Agriculture Resilience Act of 2021

Bill: 117-s-1337
Sponsor: Sen. Heinrich, Martin [D-NM]
Introduced: 2021-04-22 in the Senate
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Advisory bodies
Agricultural conservation and pollution
Agricultural education
Agricultural insurance
Agricultural marketing and promotion
Agricultural practices and innovations
Agricultural prices, subsidies, credit
Agricultural research
Air quality
Alternative and renewable resources
Animal and plant health
Animal protection and human-animal relationships
Charitable contributions
Civil actions and liability
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Congressional operations and organization
Congressional oversight
Consumer affairs
Department of Agriculture
Department of Health and Human Services
Ecology
Education programs funding
Elementary and secondary education
Energy efficiency and conservation
Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
Environmental technology
Farmland
Food assistance and relief
Food industry and services
Food supply, safety, and labeling
Forests, forestry, trees
Fraud offenses and financial crimes
Fruit and vegetables
Genetics
Government buildings, facilities, and property
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Higher education
Horticulture and plants
Income tax credits
Income tax exclusion
Land use and conservation
Licensing and registrations
Livestock
Meat
Minority and disadvantaged businesses
Nutrition and diet
Pest management
Public contracts and procurement
Public-private cooperation
Research administration and funding
Rural conditions and development
Social work, volunteer service, charitable organizations
Soil pollution
Solid waste and recycling
Technology transfer and commercialization
Veterans' education, employment, rehabilitation
Women in business

Summary:
action_date: 2021-04-22
text: 

Agriculture Resilience Act
 
of 2021

 
This bill establishes, expands, and revises multiple programs and activities of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) primarily to reduce carbon emissions from the agriculture sector.
 
Specifically, USDA must finalize and implement a plan to achieve net-zero emissions from the sector by 2040. USDA must periodically review and revise the plan, as necessary, and annually report on its implementation.
 
Additionally, the bill expands the scope of various USDA research, extension, and education programs; conservation programs; and livestock programs to incorporate climate change adaption and mitigation. Expanded activities include efforts to improve soil health and preserve farmland and grassland.
 
Further, the bill changes programs that support renewable energy in rural areas to address carbon emissions in the agriculture sector. Among these changes, the bill provides statutory authority for a program for reducing methane emissions from livestock waste that is carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency and transitions the program to USDA.
 
The bill also addresses food waste, for example, by (1) standardizing the voluntary labels used by food producers to indicate the date by which food should be used or discarded, and (2) making composting activities eligible for support through USDA conservation programs. Moreover, the bill establishes grants to reduce and prevent food waste in landfills and in schools.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2021-04-22
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
action_date: 2021-04-22
text: Introduced in Senate