Agriculture

Lessening Regulatory Burdens on our Farmers Act of 2018

United States · United States Congress · 30 January 2018

Lessening Regulatory Burdens on our Farmers Act of 2018 This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to allow producers who enroll in the Agricultural Risk Coverage or Price Loss Coverage programs during the first enrollment period after the next farm bill for a fiscal year after FY2018 to file a one-time program contract to enroll in the program for the duration of the farm bill, instead of enrolling annually. If there is a change in a farming operation for which a producer on a farm has filed a one-time program contract permitted under this bill, the producer must filed an updated contract with USDA within one year of the time that the change occurs.

Collaborative Water and Soil Enhancement Act of 2018

United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2018

Collaborative Water and Soil Enhancement Act of 2018 This bill amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to establish requirements for Department of Agriculture (USDA) conservation programs regarding: (1) nutrient and soil health management, and (2) source water protection. In carrying out the Conservation Stewardship Program and the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, USDA must: enroll at least five million acres annually in watersheds where nutrient delivery to hypoxic (low oxygen) zones is highest; encourage water quality or water quantity practices that protect source waters for drinking water (including protecting against public health threats) while also benefitting agricultural producers; collaborate with community water systems and state technical committees to identify local priority areas for the protection of source waters for drinking water; offer increased incentives and higher cost-share rates for water quality or water quantity practices that result in benefits that primarily occur outside of the land on which the practices are implemented; and reserve at least 10% of the funds or acres available for the programs to target the most effective practices for improving the quality or quantity of source water. USDA must also provide a streamlined certification process for third-party technical service providers that have certain certifications from the American Society of Agronomy.

Forest Incentives Program Act of 2018

United States · United States Congress · 29 January 2018

Forest Incentives Program Act of 2018 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to create certain programs that provide incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, USDA must establish an incentives program to achieve supplemental greenhouse gas emission reductions and carbon sequestration on U.S. private forest land (eligible land) through carbon incentives contracts and conservation easement agreements. Under the program, USDA must make payments to owners of eligible land for: (1) certain forestry practices that increase carbon sequestration and storage over a designated period on eligible land, and (2) conservation easements on eligible land. In addition, USDA must establish an incentives program to achieve supplemental greenhouse gas emission reductions from materials in nonresidential buildings used for commercial or state or local government purposes. Under the program, USDA must provide owners of such buildings payments for the use of eligible products for sequestering carbon in those buildings. Eligible products are commercial or industrial products that are composed of biological products, including renewable agricultural and forestry materials.

Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2018

Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018 This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission to establish the Task Force for Meeting Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States. The task force's duties include: (1) identifying and measuring current gaps in broadband Internet access service coverage of cropland and ranchland; (2) assembling a comprehensive guide of all federal programs and resources working to expand broadband Internet access service on unserved cropland and ranchland; and (3) developing policy recommendations to promote the rapid, expanded deployment of fixed and mobile broadband Internet access service on unserved cropland and ranchland.

Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2018

Precision Agriculture Connectivity Act of 2018 This bill requires the Federal Communications Commission to establish the Task Force for Meeting Connectivity and Technology Needs of Precision Agriculture in the United States. The task force's duties include: (1) identifying and measuring current gaps in broadband Internet access service coverage of cropland and ranchland; (2) assembling a comprehensive guide of all federal programs and resources working to expand broadband Internet access service on unserved cropland and ranchland; and (3) developing policy recommendations to promote the rapid, expanded deployment of fixed and mobile broadband Internet access service on unserved cropland and ranchland.

Protect Interstate Commerce Act of 2018

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2018

Protect Interstate Commerce Act of 2018 This bill prohibits a state or local government from imposing a standard or condition on the production or manufacture of agricultural products sold or offered for sale in interstate commerce if: (1) the production or manufacture occurs in another state, and (2) the standard or condition adds to standards or conditions applicable under federal law and the laws of the state or locality in which the production or manufacture occurs. The bill also allows private rights of action to challenge state or local regulations relating to agricultural goods sold in interstate commerce.

Continental Divide Recreation, Wilderness and Camp Hale Legacy Act

United States · United States Congress · 25 January 2018

Continental Divide Recreation, Wilderness and Camp Hale Legacy Act This bill amends the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to designate the following federal lands in the White River National Forest in Colorado as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: the Proposed Ptarmigan Wilderness Additions, the Holy Cross Wilderness Addition, the Hoosier Ridge Wilderness, the Tenmile Wilderness, and the Eagles Nest Wilderness Additions. The bill also designates the Proposed Williams Fork Wilderness in such forest as a potential wilderness area. The bill finally designates certain federal lands in such forest as: the Tenmile Recreation Management Area. the Porcupine Gulch Conservation Area, the Williams Fork Wildlife Conservation Area, and the Camp Hale National Historic Landscape. The bill modifies the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness in Colorado to adjust the park's boundaries to exclude 1.5 acres of land identified as potential wilderness to non-wilderness. The bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to permit nonmotorized access and use of the Bolts Ditch headgate and the Bolts Ditch within the Holy Cross Wilderness in Colorado for the diversion of water and use, maintenance, and repair of the ditch and headgate by the town of Minturn, Colorado. The bill adjusts the boundary of the Arapaho National Forest in Colorado to incorporate 92.95 acres of land. USDA shall include all federal land within the boundary in the Bowen Gulch Protection Area.

Continental Divide Recreation, Wilderness and Camp Hale Legacy Act

United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2018

Continental Divide Recreation, Wilderness and Camp Hale Legacy Act This bill amends the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 to designate the following federal lands in the White River National Forest in Colorado as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System: the Proposed Ptarmigan Wilderness Additions; the Holy Cross Wilderness Addition; the Hoosier Ridge Wilderness; the Tenmile Wilderness; and the Eagles Nest Wilderness Additions. The bill also designates the Proposed Williams Fork Wilderness in such forest as a potential wilderness area. The bill finally designates certain federal lands in such forest as: the Tenmile Recreation Management Area, the Porcupine Gulch Conservation Area, the Williams Fork Wildlife Conservation Area, and the Camp Hale National Historic Landscape. The bill modifies the Rocky Mountain National Park Wilderness in Colorado to adjust the park's boundaries to exclude 15.5 acres of land identified as potential wilderness to non-wilderness. The bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to permit nonmotorized access and use of the Bolts Ditch headgate and the Bolts Ditch within the Holy Cross Wilderness in Colorado for the diversion of water and use, maintenance, and repair of the ditch and headgate by the town of Minturn, Colorado. The bill adjusts the boundary of the Arapaho National Forest in Colorado to incorporate 92.95 acres of land. USDA shall include all federal land within the boundary in the Bowen Gulch Protection Area.

GO Act

United States · United States Congress · 24 January 2018

Guides and Outfitters Act or the GO Act This bill amends the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act to specify the circumstances under which the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) may: (1) issue special recreation permits for federal recreational lands and waters, and (2) change a special recreation permit fee. Interior and USDA may issue special recreation permits: for specialized individual and group use of federal facilities and federal recreational lands and waters; to recreation service providers who conduct outfitting, guiding, and other recreation services on federal recreational lands and waters; and to recreation service providers who conduct recreation or competitive events, which may involve incidental sales on federal recreational lands and waters. USDA and Interior shall implement a program that authorizes temporary permits for new recreational uses of federal recreational lands and waters managed by the Forest Service or the BLM, respectively. Interior and USDA shall revise certain: special land use and special recreation permit regulations to streamline the processes for the issuance and renewal of outfitter and guide special use permits, and cost recovery fee regulations to reduce costs and minimize the burden of cost recovery on small businesses and adverse impacts of cost recovery on jobs in the outfitting and guiding industry and on rural economies.

End The Shutdown Act of 2018

United States · United States Congress · 22 January 2018

End The Shutdown Act of 2018 This bill amends the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 to extend the expiration date of the FY2018 Continuing Resolution (CR) from January 19, 2018, to January 26, 2018. The bill provides continuing appropriations for federal agencies through the earlier of January 26, 2018, or the enactment of the applicable appropriations legislation. It ends the government shutdown that began when the existing CR expired because none of the 12 FY2018 regular appropriations bills that fund the federal government have been enacted. The bill also provides funding flexibility or additional funding for specified accounts within the Department of Defense, the Department of Agriculture, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Energy, the Small Business Administration, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

End The Shutdown Act of 2018

United States · United States Congress · 20 January 2018

End The Shutdown Act of 2018 This bill amends the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 to extend the expiration date of the FY2018 Continuing Resolution (CR) from January 19, 2018, to January 23, 2018. The bill provides continuing appropriations for federal agencies through the earlier of January 23, 2018, or the enactment of the applicable appropriations legislation. It ends the government shutdown that began when the existing CR expired because none of the 12 FY2018 regular appropriations bills that fund the federal government have been enacted. The bill also provides funding flexibility or additional funding for specified accounts within the Department of Defense, the Department of Agriculture, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Energy, the Small Business Administration, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Crop Insurance Modernization Act of 2018

United States · United States Congress · 19 January 2018

Crop Insurance Modernization Act of 2018 This bill modifies the federal crop insurance program to expand subsidies for beginning farmers, establish a conservation practice-based pilot program, and revise conservation requirements. The bill amends the Federal Crop Insurance Act to: allow farmers with up to 10 years (currently 5 years) of experience to receive the beginning farmer premium subsidy discount; require the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service or an expert on the relationship between conservation activities, farm production, and risk to serve on the Federal Crop Insurance Board as a nonvoting ex officio member; require the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to assemble data to understand the impact of soil type, soil quality, and conservation practices on risk rating; modify the requirements for terminating cover crops; establish an ombudsman to assist producers who are appealing claim denials; require a paperwork reduction policy for operations with less than $1 million in revenue; and establish a conservation practice-based pilot program to provide premium subsidies to farmers who are in high loss counties and commit to certain conservation activities. The bill amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to: modify requirements for spot checks for compliance with conservation requirements; modify the conservation requirements related to modifications of gullies; and prohibit a producer's actual production records from one parcel of land from being used to establish actual production history on a separate parcel of land.

SNAP Healthy Incentives Act of 2018

United States · United States Congress · 19 January 2018

SNAP Healthy Incentives Act of 201 8 This bill amends the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to provide a financial incentive for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program) participants to purchase fruits and vegetables.

Broadband Deployment Streamlining Act

United States · United States Congress · 19 January 2018

Broadband Deployment Streamlining Act This bill directs the Department of the Interior, for public lands, and the Department of Agriculture, for National Forest System lands, to issue regulations to: (1) streamline the process for the consideration of applications to locate or modify communications facilities on such lands; and (2) require that such applications be considered and granted on a neutral and non-discriminatory basis. The bill amends the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 to require executive agencies to grant or deny within 270 days applications for an easement or right-of-way on federal property to install, construct, and maintain wireless service antenna structures and equipment and backhaul transmission equipment. The Government Accountability Office shall report on: how the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ensures that the broadband data collected for the National Broadband Map is accurate, complete, and reliable; the extent to which federal agencies or other entities authorized to distribute federal grants or loans for broadband projects rely on such data; FCC actions to address the limitations on using such data for policy or funding decisions; the extent to which interested parties have challenged the accuracy of information on the map; and whether the FCC should collect such data from additional or alternative commercial sources.

Kenneth Steven Barbic, of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, vice Todd A. Batta, resigned.

United States · United States Senate · 18 January 2018

CURD Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018

Codifying Useful Regulatory Definitions Act or the CURD Act This bills amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish a definition for natural cheese.

Rural Broadband Permitting Efficiency Act of 2018

United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018

Rural Broadband Permitting Efficiency Act of 2018 This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA), with respect to National Forest System land, and the Department of the Interior, with respect to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, to establish a program to enter into memoranda of understanding with states to allow for the permitting of broadband within an operational right-of-way to enable broadband providers to install infrastructure that allows users to originate and receive high-quality voice, data, graphics, and video telecommunications. The "operational right-of-way" is defined as all real property interests (including easements) acquired for the construction or operation of a project. A state's governor, or a state's top-ranking transportation official in charge of highway construction, may enter into such a memorandum for a term not to exceed 10 years if the state consents to: (1) federal court jurisdiction, (2) federal environmental review procedures, (3) judicial review of decisions regarding the public availability of documents, (4) maintenance of necessary financial resources, and (5) the provision of any information that USDA or Interior needs to ensure that the state is carrying out its responsibilities. USDA and Interior must designate projects within an existing operational right-of-way as actions categorically excluded from federal regulations relating to environmental assessments or environmental impact statements. Interior must establish a Federal Permit Streamlining Project in each BLM field office with responsibility for issuing permits for broadband projects. Under the program, Interior acts as the lead agency for the issuance of a single permit on behalf of all other federal agencies involved in a broadband project through a memorandum of understanding with USDA, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Highway Administration, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

CURD Act

United States · United States Congress · 18 January 2018

Codifying Useful Regulatory Definitions Act or the CURD Act This bills amends the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to establish a definition for natural cheese.

Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Equitable Rebuild Act of 2018

United States · United States Congress · 11 January 2018

Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands Equitable Rebuild Act of 2018 This bill provides for additional disaster-recovery assistance and other assistance to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands with respect to infrastructure, health care, agriculture, education, economic development, and environmental remediation, among other sectors. Specifically, regarding both territories, the bill: provides for the use of certain emergency assistance to rebuild electric grids; establishes grant programs to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy; subject to oversight requirements, increases funding for transportation infrastructure, telecommunications systems, housing, and community development; increases funding for Medicaid and Medicare; temporarily increases social-services block-grant allotments; increases funding for, and otherwise revises, rural and agricultural programs; increases funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs; provides for aid to the Head Start program, elementary and secondary education programs, and higher education programs;   increases funding for training and employment services; modifies provisions concerning unemployment assistance, taxation, and federal permitting; increases funding for economic and community development programs; increases funding for environmental remediation; requires the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to submit to Congress a disaster-relief plan; and otherwise modifies provisions related to emergency funding and disaster-recovery assistance. In addition, the bill: extends Medicaid waiver authority to all territories, provides for Medicaid disproportionate share hospital allotments to the territories, and otherwise revises the Medicaid and Medicare programs with respect to the territories; provides for health-insurance coverage for individuals residing in territories without health exchanges; extends participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Supplemental Security Income Program to all territories; modifies provisions concerning the earned-income tax credit and the child tax credit with respect to the territories; and  modifies provisions concerning the application of certain workers' protections in Puerto Rico.

Wildfire Regulatory Relief Act of 2018

United States · United States Congress · 11 January 2018

Wildfire Regulatory Relief Act of 2018 This bill amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to direct the Department of Agriculture to allow harvesting, grazing, or other commercial use of the forage on conservation reserve program lands when a governor declares a state of emergency. The bill amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act) to require the President, in evaluating a major disaster declaration request, to consider any impacts of the disaster that: (1) will impede the recovery efforts of affected individuals or the community; and (2) may not be addressed under disaster programs administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) but are addressed by other disaster programs. The bill amends the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 to require FEMA to include within the emergency management performance grants program grants supporting joint interagency cooperation between state agencies responsible for responding to wildfires. Not later than 15 days after the President declares a major disaster under the Stafford Act, or after a state of emergency is declared by a governor, the appropriate federal banking agencies and the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection shall issue guidance to depository institutions located in the disaster area for reducing regulatory burdens for borrowers and communities to facilitate recovery from the disaster.

Wildfire Management Technology Advancement Act of 2018

United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2018

Wildfire Management Technology Advancement Act of 2018 This bill authorizes federal and state wildland firefighting agencies to operate unmanned aircraft systems (i.e., drones) in managing wildland fires. The Departments of Agriculture and of the Interior shall: jointly develop and operate a tracking system to remotely locate the positions of fire resources assigned to federal type 1 wildland fire incident management teams; establish the Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program to assign air resource advisors to such a team managing a wildland fire; establish the Rapid Response Erosion Database to provide for the automatic incorporation of spatial data related to vegetation, soils, and elevation into burn severity maps; establish the Fire Danger Assessment System for predicting the locations of future wildfires in fire-prone areas; and study the feasibility of operating aircraft at night to manage wildland fires. The Federal Emergency Management Agency may make grants to states to provide funding to certain at-risk communities for the cost-shared installation of reverse-911 systems. The bill amends the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974 to require the National Fire Data Center to gather and analyze additional information on fires, including all injuries sustained by firefighters that were treated by a doctor. The National Institute of Standards and Technology to: (1) establish national teams to collect data following wildfires in the wildland-urban interface, and (2) implement a research plan for linking economic outcomes with wildfire mitigation.

Healthy Fields and Farm Economies Act

United States · United States Congress · 10 January 2018

Healthy Fields and Farm Economies Act This bill reauthorizes and modifies the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977, which provides the Department of Agriculture (USDA) with strategic assessment and planning authority for the conservation, protection, and enhancement of soil, water, and related natural resources. The bill authorizes USDA to establish a conservation effects assessment project to: quantify the environmental and economic effects of conservation practices, develop the science base for managing the agricultural landscape for environmental quality and sustainable productive capacity, and improve the efficacy of conservation practices and programs by evaluating conservation effects. USDA must establish a goals and assessment process for conservation programs that includes: the identification of natural resource and environmental objectives, outcomes, and results for the programs; assessments of the resulting changes in the status and conditions of natural resources and the environment; and a monitoring and evaluation process for the programs and initiatives. In implementing the monitoring and evaluation process, USDA must use certain funds provided for conservation programs and establish a National Technical Committee. USDA may enter into cooperative agreements with government agencies, universities and colleges, and nongovernmental organizations to assist in implementing the monitoring and evaluation process. The bill also sets forth reporting requirements regarding the progress conservation programs have made in achieving the objectives and outcomes.

Truth in Certification for Foreign Food Ingredients Act

United States · United States Congress · 9 January 2018

Truth in Certification for Foreign Food Ingredients Act This bill amends the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to require the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) to carry out a program to enhance transparency and traceability of food products and ingredients that are exported to the United States in order to protect consumers and food manufacturers against mislabeling, adulteration, and fraud. Under the program, the FAS must provide foreign government officials, agricultural producers, and exporters of food products and ingredients to the United States with technical assistance and best practices to improve: (1) transparency, traceability and fraud prevention; and (2) cooperation with private certification and verification bodies to ensure the accuracy and integrity of their food product and ingredient certification and verification.