119 HR 389 IH: Southern Border Farmers and Ranchers Protection Act U.S. House of Representatives 2025-01-14 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

I119th CONGRESS1st SessionH. R. 389IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESJanuary 14, 2025Ms. De La Cruz (for herself and Mr. Tony Gonzales of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on AgricultureA BILLTo amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to authorize payments under the environmental quality incentives program to assist producers in implementing certain conservation practices along the southern border of Texas, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Southern Border Farmers and Ranchers Protection Act.

2.

Southern Border Initiative

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)

Southern Border Initiative

(1)

In general

The Secretary shall provide payments to producers under the program to implement conservation practices to address and repair damage, to agricultural land and farming infrastructure on covered land of such producers, that contributes to natural resource concerns or problems.(2)

Contract term

A contract to provide payments under paragraph (1) shall have a term of 1 year.(3)

Covered land defined

In this subsection, the term covered land means land in a county at or near the southern border of Texas, including the following counties:(A)Brewster.(B)Brooks.(C)Cameron.(D)Crockett.(E)Culberson.(F)Dimmit.(G)Duval.(H)Edwards.(I)El Paso.(J)Frio.(K)Hidalgo.(L)Hudspeth.(M)Jeff Davis.(N)Jim Hogg.(O)Jim Wells.(P)Karnes.(Q)Kenedy.(R)Kinney.(S)Kleberg.(T)La Salle.(U)Live Oak.(V)Maverick.(W)McMullen.(X)Pecos.(Y)Presidio.(Z)Reeves.(AA)Starr.(BB)Sutton.(CC)Terrell.(DD)Uvalde.(EE)Val Verde.(FF)Webb.(GG)Willacy.(HH)Zapata.(II)Zavala..