COVER Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3478 To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to establish a Good Steward Cover Crop program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 18, 2023 Mr. CASTEN (for himself, Ms. SLOTKIN, and Mr. BOST) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To amend the Federal Crop Insurance Act to establish a Good Steward Cover Crop 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 ‘‘Conservation Oppor- 4 tunity and Voluntary Environment Resilience Program 5 Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘COVER Act of 2023’’. 6 SEC. 2. GOOD STEWARD COVER CROP PROGRAM. 7 The Federal Crop Insurance Act is amended by in- 8 serting after section 508D (7 U.S.C. 1508d) the following: 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:56 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3478.IH H3478 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3478 IH ‘‘SEC. 508E. GOOD STEWARD COVER CROP PROGRAM. 1 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 2 ‘‘(1) COVERED INSURANCE PROGRAM.—The 3 term ‘covered insurance program’ means a plan of 4 insurance offered by the Corporation. 5 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 6 the Good Steward Cover Crop program established 7 under subsection (b)(1). 8 ‘‘(3) QUALIFYING COVER CROP.—The term 9 ‘qualifying cover crop’ means cereal or other grass, 10 legume, brassica, nonlegume broadleaf, or any com- 11 bination thereof that is planted for conservation pur- 12 poses in accordance with— 13 ‘‘(A) guidance of the Natural Resources 14 Conservation Service; and 15 ‘‘(B) any other expert guidance, as deter- 16 mined by the Secretary. 17 ‘‘(4) UNDERSERVED PRODUCER.—The term 18 ‘underserved producer’ has the meaning given the 19 term in section 508(a)(7)(A). 20 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning with crop year 22 2023, the Secretary shall carry out a program, to be 23 known as the ‘Good Steward Cover Crop program’, 24 to provide additional premium subsidies to producers 25 for each acre— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:56 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3478.IH H3478 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3478 IH ‘‘(A) on which qualifying cover crops are 1 planted during a crop year; and 2 ‘‘(B) for which the producers, during such 3 crop year— 4 ‘‘(i) plant crops other than the quali- 5 fying cover crops; and 6 ‘‘(ii) purchase insurance under a cov- 7 ered insurance program with respect to 8 such planted crops. 9 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—For each acre described in 10 paragraph (1), for each crop year, a producer shall 11 be required to submit to the Secretary a report of 12 acreage form. 13 ‘‘(c) PREMIUM SUBSIDY AMOUNT.— 14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraphs (2) 15 and (3), an additional premium subsidy provided to 16 a producer under the program shall— 17 ‘‘(A) be calculated on a common land unit 18 basis or an equivalent or more precise basis; 19 and 20 ‘‘(B) be in an amount equal to the product 21 obtained by multiplying— 22 ‘‘(i) $5; and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:56 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3478.IH H3478 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3478 IH ‘‘(ii) the number of acres of the pro- 1 ducer for which the additional premium 2 subsidy is provided. 3 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—An additional premium sub- 4 sidy under paragraph (1) for an acre described in 5 subsection (b)(1) shall not exceed the amount of the 6 premium owed by the producer with respect to that 7 acre. 8 ‘‘(3) RULE WITH RESPECT TO A PRODUCER- 9 SHARE.—An additional premium subsidy under 10 paragraph (1) shall be modified to reflect the indi- 11 vidual producer share of such acres. 12 ‘‘(4) INCLUSION.—Participation by a producer 13 in a State program that provides premium subsidies 14 for conservation practices, including cover crops, 15 shall not disqualify a producer from receiving assist- 16 ance under this section. 17 ‘‘(d) OUTREACH.— 18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, in co- 19 ordination with the Administrator of the Farm Serv- 20 ice Agency and the Chief of the Natural Resources 21 Conservation Service, conduct outreach to producers, 22 including underserved producers, to provide informa- 23 tion on— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:56 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3478.IH H3478 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3478 IH ‘‘(A) the program, including eligibility for 1 the program; and 2 ‘‘(B) qualifying cover crops under the pro- 3 gram. 4 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Sec- 5 retary shall enter into 1 or more cooperative agree- 6 ments with organizations capable of assisting with 7 the outreach described in paragraph (1)— 8 ‘‘(A) to carry out such outreach; and 9 ‘‘(B) to coordinate with soil and water con- 10 servation districts to encourage the adoption of 11 qualifying cover crop practices. 12 ‘‘(e) REPORTS.— 13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 14 the date of enactment of this section, and annually 15 thereafter, the Secretary shall, in coordination with 16 the Administrator of the Risk Management Agency, 17 the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency, and 18 the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation 19 Service, submit to Congress a report that includes— 20 ‘‘(A) a summary of the activities carried 21 out under the program, including— 22 ‘‘(i) the number and amount of pre- 23 mium subsidies provided to producers 24 under the program; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:56 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3478.IH H3478 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3478 IH ‘‘(ii) the number of acres of cover 1 crops planted for which a premium subsidy 2 was received; and 3 ‘‘(iii) the outreach carried out under 4 subsection (d); and 5 ‘‘(B) recommendations to increase the 6 number of producers that qualify for additional 7 premium subsidies under the program. 8 ‘‘(2) STUDY; REPORT.—Not later than 4 years 9 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec- 10 retary shall, in coordination with the Administrator 11 of the Risk Management Agency, the Administrator 12 of the Farm Service Agency, and the Chief of the 13 Natural Resources Conservation Service, carry out, 14 and submit to Congress a report on the results of, 15 a study that examines whether planting qualifying 16 cover crops in accordance with this section results in 17 decreased crop insurance payments and stabilized 18 yields compared to crop insurance payments and 19 yields for acres not utilizing cover crops. 20 ‘‘(f) FUNDING.— 21 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 22 the Corporation, the Secretary shall use the fol- 23 lowing amounts to carry out this section: 24 ‘‘(A) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2024. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:56 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3478.IH H3478 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3478 IH ‘‘(B) $66,000,000 for fiscal year 2025. 1 ‘‘(C) $72,000,000 for fiscal year 2026. 2 ‘‘(D) $78,000,000 for fiscal year 2027. 3 ‘‘(E) $84,000,000 for fiscal year 2028. 4 ‘‘(2) UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—Funds made 5 available under paragraph (1) that are not expended 6 by the end of the applicable fiscal year may be made 7 available for use to carry out this section in the fol- 8 lowing fiscal year. 9 ‘‘(3) RESERVATION FOR TECHNICAL ASSIST- 10 ANCE, OUTREACH, AND PROGRAM SUPPORT.—Of the 11 amounts made available under paragraph (1) for a 12 fiscal year, the Secretary shall use not more than 13 $5,000,000 to carry out technical assistance, out- 14 reach, and program support with respect to the pro- 15 gram.’’. 16 SEC. 3. SOIL HEALTH PILOT PROGRAM. 17 Section 523 of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 18 U.S.C. 1523) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 19 lowing: 20 ‘‘(j) SOIL HEALTH PILOT PROGRAM.— 21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to any other 22 authority of the Corporation, as soon as practicable 23 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 24 Corporation shall establish and carry out a pilot pro- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:56 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3478.IH H3478 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3478 IH gram (referred to in this subsection as the ‘pilot pro- 1 gram’) under which a producer that uses innovative 2 soil health practices, as determined by the Secretary, 3 including conservation crop rotations, may receive 4 additional premium subsidies on crop insurance. 5 ‘‘(2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The additional 6 premium subsidies offered under the pilot program 7 shall— 8 ‘‘(A) be offered through reinsurance ar- 9 rangements with private insurance companies; 10 ‘‘(B) be actuarially sound; and 11 ‘‘(C) require the payment of premiums and 12 administrative fees by the producer obtaining 13 the insurance. 14 ‘‘(3) LOCATION.—The Corporation shall con- 15 duct the pilot program in a number of counties that 16 is determined by the Corporation to be adequate to 17 provide a comprehensive evaluation of the feasibility, 18 effectiveness, and demand among producers for the 19 risk management tools evaluated in the pilot pro- 20 gram.’’. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 06:56 Jun 08, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3478.IH H3478 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS