119-hr4636

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4636 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4636

 To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to encourage practices that 
 benefit both soil and wildlife habitat by increasing payments to 
producers for such practices under the environmental quality incentives 
 program and the conservation stewardship program, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 July 23, 2025

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

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to encourage practices that 
 benefit both soil and wildlife habitat by increasing payments to 
producers for such practices under the environmental quality incentives 
 program and the conservation stewardship 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 ``Saving Our Interconnected Lives 
Act'' or the ``SOIL Act''.

SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PROGRAM.

    (a) Increased Payments for Certain Practices Relating to Soil and 
Wildlife Habitat.--
 

Section 1240B
            (d) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
 U.S.C. 3839aa-2
            (d) ) is amended by adding at the end the 
 following:
 ``

    (8) Increased payments for practices that benefit both 
 soil and wildlife habitat.--Notwithstanding paragraph

    (2) , the 
 Secretary shall provide payment to producers at 90 percent of 
 the cost associated with planning, design, materials, 
 equipment, installation, labor, management, maintenance, or 
 training for performing a practice that simultaneously benefits 
 both soil and wildlife habitat for projects identified by the 
 Secretary as addressing both soil and wildlife habitat resource 
 concerns, including practices that--
 ``
        (A) achieve alley cropping;
 ``
        (B) apply conservation cover;
 ``
            (C) apply contour buffer strips;
 ``
            (D) enhance or restore wetlands;
 ``
        (E) establish filter strips;
 ``
        (F) establish permanent vegetation to stabilize 
 critical areas;
 ``
        (G) establish riparian herbaceous cover;
 ``
        (H) establish trees and shrubs;
 ``
            (I) establish wildlife habitat plantings;
 ``
        (J) establish windbreaks;
 ``
        (K) implement field borders;
 ``
            (L) implement hedgerow planting;
 ``
            (M) implement riparian forest buffers;
 ``
        (N) improve forest stands;
 ``
        (O) manage forage harvest;
 ``
        (P) manage harvest of vegetation with grazing;
 ``
        (Q) manage or establish stands of trees or shrubs 
 in coordination with the management of understory 
 plants or nontimber forest products;
 ``
        (R) manage pest and environmental impacts;
 ``
        (S) manage residue and tillage management through 
 no-till or reduced till;
 ``
        (T) manage seasonal water for wildlife;
 ``
        (U) manage upland and wetland habitat;
 ``
            (V) plant cover crops;
 ``
        (W) plant grassed waterways;
 ``
            (X) plant stripcrops;
 ``
        (Y) restore rare or declining natural 
 communities; and
 ``
        (Z) rotate crops.''.

    (b) Establishment and Administration.--

Section 1240B

    (f)

    (2)
        (B) of 
the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-2

    (f)

    (2)
        (B) ) is amended 
by striking ``practices benefitting wildlife habitat under subsection

    (g) '' and inserting ``practices within projects that address a habitat 
resource concern''.
            (c) Evaluation and Prioritization of Applications.--

Section 1240C

    (b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-3

    (b) ) is 
amended--

    (1) in paragraph

    (3) , by striking ``and'' at the end;

    (2) in paragraph

    (4) , by striking the period at the end and 
 inserting ``; and''; and

    (3) by adding at the end the following:
 ``

    (5) that are developed for the purpose of addressing both 
 a soil and wildlife habitat resource concern.''.

SEC. 3. CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM.

    (a) Evaluation and Ranking of Stewardship Contract Offers.--

Section 1240K

    (b)

    (1)
        (A) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-
23

    (b)

    (1)
        (A) ) is amended--

    (1) in clause
            (ii) , by striking ``and'' at the end;

    (2) by redesignating clause
            (iii) as clause
            (iv) ; and

    (3) by inserting after clause
            (ii) the following:
 ``
            (iii) the degree to which the project 
 addresses both soil and wildlife habitat 
 resource concerns; and''.

    (b) Supplemental Payments for Resource-Conserving Crop Rotations, 
Advanced Grazing Management, and Co-Benefit Activities for Soil and 
Wildlife.--

Section 1240L
            (d) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 
3839aa-24
            (d) ) is amended--

    (1) in the section heading, by striking ``and Advanced 
 Grazing Management'' and inserting ``, Advanced Grazing 
 Management, and Co-benefit Activities for Soil and Wildlife'';

    (2) in paragraph

    (1) , by adding at the end the following:
 ``
            (D) Co-benefit activity.--The term `co-benefit 
 activity' means a conservation activity that--
 ``
            (i) addresses both soil and wildlife 
 habitat resource concerns; and
 ``
            (ii) if implemented--
 ``
            (I) improves habitat for 
 wildlife; and
 ``
            (II) increases carbon 
 sequestration in the soil and reduces 
 greenhouse gas emissions.'';

    (3) in paragraph

    (2) --
        (A) in subparagraph
        (A) , by striking ``or'' at the 
 end;
        (B) in subparagraph
        (B) , by striking the period at 
 the end and inserting ``; or''; and
            (C) by adding at the end the following:
 ``
            (C) co-benefit activities.''; and

    (4) in paragraph

    (3) , by striking ``or advanced grazing 
 management'' and inserting ``, advanced grazing management, or 
 co-benefit activities''.
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