this subsection shall derive such feedstock 

23 from forest thinning and management activities conducted 

24 for science-based restoration on National Forest System 


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1 lands, and other Federal, State, Tribal, and private 

2 forestlands, including mill residuals. 

3 (d) TIMEFRAME.—To the maximum extent prac4 ticable, the measurable performance goals for the research 

5 and development, education, technical assistance, and 

6 demonstration projects conducted under subsection (a) 

7 shall be achievable within a 5-year timeframe. 

8 (e) FUNDING.— 

9 (1) LIMITATION.—In the case of an eligible en10 tity that enters into a partnership to carry out a 

11 demonstration project under this section and seeks 

12 to establish a biochar facility under such demonstra13 tion project, the Secretary may not provide funding 

14 to such eligible entity in an amount greater than 35 

15 percent of the capital cost of establishing such 

16 biochar facility. 

17 (2) FUNDING SOURCE.—Funds made available 

18 to carry out the wood innovation grant program 

19 under section 8643 of the Agriculture Improvement 

20 Act of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 7655d) may also be used to 

21 carry out this section. 

22 Subtitle E—Save Our Sequoias 

23 SEC. 7501. SHORT TITLE. 

24 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Save Our Sequoias 

25 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 7502. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this subtitle: 

3 (1) ASSESSMENT.—The term ‘‘Assessment’’ 

4 means the Giant Sequoia Health and Resiliency As5 sessment required by section 7505. 

6 (2) COALITION.—The term ‘‘Coalition’’ means 

7 the Giant Sequoia Lands Coalition codified under 

8 section 7504(a). 

9 (3) COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.—The term ‘‘col10 laborative process’’ means a process relating to the 

11 management of covered National Forest system 

12 lands or covered public lands by which a project or 

13 forest management activity is developed and imple14 mented by the Secretary concerned through collabo15 ration with multiple interested persons representing 

16 diverse interests. 

17 (4) COVERED NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM

18 LANDS.—The term ‘‘covered National Forest System 

19 lands’’ means the proclaimed National Forest Sys20 tem lands reserved or withdrawn from the public do21 main of the United States covering the Sequoia Na22 tional Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monu23 ment, Sierra National Forest, and Tahoe National 

24 Forest. 

25 (5) COVERED PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘cov26 ered public lands’’ means— 


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1 (A) the Case Mountain Extensive Recre2 ation Management Area in California managed 

3 by the Bureau of Land Management; and 

4 (B) Kings Canyon National Park, Sequoia 

5 National Park, and Yosemite National Park in 

6 California managed by the National Park Serv7 ice. 

8 (6) GIANT SEQUOIA.—The term ‘‘giant se9 quoia’’ means a tree of the species Sequoiadendron 

10 giganteum. 

11 (7) GROVE-SPECIFIC HAZARDOUS FUELS RE12 DUCTION PLAN.—The term ‘‘grove-specific haz13 ardous fuels reduction plan’’ means a plan developed 

14 by the applicable land management agency prior to 

15 conducting an analysis under the National Environ16 mental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to ad17 dress hazardous fuels in 1 or more giant sequoia 

18 groves. 

19 (8) PROTECTION PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Protec20 tion Project’’ means a Giant Sequoia Protection 

21 Project carried out under section 7506. 

22 (9) REFORESTATION.—The term ‘‘reforest23 ation’’ means the act of renewing tree cover, taking 

24 into consideration species composition and resilience, 

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1 eration, artificial or natural regeneration with site 

2 preparation, planting or direct seeding, or vegetation 

3 competition control following artificial or natural re4 generation. 

5 (10) REHABILITATION.—The term ‘‘rehabilita6 tion’’ means any action taken during the 5-year pe7 riod beginning on the last day of a wildland fire to 

8 repair or improve fire-impacted lands which are un9 likely to recover to management-approved conditions. 

10 (11) RELEVANT CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT11 TEES.—The term ‘‘relevant Congressional Commit12 tees’’ means— 

13 (A) the Committees on Natural Resources, 

14 Agriculture, and Appropriations of the House of 

15 Representatives; and 

16 (B) the Committees on Energy and Nat17 ural Resources, Agriculture, Nutrition, and 

18 Forestry, and Appropriations of the Senate. 

19 (12) RESPONSIBLE OFFICIAL.—The term ‘‘re20 sponsible official’’ means an employee of the Depart21 ment of the Interior or Forest Service who has the 

22 authority to make and implement a decision on a 

23 proposed action. 

24 (13) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

25 means the Secretary of the Interior. 


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1 (14) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term 

2 ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means— 

3 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re4 spect to covered National Forest System lands, 

5 or their designee; and 

6 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re7 spect to covered public lands, or their designee. 

8 (15) STRATEGY.—The term ‘‘Strategy’’ means 

9 the Giant Sequoia Reforestation and Rehabilitation 

10 Strategy established under section 7507. 

11 (16) STRIKE TEAM.—The term ‘‘Strike Team’’ 

12 means a Giant Sequoia Strike Team established 

13 under section 7508. 

14 (17) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the 

15 Tule River Indian Tribe of the Tule River Reserva16 tion, California. 

17 SEC. 7503. SHARED STEWARDSHIP AGREEMENT FOR GIANT 

18 SEQUOIAS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after re20 ceiving a request from the Governor of the State of Cali21 fornia or the Tribe, the Secretary shall enter into or ex22 pand an existing shared stewardship agreement or enter 

23 into a similar agreement with the Secretary, the Governor 

24 of the State of California, and the Tribe to jointly carry 


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1 out the short-term and long-term management and con2 servation of giant sequoias. 

3 (b) PARTICIPATION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary has not re5 ceived a request from the Governor of the State of 

6 California or the Tribe under subsection (a) before 

7 the date that is 90 days after the date of enactment 

8 of this Act, the Secretary shall enter into the agree9 ment under subsection (a) and jointly implement 

10 such agreement with the Secretary. 

11 (2) FUTURE PARTICIPATION.—If the Secretary 

12 receives a request from the Governor of the State of 

13 California or the Tribe any time after entering into 

14 the agreement with the Secretary under paragraph 

15 (1), the Secretary shall accept the Governor of the 

16 State of California or the Tribe as a party to such 

17 agreement. 

18 SEC. 7504. GIANT SEQUOIA LANDS COALITION. 

19 (a) CODIFICATION.—The Coalition is the entity es20 tablished under the charter titled ‘‘Giant Sequoia Lands 

21 Coalition Charter’’ (or successor charter) signed during 

22 the period beginning June 2, 2022 and ending August 2, 

23 2022 by each of the following: 

24 (1) The National Park Service, representing Se25 quoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. 


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1 (2) The National Park Service, representing 

2 Yosemite National Park. 

3 (3) The Forest Service, representing Sequoia 

4 National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monu5 ment. 

6 (4) The Forest Service, representing Sierra Na7 tional Forest. 

8 (5) The Forest Service, representing Tahoe Na9 tional Forest. 

10 (6) The Bureau of Land Management, rep11 resenting Case Mountain Extensive Recreation Man12 agement Area. 

13 (7) The Tribe, representing the Tule River In14 dian Reservation. 

15 (8) The State of California, representing 

16 Calaveras Big Trees State Park. 

17 (9) The State of California, representing Moun18 tain Home Demonstration State Forest. 

19 (10) The University of California, Berkeley, 

20 representing Whitaker’s Research Forest. 

21 (11) The County of Tulare, California, rep22 resenting Balch Park. 

23 (b) DUTIES.—In addition to the duties specified in 

24 the charter referenced in subsection (a), the Coalition 

25 shall— 


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1 (1) produce the Assessment under section 7505; 

2 (2) observe implementation, and provide policy 

3 recommendations to the Secretary concerned, with 

4 respect to— 

5 (A) Protection Projects carried out under 

6 section 7506; and 

7 (B) the Strategy established under section 

8 7507; 

9 (3) facilitate collaboration and coordination on 

10 Protection Projects, particularly projects that cross 

11 jurisdictional boundaries; 

12 (4) facilitate information sharing, including best 

13 available science as described in section 7505(c) and 

14 mapping resources; and 

15 (5) support the development and dissemination 

16 of educational materials and programs that inform 

17 the public about the threats to the health and resil18 iency of giant sequoia groves and actions being 

19 taken to reduce the risk to such groves from high20 severity wildfire, insects, and drought. 

21 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT, TECHNICAL SERV22 ICES, AND STAFF SUPPORT.—The Secretary shall make 

23 personnel of the Department of the Interior available to 

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1 rials, and staff support that the Secretary determines nec2 essary to carry out this section. 

3 SEC. 7505. GIANT SEQUOIA HEALTH AND RESILIENCY AS4 SESSMENT. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Coalition shall sub7 mit to the relevant Congressional Committees a Giant Se8 quoia Health and Resiliency Assessment that, based on 

9 the best available science— 

10 (1) identifies— 

11 (A) each giant sequoia grove that has ex12 perienced a— 

13 (i) stand-replacing disturbance; or 

14 (ii) disturbance but continues to have 

15 living giant sequoias within the grove, in16 cluding identifying the tree mortality and 

17 regeneration of giant sequoias within such 

18 grove; 

19 (B) each giant sequoia grove that is at 

20 high risk of experiencing a stand-replacing dis21 turbance; 

22 (C) lands located near giant sequoia groves 

23 that are at risk of experiencing high-severity 

24 wildfires that could adversely impact such giant 

25 sequoia groves; and 


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1 (D) each giant sequoia grove that has ex2 perienced a disturbance and is unlikely to natu3 rally regenerate and is in need of reforestation; 

4 (2) analyzes the resiliency of each giant sequoia 

5 grove to threats, such as— 

6 (A) high-severity wildfire; 

7 (B) insects, including beetle kill; and 

8 (C) drought; 

9 (3) with respect to Protection Projects, pro10 poses a list of highest priority Protection Projects to 

11 be carried out under section 7506, giving priority to 

12 projects located on lands identified under subpara13 graphs (B) and (C) of subsection (a)(1); 

14 (4) examines how historical, Tribal, or current 

15 approaches to wildland fire suppression and forest 

16 management activities across various jurisdictions 

17 have impacted the health and resiliency of giant se18 quoia groves with respect to— 

19 (A) high-severity wildfires; 

20 (B) insects, including beetle kill; and 

21 (C) drought; and 

22 (5) includes program and policy recommenda23 tions that address— 

24 (A) Federal and State policies that impede 

25 activities to improve the health and resiliency of 


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1 giant sequoias and proposed policy changes to 

2 address such impediments; 

3 (B) new Federal and State policies nec4 essary to increase the pace and scale of treat5 ments that improve the health and resiliency of 

6 giant sequoias; 

7 (C) options to enhance communication, co8 ordination, and collaboration, particularly for 

9 cross-boundary projects, to improve the health 

10 and resiliency of giant sequoias; and 

11 (D) research gaps that should be ad12 dressed to improve the best available science on 

13 the giant sequoias. 

14 (b) ANNUAL UPDATES.—Not later than 1 year after 

15 the submission of the Assessment under subsection (a), 

16 and annually thereafter, the Coalition shall submit an up17 dated Assessment to the relevant Congressional Commit18 tees that— 

19 (1) includes any new data, information, or best 

20 available science that has changed or become avail21 able since the previous Assessment was submitted; 

22 (2) with respect to Protection Projects— 

23 (A) includes information on the number of 

24 Protection Projects initiated the previous year 


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1 and the estimated timeline for completing those 

2 projects; 

3 (B) includes information on the number of 

4 Protection Projects planned in the upcoming 

5 year and the estimated timeline for completing 

6 those projects; 

7 (C) provides status updates and long-term 

8 monitoring reports on giant sequoia groves 

9 after the completion of Protection Projects; 

10 (D) if the Secretary concerned failed to re11 duce hazardous fuels in at least 3 giant sequoia 

12 groves in the previous year, a written expla13 nation that includes— 

14 (i) a detailed explanation of what im15 pediments resulted in failing to reduce haz16 ardous fuels in at least 3 giant sequoia 

17 groves; 

18 (ii) a detailed explanation of what ac19 tions the Secretary concerned is taking to 

20 ensure that hazardous fuels are reduced in 

21 at least 3 giant sequoia groves the fol22 lowing year; and 

23 (iii) recommendations to Congress on 

24 any policies that need to be changed to as25 sist the Secretary concerned in reducing 


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1 hazardous fuels in giant sequoia groves; 

2 and 

3 (3) with respect to reforestation and rehabilita4 tion of giant sequoias— 

5 (A) contains updates on the implementa6 tion of the Strategy under section 7507, includ7 ing grove-level data on reforestation and reha8 bilitation activities; and 

9 (B) provides status updates and moni10 toring reports on giant sequoia groves that have 

11 experienced natural or artificial regeneration as 

12 part of the Strategy under section 7507. 

13 (c) DASHBOARD.— 

14 (1) REQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN.—The Coali15 tion shall create and maintain a website that— 

16 (A) publishes the Assessment, annual up17 dates to the Assessment, and other educational 

18 materials developed by the Coalition; 

19 (B) contains searchable information about 

20 individual giant sequoia groves, including the— 

21 (i) resiliency of such groves to threats 

22 described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of 

23 subsection (a); 


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1 (ii) Protection Projects that have been 

2 proposed, initiated, or completed in such 

3 groves; and 

4 (iii) reforestation and rehabilitation 

5 activities that have been proposed, initi6 ated, or completed in such groves; and 

7 (C) maintains a searchable database to 

8 track— 

9 (i) the status of Federal environ10 mental reviews and authorizations for spe11 cific Protection Projects and reforestation 

12 and rehabilitation activities; and 

13 (ii) the projected cost of Protection 

14 Projects and reforestation and rehabilita15 tion activities. 

16 (2) SEARCHABLE DATABASE.—The Coalition 

17 shall include information on the status of Protection 

18 Projects in the searchable database created under 

19 paragraph (1)(C), including— 

20 (A) a comprehensive permitting timetable; 

21 (B) the status of the compliance of each 

22 lead agency, cooperating agency, and partici23 pating agency with the permitting timetable; 

24 (C) any modifications of the permitting 

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1 cluding an explanation as to why the permitting 

2 timetable was modified; and 

3 (D) information about project-related pub4 lic meetings, public hearings, and public com5 ment periods, which shall be presented in 

6 English and the predominant language of the 

7 community or communities most affected by the 

8 project, as that information becomes available. 

9 (d) BEST AVAILABLE SCIENCE.—In utilizing the best 

10 available science for the Assessment, the Coalition shall 

11 include— 

12 (1) data and peer-reviewed research from aca13 demic institutions with a demonstrated history of 

14 studying giant sequoias and with experience ana15 lyzing distinct management strategies to improve 

16 giant sequoia resiliency; 

17 (2) traditional ecological knowledge from the 

18 Tribe related to improving the health and resiliency 

19 of giant sequoia groves; and 

20 (3) data from Federal, State, Tribal, and local 

21 governments or agencies. 

22 (e) TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS.—In carrying out 

23 this section, the Secretary may enter into memorandums 

24 of understanding or agreements with other Federal agen25 cies or departments, State or local governments, Tribal 


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1 governments, private entities, or academic institutions to 

2 improve, with respect to the Assessment, the use and inte3 gration of— 

4 (1) advanced remote sensing and geospatial 

5 technologies; 

6 (2) statistical modeling and analysis; or 

7 (3) any other technology the Secretary deter8 mines will benefit the quality of information used in 

9 the Assessment. 

10 (f) PLANNING.—The Coalition shall make informa11 tion from this Assessment available to the Secretary con12 cerned and State of California to integrate into the— 

13 (1) State of California’s Wildfire and Forest 

14 Resilience Action Plan; 

15 (2) Forest Service’s 10-year Wildfire Crisis 

16 Strategy (or successor plan); and 

17 (3) Department of the Interior’s Wildfire Risk 

18 Five-Year Monitoring, Maintenance, and Treatment 

19 Plan (or successor plan). 

20 (g) RELATION TO THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL

21 POLICY ACT OF 1969.—The development and submission 

22 of the Assessment under subsection (a) shall not be sub23 ject to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

24 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 


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1 SEC. 7506. GIANT SEQUOIA EMERGENCY RESPONSE. 

2 (a) EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO PROTECT GIANT SE3 QUOIAS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

5 (A) EMERGENCY DETERMINATION.—Con6 gress determines that— 

7 (i) an emergency exists on covered 

8 public lands and covered National Forest 

9 System lands that makes it necessary to 

10 carry out Protection Projects that take 

11 needed actions to respond to the threat of 

12 wildfires, insects, and drought to giant se13 quoias; and 

14 (ii) Protection Projects are necessary 

15 to control the immediate impacts of the 

16 emergency described in clause (i) and are 

17 needed to mitigate harm to life, property, 

18 or important natural or cultural resources 

19 on covered public lands and covered Na20 tional Forest System lands. 

21 (B) APPLICATION.—The emergency deter22 mination established under subparagraph (A) 

23 shall apply to all covered public lands and cov24 ered National Forest System lands. 

25 (C) EXPIRATION.—The emergency deter26 mination established under subparagraph (A) 


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1 shall expire on the date that is 7 years after the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act. 

3 (2) IMPLEMENTATION.—While the emergency 

4 determination established under subsection (a) is in 

5 effect, the following shall apply: 

6 (A) The following shall have the force and 

7 effect of law: 

8 (i) Section 220.4(b) of title 36, Code 

9 of Federal Regulations (as in effect July 

10 21, 2022), with respect to covered Na11 tional Forest System lands. 

12 (ii) Section 46.150 of title 43, Code of 

13 Federal Regulations (as in effect October 

14 12, 2022), with respect to covered public 

15 lands. 

16 (iii) Section 402.05 of title 50, Code 

17 of Federal Regulations (as in effect July 

18 21, 2022), with respect to covered Na19 tional Forest System lands and covered 

20 public lands. 

21 (iv) Section 800.12 of title 36, Code 

22 of Federal Regulations (as in effect July 

23 21, 2022), with respect to covered Na24 tional Forest System lands and covered 

25 public lands. 


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1 (B) A responsible official may carry out a 

2 Protection Project described by paragraph (4) 

3 before initiating— 

4 (i) an analysis under section 102 of 

5 the National Environmental Policy Act of 

6 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332); 

7 (ii) consultation under section 7 of the 

8 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

9 U.S.C. 1536); and 

10 (iii) consultation under section 106 of 

11 the National Historic Preservation Act (16 

12 U.S.C. 470(f)). 

13 (C) The rules established under sub14 sections (d) and (e) of section 40807 of the In15 frastructure Investment and Jobs Act (16 

16 U.S.C. 6592c(d) and (e)) shall apply with re17 spect to Protection Projects by substituting 

18 ‘‘Protection Projects’’ for ‘‘authorized emer19 gency action under this section’’ each place it 

20 appears in such subsections. 

21 (D) Protection Projects shall be subject to 

22 the requirements of section 106 of title I of the 

23 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

24 U.S.C. 6511 et seq.). 


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1 (3) PROTECTION PROJECTS.—The responsible 

2 official shall carry out the following forest manage3 ment activities, consistent with applicable grove-spe4 cific hazardous fuels reduction plans or activities 

5 recommend by the Assessment under section 7505, 

6 as Protection Projects under the emergency deter7 mination under this section: 

8 (A) Conducting hazardous fuels manage9 ment, including mechanical thinning, mastica10 tion, and prescribed burning. 

11 (B) Removing hazard trees, dead trees, 

12 dying trees, or trees at risk of dying, as deter13 mined by the responsible official. 

14 (C) Removing trees to address over15 stocking or crowding in a forest stand, con16 sistent with the appropriate basal area of the 

17 forest stand as determined by the responsible 

18 official. 

19 (D) Activities included in the applicable 

20 grove-specific hazardous fuels reduction plan. 

21 (E) Using chemical treatments to address 

22 insects and disease and control vegetation com23 petition. 

24 (F) Any combination of activities described 

25 in this paragraph. 


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1 (4) REQUIREMENTS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Protection Projects 

3 carried out under paragraph (3) and reforest4 ation and rehabilitation activities carried out 

5 under this Act that are described by subpara6 graph (D) are a category of actions hereby des7 ignated as being categorically excluded from the 

8 preparation of an environmental assessment or 

9 an environmental impact statement under sec10 tion 102 of the National Environmental Policy 

11 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332). 

12 (B) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary con13 cerned shall use the categorical exclusion estab14 lished under subparagraph (A) in accordance 

15 with this section. 

16 (C) INTERAGENCY COOPERATION.—Con17 gress finds that Protection Projects carried out 

18 under this section are consistent with improving 

19 the health and resiliency of critical habitat for 

20 threatened and endangered species, including 

21 the Pacific fisher and California spotted owl. 

22 (D) REQUIREMENTS.—A Protection 

23 Project or reforestation or rehabilitation activity 

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1 tection Project or reforestation or rehabilitation 

2 activity— 

3 (i) covers an area of no more than— 

4 (I) 2,000 acres within giant se5 quoia groves where a grove-specific 

6 hazardous fuels reduction plan has 

7 been developed by the relevant land 

8 management agency or on lands iden9 tified under section 7505(a)(1)(B); 

10 and 

11 (II) 3,000 acres on lands identi12 fied under section 7505(a)(1)(C); and 

13 (ii) was— 

14 (I) proposed by the Assessment 

15 under section 7505(a)(3); 

16 (II) developed through a collabo17 rative process; or 

18 (III) proposed by a resource advi19 sory committee (as defined in section 

20 201 of the Secure Rural Schools and 

21 Community Self-Determination Act of 

22 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7121)); and 

23 (iii) occurs on Federal land or non24 Federal land with the consent of the non25 Federal landowner. 


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1 (E) USE OF OTHER AUTHORITIES.—To the 

2 maximum extent practicable, the Secretary con3 cerned shall use the authorities provided under 

4 this section in combination with other authori5 ties to carry out Protection Projects, includ6 ing— 

7 (i) good neighbor agreements entered 

8 into under section 8206 of the Agricultural 

9 Act of 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a); and 

10 (ii) stewardship contracting projects 

11 entered into under section 604 of the 

12 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 

13 (16 U.S.C. 6591c). 

14 (F) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—With respect to 

15 joint Protection Projects and reforestation and 

16 rehabilitation activities involving the Tribe, 

17 nothing in this section shall be construed to add 

18 any additional regulatory requirements onto the 

19 Tribe. 

20 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—To the maximum extent 

21 practicable, the Secretary concerned shall reduce haz22 ardous fuels in no fewer than 3 giant sequoia groves each 

23 year. 


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1 SEC. 7507. GIANT SEQUOIA REFORESTATION AND REHA2 BILITATION STRATEGY. 

3 (a) REFORESTATION AND REHABILITATION STRAT4 EGY.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

6 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con7 sultation with the Coalition, shall develop and implement 

8 a strategy, to be known as the Giant Sequoia Reforest9 ation and Rehabilitation Strategy, to enhance the reforest10 ation and rehabilitation of giant sequoia groves that— 

11 (A) identifies giant sequoia groves in need of natural 

12 or artificial regeneration, giving highest priority to groves 

13 identified under section 7505(a)(1)(A)(i); 

14 (B) creates a priority list of reforestation and reha15 bilitation activities; 

16 (C) identifies and addresses— 

17 (i) barriers to reforestation or rehabilitation includ18 ing— 

19 (I) regulatory and funding barriers; 

20 (II) seedling shortages or related nursery infrastruc21 ture capacity constraints; 

22 (III) labor and workforce shortages; 

23 (IV) technology and science gaps; and 

24 (V) site preparation challenges; 


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1 (ii) potential public-private partnership opportunities 

2 to complete high-priority reforestation or rehabilitation 

3 projects; 

4 (iii) a timeline for addressing the backlog of reforest5 ation for giant sequoias in the 10-year period after the 

6 agreement is entered into under section 7503; and 

7 (iv) strategies to ensure genetic diversity across giant 

8 sequoia groves; and 

9 (D) includes program and policy recommendations 

10 needed to improve the efficiency or effectiveness of the 

11 Strategy. 

12 (2) ASSESSMENT.—The Secretary may incorporate 

13 the Strategy into the Assessment under section 7505. 

14 (b) PRIORITY REFORESTATION PROJECTS AMEND15 MENT.—Section 3(e)(4)(C)(ii)(I) of the Forest and 

16 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 

17 (16 U.S.C. 1601(e)(4)(C)(ii)(I)) is amended— 

18 (1) in item (bb), by striking ‘‘and’’; 

19 (2) in item (cc), by striking the period and inserting 

20 ‘‘; and’’; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(dd) shall include reforest23 ation and rehabilitation activities 

24 conducted under section 7507 of 

25 the Save Our Sequoias Act.’’. 


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1 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—Section 4(d)(1) of the Wil2 derness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)) is amended by inserting 

3 ‘‘Nothing in this Act precludes reforestation (as defined 

4 in section 7502 of the Save our Sequoias Act) activities 

5 to reestablish giant sequoias following a wildfire.’’ after 

6 the period at the end. 

7 SEC. 7508. GIANT SEQUOIA STRIKE TEAMS. 

8 (a) GIANT SEQUOIA STRIKE TEAMS.— 

9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary con10 cerned shall each establish a Giant Sequoia Strike 

11 Team to assist the Secretary concerned with the im12 plementation of— 

13 (A) primarily, section 7506; and 

14 (B) secondarily, section 7507. 

15 (2) DUTIES.—Each Strike Team shall— 

16 (A) assist the Secretary concerned with 

17 any reviews, including analysis under the Na18 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

19 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), consultations under the 

20 National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (16 

21 U.S.C. 470 et seq.) and consultations under the 

22 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

23 1531 et seq.); 

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1 tion Project or reforestation or rehabilitation 

2 activity; 

3 (C) implement Protection Projects under 

4 section 7506; and 

5 (D) implement reforestation or rehabilita6 tion activities under section 7507. 

7 (3) MEMBERS.—The Secretary concerned may 

8 appoint no more than 10 individuals each to serve 

9 on a Strike Team comprised of— 

10 (A) employees of the Department of the 

11 Interior; 

12 (B) employees of the Forest Service; 

13 (C) private contractors from any nonprofit 

14 organization, State government, Tribal Govern15 ment, local government, academic institution, or 

16 private organization; and 

17 (D) volunteers from any nonprofit organi18 zation, State government, Tribal Government, 

19 local government, academic institution, or pri20 vate organization. 

21 SEC. 7509. GIANT SEQUOIA COLLABORATIVE RESTORATION 

22 GRANTS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

24 with the parties to the agreement under section 7503, 

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1 ties to advance, facilitate, or improve giant sequoia health 

2 and resiliency. 

3 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The Secretary may award 

4 grants under this section to any nonprofit organization, 

5 Tribal Government, local government, academic institu6 tion, or private organization to help advance, facilitate, or 

7 improve giant sequoia health and resiliency. 

8 (c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec9 tion, the Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities 

10 that— 

11 (1) primarily, are likely to have the greatest im12 pact on giant sequoia health and resiliency; and 

13 (2) secondarily— 

14 (A) are small businesses or tribal entities, 

15 particularly in rural areas; and 

16 (B) create or support jobs, particularly in 

17 rural areas. 

18 (d) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Funds from grants 

19 awarded under this section shall be used to— 

20 (1) create, expand, or develop markets for haz21 ardous fuels removed under section 7506, including 

22 markets for biomass and biochar; 

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1 porting hazardous fuels removed as part of a Protec2 tion Project; 

3 (3) expand, enhance, develop, or create facilities 

4 or land that can store or process hazardous fuels re5 moved under section 7506; 

6 (4) establish, develop, expand, enhance, or im7 prove nursery capacity or infrastructure necessary to 

8 facilitate the Strategy established under section 

9 7507; or 

10 (5) support tribal management and conserva11 tion of giant sequoias, including funding for tribal 

12 historic preservation officers. 

13 SEC. 7510. GOOD NEIGHBOR AUTHORITY FOR GIANT SE14 QUOIAS. 

15 Section 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (16 

16 U.S.C. 2113a), as amended by section 7412, is further 

17 amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (3)(A)— 

20 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

21 the end; 

22 (ii) by redesignating clause (ii) as 

23 clause (iii); 

24 (iii) by inserting after clause (i) the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Kings Canyon National Park, 

2 Sequoia National Park, and Yosemite Na3 tional Park; or’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (4)(A)— 

5 (i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

6 the end; 

7 (ii) by redesignating clause (iii) as 

8 clause (iv); 

9 (iii) by inserting after clause (ii) the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(iii) activities conducted under sec12 tion 7506 of the Save Our Sequoias Act;’’; 

13 (iv) in clause (iv), as so redesignated, 

14 by striking the period at the end and in15 serting ‘‘; or’’; and 

16 (v) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(v) any combination of activities 

18 specified in clauses (i) through (iv).’’. 

19 (C) in paragraph (10)(B) by striking 

20 ‘‘land.’’ and inserting ‘‘land, Kings Canyon Na21 tional Park, Sequoia National Park, and Yo22 semite National Park.’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (b)— 

24 (A) in paragraph (2)(C)— 

25 (i) by striking clause (ii); and 


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1 (ii) by inserting after clause (i) the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(ii) SPECIAL RULE FOR CERTAIN NA4 TIONAL PARKS.—Funds received from the 

5 sale of timber by a Governor, an Indian 

6 tribe, or a county under a good neighbor 

7 agreement carried out within the bound8 aries of Kings Canyon National Park, Se9 quoia National Park, or Yosemite National 

10 Park shall be retained and used by the 

11 Governor, Indian tribe, or county, as appli12 cable— 

13 ‘‘(I) to carry out authorized res14 toration services under such good 

15 neighbor agreement; 

16 ‘‘(II) if there are funds remain17 ing after carrying out the services 

18 under clause (i), to carry out author19 ized restoration services under other 

20 good neighbor agreements within the 

21 boundaries of the park unit in which 

22 the initial good neighbor agreement 

23 occurred; and 

24 ‘‘(III) if there are no further 

25 good neighbor agreements to carry 


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1 out under clause (ii), to transfer to 

2 the park unit in which the initial good 

3 neighbor agreement occurred to be 

4 used for giant sequoia conservation 

5 and management. 

6 ‘‘(iii) TERMINATION OF EFFECTIVE7 NESS.—The authority provided by this 

8 subparagraph terminates effective October 

9 1, 2029.’’; and 

10 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZED RESTORATION SERVICES IN

12 CERTAIN NATIONAL PARKS.—Authorized restoration 

13 services occurring in Kings Canyon National Park, 

14 Sequoia National Park, and Yosemite National Park 

15 shall be carried out in accordance with section 

16 100753 of title 54, United States Code.’’. 

17 SEC. 7511. STEWARDSHIP CONTRACTING FOR GIANT SE18 QUOIAS. 

19 (a) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE.—Section 604(a)(2) of 

20 the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 

21 6591c(c)) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

23 the Director of the Bureau of Land Management 

24 with respect to Bureau of Land Management lands 

25 and the Director of the National Park Service with 


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1 respect to lands within Kings Canyon National 

2 Park, Sequoia National Park, and Yosemite Na3 tional Park.’’. 

4 (b) GIANT SEQUOIA STEWARDSHIP CONTRACTS.— 

5 Section 604(c) of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 

6 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c(c)) is further amended by adding 

7 at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(8) Promoting the health and resiliency of 

9 giant sequoias.’’. 

10 SEC. 7512. GIANT SEQUOIA EMERGENCY PROTECTION PRO11 GRAM AND FUND. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1011 of title 54, United 

13 States Code, is amended by inserting at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘§ 101123. Giant Sequoia Emergency Protection Pro16 gram and Fund 

17 ‘‘(a) GIANT SEQUOIA EMERGENCY PROTECTION

18 PROGRAM.—The National Park Foundation, in coordina19 tion with the National Forest Foundation, shall design 

20 and implement a comprehensive program to assist and 

21 promote philanthropic programs of support that benefit— 

22 ‘‘(1) primarily, the management and conserva23 tion of giant sequoias on National Park Service and 

24 covered National Forest System lands to promote re25 siliency to wildfires, insects, and drought; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) secondarily, the reforestation of giant se2 quoias on National Park Service and covered Na3 tional Forest System lands impacted by wildfire. 

4 ‘‘(b) GIANT SEQUOIA EMERGENCY PROTECTION

5 FUND.—The National Park Foundation, in coordination 

6 with the National Forest Foundation, shall establish a 

7 joint special account to be known as the Giant Sequoia 

8 Emergency Protection Fund (referred to as ‘the Fund’ in 

9 this section), to be administered in support of the program 

10 established under subsection (a). 

11 ‘‘(1) FUNDS FOR GIANT SEQUOIA EMERGENCY

12 PROTECTION.—The Fund shall consist of any gifts, 

13 devises, or bequests that are provided to the Na14 tional Park Foundation or National Forest Founda15 tion for such purpose. 

16 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds shall be available 

17 to the National Park Foundation and National For18 est Foundation without further appropriation, sub19 ject to the provisions in paragraph (3), for projects 

20 and activities approved by the Chief of the Forest 

21 Service or the Director of the National Park Service 

22 as appropriate, or their designees, to— 

23 ‘‘(A) primarily, support the management 

24 and conservation of giant sequoias on National 

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1 tem lands to promote resiliency to wildfires, in2 sects, and drought; and 

3 ‘‘(B) secondarily, support the reforestation 

4 of giant sequoias on National Park Service and 

5 covered National Forest System lands impacted 

6 by wildfire. 

7 ‘‘(3) TRIBAL SUPPORT.—Of the funds provided 

8 to the National Park Foundation and National For9 est Foundation under paragraph (2), not less than 

10 15 percent of such funds shall be used to support 

11 tribal management and conservation of giant se12 quoias including funding for tribal historic preserva13 tion officers. 

14 ‘‘(c) SUMMARY.—Beginning 1 year after the date of 

15 the enactment of this Act, the National Park Foundation 

16 and National Forest Foundation shall include with their 

17 annual reports a summary of the status of the program 

18 and Fund created under this section that includes— 

19 ‘‘(1) a statement of the amounts deposited in 

20 the Fund during the fiscal year; 

21 ‘‘(2) the amount of the balance remaining in 

22 the Fund at the end of the fiscal year; and 

23 ‘‘(3) a description of the program and projects 

24 funded during the fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(d) COVERED NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS

2 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘covered National 

3 Forest System lands’ has the meaning given such term 

4 in section 7502 of the Save Our Sequoias Act. 

5 ‘‘(e) TERMINATION OF EFFECTIVENESS.—The au6 thority provided by this section shall terminate 7 years 

7 after the date of enactment of the Save Our Sequoias 

8 Act.’’. 

9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec10 tions for chapter 1011 of title 54, United States Code, 

11 is amended by inserting at the end the following: 

‘‘101123. Giant Sequoia Emergency Protection Program and Fund.’’. 

12 SEC. 7513. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

13 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

14 this subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle 

15 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029. 

16 Subtitle F—Other Matters 

17 SEC. 7701. RURAL REVITALIZATION TECHNOLOGIES. 

18 Section 2371(d)(2) of the Food, Agriculture, Con19 servation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6601(d)(2)) 

20 is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

21 SEC. 7702. RESOURCE ADVISORY COMMITTEES. 

22 Section 205 of the Secure Rural Schools and Commu23 nity Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7125) is 

24 amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(6) APPOINTMENTS BY APPLICABLE REGIONAL

4 FORESTERS.—In making appointments under this 

5 subsection, the Secretary concerned may act through 

6 the applicable regional forester so long as before the 

7 applicable regional forester makes an appointment, 

8 the applicable regional forester conducts the review 

9 and analysis that would otherwise be conducted for 

10 an appointment to a resource advisory committee, 

11 including any review and analysis with respect to 

12 civil rights, budgetary requirements, vetting, and re13 porting, as the Secretary concerned determines ap14 propriate.’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (d)(6), by striking ‘‘October 1, 

16 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘October 1, 2029’’; and 

17 (3) by striking subsection (g). 

18 SEC. 7703. ACCURATE HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION RE19 PORTS. 

20 (a) INCLUSION OF HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION

21 REPORT IN MATERIALS SUBMITTED IN SUPPORT OF THE

22 PRESIDENT’S BUDGET.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with the first fis24 cal year that begins after the date of the enactment 

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1 retary concerned shall include in the materials sub2 mitted in support of the President’s budget pursuant 

3 to section 1105 of title 31, United States Code, a re4 port on the number of acres of Federal land on 

5 which the Secretary concerned carried out hazardous 

6 fuels reduction activities during the preceding fiscal 

7 year. 

8 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes of the re9 port required under paragraph (1), the Secretary 

10 concerned shall— 

11 (A) in determining the number of acres of 

12 Federal land on which the Secretary concerned 

13 carried out hazardous fuels reduction activities 

14 during the period covered by the report— 

15 (i) record acres of Federal land on 

16 which hazardous fuels reduction activities 

17 were completed during such period; and 

18 (ii) record each acre described in 

19 clause (i) once in the report, regardless of 

20 whether multiple hazardous fuels reduction 

21 activities were carried out on such acre 

22 during such period; and 

23 (B) with respect to the acres of Federal 

24 land recorded in the report, include information 

25 on— 


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1 (i) which such acres are located in the 

2 wildland-urban interface; 

3 (ii) the level of wildfire risk (high, 

4 moderate, or low) on the first and last day 

5 of the period covered by the report; 

6 (iii) the types of hazardous fuels ac7 tivities completed for such acres, delin8 eating between whether such activities 

9 were conducted— 

10 (I) in a wildfire managed for re11 source benefits; or 

12 (II) through a planned project; 

13 (iv) the cost per acre of hazardous 

14 fuels activities carried out during the pe15 riod covered by the report; 

16 (v) the region or system unit in which 

17 the acres are located; and 

18 (vi) the effectiveness of the hazardous 

19 fuels reduction activities on reducing the 

20 risk of wildfire. 

21 (3) TRANSPARENCY.—The Secretary concerned 

22 shall make each report submitted under paragraph 

23 (1) publicly available on the website of the Depart24 ment and the Department of the Interior, as appli25 cable. 


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1 (b) ACCURATE DATA COLLECTION.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

4 concerned shall implement standardized procedures 

5 for tracking data related to hazardous fuels reduc6 tion activities carried out by the Secretary con7 cerned. 

8 (2) ELEMENTS.—The standardized procedures 

9 required under paragraph (1) shall include— 

10 (A) regular, standardized data reviews of 

11 the accuracy and timely input of data used to 

12 track hazardous fuels reduction activities; 

13 (B) verification methods that validate 

14 whether such data accurately correlates to the 

15 hazardous fuels reduction activities carried out 

16 by the Secretary concerned; 

17 (C) an analysis of the short- and long-term 

18 effectiveness of the hazardous fuels reduction 

19 activities on reducing the risk of wildfire; and 

20 (D) for hazardous fuels reduction activities 

21 that occur partially within the wildland-urban 

22 interface, methods to distinguish which acres 

23 are located within the wildland-urban interface 

24 and which acres are located outside the 

25 wildland-urban interface. 


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1 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 2 weeks after im2 plementing the standardized procedures required 

3 under paragraph (1), the Secretary concerned shall 

4 submit to Congress a report that describes— 

5 (A) such standardized procedures; and 

6 (B) program and policy recommendations 

7 to Congress to address any limitations in track8 ing data related to hazardous fuels reduction 

9 activities under this subsection. 

10 (c) GAO STUDY.—Not later than 2 years after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

12 of the United States shall— 

13 (1) conduct a study on the implementation of 

14 this section, including any limitations with respect 

15 to— 

16 (A) reporting hazardous fuels reduction ac17 tivities under subsection (a); or 

18 (B) tracking data related to hazardous 

19 fuels reduction activities under subsection (b); 

20 and 

21 (2) submit to Congress a report that describes 

22 the results of the study under paragraph (1). 

23 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION ACTIV2 ITY.—The term ‘‘hazardous fuels reduction activ3 ity’’— 

4 (A) means any vegetation management ac5 tivity to reduce the risk of wildfire, including 

6 mechanical treatments and prescribed burning; 

7 and 

8 (B) does not include the awarding of con9 tracts to conduct hazardous fuels reduction ac10 tivities. 

11 (2) FEDERAL LANDS.—The term ‘‘Federal 

12 lands’’ means lands under the jurisdiction of the 

13 Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary. 

14 (3) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec15 retary concerned’’ means— 

16 (A) the Secretary, with respect to National 

17 Forest System lands; and 

18 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re19 spect to public lands and units of the National 

20 Park System. 

21 (4) WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.—The term 

22 ‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ has the meaning given 

23 the term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Res24 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 


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1 (e) NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.—No addi2 tional funds are authorized to carry out the requirements 

3 of this section, and the activities authorized by this section 

4 are subject to the availability of appropriations made in 

5 advance for such purposes. 

6 SEC. 7704. SPECIAL USE AUTHORIZATION RENTAL FEE 

7 WAIVER. 

8 All or part of the programmatic administrative fee, 

9 and any fees related to the special use authorization, as 

10 appropriate, may be waived by the Secretary, acting 

11 through the Chief of the Forest Service, when equitable 

12 and in the public interest as determined by the Chief of 

13 the Forest Service, for the use and occupancy of National 

14 Forest System land in the following circumstances: 

15 (1) The holder of the special use authorization 

16 is a State or local government or any agency or in17 strumentality thereof, excluding municipal utilities 

18 and cooperatives whose principal source of revenue is 

19 customer charges. 

20 (2) The holder is— 

21 (A) an organization described in section 

22 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 

23 and is exempt from taxation under section 

24 501(a) of such Code; 


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1 (B) not controlled or owned by profit-mak2 ing corporation or business enterprise; and 

3 (C) is engaged in public or semi-public ac4 tivity to further public health, safety, or wel5 fare. 

6 (3) The holder is an amateur station, amateur 

7 operator, or provides amateur radio services, as 

8 those terms are defined in section 97.3 of title 47, 

9 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regula10 tions). 

11 (4) Other circumstances the Secretary, acting 

12 through the Chief of the Forest Service, determines 

13 appropriate. 

14 SEC. 7705. CHARGES AND FEES FOR HARVEST OF FOREST 

15 BOTANICAL PRODUCTS. 

16 (a) RECOVERY OF FAIR MARKET VALUE FOR PROD17 UCTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

19 through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall estab20 lish and carry out a program to charge and collect 

21 fees under subsection (b) for forest botanical prod22 ucts harvested on National Forest System lands. 

23 (2) APPRAISAL METHODS; BIDDING PROCE24 DURES.—The Secretary, acting through the Chief of 

25 the Forest Service, shall establish a fee system based 


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1 on fair market value for forest botanical products 

2 harvested on National Forest System lands. 

3 (b) FEES.— 

4 (1) IMPOSITION AND COLLECTION.—The Sec5 retary shall charge and collect fees from persons who 

6 harvest forest botanical products on National Forest 

7 System lands. 

8 (2) AMOUNT OF FEE.—The fees collected under 

9 paragraph (1) shall be based on the fair market 

10 value of the harvested forest botanical products and 

11 the costs incurred by the Secretary associated with 

12 the granting, modifying, or monitoring the author13 ization for harvest of the forest botanical products, 

14 including the costs of any environmental or other 

15 analysis. 

16 (3) SECURITY.—The Secretary, acting through 

17 the Chief of the Forest Service, may require a per18 son assessed a fee under this subsection to provide 

19 security to ensure that the Secretary receives the 

20 fees imposed under this subsection from the person. 

21 (c) SUSTAINABLE HARVEST LEVELS FOR FOREST

22 BOTANICAL PRODUCTS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

24 through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall— 


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1 (A) conduct appropriate analyses to deter2 mine whether and how the harvest of forest bo3 tanical products on National Forest System 

4 lands can be conducted on a sustainable basis; 

5 and 

6 (B) establish procedures and timeframes to 

7 monitor and revise the harvest levels established 

8 for forest botanical products. 

9 (2) PROHIBITION ON HARVEST IN EXCESS OF

10 SUSTAINABLE LEVELS.—The Secretary, acting 

11 through the Chief of the Forest Service, may not 

12 permit under the program under this section the 

13 harvest of forest botanical products on National 

14 Forest System lands at levels in excess of sustain15 able harvest levels, as defined under section 4 of the 

16 Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 (16 

17 U.S.C. 531). 

18 (d) WAIVER AUTHORITY.— 

19 (1) PERSONAL USE.—The Secretary, acting 

20 through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall estab21 lish a personal use harvest level for each forest bo22 tanical product, and the harvest of a forest botanical 

23 product below that level by a person for personal use 

24 shall not be subject to charges and fees under sub25 sections (a) and (b). 


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1 (2) OTHER EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary, act2 ing through the Chief of the Forest Service, may 

3 also waive the application of subsection (a) or (b) 

4 pursuant to such regulations as the Secretary may 

5 prescribe. 

6 (e) DEPOSIT AND USE OF FUNDS.— 

7 (1) DEPOSIT.—Funds collected under the pro8 gram in accordance with subsections (a) and (b) 

9 shall be deposited into a special account in the 

10 United States Treasury. 

11 (2) FUNDS AVAILABLE.—Funds deposited into 

12 the special account in accordance with paragraph (1) 

13 shall remain available until expended without further 

14 appropriation. 

15 (3) AUTHORIZED USES.—The funds made avail16 able under paragraph (2) shall be expended at units 

17 of the National Forest System in proportion to the 

18 charges and fees collected at that unit under the 

19 program under this section to pay for— 

20 (A) the costs of conducting inventories of 

21 forest botanical products, determining sustain22 able levels of harvest, monitoring and assessing 

23 the impacts of harvest levels and methods, and 

24 for restoration activities, including any nec25 essary revegetation; and 


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1 (B) the costs described in subsection 

2 (b)(2). 

3 (4) TREATMENT OF FEES.—Funds collected 

4 under the program in accordance with subsections 

5 (a) and (b) shall not be taken into account for the 

6 purposes of the following laws: 

7 (A) The sixth paragraph under the head8 ing ‘‘forest service’’ in the Act of May 23, 1908 

9 (16 U.S.C. 500), and section 13 of the Act of 

10 March 1, 1911 (commonly known as the Weeks 

11 Act; 16 U.S.C. 500). 

12 (B) The fourteenth paragraph under the 

13 heading ‘‘forest service’’ in the Act of March 4, 

14 1913 (16 U.S.C. 501). 

15 (C) Section 33 of the Bankhead-Jones 

16 Farm Tenant Act (7 U.S.C. 1012). 

17 (D) The Act of August 28, 1937 (43 

18 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) and the Act of May 24, 

19 1939 (43 U.S.C. 2621 et seq.). 

20 (E) Section 6 of the Act of June 14, 1926 

21 (commonly known as the Recreation and Public 

22 Purposes Act; 43 U.S.C. 869–4). 

23 (F) Chapter 69 of title 31, United States 

24 Code. 


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1 (G) Section 401 of the Act of June 15, 

2 1935 (16 U.S.C. 715s). 

3 (H) Section 100904 of title 54, United 

4 States Code. 

5 (I) Any other provision of law relating to 

6 revenue allocation. 

7 (f) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—As soon as prac8 ticable after the end of each fiscal year in which the Sec9 retary collects charges and fees under the program in ac10 cordance with subsections (a) and (b) or expends funds 

11 from the special account under subsection (e), the Sec12 retary, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, 

13 shall submit to the Congress a report summarizing the ac14 tivities of the Secretary under the program under this sec15 tion, including the funds collected under the program in 

16 accordance with subsections (a) and (b), the expenses in17 curred to carry out the program under this section, and 

18 the expenditures made from the special account during 

19 that fiscal year. 

20 (g) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

21 (1) FOREST BOTANICAL PRODUCT.—The term 

22 ‘‘forest botanical product’’— 

23 (A) means any naturally occurring mush24 room, fungus, flower, seed, root, bark, leaf, 

25 berry, bough, bryophyte, bulb, burl, cone, 


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1 epiphyte, fern, forb, grass, moss, nut, pine 

2 straw, sedge, shrub, transplant, tree sap, or 

3 other vegetation (or portion thereof) that grows 

4 on National Forest System lands; and 

5 (B) does not include trees, or portions of 

6 trees, except as provided in regulations issued 

7 under section 339 of the Department of the In8 terior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act 

9 of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 528 note) by the Secretary 

10 before the date of enactment of this Act. 

11 (2) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 

12 ‘‘National Forest System’’ has the meaning given 

13 that term in section 11(a) of the Forest and Range14 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

15 U.S.C. 1609(a)). 

16 SEC. 7706. FOREST SERVICE LEGACY ROAD AND TRAIL RE17 MEDIATION PROGRAM TRANSPARENCY. 

18 Section 8 of Public Law 88–657 (16 U.S.C. 538a) 

19 is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (c)(2)— 

21 (A) by striking subparagraph (B) and in22 serting the following: 

23 ‘‘(B) solicit and consider public input re24 gionally in selecting projects for funding under 

25 the Program by— 


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1 ‘‘(i) publishing annually, for each re2 gion, a list of projects considered for fund3 ing under the Program; 

4 ‘‘(ii) accepting public comment on the 

5 projects described in clause (i); and 

6 ‘‘(iii) considering public comments in 

7 selecting projects for funding under the 

8 Program;’’; and 

9 (B) in subparagraph (D)— 

10 (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), 

11 by inserting ‘‘annually, for each region,’’ 

12 before ‘‘publish’’; and 

13 (ii) by striking clause (ii) and insert14 ing the following: 

15 ‘‘(ii) a list that includes a description 

16 of— 

17 ‘‘(I) each project considered for 

18 funding under the Program; 

19 ‘‘(II) public comments received 

20 on each project described in subclause 

21 (I); 

22 ‘‘(III) the ranking within the ap23 plicable region of each project de24 scribed in subclause (I); and 


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1 ‘‘(IV) the proposed outcome of 

2 each project funded under the Pro3 gram for the applicable fiscal year.’’; 

4 and 

5 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(f) DEFINITION OF REGION.—In this section, the 

7 term ‘region’ means one of the 9 regions of the Forest 

8 Service.’’. 

9 SEC. 7707. DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY. 

10 For fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter, 

11 the Secretary may appoint, without regard to the provi12 sions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United 

13 States Code, other than sections 3303 and 3328 of that 

14 title, a Job Corps graduate (as defined in section 142(5) 

15 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (29 

16 U.S.C. 3192(5))) to a position in the competitive service 

17 in the Forest Service for which the graduate meets the 

18 qualification standards. 

19 SEC. 7708. IMPROVING THE EMERGENCY FOREST RESTORA20 TION PROGRAM. 

21 Section 407 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 

22 (16 U.S.C. 2206) is amended— 

23 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub24 section (f); and 


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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(e) ADVANCE PAYMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall give an 

5 owner of nonindustrial private forest land the option 

6 of receiving, before the owner carries out emergency 

7 measures under this section, not more than 75 per8 cent of the cost of the emergency measures, as de9 termined by the Secretary based on the fair market 

10 value of the cost of the emergency measures using 

11 the estimated cost of the applicable practice pub12 lished in the Field Office Technical Guide of each 

13 State by the Natural Resources Conservation Serv14 ice. 

15 ‘‘(2) RETURN OF FUNDS.—If the funds pro16 vided under paragraph (1) are not expended by the 

17 end of the 180-day period beginning on the date on 

18 which the owner of nonindustrial private forest land 

19 receives those funds, the funds shall be returned 

20 within a reasonable timeframe, as determined by the 

21 Secretary.’’. 

22 TITLE VIII—ENERGY 

23 SEC. 8001. DEFINITION OF ADVANCED BIOFUEL. 

24 Section 9001(3)(B)(iv) of the Farm Security and 

25 Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8101(3)(B)(iv)) 


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1 is amended by inserting ‘‘and sustainable aviation fuel’’ 

2 after ‘‘diesel-equivalent fuel’’. 

3 SEC. 8002. BIOBASED MARKETS PROGRAM. 

4 Section 9002 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest5 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8102) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(G) PROCUREMENT RESOURCES.—The 

10 Office of Federal Procurement Policy, in coordi11 nation with the Secretary, shall provide edu12 cational materials to procuring agencies to con13 sider the longevity of a product, economic sav14 ings, and the efficacy and performance of a 

15 product when making procurement decisions 

16 under this subsection.’’; and 

17 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

18 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

19 clause (ii) and redesignating clauses (iii) 

20 and (iv) as clauses (ii) and (iii), respec21 tively; 

22 (ii) in subparagraph (B)(i)— 

23 (I) in the matter preceding sub24 clause (I)— 


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1 (aa) by inserting ‘‘and the 

2 Secretary’’ after ‘‘Policy’’; and 

3 (bb) by striking ‘‘informa4 tion concerning—’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘a report that describes, for the 

6 year covered by the report—’’; 

7 (II) in subclause (I), by inserting 

8 ‘‘, including the actions taken by the 

9 procuring agency to establish and im10 plement the biobased procurement 

11 program of the procuring agency 

12 under that paragraph’’ before the 

13 semicolon; 

14 (III) in subclause (IV), by strik15 ing ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

16 (IV) in subclause (V), by striking 

17 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

18 (V) by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(VI)(aa) the specific categories 

21 of biobased products that are unavail22 able to meet procurement needs of the 

23 procuring agencies; and 


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1 ‘‘(bb) the desired performance 

2 characteristics and other relevant 

3 specifications for those products; and 

4 ‘‘(VII) if applicable, an expla5 nation of the procurement require6 ment or updated procurement require7 ment established under paragraph 

8 (2)(A)(i) that procuring agencies 

9 failed to meet and reasons for the fail10 ure; and’’; and 

11 (iii) by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(D) ACCOUNTABILITY.—The Office of 

14 Federal Procurement Policy, in consultation 

15 with the Secretary, shall annually— 

16 ‘‘(i) collect the information required to 

17 be reported under subparagraph (B) and 

18 make the information publicly available; 

19 ‘‘(ii) using the information collected 

20 under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, 

21 document relevant procuring agencies 

22 under paragraph (2)(A)(i) that, as applica23 ble, have established a procurement pro24 gram in accordance with paragraph 

25 (2)(A)(i)(I); and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) make the information publicly 

2 available, subject to the exemptions from 

3 disclosure under section 552(b) of title 5, 

4 United States Code.’’; 

5 (2) in subsection (f)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

7 (i) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘AND

8 NAPCS’’ before ‘‘CODES’’; 

9 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and North American 

10 Products Classification System codes’’ be11 fore ‘‘for—’’; and 

12 (iii) by striking subparagraphs (A) 

13 and (B) and inserting the following: 

14 ‘‘(A) renewable chemicals manufacturers 

15 and biobased products manufacturers; and 

16 ‘‘(B) renewable chemicals and biobased 

17 products.’’; and 

18 (B) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

19 paragraph (3) and inserting after paragraph 

20 (1) the following: 

21 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—To inform the development of 

22 codes under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, 

23 within 90 days after the date of the enactment of 

24 this paragraph, submit to the Committee on Agri25 culture of the House of Representatives and the 


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1 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

2 of the Senate, a report that provides— 

3 ‘‘(A) the Federal statistical collections of 

4 information related to the North American In5 dustry Classification System codes and the 

6 North American Product Classification System 

7 codes that utilize bioeconomy-specific data; 

8 ‘‘(B) recommendations to implement any 

9 bioeconomy related changes as part of the 2027 

10 revisions of the North American Industry Clas11 sification System codes and the North Amer12 ican Product Classification System codes; and 

13 ‘‘(C) an assessment of the impacts that 

14 bioeconomy-specific North American Industry 

15 Classification System codes and North Amer16 ican Products Classification System codes 

17 would have on the measurement by the agency 

18 of the economic contributions of the bio19 economy.’’; and 

20 (3) in subsection (k)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2024’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

23 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 8003. BIOREFINERY ASSISTANCE. 

2 Section 9003 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest3 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8103) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (b)(1)— 

5 (A) by inserting ‘‘or innovative’’ before 

6 ‘‘commercial-scale’’; and 

7 (B) by inserting ‘‘, renewable chemicals, or 

8 biobased products’’ after ‘‘end-user products’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (d)(1)— 

10 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

11 (i) by striking all that precedes ‘‘a 

12 loan guarantee’’ and inserting the fol13 lowing: 

14 ‘‘(B) FEASIBILITY.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In approving’’; 

16 and 

17 (ii) by adding after and below the end 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(ii) WAIVER.—The Secretary may 

20 waive the requirement that the applicant 

21 must demonstrate commercial viability for 

22 projects adopting commercially available 

23 technology.’’; 

24 (B) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) 

25 and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respec26 tively; and 


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1 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (B) 

2 the following: 

3 ‘‘(C) TECHNICAL REVIEW AGREEMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

5 shall enter into an agreement with each 

6 project applicant that clearly outlines the 

7 specific objectives, outcomes, and condi8 tions by which the Secretary determines 

9 successful technical feasibility of the 

10 project under this section. 

11 ‘‘(ii) CONDITIONS OF AGREEMENT.— 

12 The agreement provided under clause (i) 

13 shall include clear guidelines and expecta14 tions for the methodologies, protocols, and 

15 procedures, and what the eligible tech16 nology must demonstrate, for the Depart17 ment to determine technical feasibility 

18 from an integrated demonstration unit, in19 cluding— 

20 ‘‘(I) a set timeline for the inte21 grated demonstration unit campaign 

22 and final technical report to show reli23 able evidence of continuous, steady24 state production; 


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1 ‘‘(II) criteria and methods for 

2 evaluating the project’s success, in3 cluding any third-party assessments 

4 or evaluations that may be conducted 

5 during the demonstration period and 

6 at the conclusion of the set timeline; 

7 ‘‘(III) criteria and methods to 

8 prove the ability of the integrated 

9 demonstration unit to use project-spe10 cific feedstock for the production of 

11 advanced biofuels, renewable chemi12 cals, or biobased products at a yield 

13 and quality consistent with the design 

14 basis of the project; 

15 ‘‘(IV) required information and 

16 conditions that demonstrate operation 

17 duration, quality, and quantity speci18 fications; and 

19 ‘‘(V) any other information that, 

20 if supplied to the Secretary, would as21 sist the eligible entity in sufficiently 

22 demonstrating a project’s technical 

23 feasibility. 

24 ‘‘(iii) FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH

25 AGREEMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(I) NONCOMPLIANCE NOTIFICA2 TION.—If a project applicant fails to 

3 comply with the technical feasibility 

4 requirements as provided under clause 

5 (ii), the Secretary shall issue a written 

6 notice to the project applicant detail7 ing the specific deficiencies and pro8 viding a reasonable timeframe for the 

9 project applicant to rectify the issues. 

10 ‘‘(II) CORRECTIVE ACTION PE11 RIOD.—The project applicant shall 

12 have a period of not more than 90 

13 days from the date of issuance of the 

14 noncompliance notice to address the 

15 identified deficiencies and submit a 

16 revised technical feasibility assessment 

17 for reconsideration. 

18 ‘‘(iv) TECHNICAL FEASIBILITY AP19 PROVAL.—Upon fulfillment of the condi20 tions of agreement established under 

21 clause (ii) or approval of the revised tech22 nical feasibility assessment under clause 

23 (iii)(II), the Secretary shall determine the 

24 project to be technically feasible.’’; 

25 (3) in subsection (g)— 


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1 (A) by striking all that precedes ‘‘is au2 thorized’’ and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(g) FUNDING.—There’’; and. 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘2029’’; 

6 (4) in subsection (h)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2031’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2031’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

11 (5) in subsection (i)(1), by striking ‘‘2031’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

13 (6) in subsection (j)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2031’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

16 (B) in paragraph (5)— 

17 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

18 ‘‘2031’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

19 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

20 ‘‘2031’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

21 SEC. 8004. BIOPRODUCT LABELING REPORT. 

22 Title IX of the Farm Security and Rural Investment 

23 Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8101–8115) is amended by insert24 ing after section 9003 the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 9004. BIOPRODUCT LABELING REPORT. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Within 1 year after the date of 

3 the enactment of this section, the Secretary shall submit 

4 to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep5 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

6 and Forestry of the Senate, a report containing an anal7 ysis of the potential effects of a program to implement 

8 national uniform labeling standards for bioproducts de9 scribed under subsection (b), including the effects on— 

10 ‘‘(1) consumer trust, certainty, and adoption; 

11 ‘‘(2) the scope and accuracy of bioproduct in12 dustry data; and 

13 ‘‘(3) market growth. 

14 ‘‘(b) BIOPRODUCT TERMINOLOGY.—In preparing the 

15 report required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) consider national uniform labeling stand17 ards for— 

18 ‘‘(A) bio-attributed products; 

19 ‘‘(B) biobased products; 

20 ‘‘(C) biobased plastics; 

21 ‘‘(D) bio-attributed plastics; 

22 ‘‘(E) plant-based products; 

23 ‘‘(F) renewable chemicals; and 

24 ‘‘(G) renewable biomass; and 

25 ‘‘(2) define the bioproducts identified in para26 graph (1), unless otherwise defined in statute. 


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1 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In defining the terminology 

2 described in subsection (b) and preparing the report re3 quired by subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult 

4 with— 

5 ‘‘(1) biomanufacturers; 

6 ‘‘(2) entities engaged in research and develop7 ment of bioproducts; 

8 ‘‘(3) feedstock growers; and 

9 ‘‘(4) other industry stakeholders.’’. 

10 SEC. 8005. BIOENERGY PROGRAM FOR ADVANCED 

11 BIOFUELS. 

12 Section 9005(g) of the Farm Security and Rural In13 vestment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8105(g)) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (1)(F), by striking ‘‘2024’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

16 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

18 SEC. 8006. BIODIESEL FUEL EDUCATION PROGRAM. 

19 Section 9006 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest20 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8106) is repealed. 

21 SEC. 8007. RURAL ENERGY FOR AMERICA PROGRAM. 

22 Section 9007 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest23 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8107) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (b)(3)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (D), by inserting ‘‘, 

2 cost savings,’’ after ‘‘savings’’; 

3 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

4 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

5 (C) in subparagraph (F), by striking the 

6 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

7 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(G) the potential of the proposed program 

9 to meaningfully improve the financial conditions 

10 of the agricultural producers or rural small 

11 businesses.’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (c)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (i) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

15 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

16 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

17 (G) as subparagraph (H); and 

18 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

19 (F) the following: 

20 ‘‘(G) the potential improvements to the fi21 nancial conditions of the agricultural producer 

22 or rural small business; and’’; and 

23 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

24 (i) by amending subparagraph (A) to 

25 read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(A) GRANTS.—With respect to grants 

2 made under paragraph (1)(A)(i), the amount of 

3 a grant shall not exceed— 

4 ‘‘(i) 50 percent of the cost of the ac5 tivity carried out using funds from the 

6 grant for— 

7 ‘‘(I) a beginning farmer or ranch8 er, a socially disadvantaged farmer or 

9 rancher, or a veteran farmer or ranch10 er (as those terms are defined in sec11 tion 2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture, 

12 Conservation and Trade Act of 1990 

13 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a))); and 

14 ‘‘(II) a recipient with a proposed 

15 project located in an area where 20 

16 percent or more of the population is 

17 living in poverty over the last 30 

18 years, as defined by the United States 

19 Census Bureau, or an area that has 

20 experienced long-term population de21 cline or loss of employment, as deter22 mined by the Secretary; or 

23 ‘‘(ii) 35 percent of the cost of the ac24 tivity carried out using funds from the 

25 grant in all other cases.’’; and 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 ‘‘$25,000,000’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘$50,000,000’’; 

4 (3) in subsection (f)(3), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

6 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(g) PROJECT DIVERSITY.—In approving grant or 

8 loan guarantee applications under this section, the Sec9 retary shall ensure that, to the extent practicable, there 

10 is diversity in the types of projects approved for grants 

11 or loan guarantees to ensure that as wide a range as pos12 sible of technologies, products, and approaches are as13 sisted.’’. 

14 SEC. 8008. FEEDSTOCK FLEXIBILITY. 

15 Section 9010(b) of the Farm Security and Rural In16 vestment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8110(b)) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

19 (2) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

21 SEC. 8009. BIOMASS CROP ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 

22 Section 9011(f)(1) of the Farm Security and Rural 

23 Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8111(f)(1)) is amended 

24 by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 8010. CARBON UTILIZATION AND BIOGAS EDUCATION 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 Section 9014 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest4 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8115) is repealed. 

5 SEC. 8011. STUDY ON EFFECTS OF SOLAR PANEL INSTALLA6 TIONS ON COVERED FARMLAND. 

7 Title IX of the Farm Security and Rural Investment 

8 Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8101–8115) is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 9015. STUDY ON EFFECTS OF SOLAR PANEL INSTAL11 LATIONS ON COVERED FARMLAND. 

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation 

13 with the Secretary of Energy, shall conduct a study on 

14 the effects of solar panel installations on the conversion 

15 of covered farmland out of agricultural production in ac16 cordance with this section. 

17 ‘‘(b) CONTENT.—In conducting the study under this 

18 section, the Secretary shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) analyze the economic effects of solar panel 

20 installations on covered farmland, including the ef21 fects on— 

22 ‘‘(A) crop yields; 

23 ‘‘(B) land values, including adjacent prop24 erties; 

25 ‘‘(C) land access and tenure; 

26 ‘‘(D) local economies; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) food security; 

2 ‘‘(2) investigate impacts of solar panel installa3 tion, operation, and decommissioning on covered 

4 farmland, and suggest best practices to protect— 

5 ‘‘(A) soil health; 

6 ‘‘(B) water resources; 

7 ‘‘(C) wildlife; 

8 ‘‘(D) vegetation; 

9 ‘‘(E) water drainage; and 

10 ‘‘(F) air quality; 

11 ‘‘(3) assess the impacts of shared solar energy 

12 and agricultural production on covered farmland, in13 cluding best practices to— 

14 ‘‘(A) maintain or increase agricultural pro15 duction; 

16 ‘‘(B) increase agricultural resilience; 

17 ‘‘(C) retain covered farmland; 

18 ‘‘(D) increase economic opportunities in 

19 farming and rural communities, including new 

20 revenue streams and job creation; 

21 ‘‘(E) reduce nonfarmer ownership of cov22 ered farmland; and 

23 ‘‘(F) enhance biodiversity; 


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1 ‘‘(4) assess the types of agricultural land best 

2 suited and worst suited for shared solar energy and 

3 agricultural production; 

4 ‘‘(5) study the compatibility of different species 

5 of livestock with different solar panel system de6 signs, including— 

7 ‘‘(A) the optimal height of and distance be8 tween solar panels for livestock grazing and 

9 shade for livestock; 

10 ‘‘(B) manure management considerations; 

11 ‘‘(C) fencing requirements; and 

12 ‘‘(D) other animal handling considerations; 

13 ‘‘(6) study the compatibility of different crop 

14 types with different solar panel system designs, in15 cluding— 

16 ‘‘(A) the optimal height of and distance be17 tween solar panels for plant shading and farm 

18 equipment use; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the impact on crop yield; 

20 ‘‘(7) evaluate the degree to which existing Fed21 eral, State, or local tax incentives result in the devel22 opment of covered farmland under study; 

23 ‘‘(8) recommend effective incentives that could 

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1 ronment, brownfield sites, and other contaminated 

2 sites; 

3 ‘‘(9) evaluate the effectiveness of programs ad4 ministered by the federal government related to solar 

5 energy development that— 

6 ‘‘(A) results in the development of con7 taminated lands, the built environment, and 

8 other preferred sites; and 

9 ‘‘(B) discourages solar panel installations 

10 that would convert covered farmland out of ag11 ricultural production; and 

12 ‘‘(10) estimate the loss of agricultural produc13 tion on covered farmland due to solar panel installa14 tions. 

15 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION WITH RELEVANT STAKE16 HOLDERS.—In addition to consultation with the Secretary 

17 of Energy, while conducting the study under this section, 

18 the Secretary shall consult with— 

19 ‘‘(1) farmers; 

20 ‘‘(2) ranchers; 

21 ‘‘(3) landowners; 

22 ‘‘(4) agricultural organizations; 

23 ‘‘(5) State departments of agriculture and en24 ergy; 

25 ‘‘(6) units of local government; 


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1 ‘‘(7) conservation organizations; 

2 ‘‘(8) land-grant colleges and universities (as de3 fined in section 1404 of the National Agricultural 

4 Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 

5 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)); and 

6 ‘‘(9) solar developers. 

7 ‘‘(d) REPORT.—Within 2 years after the date of en8 actment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall sub9 mit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep10 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

11 and Forestry of the Senate, a written report on the find12 ings of the study and recommendations under this section. 

13 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

14 ‘‘(1) COVERED FARMLAND.—The term ‘covered 

15 farmland’ includes— 

16 ‘‘(A) farmland, as defined in section 

17 1540(c)(1) of the Farmland Protection Policy 

18 Act (7 U.S.C. 4201(c)(1)); and 

19 ‘‘(B) nonindustrial private forest land, as 

20 defined in section 201(a)(18) of the Food Secu21 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801(a)(18)). 

22 ‘‘(2) BROWNFIELD SITE.—The term ‘brownfield 

23 site’ has the meaning given that term in section 

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1 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 

2 U.S.C. 9601(39)). 

3 ‘‘(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

4 the Secretary of Agriculture.’’. 

5 SEC. 8012. LIMITATION ON USDA FUNDING FOR GROUND 

6 MOUNTED SOLAR SYSTEMS. 

7 Title IX of the Farm Security and Rural Investment 

8 Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8101–8115) is further amended 

9 by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 9016. LIMITATION ON USDA FUNDING FOR GROUND 

11 MOUNTED SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS. 

12 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) COVERED FARMLAND.—The term ‘covered 

14 farmland’ includes— 

15 ‘‘(A) farmland, as defined in section 

16 1540(c)(1) of the Farmland Protection Policy 

17 Act (7 U.S.C. 4201(c)(1)); and 

18 ‘‘(B) nonindustrial private forest land, as 

19 defined in section 201(a)(18) of the Food Secu20 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801(a)(18)). 

21 ‘‘(2) CONVERSION.—The term ‘conversion’ 

22 means, with respect to covered farmland, any activ23 ity that results in the covered farmland failing to 

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1 opment Act (7 U.S.C. 1991)) for agricultural pro2 duction, activity, or use or timber harvest. 

3 ‘‘(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

4 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

5 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not provide 

6 financial assistance for a project that would result in the 

7 conversion of covered farmland for solar energy produc8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(c) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (b) shall not apply to 

10 a project if the project— 

11 ‘‘(1) results in the conversion of less than 5 

12 acres; 

13 ‘‘(2) results in the conversion of less than 50 

14 acres of covered farmland and the majority of the 

15 energy produced is for on-farm use; or 

16 ‘‘(3) has received a resolution of approval or 

17 support, or other similar instrument from each coun18 ty and municipality in which the project is sited. 

19 ‘‘(d) COVERED FARMLAND PROTECTION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) FARMLAND CONSERVATION PLAN RE21 QUIRED.—A person who has applied to the Secretary 

22 for financial assistance for a project subject to sub23 section (c)(3) shall— 

24 ‘‘(A) develop a farmland conservation plan 

25 for the project to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) implement best practices to pro2 tect future soil health and productivity, 

3 and mitigate soil erosion, compaction, and 

4 other effects of solar energy production 

5 during construction, operation, and decom6 missioning; and 

7 ‘‘(ii) remediate and restore the soil 

8 health of the farmland to that of the farm9 land before the solar energy production 

10 project construction; and 

11 ‘‘(B) ensure that sufficient funds, as deter12 mined by the Secretary, are provided for the de13 commissioning of the solar energy production 

14 system and the remediation and restoration of 

15 covered farmland to carry out the farmland 

16 conservation plan described in subparagraph 

17 (A). 

18 ‘‘(2) OBLIGATION AND DISBURSMENT OF

19 FUNDS.—The Secretary may obligate financial as20 sistance for a project described in paragraph (1), 

21 but shall not disburse the financial assistance until 

22 the Secretary has determined that the applicant for 

23 the financial assistance has complied with paragraph 

24 (1). 


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1 ‘‘(3) FARMLAND CONSERVATION PLAN IMPLE2 MENTATION.—A person referred to in paragraph (1) 

3 shall carry out— 

4 ‘‘(A) the provisions of the plan that are de5 scribed in paragraph (1)(A)(i), on the receipt 

6 by the project of financial assistance from the 

7 Secretary and for the duration of solar energy 

8 production under the project; and 

9 ‘‘(B) the provisions of the plan that are de10 scribed in paragraph (1)(A)(ii), on the cessation 

11 of solar energy production under the project. 

12 ‘‘(4) COMPLIANCE.—A person who fails to com13 ply with paragraph (3) with respect to a project 

14 shall repay to the Secretary the full amount of the 

15 financial assistance provided by the Secretary to the 

16 person for the project.’’. 

17 TITLE IX—HORTICULTURE, MAR18 KETING, AND REGULATORY 

19 REFORM 

20 Subtitle A—Horticulture 

21 SEC. 9001. PLANT PEST AND DISEASE MANAGEMENT AND 

22 DISASTER PREVENTION. 

23 Section 420(f) of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 

24 7721) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para4 graph (7); 

5 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘(6) $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 

8 through 2024; and’’; and 

9 (4) in paragraph (7) (as so redesignated), by 

10 striking ‘‘$75,000,000 for fiscal year 2018’’ and in11 serting ‘‘$90,000,000 for fiscal year 2025’’. 

12 SEC. 9002. SPECIALTY CROP BLOCK GRANTS. 

13 Section 101 of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness 

14 Act of 2004 (7 U.S.C. 1621 note; Public Law 108–465) 

15 is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

17 paragraph (1)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘2029’’; and 

20 (B) by striking ‘‘specialty crops, includ21 ing—’’ and inserting ‘‘specialty crops through 

22 priorities established by State program adminis23 trators in consultation with specialty crop pro24 ducers and producer groups, including—’’; 


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1 (2) by striking subsection (e), and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(e) PLAN REQUIREMENTS.—The State plan shall 

4 identify the lead agency charged with the responsibility of 

5 carrying out the plan and indicate— 

6 ‘‘(1) how the grant funds will be utilized to en7 hance the competitiveness of specialty crops; and 

8 ‘‘(2) how outreach to, and consultation with, 

9 specialty crop producers and producer groups will be 

10 achieved.’’; and 

11 (3) in subsection (l)(1)— 

12 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

13 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

14 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as 

15 subparagraph (F); 

16 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(E) $85,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

19 2018 through 2024; and’’; and 

20 (D) in subparagraph (F) (as so redesig21 nated), by striking ‘‘$85,000,000 for fiscal year 

22 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000,000 for fiscal 

23 year 2025’’. 


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1 SEC. 9003. SPECIALTY CROPS MARKET NEWS ALLOCATION. 

2 Section 10107(b) of the Food, Conservation, and En3 ergy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 1622b(b)) is amended by strik4 ing ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

5 SEC. 9004. OFFICE OF URBAN AGRICULTURE AND INNOVA6 TIVE PRODUCTION. 

7 Section 222 of the Department of Agriculture Reor8 ganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6923) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)(3)— 

10 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

11 (A), by inserting ‘‘production’’ after ‘‘emerging 

12 agricultural’’; 

13 (B) in subparagraph (D)— 

14 (i) by inserting ‘‘controlled-environ15 ment agriculture, including’’ before ‘‘hy16 droponic’’; and 

17 (ii) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

18 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as 

19 subparagraph (H); and 

20 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(E) using the resources of the Depart23 ment and of State, Tribal, and local agencies to 

24 provide technical assistance for business incor25 poration, navigating local zoning, and managing 

26 farm tract numbers for smaller, noncontiguous 


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1 parcels to growers implementing activities de2 scribed in paragraph (3); 

3 ‘‘(F) using the resources of the Depart4 ment and of State, Tribal, and local agencies to 

5 promote conservation techniques unique to 

6 urban agriculture and innovative production, in7 cluding techniques that address stormwater 

8 runoff and the impacted nature of urban land 

9 and the subsurface of the land; 

10 ‘‘(G) assisting urban and innovative pro11 ducers in navigating Federal, State, Tribal, and 

12 local policies and regulations that impact busi13 ness or operations; and’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (b)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking 

16 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’; and 

17 (B) in paragraph (7)(A), by striking ‘‘the 

18 date that is 5 years after the date on which the 

19 members are appointed under paragraph 

20 (2)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2029’’; 

21 (3) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol22 lows: 

23 ‘‘(c) GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) GRANTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall 

2 award competitive grants to support the devel3 opment of urban and innovative agricultural 

4 production and technical or financial assistance 

5 to producers. 

6 ‘‘(B) SUBGRANTS.—An eligible entity may 

7 use funds from a grant under subparagraph (A) 

8 to provide subgrants to urban and innovative 

9 producers to support the growth of the farm or 

10 farm business of the urban and innovative pro11 ducers. 

12 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity eligi13 ble to receive a grant under subparagraph (A) 

14 is— 

15 ‘‘(i) a nonprofit organization; 

16 ‘‘(ii) a unit of local government; 

17 ‘‘(iii) a Tribal organization; 

18 ‘‘(iv) an agricultural cooperative or 

19 other agricultural business entity or a pro20 ducer network or association; or 

21 ‘‘(v) a school that serves any of 

22 grades kindergarten through grade 12. 

23 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director may 

25 enter into cooperative agreements with eligible 


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1 entities to support the development of urban 

2 and innovative agricultural production. 

3 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity eligi4 ble to enter into cooperative agreements under 

5 subparagraph (A) is— 

6 ‘‘(i) a nonprofit organization; 

7 ‘‘(ii) a unit of local government; 

8 ‘‘(iii) a Tribal organization; or 

9 ‘‘(iv) an agricultural cooperative or 

10 other agricultural business entity or a pro11 ducer network or association.’’; 

12 (4) in subsection (d)— 

13 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

14 ‘‘PILOT’’; 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘pilot’’ each place it ap16 pears in paragraphs (1) and (2); 

17 (C) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking ‘‘Not 

18 later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

19 this section, the Secretary shall establish a pilot 

20 program for not fewer than 5 years that’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘The Secretary shall continue to im22 plement a program that’’; 

23 (D) in paragraph (1)(C), in the matter 

24 preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and in25 serting ‘‘2029’’; and 


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1 (E) in paragraph (2)— 

2 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

3 ‘‘and construct at-scale composting, food4 to-feed, or anaerobic digestion food waste5 to-energy projects’’ before the period at the 

6 end; and 

7 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

8 (I) in the subparagraph heading, 

9 strike ‘‘PILOT’’; 

10 (II) in the matter preceding 

11 clause (i), by inserting ‘‘Tribal gov12 ernments,’’ after ‘‘local govern13 ments,’’; 

14 (III) by redesignating clauses (vi) 

15 through (viii) as clauses (vii) through 

16 (ix), respectively; and 

17 (IV) by inserting after clause (v) 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘(vi) develop food waste-to-energy op20 erations;’’; and 

21 (5) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

22 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 9005. NATIONAL PLANT DIAGNOSTICS NETWORK. 

2 Section 12203(c)(5) of the Agriculture Improvement 

3 Act of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 8914(c)(5)) is amended by striking 

4 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

5 SEC. 9006. HEMP PRODUCTION. 

6 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 297A of the Agricultural 

7 Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1639o) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

9 (6) as paragraphs (3) through (7), respectively; and 

10 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(2) INDUSTRIAL HEMP.—The term ‘industrial 

13 hemp’ means hemp— 

14 ‘‘(A) grown for the use of the stalk of the 

15 plant, fiber produced from such a stalk, or any 

16 other non-cannabinoid derivative, mixture, prep17 aration, or manufacture of such a stalk; 

18 ‘‘(B) grown for the use of the whole grain, 

19 oil, cake, nut, hull, or any other non20 cannabinoid compound, derivative, mixture, 

21 preparation, or manufacture of the seeds of 

22 such plant; 

23 ‘‘(C) that is an immature hemp plant in24 tended for human consumption; 

25 ‘‘(D) that is a plant that does not enter 

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1 port hemp research at an institution of higher 

2 education (as defined in section 101 of the 

3 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

4 1001)) or an independent research institute; or 

5 ‘‘(E) grown for the use of a viable seed of 

6 the plant produced solely for the production or 

7 manufacture of any material described in sub8 paragraphs (A) through (D).’’. 

9 (b) STATE AND TRIBAL PLANS.—Section 297B of 

10 the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1639p) 

11 is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

15 (I) by redesignating clauses (ii) 

16 through (vii) as clauses (iii) through 

17 (viii), respectively; 

18 (II) by inserting after clause (i) 

19 the following: 

20 ‘‘(ii) a procedure under which a hemp 

21 producer shall be required to designate the 

22 type of production of the hemp producer 

23 as— 

24 ‘‘(I) only industrial hemp; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) hemp grown for any pur2 pose other than industrial hemp;’’; 

3 and 

4 (III) in clause (iii), as redesig5 nated by clause (i) of this subpara6 graph, by inserting ‘‘except as pro7 vided in subparagraph (B)(i),’’ before 

8 ‘‘a procedure’’; and 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

10 ‘‘include any other practice’’ and inserting 

11 the following: ‘‘include— 

12 ‘‘(i) notwithstanding subparagraph 

13 (A)(iii), a procedure for the use of visual 

14 inspections, performance-based sampling 

15 methodologies, certified seed, or a similar 

16 procedure when developing sampling plans 

17 for any producer who elects to be des18 ignated as a producer of only industrial 

19 hemp under subparagraph (A)(ii)(I); 

20 ‘‘(ii) notwithstanding subsection 

21 (e)(3)(B)(i), a procedure for eliminating 

22 the 10-year period of ineligibility following 

23 the date of conviction for a felony related 

24 to a controlled substance for producers 

25 who elect to be designated as producers of 


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1 only industrial hemp under subparagraph 

2 (A)(ii); and 

3 ‘‘(iii) any other practice’’; and 

4 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(4) INSPECTION OF INDUSTRIAL HEMP PRO6 DUCERS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a State or Tribal 

8 plan referred to in paragraph (1) includes pro9 cedures for reducing or eliminating sampling or 

10 testing requirements under paragraph (2)(B)(i) 

11 for a producer of industrial hemp, the State or 

12 Indian tribe shall require the producer to pro13 vide documentation that demonstrates a clear 

14 intent to produce, and use in-field practices 

15 consistent with production of, only industrial 

16 hemp, such as a seed tag, sales contract, Farm 

17 Service Agency report, harvest technique, or 

18 harvest inspection. 

19 ‘‘(B) TESTING.—If a producer fails to pro20 vide the documentation required under subpara21 graph (A), the State or Indian tribe involved 

22 shall require the producer to conduct the test23 ing described in paragraph (2)(A)(iii).’’; and 

24 (2) in subsection (e)(3)— 


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1 (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

2 as follows: 

3 ‘‘(A) REPORTING.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 

5 State department of agriculture or a Tribal 

6 government with respect to which a State 

7 or Tribal plan is approved under sub8 section (b), such State department of agri9 culture or Tribal government (as applica10 ble) shall immediately report a hemp pro11 ducer to the Attorney General, and, as ap12 plicable, the chief law enforcement officer 

13 of the State or Indian tribe, if the State 

14 department of agriculture or Tribal gov15 ernment (as applicable) determines that 

16 the hemp producer has— 

17 ‘‘(I) violated the State or Tribal 

18 plan with a culpable mental state 

19 greater than negligence; or 

20 ‘‘(II) violated the State or Tribal 

21 plan by producing a crop that is in22 consistent with the designation of only 

23 industrial hemp under subsection 

24 (a)(2)(A)(ii). 


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1 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) 

2 shall not apply with respect to— 

3 ‘‘(I) a violation described in sub4 clause (I) of clause (i); or 

5 ‘‘(II) the production of a crop in6 consistent with its designation, as de7 scribed in subclause (II) of such 

8 clause.’’; 

9 (B) in subparagraph (B), by amending 

10 clause (ii) to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Clause (i) shall 

12 not apply to any person growing hemp that 

13 designates the type of production as only 

14 industrial hemp under subsection 

15 (a)(2)(A)(ii) if— 

16 ‘‘(I) the State or Tribal plan ap17 proved under subsection (b) includes a 

18 procedure described in subsection 

19 (a)(2)(B)(ii); or 

20 ‘‘(II) the plan established by the 

21 Secretary under section 297C includes 

22 a procedure described in subsection 

23 (a)(2)(B)(ii) of such section.’’; and 

24 (C) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(D) PRODUCTION INCONSISTENT WITH

2 INDUSTRIAL HEMP DESIGNATION.—Any person 

3 who knowingly produces a crop that is incon4 sistent with the designation of only industrial 

5 hemp under subsection (a)(2)(A)(ii) shall be in6 eligible to participate in the program estab7 lished under this section for a period of 5 years 

8 beginning on the date of the violation.’’. 

9 (c) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.—Section 297C 

10 of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 

11 1639q) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘paragraph (1) shall’’ 

15 and all that follows through ‘‘practice to 

16 maintain’’ and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘paragraph (1)— 

18 ‘‘(A) shall include— 

19 ‘‘(i) a practice to maintain’’; 

20 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by redesig21 nating clauses (i) and (ii) as subclauses (I) 

22 and (II), respectively, and moving the mar23 gins of such subclauses (as so redesig24 nated) two ems to the right; 


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1 (iii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

2 (B) through (E) as clauses (iii) through 

3 (vi), respectively, and moving the margins 

4 of such clauses (as so redesignated) two 

5 ems to the right; 

6 (iv) by inserting after clause (i) (as 

7 designated by clause (i) of this subpara8 graph) the following: 

9 ‘‘(ii) a procedure under which the Sec10 retary shall require a hemp producer to 

11 designate the type of production of the 

12 hemp producer as— 

13 ‘‘(I) only industrial hemp; or 

14 ‘‘(II) hemp grown for any pur15 pose other than industrial hemp;’’; 

16 (v) in clause (iii) (as redesignated by 

17 clause (iii) of this subparagraph), by in18 serting ‘‘except as provided in subpara19 graph (B)(i),’’ before ‘‘a procedure’’; 

20 (vi) by striking subparagraph (F); and 

21 (vii) by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(B) may include— 

24 ‘‘(i) notwithstanding subparagraph 

25 (A)(iii), a procedure for the use of visual 


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1 inspections, performance-based sampling 

2 methodologies, certified seed, or a similar 

3 procedure when developing sampling plans 

4 for any producer who elects to be des5 ignated as a producer of only industrial 

6 hemp under subparagraph (A)(ii); 

7 ‘‘(ii) notwithstanding section 

8 297B(e)(3)(B)(i), a procedure for elimi9 nating the 10-year period of ineligibility 

10 following the date of conviction for a felony 

11 related to a controlled substance for pro12 ducers who elect to be designated as pro13 ducers of only industrial hemp under sub14 paragraph (A)(ii); and 

15 ‘‘(iii) such other practices or proce16 dures as the Secretary considers to be ap17 propriate, to the extent that the practice or 

18 procedure is consistent with this subtitle.’’; 

19 and 

20 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(3) INSPECTIONS OF INDUSTRIAL HEMP PRO22 DUCERS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If a plan referred to 

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1 ments under paragraph (2)(B)(i) for a producer 

2 of only industrial hemp, the Secretary shall re3 quire the producer to provide documentation 

4 that demonstrates a clear intent to produce, 

5 and use in-field practices consistent with pro6 duction of, industrial hemp, such as a seed tag, 

7 sales contract, Farm Service Agency report, 

8 harvest technique, or harvest inspection. 

9 ‘‘(B) TESTING.—If a producer fails to pro10 vide the appropriate documentation required 

11 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall re12 quire the producer to conduct the testing de13 scribed in paragraph (2)(A)(iii).’’; and 

14 (2) in subsection (d)(2)— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

16 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

17 (B) in subparagraph (C)— 

18 (i) by redesignating clauses (i) and 

19 (ii) as clauses (ii) and (iii), respectively; 

20 (ii) by inserting before clause (ii) (as 

21 so redesignated), the following: 

22 ‘‘(i) the designation of the type of pro23 duction of the hemp producers under sec24 tion 297B(a)(2)(A)(ii) or under subsection 

25 (a)(2)(A)(ii) of this section;’’; and 


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1 (iii) in clause (iii), (as so redesig2 nated), by striking the period at the end 

3 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

4 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(D) the laboratory certificate of analysis 

6 for hemp disposed of under section 

7 297B(a)(2)(A)(iv) or subsection (a)(2)(A)(iv) of 

8 this section.’’. 

9 (d) REGULATIONS AND GUIDELINES; EFFECT ON

10 OTHER LAW.—Section 297D of the Agricultural Mar11 keting Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1639r) is amended— 

12 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘REGU13 LATIONS AND GUIDELINES’’ and inserting ‘‘AD14 MINISTRATION, REGULATIONS, AND GUIDE15 LINES’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (a)— 

17 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

18 ‘‘PROMULGATION OF REGULATIONS AND

19 GUIDELINES’’ and inserting ‘‘ADMINISTRATION, 

20 REGULATIONS, AND GUIDELINES’’; and 

21 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(3) LABORATORY ACCREDITATION.—The Sec23 retary, in consultation with the Administrator of the 

24 Drug Enforcement Administration, shall establish a 

25 process by which the Department of Agriculture can 


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1 issue certificates of accreditation to laboratories for 

2 the purposes of testing hemp in accordance with this 

3 subtitle.’’. 

4 SEC. 9007. PILOT PROGRAM FOR THE INTRA-ORGANIZA5 TIONAL MOVEMENT OF GENETICALLY ENGI6 NEERED MICROORGANISMS BY CERTAIN AU7 THORIZED PARTIES. 

8 Subtitle A of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 

9 7711 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 420A. PILOT PROGRAM FOR THE INTRA-ORGANIZA12 TIONAL MOVEMENT OF GENETICALLY ENGI13 NEERED MICROORGANISMS BY CERTAIN AU14 THORIZED PARTIES. 

15 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

16 ‘‘(1) COVERED MICROORGANISM.—The term 

17 ‘covered microorganism’— 

18 ‘‘(A) means a genetically engineered micro19 organism that is a plant pest or may pose a 

20 plant pest risk; and 

21 ‘‘(B) does not include listed agents or tox22 ins (as defined in section 212(l) of the Agricul23 tural Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002 (7 

24 U.S.C. 8401(l))). 


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1 ‘‘(2) COVERED UNAUTHORIZED RELEASE.—The 

2 term ‘covered unauthorized release’ means an unau3 thorized release of a covered microorganism, includ4 ing such a release that a responsible party suspects 

5 took place. 

6 ‘‘(3) PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘pilot pro7 gram’ means the pilot program established under 

8 subsection (b). 

9 ‘‘(4) PLANT PEST RISK.—The term ‘plant pest 

10 risk’ has the meaning given such term in section 

11 340.3 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

12 successor regulations). 

13 ‘‘(5) RESPONSIBLE PARTY.—The term ‘respon14 sible party’ means a partnership, corporation, asso15 ciation, joint venture, or other legal entity that— 

16 ‘‘(A) has a physical address in the United 

17 States; 

18 ‘‘(B) is not owned by or otherwise affili19 ated with the government of a country of con20 cern (as defined in section 10638 of the CHIPS 

21 Act of 2022 (42 U.S.C. 19237)); 

22 ‘‘(C) has more than 1 responsible party 

23 biocontainment facility; 


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1 ‘‘(D) employs quality control personnel 

2 that are capable of overseeing the movement 

3 and control of covered microorganisms; 

4 ‘‘(E) has, in each of the 3 years preceding 

5 enrollment in the pilot program, moved plant 

6 pests pursuant to permits granted by the Sec7 retary under this Act; 

8 ‘‘(F) has the ability and resources to en9 sure compliance with the requirements under 

10 subsection (e) for the duration of the pilot pro11 gram; 

12 ‘‘(G) has implemented the precautions 

13 specified in subsection (e) to prevent the unau14 thorized release of covered microorganisms; and 

15 ‘‘(H) has not, during the 5-year period 

16 preceding the date on which the relevant appli17 cation is submitted under subsection (c)— 

18 ‘‘(i) caused an unauthorized release of 

19 a plant pest; 

20 ‘‘(ii) materially failed to comply with 

21 a permit granted by the Secretary for the 

22 interstate movement of plant pests; or 

23 ‘‘(iii) violated any provision of this 

24 section (including regulations promulgated 

25 thereunder). 


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1 ‘‘(6) RESPONSIBLE PARTY BIOCONTAINMENT

2 FACILITY.—The term ‘responsible party biocontain3 ment facility’— 

4 ‘‘(A) means a physical structure or portion 

5 thereof, constructed and maintained in order to 

6 contain plant pests, that is under the control of, 

7 or operated by, a responsible party within the 

8 contiguous United States; and 

9 ‘‘(B) includes sites under the control of, or 

10 operated by, any parent organization, sub11 sidiary, or affiliate of the responsible party. 

12 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 100 days 

13 after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

14 shall establish a pilot program under which the Secretary 

15 shall authorize not more than 75 responsible parties— 

16 ‘‘(1) to move covered microorganisms in inter17 state commerce between responsible party bio18 containment facilities without a permit; and 

19 ‘‘(2) to maintain control over and dispose of 

20 such covered microorganisms. 

21 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall accept 

23 applications from responsible parties for enrollment 

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1 gram is established under subsection (b), using a 

2 web-based application process established by the 

3 Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—An application submitted by 

5 a responsible party for enrollment in the pilot pro6 gram shall include the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) The name and contact information of 

8 the responsible party and any agent of the re9 sponsible party that will be involved in the 

10 movement of a covered microorganism. 

11 ‘‘(B) The methods by which a covered 

12 microorganism will be moved and the measures 

13 taken to ensure that there is no unauthorized 

14 release of the covered microorganism. 

15 ‘‘(C) The manner in which a shipping con16 tainer, packaging material, or any other mate17 rial accompanying the covered microorganism 

18 will be disposed of to prevent the unauthorized 

19 release of a covered microorganism. 

20 ‘‘(D) A list of responsible party biocontain21 ment facilities to which the responsible party 

22 intends to move covered microorganisms. 

23 ‘‘(E) A list of the predominant covered 

24 microorganism chassis strains that, at the time 


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1 of the application, the responsible party intends 

2 to move. 

3 ‘‘(F) A sworn certification that the respon4 sible party meets each criterion specified in sub5 section (a)(5). 

6 ‘‘(3) SUPPLEMENTAL APPLICATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A responsible party 

8 may submit a supplemental application to the 

9 Secretary to update a list under subparagraph 

10 (D) or (E) of paragraph (2) at any time during 

11 such enrollment. The Secretary shall make a 

12 determination with respect to such supple13 mental application not later than 30 days after 

14 the date on which such supplemental applica15 tion is submitted to the Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(B) DENIALS.—The Secretary may only 

17 deny a supplemental application if the Sec18 retary has made the determination set forth in 

19 subsection (d)(2)(B). A denial of a supple20 mental application shall be subject to appeal in 

21 accordance with the terms specified in sub22 section (d)(3). 

23 ‘‘(d) SELECTION PROCESS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) TIMING.—The Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) evaluate applications received under 

2 subsection (c)(1) in the order in which the ap3 plications are received; and 

4 ‘‘(B) approve or deny all applications re5 ceived during the period described in that sub6 section not later than 45 days after the end of 

7 that period. 

8 ‘‘(2) DENIAL.—The Secretary shall deny an ap9 plication received under subsection (c)(1) if— 

10 ‘‘(A) the Secretary has already selected 75 

11 responsible parties for enrollment in the pilot 

12 program; or 

13 ‘‘(B) the Secretary determines that the re14 sponsible party submitting the application does 

15 not meet each criterion specified in subsection 

16 (a)(5). 

17 ‘‘(3) APPEAL.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A responsible party 

19 seeking to enroll in the pilot program whose ap20 plication has been denied under paragraph (2) 

21 may submit to the Secretary a written appeal 

22 within— 

23 ‘‘(i) the 10-day period beginning on 

24 the date on which the responsible party re25 ceives written notification of the denial; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a longer period, if the responsible 

2 party makes a request for additional time 

3 to submit such appeal and the Secretary 

4 grants such request. 

5 ‘‘(B) DECISION.—The Secretary shall, 

6 within a reasonably prompt period, grant or 

7 deny an appeal under subparagraph (A) in writ8 ing, which shall include the reasons for the de9 cision. 

10 ‘‘(e) REQUIREMENTS.—A responsible party shall, as 

11 a condition of enrollment in the pilot program, agree to— 

12 ‘‘(1) maintain, move, and dispose of covered 

13 microorganisms in a manner that prevents unau14 thorized release, spread, dispersal, or persistence of 

15 those covered microorganisms in the environment; 

16 ‘‘(2) unless otherwise authorized under a permit 

17 under this Act, only move a covered microorganism 

18 between sites that are responsible party biocontain19 ment facilities; 

20 ‘‘(3) maintain, move, and dispose of each cov21 ered microorganism separately from other orga22 nisms; 

23 ‘‘(4) ensure that each covered microorganism is 

24 maintained, moved, and disposed of in a manner 


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1 commensurate with the plant pest risk posed by that 

2 covered microorganism; 

3 ‘‘(5) use, at a minimum, a package for move4 ment— 

5 ‘‘(A) that consists of a securely sealed 

6 inner and outer container, each of which is an 

7 effective barrier to the escape or unauthorized 

8 dissemination of the covered microorganism; 

9 ‘‘(B) the inner container of which— 

10 ‘‘(i) contains all of the applicable cov11 ered microorganism; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) is cushioned and sealed in such 

13 a manner as to remain sealed during any 

14 shock, impact, or change in pressure; and 

15 ‘‘(C) the outer container of which is rigid 

16 and strong enough to withstand typical ship17 ping conditions (such as dropping, stacking, 

18 and impact from other freight) without opening; 

19 ‘‘(6) on request, grant the Secretary access— 

20 ‘‘(A) to sample materials associated with 

21 the interstate movement of covered microorga22 nisms under the pilot program; 

23 ‘‘(B) to observe and inspect the interstate 

24 movement of those covered microorganisms; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) to audit records of the activities of 

2 the responsible party under the pilot program; 

3 ‘‘(7) maintain detailed and accurate records of 

4 all activities carried out under the pilot program to 

5 demonstrate compliance with the applicable require6 ments; 

7 ‘‘(8) on request, grant the Secretary access to 

8 each responsible party biocontainment facility for in9 spection in relation to a responsible party’s enroll10 ment in the pilot program; and 

11 ‘‘(9) comply with any additional requirement 

12 for the containment of covered microorganisms in 

13 interstate commerce that the Secretary may require 

14 if— 

15 ‘‘(A) the Secretary determines that such 

16 an additional requirement is reasonable; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the sole purpose of such additional 

18 requirement is to avoid a covered unauthorized 

19 release. 

20 ‘‘(f) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN PREFERENCES.—In 

21 carrying out the pilot program, the Secretary shall take 

22 no action or promulgate any regulation that— 

23 ‘‘(1) treats genetically engineered covered 

24 microorganisms less favorably than nongenetically 

25 engineered covered microorganisms; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) limits the quantity or type of covered 

2 microorganisms that may be moved under the pilot 

3 program between responsible party biocontainment 

4 facilities. 

5 ‘‘(g) REPORTING BY RESPONSIBLE PARTIES.—A re6 sponsible party shall submit to the Secretary a quarterly 

7 report that describes the activities of the responsible party 

8 under the pilot program during the period covered by the 

9 report, including— 

10 ‘‘(1) a description of each covered microorga11 nism moved in interstate commerce, including— 

12 ‘‘(A) the 1 or more countries or localities 

13 at which the covered microorganism was col14 lected, developed, manufactured, reared, cul15 tivated, or cultured, as applicable; 

16 ‘‘(B) the genus, species, and any relevant 

17 subspecies and common name information of 

18 the covered microorganism; and 

19 ‘‘(C) when applicable, a brief description of 

20 the genetic modifications made in the micro21 organism, including— 

22 ‘‘(i) the intended phenotype that the 1 

23 or more modifications are expected to con24 fer; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) any targeted deletions, inser2 tions, or base pair substitutions; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the genetic elements used in im4 parting the modification, including the 

5 name, donor organism, and a brief descrip6 tion of the function; 

7 ‘‘(2) each method by which the covered micro8 organism was moved in interstate commerce; 

9 ‘‘(3) the quantity of the covered microorganism 

10 moved in interstate commerce; and 

11 ‘‘(4) the specific responsible party biocontain12 ment facilities between which the covered microorga13 nism was moved in interstate commerce. 

14 ‘‘(h) UNAUTHORIZED RELEASE.—In the case of a 

15 covered unauthorized release, a responsible party shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) contact the applicable office within the 

17 Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service within 

18 48 hours of discovery of the covered unauthorized 

19 release; and 

20 ‘‘(2) submit to the Secretary a statement of 

21 facts pertaining to such release, in writing, not later 

22 than 5 business days after the date of that dis23 covery. 

24 ‘‘(i) DISENROLLMENT FROM PILOT PROGRAM.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall termi2 nate the enrollment of a responsible party in the 

3 pilot program if the Secretary has a sound factual 

4 basis to determine that— 

5 ‘‘(A) the responsible party no longer meets 

6 the eligibility criteria of a responsible party de7 scribed in subsection (a)(5); 

8 ‘‘(B) the responsible party has materially 

9 failed to comply with the requirements under 

10 subsection (e); or 

11 ‘‘(C) as a result of a failure by a respon12 sible party under subparagraph (B), the respon13 sible party caused a covered unauthorized re14 lease during the pilot program. 

15 ‘‘(2) DISENROLLMENT DECISION.—If the Sec16 retary terminates the enrollment of a responsible 

17 party under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall sub18 mit that decision in writing to the responsible party. 

19 ‘‘(3) APPEAL.—The appeal process described in 

20 subsection (d)(3) shall apply in the case of a respon21 sible party that seeks to appeal a termination of en22 rollment under paragraph (1). 

23 ‘‘(j) TERMINATION.—The pilot program shall termi24 nate on the date that is 3 years after the date on which 


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1 the Secretary completes the application selection process 

2 under subsection (d)(1)(B). 

3 ‘‘(k) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the 

4 date of termination of the pilot program described in sub5 section (j), the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 

6 that describes— 

7 ‘‘(1) the activities carried out under the pilot 

8 program, including— 

9 ‘‘(A) the quantities and identities of cov10 ered microorganisms that were moved; and 

11 ‘‘(B) a description of any unauthorized re12 lease of covered microorganisms that were 

13 moved, including a description of the cause and 

14 consequence of any unauthorized release; and 

15 ‘‘(2) recommendations on— 

16 ‘‘(A) whether the pilot program should be17 come a permanent program; and 

18 ‘‘(B) whether, as a permanent program, 

19 changes should be made to the criteria for a re20 sponsible party under subsection (a)(5) or to 

21 the requirements under subsection (e).’’. 

22 Subtitle B—Marketing 

23 SEC. 9101. MARKETING ORDERS. 

24 Section 8e(a) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 

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1 ricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, is amend2 ed— 

3 (1) by inserting ‘‘almonds,’’ after ‘‘onions,’’; 

4 and 

5 (2) by striking ‘‘, other than dates for proc6 essing,’’ each place it appears. 

7 SEC. 9102. LOCAL AGRICULTURE MARKET PROGRAM. 

8 Section 210A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 

9 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1627c) is amended— 

10 (1) in subsection (a)— 

11 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (5) 

12 through (13) as paragraphs (6) through (14), 

13 respectively; and 

14 (B) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(5) FOOD HUB.—The term ‘food hub’ means 

17 a business or organization that actively manages the 

18 aggregation, distribution, and marketing of source19 identified food products to multiple buyers from 

20 multiple producers, who are primarily local and re21 gional producers, to strengthen the ability of such 

22 producers to satisfy local and regional wholesale, re23 tail, and institutional demands.’’; 

24 (2) in subsection (b)(4), by inserting ‘‘, regional 

25 food chain coordination,’’ after ‘‘collaboration’’; 


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1 (3) in subsection (c)(4), by striking ‘‘stake2 holders’’ and inserting ‘‘stakeholders before and 

3 after providing grants under the program’’; 

4 (4) in subsection (d)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘2029’’; 

7 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

8 (i) in subparagraph (I), by striking 

9 ‘‘or’’; 

10 (ii) in subparagraph (J)(ii), by strik11 ing the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

12 or’’; and 

13 (iii) by inserting at the end the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(K) to support the purchase of special 

16 purpose equipment.’’; and 

17 (C) in paragraph (6)— 

18 (i) in subparagraph (B)— 

19 (I) by redesignating clauses (vii) 

20 and (viii) as clauses (viii) and (ix), re21 spectively; and 

22 (II) by inserting after clause (vi) 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(vii) a food hub;’’; 

25 (ii) in subparagraph (C)— 


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1 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

2 (i), by striking ‘‘applications that’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘applications, outreach, 

4 and technical assistance that would’’; 

5 (II) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

6 at the end; 

7 (III) by redesignating clause (ii) 

8 as clause (iii); 

9 (IV) by inserting after clause (i) 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(ii) provide greater geographic bal12 ance relative to the benefits of the Pro13 gram; or’’; and 

14 (V) in clause (iii) (as so redesig15 nated), by striking ‘‘are used’’ and in16 serting ‘‘be used’’; 

17 (iii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

18 (D) and (E) as subparagraphs (E) and 

19 (F); and 

20 (iv) by inserting after subparagraph 

21 (C) the following: 

22 ‘‘(D) SIMPLIFIED APPLICATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

24 shall establish a simplified application form 


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1 for eligible entities described in subpara2 graph (B) that— 

3 ‘‘(I) request less than $100,000; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(II) choose from the project cat6 egories described in clause (ii), which 

7 shall include a specific, limited set of 

8 key activities with predefined require9 ments established by the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(ii) PROJECT CATEGORIES.—The 

11 Secretary shall establish a simplified appli12 cation form for the following project cat13 egories but may include additional project 

14 categories as necessary: 

15 ‘‘(I) DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER

16 PROJECTS.—In the case of a direct-to17 consumer project, an application form 

18 described in clause (i) may be avail19 able for the following categories of 

20 projects: 

21 ‘‘(aa) An outreach and pro22 motion project. 

23 ‘‘(bb) A project to provide 

24 funding for farmers market man25 ager staff time. 


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1 ‘‘(cc) A project to provide 

2 vendor training. 

3 ‘‘(dd) A planning and design 

4 project. 

5 ‘‘(ee) A data collection and 

6 evaluation project. 

7 ‘‘(II) LOCAL AND REGIONAL

8 FOOD MARKETS AND ENTERPRISE

9 PROJECTS.—In the case of a local and 

10 regional food market and enterprise 

11 project, an application form described 

12 in clause (i) may be available for the 

13 following categories of projects: 

14 ‘‘(aa) A food hub feasibility 

15 study project. 

16 ‘‘(bb) A project to provide 

17 funding for regional food chain 

18 coordination staff time. 

19 ‘‘(cc) A project to provide 

20 technical assistance. 

21 ‘‘(dd) A data collection and 

22 evaluation project. 

23 ‘‘(ee) A project to support 

24 the purchase of special purpose 

25 equipment.’’; 


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1 (5) in subsection (e)(2)(A), by striking ‘‘2019 

2 through 2023’’ and all that follows through the pe3 riod at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘2025 

4 through 2029 to support partnerships— 

5 ‘‘(i) to plan a local or regional food 

6 system; 

7 ‘‘(ii) to implement a local or regional 

8 food system plan; 

9 ‘‘(iii) to develop and implement a re10 gional food chain coordination project; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) to develop and implement a re12 gional outreach, technical assistance, and 

13 evaluation project.’’; 

14 (6) in subsection (f)(1)— 

15 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘sub16 section (d); or’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

17 (d)(5);’’; 

18 (B) by redesignating subparagraph (B) as 

19 subparagraph (C); and 

20 (C) by inserting after subparagraph (A) 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(B) are eligible to submit an application 

23 in accordance with subsection (d)(6)(D); or’’; 

24 and 

25 (7) in subsection (i)(3)(B)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘Of the funds’’ and insert2 ing the following: 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds’’; 

4 and 

5 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(ii) SIMPLIFIED APPLICATIONS.—Of 

7 the funds made available for grants under 

8 subsection (d)(6) for a fiscal year, not less 

9 than 10 percent, and not more than 50 

10 percent, shall be used to provide grants to 

11 eligible entities that submit an application 

12 in accordance with subsection (d)(6)(D).’’. 

13 SEC. 9103. ACER ACCESS AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. 

14 Section 12306 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

15 U.S.C. 1632c) is amended— 

16 (1) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as 

17 subsections (f) and (g), respectively; 

18 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(e) CONSULTATIONS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with the first re22 quest for applications under this section that occurs 

23 at least 1 year after the date of enactment of this 

24 Act, not later than 6 months before such a request 

25 for applications, the Secretary shall solicit input 


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1 from maple syrup industry stakeholders with respect 

2 to the research and education priorities of the maple 

3 syrup industry. 

4 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION.—The Secretary shall 

5 consider the information provided through the con6 sultation required under paragraph (1) when making 

7 grants under this section.’’; and 

8 (3) in subsection (g), as so redesignated, by 

9 striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

10 SEC. 9104. ORGANIC PRODUCTION AND MARKET DATA INI11 TIATIVE. 

12 Section 7407 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest13 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 5925c) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (b)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

16 the end; 

17 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe18 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

19 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(4) collect and publish cost-of-production data 

21 for organic milk, through support from regional and 

22 national programs, including regularly reported data 

23 related to— 

24 ‘‘(A) the costs of major organic feedstuffs, 

25 including— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the prices for major organic 

2 feedstuffs produced domestically; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the prices for imported major or4 ganic feedstuffs; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) all other costs relating to the 

6 production of organic milk; 

7 ‘‘(B) establishment of an Organic All Milk 

8 Prices Survey, which shall be analogous to the 

9 existing All Milk Prices Survey conducted by 

10 the National Agricultural Statistics Service, to 

11 gather and report monthly data about the 

12 amounts organic dairy farmers are being paid 

13 for organic milk and prices received for organic 

14 dairy cows, including— 

15 ‘‘(i) national data; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) data relating to, at a minimum, 

17 the 6 regions with the greatest quantity of 

18 organic dairy production; and 

19 ‘‘(C) periodic organic milk reporting under 

20 which the Secretary, using data collected by the 

21 National Agricultural Statistics Service, the 

22 Economic Research Service, or the Agricultural 

23 Marketing Service, publishes new periodic re24 ports that include, or add to existing periodic 

25 reports relating to, data for organic milk, which 


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1 shall be equivalent to data reported for conven2 tionally produced milk.’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (d)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

6 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

7 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

8 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

9 and’’; and 

10 (iii) by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(D) $10,000,000 for the period of fiscal 

13 years 2025 through 2029.’’; and 

14 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

16 SEC. 9105. ORGANIC CERTIFICATION. 

17 (a) REPORTS.—Section 2122(d)(1) of the Organic 

18 Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6521(d)(1)) is 

19 amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

20 (b) ORGANIC TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Or21 ganic Foods Production Act of 1990 is amended by insert22 ing after section 2122A (7 U.S.C. 6521a) the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 2122B. ORGANIC TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this title, the 

25 Secretary may provide technical assistance, outreach, and 


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1 education to support organic production through existing 

2 programs implemented by a covered agency. 

3 ‘‘(b) COVERED AGENCY.—For the purposes of this 

4 section, the term ‘covered agency’ means— 

5 ‘‘(1) the Agricultural Marketing Service; 

6 ‘‘(2) the Agricultural Research Service; 

7 ‘‘(3) the National Institute of Food and Agri8 culture; 

9 ‘‘(4) the Farm Service Agency; 

10 ‘‘(5) the Risk Management Agency; 

11 ‘‘(6) the Natural Resources Conservation Serv12 ice; 

13 ‘‘(7) the Rural Business-Cooperative Service; 

14 ‘‘(8) the Food and Nutrition Service; and 

15 ‘‘(9) other agencies, as determined by the Sec16 retary.’’. 

17 (c) FUNDING.—Section 2123(b)(6) of the Organic 

18 Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6522(b)(6)) is 

19 amended by striking ‘‘for fiscal year 2023’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2029’’. 

21 (d) MODERNIZATION AND IMPROVEMENT OF INTER22 NATIONAL TRADE TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS AND DATA

23 COLLECTION FUNDING.—Section 2123(c)(4) of the Or24 ganic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 

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1 graph (A), by striking ‘‘and $1,000,000 for fiscal year 

2 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘, $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2024, 

3 and $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2025’’. 

4 SEC. 9106. NATIONAL ORGANIC CERTIFICATION COST5 SHARE PROGRAM. 

6 Section 10606(d)(1)(C) of the Farm Security and 

7 Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 6523(d)(1)(C)) 

8 is amended by striking ‘‘for each of fiscal years 2022 

9 through 2024’’ and inserting ‘‘for each of fiscal years 

10 2022 through 2029’’. 

11 SEC. 9107. REPORT ON PROCUREMENT. 

12 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

13 of the Prioritizing American Farmers and Agricultural In14 dustry Over Bureaucracy Act, the Secretary shall submit 

15 to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep16 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

17 and Forestry of the Senate a report that examines— 

18 (1) the process by which domestic commodities 

19 or products (as defined in section 220.16 of title 7, 

20 Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regu21 lation)) are procured by the Secretary, including the 

22 solicitation process used to procure such commod23 ities or products; 


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1 (2) barriers to entry into such procurement 

2 process that are for nontraditional, culturally rel3 evant, or local and regional commodities or products; 

4 (3) the diet quality and accessibility of commod5 ities or products that are so procured; and 

6 (4) the Secretary’s recommendations for admin7 istrative, regulatory, and legislative changes to im8 prove such procurement process. 

9 Subtitle C—Regulatory Reform 

10 PART I—FEDERAL INSECTICIDE, FUNGICIDE, 

11 AND RODENTICIDE ACT 

12 SEC. 9201. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN SUBSTANCES. 

13 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Federal Insecti14 cide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136) is 

15 amended— 

16 (1) by amending subsection (v) to read as fol17 lows: 

18 ‘‘(v) PLANT REGULATOR.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘plant regulator’ 

20 means any substance or mixture of substances in21 tended, through physiological action, for accelerating 

22 or retarding the rate of growth or rate of matura23 tion, or for otherwise altering the behavior of plants 

24 or the produce thereof. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIONS.—Such term shall not in2 clude— 

3 ‘‘(A) substances to the extent that they 

4 are— 

5 ‘‘(i) intended to be produced and used 

6 within a plant; or 

7 ‘‘(ii) intended as plant nutrients, trace 

8 elements, nutritional chemicals, plant in9 oculants, soil amendments, or vitamin hor10 mone products; or 

11 ‘‘(B) plant biostimulants that— 

12 ‘‘(i) have a low-risk profile in relation 

13 to humans and other organisms, as deter14 mined by the Agency; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) are of biological origin or include 

16 chemical compounds that are synthetically 

17 derived, but structurally-similar and func18 tionally identical to, substances of biologi19 cal origin.’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (hh)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or’’; 

22 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

23 (i) in the matter preceding subpara24 graph (A), by striking ‘‘substances.’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘substances’’; and 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

2 (I) by striking ‘‘volatilization 

3 urease’’ and inserting ‘‘volatilization, 

4 or urease’’; 

5 (II) by striking the period at the 

6 end and inserting a semicolon; and 

7 (C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(4) a plant biostimulant; or 

10 ‘‘(5) a nutritional chemical.’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(pp) PLANT BIOSTIMULANT.—The term ‘plant bio13 stimulant’ means any substance or mixture of substances 

14 that, when applied to seeds, plants, the rhizosphere, or soil 

15 or other growth media, acts to support a plant’s natural 

16 nutrition processes independently of the nutrient content 

17 of that substance or mixture of substances, and that there18 by improves— 

19 ‘‘(1) nutrient availability, uptake, or use effi20 ciency; 

21 ‘‘(2) tolerance to abiotic stress; or 

22 ‘‘(3) consequent growth, development, quality, 

23 or yield. 

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1 stances that interacts with plant nutrients in a manner 

2 that improves nutrient availability or aids the plant in ac3 quiring or utilizing plant nutrients. 

4 ‘‘(rr) VITAMIN HORMONE PRODUCT.—The term ‘vi5 tamin hormone product’ means a product that— 

6 ‘‘(1) consists of a mixture of plant hormones, 

7 plant nutrients, plant inoculants, soil amendments, 

8 trace elements, nutritional chemicals, plant biostimu9 lants, or vitamins that is intended for the improve10 ment, maintenance, survival, health, and propaga11 tion of plants; 

12 ‘‘(2) is nontoxic and nonpoisonous in the undi13 luted packaged concentrations of the product; and 

14 ‘‘(3) is not intended for use on food crop sites 

15 and is labeled accordingly. 

16 ‘‘(ss) PLANT-INCORPORATED PROTECTANT.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘plant-incor18 porated protectant’ means a pesticide that is— 

19 ‘‘(A) intended for preventing, destroying, 

20 repelling, or mitigating a pest; and 

21 ‘‘(B) a substance or mixture of substances 

22 intended to be produced and used within a liv23 ing plant, or in the produce thereof, and the ge24 netic material necessary for its production. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INCLUSIONS.—Such term includes any 

2 inert ingredient (as defined in section 174.3 of title 

3 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor 

4 regulation)).’’. 

5 (b) EXEMPTION FROM REGULATION.—Section 25(b) 

6 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act 

7 (7 U.S.C. 136w(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(b) EXEMPTION OF PESTICIDES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) EXEMPTION BY RULE.—The Adminis10 trator may exempt from the requirements of this Act 

11 by regulation any pesticide which the Administrator 

12 determines either— 

13 ‘‘(A) to be adequately regulated by another 

14 Federal agency; or 

15 ‘‘(B) to be of a character which is unneces16 sary to be subject to this Act in order to carry 

17 out the purposes of this Act. 

18 ‘‘(2) EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN PLANT-INCOR19 PORATED PROTECTANTS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) EXEMPTION.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Upon the issuance 

22 of guidance as described in subparagraph 

23 (B), plant-incorporated protectants result24 ing from endogenous genetic material 

25 found within or that could arise from the 


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1 plant’s gene pool are exempt from the re2 quirements of this Act. 

3 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—A specific plant4 incorporated protectant arising from en5 dogenous genetic material found within or 

6 that could arise from the plant’s gene pool 

7 shall not be exempt from the requirements 

8 of this Act if the Administrator determines 

9 that such plant-incorporated protectant is 

10 of a character which is necessary to be 

11 subject to this Act in order to carry out 

12 the purposes of this Act. 

13 ‘‘(B) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 1 year 

14 after the date of the enactment of the 

15 Prioritizing American Farmers and Agricultural 

16 Industry Over Bureaucracy Act, the Adminis17 trator shall issue guidance for the implementa18 tion of subparagraph (A). The Administrator 

19 may update such guidance, as the Adminis20 trator determines to be appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(C) ORDER.— 

22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If the Adminis23 trator makes a determination described in 

24 subparagraph (A)(ii) with respect to a 

25 plant-incorporated protectant, the AdminVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00722 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 istrator shall issue an order explaining the 

2 basis for such determination, which may be 

3 issued directly to any person who owns, 

4 controls, or has custody of such plant-in5 corporated protectant or published in the 

6 Federal Register. 

7 ‘‘(ii) EFFECT OF ORDER.—After re8 ceipt or publication of an order described 

9 in clause (i), the plant-incorporated pro10 tectant described in the order will no 

11 longer be exempt from the requirements of 

12 this Act.’’. 

13 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 17(c) of 

14 the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act 

15 (7 U.S.C. 136o(c)) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

17 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

18 (A), by striking ‘‘(as defined in section 174.3 of 

19 title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or any 

20 successor regulation))’’; 

21 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

22 at the end; 

23 (C) in subparagraph (C), by striking the 

24 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

25 (D) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(D) that plant-incorporated protectant is 

2 exempt under section 25(b)(2) or part 174 of 

3 title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or any 

4 successor regulation).’’; and 

5 (2) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘(as de6 fined in section 174.3 of title 40, Code of Federal 

7 Regulations (or any successor regulation))’’. 

8 SEC. 9202. COORDINATION. 

9 Section 3 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 

10 Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136a) is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(i) COORDINATION.— 

13 ‘‘(1) RISK MITIGATION MEASURES.—If any risk 

14 mitigation measures are required for any pesticide 

15 registered under this Act, the Administrator shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) develop such measures in coordina17 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture; and 

18 ‘‘(B) conduct, and publish in the docket, 

19 with the corresponding action, an economic 

20 analysis determining the cost of implementation 

21 of such measures. 

22 ‘‘(2) DATA AND INFORMATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) COORDINATION OF DATA AND INFOR24 MATION.—With regard to the registration or 

25 registration review of a pesticide under this Act 


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1 and for making a determination under section 

2 408 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 

3 Act (21 U.S.C. 346a) with respect to any action 

4 that impacts the sale, distribution, or use of a 

5 pesticide, the Administrator shall coordinate 

6 with the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

7 through the Director of the Office of Pest Man8 agement Policy, so that the Administrator has 

9 for the Administrator’s use and consideration 

10 for such processes— 

11 ‘‘(i) agronomic use data from— 

12 ‘‘(I) the Department of Agri13 culture; and 

14 ‘‘(II) industry; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) any information relating to the 

16 availability and economic viability of alter17 natives to such pesticide. 

18 ‘‘(B) DATA AND INFORMATION.—When 

19 issuing any decision resulting from the proc20 esses referred to in subparagraph (A), the Ad21 ministrator shall publish— 

22 ‘‘(i) a description of the use by the 

23 Administrator of any data or information 

24 provided by the Secretary of Agriculture 

25 under subparagraph (A); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the determination of the Admin2 istrator on whether to use such data or in3 formation, including, as applicable, the 

4 reasons that the data or information was 

5 not used. 

6 ‘‘(3) REASONABLE AND PRUDENT ACTIONS AND

7 MEASURES.—For implementation of reasonable and 

8 prudent actions and measures with respect to the 

9 use of a pesticide registered under this Act, the Ad10 ministrator shall coordinate with the Secretary of 

11 Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, and the 

12 Secretary of Commerce— 

13 ‘‘(A) to review the development of any such 

14 actions and measures that are a result of con15 sultations relating to actions under this Act; 

16 ‘‘(B) to fully consider the risks and bene17 fits of any such actions and measures in a man18 ner consistent with practices established to 

19 evaluate the risks and benefits of a pesticide 

20 registered under this Act; and 

21 ‘‘(C) to provide feedback to the Secretary 

22 of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce 

23 on decisions relating to any such actions and 

24 measures that may affect end users of a pes25 ticide registered under this Act. 


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1 ‘‘(4) WAIVER.—The coordination requirements 

2 imposed by this subsection may be waived or modi3 fied for a specific action to the extent agreed upon 

4 by the Administrator, the Secretary of Agriculture, 

5 and the registrant so long as such agreement is pub6 lished by the Administrator in the docket for the 

7 corresponding action.’’. 

8 SEC. 9203. INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP. 

9 Section 3(c)(11) of the Federal Insecticide, Fun10 gicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136a(c)(11)) is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) in subparagraph (B)— 

13 (A) by striking ‘‘The Administrator shall’’ 

14 and inserting the following: 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

16 shall’’; and 

17 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(ii) PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary 

19 of Agriculture shall include the Director of 

20 the Office of Pest Management Policy in 

21 all meetings of the interagency working 

22 group.’’; 

23 (2) in subparagraph (D)— 

24 (A) in clause (iv)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘every 180 days there2 after’’ and inserting ‘‘each year there3 after’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘during the 5-year pe5 riod beginning on that date’’; and 

6 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(v) AVAILABILITY.—All reports re8 quired under this subparagraph shall be 

9 published on the website of the Environ10 mental Protection Agency.’’; and 

11 (3) by amending subparagraph (E) to read as 

12 follows: 

13 ‘‘(E) CONSULTATION.— 

14 ‘‘(i) WORKING GROUP WITH PRIVATE

15 SECTOR.—In carrying out the duties under 

16 this paragraph, the working group shall, as 

17 appropriate— 

18 ‘‘(I) consult, including through 

19 public meetings, with representatives 

20 of interested industry stakeholders 

21 and nongovernmental organizations 

22 not less than once every year; and 

23 ‘‘(II) take into consideration fac24 tors, such as actual and potential dif25 ferences in interest between, and the 


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1 views of, those stakeholders and orga2 nizations. 

3 ‘‘(ii) ADMINISTRATOR WITH WORKING

4 GROUP.—Before the Administrator imple5 ments any policy, strategy, workplan, or 

6 pilot program regarding the application of 

7 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

8 U.S.C.1531 et seq.) to the processes for 

9 the registration or registration review of a 

10 pesticide under this Act, the Administrator 

11 shall— 

12 ‘‘(I) consult with the covered 

13 agencies on the policy, strategy, 

14 workplan, or pilot program and take 

15 into consideration input received; and 

16 ‘‘(II) publish the input received 

17 from the covered agencies in the dock18 et with the corresponding policy, 

19 strategy, workplan, or pilot pro20 gram.’’. 

21 SEC. 9204. UNIFORMITY OF PESTICIDE LABELING REQUIRE22 MENTS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 24(b) of the Federal In24 secticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 

25 136v(b)) shall be applied to require uniformity in national 


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1 pesticide labeling, and prohibit any State, instrumentality 

2 or political subdivision thereof, or a court from directly 

3 or indirectly imposing or continuing in effect any require4 ments for, or penalize or hold liable any entity for failing 

5 to comply with requirements with respect to, labeling or 

6 packaging that is in addition to or different from the label7 ing or packaging approved by the Administrator of the 

8 Environmental Protection Agency (referred to in this sec9 tion as the ‘‘Administrator’’) under such Act (7 U.S.C. 

10 136 et seq.), including any requirements relating to warn11 ings on such labeling or packaging. 

12 (b) PROHIBITION.—The Administrator may not issue 

13 or adopt any guidance or any policy, take any regulatory 

14 action, or approve any labeling (or change to such label15 ing) that is inconsistent with or in any respect different 

16 from the conclusion of— 

17 (1) a human health assessment performed pur18 suant to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 

19 Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.); or 

20 (2) a carcinogenicity classification for a pes21 ticide performed pursuant to such Act (7 U.S.C. 136 

22 et seq.). 

23 SEC. 9205. AUTHORITY OF STATES. 

24 Section 24 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 

25 Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136v) is amended— 


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1 (1) in the section heading by inserting ‘‘AND

2 LOCALITIES’’ after ‘‘STATES’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(d) LOCAL REGULATION.—A political subdivision of 

5 a State shall not impose, or continue in effect, any require6 ment relating to the sale, distribution, labeling, applica7 tion, or use of any pesticide or device that is subject to 

8 regulation— 

9 ‘‘(1) by a State pursuant to this section; or 

10 ‘‘(2) by the Administrator under this Act.’’. 

11 PART II—OTHER REGULATORY REFORM 

12 PROVISIONS 

13 SEC. 9211. MULTIPLE CROP AND PESTICIDE USE SURVEY. 

14 Section 10109 of the Agriculture Improvement Act 

15 of 2018 (Public Law 115–334; 132 Stat. 4906) is amend16 ed— 

17 (1) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.—The Secretary shall submit 

21 to the Administrator of the Environmental Protec22 tion Agency, and make publicly available, the survey 

23 described in subsection (a). 

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1 agement Policy, shall obtain commercial data on pes2 ticide use to inform the conduct of, and enhance the 

3 results of, the survey described in subsection (a).’’; 

4 and 

5 (2) in subsection (c), by amending paragraph 

6 (1) to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 

8 the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

9 shall use to carry out this section— 

10 ‘‘(A) $500,000 for fiscal year 2019, to re11 main available until expended; 

12 ‘‘(B) $100,000 for fiscal year 2024, to re13 main available until expended; and 

14 ‘‘(C) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2025, to 

15 remain available until expended.’’. 

16 SEC. 9212. CRITICAL MINERALS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

18 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of the In19 terior, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, 

20 shall evaluate potash, phosphates, and other minerals nec21 essary for the production of fertilizer and other agricul22 tural products used to promote crop development for des23 ignation as critical minerals under section 7002(c)(4) of 

24 the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(c)(4)). 


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1 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 90 days 

2 after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 

3 of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of Agri4 culture, shall evaluate current policies related to permit5 ting and leasing of projects for the exploration, develop6 ment, and production of the minerals described in sub7 section (a) and issue recommendations to support domes8 tic production of such minerals to— 

9 (1) the Committee on Natural Resources and 

10 the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep11 resentatives; and 

12 (2) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re13 sources and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri14 tion, and Forestry of the Senate. 

15 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

16 of enactment of this section, the Secretary of the Interior, 

17 in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall 

18 prepare a report that describes how each mineral de19 scribed in subsection (a) meets each aspect of the method20 ology under section 7002(c)(3) of the Energy Act of 2020 

21 (30 U.S.C. 1606(c)(3), as of the date of enactment of this 

22 section, to determine eligibility for the list as described 

23 under section 7002(c)(4) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 

24 U.S.C. 1606(c)(4) and issue such report to— 


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1 (1) the Committee on Natural Resources and 

2 the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep3 resentatives; and 

4 (2) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re5 sources and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri6 tion, and Forestry of the Senate. 

7 SEC. 9213. SAFE HARBOR FOR CERTAIN DISCHARGES OF 

8 WILDLAND FIRE CHEMICALS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), no 

10 court may enjoin under the Federal Water Pollution Con11 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) a covered entity from 

12 conducting an aerial application of a covered fire retardant 

13 and water enhancer for wildfire suppression, control, or 

14 prevention activities that results in a discharge, if such 

15 aerial application is conducted in accordance with the re16 quirements of the Federal Facility Compliance Agreement 

17 between the Environmental Protection Agency and the 

18 U.S. Forest Service, as agreed to on February 16, 2023. 

19 (b) PERIOD OF APPLICATION.—Subsection (a) shall 

20 apply to any aerial application described in such sub21 section that is conducted before the effective date of a per22 mit issued by the Administrator of the Environmental 

23 Protection Agency or a State, as applicable, under section 

24 402 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 

25 U.S.C. 1342) that authorizes the discharge, from such 


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1 aerial application, of a covered fire retardant and water 

2 enhancer for wildfire suppression, control, or prevention 

3 activities. 

4 (c) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section affects the au5 thority of any court under the Federal Water Pollution 

6 Control Act with respect to any discharge resulting from 

7 an aerial application not conducted in accordance with the 

8 requirements described in subsection (a). 

9 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en11 tity’’ means— 

12 (A) any Federal agency, agency of a State 

13 or political subdivision thereof, or Tribal agen14 cy, authorized by law to conduct an aerial appli15 cation of fire retardants and water enhancers 

16 for wildfire suppression, control, or prevention 

17 activities; and 

18 (B) any contractor, subcontractor, or other 

19 agent of an agency described in subparagraph 

20 (A). 

21 (2) COVERED FIRE RETARDANT AND WATER

22 ENHANCER.—The term ‘‘covered fire retardant and 

23 water enhancer’’ means a fire retardant and water 

24 enhancer that— 


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1 (A) has been evaluated, qualified, and ap2 proved by the Secretary; and 

3 (B) appears on the most current Forest 

4 Service Qualified Products List. 

5 (3) DISCHARGE; STATE.—The terms ‘‘dis6 charge’’ and ‘‘State’’ have the meanings given those 

7 terms in section 502 of the Federal Water Pollution 

8 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1362). 

9 (e) SUNSET.—This section shall cease to be effective 

10 on the date that is 5 years after the date of enactment 

11 of this section. 

12 SEC. 9214. SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD OF THE ENVIRON13 MENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. 

14 Section 8 of the Environmental Research, Develop15 ment, and Demonstration Authorization Act of 1978 (42 

16 U.S.C. 4365) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘the Com18 mittee on Environment and Public Works of the 

19 United States Senate, or the Committee on Science, 

20 Space, and Technology, on Energy and Commerce, 

21 or on Public Works and Transportation of the 

22 House of Representatives’’ and inserting ‘‘the Com23 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, 

24 the Committee on Environment and Public Works, 

25 or the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 


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1 Forestry of the Senate or the Committee on Science, 

2 Space, and Technology, the Committee on Energy 

3 and Commerce, the Committee on Transportation 

4 and Infrastructure, or the Committee on Agriculture 

5 of the House of Representatives’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (i)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘the Committees on Envi8 ronment and Public Works and Agriculture of 

9 the Senate and the Committees on Transpor10 tation and Infrastructure, Energy and Com11 merce, and Agriculture of the House of Rep12 resentatives’’ and inserting ‘‘the Committee on 

13 Commerce, Science, and Transportation, the 

14 Committee on Environment and Public Works, 

15 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

16 and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee 

17 on Science, Space, and Technology, the Com18 mittee on Energy and Commerce, the Com19 mittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, 

20 and the Committee on Agriculture of the House 

21 of Representatives’’; and 

22 (B) by inserting ‘‘and any additional agri23 culture-related committees and investigative 

24 panels established pursuant to subsection 

25 (e)(2)(A)(ii)’’ before the period. 


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1 SEC. 9215. OFFICE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY POLICY. 

2 Subtitle A of the Department of Agriculture Reorga3 nization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6912 et seq.) is amended 

4 by inserting after section 220 (7 U.S.C. 6920) the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 220A. OFFICE OF BIOTECHNOLOGY POLICY. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish in 

8 the Department an Office of Biotechnology Policy to pro9 vide for the effective coordination of policies and activities 

10 within the Department of Agriculture related to bio11 technology, biomanufacturing, synthetic biology, and re12 lated emerging technologies, while taking into account the 

13 effects of regulatory actions of other government agencies. 

14 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.—The Office of Biotechnology Policy 

15 shall be under the direction of a Director appointed by 

16 the Secretary, who shall report directly to the Secretary 

17 or a designee of the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Director of the Office of Bio19 technology Policy shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) develop and coordinate Department policy 

21 on biotechnology and related topics; 

22 ‘‘(2) coordinate activities and services of the 

23 Department on biotechnology and related topics, in24 cluding— 

25 ‘‘(A) research and development; 

26 ‘‘(B) extension and education; 


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1 ‘‘(C) communication; 

2 ‘‘(D) regulation and labeling; and 

3 ‘‘(E) commercialization, use, and trade; 

4 ‘‘(3) assist other offices and agencies of the De5 partment in fulfilling their responsibilities related to 

6 biotechnology under applicable Federal law; and 

7 ‘‘(4) perform such other functions as may be 

8 required under Federal law or prescribed by the Sec9 retary. 

10 ‘‘(d) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—In carrying out 

11 the duties under subsection (b), the Director of the Office 

12 of Biotechnology Policy shall provide leadership to ensure 

13 coordination of interagency activities with the Environ14 mental Protection Agency, the Food and Drug Adminis15 tration, and other Federal and State agencies. 

16 ‘‘(e) OUTREACH.—The Director of the Office of Bio17 technology Policy shall consult with biotechnology devel18 opers, academics, agricultural producers, and other enti19 ties that may be affected by biotechnology-related activi20 ties or actions of the Department or other Federal and 

21 State agencies as necessary in carrying out the Office’s 

22 responsibilities under this section. 

23 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

25 $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.’’. 


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1 TITLE X—CROP INSURANCE 

2 SEC. 10001. SPECIALTY CROP ADVISORY COMMITTEE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 505 of the Federal Crop 

4 Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1505) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)— 

6 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

7 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

8 (E), (F), and (G) as subparagraphs (F), 

9 (G), and (H), respectively; 

10 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

11 (D) the following: 

12 ‘‘(E) The Chairperson of the Specialty 

13 Crop Advisory Committee established by sub14 section (f).’’; and 

15 (iii) in subparagraph (H), as so redes16 ignated, by striking ‘‘specialty crop’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘livestock’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘sub19 paragraphs (E), (F), and (G) of paragraph (2)’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (F), (G), and 

21 (H) of paragraph (2) and the members of the 

22 Specialty Crop Advisory Committee described in 

23 subsection (f)(2)’’; and 

24 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(f) SPECIALTY CROP ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of the enactment of this subsection, 

3 the Secretary shall— 

4 ‘‘(A) establish a Specialty Crop Advisory 

5 Committee (in this subsection, referred to as 

6 ‘the Committee’); and 

7 ‘‘(B) appoint to the Committee in accord8 ance with paragraph (2) the initial members 

9 that will assist the Corporation in the research, 

10 creation, and improvement of policies or plans 

11 of insurance for specialty crops. 

12 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.— 

13 ‘‘(A) CHAIRPERSON.—The chairperson of 

14 the Committee shall be an individual with expe15 rience in crop insurance and familiarity with 

16 the unique nature of the specialty crop indus17 try. 

18 ‘‘(B) MEMBERS.—The Committee shall 

19 consist of— 

20 ‘‘(i) individuals with an understanding 

21 of the production methods, markets, and 

22 risks (including losses due to weather, 

23 trade damages, and supply chain disrup24 tions) unique to specialty crop production; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) not less than 5 producers and 

2 not more than 10 total members; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) not less than one producer from 

4 each of the West, Midwest, South, and 

5 Northeast regions of the United States (as 

6 identified by the Bureau of the Census). 

7 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The Committee established by 

8 this subsection shall— 

9 ‘‘(A) advise the manager of the Corpora10 tion on issues relating to specialty crop insur11 ance policies; 

12 ‘‘(B) provide input, through the Chair13 person of the Committee, to the Board on deci14 sions relating to specialty crop insurance poli15 cies; 

16 ‘‘(C) review available educational programs 

17 and make recommendations to the manager of 

18 the Corporation on how to enhance the effec19 tiveness of such programs for specialty crop 

20 producers; 

21 ‘‘(D) provide recommendations to the man22 ager of the Corporation regarding the presen23 tation of policies to the Board required by sec24 tion 508(a)(6); 


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1 ‘‘(E) advise the manager of the Corpora2 tion on entering into partnerships to carry out 

3 subsections (d) and (e)(2)(B) of section 522; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(F) meet not less than two times each 

6 year to carry out these duties.’’. 

7 (b) SPECIALTY CROPS COORDINATOR.—Section 

8 507(g)(2) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 

9 1507(g)(2)) is amended to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(2) RESPONSIBILITIES.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Specialty Crops 

12 Coordinator shall have primary responsibility 

13 for addressing the needs of specialty crop pro14 ducers, and for providing information and ad15 vice, in connection with the activities of the 

16 Corporation to improve and expand the insur17 ance program for specialty crops. 

18 ‘‘(B) OTHER DUTIES.—In carrying out 

19 this paragraph, the Specialty Crops Coordinator 

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(i) act as the liaison of the Corpora22 tion with representatives of specialty crop 

23 producers and the Specialty Crop Advisory 

24 Committee; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) assist the Corporation with the 

2 knowledge, expertise, and familiarity of the 

3 producers with risk management and pro4 duction issues pertaining to specialty 

5 crops.’’. 

6 (c) ANNUAL REVIEW OF NEW AND SPECIALTY

7 CROPS.—Section 508(a)(6)(A) of the Federal Crop Insur8 ance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(a)(6)(A)) is amended by insert9 ing ‘‘(in consultation with the Specialty Crop Advisory 

10 Committee)’’ after ‘‘Corporation’’. 

11 SEC. 10002. IDENTIFICATION OF HOLDERS OF SUBSTAN12 TIAL INTERESTS. 

13 Section 506(m) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

14 (7 U.S.C. 1506(m)) is amended— 

15 (1) by amending paragraph (3) to read as fol16 lows: 

17 ‘‘(3) IDENTIFICATION OF HOLDERS OF SUB18 STANTIAL INTERESTS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Manager of the 

20 Corporation may require each policyholder to 

21 provide to the Manager, at such times and in 

22 such manner as prescribed by the Manager, the 

23 name of each individual or other entity that ac24 quires or holds a substantial beneficial interest 

25 in such policyholder. 


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1 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION AVAILABLE.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of a 

3 policyholder that does not provide the in4 formation required pursuant to subpara5 graph (A) to the Manager at the time pre6 scribed by the Manager, the Manager shall 

7 allow such policyholder to provide to the 

8 Manager such information at any time 

9 during the applicable crop year. 

10 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTION.—Clause (i) shall 

11 not apply to a policyholder that an ap12 proved insurance provider determines— 

13 ‘‘(I) would receive dispropor14 tionate benefits under a crop insur15 ance program as a result of failing to 

16 provide the information required pur17 suant to subparagraph (A) to the 

18 Manager at the time prescribed by the 

19 Manager; or 

20 ‘‘(II) failed to provide such infor21 mation to avoid an obligation or re22 quirement under any State or Federal 

23 law.’’; and 

24 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘5 percent’’ 

25 and inserting ‘‘10 percent’’. 


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1 SEC. 10003. ACTUARIAL SOUNDNESS OF CERTAIN NEW 

2 PRODUCTS. 

3 Section 506(n) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

4 U.S.C. 1506(n)) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(4) ACTUARIAL SOUNDNESS OF CERTAIN NEW

7 PRODUCTS.—The Corporation shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) review each policy or product devel9 oped under section 508(h) periodically for actu10 arial soundness; and 

11 ‘‘(B) take such actions, in consultation 

12 with persons described in paragraph (1)(A) of 

13 such section, as are necessary to improve the 

14 actuarial soundness of such policies and prod15 ucts.’’. 

16 SEC. 10004. COVERAGE OF REVENUE LOSSES. 

17 Section 508(a)(1) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

18 (7 U.S.C. 1508(a)) is amended, in the second sentence, 

19 by inserting ‘‘or a decline in the market price of the in20 sured commodity, so long as such decline was not directly 

21 caused by the producer (as determined by the Secretary)’’ 

22 before the period at the end. 


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1 SEC. 10005. SUPPLEMENTAL AND AGGREGATE COVERAGE 

2 ENHANCEMENTS. 

3 (a) COVERAGE LEVEL.—Section 508(c)(4) of the 

4 Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(c)(4)) is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) by amending subparagraph (A)(ii) to read 

7 as follows: 

8 ‘‘(ii) may be purchased at any level 

9 not to exceed— 

10 ‘‘(I) in the case of the individual 

11 yield or revenue coverage, 85 percent; 

12 ‘‘(II) in the case of individual 

13 yield or revenue coverage aggregated 

14 across multiple commodities, 90 per15 cent; and 

16 ‘‘(III) in the case of area yield or 

17 revenue coverage (as determined by 

18 the Corporation), 95 percent.’’; and 

19 (2) in subparagraph (C)— 

20 (A) clause (ii), by striking ‘‘14’’ and in21 serting ‘‘10’’; and 

22 (B) in clause (iii)(I), by striking ‘‘86’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘90’’. 

24 (b) PREMIUM SUBSIDY.—Section 508(e)(2)(H)(i) of 

25 the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 


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1 1508(e)(2)(H)(i)) is amended by striking ‘‘65’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘80’’. 

3 SEC. 10006. LIMITATION ON FARM PROGRAM PARTICIPA4 TION. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Crop Insurance Act 

6 (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq) is amended— 

7 (1) in section 508(c)(4)(C)(iv)— 

8 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘CROPS

9 AND’’; and 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘Crops’’ and all that fol11 lows through ‘‘acres’’ and inserting ‘‘Acres’’; 

12 and 

13 (2) in section 508B(f) is amended by striking 

14 ‘‘Effective beginning with the 2019 crop year’’ and 

15 inserting ‘‘Effective for the 2019 through 2024 crop 

16 years’’. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1115 of the 

18 Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9015), as amended 

19 by section 1103, is further amended by adding at the end 

20 the following subsection: 

21 ‘‘(i) LIMITATION.—Beginning with the 2025 crop 

22 year— 

23 ‘‘(1) in the case of a farm for which a producer 

24 obtains coverage under the Stacked Income Protec25 tion Plan for upland cotton under section 508B of 


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1 the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508b) 

2 for a crop year, such farm shall not be eligible to re3 ceive payments for seed cotton for such crop year 

4 under— 

5 ‘‘(A) price loss coverage under section 

6 1116; and 

7 ‘‘(B) agriculture risk coverage under sec8 tion 1117; and 

9 ‘‘(2) in the case of a crop on a farm for which 

10 a producer obtains supplemental coverage under sec11 tion 508(c)(4)(C) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

12 (7 U.S.C. 1508(c)(4)(C)) for a crop year, such crop 

13 on such farm shall not be eligible to receive pay14 ments under agriculture risk coverage under section 

15 1117 for such crop year.’’. 

16 SEC. 10007. LIMITATION ON INTEREST ACCRUAL. 

17 Section 508(d) of Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

18 U.S.C. 1508(d)) is amended by inserting at the end the 

19 following new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(5) LIMITATION ON INTEREST ACCRUED.—Ef21 fective beginning with the 2025 reinsurance year, in 

22 the case of a producer that is delinquent in paying 

23 a premium or administrative fee, an approved insur24 ance provider may charge such producer with re25 spect to such delinquency an amount less than or 


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1 equal to 1 percent of the simple interest of the 

2 amount for which such producer is delinquent, for 

3 each month (not to exceed 60-consecutive months) 

4 the producer is so delinquent.’’. 

5 SEC. 10008. CROP INSURANCE SUPPORT FOR BEGINNING 

6 AND VETERAN FARMERS AND RANCHERS. 

7 (a) DEFINITION OF BEGINNING AND VETERAN

8 FARMER OR RANCHER.—Section 502(b) of the Federal 

9 Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1502(b)) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘5 crop years’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘10 crop years’’; and 

12 (2) in paragraph (14)(B)— 

13 (A) in clause (ii) by striking ‘‘5 years’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘10 years’’; and 

15 (B) in clause (iii) by striking ‘‘5-year’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘10-year’’. 

17 (b) INCREASE IN ASSISTANCE.—Section 508(e)(8) of 

18 the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(e)(8)) is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘Notwithstanding’’ and insert21 ing the following: 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding’’; 

23 (2) by striking ‘‘is 10 percentage points greater 

24 than’’ and inserting ‘‘is the amount of percentage 


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1 points specified in subparagraph (B) greater than’’; 

2 and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(B) PERCENTAGE POINTS ADJUST5 MENTS.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), 

6 the percentage points specified in this subpara7 graph are as follows: 

8 ‘‘(i) For each of the first and second 

9 reinsurance years that a beginning farmer 

10 or rancher participates as a beginning 

11 farmer or rancher in the applicable policy 

12 or plan of insurance, 15 percentage points. 

13 ‘‘(ii) For the third reinsurance year 

14 that a beginning farmer or rancher partici15 pates as a beginning farmer or rancher in 

16 the applicable policy or plan of insurance, 

17 13 percentage points. 

18 ‘‘(iii) For the fourth reinsurance year 

19 that a beginning farmer or rancher partici20 pates as a beginning farmer or rancher in 

21 the applicable policy or plan of insurance, 

22 11 percentage points. 

23 ‘‘(iv) For each of the fifth through 

24 tenth reinsurance years that a beginning 

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1 ning farmer or rancher in the applicable 

2 policy or plan of insurance, 10 percentage 

3 points.’’. 

4 SEC. 10009. MARKETABILITY. 

5 Section 508(h)(4) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

6 (7 U.S.C. 1508(h)(4)) is amended— 

7 (1) in subparagraph (A), by amending clause 

8 (iii) to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(iii) APPLICATION.— 

10 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Except as 

11 provided in subclause (II), this sub12 paragraph shall apply with respect to 

13 a proposal only during the period pre14 ceding any approval of the proposal 

15 by the Board. 

16 ‘‘(II) EXCEPTION.—An approved 

17 insurance provider that submits a let18 ter of support for a concept proposal, 

19 a policy, or plan of insurance shall— 

20 ‘‘(aa) not be considered the 

21 public for purposes of clause (ii); 

22 ‘‘(bb) have access to data 

23 and other product development 

24 information submitted to the 


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1 Board during its review under 

2 this subsection, and; 

3 ‘‘(cc) be subject to the con4 fidentiality requirements as appli5 cable to the Board pursuant to 

6 clauses (i) and (ii).’’; 

7 (2) in subparagraph (D), by adding at the end 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(iv) MARKETABILITY DEADLINE.— 

10 Any new policy, plan of insurance, or other 

11 material approved by the Board under this 

12 subsection during a reinsurance year and 

13 after the Standard Reinsurance Agreement 

14 closing date of July 1, shall not be imple15 mented for such reinsurance year unless at 

16 least 90 days prior to the sales closing date 

17 for such policy, plan of insurance, or other 

18 material, the Board makes available to the 

19 approved insurance providers all necessary, 

20 as determined by the Board, handbooks, 

21 training materials, and other resources as22 sociated with such policy, plan of insur23 ance, or other material.’’; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘(F) MARKETABILITY DETERMINATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) SUBMISSION TO THE BOARD.— 

2 Prior to the approval of a product, any ap3 proved insurance provider that submitted a 

4 letter of support for the product shall pro5 vide information and analysis to the Board 

6 on the marketability of such product. 

7 ‘‘(ii) DEEMED MARKETABLE.—In re8 viewing a policy, plan of insurance, or 

9 other material submitted to the Board 

10 under this subsection such product shall be 

11 deemed marketable in accordance with 

12 paragraph (3)(A)(ii)(I) if at least one ap13 proved insurance provider, in its submis14 sion pursuant to clause (i), expresses sup15 port for such policy, plan, or material. 

16 ‘‘(iii) EVALUATION BY THE BOARD.— 

17 In evaluating whether a product is market18 able in accordance with paragraph 

19 (3)(A)(ii)(I), the Board shall take into con20 sideration any information and analysis 

21 submitted pursuant to clause (ii). 

22 ‘‘(iv) AIP PARTICIPATION.—The 

23 Board shall not require the submission of 

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1 prove any policy, plan of insurance, or 

2 other materials submitted pursuant to this 

3 subsection.’’. 

4 SEC. 10010. REINSURANCE. 

5 (a) SUPPLEMENTING LOSS ADJUSTMENT EX6 PENSES.—Section 508(k) of the Federal Crop Insurance 

7 Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(k)) is further amended by adding at 

8 the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(10) ADDITIONAL EXPENSES.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the 

11 terms and conditions of the Standard Reinsur12 ance Agreement, to cover additional expenses 

13 for loss adjustment procedures, the Corporation 

14 shall pay an additional administrative and oper15 ating expense subsidy to approved insurance 

16 providers for eligible contracts. 

17 ‘‘(B) PAYMENT AMOUNT.—In the case of 

18 an eligible contract, the payment to an ap19 proved insurance provider required under sub20 paragraph (A) shall be the amount equal to 6 

21 percent of the net book premium. 

22 ‘‘(C) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(i) ELIGIBLE STATE.—The term ‘eli24 gible State’ means a State— 


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1 ‘‘(I) identified in State Group 2 

2 or State Group 3 (as defined in the 

3 Standard Reinsurance Agreement for 

4 reinsurance year 2025); and 

5 ‘‘(II) in which, with respect to an 

6 insurance year, the loss ratio for eligi7 ble contracts is greater than 120 per8 cent of the total net book premium 

9 written by all approved insurance pro10 viders. 

11 ‘‘(ii) ELIGIBLE CONTRACTS.—The 

12 term ‘eligible contract’— 

13 ‘‘(I) means a crop insurance con14 tract entered into by an approved in15 surance provider in an eligible State; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(II) does not include a contract 

18 for— 

19 ‘‘(aa) catastrophic risk pro20 tection under subsection (b); 

21 ‘‘(bb) an area-based plan of 

22 insurance or similar plan of in23 surance, as determined by the 

24 Corporation; or 


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1 ‘‘(cc) a policy under which 

2 an approved insurance provider 

3 does not incur loss adjustment 

4 expenses, as determined by the 

5 Corporation.’’. 

6 (b) REIMBURSEMENT FOR ADMINISTRATIVE AND OP7 ERATING EXPENSES WITH RESPECT TO SPECIALTY

8 CROPS CONTRACTS.—Section 508(k) of the Federal Crop 

9 Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(k)) is further amended by 

10 adding at the end of the following: 

11 ‘‘(11) SPECIALTY CROPS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) MINIMUM REIMBURSEMENT.—Begin13 ning with the 2025 reinsurance year and for 

14 each reinsurance year thereafter, the rate of re15 imbursement to approved insurance providers 

16 for administrative and operating expenses with 

17 respect to crop insurance contracts covering ag18 ricultural commodities described in section 101 

19 of title I of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness 

20 Act of 2004 (7 U.S.C. 1621 note) shall be 

21 equal to or greater than the percent that is the 

22 greater of the following: 

23 ‘‘(i) 17 percent of the premium used 

24 to define loss ratio. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) The percent of the premium used 

2 to define loss ratio that is otherwise appli3 cable for the reinsurance year under the 

4 terms of the Standard Reinsurance Agree5 ment in effect for the reinsurance year. 

6 ‘‘(B) OTHER CONTRACTS.—In carrying out 

7 subparagraph (A), the Corporation shall not re8 duce, with respect to any reinsurance year, the 

9 amount or the rate of reimbursement to ap10 proved insurance providers under the Standard 

11 Reinsurance Agreement described in clause (ii) 

12 of such subparagraph for administrative and 

13 operating expenses with respect to contracts 

14 covering agricultural commodities that are not 

15 subject to such subparagraph. 

16 ‘‘(C) SHORT-TERM EQUITABLE RELIEF.— 

17 With respect to the 2022 through 2024 reinsur18 ance years, in addition to the amount of reim19 bursement for administrative and operating ex20 penses available for crop insurance contracts 

21 described in subparagraph (A), the Corporation 

22 shall use $50,000,000, to remain available until 

23 expended, to pay, with respect to such con24 tracts, an amount that is equal to the difference 

25 between— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the amount to be paid pursuant 

2 to the Standard Reinsurance Agreement 

3 for the applicable reinsurance year; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) the amount that would be paid if 

5 such contracts were— 

6 ‘‘(I) not subject to a reduction 

7 described in subsection (a)(2)(G) of 

8 section III of the Standard Reinsur9 ance Agreement; and 

10 ‘‘(II) subject to a reimbursement 

11 rate equal to 17 percent of the net 

12 book premium. 

13 ‘‘(D) ADMINISTRATION.—The require14 ments of this paragraph and the adjustments 

15 made pursuant to this paragraph shall not be 

16 considered a renegotiation under paragraph 

17 (8)(A). 

18 ‘‘(12) ADJUSTMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with the 

20 2025 reinsurance year and for each reinsurance 

21 year thereafter, the Corporation shall increase 

22 the total administrative and operating expense 

23 reimbursements otherwise required under the 

24 Standard Reinsurance Agreement in effect for 

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1 flation in a manner that is consistent with the 

2 increases provided with respect to the 2011 

3 through 2015 reinsurance years under the en4 closure, included in the Risk Management 

5 Agency’s Bulletin, MGR–10–007, dated June 

6 30, 2010. 

7 ‘‘(B) ADMINISTRATION.—The increase de8 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) apply with respect to all contracts 

10 covering agricultural commodities that 

11 were subject to an increase during the pe12 riod of the 2011 through 2015 reinsurance 

13 years under the enclosure described in 

14 such subparagraph; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) not be considered a renegotiation 

16 under paragraph (8)(A). 

17 ‘‘(C) SPECIAL RULE FOR THE 2025 REIN18 SURANCE YEAR.—The increase described in 

19 subparagraph (A) for the 2025 reinsurance 

20 year shall not exceed the percentage change 

21 from the preceding year included in the Con22 sumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers 

23 published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of 

24 the Department of Labor.’’. 


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1 SEC. 10011. REVENUE INSURANCE. 

2 The Federal Crop Insurance Act is amended by in3 serting after section 508D (7 U.S.C. 1508d) the following: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 508E. SUGARBEET REVENUE INSURANCE. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Effective beginning with the 

6 2026 crop year, the Risk Management Agency and the 

7 Corporation shall make available to producers of sugar 

8 beets a revenue crop insurance policy for sugar beets. 

9 ‘‘(b) COVERAGE.—The policy required under sub10 section (a) shall provide for a combination of— 

11 ‘‘(1) individual-based yield coverage; and 

12 ‘‘(2) coverage against a decrease in a gross beet 

13 sugar payment to a producer from a cooperative 

14 processor due to a shortfall in sugar production at 

15 the cooperative level as the result of one or more of 

16 the following conditions: 

17 ‘‘(A) cooperative-level sugar beet produc18 tion that is below average; 

19 ‘‘(B) cooperative-level raw sugar content of 

20 the beets that is below average, irrespective of 

21 the quantity of sugar beets produced; or 

22 ‘‘(C) a decrease in price in the refined 

23 sugar market relative to the expected price at 

24 the beginning of the crop year.’’. 


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1 SEC. 10012. PILOT PROGRAM TO REVIEW EFFECTIVENESS 

2 OF COVERAGE PENALTY. 

3 The Federal Crop Insurance Act, as amended by sec4 tion 11011, is further amended by inserting after section 

5 508E the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 508F. PILOT PROGRAM TO REVIEW EFFECTIVENESS 

7 OF COVERAGE PENALTY. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Effective beginning with the 

9 2025 crop year, the Risk Management Agency and the 

10 Corporation shall establish a pilot program to evaluate the 

11 effectiveness of the reduction in benefits applied to corn 

12 and other crops, as determined by the Corporation, plant13 ed during the late planting period (as defined in section 

14 457.8 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor 

15 regulation)). 

16 ‘‘(b) LOCATION AND DURATION OF PILOT.—The 

17 pilot program established under subsection (a) shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) be conducted in not less than 10 counties 

19 located within or adjacent to the North Plains 

20 Ground Conservation District or the Panhandle 

21 Ground Conservation District in the State of Texas; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(2) operate for a period of not less than four 

24 crop years. 


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1 ‘‘(c) EVALUATION.—In carrying out the pilot pro2 gram established under subsection (a), the Risk Manage3 ment Agency and the Corporation shall— 

4 ‘‘(1) suspend any reduction to the insurance 

5 guarantee applied to an insurance policy for a crop 

6 that is planted during the late planting period; 

7 ‘‘(2) gather and analyze data to determine if 

8 the number of days beyond the final plant date in 

9 which a crop was planted during the late planting 

10 period correlates with a decrease in crop yields; and 

11 ‘‘(3) determine if planting a crop after the final 

12 plant date results in reduced usage of irrigation 

13 from the Ogallala Aquifer. 

14 ‘‘(d) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days 

15 after the last day of crop year 2029, the Risk Management 

16 Agency and the Corporation shall submit to the Com17 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and 

18 the Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, and Nutrition of 

19 the Senate a report that includes— 

20 ‘‘(1) a summary of the results of the pilot pro21 gram established under subsection (a); 

22 ‘‘(2) an analysis of the correlation between 

23 planting date and final yields; and 


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1 ‘‘(3) any changes to existing policies that the 

2 Corporation intends to make as a result of the infor3 mation obtained during the pilot program. 

4 ‘‘(e) PARTNERSHIPS.—Of the amounts made avail5 able in section 522(e)(2)(A)(ii), the Corporation may use 

6 not more than $200,000 to enter into a partnership or 

7 cooperative agreement with a nonprofit organization, 

8 State agency, or public university that is familiar with ag9 ricultural production in the region described in subsection 

10 (b)(1) to conduct the research and evaluation required 

11 under paragraphs (2) and (3) of subsection (c).’’. 

12 SEC. 10013. PROGRAM COMPLIANCE AND INTEGRITY. 

13 Section 515 of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

14 U.S.C. 1515) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘, RE17 SPONSE, AND FINAL DETERMINATION’’ after 

18 ‘‘NOTIFICATION’’; 

19 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘shall 

20 notify in writing’’ and inserting ‘‘shall, through 

21 an initial finding in writing, notify (unless such 

22 notification is pursuant to the responsibilities to 

23 conduct reviews and make corrections)’’; 

24 (C) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘TIME

2 FOR NOTIFICATION’’ and inserting ‘‘RE3 QUIRED TIMING’’; 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘Notice’’ and inserting 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(A) INITIAL FINDING.—Notice’’; and 

7 (iii) by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(B) RESPONSE.—During the 90-day pe10 riod beginning on the date the Corporation no11 tifies an approved insurance provider through 

12 an initial finding under paragraph (1), such ap13 proved insurance provide may appeal such ini14 tial finding in writing. 

15 ‘‘(C) FINAL FINDING.—Not later than 90 

16 days after the date on which an approved insur17 ance provider appeals pursuant to subpara18 graph (B), the Corporation shall issue a final 

19 finding in writing to such approved insurance 

20 provider. 

21 ‘‘(D) REQUEST FOR FINAL ADMINISTRA22 TIVE DETERMINATION.—An approved insurance 

23 provider shall have not more than 90 days after 

24 the receipt of the Corporation’s final finding 

25 under subparagraph (C) to request, in writing, 


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1 a final agency determination, if such approved 

2 insurance provider has reason to believe that 

3 the Corporation’s final finding under subpara4 graph (C) is not in accordance with— 

5 ‘‘(i) the applicable laws, regulations, 

6 custom, or practice of the crop insurance 

7 industry; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) the approved policy and proce9 dure of the Corporation. 

10 ‘‘(E) FINAL DETERMINATION.—The Cor11 poration shall have not more than 90 days after 

12 the receipt of a request for a final administra13 tive determination under subparagraph (D) to 

14 provide such final administrative determination, 

15 unless substantial new information, as deter16 mined by the Corporation, is provided by the 

17 approved insurance provider. 

18 ‘‘(F) APPEAL TO CIVILIAN BOARD OF CON19 TRACT APPEALS.—An approved insurance pro20 vider shall have not more than 90 days after re21 ceipt of final administrative determination pro22 vided pursuant to subparagraph (E) to appeal 

23 such determination to the Civilian Board of 

24 Contract Appeals.’’; and 


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1 (D) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO TIMELY NO4 TIFY.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

6 subparagraph (B), failure of the Corporation to 

7 comply with the requirements under paragraph 

8 (2) shall relieve the approved insurance provider 

9 from the debt owed to the Corporation. 

10 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) 

11 shall not apply to any matters referred to the 

12 Office of the Inspector General or the Depart13 ment of Justice.’’. 

14 (2) in subsection (l)(2), by striking ‘‘than’’ and 

15 all that follows through the period at the end and 

16 inserting the following: ‘‘than— 

17 ‘‘(A) $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

18 2009 through 2024; and 

19 ‘‘(B) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 and 

20 each subsequent fiscal year.’’. 

21 SEC. 10014. REVIEWS, COMPLIANCE, AND INTEGRITY. 

22 Section 516(b)(2)(C)(i) of the Federal Crop Insur23 ance Act (7 U.S.C. 1516(b)(2)(C)(i)) is amended by strik24 ing ‘‘each fiscal year’’ and inserting ‘‘for each of fiscal 


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1 years 2014 through 2024 and $10,000,000 for fiscal year 

2 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter’’. 

3 SEC. 10015. WHOLE FARM IMPROVEMENTS. 

4 Section 522(c)(7)(E) of the Federal Crop Insurance 

5 Act (7 U.S.C. 1522(c)(7)(E)) is amended by adding at 

6 the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(iii) ADDITIONAL REVIEW.—Not 

8 later than 12 months after the date of en9 actment of this clause and annually there10 after, the Corporation shall— 

11 ‘‘(I) review any limitations on in12 surable revenue (including the overall 

13 limitation and limitations specific to 

14 animals, animal products, greenhouse 

15 and nursery, and aquaculture) to en16 sure such limitations are adequate to 

17 cover the financial risks associated 

18 with the production of high-value agri19 cultural products; and 

20 ‘‘(II) submit to the Committee on 

21 Agriculture of the House of Rep22 resentatives and the Committee on 

23 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

24 of the Senate a report that includes a 

25 summary of the most recent review 


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1 conducted and any expected changes 

2 to the policy for the following reinsur3 ance year.’’. 

4 SEC. 10016. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PRIORITIES. 

5 (a) EXPANSION OF REVENUE POLICIES.—Section 

6 522(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 

7 522(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(20) EXPANSION OF REVENUE POLICIES.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall 

10 carry out research and development, or offer to 

11 enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more 

12 qualified persons to carry out research and de13 velopment, to expand the availability of policies 

14 that provide coverage against losses of revenue 

15 for— 

16 ‘‘(i) oilseeds, including camelina, 

17 carinata, and pennycress; 

18 ‘‘(ii) alfalfa; 

19 ‘‘(iii) pulse crops (including dry edible 

20 beans); 

21 ‘‘(iv) sugarcane; and 

22 ‘‘(v) other crops for which only indi23 vidual yield-based insurance policies are 

24 available. 


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1 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF POLICY.—Notwith2 standing the last sentence of section 508(a)(1), 

3 and section 508(a)(2), the Corporation shall 

4 make a policy described in subparagraph (A) 

5 available if the requirements of section 508(h) 

6 are met. 

7 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF PROJECTED

8 PRICE.—In developing a policy described in sub9 paragraph (A) the Corporation may utilize al10 ternative methods of determining a projected 

11 price for a crop, including the correlation of ac12 tual prices received for such crop to the futures 

13 markets prices of other commodities. 

14 ‘‘(D) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months 

15 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

16 the Corporation shall submit to the Committee 

17 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives 

18 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

19 and Forestry of the Senate a report that de20 scribes— 

21 ‘‘(i) the crops for which research and 

22 development has been carried out under 

23 subparagraph (A); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the results of the research and 

2 development carried out under subpara3 graph (A); 

4 ‘‘(iii) any recommendations with re5 spect to those results; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) additional crops for which re7 search and development under this para8 graph is planned to be carried out.’’. 

9 (b) WINE GRAPE LOSSES DUE TO SMOKE EXPO10 SURE.—Section 522(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

11 (7 U.S.C. 1522(c)) is further amended by adding at the 

12 end the following: 

13 ‘‘(21) WINE GRAPE LOSSES DUE TO SMOKE EX14 POSURE.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

16 after the date of the enactment of this para17 graph, the Corporation shall carry out research 

18 and development, or offer to enter into 1 or 

19 more contracts with 1 or more qualified persons 

20 to carry out research and development, regard21 ing a policy to insure wine grapes (including 

22 wine grapes produced in the States of Cali23 fornia, Oregon, and Washington) against losses 

24 due to wildfire smoke exposure. 


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1 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF POLICY.—Notwith2 standing the last sentence of section 508(a)(1), 

3 and section 508(a)(2), not later than 18 

4 months after the date of the enactment of this 

5 paragraph, the Corporation shall make available 

6 a policy described in subparagraph (A) if the 

7 requirements of section 508(h) are met. 

8 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 

9 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

10 the Corporation shall submit to the Committees 

11 on Appropriations and Agriculture of the House 

12 of Representatives and the Committees on Ap13 propriations and Agriculture, Nutrition, and 

14 Forestry of the Senate a report that includes— 

15 ‘‘(i) the results of the research con16 ducted under subparagraph (A); 

17 ‘‘(ii) a description of the policies made 

18 available under this paragraph; and 

19 ‘‘(iii) the feasibility of a product that 

20 allows producers of wine grapes to claim 

21 an indemnity through post-harvest, post22 vinification testing, if such testing dem23 onstrates smoke damage that was not de24 tectable prior to harvest.’’. 


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1 (c) MUSHROOMS.—Section 522(c) of the Federal 

2 Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1522(c)) is further amend3 ed by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(22) MUSHROOMS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall 

6 carry out research and development, or offer to 

7 enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more 

8 qualified persons to carry out research and de9 velopment, regarding a policy to insure— 

10 ‘‘(i) the production of mushroom 

11 growing media; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the production of mushrooms. 

13 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF POLICY.—Notwith14 standing the second sentence of section 

15 508(a)(1), and section 508(a)(2), the Corpora16 tion shall make a policy described in subpara17 graph (A) available if the requirements of sec18 tion 508(h) are met. 

19 ‘‘(C) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT DE20 SCRIBED.—Research and development described 

21 in subparagraph (A) shall evaluate the effective22 ness of policies described in that subparagraph, 

23 including policies that— 

24 ‘‘(i) are based on the risk of— 


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1 ‘‘(I) pests, including mushroom 

2 phorid flies and sciarid flies; 

3 ‘‘(II) fungal pathogens; and 

4 ‘‘(III) viral pathogens; 

5 ‘‘(ii) consider other causes of loss ap6 plicable to mushroom compost and mush7 room production, such as— 

8 ‘‘(I) a loss of electricity due to 

9 weather; and 

10 ‘‘(II) loss of growing media due 

11 to excessive 5-year, 10-year, or 20- 

12 year rainfall events; 

13 ‘‘(iii) consider appropriate best prac14 tices to minimize the risk of loss; 

15 ‘‘(iv) consider whether to provide cov16 erage for mushrooms under 1 policy or to 

17 provide coverage for various phases of pro18 duction; 

19 ‘‘(v) have streamlined reporting and 

20 paperwork requirements that take into ac21 count short propagation schedules, variable 

22 crop years, and the variety of mushrooms 

23 that may be produced in a single facility; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(vi) provide protection for revenue 

2 losses. 

3 ‘‘(D) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 

4 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

5 the Corporation shall submit to the Committee 

6 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives 

7 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

8 and Forestry of the Senate a report that de9 scribes— 

10 ‘‘(i) the results of the research and 

11 development carried out under subpara12 graph (A); and 

13 ‘‘(ii) any recommendations with re14 spect to those results.’’. 

15 (d) STUDY ON HURRICANE INSURANCE.—Section 

16 522(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 

17 1522(c)) is further amended by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(23) STANDALONE POLICY FOR HURRICANES

20 AND TROPICAL STORMS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall 

22 carry out research and development, or offer to 

23 enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more 

24 qualified persons to conduct a study to deter25 mine the feasibility of offering insurance 


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1 against tropical storms and hurricanes made 

2 available regardless of underlying crop insur3 ance policy (or lack thereof). 

4 ‘‘(B) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

5 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

6 the Corporation shall submit to the Committee 

7 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives 

8 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

9 and Forestry of the Senate a report that de10 scribes the results of the study conducted under 

11 subparagraph (A).’’. 

12 (e) FROST OR COLD WEATHER INSURANCE.—Section 

13 522(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 

14 1522(c)) is further amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(24) FROST OR COLD WEATHER INSUR17 ANCE.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall 

19 carry out research and development, or offer to 

20 enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more 

21 qualified persons to carry out research and de22 velopment, regarding an index-based policy to 

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1 ally-available basis against losses due to a frost 

2 or cold weather event. 

3 ‘‘(B) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

4 Research and development under subparagraph 

5 (A) shall— 

6 ‘‘(i) evaluate the effectiveness of risk 

7 management tools, such as the use of an 

8 index, with respect to low frequency and 

9 catastrophic loss weather events; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) result in a policy that provides 

11 protection for at least 1 of the following: 

12 ‘‘(I) Production loss. 

13 ‘‘(II) Revenue loss. 

14 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

15 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

16 the Corporation shall submit to the Committee 

17 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives 

18 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

19 and Forestry of the Senate a report that de20 scribes— 

21 ‘‘(i) the results of the research and 

22 development carried out under this para23 graph; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) any recommendations with re25 spect to those results.’’. 


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1 (f) STUDY OF INCLUSION OF CERTAIN OILSEED

2 CROPS UNDER DOUBLE AND ROTATIONAL CROPPING

3 POLICIES.—Section 522(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance 

4 Act (7 4 U.S.C. 1522(c)) is further amended by adding 

5 at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(25) DOUBLE CROPPING AND ROTATIONAL

7 CROPPING OF CERTAIN OILSEED CROPS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF COVERED OILSEED

9 CROPS.—In this paragraph, the term ‘covered 

10 oilseed crops’ means rapeseed, canola, camelina, 

11 and other oilseed crops, as determined by the 

12 Corporation. 

13 ‘‘(B) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

14 The Corporation shall carry out research and 

15 development, or offer to enter into 1 or more 

16 contracts with 1 or more qualified persons to 

17 carry out research and development, with re18 spect to insurance policies for covered oilseed 

19 crops under double cropping and rotational 

20 cropping practices. 

21 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENTS.—The research and 

22 development carried out pursuant to subpara23 graph (B) shall be conducted in consultation 

24 with stakeholders to evaluate— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the factors impacting availability 

2 and cost of crop insurance when incor3 porating covered oilseed crops into double 

4 cropping and rotational cropping policies; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ii) the potential risk management 

7 benefits associated with incorporating cov8 ered oilseed crops into double cropping and 

9 rotational cropping policies, specifically 

10 with respect to winter planted covered oil11 seed crops, including risk management 

12 benefits to soil health, biodiversity, and the 

13 profitability of farming operations. 

14 ‘‘(D) EMPHASIS.—In awarding contracts 

15 under subparagraph (B), the Corporation may 

16 give priority to awarding contracts to qualified 

17 persons that— 

18 ‘‘(i) have previous research experience 

19 with covered oilseed crops; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) have access to a facility with the 

21 capacity to carry out the applicable re22 search. 

23 ‘‘(E) REPORT.—Not later than 13 months 

24 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

25 the Corporation shall submit to the Committee 


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1 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives 

2 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

3 and Forestry of the Senate a report that de4 scribes— 

5 ‘‘(i) the results of the research and 

6 development carried out under subpara7 graph (B); and 

8 ‘‘(ii) any recommendations with re9 spect to those results.’’. 

10 (g) HARVEST INCENTIVES.—Section 522(c) of the 

11 Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 4 U.S.C. 1522(c)) is fur12 ther amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(26) HARVEST INCENTIVES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year 

15 after the date of the enactment of this para16 graph, the Corporation shall carry out research 

17 and development, or offer to enter into 1 or 

18 more contracts with 1 or more qualified persons 

19 to carry out research and development, regard20 ing harvest incentives for policies that provide 

21 coverage against losses of revenue. 

22 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF POLICY.—Notwith23 standing the last sentence of section 508(a)(1), 

24 and section 508(a)(2), not later than 24 

25 months after the date of the enactment of this 


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1 paragraph, the Corporation shall make available 

2 a policy described in subparagraph (A) if the 

3 requirements of section 508(h) are met. 

4 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

5 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

6 the Corporation shall submit to the Committees 

7 on Appropriations and Agriculture of the House 

8 of Representatives and the Committees on Ap9 propriations and Agriculture, Nutrition, and 

10 Forestry of the Senate a report that includes— 

11 ‘‘(i) the results of the research con12 ducted under subparagraph (A); and 

13 ‘‘(ii) a description of the policies made 

14 available under this paragraph.’’. 

15 (h) REVENUE OR MORTALITY INSURANCE FOR POUL16 TRY.—Section 522(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

17 (7 U.S.C. 1522(c)) is further amended by adding at the 

18 end the following: 

19 ‘‘(27) REVENUE OR MORTALITY INSURANCE

20 FOR POULTRY.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall 

22 carry out research and development, or offer to 

23 enter into 1 or more contracts with 1 or more 

24 qualified persons to carry out research and de25 velopment, regarding an index or revenue policy 


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1 to insure poultry (including broilers, layers, pul2 lets, turkeys, ducks, pheasants, and quail) on a 

3 nationally-available basis against losses from 

4 mortality caused by naturally occurring weather 

5 or infectious disease events. 

6 ‘‘(B) RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.— 

7 Research and development under subparagraph 

8 (A) shall— 

9 ‘‘(i) evaluate the effectiveness of risk 

10 management tools, such as the use of an 

11 index, with respect to low frequency and 

12 catastrophic loss weather or zoonotic dis13 ease events; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) result in a policy that provides 

15 protection for at least 1 of the following: 

16 ‘‘(I) Mortality on an area level. 

17 ‘‘(II) Revenue on an area level. 

18 ‘‘(III) Cost of inputs on an area 

19 level. 

20 ‘‘(IV) Future revenue from loss 

21 of flock placement on an individual 

22 level. 

23 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year 

24 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

25 the Corporation shall submit to the Committee 


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1 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives 

2 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

3 and Forestry of the Senate a report that de4 scribes— 

5 ‘‘(i) the results of the research and 

6 development carried out under this para7 graph; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) any recommendations with re9 spect to those results.’’. 

10 TITLE XI—MISCELLANEOUS 

11 PROVISIONS 

12 Subtitle A—Livestock and Other 

13 Animals 

14 PART I—ANIMAL HEALTH AND PRODUCTION 

15 SEC. 11001. ANIMAL DISEASE PREVENTION AND MANAGE16 MENT. 

17 (a) NADPRP PROGRAM ACTIVITIES.—Section 

18 10409A(b)(2) of the Animal Health Protection Act (7 

19 U.S.C. 8308A(b)(2)) is amended— 

20 (1) in subparagraph (F)— 

21 (A) by striking ‘‘including training addi22 tional emergency response personnel.’’ and in23 serting the following: ‘‘including— 

24 ‘‘(i) training additional emergency re25 sponse personnel; and’’; and 


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1 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(ii) improving animal disease 

3 traceability.’’; and 

4 (2) in subparagraph (I), by inserting before the 

5 period at the end the following: ‘‘, including activi6 ties approved by the Secretary as of the date of the 

7 enactment of the Prioritizing American Farmers and 

8 Agricultural Industry Over Bureaucracy Act’’. 

9 (b) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Section 10409A(d)(1) 

10 of the Animal Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 

11 8308a(d)(1)) is amended— 

12 (1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 

13 follows: 

14 ‘‘(A) FISCAL YEARS 2025 THROUGH 2029.— 

15 Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora16 tion, the Secretary shall make available to carry 

17 out this section $233,000,000 for each of fiscal 

18 years 2025 through 2029, of which— 

19 ‘‘(i) not less than $10,000,000 shall 

20 be made available for each such fiscal year 

21 to carry out subsection (a); 

22 ‘‘(ii) not less than $70,000,000 shall 

23 be made available for each such fiscal year 

24 to carry out subsection (b); and 


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1 ‘‘(iii) not less than $153,000,000 shall 

2 be made available for each such fiscal year 

3 to carry out subsection (c).’’; and 

4 (2) in subparagraph (B)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘$30,000,000 for fiscal 

6 year 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘$75,000,000 for fis7 cal year 2025’’; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘$18,000,000’’ and insert9 ing ‘‘$45,000,000’’. 

10 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 (1) NATIONAL ANIMAL HEALTH LABORA12 TORY.—Section 10409A(d)(2)(A) of the Animal 

13 Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8308a(d)(2)(A)) is 

14 amended— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘$30,000,000’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘$45,000,000’’; and 

17 (B) by striking ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 

19 (2) NATIONAL ANIMAL DISEASE PREPAREDNESS

20 AND RESPONSE PROGRAM; NATIONAL ANIMAL VAC21 CINE AND VETERINARY COUNTERMEASURES

22 BANK.—Section 10409A(d)(2)(B) of the Animal 

23 Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8308a(d)(2)(B)) is 

24 amended by striking ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ and in25 serting ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 


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1 (3) AVAILABILITY AND PURPOSE OF FUND2 ING.—Section 10409A(e)(1) of the Animal Health 

3 Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8308a(e)(1)) is amended 

4 by striking ‘‘2019 through 2023’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘2025 through 2029’’. 

6 SEC. 11002. CATTLE FEVER TICK ERADICATION PROGRAM 

7 REVIEW AND REPORT. 

8 (a) PROGRAM REVIEW.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

10 the date of the enactment of this section, the Sec11 retary shall offer to enter into a contract with a cov12 ered institution under which the covered institution 

13 shall conduct a review of the Program. 

14 (2) REVIEW ELEMENTS.—The review conducted 

15 pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include an evalua16 tion of— 

17 (A) the effectiveness of the Program with 

18 respect to preventing and reducing the spread 

19 of tick-borne illnesses in cattle, including a re20 view of places from which the cattle fever tick 

21 has been eradicated and the resulting economic 

22 impact; 

23 (B) with respect to cattle producers— 

24 (i) the benefits of the Program; and 


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1 (ii) the burden of compliance with the 

2 Program; 

3 (C) the treatment protocols developed and 

4 implemented under the Program; and 

5 (D) the Federal and State funds allocated 

6 to support the Program for the most recent fis7 cal year, including the funds allocated to each 

8 research project associated with the Program. 

9 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

10 on which the Secretary and a covered institution enter into 

11 a contract pursuant to subsection (a)(1), the Secretary 

12 shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House 

13 of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nu14 trition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that in15 cludes— 

16 (1) the results of the review conducted pursuant 

17 to subsection (a); and 

18 (2) recommendations for improvements to the 

19 Program, including recommendations for reducing 

20 the burden of compliance with the Program with re21 spect to cattle producers. 

22 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 (1) COVERED INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘cov24 ered institution’’ means— 


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1 (A) a land-grant college or university (as 

2 defined in section 1404(13) of the National Ag3 ricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching 

4 Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103(13))); or 

5 (B) a non-land-grant college of agriculture 

6 (as defined in section 1404(14) of the National 

7 Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching 

8 Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103(14))). 

9 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘Program’’ means 

10 the Cattle Fever Tick Eradication Program carried 

11 out by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

12 Service of the Department in coordination with the 

13 Texas Animal Health Commission. 

14 SEC. 11003. DOG DETECTION TRAINING CENTER. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established a National 

16 Detector Dog Training Center (referred to in this Act as 

17 the ‘‘Center’’). 

18 (b) DUTIES.—The Center shall have the following du19 ties: 

20 (1) Training dogs for the purpose of safe21 guarding domestic agricultural and natural resources 

22 from foreign and invasive pests and diseases. 

23 (2) Training human handlers to successfully se24 lect and train dogs for the purpose described in 

25 paragraph (1). 


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1 (3) Collaborating with relevant Federal agen2 cies, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 

3 to safeguard domestic agricultural and natural re4 sources. 

5 (4) Collaborating with external stakeholders, in6 cluding State departments of agriculture, local and 

7 county agricultural officials, private sector entities, 

8 and other relevant non-Federal partners. 

9 (5) Ensuring the health and welfare of all dogs 

10 under the care of the Center, including by ensuring 

11 access to necessary veterinary care, adequate shelter, 

12 and proper nutrition. 

13 (6) Providing opportunities for private adoption 

14 of retirement-age trained dogs and dogs that do not 

15 complete training. 

16 (7) Any other duties necessary to safeguard do17 mestic agricultural and natural resources from for18 eign and invasive pests and diseases, as determined 

19 by the Secretary, acting through the Administrator 

20 of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. 

21 (c) ADDITIONAL TRAINING FACILITIES.—In addition 

22 to the Center established under subsection (a), the Sec23 retary may— 


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1 (1) establish other dog training facilities, which 

2 shall have the same duties as are specified in sub3 section (b) for the Center; and 

4 (2) enter into a cooperative agreement with the 

5 department of agriculture of a State (or political 

6 subdivision thereof) to establish an off-site training 

7 program for the purpose of providing training and 

8 technical assistance in the training of dogs, as de9 scribed in subsection (b). 

10 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, acting through 

12 the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspec13 tion Service, shall submit to Congress a report that con14 tains— 

15 (1) a description of current and emerging 

16 threats to domestic agricultural and natural re17 sources from foreign pests and diseases within the 

18 purview of the operations of the Center; 

19 (2) an examination of the role that the Center 

20 plays in the protection against foreign pests and dis21 eases; 

22 (3) a description of improvements needed in 

23 Federal programs to minimize threats from foreign 

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1 nation among the Animal and Plant Health Inspec2 tion Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, 

3 and other relevant Federal agencies; 

4 (4) recommendations to strengthen the capabili5 ties of the Center in protecting against foreign pests 

6 and diseases; 

7 (5) an evaluation of the need for, and feasibility 

8 of, additional dog detector training facilities or off9 site training options to address regional demands, 

10 taking into consideration— 

11 (A) the location of international ports of 

12 entry; 

13 (B) the volume of international passengers 

14 and cargo; and 

15 (C) regional agricultural production trends 

16 and associated pest and disease threats; and 

17 (6) recommendations to improve— 

18 (A) the dog procurement procedures of the 

19 Center; and 

20 (B) private adoption opportunities for re21 tirement-age trained dogs and dogs that do not 

22 complete the training described in subsection 

23 (b). 

24 (e) EXPIRATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority pro25 vided by this section shall expire on September 30, 2029. 


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1 SEC. 11004. REGIONALIZATION, ZONING, AND 

2 COMPARTMENTALIZATION AGREEMENTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 10405 of the Animal 

4 Health Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 8304) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub6 section (e); and 

7 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(d) ENGAGEMENT WITH KEY EXPORT MARKETS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To reduce the impact of 

11 animal disease outbreaks on United States exports, 

12 the Secretary, acting through the Administrator of 

13 the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the 

14 Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and For15 eign Agricultural Affairs, and the Administrator of 

16 the Food Safety and Inspection Service, in consulta17 tion with the United States Trade Representative, is 

18 authorized to negotiate in advance, to the extent 

19 practicable, regionalization, zoning, 

20 compartmentalization, and other agreements regard21 ing outbreaks of known animal disease threats of 

22 trade significance with the governments of countries 

23 with export markets for livestock animals or animal 

24 products from the United States. 


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1 ‘‘(2) RESEARCH.—A negotiation carried out 

2 under paragraph (1) should seek to take into ac3 count accepted global research advances.’’. 

4 (b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec5 tion may be construed— 

6 (1) to limit the ability of the United States 

7 Trade Representative to negotiate trade agreements; 

8 or 

9 (2) to require the United States Trade Rep10 resentative to condition other trade agreements on 

11 the inclusion of language relating to reducing the 

12 impact of animal disease outbreaks on United States 

13 exports, as described in subsection (d)(1) of section 

14 10405 of the Animal Health Protection Act (7 

15 U.S.C. 8304) (as inserted by subsection (a)(2)). 

16 (c) NOTIFICATION SYSTEM.—The Secretary shall 

17 promulgate a regulation to require that, in the case of any 

18 language removed from the Import and Export Library 

19 of the Food Safety and Inspection Service, the Adminis20 trator of the Food Safety and Inspection Service shall di21 rectly notify each State department of agriculture, each 

22 lead State agency for animal disease, and any State and 

23 national producer organizations representing impacted 

24 livestock producers not later than 3 days after such re25 moval. 


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1 SEC. 11005. IMPORTATION OF LIVE DOGS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Animal Health Protection 

3 Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.) is amended by inserting after 

4 section 10404 (7 U.S.C. 8303) the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 10404A. IMPORTATION OF LIVE DOGS. 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) COMPENSATION.—The term ‘compensa8 tion’ means any act, consideration, or thing of value 

9 received by a person directly, including cash or 

10 noncash benefits, cost-avoidance, obtaining positive 

11 or avoiding negative publicity, an exchange of serv12 ices, or maintaining a license issued under any local, 

13 State, or Federal government authority. 

14 ‘‘(2) IMPORTER.—The term ‘importer’ means 

15 any person who transports or causes the transpor16 tation of a dog into the United States from a foreign 

17 country. 

18 ‘‘(3) IMPORT TRANSPORTER.—The term ‘import 

19 transporter’ means any person or entity that— 

20 ‘‘(A) receives an imported dog from any 

21 importer, dealer, research facility, exhibitor, op22 erator of an auction sale, or department, agen23 cy, or instrumentality of the United States or 

24 of any State or local government; and 

25 ‘‘(B) receives compensation for moving 

26 such dog in commerce. 


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1 ‘‘(4) TRANSFER.—The term ‘transfer’ means a 

2 change of ownership or control of an imported dog 

3 to another person, including by sale, adoption, ex4 change, or donation. 

5 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), no person shall import a dog into the 

8 United States unless prior to transport to the 

9 United States, the Secretary receives electronic doc10 umentation necessary, as determined by the Sec11 retary, to demonstrate that the dog— 

12 ‘‘(A) is in good health; 

13 ‘‘(B) has received all necessary vaccina14 tions and internal and external parasite treat15 ment, and demonstrated negative test results, 

16 as required by the Secretary and evidenced by 

17 a certificate that— 

18 ‘‘(i) is issued by a licensed veteri19 narian accredited by a competent veteri20 nary authority recognized by the Secretary; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(ii) is endorsed by that authority in 

23 a manner representing that the veteri24 narian issuing the certificate was author25 ized to do so; 


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1 ‘‘(C) is officially identified by a permanent 

2 method approved by the Secretary; and 

3 ‘‘(D) in the case that the dog is intended 

4 for transfer— 

5 ‘‘(i) is at least 6 months old; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) is accompanied by an import per7 mit issued by the Secretary under this Act. 

8 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary, by regula9 tion, shall provide an exception to any requirement 

10 under this Act in any case in which a dog is im11 ported for purposes of transfer— 

12 ‘‘(A) as a personal pet of United States or13 igin returning to the United States; 

14 ‘‘(B) as a United States military working 

15 dog or contracted working dog supporting a 

16 military mission or tasking; 

17 ‘‘(C) for research purposes; 

18 ‘‘(D) for veterinary treatment which is 

19 paid for by the importer, subject to the condi20 tion that the dog— 

21 ‘‘(i) is taken directly to a veterinary 

22 facility for treatment with appropriate 

23 quarantine until the dog meets the criteria 

24 described in paragraph (1); and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) is then exported to its country of 

2 origin; or 

3 ‘‘(E) in the case of a dog that is less than 

4 6 months old, for lawful importation into the 

5 State of Hawaii from the British Isles, Aus6 tralia, Guam, or New Zealand in compliance 

7 with the regulations of the State of Hawaii and 

8 the other requirements of this section, if the 

9 dog is not transported out of the State of Ha10 waii for transfer at less than 6 months of age. 

11 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION AND REGULATIONS.—Not 

12 later than 18 months after the date of enactment of the 

13 Prioritizing American Farmers and Agricultural Industry 

14 Over Bureaucracy Act, the Secretary, in consultation with 

15 the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Sec16 retary of Commerce, the Secretary of Homeland Security, 

17 and the Secretary of Transportation, shall promulgate 

18 such regulations as the Secretary determines necessary to 

19 implement and enforce this section, including regula20 tions— 

21 ‘‘(1) to facilitate electronic submission and 

22 interagency sharing of all documentation required 

23 prior to the importation of a dog into the United 

24 States under subsection (b)(1); 


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1 ‘‘(2) to establish any necessary post-arrival 

2 verification processes for imported dogs; 

3 ‘‘(3) to ensure the denial of entry into the 

4 United States of any dog attempted to be imported 

5 into the United States in violation of subsection 

6 (b)(1); 

7 ‘‘(4) to provide that each importer, import 

8 transporter, intermediate handler, or carrier receiv9 ing a certificate of veterinary inspection required 

10 under this section shall submit a copy of the certifi11 cate to the Secretary, who shall record the informa12 tion in a centralized, publicly available database and, 

13 upon request by a State veterinarian, share the in14 formation with such State veterinarian; and 

15 ‘‘(5) to determine and establish such fees for 

16 the verification of documentation and issuance of 

17 permits required under subsection (b)(1) as may be 

18 necessary to fund the implementation and enforce19 ment of this section. 

20 ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in sub21 section (c)(5) shall be construed as limiting the availability 

22 of funding made available under section 10417 to carry 

23 out this section. 

24 ‘‘(e) ENFORCEMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall have 

2 the authority granted under section 10414 to en3 force this section. 

4 ‘‘(2) PENALTIES.—An importer or import 

5 transporter that fails to comply with this section 

6 shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) be subject to penalties under section 

8 10414; and 

9 ‘‘(B) provide, as the Secretary may deter10 mine, at the expense of the importer or import 

11 transporter, for— 

12 ‘‘(i) the care (including appropriate 

13 veterinary care), forfeiture, quarantine, 

14 and removal from the United States of 

15 each applicable dog; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the return of each applicable dog 

17 to its place of export, with due care for the 

18 welfare of each applicable dog.’’. 

19 (b) TRANSITION PERIOD.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the transition pe21 riod, regulations promulgated under section 18 of 

22 the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2148) (as in ef23 fect on the day before the date of enactment of this 

24 Act) shall continue to apply to the extent that such 

25 regulations do not conflict with section 10404A of 


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1 the Animal Health Protection Act (as inserted by 

2 subsection (a)). 

3 (2) TRANSITION PERIOD DEFINED.—In this 

4 subsection, the term ‘‘transition period’’ means the 

5 period beginning on the date of enactment of this 

6 Act and ending on the date on which final regula7 tions are promulgated under such section 10404A. 

8 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 18 of the 

9 Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2148) is repealed. 

10 SEC. 11006. SHEEP PRODUCTION AND MARKETING GRANT 

11 PROGRAM. 

12 Section 209(c) of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 

13 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1627a(c)) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking ‘‘$2,000,000 for fiscal year 

15 2019, and’’; and 

16 (2) by inserting ‘‘, and $3,000,000 for fiscal 

17 year 2025’’ after ‘‘fiscal year 2024’’. 

18 SEC. 11007. ENSURING THE FREE MOVEMENT OF LIVE19 STOCK-DERIVED PRODUCTS IN INTERSTATE 

20 COMMERCE. 

21 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to— 

22 (1) protect the free movement in interstate 

23 commerce of products derived from covered live24 stock; 


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1 (2) encourage a national market of such prod2 ucts; 

3 (3) ensure that producers of covered livestock 

4 are not subject to a patchwork of State laws restrict5 ing access to a national market; and 

6 (4) ensure that the United States continues to 

7 uphold its international trade obligations. 

8 (b) IN GENERAL.—Producers of covered livestock 

9 have a Federal right to raise and market their covered 

10 livestock in interstate commerce and therefore no State 

11 or subdivision thereof may enact or enforce, directly or 

12 indirectly, a condition or standard on the production of 

13 covered livestock other than for covered livestock phys14 ically raised in such State or subdivision. 

15 (c) PROTECTING INTERSTATE COMMERCE.—Pro16 ducers of covered livestock have a Federal right to raise 

17 and market their covered livestock in interstate commerce 

18 and therefore no State or subdivision thereof may enact 

19 or enforce, directly or indirectly, as a condition for sale 

20 or consumption, any condition or standard of production 

21 on products derived from covered livestock not physically 

22 raised in such State or subdivision that is in addition to, 

23 or different from, the conditions or standards of produc24 tion in the State in which the production occurs. 

25 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) COVERED LIVESTOCK.—The term ‘‘covered 

2 livestock’’— 

3 (A) means any domestic animal raised for 

4 the purpose of— 

5 (i) slaughter for human consumption; 

6 or 

7 (ii) producing products manufactured 

8 for human consumption which are derived 

9 from the processing of milk, including fluid 

10 milk products; and 

11 (B) does not include domestic animals 

12 raised for the primary purpose of egg produc13 tion. 

14 (2) PRODUCTION.—The term ‘‘production’’— 

15 (A) means the raising (including breeding) 

16 of covered livestock; and 

17 (B) does not include the movement, har18 vesting, or further processing of covered live19 stock. 

20 SEC. 11008. REPORT ON SUPPORT FOR LIVESTOCK AND 

21 POULTRY PRODUCERS DURING A FOREIGN 

22 ANIMAL DISEASE OUTBREAK. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months after the 

24 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall sub25 mit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of RepVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Jan 29, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00802 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10529.IH H10529

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1 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

2 and Forestry of the Senate a report on the Department’s 

3 preparedness to support livestock producers and poultry 

4 growers facing economic losses in the event of an outbreak 

5 of a foreign animal disease. 

6 (b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under sub7 section (a) shall include, with respect to the Department’s 

8 ability to protect producers and growers from significant 

9 economic losses as a result of a foreign animal disease— 

10 (1) an assessment of— 

11 (A) existing Federal programs, including 

12 catastrophic risk management tools, indemnity, 

13 direct payments, and herd buyouts; and 

14 (B) the Department’s capacity to utilize 

15 such programs to provide benefits to producers 

16 and growers experiencing economic losses as a 

17 result of having to sell livestock and poultry at 

18 a reduced price, having to quarantine, treat, de19 stroy, or dispose of animals, or as a result of 

20 catastrophic market conditions; 

21 (2) a determination of gaps that exist in the 

22 Department’s ability to provide economic support for 

23 producers and growers suffering such losses; and 

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1 ing to protecting producers and growers from sig2 nificant economic losses related to a foreign animal 

3 disease outbreak. 

4 (c) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

6 the date of enactment of this Act, for purposes of 

7 facilitating the preparation of the report submitted 

8 under subsection (a), the relevant Department offi9 cials described in paragraph (2) shall inform the 

10 Secretary of the information described in subsection 

11 (b). 

12 (2) RELEVANT DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS DE13 SCRIBED.—The relevant Department officials de14 scribed in this paragraph are the following: 

15 (A) The Under Secretary for Farm Pro16 duction and Conservation. 

17 (B) The Under Secretary for Food, Nutri18 tion and Consumer Services. 

19 (C) The Under Secretary for Rural Devel20 opment. 

21 (D) The Under Secretary for Food Safety. 

22 (E) The Under Secretary for Trade and 

23 Foreign Agricultural Affairs. 

24 (F) Other officials, as specified by the Sec25 retary. 


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1 PART II—MEAT AND POULTRY PROCESSING AND 

2 INSPECTION 

3 SEC. 11111. AMPLIFYING PROCESSING OF LIVESTOCK IN 

4 THE UNITED STATES (A–PLUS). 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall revise 

7 section 201.67 of title 9, Code of Federal Regulations, as 

8 in effect on January 1, 2024, to specify that— 

9 (1) market agencies may have an ownership in10 terest in, finance, or participate in the management 

11 or operation of, a packer, so long as such packer— 

12 (A) with respect to cattle and sheep, has a 

13 cumulative slaughter capacity of less than— 

14 (i) 2,000 animals per day; or 

15 (ii) 700,000 animals per year; and 

16 (B) with respect to hogs, has a cumulative 

17 slaughter capacity of less than— 

18 (i) 10,000 animals per day; or 

19 (ii) 3,000,000 animals per year; and 

20 (2) market agencies that have an ownership in21 terest in, finance, or participate in the management 

22 or operation of, a packer shall disclose to sellers of 

23 livestock the existence of such ownership interest, fi24 nancial relationship, or participation. 

25 (b) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall 

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1 retary to adopt or enforce rules or regulations under the 

2 Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) 

3 related to the protection of producers, competition, market 

4 integrity, or the prevention of conflicts of interest. 

5 SEC. 11112. HAZARD ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL CONTROL 

6 POINT GUIDANCE AND RESOURCES FOR 

7 SMALL AND VERY SMALL POULTRY AND 

8 MEAT ESTABLISHMENTS. 

9 (a) MEAT ESTABLISHMENTS.—The Federal Meat In10 spection Act is amended by inserting after section 25 (21 

11 U.S.C. 625) the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 26. SMALL AND VERY SMALL ESTABLISHMENT GUID13 ANCE AND RESOURCES. 

14 ‘‘(a) STUDIES; MODEL PLANS.—Not later than 18 

15 months after the date of the enactment of this section, 

16 the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 

17 make publicly available— 

18 ‘‘(1) a list of scientific studies (which the Sec19 retary shall update as necessary) for use by small 

20 establishments and very small establishments in de21 veloping a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control 

22 Points plan; 

23 ‘‘(2) guidelines relating to best practices and 

24 techniques by small establishments and very small 


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1 establishments in the production of raw or further 

2 processed meat and meat food products; and 

3 ‘‘(3) scale-appropriate model Hazard Analysis 

4 and Critical Control Points plans for small establish5 ments and very small establishments, including 

6 model plans for— 

7 ‘‘(A) slaughter-only establishments; 

8 ‘‘(B) processing-only establishments; and 

9 ‘‘(C) slaughter and processing establish10 ments. 

11 ‘‘(b) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 2 years after the 

12 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall pub13 lish a guidance document, after notice and an opportunity 

14 for public comment, providing information on the require15 ments that need to be met for small establishments and 

16 very small establishments to develop, pursuant to this Act, 

17 a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points plan. 

18 ‘‘(c) DATA CONFIDENTIALITY.—In carrying out this 

19 section, the Secretary shall not publish confidential busi20 ness information of any meat processing establishment, in21 cluding a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points 

22 plan of a meat processing establishment. 

23 ‘‘(d) SMALL ESTABLISHMENT AND VERY SMALL ES24 TABLISHMENT DEFINED.—In this section, the terms 

25 ‘small establishment’ and ‘very small establishment’ have 


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1 the meanings given the terms ‘smaller establishment’ and 

2 ‘very small establishment’, respectively, in the final rule 

3 entitled ‘Pathogen Reduction; Hazard Analysis and Crit4 ical Control Point (HACCP) Systems’ (61 Fed. Reg. 

5 38806 (July 25, 1996)) (or successor regulations).’’. 

6 (b) POULTRY ESTABLISHMENTS.—The Poultry Prod7 ucts Inspection Act is amended by inserting after section 

8 14 (21 U.S.C. 463) the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 14A. SMALL AND VERY SMALL ESTABLISHMENT GUID10 ANCE AND RESOURCES. 

11 ‘‘(a) STUDIES; MODEL PLANS.—Not later than 18 

12 months after the date of enactment of this section, the 

13 Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, make 

14 publicly available— 

15 ‘‘(1) a list of scientific studies (which the Sec16 retary shall update as necessary) for use by small 

17 establishments and very small establishments in de18 veloping a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control 

19 Points plan; 

20 ‘‘(2) guidelines relating to best practices and 

21 techniques used by small establishments and very 

22 small establishments in the production of raw or fur23 ther processed poultry products; and 

24 ‘‘(3) scale-appropriate model Hazard Analysis 

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1 ments and very small establishments, including 

2 model plans for— 

3 ‘‘(A) slaughter-only establishments; 

4 ‘‘(B) processing-only establishments; and 

5 ‘‘(C) slaughter and processing establish6 ments. 

7 ‘‘(b) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 2 years after the 

8 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall pub9 lish a guidance document, after notice and an opportunity 

10 for public comment, providing information on the require11 ments that need to be met for small establishments and 

12 very small establishments to develop a Hazard Analysis 

13 and Critical Control Points plan pursuant to this Act. 

14 ‘‘(c) DATA CONFIDENTIALITY.—In carrying out this 

15 section, the Secretary shall not publish confidential busi16 ness information of any poultry processing establishment, 

17 including a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points 

18 plan of a poultry processing establishment. 

19 ‘‘(d) SMALL ESTABLISHMENT AND VERY SMALL ES20 TABLISHMENT DEFINED.—In this section, the terms 

21 ‘small establishment’ and ‘very small establishment’ have 

22 the meanings given the terms ‘smaller establishment’ and 

23 ‘very small establishment’, respectively, in the final rule 

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1 ical Control Point (HACCP) Systems’ (61 Fed. Reg. 

2 38806 (July 25, 1996)) (or successor regulations).’’. 

3 SEC. 11113. OUTREACH ON COOPERATIVE INTERSTATE 

4 SHIPMENT. 

5 (a) MEAT.—Section 501 of the Federal Meat Inspec6 tion Act (21 U.S.C. 683) is amended by adding at the 

7 end the following: 

8 ‘‘(k) FEDERAL OUTREACH.—In each of fiscal years 

9 2025 through 2029, the Secretary shall conduct outreach 

10 to States that— 

11 ‘‘(1) have a State meat inspection program in 

12 effect pursuant to section 301; and 

13 ‘‘(2) do not have a selected establishment.’’. 

14 (b) POULTRY.—Section 31 of the Poultry Products 

15 Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 472) is amended by adding at 

16 the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(j) FEDERAL OUTREACH.—In each of fiscal years 

18 2024 through 2029, the Secretary shall conduct outreach 

19 to States that— 

20 ‘‘(1) have a State poultry product inspection 

21 program in effect pursuant to section 5; and 

22 ‘‘(2) do not have a selected establishment.’’. 

23 (c) REPORT.—At the conclusion of each of fiscal 

24 years 2024 through 2029, the Secretary shall submit a 

25 report detailing the activities and results of the outreach 


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1 conducted during that fiscal year under subsection (k) of 

2 section 501 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 

3 683) and subsection (j) of section 31 of the Poultry Prod4 ucts Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 472), as added by sub5 sections (a) and (b), to— 

6 (1) the Committee on Agriculture of the House 

7 of Representatives; 

8 (2) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

9 and Forestry of the Senate; 

10 (3) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

11 House of Representatives; and 

12 (4) the Committee on Appropriations of the 

13 Senate. 

14 SEC. 11114. PILOT PROGRAM TO SUPPORT CUSTOM 

15 SLAUGHTER ESTABLISHMENTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

17 (1) STATE OPERATED PILOT PROGRAM.—Upon 

18 the receipt of an application from a custom exempt 

19 facility and subject to the requirements specified in 

20 subsection (c), a State department of agriculture 

21 may operate a pilot program to allow such custom 

22 facility to sell slaughtered meat and meat food prod23 ucts (referred to in this section as ‘‘meat products’’) 

24 directly to consumers within the State in which the 


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1 facility is located in accordance with the pilot pro2 gram. 

3 (2) LACK OF A STATE PILOT PROGRAM.—If a 

4 State department of agriculture does not elect to op5 erate a pilot program, the Secretary shall, upon re6 quest from a custom exempt facility in such a State, 

7 operate a pilot program administered by the Sec8 retary for that State in accordance with this section. 

9 (b) ALLOWABLE NUMBER OF FACILITIES.— 

10 (1) INITIAL APPROVAL.—Except as provided in 

11 paragraph (2)— 

12 (A) a State department of agriculture may 

13 approve not more than 5 facilities in such State 

14 for participation in a pilot program established 

15 under subsection (a)(1); and 

16 (B) the Secretary may approve not more 

17 than 10 facilities to participate in all pilot pro18 grams established under subsection (a)(2). 

19 (2) SUBSEQUENT APPROVAL OF FACILITIES.— 

20 Not less than 2 years after the establishment of a 

21 pilot program, a State department of agriculture or 

22 the Secretary may, if no product produced at a facil23 ity that was initially approved under paragraph (1) 

24 for participation in such pilot program has been sub25 ject to an emergency action under subsection (f) 


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1 during the 2-year period following such establish2 ment, approve— 

3 (A) in the case of a State department of 

4 agriculture, not more than 5 additional facilities 

5 in the respective State; and 

6 (B) in the case of the Secretary, not more 

7 than 10 additional facilities in all States. 

8 (c) PILOT PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS.—A pilot pro9 gram established under this section shall, at a minimum, 

10 require— 

11 (1) that meat products sold under the pilot pro12 gram are— 

13 (A) sold directly to consumers within the 

14 State from— 

15 (i) the owner of the animals from 

16 which such meat products are derived; or 

17 (ii) the custom exempt facility at 

18 which the meat products were processed; 

19 (B) not eligible for re-sale; and 

20 (C) clearly labeled to indicate— 

21 (i) the name and address of the facil22 ity at which the meat products were proc23 essed; 


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1 (ii) the name and address of the 

2 owner of the animals from which such 

3 meat products are derived; 

4 (iii) the location where animals from 

5 which such meat products are derived were 

6 raised; 

7 (iv) the date of slaughter of such ani8 mals and the period of time over which the 

9 owner raised such animals; 

10 (v) that such meat products were not 

11 subject to Federal inspection; and 

12 (vi) that such meat products shall not 

13 be resold; 

14 (2) that custom exempt facilities participating 

15 in the pilot program comply with— 

16 (A) Public Law 85–765 (7 U.S.C. 1901 et 

17 seq.; commonly known as the ‘‘Humane Meth18 ods of Slaughter Act of 1958’’); 

19 (B) applicable State and local laws; 

20 (C) section 23(d) of the Federal Meat In21 spection Act (21 U.S.C. 623(d)); and 

22 (D) Federal regulations pertaining to— 

23 (i) sanitation standards and record 

24 keeping requirements for custom exempt 

25 facilities; and 


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1 (ii) the handling and disposition of 

2 specified risk materials; 

3 (3) that custom exempt facilities participating 

4 in the pilot program be subject to onsite inspection 

5 by the Secretary to ensure compliance with the re6 quirements specified in paragraphs (1) and (2); and 

7 (4) that custom exempt facilities participating 

8 in the pilot program be subject to onsite inspection 

9 at least annually by the local authority responsible 

10 for restaurant inspections or the State department 

11 of agriculture. 

12 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 90 days after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

14 issue, and make publicly available, guidance for participa15 tion in a pilot program established pursuant to this sec16 tion. 

17 (e) INELIGIBILITY.—An establishment subject to in18 spection by the Secretary under the Federal Meat Inspec19 tion Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or operating pursuant 

20 to a State meat inspection program authorized under sec21 tion 301 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 

22 661) shall not be eligible to participate in a pilot program 

23 established pursuant to this section. 

24 (f) AUTHORITY FOR EMERGENCY ACTION.—If the 

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1 duced at a custom exempt facility participating in a pilot 

2 program established pursuant to this section is adulter3 ated, the Secretary— 

4 (1) shall, pursuant to the Federal Meat Inspec5 tion Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), take such actions 

6 as may be necessary to address the risk to public 

7 health posed by such products; and 

8 (2) may terminate the participation of a custom 

9 exempt facility in a pilot program established pursu10 ant to this section. 

11 (g) REPORT REQUIRED.— 

12 (1) REPORTS BY STATE DEPARTMENTS OF AG13 RICULTURE TO SECRETARY.—Beginning September 

14 30, 2025, and each fiscal year thereafter until Sep15 tember 30, 2029, each State department of agri16 culture operating a pilot program pursuant to this 

17 section shall submit to the Secretary a report detail18 ing, with respect to each such pilot program within 

19 the relevant State for the preceding fiscal year— 

20 (A) the number and location of persons or 

21 custom exempt facilities selling meat products 

22 under each such pilot program; 

23 (B) the outcomes of each such pilot pro24 gram; and 


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1 (C) any instances in which a meat product 

2 was subject to an emergency action under sub3 section (f). 

4 (2) REPORT BY SECRETARY TO CONGRESS.— 

5 Not later than 2 years after initiating a pilot pro6 gram under this section, the Secretary shall submit 

7 to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 

8 Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, 

9 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report de10 tailing— 

11 (A) the information received from partici12 pating State departments of agriculture under 

13 paragraph (1); and 

14 (B) for any custom exempt facilities par15 ticipating in a pilot program established by the 

16 Secretary pursuant to subsection (a)(2)— 

17 (i) the number and location of persons 

18 or custom exempt facilities selling products 

19 pursuant to such pilot program; 

20 (ii) the outcomes of such pilot pro21 gram; and 

22 (iii) any instances in which a meat 

23 product was subject to an emergency ac24 tion under subsection (f). 


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1 (h) CUSTOM EXEMPT FACILITY DEFINED.—In this 

2 section, the term ‘‘custom exempt facility’’ means an es3 tablishment engaged in the slaughter of animals and the 

4 preparation of the carcasses, parts thereof, meat, and 

5 meat food products for commerce that is not subject to 

6 the Federal inspection requirements under title I of the 

7 Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). 

8 (i) SUNSET.—A State and the Secretary may not op9 erate a pilot program under this section on or after Sep10 tember 30, 2029, and no facility that is exempt from in11 spection under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 

12 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) pursuant to this section shall be ex13 empt from that inspection on or after September 30, 

14 2029. 

15 Subtitle B—Department of Agri16 culture Reorganization Act of 

17 1994 

18 SEC. 11201. OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY. 

19 Section 221 of the Department of Agriculture Reor20 ganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6922) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (d)— 

22 (A) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

23 the end; 

24 (B) by redesignating paragraph (8) as 

25 paragraph (9); and 


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1 (C) by inserting after paragraph (7) the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(8) conducting annual cross-sector crisis sim4 ulation exercises related to a food-related emergency 

5 or disruption; and’’; and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(f) DETAILEES.—The Secretary may detail employ8 ees of the Department of Agriculture to, and accept em9 ployees detailed from, the intelligence community (as de10 fined in section 3 of the National Security Act of 1947) 

11 to assist in carrying out the duties of the Office of Home12 land Security. 

13 ‘‘(g) RISK ASSESSMENTS AND REPORTS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) RISK ASSESSMENTS.—Not later than 1 

15 year after the date of enactment of the Prioritizing 

16 American Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over 

17 Bureaucracy Act, and not less than every 2 years 

18 thereafter, the Secretary shall conduct an assess19 ment of risks and security vulnerabilities to the food 

20 and agriculture critical infrastructure sector, includ21 ing— 

22 ‘‘(A) naturally occurring, unintentional, or 

23 intentional threats, including chemical, biologi24 cal, cybersecurity, or bioterrorism attacks; 

25 ‘‘(B) influence of state-owned enterprise; 


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1 ‘‘(C) control of and access to agricultural 

2 data; 

3 ‘‘(D) foreign acquisition of intellectual 

4 property, agricultural assets, and land; 

5 ‘‘(E) agricultural input shortages and de6 pendence on foreign-sourced inputs; 

7 ‘‘(F) supply chain and trade disruptions; 

8 ‘‘(G) science and technology cooperation; 

9 ‘‘(H) unequal investments in research, de10 velopment, and commercialization; 

11 ‘‘(I) incongruent regulatory policies; and 

12 ‘‘(J) any other vulnerabilities identified by 

13 the Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(2) BRIEFING AND REPORT.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 

16 days after the completion of a risk assessment 

17 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall pro18 vide a briefing on the results of the risk assess19 ment and submit to the Committee on Agri20 culture and the Committee on Homeland Secu21 rity of the House of Representatives and the 

22 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For23 estry and the Committee on Homeland Security 

24 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate a re25 port that includes— 


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1 ‘‘(i) an assessment of any gaps or lim2 itations in national security efforts related 

3 to the food and agriculture critical infra4 structure sector; 

5 ‘‘(ii) any actions taken by the Sec6 retary to address any gaps or limitations 

7 identified under clause (i), including 

8 through interagency coordination, threat 

9 information sharing, and stakeholder out10 reach; 

11 ‘‘(iii) any recommendations for admin12 istrative, regulatory, or legislative actions 

13 that can be taken to reduce any gaps or 

14 limitations identified under clause (i), in15 cluding— 

16 ‘‘(I) recommendations to reduce 

17 the dependence on foreign-source in18 puts necessary for the food and agri19 culture critical infrastructure sector; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(II) recommendations to ad22 dress the cybersecurity threats to, and 

23 security vulnerabilities in, the food 

24 and agriculture critical infrastructure 

25 sector; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) resources the Secretary requires 

2 to address current and future national se3 curity vulnerabilities related to the food 

4 and agriculture critical infrastructure sec5 tor. 

6 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTION FROM ACCESS TO CON7 GRESSIONALLY MANDATED REPORTS ACT.—A 

8 report required under subparagraph (A) shall 

9 be exempt from the requirements of the Access 

10 to Congressionally Mandated Reports Act (sub11 title D of title VII of Public Law 117–263; 136 

12 Stat. 3677).’’. 

13 SEC. 11202. FARM SERVICE AGENCY. 

14 (a) FUNCTIONS.—Section 226(b) of the Department 

15 of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 

16 6932(b)) is amended— 

17 (1) by striking paragraph (4); and 

18 (2) by redesignating paragraph (5) as para19 graph (4). 

20 (b) SPECIAL CONCURRENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR

21 CERTAIN FUNCTIONS.—Section 226(c) of the Department 

22 of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 

23 6932(c)) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph 

24 (1) by striking ‘‘the programs specified in subsection 

25 (b)(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘any conservation programs that are 


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1 under the jurisdiction of the Farm Service Agency pursu2 ant to subsection (b)’’. 

3 SEC. 11203. OFFICE OF PARTNERSHIPS AND PUBLIC EN4 GAGEMENT. 

5 Section 226B(f)(3)(B) of the Department of Agri6 culture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 

7 6934(f)(3)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘2023’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘2029’’. 

9 SEC. 11204. NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERV10 ICE. 

11 Section 228 of the Department of Agriculture Reor12 ganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6936) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (b)— 

14 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘, except 

15 subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D of such 

16 title’’; and 

17 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘, except 

18 functions under subchapter B of chapter 1 of 

19 subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act 

20 of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.)’’; and 

21 (2) in subsection (g)(3), by striking ‘‘2023’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 11205. BURDEN OF PROOF FOR NATIONAL APPEALS 

2 DIVISION HEARINGS. 

3 Section 277(c)(4) of the Department of Agriculture 

4 Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6997(c)(4)) is 

5 amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(4) BURDEN OF PROOF.—The agency shall 

7 bear the burden of proving by substantial evidence 

8 that the adverse decision of the agency was valid.’’. 

9 SEC. 11206. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

10 Section 296(b) of the Department of Agriculture Re11 organization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)) is amended 

12 by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(11) The authority of the Secretary to carry 

14 out the amendments made to this title by the 

15 Prioritizing American Farmers and Agricultural In16 dustry Over Bureaucracy Act.’’. 

17 SEC. 11207. FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICE OF TRIBAL RELA18 TIONS. 

19 Section 309 of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform 

20 and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 

21 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6921) is amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (a)— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘shall advise’’ and all that 

24 follows through the period at the end and in25 serting ‘‘shall—’’; and 

26 (B) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(1) advise the Secretary on policies related to 

2 Indian tribes; 

3 ‘‘(2) oversee— 

4 ‘‘(A) each self-determination contract (as 

5 defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Deter6 mination and Education Assistance Act (25 

7 U.S.C. 5304)) entered into between the Sec8 retary and a tribal organization; and 

9 ‘‘(B) each self-governance compact (as de10 fined in section 401 of such Act (25 U.S.C. 

11 5361)) entered into between the Secretary and 

12 an Indian tribe; and 

13 ‘‘(3) carry out such other functions as the Sec14 retary considers appropriate.’’; and 

15 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by striking ‘‘this sub16 section’’ and inserting ‘‘this section’’. 

17 SEC. 11208. OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN. 

18 Title III of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and 

19 Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 

20 U.S.C. 2231b et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 310. OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN. 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days after 

24 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 

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1 man (in this section referred to as the ‘Office’). The Office 

2 shall be independent of Department agencies and offices. 

3 ‘‘(b) OMBUDSMAN.—The Office shall be headed by an 

4 Ombudsman that shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) be considered a senior official; and 

6 ‘‘(2) have a background in civil rights enforce7 ment. 

8 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—The functions of the Office shall 

9 be to— 

10 ‘‘(1) assist producers and other customers of 

11 Department programs in navigating the civil rights 

12 review process; 

13 ‘‘(2) ensure that participants (as defined in sec14 tion 271) are aware of the appeals process under 

15 subtitle H of title II, including informal hearings 

16 under section 275; 

17 ‘‘(3) promote awareness of the Office and its 

18 responsibilities among producers and other cus19 tomers of Department programs; and 

20 ‘‘(4) raise issues and concerns with respect to, 

21 and make recommendations to the Secretary about, 

22 equitable access or implementation of Department 

23 programs. 

24 ‘‘(d) ACCESS TO INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall 

25 establish procedures to provide the Ombudsman access to 


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1 all departmental records necessary to execute the func2 tions of the Office under subsection (d) not later than 60 

3 days after a request from the Ombudsman for such infor4 mation. 

5 ‘‘(e) EFFECT ON PROCEDURES FOR GRIEVANCES, 

6 APPEALS, OR ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.—The estab7 lishment of the Office shall not affect any procedures for 

8 grievances, appeals, or administrative matters in any other 

9 provision of this Act, any other provision of law, or any 

10 other Federal regulation. 

11 ‘‘(f) ANNUAL REPORT.—Beginning not later than 1 

12 year after the date of enactment of this section, and annu13 ally thereafter, the Ombudsman shall prepare and submit 

14 to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep15 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

16 and Forestry of the Senate a report on— 

17 ‘‘(1) the activities carried out by the Office; and 

18 ‘‘(2) the findings and recommendation of the 

19 Office with respect to equitable access or implemen20 tation of Department programs. 

21 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 to carry out 

23 this section for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.’’. 


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1 Subtitle C—National Security 

2 SEC. 11301. AGRICULTURAL FOREIGN INVESTMENT DIS3 CLOSURE IMPROVEMENTS. 

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

5 (1) AFIDA.—The term ‘‘AFIDA’’ means the 

6 Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 

7 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 

8 (2) FPAC–BC.—The term ‘‘FPAC–BC’’ means 

9 the Farm Production and Conservation Business 

10 Center of the Department of Agriculture. 

11 (b) MOU WITH CFIUS.—Not later than 1 year after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall enter 

13 into 1 or more memoranda of understanding with the 

14 Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States 

15 under which the Secretary shall provide the Committee 

16 with all relevant information relating to reports on foreign 

17 ownership of United States agricultural land submitted to 

18 the Secretary under section 2 of AFIDA (7 U.S.C. 3501), 

19 including information on— 

20 (1) each report submitted to the Secretary; and 

21 (2) with respect to each such report, the iden22 tity of the person submitting the report and the date 

23 of submission. 

24 (c) AFIDA HANDBOOK UPDATES.— 


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1 (1) FIRST UPDATE.—Not later than 1 year 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec3 retary shall— 

4 (A) update the most recent version of the 

5 Farm Service Agency handbook titled ‘‘Foreign 

6 Investment Disclosure’’ as determined nec7 essary by the Secretary for the effective imple8 mentation of AFIDA; and 

9 (B) incorporate in such update the rec10 ommendations made by the report of the Gov11 ernment Accountability Office titled ‘‘Foreign 

12 Investments in U.S. Agricultural Land: En13 hancing Efforts to Collect, Track, and Share 

14 Key Information Could Better Identify National 

15 Security Risks’’ and dated January 18, 2024. 

16 (2) SUBSEQUENT UPDATES.—After updating 

17 the handbook described in subparagraph (A) of 

18 paragraph (1) under that paragraph, the Secretary 

19 shall carry out an update of that handbook every 10 

20 years thereafter, including by incorporating any rec21 ommendations of the Government Accountability Of22 fice. 

23 (d) CIVIL PENALTIES.—Section 3 of the Agricultural 

24 Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 

25 3502) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub2 section (c); 

3 (2) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding 

4 paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(a) If the’’ and all that 

5 follows through ‘‘Any such civil penalty shall be re6 coverable’’ and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A person shall be subject to a 

8 civil penalty imposed by the Secretary if the Secretary de9 termines that the person— 

10 ‘‘(1) has failed to submit a report in accordance 

11 with the provisions of section 2; or 

12 ‘‘(2) has knowingly submitted a report under 

13 section 2 that— 

14 ‘‘(A) does not contain all the information 

15 required to be in such report; or 

16 ‘‘(B) contains information that is mis17 leading or false. 

18 ‘‘(b) CIVIL ACTION.—Any civil penalty imposed by 

19 the Secretary under subsection (a) shall be recoverable’’; 

20 and 

21 (3) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated)— 

22 (A) by striking the subsection designation 

23 and all that follows through ‘‘The amount’’ and 

24 inserting the following: 

25 ‘‘(c) AMOUNT OF PENALTY.—The amount’’; 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘of this section’’; and 

2 (C) by striking ‘‘shall not exceed 25 per3 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘for violations under (a)(1) 

4 shall not exceed 25 percent, and for violations 

5 under (a)(2) shall be not less than 5 percent, 

6 but not more than 25 percent,’’. 

7 (e) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF ENFORCEMENT AC8 TIONS.—Section 3 of the Agricultural Foreign Investment 

9 Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3502) (as amended by 

10 subsection (b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF ENFORCEMENT AC13 TIONS.—The Secretary shall publicly disclose the name of 

14 each person who paid to the Secretary a civil penalty im15 posed under subsection (a), including, if applicable, after 

16 the completion of an appeal of a civil penalty.’’. 

17 (f) PUBLICATION OF REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 Section 3 of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclo19 sure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3502) (as amended by sub20 section (c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(e) OUTREACH.—Using existing resources and ef22 forts to the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 

23 shall carry out a nationwide outreach program directed 

24 primarily toward landlords, operators, owners, persons, 

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1 tion 718.2 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations (as in 

2 effect on the date of enactment of the Prioritizing Amer3 ican Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over Bureaucracy 

4 Act)) of agricultural land and county property appraiser 

5 offices, land appraisal companies, and real estate auction 

6 companies to increase public awareness and provide edu7 cation regarding the reporting requirements under this 

8 Act.’’. 

9 SEC. 11302. REPORT ON AGRICULTURAL LAND PUR10 CHASING ACTIVITIES IN THE UNITED STATES 

11 BY COUNTRIES DESIGNATED AS STATE SPON12 SORS OF TERRORISM AND CERTAIN OTHER 

13 COUNTRIES. 

14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) AGRICULTURAL LAND.—The term ‘‘agricul16 tural land’’ has the meaning given the term in sec17 tion 9 of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Dis18 closure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3508). 

19 (2) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON20 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con21 gress’’ means— 

22 (A) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri23 tion, and Forestry of the Senate; 

24 (B) the Committee on Homeland Security 

25 and Governmental Affairs of the Senate; 


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1 (C) the Committee on Intelligence of the 

2 Senate; 

3 (D) the Committee on Homeland Security 

4 of the House of Representatives; 

5 (E) the Committee on Agriculture of the 

6 House of Representatives; and 

7 (F) the Permanent Select Committee on 

8 Intelligence of the House of Representatives. 

9 (3) COVERED FOREIGN COUNTRY.—The term 

10 ‘‘covered foreign country’’ means a foreign country 

11 of concern (as defined in section 10638 of the 

12 CHIPS Act of 2022 (42 U.S.C. 19237)). 

13 (4) COVERED FOREIGN PERSON.—The term 

14 ‘‘covered foreign person’’ means a foreign person (as 

15 defined in section 9 of the Agricultural Foreign In16 vestment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3508)) 

17 that is a citizen of, or headquartered in, as applica18 ble, a covered foreign country. 

19 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ has the mean20 ing given the term in section 9 of the Agricultural 

21 Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 

22 U.S.C. 3508). 

23 (6) STATE SPONSOR OF TERRORISM.—The term 

24 ‘‘state sponsor of terrorism’’ means a country the 

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1 termined has repeatedly provided support for acts of 

2 international terrorism, for purposes of— 

3 (A) section 1754(c)(1)(A)(i) of the Export 

4 Control Reform Act of 2018 (50 U.S.C. 

5 4813(c)(1)(A)(i)); 

6 (B) section 620A of the Foreign Assistance 

7 Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371); 

8 (C) section 40(d) of the Arms Export Con9 trol Act (22 U.S.C. 2780(d)); or 

10 (D) any other provision of law. 

11 (b) REPORT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

13 after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

14 thereafter, the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordina15 tion with the Secretary of Homeland Security and 

16 the head of any other appropriate Federal agency, 

17 shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con18 gress a report describing the national security risks 

19 of the purchase and management of agricultural 

20 land by covered foreign persons. 

21 (2) CONTENTS.—A report submitted under 

22 paragraph (1) shall include the following with re23 spect to the year covered by the report: 

24 (A) A description of— 


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1 (i) the number of acres of agricultural 

2 land owned, leased, or managed by covered 

3 foreign persons, organized by State; and 

4 (ii) for each State, the percentage of 

5 land owned or managed by covered foreign 

6 persons compared to the total acreage of 

7 the State. 

8 (B) An analysis of the possible threat to 

9 food security, food safety, biosecurity, or envi10 ronmental protection due to the ownership of 

11 agricultural land by each covered foreign coun12 try through covered foreign persons. 

13 (C) An analysis of the annual and total 

14 cost of support for agricultural land owned by 

15 covered foreign persons through farm programs 

16 administered by the Farm Service Agency. 

17 (D) An analysis of the use of agricultural 

18 land for industrial espionage or intellectual 

19 property transfer by covered foreign persons. 

20 (E) An analysis of the potential use by 

21 covered foreign persons of agricultural land in 

22 close proximity to manufacturing facilities, 

23 water sources, and other critical infrastructure 

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1 ical to the national and economic security of the 

2 United States. 

3 (F) An analysis of other threats to the ag4 ricultural industry or national security of the 

5 United States due to the ownership of agricul6 tural land by covered foreign persons. 

7 (3) UNCLASSIFIED FORM.—A report submitted 

8 under this subsection shall— 

9 (A) be submitted in unclassified form, but 

10 may include a classified annex; and 

11 (B) be consistent with the protection of in12 telligence sources and methods. 

13 SEC. 11303. INVESTIGATIVE ACTIONS. 

14 (a) INVESTIGATIVE ACTIONS.—Section 4 of the Agri15 cultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 

16 U.S.C. 3503) is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 4. INVESTIGATIVE ACTIONS. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall appoint an 

19 employee in the Senior Executive Service (as described in 

20 section 3131 of title 5, United States Code) of the Depart21 ment of Agriculture to serve as Chief of Operations of In22 vestigative Actions (referred to in this section as the ‘Chief 

23 of Operations’), who shall hire, appoint, and maintain ad24 ditional employees to monitor compliance with the provi25 sions of this Act. 


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1 ‘‘(b) CHIEF OF OPERATIONS.—The Chief of Oper2 ations may serve in such position simultaneously with a 

3 concurrent position within the Department of Agriculture. 

4 ‘‘(c) SECURITY.—The Secretary shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) provide classified storage, meeting, and 

6 other spaces, as necessary, for personnel of the Chief 

7 of Operations; and 

8 ‘‘(2) assist such personnel in obtaining security 

9 clearances. 

10 ‘‘(d) DUTIES.—The Chief of Operations shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) monitor compliance with this Act; 

12 ‘‘(2) refer noncompliance with this Act to the 

13 Secretary, the Farm Service Agency, and any other 

14 appropriate authority; 

15 ‘‘(3) conduct investigations, in coordination 

16 with the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau 

17 of Investigation, the Department of Homeland Secu18 rity, the Department of the Treasury, the National 

19 Security Council, and State and local law enforce20 ment agencies, on malign efforts— 

21 ‘‘(A) to steal agricultural knowledge and 

22 technology; or 

23 ‘‘(B) to disrupt the United States agricul24 tural base; 


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1 ‘‘(4) conduct an annual audit of the database 

2 developed under section 11304(c) of the Prioritizing 

3 American Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over 

4 Bureaucracy Act; 

5 ‘‘(5) seek to enter into memoranda of agree6 ment and memoranda of understanding with the 

7 Federal agencies described in paragraph (3)— 

8 ‘‘(A) to ensure compliance with this Act; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(B) to prevent the malign efforts de11 scribed in that paragraph; 

12 ‘‘(6) refer to the Committee on Foreign Invest13 ment in the United States transactions that— 

14 ‘‘(A) raise potential national security con15 cerns; and 

16 ‘‘(B) result in agricultural land acquisition 

17 by a foreign person that is a citizen of, or 

18 headquartered in, as applicable, a foreign entity 

19 of concern; and 

20 ‘‘(7) publish annual reports that summarize the 

21 information contained in every report received by the 

22 Secretary under section 2 during the period covered 

23 by the report. 

24 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATION.—The Chief of Operations 

25 shall report to— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the Secretary; or 

2 ‘‘(2) if delegated by the Secretary, to— 

3 ‘‘(A) the Administrator of the Farm Serv4 ice Agency; or 

5 ‘‘(B) the Director of the Department of 

6 Agriculture Office of Homeland Security.’’. 

7 (b) DEFINITION OF FOREIGN ENTITY OF CON8 CERN.—Section 9 of the Agricultural Foreign Investment 

9 Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3508) is amended— 

10 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

11 striking ‘‘For purposes of this Act—’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘In this Act:’’; 

13 (2) in each of paragraphs (1) through (6)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘the term’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘The term’’; and 

16 (B) by inserting a paragraph heading, the 

17 text of which comprises the term defined in that 

18 paragraph; 

19 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

20 (6) as paragraphs (3), (4), (6), (7), and (8), respec21 tively; 

22 (4) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(2) FOREIGN ENTITY OF CONCERN.—The 

25 term ‘foreign entity of concern’ has the meaning 


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1 given the term in section 9901 of the William M. 

2 (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization 

3 Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (15 U.S.C. 4651).’’; and 

4 (5) by inserting after paragraph (4) (as so re5 designated) the following: 

6 ‘‘(5) MALIGN EFFORT.—The term ‘malign ef7 fort’ means any hostile effort undertaken by, at the 

8 direction of, on behalf of, or with the substantial 

9 support of the government of a foreign entity of con10 cern.’’. 

11 SEC. 11304. DIGITIZATION AND CONSOLIDATION OF FOR12 EIGN LAND OWNERSHIP DATA COLLECTION 

13 AND PUBLICATION. 

14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 (1) AGRICULTURAL LAND.—The term ‘‘agricul16 tural land’’ has the meaning given the term in sec17 tion 781.2 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations 

18 (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act). 

19 (2) DATABASE.—The term ‘‘database’’ means 

20 the database developed under subsection (c). 

21 (3) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per22 son’’ has the meaning given the term in section 9 of 

23 the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act 

24 of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3508). 


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1 (b) ELECTRONIC FILING.—Not later than 3 years 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

3 establish a streamlined process for electronic submission 

4 and retention of disclosures made pursuant to the Agricul5 tural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 

6 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 

7 (c) DATABASE.—Not later than 3 years after the date 

8 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall develop a 

9 database of agricultural land owned by foreign persons, 

10 using data that are collected— 

11 (1) pursuant to the Agricultural Foreign In12 vestment Disclosure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3501 et 

13 seq.); and 

14 (2) from— 

15 (A) FSA–153 forms submitted to the 

16 Farm Service Agency; or 

17 (B) the electronic system established pur18 suant to subsection (b). 

19 (d) CONTENTS.—Each entry in the database for each 

20 registration or updated registration of agricultural land 

21 owned or leased by a foreign person shall include pertinent 

22 information, as determined by the Secretary, in the appli23 cable filing, except it shall not include the name of the 

24 filer and the purchase or lease price of such transaction. 


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1 (e) AUDIT.—Not later than 180 days after the data2 base is made publicly available, and annually thereafter, 

3 the Chief of Operations for Investigative Actions ap4 pointed under section 4 of the Agricultural Foreign Invest5 ment Disclosure Act of 1978 (as amended by section 

6 11303(a)) shall— 

7 (1) conduct an audit of the database; and 

8 (2) submit to the appropriate committees of 

9 Congress a report— 

10 (A) evaluating the accuracy of the data11 base; and 

12 (B) describing recommendations for im13 proving compliance with the reporting required 

14 under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Dis15 closure Act of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). 

16 (f) FUNDING.—Out of the funds of the Commodity 

17 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use $10,000,000, 

18 to remain available until expended, to carry out the re19 quirements of this section. 

20 (g) REPEAL.—Section 773 of division A of the Con21 solidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117–328) 

22 is repealed. 


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1 Subtitle D—Other Miscellaneous 

2 Provisions 

3 SEC. 11401. THRIFTY FOOD PLAN. 

4 Section 3(u) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 

5 (7 U.S.C. 2012(u)) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(u)(1) ‘Thrifty food plan’ means the diet required 

7 to feed a family of 4 persons consisting of a man and a 

8 woman 20 through 50, a child 6 through 8, and a child 

9 9 through 11 years of age, based on relevant market bas10 kets that shall only be changed pursuant to paragraph (3). 

11 The cost of such diet shall be the basis for uniform allot12 ments for all households regardless of their actual com13 position. The Secretary shall only adjust the cost of the 

14 diet as specified in paragraphs (2) and (4). 

15 ‘‘(2) HOUSEHOLD ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary 

16 shall make household-size adjustments based on the fol17 lowing ratios of household size as a percentage of the max18 imum 4-person allotment: 

19 ‘‘(A) For a 1-person household, 30 percent. 

20 ‘‘(B) For a 2-person household, 55 percent. 

21 ‘‘(C) For a 3-person household, 79 percent. 

22 ‘‘(D) For a 4-person household, 100 percent. 

23 ‘‘(E) For a 5-person household. 119 percent. 

24 ‘‘(F) For a 6-person household, 143 percent. 

25 ‘‘(G) For a 7-person household, 158 percent. 


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1 ‘‘(H) For an 8-person household, 180 percent. 

2 ‘‘(I) For a 9-person household, 203 percent. 

3 ‘‘(J) For a 10-person household, 224 percent. 

4 ‘‘(K) For households with more than 10 per5 sons, such adjustment for each additional person 

6 shall be 224 percent plus the product of 21 percent 

7 and the difference in the number of persons in the 

8 household and 10. 

9 ‘‘(3) REEVALUATION OF MARKET BASKETS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) EVALUATION.—Not earlier than Oc11 tober 1, 2027, and at not more frequently than 

12 5-year intervals thereafter, the Secretary may 

13 reevaluate the market baskets of the thrifty 

14 food plan taking into consideration current food 

15 prices, food composition data, consumption pat16 terns, and dietary guidance. 

17 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.—Prior to any update of the 

18 market baskets of the thrifty food plan based 

19 on a reevaluation pursuant to subparagraph 

20 (A), the methodology and results of any such 

21 revelation shall be published in the Federal 

22 Register with an opportunity for comment of 

23 not less than 60 days. 

24 ‘‘(C) COST NEUTRALITY.—The Secretary 

25 shall not increase the cost of the thrifty food 


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1 plan based on a reevaluation or update under 

2 this paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(4) ALLOWABLE COST ADJUSTMENTS.—On 

4 October 1 immediately following enactment of the 

5 Prioritizing American Farmers and Agricultural In6 dustry Over Bureaucracy Act and on each October 

7 1 thereafter, the Secretary shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) adjust the cost of the thrifty food 

9 plan to reflect changes in the Consumer Price 

10 Index for All Urban Consumers, published by 

11 the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Depart12 ment of Labor, for the most recent 12-month 

13 period ending in June; 

14 ‘‘(B) make cost adjustments in the thrifty 

15 food plan for urban and rural parts of Hawaii 

16 and urban and rural parts of Alaska to reflect 

17 the cost of food in urban and rural Hawaii and 

18 urban and rural Alaska provided such cost ad19 justment shall not exceed the rate of increase 

20 described in the Consumer Price Index for All 

21 Urban Consumers, published by the Bureau of 

22 Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor, 

23 for the most recent 12-month period ending in 

24 June; and 


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1 ‘‘(C) make cost adjustments in the sepa2 rate thrifty food plans for Guam and the Virgin 

3 Islands of the United States to reflect the cost 

4 of food in those States, but not to exceed the 

5 cost of food in the 50 States and the District 

6 of Columbia, provided that such cost adjust7 ment shall not exceed the rate of increase de8 scribed in the Consumer Price Index for All 

9 Urban Consumers, published by the Bureau of 

10 Labor Statistics of the Department of Labor, 

11 for the most recent 12-month period ending in 

12 June.’’. 

13 SEC. 11402. ESTABLISHMENT OF DIETARY GUIDELINES. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF DIETARY GUIDELINES.— 

15 Section 301(a) of the National Nutrition Monitoring and 

16 Related Research Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5341(a)) is 

17 amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

19 (A) by striking ‘‘At least every five years 

20 the’’ and inserting ‘‘The’’; and 

21 (B) by inserting ‘‘jointly’’ after ‘‘Secre22 taries shall’’; 

23 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘be based on 

24 the preponderance of the scientific and medical 


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1 knowledge which is current at the time the report is 

2 prepared.’’ and inserting ‘‘be— 

3 ‘‘(A) based on significant scientific agree4 ment that is determined by evidence-based re5 view; 

6 ‘‘(B) current at the time the report is pre7 pared; 

8 ‘‘(C) derived from questions— 

9 ‘‘(i) generated from the Independent 

10 Advisory Board described in paragraph 

11 (4); and 

12 ‘‘(ii) based on high priority areas of 

13 concern to advance scientific outcomes; 

14 ‘‘(D) designed to achieve nutritional ade15 quacy and promote health, as specified by the 

16 Food and Nutrition Board of the National 

17 Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medi18 cine, from the consumption of food, including 

19 nutrients and bioactive food components occur20 ring naturally and in fortified foods; 

21 ‘‘(E) include nutritional and dietary infor22 mation relevant to individuals with nutrition-re23 lated common chronic diseases, as defined by 

24 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(F) include recommendations that are af2 fordable, available, and accessible for the gen3 eral population.’’; 

4 (3) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para5 graph (7); 

6 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(3) FREQUENCY.—The Secretaries shall pub9 lish the report required under paragraph (1)— 

10 ‘‘(A) as necessary to promote health based 

11 on updated Dietary Reference Intake values 

12 specified by— 

13 ‘‘(i) the Food and Nutrition Board of 

14 the National Academies of Sciences, Engi15 neering, and Medicine; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) other relevant scientific advance17 ments based on continuous review of the 

18 totality of publicly available scientific evi19 dence; and 

20 ‘‘(B) not less than once every 10 years. 

21 ‘‘(4) INDEPENDENT ADVISORY BOARD.— 

22 ‘‘(A) When the Secretaries jointly deter23 mine it is appropriate to begin the process of 

24 updating the Dietary Guidelines, the Secretaries 

25 shall notify, in writing, the Committees on— 


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1 ‘‘(i) Agriculture of the House of Rep2 resentatives; 

3 ‘‘(ii) Energy and Commerce of the 

4 House of Representatives; 

5 ‘‘(iii) Agriculture, Nutrition, and For6 estry of the Senate; and 

7 ‘‘(iv) Health, Education, Labor, and 

8 Pensions of the Senate. 

9 ‘‘(B) The notification under subparagraph 

10 (A) shall include a justification for why the Sec11 retaries have determined it is appropriate to 

12 begin the process of updating the Dietary 

13 Guidelines. 

14 ‘‘(C) Not later than 3 months after send15 ing such notification, the Secretaries shall es16 tablish an Independent Advisory Board (herein17 after referred to as the ‘Board’) and jointly ap18 point 4 members to the Board, no more than 2 

19 of whom may be Federal employees. 

20 ‘‘(D) Not later than 3 months after receiv21 ing such notification, the highest-ranking Mem22 ber on each Committee described in subpara23 graph (A) of the opposite political party of the 

24 President of the United States shall appoint 1 

25 member to the Board. 


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1 ‘‘(E) The Board shall consist of no more 

2 than 8 members, and a working quorum shall 

3 be 4 members present. No meeting of the 

4 Board may take place until after 3 months 

5 from the date on which the Secretaries send the 

6 notification under subparagraph (A). 

7 ‘‘(F) The members appointed to the Board 

8 shall have expertise in nutrition science or food 

9 science, including academic and applied experi10 ence. 

11 ‘‘(G) Not later than 12 months after the 

12 date on which the Secretaries send the notifica13 tion under subparagraph (A), the Board shall 

14 generate and send to the Secretaries and the 

15 Committees described in subparagraph (A) the 

16 questions described in paragraph (2)(C)(i). 

17 ‘‘(H) The authority of the Board shall ter18 minate, and the Board shall disband, imme19 diately after satisfying subparagraph (G). 

20 ‘‘(5) DIETARY REFERENCE INTAKE UPDATES.— 

21 The Secretaries shall coordinate with the Joint 

22 United States-Canada Dietary Reference Intake 

23 Working Group to ensure that the Food and Nutri24 tion Board of the National Academies of Sciences, 

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1 erence Intake values to represent the most up-to2 date understanding of nutritional science. The Joint 

3 United States-Canada Dietary Reference Intake 

4 Working Group should initiate at least one Dietary 

5 Reference Intake update per year and identify up6 dates which are of highest priority which necessitate 

7 review. 

8 ‘‘(6) EXCLUSION.—The information and guide9 lines contained in each report required under para10 graph (1) shall not be based on or include topics 

11 which are not relevant to dietary guidance, including 

12 taxation, social welfare policies, purchases under 

13 Federal feeding programs, food and agricultural pro14 duction practices, food labeling, socioeconomic sta15 tus, race, ethnicity, culture, or regulations relating 

16 to nutrition.’’; and 

17 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(8) EVIDENCE BASED REVIEW.— 

19 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this 

20 section, the term ‘evidence-based review’ means 

21 a process under which— 

22 ‘‘(i) the totality of the scientific evi23 dence relevant to a question of interest is 

24 collected, analyzed, and evaluated; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) scientific studies, conclusions, 

2 and recommendations are rated, adhering 

3 strictly to standardized, generally accepted 

4 evidence-based review methods; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) external peer review is con6 ducted by non-government experts with 

7 recognized expertise in quality of evidence 

8 evaluation. 

9 ‘‘(B) STRENGTH OF EVIDENCE.—Each 

10 guideline contained in a report published pursu11 ant to this subsection shall be assigned a rating 

12 by the Secretaries for the strength of evidence 

13 used, including to the extent by which the 

14 guideline will improve the Healthy Eating 

15 Index. 

16 ‘‘(C) TRANSPARENCY.— 

17 ‘‘(i) DISCLOSURE.—Any individual ap18 pointed to the Dietary Guidelines Advisory 

19 Committee to review the science for the 

20 guidelines, or appointed to the Independent 

21 Advisory Board under paragraph (4), must 

22 provide full disclosure of all financial and 

23 nonfinancial conflicts of interest relevant 

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1 ment Ethics Form 450 (or successor 

2 form). 

3 ‘‘(ii) PUBLICATION.—Notwithstanding 

4 any other provision of law, not later than 

5 30 days after the date on which a Dietary 

6 Guidelines Advisory Committee is estab7 lished, the Secretaries shall make publicly 

8 available— 

9 ‘‘(I) the disclosures required 

10 under clause (i), categorized by the 

11 name of the individual; and 

12 ‘‘(II) a detailed plan for man13 aging any disclosed conflicts of inter14 est, including financial or ethical con15 flicts of interest, along with pref16 erences, values, and beliefs. 

17 ‘‘(9) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Com18 modity Credit Corporation, the Secretary of Agri19 culture shall make available to carry out this sub20 section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 

21 through 2029, to remain available until expended.’’. 

22 (b) CONTROLLING REPORT.—The 2020 Dietary 

23 Guidelines for Americans published by the Secretaries 

24 under subsection (a)(1) of section 301 of the National Nu25 trition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 (7 


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1 U.S.C. 5341(a)(1)) shall be controlling and considered to 

2 be the most recent Dietary Guidelines for Americans until 

3 the publication of the first report under such subsection 

4 in accordance with the amendments made to such section 

5 by this Act. 

6 SEC. 11403. ORGANIC OR NON-ORGANIC WHOLE MILK PER7 MISSIBLE. 

8 Section 9(a)(2) of the Richard B. Russell National 

9 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(a)(2)) is amended— 

10 (1) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 

11 follows: 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Lunches served by 

13 schools participating in the school lunch pro14 gram under this Act— 

15 ‘‘(i) shall offer students a variety of 

16 fluid milk; 

17 ‘‘(ii) may offer students flavored and 

18 unflavored organic or non-organic whole, 

19 reduced-fat, low-fat and fat-free fluid milk 

20 and lactose-free fluid milk; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) shall provide a substitute for 

22 fluid milk for students whose disability re23 stricts their diet, on receipt of a written 

24 statement from a licensed physician that 

25 identifies the disability that restricts the 


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1 student’s diet and that specifies the sub2 stitute for fluid milk.’’; and 

3 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(D) SATURATED FAT.—Milk fat included 

5 in any fluid milk provided under subparagraph 

6 (A) shall not be considered saturated fat for 

7 purposes of measuring compliance with the al8 lowable average saturated fat content of a meal 

9 under section 210.10 of title 7, Code of Federal 

10 Regulations (or successor regulations). 

11 ‘‘(E) PROHIBITION ON CERTAIN PUR12 CHASES.—The Secretary shall prohibit schools 

13 participating in the school lunch program under 

14 this Act from purchasing or offering milk pro15 duced by China state-owned enterprises. 

16 ‘‘(F) LIMITATION ON AUTHORITY.—The 

17 Secretary may not prohibit any school partici18 pating in the school lunch program under this 

19 Act from offering students the milk described in 

20 subparagraph (A)(ii).’’. 

21 SEC. 11404. COMMISSION ON FARM TRANSITIONS—NEEDS 

22 FOR 2050. 

23 Section 12609 of the Agriculture Improvement Act 

24 of 2018 (Public Law 115–334; 132 Stat. 5009) is amend25 ed— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘There is es2 tablished’’ and inserting ‘‘Not later than 60 days 

3 after the date of the enactment of the Prioritizing 

4 American Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over 

5 Bureaucracy Act, the Secretary shall establish’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

8 ‘‘AND RECOMMENDATIONS’’ after ‘‘STUDY’’; 

9 (B) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

10 by inserting ‘‘, and make recommendations re11 lating to,’’ after ‘‘study on’’; 

12 (C) in paragraph (1)— 

13 (i) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

14 ‘‘and timely’’ after ‘‘affordable’’; and 

15 (ii) by striking subparagraph (D) and 

16 inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(D) apprenticeships, mentoring programs, 

18 business training, and technical assistance pro19 grams;’’; 

20 (D) in paragraph (3)— 

21 (i) in the matter preceding subpara22 graph (A), by striking ‘‘existing and new 

23 Federal tax policies’’ and inserting ‘‘exist24 ing and new State and Federal policies, in25 cluding tax policies’’; and 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

2 ‘‘or impede’’ after ‘‘facilitate’’; 

3 (E) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

4 the end; 

5 (F) in paragraph (5), by striking the pe6 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

7 (G) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(6) heirs’ property and succession of agricul9 tural land; 

10 ‘‘(7) any unique barriers faced by historically 

11 underserved and women farmers and ranchers in the 

12 ability to transfer, inherit, or purchase agricultural 

13 assets, including land; and 

14 ‘‘(8) leasing and ownership trends, including 

15 leasing and ownership trends by foreign persons or 

16 entities.’’; 

17 (3) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘1 year after 

18 the date of enactment of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘2 

19 years after the date of enactment of the Prioritizing 

20 American Farmers and Agricultural Industry Over 

21 Bureaucracy Act’’; and 

22 (4) in subsection (m), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

23 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 


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1 SEC. 11405. REPORT ON PERSONNEL. 

2 Section 12506 of the Agriculture Improvement Act 

3 of 2018 (Public Law 115–334) is amended by striking 

4 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

5 SEC. 11406. IMPROVEMENTS TO UNITED STATES DROUGHT 

6 MONITOR. 

7 Section 12512(d)(2) of the Agriculture Improvement 

8 Act of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 5856(d)(2)) is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

10 SEC. 11407. AGRICULTURAL FIBER PRODUCTS TRUST 

11 FUND. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRUST FUND.—There is es13 tablished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 

14 to be known as the ‘‘Agricultural Fiber Products Trust 

15 Fund’’ (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Trust Fund’’), 

16 consisting of such amounts as may be transferred to the 

17 Trust Fund pursuant to subsection (c)(1), and to be used 

18 for the following purposes: 

19 (1) Reducing the injury to domestic manufac20 turers resulting from tariffs on wool fabric that are 

21 higher than tariffs on certain apparel articles made 

22 of wool fabric. 

23 (2) Reducing the injury to domestic manufac24 turers resulting from tariffs on cotton fabric that 

25 are higher than tariffs on certain apparel articles 

26 made of cotton fabric. 


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1 (3) Providing grants described in section 506(d) 

2 of the Trade and Development Act of 2000 (7 

3 U.S.C. 7101 note). 

4 (b) USE OF FUNDS.— 

5 (1) WOOL APPAREL MANUFACTURERS.—From 

6 the amount made available in subsection (c), the 

7 Secretary shall make payments annually beginning 

8 in calendar year 2025 for the purposes described in 

9 subsection (a)(1). 

10 (A) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The Sec11 retary shall make payments under paragraph 

12 (1) as follows: 

13 (i) To each eligible manufacturer 

14 under paragraph (3) of section 4002(c) of 

15 the Wool Suit and Textile Trade Extension 

16 Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–429; 118 

17 Stat. 2600), as amended by section 

18 1633(c) of the Miscellaneous Trade and 

19 Technical Corrections Act of 2006 (Public 

20 Law 109–280; 120 Stat. 1166) and section 

21 325(b) of the Tax Extenders and Alter22 native Minimum Tax Relief Act of 2008 

23 (division C of Public Law 110–343; 122 

24 Stat. 3875), and any successor-in-interest 

25 to such a manufacturer as provided for 


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1 under paragraph (4) of such section 

2 4002(c), that submits an affidavit in ac3 cordance with paragraph (2) for the year 

4 of the payment, payments in amounts au5 thorized under that paragraph. 

6 (ii) To each eligible manufacturer 

7 under paragraph (6) of such section 

8 4002(c), payments in amounts authorized 

9 under that paragraph. 

10 (B) SUBMISSION OF AFFIDAVITS.—An affi11 davit required by subparagraph (A)(i) shall be 

12 submitted to the Secretary, or as directed by 

13 the Secretary, and not later than March 15. 

14 (C) PAYMENT OF AMOUNTS.—The Sec15 retary shall make payments to eligible manufac16 turers and successors-in-interest described in 

17 clauses (i) and (ii) of subparagraph (A) not 

18 later than April 15 of the year of the payment. 

19 (D) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

20 The Secretary shall, as soon as practicable after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act, negotiate 

22 memoranda of understanding with the Commis23 sioner responsible for U.S. Customs and Border 

24 Protection and the Secretary of Commerce to 

25 establish procedures pursuant to which the 


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1 Commissioner and the Secretary of Commerce 

2 will assist in carrying out the provisions of this 

3 section. 

4 (E) INCREASE IN PAYMENTS IN THE

5 EVENT OF EXPIRATION OF DUTY SUSPEN6 SIONS.— 

7 (i) IN GENERAL.—In any calendar 

8 year in which the suspension of duty on 

9 wool fabrics provided for under headings 

10 9902.51.11, 9902.51.13, 9902.51.14, 

11 9902.51.15, and 9902.51.16 of the Har12 monized Tariff Schedule of the United 

13 States are not in effect, the amount of any 

14 payment described in paragraph (1) to a 

15 manufacturer or successor-in-interest shall 

16 be increased by an amount the Secretary, 

17 after consultation with the Secretary of 

18 Commerce, determines is equal to the 

19 amount the manufacturer or successor-in20 interest would have saved during the cal21 endar year of the payment if the suspen22 sion of duty on wool fabrics were in effect. 

23 (ii) NO APPEAL OF DETERMINA24 TIONS.—A determination of the Secretary 


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1 under this subsection shall be final and not 

2 subject to appeal or protest. 

3 (2) PIMA AGRICULTURE COTTON.—From the 

4 amount made available in subsection (c) the Sec5 retary shall make payments annually beginning in 

6 calendar year 2025 for the purpose described in sub7 section (a)(2). 

8 (A) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The Sec9 retary shall make payments under paragraph 

10 (2) as follows: 

11 (i) Twenty-five percent of the 

12 amounts made available in subsection 

13 (c)(2)(A) shall be paid to one or more na14 tionally recognized associations established 

15 for the promotion of pima cotton for use in 

16 textile and apparel goods. 

17 (ii)(I) Except as provided in subclause 

18 (II), 25 percent of the amounts made 

19 available in subsection (c)(2)(A) shall be 

20 paid to yarn spinners of pima cotton that 

21 produce ring spun cotton yarns in the 

22 United States, to be allocated to each spin23 ner in an amount that bears the same 

24 ratio as— 


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1 (aa) the spinner’s produc2 tion of ring spun cotton yarns, 

3 measuring less than 83.33 

4 decitex (exceeding 120 metric 

5 number) from pima cotton in sin6 gle and plied form during the 

7 prior calendar year (as evidenced 

8 by an affidavit provided by the 

9 spinner that meets the require10 ments of subparagraph (B)), 

11 bears to— 

12 (bb) the production of the 

13 yarns described in item (aa) dur14 ing the prior calendar year for all 

15 spinners who qualify under this 

16 paragraph. 

17 (II)(aa) A yarn spinner shall not 

18 receive an amount under clause (ii) 

19 that exceeds the cost of pima cotton 

20 that— 

21 (bb) was purchased during 

22 the prior calendar year; and 

23 (cc) was used in spinning 

24 any cotton yarns. 


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1 (III) The Secretary shall reallo2 cate any amounts reduced by reason 

3 of the limitation under item (aa) to 

4 spinners using the ratio described in 

5 subclause (I), disregarding production 

6 of any spinner subject to that limita7 tion. 

8 (iii) Fifty percent of the amounts 

9 made available in subsection (c)(2)(A) 

10 shall be paid to manufacturers who cut 

11 and sew cotton shirts in the United States 

12 who certify that they used imported cotton 

13 fabric during the prior calendar year, to be 

14 allocated to each such manufacturer in an 

15 amount that bears the same ratio as— 

16 (I) the dollar value (excluding 

17 duty, shipping, and related costs) of 

18 imported woven cotton shirting fabric 

19 of 80s or higher count and 2-ply in 

20 warp purchased by the manufacturer 

21 during the prior calendar year (as evi22 denced by an affidavit provided by the 

23 manufacturer that meets the require24 ments of subparagraph (C)) used in 


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1 the manufacturing of men’s and boys’ 

2 cotton shirts; bears to 

3 (II) the dollar value (excluding 

4 duty, shipping, and related costs) of 

5 the fabric described in subclause (I) 

6 purchased during the prior calendar 

7 year by all manufacturers who qualify 

8 under this clause. 

9 (B) AFFIDAVIT OF YARN SPINNERS.—The 

10 affidavit required by subparagraph 

11 (A)(ii)(I)(aa) is a notarized affidavit provided 

12 annually by an officer of a producer of ring 

13 spun yarns that affirms— 

14 (i) that the producer used pima cotton 

15 during the year in which the affidavit is 

16 filed and during the prior calendar year to 

17 produce ring spun cotton yarns in the 

18 United States, measuring less than 83.33 

19 decitex (exceeding 120 metric number), in 

20 single and plied form; 

21 (ii) the quantity, measured in pounds, 

22 of ring spun cotton yarns, measuring less 

23 than 83.33 decitex (exceeding 120 metric 

24 number), in single and plied form during 

25 the prior calendar year; 


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1 (iii) that the producer maintains sup2 porting documentation showing the quan3 tity of such yarns produced, and evidenc4 ing the yarns as ring spun cotton yarns, 

5 measuring less than 83.33 decitex (exceed6 ing 120 metric number), in single and 

7 plied form during the prior calendar year; 

8 and 

9 (iv) the dollar amount of pima cotton 

10 purchased during the prior calendar year— 

11 (I) that was used in spinning any 

12 cotton yarns; and 

13 (II) for which the producer main14 tains supporting documentation. 

15 (C) AFFIDAVIT OF SHIRTING MANUFAC16 TURERS.— 

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—The affidavit re18 quired by subparagraph (A)(iii)(I) is a no19 tarized affidavit provided annually by an 

20 officer of a manufacturer of men’s and 

21 boys’ shirts that affirms— 

22 (I) that the manufacturer used 

23 imported cotton fabric during the year 

24 in which the affidavit is filed and dur25 ing the prior calendar year, to cut and 


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1 sew men’s and boys’ woven cotton 

2 shirts in the United States; 

3 (II) the dollar value of imported 

4 woven cotton shirting fabric of 80s or 

5 higher count and 2-ply in warp pur6 chased by the manufacturer during 

7 the prior calendar year; 

8 (III) that the manufacturer 

9 maintains invoices along with other 

10 supporting documentation (such as 

11 price lists and other technical descrip12 tions of the fabric qualities) showing 

13 the dollar value of such fabric pur14 chased, the date of purchase, and evi15 dencing the fabric as woven cotton 

16 fabric of 80s or higher count and 2- 

17 ply in warp; and 

18 (IV) that the fabric was suitable 

19 for use in the manufacturing of men’s 

20 and boys’ cotton shirts. 

21 (ii) DATE OF PURCHASE.—For pur22 poses of the affidavit under clause (i), the 

23 date of purchase shall be the invoice date, 

24 and the dollar value shall be determined 

25 excluding duty, shipping, and related costs. 


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1 (D) FILING DEADLINE FOR AFFIDAVITS.— 

2 Any person required to provide an affidavit 

3 under this paragraph shall file the affidavit 

4 with the Secretary or as directed by the Sec5 retary not later than March 15 of the applicable 

6 calendar year. 

7 (E) TIMING OF DISTRIBUTIONS.—The Sec8 retary shall make a payment under clause (ii) 

9 or (iii) of subparagraph (A) not later than the 

10 date that is 30 days after the filing of the affi11 davit required with respect to that payment. 

12 (3) WOOL RESEARCH AND PROMOTION.—From 

13 the amount made available in subsection (c) the Sec14 retary shall make payments annually beginning in 

15 calendar year 2025 for the purpose described in sub16 section (a)(3). 

17 (c) FUNDING.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds of the Com19 modity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall 

20 transfer to the Trust Fund $50,000,000 for each of 

21 the calendar years 2025 through 2029. 

22 (2) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—The funds 

23 made available under paragraph (1), shall be distrib24 uted to the purposes of this section in the following 

25 manner: 


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1 (A) Not less than $30,000,000 for each of 

2 the calendar years 2025 through 2029 for the 

3 purposes described in (a)(1). 

4 (B) Not less than $17,750,000 for each of 

5 the calendar years 2025 through 2029 for the 

6 purposes described in (a)(2). 

7 (C) Not less than $2,250,000 for each of 

8 the calendar years 2025 through 2029 for the 

9 purposes described in (a)(3). 

10 (3) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts trans11 ferred to the Trust Fund under paragraph (1) shall 

12 remain available until expended. 

13 (d) SUNSET OF PREVIOUS FUNDS.—The Agricultural 

14 Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–79) is amended— 

15 (1) in section 12314 (7 U.S.C. 2101 note), by 

16 adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(i) SUNSET.—Effective January 1, 2025, the Trust 

18 Fund shall be abolished and all unobligated amounts in 

19 the Trust Fund on such date shall be transferred to the 

20 general fund of the Treasury of the United States.’’; 

21 (2) in section 12315 (7 U.S.C. 2101 note), by 

22 adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(g) SUNSET.—Effective January 1, 2025, the Trust 

24 Fund shall be abolished and all unobligated amounts in 


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1 the Trust Fund on such date shall be transferred to the 

2 general fund of the Treasury of the United States.’’; and 

3 (3) in section 12316 (7 U.S.C. 2101 note)— 

4 (A) in subsection (a), by adding at the end 

5 the following: ‘‘Effective January 1, 2025, the 

6 Secretary may not make grants under the pre7 ceding sentence and, any unobligated amounts 

8 of the amounts made available under such pre9 ceding sentence, are rescinded.’’; and 

10 (B) in subsection (b), by adding at the end 

11 the following: ‘‘Effective January 1, 2025, the 

12 authority to use unexpended unobligated bal13 ances remaining in the Wool Research, Develop14 ment, and Promotion Trust Fund for the pur15 poses described in the preceding sentence shall 

16 cease to be effective.’’. 

17 SEC. 11408. REPORTS ON LAND ACCESS AND FARMLAND 

18 OWNERSHIP DATA COLLECTION. 

19 Section 12607 of the Agriculture Improvement Act 

20 of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 2204i) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)— 

22 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

23 by inserting ‘‘and not less frequently than once 

24 every 2 years thereafter,’’ before ‘‘the Secretary 

25 of Agriculture’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

2 the end; 

3 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe4 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

5 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(4) a catalog of existing Federal, State, or pri7 vate programs that facilitate access to land, capital, 

8 and markets, including programs providing assist9 ance relating to— 

10 ‘‘(A) acquiring of real property (including 

11 air rights, water rights, and other interests 

12 therein), including closing costs; 

13 ‘‘(B) subsidizing interest rates and mort14 gage principal amounts for intended bene15 ficiaries; 

16 ‘‘(C) providing down payment assistance to 

17 decrease farm mortgages; 

18 ‘‘(D) securing clear title on heirs’ property 

19 farmland; 

20 ‘‘(E) conducting surveys and assessments 

21 of agricultural land; 

22 ‘‘(F) improving or remediating land, water, 

23 and soil; 

24 ‘‘(G) constructing or repairing infrastruc25 ture; 


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1 ‘‘(H) supporting land use planning; 

2 ‘‘(I) acquiring legal or financial planning 

3 assistance; 

4 ‘‘(J) carrying out Tribal consultation; 

5 ‘‘(K) supporting acquisition of a Depart6 ment of Agriculture farm number; and 

7 ‘‘(L) any other activities as determined by 

8 the Secretary.’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

11 SEC. 11409. INCREASING TRANSPARENCY REGARDING DE12 TENTION OF IMPORTED PLANTS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

14 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in coordi15 nation with the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

16 Service and the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Bor17 der Protection, shall issue guidance to clarify the process 

18 by which an importer of plants that have been denied 

19 entry into the United States and detained under the Lacey 

20 Act Amendments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.) may 

21 obtain additional information on such denial and deten22 tion. 

23 (b) INFORMATION PROVIDED.—The process referred 

24 to in subsection (a) shall ensure that the Secretary shall 

25 provide to an importer described in such subsection, upon 


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1 the detention of any plants of such importer, the following 

2 information: 

3 (1) The specific reasons for which the detention 

4 of the plants was initiated, including the date on 

5 which the plants were presented to the Secretary for 

6 examination. 

7 (2) The anticipated length of the detention of 

8 such plants. 

9 (3) The nature of the tests or inquiries to be 

10 conducted on the plants, which the importer shall be 

11 able to replicate. 

12 (4) The nature of any information that, if sup13 plied to the Secretary, would accelerate the disposi14 tion of the detention. 

15 SEC. 11410. ENHANCEMENT OF PET PROTECTIONS. 

16 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date 

17 of the enactment of this Act (or later, if the Secretary 

18 determines appropriate after taking into consideration any 

19 ongoing programmatic review of the Animal Care program 

20 of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service), the 

21 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture 

22 and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 

23 Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri24 tion, and Forestry and the Committee on Appropriations 


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1 of the Senate a report with respect to companion animals 

2 that— 

3 (1) evaluates the enforcement of standards 

4 under, and requirements of, the Animal Welfare Act 

5 (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) by the Secretary for both ef6 fectiveness and efficiency; 

7 (2) evaluates the efforts by the Secretary to 

8 educate and advise dealers of all standards under, 

9 and requirements of, such Act; 

10 (3) evaluates the capacity of the Secretary to 

11 enforce the standards established by such Act; 

12 (4) makes recommendations for the improve13 ment of— 

14 (A) all standards (including animal welfare 

15 standards) under, and requirements of, such 

16 Act; and 

17 (B) education efforts of the Secretary with 

18 respect to such standards and requirements; 

19 and 

20 (5) considers the impact and associated costs of 

21 any recommended improvements or amendments to 

22 the standards under, and requirements of, such Act. 

23 (b) VETERINARY CARE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 13(a)(2)(A) of the 

25 Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2143(a)(2)(A)) is 


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1 amended by inserting ‘‘(which shall include visual 

2 dental examinations)’’ after ‘‘adequate veterinary 

3 care’’. 

4 (2) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Section 13 of 

5 the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2143) is amended 

6 by redesignating the second subsection (f) (prohib7 iting delivery of certain animals without certificate 

8 of inspection), subsection (g), and subsection (h) as 

9 subsections (g) through (i), respectively. 

10 (c) CONFISCATION FOR UNRELIEVED SUFFERING.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 13 of the Animal 

12 Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2143) is amended by adding 

13 at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(i) The Secretary shall promulgate such rules and 

15 regulations as may be necessary to, during the inspection 

16 process under section 16— 

17 ‘‘(1) provide for the notification of State law 

18 enforcement officials or the State animal health offi19 cial (or designee of such official); or 

20 ‘‘(2) consider immediate confiscation or de21 struction of a dog, in the event that such dog is de22 termined to be in a state of unrelieved suffering.’’. 

23 (2) DEFINITION.—Section 2 of the Animal Wel24 fare Act (7 U.S.C. 2132) is amended by adding at 

25 the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(p) The term ‘unrelieved suffering’ means, with re2 spect to a dog, a state in which the dog is forced to endure 

3 conditions, arising out of a dealer’s failure to comply with 

4 the provisions of this Act, which cause severe pain or dis5 tress or severe discomfort, or which could directly and neg6 atively impact the health and well-being of the dog if im7 mediate actions are not taken to remedy the situation.’’. 

8 SEC. 11411. PROTECTING ANIMALS WITH SHELTER. 

9 Section 12502(b)(8) of the Agriculture Improvement 

10 Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–334) is amended by striking 

11 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

12 SEC. 11412. REPORT ON AVAILABLE ASSISTANCE TO AGRI13 CULTURAL PRODUCERS IN THE STATE OF 

14 TEXAS THAT HAVE SUFFERED ECONOMIC 

15 LOSSES DUE TO THE FAILURE OF MEXICO TO 

16 DELIVER WATER. 

17 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact18 ment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Com19 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and 

20 the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of 

21 the Senate a report that lists all existing authorities of 

22 the Secretary and programs within the Department that 

23 are or could be made available to provide assistance to 

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1 liver water to the United States in accordance with the 

2 Treaty Relating to the Utilization of Waters of the Colo3 rado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande signed 

4 at Washington on February 3, 1944 and the Supple5 mentary Protocol signed at Washington November 14, 

6 1944. 

7 SEC. 11413. EXPERIENCED SERVICES PROGRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use the tal9 ents of individuals who are age 55 or older, but who are 

10 not employees of the Department or a State agriculture 

11 department, to provide technical, professional, and admin12 istrative services in support of programs and authorities 

13 in each mission area of the Department, other than pro14 grams and authorities of the Natural Resources Conserva15 tion Service or the Forest Service. 

16 (b) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary shall enter into 

17 agreements under section 1252(b) of the Food Security 

18 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3851(b)) for purposes of carrying 

19 out subsection (a). 

20 (c) FUNDING.—The Secretary may carry out sub21 section (a) using funds made available to carry out any 

22 program in the applicable mission area of the Department. 

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1 viduals providing technical, professional, or administrative 

2 services pursuant to this section. 

3 (e) REFERENCES TO EXPERIENCED SERVICES PRO4 GRAM.—For purposes of this section, references in sub5 sections (b) and (d) of section 1252 of the Food Security 

6 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3851) to the program shall be 

7 deemed to be references to this section. 

8 SEC. 11414. AGRICULTURAL LABOR SURVEY. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the Agricultural 

10 Labor Survey, the Secretary shall make such changes as 

11 are necessary to— 

12 (1) collect and publish data regarding the aver13 age hourly base rate of pay for hired agricultural 

14 workers; and 

15 (2) ensure survey recipients include all agricul16 tural employers, agricultural associations employing 

17 farm labor, and farm labor contractors (as such 

18 term is defined in section 500.20 of title 29, Code 

19 of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations)). 

20 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

22 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec23 retary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture 

24 of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

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1 ate a report examining the quality of the farm labor 

2 survey and the impacts of labor costs on agricultural 

3 employers. 

4 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para5 graph (1) shall examine— 

6 (A) with regard to the Agricultural Labor 

7 Survey— 

8 (i) for each of the previous 5 years— 

9 (I) the number of surveys that 

10 were distributed; 

11 (II) the number of responses to 

12 such surveys; and 

13 (III) relevant metrics regarding 

14 the statistical soundness of such sur15 veys, including the survey response 

16 rate; and 

17 (ii) what actions can be taken by the 

18 Secretary to increase the response rate and 

19 improve the statistical soundness of such 

20 survey; and 

21 (B) with regard to agricultural labor 

22 costs— 

23 (i) the share of such costs as a per24 centage of total variable costs, broken out 


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1 by size of operation and by primary com2 modity produced; 

3 (ii) an analysis of the impact of such 

4 costs on beginning farmers and ranchers 

5 (as defined in section 210A(a) of the Agri6 cultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 

7 1627c(a))); 

8 (iii) a comparison of the trends of 

9 wages surveyed under the agricultural 

10 labor survey and the non-farm wage rates 

11 over the previous 10 years; 

12 (iv) an analysis of the extent to which 

13 the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (as defined 

14 in section 500.10 of title 29, Code of Fed15 eral Regulations (or successor regulations)) 

16 utilized by the H–2A temporary agricul17 tural labor certification program impacts 

18 costs for all agricultural workers; and 

19 (v) a determination of any adverse ef20 fect the wage rate described in clause (iv) 

21 has on domestic agricultural workers. 


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1 SEC. 11415. EXTENSION OF SECURE RURAL SCHOOLS AND 

2 COMMUNITY SELF-DETERMINATION ACT OF 

3 2000. 

4 (a) SECURE PAYMENTS FOR STATES AND COUNTIES

5 CONTAINING FEDERAL LAND.— 

6 (1) SECURE PAYMENTS.—Section 101 of the 

7 Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Deter8 mination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7111) is amended, 

9 in subsections (a) and (b), by striking ‘‘2023’’ each 

10 place it appears and inserting ‘‘2026’’. 

11 (2) DISTRIBUTION OF PAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE

12 COUNTIES.—Section 103(d)(2) of the Secure Rural 

13 Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 

14 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7113(d)(2)) is amended by striking 

15 ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2026’’. 

16 (b) EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO CONDUCT SPE17 CIAL PROJECTS ON FEDERAL LAND.— 

18 (1) EXISTING ADVISORY COMMITTEES.—Section 

19 205(a)(4) of the Secure Rural Schools and Commu20 nity Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 

21 7125(a)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘December 20, 

22 2023’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘Decem23 ber 20, 2026’’. 

24 (2) EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY.—Section 208 

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1 Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7128) is 

2 amended— 

3 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2025’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘2028’’; and 

5 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘2026’’ 

6 and inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

7 (c) EXTENSION OF AUTHORITY TO EXPEND COUNTY

8 FUNDS.—Section 305 of the Secure Rural Schools and 

9 Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 

10 7144) is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2025’’ and 

12 inserting ‘‘2028’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘2026’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘2029’’. 

15 SEC. 11416. COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION 

16 WHISTLEBLOWER PROGRAM. 

17 Section 1(b) of Public Law 117–25 (135 Stat. 297; 

18 136 Stat. 2133) is amended in each of paragraphs (3) and 

19 (4), by striking ‘‘2024’’ and inserting ‘‘2026’’. 

20 SEC. 11417. QUALIFIED RENEWABLE BIOMASS. 

21 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) AGENCY ACTION.—The term ‘‘agency ac23 tion’’ has the meaning given the term in section 551 

24 of title 5, United States Code. 

25 (2) QUALIFIED RENEWABLE BIOMASS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘qualified re2 newable biomass’’ means— 

3 (i) forest products manufacturing bio4 energy feedstocks, including from— 

5 (I) forest products manufac6 turing residuals, including spent 

7 pulping liquors, pulping by-products, 

8 bark, woody manufacturing residuals, 

9 paper recycling residuals, wastewater 

10 and process water treatment plant re11 siduals, and anaerobic digester biogas; 

12 (II) harvest residues, including 

13 portions of harvested trees that are 

14 too small or of too poor quality to be 

15 utilized for wood products or paper 

16 products; 

17 (III) downed wood from extreme 

18 weather events and natural disasters, 

19 nonhazardous landscape or right-of20 way trimmings and municipal trim21 mings, and plant material removed for 

22 purposes of invasive or noxious plant 

23 species control; 

24 (IV) biowaste, including landfill 

25 gas; and 


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1 (V) non-chemically treated used 

2 wood products, such as crates or pal3 lets; and 

4 (ii) forest biomass derived from resi5 dues created as a by-product of timber 

6 harvesting, including treetops, tree limbs, 

7 and bark, but excluding stumps, roots, and 

8 round wood suitable for industrial pur9 poses. 

10 (B) EXCLUSION.—Such term does not in11 clude paper of a type that is commonly recy12 cled. 

13 (b) IN GENERAL.— 

14 (1) CONSIDERATION AS RENEWABLE ENERGY

15 SOURCE.—With respect to any agency action of the 

16 Department of Agriculture related to qualified re17 newable biomass, the Secretary shall consider quali18 fied renewable biomass to be a renewable energy 

19 source and assign it (and a facility, to the extent it 

20 uses qualified renewable biomass as fuel) a green21 house gas emission rate, and a carbon intensity, of 

22 not greater than zero, if the use of such qualified re23 newable biomass as fuel does not cause the conver24 sion of forests to non-forest use. 


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1 (2) PETITIONS.—Not later than 1 year after re2 ceiving a petition requesting a change to a rule, pol3 icy, or program of the Department of Agriculture in 

4 order to comply with the requirements of paragraph 

5 (1), the Secretary shall take such action as may be 

6 necessary to comply with such requirements with re7 spect to such rule, policy, or program. 

8 (c) GUIDANCE.— 

9 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days 

10 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec11 retary shall establish guidance for purposes of car12 rying out subsection (b). 

13 (2) MODIFICATION.—The Secretary may peri14 odically update the guidance established under para15 graph (1) as the Secretary may determine necessary. 

16 (3) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this sub17 section, the Secretary shall consult with— 

18 (A) the Administrator of the Environ19 mental Protection Agency; 

20 (B) the Secretary of Energy; and 

21 (C) any other relevant entities, as deter22 mined by the Secretary. 

Æ 


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