[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1858 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1858

   To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 with respect to the 
          emergency watershed program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 5, 2025

Mr. Davis of North Carolina (for himself, Mr. Feenstra, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. 
Nunn of Iowa, Mr. Rouzer, and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the following 
        bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 with respect to the 
          emergency watershed program, 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 ``Flooding Prevention, Assessment, and 
Restoration Act''.

SEC. 2. EMERGENCY WATERSHED PROGRAM.

    Section 403 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203) 
is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(c) Level of Restoration.--In carrying out this section, the 
Secretary may undertake measures that increase the level of protection 
above that which would be necessary to address the immediate impairment 
of the watershed if the Secretary determines that such restoration is--
            ``(1) in the best interest of the long-term health and the 
        protection of the watershed from repetitive impairments; and
            ``(2) cost-effective and appropriate, given risks to the 
        environment.''.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL AGRICULTURE FLOOD VULNERABILITY STUDY.

    Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a national agriculture flood 
vulnerability report containing the results of a conservation effects 
assessment project studying flood risk on agricultural lands, 
including--
            (1) an analysis of economic losses of crops and livestock 
        resulting from flooding under different recurrence scenarios;
            (2) an analysis of the downstream effects of mitigation 
        activities carried out as part of a watershed management 
        approach;
            (3) an analysis of available Federal and State data 
        relating to flood risk, as applicable to agricultural land, 
        including data relating to riverine flooding, coastal flooding, 
        storm surge, extreme precipitation, and flash flooding; and
            (4) a description of ongoing producer-level conservation 
        practices and broader government initiatives to manage flooding 
        impact and flood risk within and across watersheds, and 
        recommendations for additional practices and initiatives to 
        further address such impact and risk.

SEC. 4. REHABILITATION OF STRUCTURAL MEASURES NEAR, AT, OR PAST THEIR 
              EVALUATED LIFE EXPECTANCY.

     The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act is amended--
            (1) in section 2 (16 U.S.C. 1002), by striking 
        ``respectively.'' and all that follows through ``must contain'' 
        and inserting ``respectively. Each project, other than a 
        rehabilitation project under section 14, must contain''; and
            (2) in section 14(b)(2) (16 U.S.C. 1012(b)(2)), by striking 
        ``65 percent'' and inserting ``90 percent''.
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