I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4213 
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to modify the conservation reserve 
enhancement program. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 20, 2023 
Mr. BUCK (for himself and Ms. CARAVEO) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to modify the 
conservation reserve enhancement program. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Conservation Reserve 
Enhancement Program Improvement Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. CONSERVATION RESERVE ENHANCEMENT PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1231A of the Food Secu-
rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831a) is amended— 
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(1) in subsection (a)(4), in the matter pre-
ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘(other than 
an agreement described in subsection (e))’’ after 
‘‘this subchapter’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)(2)(A)(vi), by inserting ‘‘or 
other appropriate practices, such as dryland agricul-
tural uses and grazing,’’ after ‘‘conservation prac-
tices’’; 
(3) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(5) VARIABLE ALLOCATION.—An owner or op-
erator may elect to determine the amounts of annual 
payments under this section allocated to each year 
of the agreement under subsection (b)(1). 
‘‘(6) DROUGHT
AND
WATER
CONSERVATION 
AGREEMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) RETIREMENT OF WATER RIGHTS.—In 
the case of an agreement described in sub-
section (e) that includes a permanent retire-
ment of water rights, the payment rates for an-
nual payments shall be equal to the irrigated 
acre payment rates determined by the Sec-
retary. 
‘‘(B) DRYLAND AGRICULTURAL USES.— 
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‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In the case of an 
agreement described in subsection (e) that 
permits dryland agricultural uses pursuant 
to paragraph (2) of that subsection, the 
payment rates for annual payments shall 
be equal to the difference between— 
‘‘(I) the irrigated acre payment 
rates determined by the Secretary; 
and 
‘‘(II) the dryland acre payment 
rates determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(ii) RETROACTIVE APPLICATION.—In 
the case of an agreement covered by clause 
(i) entered into before the date of enact-
ment of this paragraph under which the 
payment rate is lower than the payment 
rate that would be calculated for the agree-
ment under that clause, the Secretary shall 
modify the agreement by calculating the 
payment rate in accordance with that 
clause.’’; and 
(4) in subsection (e)— 
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 
by striking ‘‘may—’’ and inserting ‘‘shall—’’; 
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(B) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(in-
cluding agricultural land on which a continuous 
crop or crop rotation is maintained)’’ after ‘‘ag-
ricultural land’’; 
(C) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘with the 
adoption of best management practices on’’ and 
inserting ‘‘in accordance with a conservation 
plan adopted with respect to’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘subject 
to subsection (c)(6),’’ before ‘‘calculate’’. 
(b) EXEMPTION FROM PAYMENT LIMITATION.—Sec-
tion 1234(g) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 
3834(g)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘paragraph 
(2)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(3) CONSERVATION RESERVE ENHANCEMENT 
PROGRAM.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply to rental 
payments received under agreements entered into 
under section 1231A.’’. 
Æ 
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