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S. 704

U.S. Senate•In Senate Committee

Summary

S. 704, the Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act of 2025, was introduced in the Senate on Feb 25, 2025 by Sen. Steve Daines (R) with 5 co-sponsors. It was referred to Agriculture, Nutrition, And Forestry, and last saw action on Feb 25, 2025: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Record

Text

S. 704 has 5 co-sponsors.

sb704/introduced-in-senate.txt
119 S704 IS: Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act of 2025
 U.S. Senate
 2025-02-25
 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.
 II  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  S. 704  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   February 25, 2025   Mr. Daines  (for himself,  Mr. Bennet , and  Mr. Marshall ) 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 reauthorize the voluntary public access and habitat incentive program.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act of 2025  .
2.
Voluntary public access and habitat incentive program
Section 1240R of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3839bb–5 ) is amended by striking subsection (f) and inserting the following:
(f)
Funding
(1)
Mandatory funding
Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out this section $150,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.
(2)
Enhanced public access to wetland reserve easements
To the maximum extent practicable, of the funds made available under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall use $3,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2025 through 2029 to encourage public access to land covered by wetland reserve easements under section 1265C through agreements with States and tribal governments under this section.
 .

Tracker

The tracker indicates the progress of this legislation as it moves through the legislative process.

  1. Introduced2025-02-25
  2. Passed Senate
  3. Passed House
  4. Conference
  5. To President
  6. Became Law

CRS Summary

The summaries are the Congressional Research Service’s, one per stage. Read them in full.

Introduced in Senate Feb 25, 2025

sb704/introduced-in-senate.md

Shown Here:
Introduced in Senate (02/25/2025)

Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act of 2025

This bill reauthorizes through FY2029 and increases funding for the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP). This Natural Resources Conservation Service program provides state and tribal governments competitive grants to encourage owners and operators of privately-held land (i.e., farm, ranch, and forest land) to allow public access for hunting, fishing, and other wildlife-dependent recreation.

The bill also reauthorizes through FY2029 VPA-HIP funding to encourage public access to land covered by wetland reserve easements through agreements with states and tribal governments.

Sponsors

Sen. Steve Daines (R) sponsors S. 704, and 5 members have co-sponsored it, 2 of them from the day it was introduced.

Committees

S. 704 went before 1 committee: Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
Referred To · Feb 25, 2025 · 334 Bills

Actions

S. 704 has taken 2 actions since Feb 25, 2025.

ChamberAction
Feb 25, 2025
Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee
Feb 25, 2025
—
Introduced in Senate

Votes

S. 704 has not gone to a roll call.

1 bill is related to S. 704, as Identical bill.

Titles

S. 704 goes by 3 titles, 1 of them short titles.

  • Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act of 2025 — Display Title
  • Voluntary Public Access Improvement Act of 2025 — Short Title(s) as Introduced
  • A bill to amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to reauthorize the voluntary public access and habitat incentive program. — Official Title as Introduced

Lobbying

3 clients hired 3 firms and 12 registered lobbyists who named S. 704 in 11 quarterly filings, 2025 to 2026. Reported under the Lobbying Disclosure Act; a filing’s income covers everything its registrant worked that quarter, so the amounts below are the filings’, not this bill’s.

Filed under Agriculture, Budget/Appropriations, Marine/Maritime/Boating/Fisheries, Clean Air and Water (quality), Natural Resources, Transportation, Copyright/Patent/Trademark, Defense.

Clients

Who paid to be heard, by how many filings named the bill.

ClientBusinessStateFirmsFilingsReported
THEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP—District of Columbia16—
CORNELL UNIVERSITY—New York14—
NATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS FOUNDATION—District of Columbia11—

Firms

Registrants who filed on the bill, by filings.

RegistrantClientsFilingsReported
THEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP16—
CORNELL UNIVERSITY14—
NATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS FOUNDATION11—

Lobbyists

Named on the filings that cite the bill.

LobbyistFirmsClientsFilings
IAN NAKAYAMA116
ZACH BODHANE116
DAMIEN SHARP114
DANIEL PARKER114
DIANNE MILLER114
GRAYSON HAYNES114
ALESSIA LEAL113
DIANE CIHOTA CASHOUR111
JOSEPH BLISS111
LAWRENCE KEANE111
PATRICK ROTHWELL111
SEAN SMITH111

Filings

The documents themselves, on the Senate’s Lobbying Disclosure site, largest reported first.

ClientRegistrantPeriodReportedDocument
NATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS FOUNDATIONNATIONAL SHOOTING SPORTS FOUNDATION2025 first_quarter$1.9M1st Quarter - Report
CORNELL UNIVERSITYCORNELL UNIVERSITY2026 second_quarter$360K2nd Quarter - Report
CORNELL UNIVERSITYCORNELL UNIVERSITY2025 third_quarter$240K3rd Quarter - Report
CORNELL UNIVERSITYCORNELL UNIVERSITY2026 first_quarter$180K1st Quarter - Report
CORNELL UNIVERSITYCORNELL UNIVERSITY2025 fourth_quarter$180K4th Quarter - Report
THEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIPTHEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP2025 second_quarter$80K2nd Quarter - Report
THEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIPTHEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP2025 first_quarter$80K1st Quarter - Report
THEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIPTHEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP2026 second_quarter$50K2nd Quarter - Report
THEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIPTHEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP2026 first_quarter$42K1st Quarter - Report
THEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIPTHEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP2025 fourth_quarter$30K4th Quarter - Report
THEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIPTHEODORE ROOSEVELT CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP2025 third_quarter$30K3rd Quarter - Report

Classification

The Congressional Research Service files S. 704 under Agriculture and Food, one of its 31 policy areas.

CRS Subjects

CRS assigns every bill one policy area from its 31; S. 704’s is Agriculture and Food.

s704/policy-areas.txt
Agriculture and FoodAnimalsArmed Forces and National SecurityArts, Culture, ReligionCivil Rights and Liberties, Minority IssuesCommerceCongressCrime and Law EnforcementEconomics and Public FinanceEducationEmergency ManagementEnergyEnvironmental ProtectionFamiliesFinance and Financial SectorForeign Trade and International FinanceGovernment Operations and PoliticsHealthHousing and Community DevelopmentImmigrationInternational AffairsLabor and EmploymentLawNative AmericansPublic Lands and Natural ResourcesScience, Technology, CommunicationsSocial WelfareSports and RecreationTaxationTransportation and Public WorksWater Resources Development

Source: congress.gov · legiscan.com