Sponsors (3)
The bill speeds and broadens emergency restoration assistance—especially via larger advance payments and expanded eligibility for federally- or human-caused fires—while increasing program costs, oversight burdens, and the potential for inconsistent administration or misuse.
Farmers, ranchers, and nonindustrial private forest landowners can receive much larger advance payments (up to 75% for replacements/restoration and 50% for some repairs), enabling quicker rebuilding of fences and cleanup after wildfires.
Producers and private landowners affected by federal-government-caused or human-caused wildfires are explicitly eligible for emergency assistance, extending help to incidents that result from government actions or human starts.
Owners can use advance payments to hire contractors and buy materials quickly, reducing delays in restoration and lowering the chance of additional environmental harm.
Taxpayers and appropriations are likely to face higher program costs because expanded eligibility (including federally- and human-caused fires) and larger advance rates will increase demand for payments.
Larger upfront advances increase the risk that funds will be spent without completing required work or misused, which raises oversight, audit, and administrative costs borne by taxpayers.
Granting the Secretary broad discretion over amounts, eligible costs, and return timeframes may produce inconsistent decisions, uneven access, and administrative delays for applicants.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Expands and speeds advance payments for emergency conservation and forest restoration, extends unspent-advance return period to 180 days, and clarifies eligible wildfire coverage.
Expands advance payment options and eligibility for two existing federal emergency conservation programs to speed repair and restoration after wildfires and other qualifying disasters. It raises the share beneficiaries can receive before work begins (up to 75% for replacements and advances up to 75% for emergency measures), extends the time to return unused advance funds to 180 days, and clarifies that certain wildfires caused by nonnatural spread or by the Federal Government are eligible. The changes apply to the Emergency Conservation Program and the Emergency Forest Restoration Program, updating definitions of covered wildfires, creating optional larger advance payments, and aligning cost-share caps and repayment timeframes to help landowners and local communities begin recovery work sooner.
Official title: Amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to remove barriers to agricultural producers in accessing funds to carry out emergency measures under the emergency conservation program, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 19, 2025 by Debra Fischer · Last progress July 12, 2026