Sponsors (18)
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Last progress May 17, 2025 (9 months ago)
Introduced on May 17, 2025 by Trent Kelly
Provides dedicated funding for a forest conservation easement program by directing $100 million per year for fiscal years 2026–2030, renames and cleans up parts of Title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985, repeals Title V of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 while preserving existing contracts and easements made under that title, and authorizes use of remaining Commodity Credit Corporation and program funds to complete prior contracts. Congress states an intent that the bill’s costs be offset, but does not specify offsets or timing.
Redesignate subtitle I of Title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 as subtitle J.
Insert new material after subtitle H of Title XII (the text to be inserted is not included in this file chunk).
Amend section 1201(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 by striking "subtitles A through I:" and inserting "subtitles A through J:" to reflect the redesignation.
Amend section 1241(e)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 by striking "subtitle I" and inserting "subtitle J."
Amend section 1244(d) of the Food Security Act of 1985 by striking "I." and inserting "J."
Who is affected and how:
Private landowners (especially owners of forested and agricultural land) and potential easement holders: directly affected by the creation of a predictable funding stream ($100M/year FY2026–2030) for forest conservation easements; owners with existing Title V contracts keep protections and funding paths to complete those agreements.
Conservation nonprofits, land trusts, and state/local partners: likely to benefit from clearer funding availability and from explicit permission to apply available federal funds to finish pre-existing contracts; may need to coordinate with federal agencies for implementation.
Federal agencies and program administrators (e.g., USDA/NRCS and offices that manage CCC funds): must implement the dedicated funding, update program guidance, complete statutory cross-reference changes, and manage the use of CCC and program funds to finish legacy contracts. Administrative workload will include rulemaking, guidance, and reporting changes.
Federal budget and fiscal managers: the bill increases mandatory commitments over five years (totaling $500M under the directed amounts) or otherwise directs funding and asks for offsets; lack of specified offsets creates uncertainty about how the costs will be balanced in practice.
Stakeholders in forest and wildfire policy: the repeal of Title V of HFRA removes that statutory authority for future use, which may shift where and how some contracts or programs are executed; grandfathering reduces near-term disruption but may change long-term program structure.
Overall effect: the legislation creates a multiyear, dedicated funding stream for forest easements and cleans up statutory language while preserving existing obligations — providing near-term certainty to existing contract holders and more predictable funding for future easement activity, but leaving budget offsets unspecified.