119-s629

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 629 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 629

 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 February 19, 2025

 Mrs. Fischer (for herself, Mr. Lujan, and Mr. Schiff) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

 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. IMPROVING THE 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'';
        (B) in paragraph

    (1) --
            (i) by inserting ``or for other emergency 
 measures to replace or restore farmland or 
 conservation structures requiring an immediate 
 response (as determined by the Secretary),'' 
 after ``replacement of fencing,''; and
            (ii) by striking ``option of receiving'' 
 and all that follows through the period at the 
 end and inserting the following: ``option of 
 receiving, before the agricultural producer 
 carries out the repair, replacement, or 
 restoration--
 ``
        (A) with respect to a payment to the agricultural 
 producer for a replacement, 75 percent of the cost of 
 the replacement, as determined by the Secretary; and
 ``
        (B) with respect to a payment to the agricultural 
 producer for a repair or restoration, 50 percent of the 
 cost of the repair or restoration, as determined by the 
 Secretary.''; and
            (C) in paragraph

    (2) , by striking ``60-day'' and 
 inserting ``180-day''; and

    (2) by adding at the end the following:
 ``
            (c) Wildfire Determination.--A wildfire that causes damage 
eligible for a payment under subsection

    (a) includes--
 ``

    (1) a wildfire that is not caused naturally, if the 
 damage is caused by the spread of the wildfire due to natural 
 causes; and
 ``

    (2) a wildfire that is caused by the Federal 
 Government.''.

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) in subsection

    (a)

    (2) , by striking ``wildfires,'' and 
 inserting ``wildfires (including a wildfire that is not caused 
 naturally, if the damage is caused by the spread of the 
 wildfire due to natural causes, and a wildfire that is caused 
 by the Federal Government),'';

    (2) by redesignating subsection

    (e) as subsection

    (f) ; and

    (3) 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.
 ``

    (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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