I 
119TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7264 
To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to authorize the Secretary 
of Agriculture to provide for floodplain easement restoration and manage-
ment, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 27, 2026 
Mr. MESSMER (for himself and Mr. VASQUEZ) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to authorize 
the Secretary of Agriculture to provide for floodplain 
easement restoration and management, and for other 
purposes. 
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 ‘‘Restoring America’s 
Floodplains Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. EMERGENCY WATERSHED PROGRAM FLOODPLAIN 
EASEMENT 
RESTORATION 
AND 
MANAGE-
MENT. 
(a) FLOODPLAIN EASEMENTS.—Section 403(b) of 
the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203(b)) 
is amended— 
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; 
(2) by inserting after the subsection header the 
following: 
‘‘(1) EASEMENT RESTORATION.—The Secretary 
is authorized to restore appropriate vegetative cover, 
hydrological functions, and other functions and val-
ues of the land subject to a floodplain easement ac-
quired under subsection (a). 
‘‘(2) EASEMENT
MAINTENANCE.—The Sec-
retary is authorized to monitor, maintain, and en-
hance appropriate vegetative cover, hydrological 
functions, and other restoration measures on land 
subject to a floodplain easement acquired under sub-
section (a). 
‘‘(3) CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS.—In car-
rying out paragraphs (1) and (2), the Secretary 
may— 
‘‘(A) enter into contracts with landowners; 
and 
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‘‘(B) enter into agreements with States, 
nongovernmental organizations, and Indian 
Tribes. 
‘‘(4) COMPATIBLE USE AUTHORITY.—The Sec-
retary may authorize a landowner to carry out ac-
tivities on land subject to a floodplain easement ac-
quired under subsection (a) that are— 
‘‘(A) compatible uses necessary to carry 
out paragraph (1) or (2); or 
‘‘(B) compatible economic uses (including 
such activities as hunting and fishing, managed 
timber harvest, water management, or periodic 
haying or grazing) if such uses are consistent 
with long-term protection of the floodplain func-
tions and values for which the easement was ac-
quired.’’; and 
(3) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by 
striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 
(5)’’ each place it appears. 
(b) LEVEL OF RESTORATION.—Section 403 of the 
Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(c) LEVEL OF RESTORATION.—In carrying out this 
section, the Secretary may undertake measures that in-
crease the level of protection above that which would be 
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necessary to address the immediate impairment of the wa-
tershed if the Secretary determines that such restoration 
is in the best interest of the long-term health of the water-
shed and the long-term protection of the watershed from 
repetitive impairments.’’. 
Æ 
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