S. 629

S629 ENR: Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025
 U.S. Senate
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
     One Hundred Nineteenth Congress of the United States of America
     2d Session
     Begun and held at the City of Washington on Saturday, the third day of January, two thousand and twenty six
     S. 629
     IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
     AN ACT
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.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025  .
2.
Improving the 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  ;
(B)
in paragraph (1)—
(i)
by inserting  or for other emergency measures to replace or restore farmland or conservation structures requiring an immediate response (as determined by the Secretary),  after  replacement of fencing, ; and
(ii)
by striking  option of receiving  and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting the following:
option of receiving, before the agricultural producer carries out the repair, replacement, or restoration—
(A)
with respect to a payment to the agricultural producer for a replacement, 75 percent of the cost of the replacement, as determined by the Secretary; and
(B)
with respect to a payment to the agricultural producer for a repair or restoration, 50 percent of the cost of the repair or restoration, as determined by the Secretary.
  ; and
(C)
in paragraph (2), by striking  60-day  and inserting  180-day ; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:
(c)
Wildfire determination
A wildfire that causes damage eligible for a payment under subsection (a) includes—
(1)
a wildfire that is not caused naturally, if the damage is caused by the spread of the wildfire due to natural causes; and
(2)
a wildfire that is caused by the Federal Government.
  .
3.
Improving the Emergency Forest Restoration Program
Section 407 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 ( 16 U.S.C. 2206 ) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)(2), by striking  wildfires,  and inserting  wildfires (including a wildfire that is not caused naturally, if the damage is caused by the spread of the wildfire due to natural causes, and a wildfire that is caused by the Federal Government), ;
(2)
by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and
(3)
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.
(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.
  .
  Speaker of the House of Representatives  Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate