06 May 2024 BPC Action-Supported Farm Bill Priorities  in Agriculture, Energy and Environment, Health

The following bipartisan conservation, nutrition, child care, research and innovation, and forestry bills align with the Bipartisan Policy Center’s recommendations and have been endorsed by BPC Action. We call on Congress to enact a bipartisan Farm Bill that includes these priorities. This list is continuously updated.

Title II – Conservation

See BPC resource on USDA conservation programs and recommendations from BPC’s Farm and Forest Carbon Solutions Task Force here.

H.R. 3036 and S. 1400, the Increased TSP Access Act 

• Led in the House by Reps. James Baird (R-IN) and Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) 
• Led in the Senate by Sens. Mike Braun (R-IN), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Roger Marshall (R-KS) 
• Allows non-federal entities to be certified as Technical Service Providers and streamlines the process for producers to design, plan, and install conservation projects. 
• See BPCA endorsement here and BPCA tweet here. 

H.R. 9936, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Staffing and Workforce Development Act 

• Led by Reps. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and Marc Molinaro (R-NY) 
• Extends the NRCS’s direct hiring authority and expanding the eligibility of USDA workforce development grants to community colleges to bolster staffing needs. 
• See BPCA tweet here.

H.R. 1495 and S. 719, the Precision Agriculture Loan Program Act 

• Led in the House by Reps. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) 
• Led in the Senate by Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) 
• Establishes the first-ever federal precision agriculture loan program in the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). 
• See BPCA tweet here.  

H.R. 1459 and S. 720, the Producing Responsible Energy and Conservation Incentives and Solutions for the Environment (PRECISE) Act 

• Led in the House by Reps. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Brad Finstad (R-MN) and Angie Craig (D-MN) 
• Led in the Senate by Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) 
• Provides conservation loans and loan guarantees to adopt precision agriculture practices and purchase precision agriculture technologies. 
• See BPCA tweet here.  

S. 4056, the EMIT LESS Act 

• Led by Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) 
• Invests R&D into enteric methane reduction technology that will help dairy farmers and cattle ranchers reduce livestock emissions. 
• See BPCA endorsement here and BPCA tweet here. 

Title IV – Nutrition (including workforce development)

See BPC resource on the following nutrition bills and a Food is Medicine-focused survey on nutrition.  

H.R. 4856, the GusNIP Expansion Act and S. 2577, the GusNIP Improvement Act  

• Led in the House by Reps. Eric Crawford (R-AR) and Daniel Kildee (D-MI)  
• Led in the Senate by Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI)  
• Improves and expands the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), which awards funding to nonprofit organizations and government agencies for projects that provide incentives to income-eligible consumers to increase their purchase of fruits and vegetables. 
• See BPCA tweet here. 

H.R. 4909 and S. 2326, the SNAP Nutrition Security Act 

• Led in the House by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) 
• Led in the Senate by Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) 
• Helps guarantee that the SNAP program not only addresses hunger but also facilitates access to nutritious foods. 
• See BPCA tweet here. 

H.R. 3127, the Supporting All Health Options When Purchasing Produce (SHOPP) Act  

• Led by Reps. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) and Mark Alford (R-MO) 
• Clarifies that all fruits and vegetables are eligible for the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP), consistent with the recommendation of BPC’s Food and Nutrition Security Task Force. 
• See BPCA tweet here. 

H.R. 7015, the Creating Access to Rural Employment and Education for Resilience and Success (CAREERS) Act 

• Led by Reps. Nick Langworthy (R-NY) and Jill Tokuda (D-HI)  
• Addresses the skills gap and provides workforce training in several different industries to address the shortage in rural communities. 

Title VI – Rural Development (including child care access)

See BPC rural child care policy framework here. 

H.R. 1339, the Precision Agriculture Satellite Connectivity Act 

• Led by Reps. Robert Latta (R-OH) and Robin Kelly (D-IL) 
• Promotes precision agriculture which will maximize yield, efficiency, and profitability to increase American innovation while ensuring that farmers have the resources they need. 
• See BPCA tweet here. 

S. 734, the Promoting Precision Agriculture Act 

• Led by Sens. John Thune (R-SD) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA)  
• Develops voluntary interconnectivity standards for the use of precision agriculture in the U.S. 

H.R. 3922 and S. 1867, the Expanding Access to Child Care in Rural America Act (ECRA) 

• Led in the House by Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR), Tracey Mann (R-KS), and Yadira Caraveo (D-CO) 
• Led in the Senate by Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Roger Marshall (R-KS), Tina Smith (D-MN), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Joni Ernst (R-IA) 
• Increases access to capital for rural child care programming by directing the USDA’s Rural Development programs to prioritize the funding of projects that address the availability, quality, and cost of child care in agricultural and rural communities. 
• See BPCA tweet here. 

Title VII – Research, Extension, and Related Matters 

See recommendations from BPC’s Farm and Forest Task Force here. 

H.R. 2385 and S. 834, the Advancing Cutting Edge (ACE) Agriculture Act  

• Led in the House by Reps. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) 
• Led in the Senate by Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Roger Marshall (R-KS) 
• Reauthorizes the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AgARDA) program and expands cutting-edge transformative agriculture research and development to promote breakthrough innovation in American agriculture to ensure American farmers remain resilient, productive, profitable, and competitive. 
• See BPCA endorsement here.  

H.R. 3844, the Sustainable Agriculture Research Act 

• Led by Reps. Joe Neguse (D-CO) and Mike Flood (R-NE) 
• Expands the goals of the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AgARDA) to develop sustainable agriculture technologies, including carbon sequestration and precision agriculture technologies. 

H.R. 5160 and S. 2241, the Advancing Research on Agricultural Climate Impacts Act (ARACI) 

• Led in the House by Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Eric Sorenson (D-IL) 
• Led in the Senate by Sens. Tina Smith (D-MN) and Todd Young (R-IN) 

• Enables the USDA to develop new tools to better measure, monitor, report and verify (MMRV) carbon soil sequestration activities. 
• See BPCA endorsement here.  

H.R. 6232, the Coordination for Soil Carbon Research and Monitoring Act 

• Led by Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Jennifer McClellan (D-VA) 
• Directs the USDA to establish an interagency committee on soil research.  
• See BPCA endorsement here.   

H.R. 1645 and S. 732, the Biochar Research Network Act 

• Led in the House by Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME) 
• Led in the Senate by Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and John Thune (R-SD) 
• Maximizes the co-benefits of biochar to improve soil, produce energy, and capture carbon to support farmers and the environment.  
• See BPCA tweet here.  

H.R. 5134 and S. 2452, the Biomanufacturing and Jobs Act  

• Led in the House by Reps. Mark Alford (R-MO) and Angie Craig (D-MN) 
• Led in the Senate by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Peter Ricketts (R-NE) 
• Strengthens the USDA Bio Preferred program by strengthening markets, allowing USDA Secretary to set acceptable price premiums, requiring federal agencies to increased federal procurement of biobased-only contracts, and improving reporting of biobased products that are purchased through the online federal procurement system.  
• See BPC resource here. 

H.R. 2719 and S. 900, the Conservation and Innovative Climate Partnership Act  

• Led in the House by Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME).  
• Led in the Senate by Sens. Tina Smith (D-NM) and Todd Young (R-IN)   
• Authorizes a competitive grants program for land grant colleges and universities to support agriculture producers in adopting conservation and innovative climate smart practices. 

H.R. 6811 and S. 3500, the Natural Climate Solutions Research and Extension Act 

• Led in the House by Reps. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) 
• Led in the Senate by Sens. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Mike Braun (R-IN) 
• Advances sustainable agriculture practices by making natural climate solutions a high research and extension priority at the USDA. 
• See BPCA endorsement here. 

H.R. 1713 and S. 3301, the DOE and USDA Interagency Research Act 

• Led in the House by Reps. Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) 
• Led in the Senate by Sens. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and John Hoeven (R-ND) 
• Authorizes cross-cutting and collaborative research and development activities between DOE and the USDA. 
• See BPCA tweet here. 

H.R. 4824, the Carbon Sequestration Collaboration Act 

• Led by Reps. James Baird (R-IN) and Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) 

• Amends the Energy Act of 2005 to require DOE to carry out terrestrial carbon sequestration R&D activities. 
• See BPCA tweet here.  

Title VIII – Forestry

See recommendations from BPC’s Farm and Forest Task Force here. 

H.R. 5381, the RNGER Support Act 

• Led by Reps. John Durante (R-CA) and Kim Schrier (D-OR) 
• Authorizes and expands the USDA Reforestation, Nursery, and Genetics Resources (RNGR) program to strengthen the seedling supply chain, providing technical training, coordination and support to State, Tribal and private tree nurseries across the country.  
• See BPCA endorsement here and BPC resource here. 

H.R. 5315 and S. 3399, the Rural Forest Markets Act 

• Led in the House by Reps. William Timmons IV (R-SC) and Chellie Pingree (D-ME) 
• Led in the Senate by Sens. Bob Casey (D-PA), and Mike Braun (R-IN) 
• Enables the USDA to issue loan guarantees to help small private forest landowners invest in sustainable forestry projects and provides access to credible third-party entities to ensure high integrity projects are eligible in a voluntary carbon market.  
• See BPCA endorsement here.   

H.R. 2989, the Save Our Sequoias Act 

• Led by Reps. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Scott Peters (D-CA) 
• Reduces the severity of wildfires and increases forest resiliency for the Giant Sequoias. 

H.R. 5044 and S. 2662, the Timber Innovation for Building Rural Communities Act  

• Led in the House by Reps. John Duarte (R-CA), Andrea Salinas (D-OR), and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) 
• Led in the Senate by Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Mike Crapo (R-ID) 
• Improves forest health, reduces wildfire risk, sequesters more carbon, and boosts rural economies by supporting innovative timber products, through USDA’s Wood Innovations Grant Program, among other items. 

H.R. 3990 and S. 1743, the Forest Data Modernization Act 

• Led in the House by Reps. Kim Schrier (D-WA) and Barry Moore (R-AL) 
• Led in the Senate by Sens. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) 
• Modernizes and improves the U.S. Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program to ensure reliable data is available to inform forest management decision making; directs the U.S. Forest Service to prepare an updated strategic plan to expand data collection and allow further integration of advanced remote sensing technology to help with data collection and improved modeling. 

S. 1238, the Invasive Species Prevention and Forest Reforestation Act 

• Led by Sens. Peter Welch (D-VT) and Mike Braun (R-IN)  
• Aims to mitigate the threat of non-native insects and pathogens on forests and woodlands. 

S. 1164, the Seedlings for Sustainable Habitat Restoration Act 

• Led by Sens. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and John Cornyn (R-TX) 
• Amends the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to enter into contracts, grants and agreements to carry out ecosystem restoration activities, such as the collection and maintenance of native seeds, and the production of seedlings for revegetation. 

H.R. 1450 and S. 697, the Treating Tribes and Counties as Good Neighbors Act  

• Led in the House by Reps. Russ Fulcher (R-ID) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) 
• Led in the Senate by Sens. James Risch (R-ID) and Jon Tester (D-MT) 
• Revises the Good Neighbor Authority program to modify the treatment of revenue from timber sale contracts to support regenerative agriculture projects under good neighbor agreements with the Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of the Interior. 

H.R. 6348, the Trees for Residential Energy and Economic Savings (TREES) Act 

• Led by Reps. Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) 
• Directs DOE to establish a grant program for states, local governments, Indian tribes, and other entities to facilitate tree planting projects that reduce residential energy consumption. 
• See BPCA tweet here. 

Title IX – Energy 

H.R. 6271, the Farm to Fly Act 

• Led by Reps. Max Miller (R-OH), Mike Flood (R-NE), and Angie Craig (D-MN) 
• Advances the development of sustainable aviation fuel in USDA programs, encourages public-private partnerships, and increases interagency collaboration to bolster rural development. 
• See BPCA tweet here.  

Title XII – Miscellaneous 

See recommendations from BPC’s Farm and Forest Task Force here. 

S. 98, the Agriculture Innovation Act 

• Led by Reps. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and John Thune (R-SD) 
• Provides farmers with the information they need to make informed economic decisions regarding conservation practice implementation by improving the USDA’s and other agricultural stakeholders’ ability to securely access and analyze anonymous cross-agency USDA data. This allows farmers to better understand the economic, environmental, and risk-management benefits of specific conservation and production practices and how to implement them in a way that maximizes their bottom line. 
• See BPCA endorsement here and BPCA tweet here.