119-s904

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 904 Introduced in Senate

    (IS) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 S. 904

 To improve disaster assistance programs of the Department of 
 Agriculture, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 March 6, 2025

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

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To improve disaster assistance programs of the Department of 
 Agriculture, 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 ``Livestock Disaster Assistance 
Improvement Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. EMERGENCY CONSERVATION PROGRAM IMPROVEMENTS.

    (a) Additional Requirements.--Title IV of the Agricultural Credit 
Act of 1978 is amended by inserting after 

section 402B (16 U.S.C. 
2202b) the following:

``

SEC. 402C. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR EMERGENCY CONSERVATION 
 PROGRAM.

 ``

    (a) Eligibility of Federal, State, and Local Land Users.--
 ``

    (1) In general.--An agricultural producer eligible to 
 receive payments under sections 401 and 402 includes a person 
 that--
 ``
        (A) holds a permit from the Federal Government to 
 conduct agricultural production or grazing on Federal 
 land; or
 ``
        (B) leases land from a State or unit of local 
 government to conduct agricultural production or 
 grazing on that land.
 ``

    (2) Effect.--Nothing in this subsection authorizes the 
 Secretary to make a payment under 

section 401 or 402 to a State 
 or unit of local government.
 ``

    (b) Permanent Improvements.--Emergency measures eligible for 
payments under sections 401 and 402 include--
 ``

    (1) new permanent measures, including permanent water 
 wells and pipelines; and
 ``

    (2) replacement or restoration of existing emergency 
 measures with permanent measures, including permanent water 
 wells and pipelines.
 ``
            (c) Streamlining Application Process.--
 ``

    (1) Waiver of public comment.--During a drought 
 emergency, as determined by the Secretary, the 30-day public 
 comment period required under the National Environmental Policy 
 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall be waived with 
 respect to an application to carry out emergency measures under 
 

section 401 or 402 on land administered by the Secretary of the 
 Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land 
 Management (referred to in this subsection as the `Secretary of 
 the Interior').
 ``

    (2) Acceptance of nrcs reviews.--With respect to an 
 application to carry out emergency measures under 

section 401 
 or 402 on land administered by the Secretary of the Interior, 
 the Secretary of the Interior may accept--
 ``
        (A) during a drought emergency, as determined by 
 the Secretary, an archeological review conducted by the 
 Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Natural 
 Resources Conservation Service, for purposes of an 
 archeological review required to be conducted;
 ``
        (B) an environmental review under the National 
 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
 seq.) conducted by the Secretary, acting through the 
 Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, 
 for purposes of such an environmental review required 
 to be conducted; and
 ``
            (C) a review under the Endangered Species Act of 
 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) conducted by the 
 Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Natural 
 Resources Conservation Service, for purposes of such a 
 review required to be conducted.''.

    (b) Emergency Forest Restoration Program.--

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

    (1) in subsection

    (a) --
        (A) by redesignating paragraphs

    (1) through

    (3) as 
 paragraphs

    (3) through

    (5) , respectively;
        (B) by inserting before paragraph

    (3) (as so 
 redesignated) the following:
 ``

    (1) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
 ``
        (A) with respect to nonindustrial private forest 
 land, an owner of the nonindustrial private forest 
 land;
 ``
        (B) with respect to Federal land, a person that 
 holds a permit from the Federal Government to conduct 
 agricultural production or grazing on the Federal land; 
 and
 ``
            (C) with respect to land owned by a State or a 
 unit of local government, a person that leases land 
 from the State or unit of local government to conduct 
 agricultural production or grazing on that land.
 ``

    (2) Eligible land.--The term `eligible land' means--
 ``
        (A) nonindustrial private forest land;
 ``
        (B) Federal land; and
 ``
            (C) land owned by a State or unit of local 
 government.''; and
            (C) in paragraph

    (3) (as so redesignated)--
            (i) in subparagraph
        (A) --
            (I) in the matter preceding clause
            (i) , by striking ``nonindustrial 
 private forest land'' and inserting 
 ``eligible land''; and
            (II) by redesignating clauses
            (i) and
            (ii) as subclauses
            (I) and
            (II) , 
 respectively, and indenting 
 appropriately;
            (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs
        (A) and
        (B) as clauses
            (i) and
            (ii) , respectively, and 
 indenting appropriately;
            (iii) in the matter preceding clause
            (i) (as so redesignated), by striking ``The term'' 
 and inserting the following:
 ``
        (A) In general.--The term''; and
            (iv) by adding at the end the following:
 ``
        (B) Inclusions.--The term `emergency measures' 
 includes--
 ``
            (i) new permanent measures described in 
 subparagraph
        (A) , including permanent water 
 wells and pipelines; and
 ``
            (ii) replacement or restoration of 
 existing emergency measures with permanent 
 measures described in subparagraph
        (A) , 
 including permanent water wells and 
 pipelines.'';

    (2) in subsection

    (b) --
        (A) by striking ``an owner of nonindustrial private 
 forest land who'' and inserting ``an eligible entity 
 that''; and
        (B) by striking ``restore the land'' and inserting 
 ``restore eligible land'';

    (3) in subsection
            (c) --
        (A) by striking ``owner must'' and inserting 
 ``eligible entity shall''; and
        (B) by striking ``nonindustrial private forest 
 land'' and inserting ``eligible land'';

    (4) in subsection
            (d) , by striking ``an owner of 
 nonindustrial private forest land'' and inserting ``an eligible 
 entity'';

    (5) by redesignating subsection

    (e) as subsection

    (g) ; and

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

    (e) Streamlining Application Process.--
 ``

    (1) Waiver of public comment.--During a drought 
 emergency, as determined by the Secretary, the 30-day public 
 comment period required under the National Environmental Policy 
 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall be waived with 
 respect to an application to carry out emergency measures under 
 this section on land administered by the Secretary of the 
 Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land 
 Management (referred to in this subsection as the `Secretary of 
 the Interior').
 ``

    (2) Acceptance of nrcs reviews.--With respect to an 
 application to carry out emergency measures under this section 
 on land administered by the Secretary of the Interior, the 
 Secretary of the Interior may accept--
 ``
        (A) during a drought emergency, as determined by 
 the Secretary, an archeological review conducted by the 
 Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Natural 
 Resources Conservation Service, for purposes of an 
 archeological review required to be conducted;
 ``
        (B) an environmental review under the National 
 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
 seq.) conducted by the Secretary, acting through the 
 Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, 
 for purposes of such an environmental review required 
 to be conducted; and
 ``
            (C) a review under the Endangered Species Act of 
 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) conducted by the 
 Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Natural 
 Resources Conservation Service, for purposes of such a 
 review required to be conducted.
 ``

    (f) Effect.--Nothing in this section authorizes the Secretary to 
make a payment under this section to a State or unit of local 
government.''.
            (c) Clerical Improvements.--

    (1) Repeal.--

Section 406 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 
 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2201 note; Public Law 95-334) is repealed.

    (2) Heading format corrections.--
        (A) Section 402 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 
 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2202) is amended--
            (i) by striking the section designation and 
 all that follows through ``authorized'' and 
 inserting the following:

``

SEC. 402. WATER CONSERVATION AND WATER ENHANCING MEASURES DURING 
 SEVERE DROUGHT.

 ``The Secretary is authorized''; and
            (ii) by striking ``during'' and all that 
 follows through ``of'' and inserting ``during a 
 period of''.
        (B) Section 403 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 
 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203) is amended by striking the 
 section designation and all that follows through 
 ``authorized'' in subsection

    (a) and inserting the 
 following:

``

SEC. 403. EMERGENCY WATERSHED PROGRAM.

 ``

    (a) In General.--The Secretary is authorized''.
            (C) Section 405 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 
 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2205) is amended by striking the 
 section designation and all that follows through 
 ``authorized'' and inserting the following:

``

SEC. 405. REGULATIONS.

 ``The Secretary is authorized''.

    (3) Reordering.--Title IV of the Agricultural Credit Act of 
 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.) is amended--
        (A) by redesignating sections 402C (as added by 
 subsection

    (a) ), 403, 404, 405, and 407 (as amended by 
 subsection

    (b) ) as sections 403, 405, 407, 408, and 
 406, respectively, and moving the sections so as to 
 appear in numerical order;
        (B) in 

section 402B (16 U.S.C. 2202b), by striking 
 the section designation and heading and all that 
 follows through ``maximum'' and inserting the 
 following:
 ``
            (d) Maximum Payment.--The maximum''; and
            (C) by moving that subsection
            (d) (as so 
 redesignated) so as to appear after subsection
            (c) of 
 

section 402A (16 U.S.C. 2202a).

    (4) Clerical amendments.--

Section 402A of the Agricultural 
 Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2202a) (as amended by paragraph

    (3)
            (C) ) is amended--
        (A) in subsection

    (b) , by striking ``2279)'' and 
 inserting ``2279))'';
        (B) in subsection
            (c) , in the subsection heading, 
 by striking ``Limitation'' and inserting ``Total 
 Payment for Single Event'';
            (C) by striking the section designation and heading 
 and inserting the following:

``

SEC. 404. COST-SHARE REQUIREMENT; MAXIMUM PAYMENT.''

 ; and
            (D) by moving that 

section 404 (as so redesignated) 
 so as to appear after 

section 403 (as redesignated by 
 paragraph

    (3)
        (A) ).

    (5) Conforming amendment.--

Section 1241

    (f)

    (9)
        (B) of the 
 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841

    (f)

    (9)
        (B) ) is amended 
 by striking ``403'' and inserting ``405''.

SEC. 3. LIVESTOCK FORAGE DISASTER PROGRAM.

 

Section 1501
            (c) (3)
            (D) 
            (ii) 
            (I) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 
U.S.C. 9081
            (c) (3)
            (D) 
            (ii) 
            (I) ) is amended--

    (1) by striking ``at least 8 consecutive'' and inserting 
 the following: ``not less than--
 ``

    (aa) 4 consecutive weeks 
 during the normal grazing 
 period for the county, as 
 determined by the Secretary, 
 shall be eligible to receive 
 assistance under this paragraph 
 in an amount equal to 1 monthly 
 payment using the monthly 
 payment rate determined under 
 subparagraph
        (B) ; or
 ``

    (bb) 8 consecutive''; and

    (2) in item

    (bb) (as so designated), by striking ``1 
 monthly payment'' and inserting ``2 monthly payments''.

SEC. 4. EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE FOR LIVESTOCK, HONEY BEES, AND FARM-RAISED 
 FISH.

    (a) In General.--

Section 1501
            (d) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 
U.S.C. 9081
            (d) ) is amended--

    (1) in paragraph

    (1) , by inserting ``drought,'' after 
 ``adverse weather,'';

    (2) in paragraph

    (2) , by striking ``to reduce losses'' and 
 all that follows through the period at the end and inserting 
 ``to reduce losses caused by feed or water shortages (including 
 transportation costs for feed, water, livestock, and honey 
 bees), disease, adverse weather, drought, or other factors, as 
 determined by the Secretary, including inspections of cattle 
 tick fever.'';

    (3) in paragraph

    (4) --
        (A) by striking ``In the case'' and inserting the 
 following:
 ``
        (A) In general.--In the case''; and
        (B) by adding at the end the following:
 ``
        (B) Requirements for honey bees.--
 ``
            (i) In general.--In the case of eligible 
 producers of honey bees, the payment rate under 
 subparagraph
        (A) shall incorporate per-hive and 
 per-colony rates of loss, subject to clause
            (ii) .
 ``
            (ii) Determination of colony losses.--
 ``
            (I) In general.--For purposes of 
 clause
            (i) , in determining honeybee 
 colony losses eligible for assistance 
 under this subsection, the Secretary 
 shall--
 ``

    (aa) review the normal 
 mortality rate used for the 
 calculation of that assistance; 
 and
 ``

    (bb) adjust the normal 
 mortality rate described in 
 item

    (aa) as necessary to 
 exclude losses caused by colony 
 collapse disorder, as 
 determined by the Secretary.
 ``
            (II) Insufficient data.--In the 
 absence of sufficient data to establish 
 the adjusted mortality rate described 
 in subclause
            (I) (bb) , the Secretary 
 shall use the normal mortality rate for 
 honey bees applied for the first fiscal 
 year for which emergency relief was 
 provided to eligible producers of honey 
 bees under 

section 531

    (e) of the 
 Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 
 1531

    (e) ).''; and

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

    (5) Documentation.--
 ``
        (A) In general.--Any requirements for the 
 submission of documentation by an eligible producer to 
 receive a payment under this subsection shall be 
 consistent nationwide.
 ``
        (B) Producers of honey bees.--The Secretary, in 
 consultation with eligible producers of honey bees, 
 shall establish a standard, for purposes of this 
 subsection, for--
 ``
            (i) collecting data; and
 ``
            (ii) setting an annual rate for replacing 
 colonies and hives of honey bees.''.

    (b) Applicability to Producers of Honey Bees.--The Secretary of 
Agriculture shall apply the amendments made by subsection

    (a) to 
producers of honey bees such that there is no limit on the size of a 
beekeeping operation with respect to those amendments.

SEC. 5. DROUGHT MONITOR INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall establish an 
interagency working group (referred to in this section as the ``working 
group'') to improve the availability of consistent, accurate, and 
reliable data for use in producing the United States Drought Monitor in 
accordance with 

section 12512 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 
2018 (7 U.S.C. 5856).

    (b) Membership.--The working group shall consist of not fewer 
than--

    (1) 3 representatives from the Department of Agriculture, 
 including 1 representative from each of--
        (A) the Office of the Chief Economist, who shall 
 serve as the Chair of the working group;
        (B) the Forest Service; and
            (C) the Farm Service Agency;

    (2) 4 representatives from the National Oceanic and 
 Atmospheric Administration, including 1 representative from 
 each of--
        (A) the Climate Prediction Center;
        (B) the National Centers for Environmental 
 Information;
            (C) the National Integrated Drought Information 
 System; and
            (D) the National Mesonet Program;

    (3) 1 representative from the National Drought Mitigation 
 Center;

    (4) 1 representative from the Department of the Interior;

    (5) 1 representative from the Cooperative Institute for 
 Research to Operations in Hydrology of the University of 
 Alabama; and

    (6) 3 representatives from mesonet programs in States--
        (A) that have experienced severe drought, as 
 determined by the United States Drought Monitor, in not 
 less than 5 calendar years during the period of 
 calendar years 2012 through 2023; and
        (B) more than 50 percent of the land area of which 
 is designated by the Economic Research Service as a 
 Level 1 frontier and remote area.
            (c) Duties.--The working group shall--

    (1) develop a means for the inclusion of additional in-situ 
 data into the process of developing the United States Drought 
 Monitor, including--
        (A) determining minimum requirements for data to be 
 included in the United States Drought Monitor;
        (B) identifying data available from other 
 government agencies, including through portals managed 
 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 
 and
            (C) identifying gaps in coverage and determining 
 solutions to address those gaps;

    (2) identify and address potential barriers to the use of 
 existing data, including--
        (A) identifying Federal datasets that would be of 
 immediate use in developing the United States Drought 
 Monitor where access is restricted to some or all 
 authors of the United States Drought Monitor; and
        (B) developing proposed accommodations, 
 modifications to contractual agreements, or updates to 
 interagency memoranda of understanding to allow for 
 incorporation of datasets identified under subparagraph
        (A) ;

    (3) develop an open and transparent methodology for vetting 
 data products developed using remote sensing or modeling;

    (4) if determined appropriate by the working group, develop 
 a methodology for inclusion of data that may otherwise be 
 excluded from the United States Drought Monitor due to shorter 
 periods of record; and

    (5) identify and address any other issues relating to data 
 availability and quality, as determined appropriate by the 
 Chair of the working group.
            (d) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the working group shall submit a report containing 
recommendations for changes in policies, regulations, guidance 
documents, or existing law to meet the objectives described in 
subsection
            (c) to--

    (1) the Secretary of Agriculture;

    (2) the Secretary of Commerce;

    (3) the Secretary of the Interior;

    (4) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 
 of the Senate;

    (5) the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 
 of the Senate;

    (6) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
 Representatives; and

    (7) the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the 
 House of Representatives.

    (e) Action by Secretary.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
submission of the report under subsection
            (d) , the Secretary of 
Agriculture, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce and the 
Secretary of the Interior, shall incorporate, to the extent 
practicable, the recommendations of the working group to improve the 
United States Drought Monitor in accordance with 

section 12512 of the 
Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 5856).

    (f) Termination.--The working group shall terminate on the date 
that is 90 days after the date on which the report is submitted under 
subsection
            (d) .

SEC. 6. ALIGNMENT OF FARM SERVICE AGENCY AND FOREST SERVICE DROUGHT 
 RESPONSE.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of 
submission of the report under 

section 5
            (d) , the Administrator of the 
Farm Service Agency and the Chief of the Forest Service shall enter 
into a memorandum of understanding to better align drought response 
activities of the Farm Service Agency and the Forest Service (referred 
to in this section as the ``agencies'').

    (b) Contents.--The memorandum of understanding entered into under 
subsection

    (a) shall include--

    (1) a commitment to better align practices of the agencies 
 with respect to determining the severity of regional drought 
 conditions;

    (2) a strategy for amending those determinations to ensure 
 consistent policy with respect to drought response in cases 
 where the agencies are making inconsistent determinations 
 within the same spatial scale;

    (3) an agreement to utilize, to the extent practicable, the 
 United States Drought Monitor in making those determinations; 
 and

    (4) an agreement to provide consistent information to 
 grazing permittees, operators, and other stakeholders affected 
 by determinations relating to drought.
 <all>