119-hr1011

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1011 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 1011

 To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to remove barriers to 
 agricultural producers in accessing funds to carry out emergency 
 measures under the emergency conservation program, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 February 5, 2025

 Ms. Letlow introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to remove barriers to 
 agricultural producers in accessing funds to carry out emergency 
 measures under the emergency conservation program, and for other 
 purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Conservation Program 
Improvement Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. EMERGENCY CONSERVATION PROGRAM.

 

Section 401 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2201) 
is amended--

    (1) in subsection

    (b) --
        (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting ``and 
 Other Emergency Conservation Measures'' after 
 ``Fencing''; and
        (B) by amending paragraph

    (1) to read as follows:
 ``

    (1) In general.--With respect to a payment to an 
 agricultural producer under subsection

    (a) for the repair or 
 replacement of fencing, or for other emergency measures to 
 rehabilitate farmland or to repair or replace a farmland or 
 conservation structure, the Secretary shall give the 
 agricultural producer the option of receiving--
 ``
        (A) before carrying out such replacement or 
 rehabilitation, not more than 75 percent of the payment 
 for such replacement or rehabilitation, which shall be 
 based on the fair market value of the replacement or 
 rehabilitation, as determined by the Secretary; and
 ``
        (B) before carrying out such repair, not more 
 than 50 percent of the payment for such repair, which 
 shall be based on the fair market value of the repair, 
 as determined by the Secretary.''; and

    (2) by adding at the end the following:
 ``
            (c) Wildfires.--A wildfire that causes damage with respect to 
which a payment may be made under subsection

    (a) includes any wildfire 
that is not caused naturally, including a wildfire that is caused by 
the Federal Government, if the damage is caused by the spread of the 
fire due to natural causes.''.

SEC. 3. IMPROVING THE EMERGENCY FOREST RESTORATION PROGRAM.

 

Section 407 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2206) 
is amended--

    (1) by redesignating subsection

    (e) as subsection

    (f) ; and

    (2) by inserting after subsection
            (d) the following:
 ``

    (e) Advance Payments.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--The Secretary shall give an owner of 
 nonindustrial private forest land the option of receiving, 
 before the owner carries out emergency measures under this 
 section, not more than 75 percent of the cost of the emergency 
 measures, as determined by the Secretary based on the fair 
 market value of the cost of the emergency measures using the 
 estimated cost of the applicable practice published in the 
 Field Office Technical Guide of each State by the Natural 
 Resources Conservation Service.
 ``

    (2) Return of funds.--If the funds provided under 
 paragraph

    (1) are not expended by the end of the 180-day period 
 beginning on the date on which the owner of nonindustrial 
 private forest land receives those funds, the funds shall be 
 returned within a reasonable timeframe, as determined by the 
 Secretary.''.
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