[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2719 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2719
To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to
establish a competitive grant program under which the Secretary of
Agriculture provides grants to land-grant colleges and universities to
support agricultural producers in adopting conservation and innovative
climate practices, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 19, 2023
Mr. Newhouse (for himself and Ms. Pingree) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to
establish a competitive grant program under which the Secretary of
Agriculture provides grants to land-grant colleges and universities to
support agricultural producers in adopting conservation and innovative
climate practices, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Conservation and Innovative Climate
Partnership Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) farmers and producers engage in innovative climate and
conservation practices that may include a wide variety of
activities, such as--
(A) carbon retention or carbon sequestration
cropping practices;
(B) resource conserving crop rotation;
(C) alley cropping;
(D) integrated livestock-crop systems;
(E) advanced grazing management;
(F) improved forestry or agroforestry management;
and
(G) the insertion of buffers or saturated buffers;
(2) the purpose of implementing innovative climate and
conservation practices on farm or ranch land is to increase
sustainability through--
(A) improved soil health and tilth;
(B) improved water quality, quantity, and
management;
(C) improved nutrient management;
(D) reduction in tillage; or
(E) wildlife promotion and management; and
(3) the benefits of engaging in innovative climate and
conservation practices include--
(A) a reduction of greenhouse gases emissions,
including carbon dioxide, methane, sulfur dioxide, and
nitrous oxide;
(B) carbon sequestration;
(C) soil health improvement; and
(D) reduced exposure to climate-related risk.
SEC. 3. CONSERVATION AND INNOVATIVE CLIMATE PARTNERSHIP COMPETITIVE
GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--Subtitle H of title XVI of the Food, Agriculture,
Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 is amended by inserting after
section 1672 (7 U.S.C. 5925) the following:
``SEC. 1672A. CONSERVATION AND INNOVATIVE CLIMATE PARTNERSHIP
COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM.
``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) 1862 institution; 1890 institution.--The terms `1862
Institution' and `1890 Institution' have the meanings given
those terms in section 2 of the Agricultural Research,
Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601).
``(2) 1994 institution.--The term `1994 Institution' has
the meaning given the term in section 532 of the Equity in
Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note;
Public Law 103-382).
``(3) Eligible institution.--The term `eligible
institution' means--
``(A) an 1862 Institution;
``(B) an 1890 Institution; and
``(C) a 1994 Institution.
``(4) Practice.--The term `practice' has the meaning given
the term in section 1240A of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16
U.S.C. 3839aa-1).
``(5) Program.--The term `program' means the competitive
grant program established under subsection (b).
``(6) Secretary.--The term `Secretary' means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
``(b) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a program to
provide competitive grants pursuant to section 3(d) of the Smith-Lever
Act (7 U.S.C. 343(d)) to eligible institutions to carry out projects to
increase the voluntary adoption of practices through public awareness
campaigns, workshops, and specialized technical assistance.
``(c) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant under the
program, an eligible institution shall submit to the Secretary an
application, including a demonstration that the applicant will--
``(1) increase interaction with local agricultural
producers by a rate of not less than 25 percent above the
outreach rate before the implementation of the project under
the program, as determined by the Secretary;
``(2) assist agricultural producers in implementing new
practices on farms or edges of fields, improving existing
practices on farms or edges of fields, or any combination
thereof; and
``(3) assist agricultural producers in implementing a
combination of practices that contribute to--
``(A) the overall improvement of conservation; or
``(B) a decrease in, or sequestration of,
greenhouse gas emissions.
``(d) Partnerships.--An eligible institution shall carry out a
project using a grant under the program in partnership with not fewer
than 1 other entity, which may include--
``(1) a nonprofit organization;
``(2) a State entity;
``(3) the Natural Resources Conservation Service;
``(4) an 1862 Institution;
``(5) an 1890 Institution;
``(6) a 1994 Institution; or
``(7) any combination thereof.
``(e) Maximum Amount.--The amount of a grant under the program
shall be not more than $400,000.
``(f) Use of Funds.--An eligible institution may use a grant under
the program--
``(1) to support agricultural producers in implementing a
practice;
``(2) subject to subsection (g), for additional staffing at
the eligible institution to assist in carrying out a project
using the grant;
``(3) to conduct workshops for agricultural producers, and
develop and distribute digital and hard-copy materials directly
to agricultural producers, that provide clear directions for
accessing technical assistance for adopting practices; and
``(4) for soil testing and the measuring of other
indicators of the effectiveness of practices.
``(g) Limitation on Administrative Expenses.--An eligible
institution may use not more than 30 percent of the amount of a grant
under the program for administrative expenses.
``(h) Duration.--A grant provided under the program shall be for
such period as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, but not less
than 4 years.
``(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to provide grants under the program pursuant to section
3(d) of the Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343(d)) $13,000,000 for each
fiscal year.''.
(b) Eligibility of 1994 Institutions.--Section 3(d) of the Smith-
Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343(d)) is amended, in the third sentence--
(1) by striking ``program and'' and inserting ``program,'';
and
(2) by inserting ``, and the conservation and innovative
climate partnership competitive grant program established under
section 1672A of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade
Act of 1990'' before the period at the end.
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