Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025

[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.''.
                                 <all>