I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4956 

To establish an advisory committee to inform Congress of the impact of 

Waters of the United States regulations on United States agriculture, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Mr. YAKYM (for himself and Mr. MANN) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the 

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of 

such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To establish an advisory committee to inform Congress of 

the impact of Waters of the United States regulations 

on United States 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 ‘‘Farmer-Informed 

5 WOTUS Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR WATERS OF THE 

7 UNITED STATES REGULATIONS. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘advi2 sory committee’’ means the advisory committee es3 tablished under subsection (b). 

4 (2) COVERED COMMODITY.—The term ‘‘covered 

5 commodity’’ has the meaning given the term in sec6 tion 1111 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 

7 9011). 

8 (3) LIVESTOCK.—The term ‘‘livestock’’ has the 

9 meaning given the term in section 2(a) of the Pack10 ers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 182(a)). 

11 (4) POULTRY.—The term ‘‘poultry’’ has the 

12 meaning given the term in section 2(a)(6) of the 

13 Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921 (7 U.S.C. 

14 182(a)). 

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

16 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

17 (6) SPECIALTY CROP.—The term ‘‘specialty 

18 crop’’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 

19 of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 

20 (7 U.S.C. 1621 note; Public Law 108–465). 

21 (7) WOTUS REGULATIONS.—The term 

22 ‘‘WOTUS regulations’’ means any Federal regula23 tions that define the term ‘‘waters of the United 

24 States’’ for purposes of the Federal Water Pollution 

25 Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.). 


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1 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in coordina2 tion with the Administrator of the Environmental Protec3 tion Agency and the Assistant Secretary of the Army for 

4 Civil Works, shall establish an advisory committee broadly 

5 representative of the United States farming and ranching 

6 sectors to study and develop recommendations to address 

7 the impact of WOTUS regulations on United States agri8 culture and environmental protection. 

9 (c) MEMBERSHIP.— 

10 (1) COMPOSITION.—The advisory committee 

11 shall be composed of 32 members, all of whom are 

12 farmers or ranchers, to be appointed as follows: 

13 (A) FARMER ASSOCIATION-NOMINATED AP14 POINTEES.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—16 members shall 

16 be appointed by the Secretary from a list 

17 of candidates nominated under clause (ii). 

18 (ii) NOMINATIONS.— 

19 (I) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

20 shall select 16 entities described in 

21 subclause (II), each of which shall 

22 nominate 1 candidate for membership 

23 in the advisory committee. 


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1 (II) NOMINATING ENTITIES.— 

2 The entities referred to in subclause 

3 (I) are the following: 

4 (aa) 2 national farmer trade 

5 associations representing farmers 

6 and ranchers from all 50 States 

7 and the internal policy of which 

8 is developed using a member9 driven process. 

10 (bb) 4 national covered com11 modity trade associations. 

12 (cc) 3 national specialty crop 

13 trade associations. 

14 (dd) 3 national livestock 

15 trade associations. 

16 (ee) 3 national poultry trade 

17 associations. 

18 (ff) 1 national trade associa19 tion representing State depart20 ments of agriculture. 

21 (B) SENATE-NOMINATED APPOINTEES.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—8 members shall be 

23 appointed by the Secretary from a list of 

24 candidates nominated under clause (ii). 


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1 (ii) NOMINATIONS.—The Senate shall 

2 nominate 8 regionally diverse candidates 

3 for membership in the advisory committee, 

4 of whom— 

5 (I) 4 shall be nominated by the 

6 majority leader of the Senate, in con7 sultation with the chairperson of the 

8 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

9 and Forestry of the Senate; and 

10 (II) 4 shall be nominated by the 

11 minority leader of the Senate, in con12 sultation with the ranking member of 

13 the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri14 tion, and Forestry of the Senate. 

15 (C) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES-NOMI16 NATED APPOINTEES.— 

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—8 members shall be 

18 appointed by the Secretary from a list of 

19 candidates nominated under clause (ii). 

20 (ii) NOMINATIONS.—The House of 

21 Representatives shall nominate 8 regionally 

22 diverse candidates for membership in the 

23 advisory committee, of whom— 

24 (I) 4 shall be nominated by the 

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1 resentatives, in consultation with the 

2 chairperson of the Committee on Agri3 culture of the House of Representa4 tives; and 

5 (II) 4 shall be nominated by the 

6 minority leader of the House of Rep7 resentatives, in consultation with the 

8 ranking member of the Committee on 

9 Agriculture of the House of Rep10 resentatives. 

11 (2) DATE.—Initial appointments to the advi12 sory committee under paragraph (1) shall be made 

13 not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

14 this Act. 

15 (3) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—A member of the advi17 sory committee shall be appointed for the life of 

18 the advisory committee. 

19 (B) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the advi20 sory committee— 

21 (i) shall not affect the powers or du22 ties of the advisory committee; and 

23 (ii) shall be filled in the same manner 

24 as the original appointment. 


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1 (4) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 

2 The advisory committee shall select a chairperson 

3 and vice chairperson from among the members of 

4 the advisory committee. 

5 (d) MEETINGS.— 

6 (1) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 30 days 

7 after the date on which all members of the advisory 

8 committee have been appointed, the advisory com9 mittee shall hold the first meeting of the advisory 

10 committee. 

11 (2) FREQUENCY.—The advisory committee 

12 shall meet not less than 4 times per year. 

13 (3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

14 the advisory committee shall constitute a quorum, 

15 but a lesser number of members may hold hearings. 

16 (e) DUTIES.— 

17 (1) STUDY AND RECOMMENDATIONS RE18 QUIRED.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The advisory committee 

20 shall conduct a thorough study and develop rec21 ommendations to address the impact of 

22 WOTUS regulations on United States agri23 culture. 


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1 (B) MATTERS STUDIED.—The advisory 

2 committee shall study and develop recommenda3 tions to address— 

4 (i) the impact of the prior-converted 

5 farmland exemption on agricultural oper6 ations; 

7 (ii) common agricultural practices 

8 that are not exempted from WOTUS regu9 lations under the activity-based permitting 

10 exemptions of the Environmental Protec11 tion Agency; 

12 (iii) instances in which the Corps of 

13 Engineers came to conflicting rulings for 

14 the same or similarly situated tracts of 

15 land; 

16 (iv) the impact of WOTUS regula17 tions on secure food supply chains and 

18 rural infrastructure; 

19 (v) how WOTUS regulations can be 

20 structured to provide a clear, objective 

21 ‘‘eyesight’’ test for jurisdictional waters of 

22 the United States; and 

23 (vi) how safe harbor conditions can be 

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1 mon, voluntary conservation practices on 

2 their farms. 

3 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

4 date on which all members of the advisory com5 mittee have been appointed, the advisory committee 

6 shall— 

7 (A) submit a report with detailed findings 

8 and recommendations addressing the matters 

9 described in paragraph (1)(B) to— 

10 (i) the Secretary; 

11 (ii) the Committee of Agriculture, Nu12 trition, and Forestry of the Senate; 

13 (iii) the Committee on Environment 

14 and Public Works of the Senate; 

15 (iv) the Committee on Agriculture of 

16 the House of Representatives; 

17 (v) the Committee on Transportation 

18 and Infrastructure of the House of Rep19 resentatives; 

20 (vi) the Chair of the Council on Envi21 ronmental Quality; 

22 (vii) the Director of the Office of 

23 Management and Budget; 

24 (viii) the Director of the White House 

25 Domestic Policy Council; 


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1 (ix) the White House Chief of Staff; 

2 (x) the Administrator of the Environ3 mental Protection Agency; and 

4 (xi) the Assistant Secretary of the 

5 Army for Civil Works; 

6 (B) publish in the Federal Register the re7 port under subparagraph (A); and 

8 (C) present the findings and recommenda9 tions of the advisory committee in a meeting 

10 to— 

11 (i) the Administrator of the Environ12 mental Protection Agency; 

13 (ii) the Assistant Secretary of the 

14 Army for Civil Works; and 

15 (iii) the Science Advisory Board of the 

16 Environmental Protection Agency. 

17 (f) POWERS.— 

18 (1) HEARINGS.—The advisory committee may 

19 hold such hearings, sit and act at such times and 

20 places, take such testimony, and receive such evi21 dence as the advisory committee considers advisable 

22 to carry out this section. 

23 (2) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL AGENCIES.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The advisory committee 

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1 ment or agency such information as the advi2 sory committee considers necessary to carry out 

3 this section. 

4 (B) FURNISHING INFORMATION.—On re5 quest of the chairperson of the advisory com6 mittee, the head of a department or agency 

7 shall furnish any requested information to the 

8 advisory committee. 

9 (3) POSTAL SERVICES.—The advisory com10 mittee may use the United States mails in the same 

11 manner and under the same conditions as other de12 partments and agencies of the Federal Government. 

13 (4) GIFTS.—The advisory committee may ac14 cept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of serv15 ices or property. 

16 (5) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTER17 MITTENT SERVICES.—The chairperson of the advi18 sory committee may procure temporary and inter19 mittent services under section 3109(b) of title 5, 

20 United States Code, at rates for individuals which 

21 do not exceed the daily equivalent of the annual rate 

22 of basic pay prescribed for level V of the Executive 

23 Schedule under section 5316 of that title. 

24 (g) COMPENSATION.— 


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1 (1) FEDERAL MEMBERS.—A member of the ad2 visory committee who is an officer or employee of 

3 the United States shall serve without compensation 

4 in addition to that received for service as an officer 

5 or employee of the United States, and such detail 

6 shall be without interruption or loss of civil service 

7 status or privilege. 

8 (2) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of the ad9 visory committee shall be allowed travel expenses, in10 cluding per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates au11 thorized for employees of agencies under subchapter 

12 I of chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 

13 away from their home or regular places of business 

14 in the performance of services for the advisory com15 mittee. 

16 (h) SUNSET.—The advisory committee shall termi17 nate 90 days after the date on which the advisory com18 mittee completes the reporting requirements under sub19 section (e)(2). 

20 (i) FUNDING.— 

21 (1) UNOBLIGATED FUNDING AVAILABLE.—Of 

22 the unobligated amounts appropriated by the Amer23 ican Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117–2; 

24 135 Stat. 4), such sums as are necessary shall be 

25 made available to carry out this section. 


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1 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In 

2 the event that the funds described in paragraph (1) 

3 may not be made available to carry out this section, 

4 there are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

5 as are necessary to carry out this section. 

Æ 


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