[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2588 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2588
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to create permanent payments
within the environmental quality incentives program for soil health
practices and carbon sequestration monitoring, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 27, 2023
Mr. Wyden 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 create permanent payments
within the environmental quality incentives program for soil health
practices and carbon sequestration monitoring, 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 ``Healthy Soils Healthy Climate Act of
2023''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE FOOD SECURITY ACT OF 1985.
(a) Increased Payments for High-Priority Practices.--Section
1240B(d)(7)(A) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-
2(d)(7)(A)) is amended--
(1) in clause (iii), by striking ``or'' at the end;
(2) in clause (iv), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; or''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(v) increases soil organic carbon
levels.''.
(b) Incentive Payments for Soil Health Practices and Carbon
Sequestration Monitoring.--
(1) In general.--Section 1240B of the Food Security Act of
1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-2) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``(k) Incentive Payments for Soil Health Practices and Carbon
Sequestration Monitoring.--
``(1) Provision of payments.--The Secretary shall provide
incentive payments under this subsection to producers to adopt
practices designed to increase soil organic carbon levels.
``(2) Requirements.--In providing the incentive payments
under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall establish--
``(A) payments to provide an incentive for the use
of practices across a variety of geographic regions;
``(B) regionally appropriate protocols for
measuring soil organic carbon levels and soil
microbiology levels before and after treatment under
this subsection to measure gains in soil health as a
result of the practices; and
``(C) protocols and record keeping standards for
in-field sampling to ensure consistency and the
development of new carbon and ecosystem services
markets.
``(3) Priority.--In providing incentive payments under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give priority to providing
the payments to--
``(A) small producers, as determined by the
Secretary;
``(B) producers in rural areas, as determined by
the Secretary; and
``(C) socially disadvantaged farmers, as determined
by the Secretary.
``(4) Study; report to congress.--
``(A) Study.--Not later than 2 years after the date
of enactment of this subsection, and every 2 years
thereafter, the Secretary shall conduct a study
regarding changes in soil health and soil organic
carbon levels as a result of the practices used under
this subsection.
``(B) Report to congress.--Not later than 2 years
after the date of enactment of this subsection, and
every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to
Congress a report describing and analyzing the results
of the study conducted under subparagraph (A).
``(C) Inclusion.--The report under subparagraph (B)
shall include an analysis of--
``(i) the effect of various practices on
soil organic carbon levels;
``(ii) the extent to which the lessons
learned in carrying out this subsection can be
transferred to other geographic regions;
``(iii) further data required to
substantiate the connection between soil
organic carbon levels and crop yield and
resiliency, if applicable;
``(iv) the effect of multiple practices on
soil organic carbon levels;
``(v) potential barriers to data collection
across a variety of geographic regions; and
``(vi) carbon permanence and loss of any
sequestered carbon, based on weather,
management, and other relevant factors, and the
depth of sequestered carbon.''.
(2) Funding.--Section 1240B(f) of the Food Security Act of
1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-2(f)) is amended by adding at the end
the following:
``(3) Incentive payments for soil health practices and
carbon sequestration monitoring.--For each fiscal year for
which funds are made available under section 1241(a)(3)(A), of
the funds made available for payments under the program,
$100,000,000 shall be used to provide incentive payments under
subsection (k).''.
(c) Priority for Soil Health and Carbon Sequestration.--Section
1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-2) (as amended
by subsection (b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(l) Priority for Soil Health and Carbon Sequestration.--
``(1) In general.--To the maximum extent feasible, the
Secretary shall manage the program to promote practices that
enhance soil health and increase soil organic carbon levels.
``(2) Soil health and carbon sequestration on eligible
land.--The Secretary shall--
``(A) develop ranking and scoring criteria under
the program that prioritize soil health practices that
score highest in soil carbon sequestration on eligible
land; and
``(B) develop a soil organic carbon conservation
activity plan under the program to measure and monitor
sequestration and mitigation improvement levels from
the practices described in subparagraph (A), such as
cover crops, crop rotation, and improved soil
management.''.
(d) Streamlining and Coordination.--Section 1240B of the Food
Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-2) (as amended by subsection
(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(m) Streamlining and Coordination.--To the maximum extent
feasible, the Secretary shall provide for streamlined and coordinated
procedures for the program and the conservation stewardship program
under subchapter B, including applications, contracting, conservation
planning, conservation practices, and related administrative
procedures.''.
(e) On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials.--Section 1240H(c) of
the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-8(c)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by striking ``2031'' and inserting ``2023, and
$100,000,000 of the funds made available to carry out this
subchapter for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2031''; and
(2) in paragraph (7), in the matter preceding subparagraph
(A), by inserting ``including not less than 50 percent of the
funds made available to carry out this subsection for each of
fiscal years 2024 through 2031,'' after ``subsection,''.
(f) Soil Health and Carbon Science Research Program at Agriculture
Research Stations.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a
program--
(1) to provide grants to land-grant colleges and
universities to conduct research relating to soil health and
carbon science, including--
(A) the effect of various practices on soil organic
carbon levels;
(B) the extent to which the lessons learned from
the effects described in subparagraph (A) can be
transferred to other geographic regions;
(C) the connection between soil organic carbon
levels and crop yield and resiliency;
(D) the effect of multiple practices on soil
organic carbon levels;
(E) potential barriers to soil health and carbon
data collection across a variety of geographic regions;
and
(F) carbon permanence and loss of soil-sequestered
carbon, based on weather, management, and other
relevant factors, and the depth of sequestered carbon
by different practices; and
(2) to conduct research relating to soil health and carbon
science at agriculture research stations of the Department of
Agriculture.
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