Federal

EQIP Improvement Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 797 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill makes changes to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which is part of the Food Security Act of 1985. The program helps producers pay for environmental improvement practices on their land. The bill adjusts how much money the government will pay toward these practices and requires annual reports to Congress. ##

Who It Affects

- Farm and land producers who participate in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program - The Secretary of Agriculture (the government official who runs agriculture programs) - Congress (receives annual reports) ##

Key Provisions

- Most environmental practices will receive government payments covering 75 percent of costs for planning, design, materials, equipment, installation, labor, management, maintenance or training. (Sec. 2(a)(1)) - Certain infrastructure practices like access roads, ponds, dams, irrigation systems and waste facilities will receive government payments covering only 40 percent of those same costs. (Sec. 2(a)(1)) - The government will pay 100 percent of income farmers lose when they stop farming certain land as part of these practices. (Sec. 2(a)(1)) - A payment limit for individual producers changes from $450,000 to $150,000. (Sec. 2(b)) - The Secretary must submit a report to Congress at least once per year describing how much money was spent on each type of practice by state and by the size of each producer's operation. (Sec. 2(c)) ##

What Changes

The bill reduces the maximum payment limit per producer and lowers the percentage of costs covered for infrastructure projects. It also requires Congress to receive annual reports showing exactly how program money gets distributed across different practice types, states and farm sizes. ##

Important Definitions

None defined in bill text. ##

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 658 To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to make adjustments to the environmental quality incentives program, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 6, 2023 Mr. BOOKER (for himself and Mr. LEE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to make adjust- ments to the environmental quality incentives 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘EQIP Improvement 4 Act of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PROGRAM 6 REFORMS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1240B of the Food Secu- 8 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2) is amended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Mar 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S658.IS S658 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 658 IS (1) in subsection (d), by striking paragraph (2) 1 and inserting the following: 2 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS.—A payment 3 to a producer for performing a practice may not ex- 4 ceed, as determined by the Secretary— 5 ‘‘(A) except as provided in subparagraphs 6 (B) through (D), 75 percent of the costs associ- 7 ated with planning, design, materials, equip- 8 ment, installation, labor, management, mainte- 9 nance, or training; 10 ‘‘(B) 40 percent of the costs associated 11 with planning, design, materials, equipment, in- 12 stallation, labor, management, maintenance, or 13 training for— 14 ‘‘(i) an access road; 15 ‘‘(ii) an animal mortality facility; 16 ‘‘(iii) an aquaculture pond; 17 ‘‘(iv) clearing and snagging; 18 ‘‘(v) a dam; 19 ‘‘(vi) a dam using a diversion; 20 ‘‘(vii) a dike; 21 ‘‘(viii) a diversion; 22 ‘‘(ix) a fish raceway or tank; 23 ‘‘(x) an irrigation pipeline; 24 ‘‘(xi) an irrigation reservoir; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Mar 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S658.IS S658 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 658 IS ‘‘(xii) land clearing; 1 ‘‘(xiii) land smoothing; 2 ‘‘(xiv) a livestock pipeline; 3 ‘‘(xv) obstruction removal; 4 ‘‘(xvi) a pond; 5 ‘‘(xvii) a pumping plant; 6 ‘‘(xviii) spoil spreading; 7 ‘‘(xix) a surface drain using a field 8 ditch; 9 ‘‘(xx) a main or lateral surface drain; 10 ‘‘(xxi) a vertical drain; 11 ‘‘(xxii) a waste facility closure; 12 ‘‘(xxiii) a waste storage facility; 13 ‘‘(xxiv) waste transfer; or 14 ‘‘(xxv) a waste treatment lagoon; 15 ‘‘(C) 100 percent of income foregone by 16 the producer; or 17 ‘‘(D) in the case of a practice that includes 18 1 or more elements described in subparagraphs 19 (A) through (C)— 20 ‘‘(i) 75 percent of the costs incurred 21 with respect to any elements described in 22 subparagraph (A); 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Mar 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S658.IS S658 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 658 IS ‘‘(ii) 40 percent of the costs incurred 1 with respect to any elements described in 2 subparagraph (B); and 3 ‘‘(iii) 100 percent of the income for- 4 gone with respect to any elements de- 5 scribed in subparagraph (C).’’; and 6 (2) in subsection (f), by striking the subsection 7 designation and heading and all that follows through 8 ‘‘For each’’ in paragraph (2)(B) and inserting the 9 following: 10 ‘‘(f) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING FOR WILDLIFE HABI- 11 TAT.—For each’’. 12 (b) LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS.—Section 1240G of 13 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–7) is 14 amended by striking ‘‘$450,000’’ and inserting 15 ‘‘$150,000’’. 16 (c) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Section 1240B of the 17 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2) is 18 amended by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(k) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not less fre- 20 quently than once each year, the Secretary shall submit 21 to Congress a report describing— 22 ‘‘(1) the amount obligated under the program 23 with respect to each category of practice, with infor- 24 mation categorized by fiscal year and State; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Mar 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S658.IS S658 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 658 IS ‘‘(2) the amount obligated under the program 1 in each State, with information categorized by fiscal 2 year and the size of the operation of each pro- 3 ducer.’’. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:47 Mar 15, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S658.IS S658 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.