II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 555 

To improve disaster assistance programs of the Department of Agriculture, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2023 

Mr. THUNE (for himself and Mr. LUJA ́N) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

and Forestry 

A BILL 

To improve disaster assistance programs of the Department 

of Agriculture, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Livestock Disaster As5 sistance Improvement Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EMERGENCY CONSERVATION PROGRAM. 

7 Title IV of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 is 

8 amended by inserting after section 402B (16 U.S.C. 

9 2202b) the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 402C. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR THE EMER2 GENCY CONSERVATION PROGRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBILITY OF FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL

4 LAND USERS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An agricultural producer 

6 eligible to receive payments under sections 401 and 

7 402 includes a person that— 

8 ‘‘(A) holds a permit from the Federal Gov9 ernment to conduct agricultural production or 

10 grazing on Federal land; or 

11 ‘‘(B) leases land from a State or unit of 

12 local government to conduct agricultural pro13 duction or grazing on that land. 

14 ‘‘(2) EFFECT.—Nothing in this subsection au15 thorizes the Secretary to make a payment under sec16 tion 401 or 402 to a State or unit of local govern17 ment. 

18 ‘‘(b) PERMANENT IMPROVEMENTS.—Emergency 

19 measures eligible for payments under sections 401 and 

20 402 include— 

21 ‘‘(1) new permanent measures, including per22 manent water wells and pipelines; and 

23 ‘‘(2) replacement or restoration of existing 

24 emergency measures with permanent measures, in25 cluding permanent water wells and pipelines. 

26 ‘‘(c) STREAMLINING APPLICATION PROCESS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) WAIVER OF PUBLIC COMMENT.—During a 

2 drought emergency, as determined by the Secretary, 

3 the 30-day public comment period required under 

4 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

5 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall be waived with respect to 

6 an application to carry out emergency measures 

7 under section 401 or 402 on land administered by 

8 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di9 rector of the Bureau of Land Management (referred 

10 to in this subsection as the ‘Secretary of the Inte11 rior’). 

12 ‘‘(2) ACCEPTANCE OF NRCS REVIEWS.—With 

13 respect to an application to carry out emergency 

14 measures under section 401 or 402 on land adminis15 tered by the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary 

16 of the Interior may accept— 

17 ‘‘(A) during a drought emergency, as de18 termined by the Secretary, an archeological re19 view conducted by the Secretary, acting through 

20 the Chief of the Natural Resources Conserva21 tion Service, for purposes of an archeological 

22 review required to be conducted; 

23 ‘‘(B) an environmental review under the 

24 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

25 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) conducted by the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S555.IS S555

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1 retary, acting through the Chief of the Natural 

2 Resources Conservation Service, for purposes of 

3 such an environmental review required to be 

4 conducted; and 

5 ‘‘(C) a review under the Endangered Spe6 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) con7 ducted by the Secretary, acting through the 

8 Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation 

9 Service, for purposes of such a review required 

10 to be conducted.’’. 

11 SEC. 3. EMERGENCY FOREST RESTORATION PROGRAM. 

12 Section 407 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 

13 (16 U.S.C. 2206) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)— 

15 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

16 through (3) as paragraphs (3) through (5), re17 spectively; 

18 (B) by inserting before paragraph (3) (as 

19 so redesignated) the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en21 tity’ means— 

22 ‘‘(A) with respect to nonindustrial private 

23 forest land, an owner of the nonindustrial pri24 vate forest land; 


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1 ‘‘(B) with respect to Federal land, a per2 son that holds a permit from the Federal Gov3 ernment to conduct agricultural production or 

4 grazing on the Federal land; and 

5 ‘‘(C) with respect to land owned by a State 

6 or a unit of local government, a person that 

7 leases land from the State or unit of local gov8 ernment to conduct agricultural production or 

9 grazing on that land. 

10 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE LAND.—The term ‘eligible land’ 

11 means— 

12 ‘‘(A) nonindustrial private forest land; 

13 ‘‘(B) Federal land; and 

14 ‘‘(C) land owned by a State or unit of local 

15 government.’’; and 

16 (C) in paragraph (3) (as so redesig17 nated)— 

18 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 

19 (I) in the matter preceding clause 

20 (i), by striking ‘‘nonindustrial private 

21 forest land’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible 

22 land’’; and 

23 (II) by redesignating clauses (i) 

24 and (ii) as subclauses (I) and (II), reVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:30 Mar 07, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S555.IS S555

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1 spectively, and indenting appro2 priately; 

3 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

4 (A) and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respec5 tively, and indenting appropriately; 

6 (iii) in the matter preceding clause (i) 

7 (as so redesignated), by striking ‘‘The 

8 term’’ and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term’’; and 

10 (iv) by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘emergency 

13 measures’ includes— 

14 ‘‘(i) new permanent measures de15 scribed in subparagraph (A), including per16 manent water wells and pipelines; and 

17 ‘‘(ii) replacement or restoration of ex18 isting emergency measures with permanent 

19 measures described in subparagraph (A), 

20 including permanent water wells and pipe21 lines.’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (b)— 

23 (A) by striking ‘‘an owner of nonindustrial 

24 private forest land who’’ and inserting ‘‘an eli25 gible entity that’’; and 


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1 (B) by striking ‘‘restore the land’’ and in2 serting ‘‘restore eligible land’’; 

3 (3) in subsection (c)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘owner must’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘eligible entity shall’’; and 

6 (B) by striking ‘‘nonindustrial private for7 est land’’ and inserting ‘‘eligible land’’; 

8 (4) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘an owner of 

9 nonindustrial private forest land’’ and inserting ‘‘an 

10 eligible entity’’; 

11 (5) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub12 section (g); and 

13 (6) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(e) STREAMLINING APPLICATION PROCESS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) WAIVER OF PUBLIC COMMENT.—During a 

17 drought emergency, as determined by the Secretary, 

18 the 30-day public comment period required under 

19 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

20 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall be waived with respect to 

21 an application to carry out emergency measures 

22 under this section on land administered by the Sec23 retary of the Interior, acting through the Director of 

24 the Bureau of Land Management (referred to in this 

25 subsection as the ‘Secretary of the Interior’). 


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1 ‘‘(2) ACCEPTANCE OF NRCS REVIEWS.—With 

2 respect to an application to carry out emergency 

3 measures under this section on land administered by 

4 the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the 

5 Interior may accept— 

6 ‘‘(A) during a drought emergency, as de7 termined by the Secretary, an archeological re8 view conducted by the Secretary, acting through 

9 the Chief of the Natural Resources Conserva10 tion Service, for purposes of an archeological 

11 review required to be conducted; 

12 ‘‘(B) an environmental review under the 

13 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

14 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) conducted by the Sec15 retary, acting through the Chief of the Natural 

16 Resources Conservation Service, for purposes of 

17 such an environmental review required to be 

18 conducted; and 

19 ‘‘(C) a review under the Endangered Spe20 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) con21 ducted by the Secretary, acting through the 

22 Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation 

23 Service, for purposes of such a review required 

24 to be conducted. 


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1 ‘‘(f) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section authorizes the 

2 Secretary to make a payment under this section to a State 

3 or unit of local government.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. LIVESTOCK FORAGE DISASTER PROGRAM. 

5 Section 1501(c)(3)(D)(ii)(I) of the Agricultural Act 

6 of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081(c)(3)(D)(ii)(I)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘at least 8 consecutive’’ and in8 serting the following: ‘‘not less than— 

9 ‘‘(aa) 4 consecutive weeks 

10 during the normal grazing period 

11 for the county, as determined by 

12 the Secretary, shall be eligible to 

13 receive assistance under this 

14 paragraph in an amount equal to 

15 1 monthly payment using the 

16 monthly payment rate deter17 mined under subparagraph (B); 

18 or 

19 ‘‘(bb) 8 consecutive’’; and 

20 (2) in item (bb) (as so designated), by striking 

21 ‘‘1 monthly payment’’ and inserting ‘‘2 monthly pay22 ments’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOR LIVESTOCK, HONEY 

2 BEES, AND FARM-RAISED FISH. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1501(d) of the Agricul4 tural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9081(d)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘drought,’’ 

6 after ‘‘adverse weather,’’; 

7 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘adverse 

8 weather or drought (such as added transportation 

9 costs, feed costs, and reduced honey crops for eligi10 ble producers of honey bees),’’ after ‘‘disease,’’; 

11 (3) in paragraph (4)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘In the case’’ and inserting 

13 the following: 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In the case’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The payment rate 

17 under subparagraph (A) shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) in the case of eligible producers of 

19 honey bees, incorporate per-hive and per20 colony rates of loss; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) incorporate a standardized ex22 pected mortality rate of 15 percent.’’; and 

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

24 ‘‘(5) DOCUMENTATION.— 

25 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any requirements for 

26 the submission of documentation by an eligible 


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1 producer to receive a payment under this sub2 section shall be consistent nationwide. 

3 ‘‘(B) PRODUCERS OF HONEY BEES.—The 

4 Secretary, in consultation with eligible pro5 ducers of honey bees, shall establish a standard, 

6 for purposes of this subsection, for— 

7 ‘‘(i) collecting data; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) setting an annual rate for replac9 ing colonies and hives of honey bees.’’. 

10 (b) APPLICABILITY TO PRODUCERS OF HONEY

11 BEES.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall apply the 

12 amendments made by subsection (a) to producers of honey 

13 bees such that there is no limit on the size of a beekeeping 

14 operation with respect to those amendments. 

15 SEC. 6. DROUGHT MONITOR INTERAGENCY WORKING 

16 GROUP. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

18 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture 

19 shall establish an interagency working group (referred to 

20 in this section as the ‘‘working group’’) to improve the 

21 availability of consistent, accurate, and reliable data for 

22 use in producing the United States Drought Monitor in 

23 accordance with section 12512 of the Agriculture Improve24 ment Act of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 5856). 


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1 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The working group shall consist 

2 of not fewer than— 

3 (1) 3 representatives from the Department of 

4 Agriculture, including 1 representative from each 

5 of— 

6 (A) the Office of the Chief Economist, who 

7 shall serve as the Chair of the working group; 

8 (B) the Forest Service; and 

9 (C) the Farm Service Agency; 

10 (2) 4 representatives from the National Oceanic 

11 and Atmospheric Administration, including 1 rep12 resentative from each of— 

13 (A) the Climate Prediction Center; 

14 (B) the National Centers for Environ15 mental Information; 

16 (C) the National Integrated Drought In17 formation System; and 

18 (D) the National Mesonet Program; 

19 (3) 1 representative from the National Drought 

20 Mitigation Center; 

21 (4) 1 representative from the Department of 

22 the Interior; and 

23 (5) 3 representatives from mesonet programs in 

24 States— 


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1 (A) that have experienced severe drought, 

2 as determined by the United States Drought 

3 Monitor, in not less than 5 calendar years dur4 ing the period of calendar years 2012 through 

5 2021; and 

6 (B) more than 50 percent of the land area 

7 of which is designated by the Economic Re8 search Service as a Level 1 frontier and remote 

9 area. 

10 (c) DUTIES.—The working group shall— 

11 (1) develop a means for the inclusion of addi12 tional in-situ data into the process of developing the 

13 United States Drought Monitor, including— 

14 (A) determining minimum requirements 

15 for data to be included in the United States 

16 Drought Monitor; 

17 (B) identifying data available from other 

18 government agencies, including through portals 

19 managed by the National Oceanic and Atmos20 pheric Administration; and 

21 (C) identifying gaps in coverage and deter22 mining solutions to address those gaps; 

23 (2) identify and address potential barriers to 

24 the use of existing data, including— 


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1 (A) identifying Federal datasets that would 

2 be of immediate use in developing the United 

3 States Drought Monitor where access is re4 stricted to some or all authors of the United 

5 States Drought Monitor; and 

6 (B) developing proposed accommodations, 

7 modifications to contractual agreements, or up8 dates to interagency memoranda of under9 standing to allow for incorporation of datasets 

10 identified under subparagraph (A); 

11 (3) develop an open and transparent method12 ology for vetting data products developed using re13 mote sensing or modeling; 

14 (4) if determined appropriate by the working 

15 group, develop a methodology for inclusion of data 

16 that may otherwise be excluded from the United 

17 States Drought Monitor due to shorter periods of 

18 record; and 

19 (5) identify and address any other issues relat20 ing to data availability and quality, as determined 

21 appropriate by the Chair of the working group. 

22 (d) REPORT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, the working group 

25 shall submit to the Secretary of Agriculture, the 


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1 Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the Inte2 rior, and the relevant committees of Congress a re3 port containing recommendations for changes in 

4 policies, regulations, guidance documents, or existing 

5 law to meet the objectives described in subsection 

6 (c). 

7 (2) DEFINITION OF RELEVANT COMMITTEES OF

8 CONGRESS.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘relevant 

9 committees of Congress’’ means— 

10 (A) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri11 tion, and Forestry of the Senate; 

12 (B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 

13 and Transportation of the Senate; 

14 (C) the Committee on Agriculture of the 

15 House of Representatives; and 

16 (D) the Committee on Science, Space, and 

17 Technology of the House of Representatives. 

18 (e) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.—Not later than 

19 180 days after the date of submission of the report under 

20 subsection (d), the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordina21 tion with the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary 

22 of the Interior, shall incorporate, to the extent practicable, 

23 the recommendations of the working group to improve the 

24 United States Drought Monitor in accordance with section 


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1 12512 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (7 

2 U.S.C. 5856). 

3 (f) TERMINATION.—The working group shall termi4 nate on the date that is 90 days after the date on which 

5 the report is submitted under subsection (d). 

6 SEC. 7. ALIGNMENT OF FARM SERVICE AGENCY AND FOR7 EST SERVICE DROUGHT RESPONSE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

9 date of submission of the report under section 6(d), the 

10 Administrator of the Farm Service Agency and the Chief 

11 of the Forest Service shall enter into a memorandum of 

12 understanding to better align drought response activities 

13 of the Farm Service Agency and the Forest Service (re14 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘agencies’’). 

15 (b) CONTENTS.—The memorandum of understanding 

16 entered into under subsection (a) shall include— 

17 (1) a commitment to better align practices of 

18 the agencies with respect to determining the severity 

19 of regional drought conditions; 

20 (2) a strategy for amending those determina21 tions to ensure consistent policy with respect to 

22 drought response in cases where the agencies are 

23 making inconsistent determinations within the same 

24 spatial scale; 


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1 (3) an agreement to utilize, to the extent prac2 ticable, the United States Drought Monitor in mak3 ing those determinations; and 

4 (4) an agreement to provide consistent informa5 tion to grazing permittees, operators, and other 

6 stakeholders affected by determinations relating to 

7 drought. 

Æ 


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