I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2534 To provide incentives for agricultural producers to carry out climate steward- ship practices, to provide for increased reforestation across the United States, to establish the Coastal and Estuary Resilience Grant Program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 14, 2021 Ms. SPANBERGER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, and Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subse- quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To provide incentives for agricultural producers to carry out climate stewardship practices, to provide for increased reforestation across the United States, to establish the Coastal and Estuary Resilience Grant Program, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Climate Stewardship Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:46 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2534.IH H2534 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2534 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—AGRICULTURE Sec. 101. Conservation reserve program. Sec. 102. Environmental quality incentives program. Sec. 103. Conservation stewardship program. Sec. 104. Funding. Sec. 105. Regional conservation partnership program. Sec. 106. Funding for climate stewardship agriculture research. Sec. 107. Conservation technical assistance. Sec. 108. Rural Energy for America Program. Sec. 109. Local Agriculture Market Program. Sec. 110. Soil health equipment grant program. Sec. 111. Farm and ranch stress assistance network. Sec. 112. Assistance for community food projects. TITLE II—FORESTS Sec. 201. Reforestation Trust Fund. Sec. 202. Reforest America Grant Program. Sec. 203. Funding for the community forest and open space conservation pro- gram. Sec. 204. Forest Stewardship Practice Program. Sec. 205. Urban wood programs. Sec. 206. Stewardship Corps. TITLE III—COASTAL WETLAND Sec. 301. Definitions. Sec. 302. Coastal and Estuary Resilience Grant Program. Sec. 303. Data collection. Sec. 304. Outreach and technical assistance. Sec. 305. Annual restoration and funding. Sec. 306. Prevailing wage requirement. Sec. 307. Department of the Interior coastal wetland restoration; funding. TITLE I—AGRICULTURE 3 SEC. 101. CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM. 4 (a) CONSERVATION RESERVE.—Section 1231 of the 5 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831) is amend- 6 ed— 7 (1) in subsection (d)— 8 (A) in paragraph (1)— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:46 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2534.IH H2534 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2534 IH (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 1 ‘‘25,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘28,000,000’’; 2 (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 3 ‘‘25,500,000 acres; and’’ and inserting 4 ‘‘30,500,000 acres;’’; 5 (iii) in subparagraph (E), by striking 6 ‘‘27,000,000 acres.’’ and inserting 7 ‘‘33,000,000 acres;’’; and 8 (iv) by adding at the end the fol- 9 lowing: 10 ‘‘(F) fiscal year 2024, not more than 11 34,000,000 acres; 12 ‘‘(G) fiscal year 2025, not more than 13 35,000,000 acres; 14 ‘‘(H) fiscal year 2026, not more than 15 36,000,000 acres; 16 ‘‘(I) fiscal year 2027, not more than 17 37,000,000 acres; 18 ‘‘(J) fiscal year 2028, not more than 19 38,000,000 acres; 20 ‘‘(K) fiscal year 2029, not more than 21 39,000,000 acres; and 22 ‘‘(L) fiscal year 2030, not less than 23 40,000,000 acres.’’; 24 (B) in paragraph (2)(A)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:46 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2534.IH H2534 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2534 IH (i) in clause (i)— 1 (I) by striking ‘‘2,000,000’’ and 2 inserting ‘‘4,600,000’’; and 3 (II) by striking ‘‘2023’’ and in- 4 serting ‘‘2030’’; and 5 (ii) in clause (ii)— 6 (I) in subclause (II), by striking 7 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 8 (II) in subclause (III), by strik- 9 ing ‘‘through 2023, 2,000,000 acres.’’ 10 and inserting ‘‘and 2022, 2,000,000 11 acres;’’; and 12 (III) by adding at the end the 13 following: 14 ‘‘(IV) fiscal year 2023, 2,500,000 15 acres; 16 ‘‘(V) fiscal year 2024, 2,800,000 17 acres; 18 ‘‘(VI) fiscal year 2025, 3,100,000 19 acres; 20 ‘‘(VII) fiscal year 2026, 21 3,400,000 acres; 22 ‘‘(VIII) fiscal year 2027, 23 3,700,000 acres; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:46 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2534.IH H2534 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2534 IH ‘‘(IX) fiscal year 2028, 1 4,000,000 acres; 2 ‘‘(X) fiscal year 2029, 4,300,000 3 acres; and 4 ‘‘(XI) fiscal year 2030, not less 5 than 4,600,000 acres.’’; and 6 (C) in paragraph (6)(B)— 7 (i) in clause (i)— 8 (I) by striking ‘‘8,600,000’’ and 9 inserting ‘‘17,700,000’’; and 10 (II) by striking ‘‘2023’’ and in- 11 serting ‘‘2030’’; and 12 (ii) in clause (ii)— 13 (I) in subclause (III), by striking 14 ‘‘8,500,000 acres; and’’ and inserting 15 ‘‘10,000,000 acres;’’; and 16 (II) by striking subclause (IV) 17 and inserting the following: 18 ‘‘(IV) fiscal year 2022, 19 12,500,000 acres; 20 ‘‘(V) fiscal year 2023, 21 14,500,000 acres; 22 ‘‘(VI) fiscal year 2024, 23 15,500,000 acres; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:46 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2534.IH H2534 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2534 IH ‘‘(VII) fiscal year 2025, 1 16,500,000 acres; 2 ‘‘(VIII) fiscal year 2026, 3 17,500,000 acres; 4 ‘‘(IX) fiscal year 2027, 5 18,500,000 acres; 6 ‘‘(X) fiscal year 2028, 7 19,500,000 acres; and 8 ‘‘(XI) fiscal years 2029 and 9 2030, 20,000,000 acres.’’; 10 (2) in subsection (e)(1), by striking ‘‘, nor more 11 than 15,’’; and 12 (3) in subsection (h)— 13 (A) by striking paragraph (2); and 14 (B) by striking ‘‘CONSIDERATION.—’’ in 15 the subsection heading and all that follows 16 through ‘‘On the’’ in paragraph (1) and insert- 17 ing ‘‘CONSIDERATION.—On the’’. 18 (b) CONSERVATION RESERVE ENHANCEMENT PRO- 19 GRAM.—Section 1231A(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Food Security 20 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831a(b)(2)(A)(i)) is amended by 21 inserting ‘‘, including reducing agricultural greenhouse 22 gas emissions or increasing carbon sequestration,’’ after 23 ‘‘concerns’’. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:46 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2534.IH H2534 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2534 IH SEC. 102. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PRO- 1 GRAM. 2 (a) PURPOSES.—Section 1240(3) of the Food Secu- 3 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa(3)) is amended— 4 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 5 the end; 6 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 7 the end; and 8 (3) by adding at the end the following: 9 ‘‘(D) reducing agricultural greenhouse gas 10 emissions; 11 ‘‘(E) increasing carbon sequestration; and 12 ‘‘(F) adapting to, or mitigating against, in- 13 creasing weather volatility; and’’. 14 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1240A of the Food Secu- 15 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–1) is amended— 16 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through 17 (10) as paragraphs (2) through (11), respectively; 18 and 19 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so re- 20 designated) the following: 21 ‘‘(1) CLIMATE STEWARDSHIP PRACTICE.—The 22 term ‘climate stewardship practice’ means any of the 23 following practices: 24 ‘‘(A) Alley cropping. 25 ‘‘(B) Biochar incorporation. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:46 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2534.IH H2534 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2534 IH ‘‘(C) Compost application. 1 ‘‘(D) Conservation activity plans. 2 ‘‘(E) Conservation cover. 3 ‘‘(F) Conservation crop rotation. 4 ‘‘(G) Contour buffer strips. 5 ‘‘(H) Contour farming. 6 ‘‘(I) Cover crops. 7 ‘‘(J) Critical area planting. 8 ‘‘(K) Cross wind trap strips. 9 ‘‘(L) Field borders. 10 ‘‘(M) Filter strips. 11 ‘‘(N) Forage and biomass planting, includ- 12 ing the use of native prairie and seed mixtures. 13 ‘‘(O) Forest stand improvements. 14 ‘‘(P) Grassed waterways. 15 ‘‘(Q) Hedgerow planting. 16 ‘‘(R) Herbaceous wind barriers. 17 ‘‘(S) Irrigation water management. 18 ‘‘(T) Mulching to improve soil health. 19 ‘‘(U) Multistory cropping. 20 ‘‘(V) Nutrient management. 21 ‘‘(W) Pollinator or beneficial insect or 22 monarch habitat establishment. 23 ‘‘(X) Prescribed grazing. 24 ‘‘(Y) Range planting. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:46 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2534.IH H2534 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2534 IH ‘‘(Z) Residue and tillage management with 1 no till. 2 ‘‘(AA) Residue and tillage management 3 with reduced till. 4 ‘‘(BB) Riparian forest buffers. 5 ‘‘(CC) Riparian herbaceous buffers. 6 ‘‘(DD) Silvopasture establishment. 7 ‘‘(EE) Stripcropping. 8 ‘‘(FF) Tree and shrub establishment. 9 ‘‘(GG) Upland wildlife habitat. 10 ‘‘(HH) Vegetative barriers. 11 ‘‘(II) Wetland restoration. 12 ‘‘(JJ) Windbreak renovation. 13 ‘‘(KK) Windbreaks and shelterbelts. 14 ‘‘(LL) Woody residue treatment. 15 ‘‘(MM) Any other highly effective vegeta- 16 tive or management practice that significantly 17 reduces agricultural greenhouse gas emissions, 18 increases carbon sequestration, or assists pro- 19 ducers in adapting to, or mitigating against, in- 20 creasing weather volatility, as determined by 21 the Secretary.’’. 22 (c) ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION.—Sec- 23 tion 1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 24 3839aa–2) is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:46 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2534.IH H2534 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2534 IH (1) in subsection (d)(3)— 1 (A) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘or’’ 2 at the end; 3 (B) in subparagraph (G), by striking the 4 period at the end and inserting a semicolon; 5 and 6 (C) by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(H) reductions in agricultural greenhouse 8 gas emissions; or 9 ‘‘(I) long-term carbon sequestration.’’; and 10 (2) in subsection (j)— 11 (A) in paragraph (2)— 12 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 13 (I) in clause (i)— 14 (aa) by striking ‘‘mainte- 15 nance of incentive practices’’ and 16 inserting the following: ‘‘mainte- 17 nance of— 18 ‘‘(I) incentive practices’’; and 19 (bb) in subclause (I) (as so 20 designated), by striking the pe- 21 riod at the end and inserting the 22 following: ‘‘; or 23 ‘‘(II) 1 or more climate steward- 24 ship practices.’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:46 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2534.IH H2534 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2534 IH (II) in clause (ii)— 1 (aa) in subclause (I), by in- 2 serting ‘‘, or climate stewardship 3 practices to attain increased lev- 4 els of carbon sequestration and 5 reduced agricultural greenhouse 6 gas emissions,’’ after ‘‘conserva- 7 tion’’; and 8 (bb) in subclause (II), by in- 9 serting ‘‘or a climate stewardship 10 practice’’ after ‘‘incentive prac- 11 tice’’; and 12 (ii) in subparagraph (C)— 13 (I) by redesignating clauses (i) 14 and (ii) as subclauses (I) and (II), re- 15 spectively, and indenting appro- 16 priately; 17 (II) in the matter preceding sub- 18 clause (I) (as so redesignated), by 19 striking ‘‘Notwithstanding section 20 1240C’’ and inserting the following: 21 ‘‘(i) INCENTIVE PRACTICES.—Not- 22 withstanding section 1240C, in the case of 23 applications for contracts under subpara- 24 graph (A)(i)(I)’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:46 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2534.IH H2534 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2534 IH (III) by adding at the end the 1 following: 2 ‘‘(ii) CLIMATE STEWARDSHIP PRAC- 3 TICES.—Notwithstanding section 1240C, 4 in the case of applications for contracts 5 under subparagraph (A)(i)(II), the Sec- 6 retary shall give priority to applications 7 that contain the greatest number of cli- 8 mate stewardship practices.’’; and 9 (B) in paragraph (3)— 10 (i) in the paragraph heading, by in- 11 serting ‘‘AND CLIMATE STEWARDSHIP 12 PRACTICE’’ after ‘‘INCENTIVE PRACTICE’’; 13 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 14 ‘‘or climate stewardship practices’’ after 15 ‘‘incentive practices’’ each place it appears; 16 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 17 ‘‘or climate stewardship practice’’ after 18 ‘‘incentive practice’’ each place it appears; 19 and 20 (iv) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by insert- 21 ing ‘‘or a climate stewardship practice’’ 22 after ‘‘incentive practice’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:46 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2534.IH H2534 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 2534 IH (d) LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS.—Section 1240G of 1 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–7) is 2 amended— 3 (1) by striking ‘‘2018, or’’ and inserting 4 ‘‘2018,’’; and 5 (2) by inserting ‘‘the period of fiscal years 2024 6 through 2028, or the period of fiscal years 2029 7 through 2033,’’ before ‘‘regardless’’. 8 (e) CONSERVATION INNOVATION GRANTS AND PAY- 9 MENTS.—Section 1240H(c) of the Food Security Act of 10 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–8(c)) is amended— 11 (1) in paragraph (1)(B)(i)— 12 (A) in subclause (VI), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 13 the end; and 14 (B) by adding at the end the following: 15 ‘‘(VIII) practices that signifi- 16 cantly increase carbon sequestration, 17 reduce agricultural greenhouse gas 18 emissions, or assist producers to 19 adapt to, or mitigate against, increas- 20 ing weather volatility; and’’; 21 (2) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding 22 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘through 2023’’ and 23 inserting ‘‘and 2020, and $200,000,000 of the funds 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 16:46 Jun 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2534.IH H2534 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 14 •HR 2534 IH of the Commodity Credit Corporation for each of fis- 1 cal years 2021 through 2030’’; and 2 (3) in paragraph (7), in the matter preceding 3 subparagraph (A)— 4 (A) by inserting ‘‘not less than 5 $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 6 through 2030 of the’’ after ‘‘Using’’; and 7 (B) by striking ‘‘a soil’’ and inserting ‘‘an 8 ongoing soil’’. 9 SEC. 103. CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM. 10 (a) SUPPLEMENTAL PAYMENTS FOR CLIMATE STEW- 11 ARDSHIP PRACTICES.—Section 1240L(d) of the Food [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]