[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5043 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5043

  To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to create permanent payments 
  within the environmental quality incentives program for soil health 
 practices and carbon sequestration monitoring, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 27, 2023

Ms. Salinas (for herself, Ms. Bonamici, and Mr. Casten) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to create permanent payments 
  within the environmental quality incentives program for soil health 
 practices and carbon sequestration monitoring, 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 ``Healthy Soils Healthy Climate Act of 
2023''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE FOOD SECURITY ACT OF 1985.

    (a) Increased Payments for High-Priority Practices.--Section 
1240B(d)(7)(A) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-
2(d)(7)(A)) is amended--
            (1) in clause (iii), by striking ``or'' at the end;
            (2) in clause (iv), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(v) increases soil organic carbon 
                        levels.''.
    (b) Incentive Payments for Soil Health Practices and Carbon 
Sequestration Monitoring.--
            (1) In general.--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) Incentive Payments for Soil Health Practices and Carbon 
Sequestration Monitoring.--
            ``(1) Provision of payments.--The Secretary shall provide 
        incentive payments under this subsection to producers to adopt 
        practices designed to increase soil organic carbon levels.
            ``(2) Requirements.--In providing the incentive payments 
        under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall establish--
                    ``(A) payments to provide an incentive for the use 
                of practices across a variety of geographic regions;
                    ``(B) regionally appropriate protocols for 
                measuring soil organic carbon levels and soil 
                microbiology levels before and after treatment under 
                this subsection to measure gains in soil health as a 
                result of the practices; and
                    ``(C) protocols and record keeping standards for 
                in-field sampling to ensure consistency and the 
                development of new carbon and ecosystem services 
                markets.
            ``(3) Priority.--In providing incentive payments under 
        paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give priority to providing 
        the payments to--
                    ``(A) small producers, as determined by the 
                Secretary;
                    ``(B) producers in rural areas, as determined by 
                the Secretary; and
                    ``(C) socially disadvantaged farmers, as determined 
                by the Secretary.
            ``(4) Study; report to congress.--
                    ``(A) Study.--Not later than 2 years after the date 
                of enactment of this subsection, and every 2 years 
                thereafter, the Secretary shall conduct a study 
                regarding changes in soil health and soil organic 
                carbon levels as a result of the practices used under 
                this subsection.
                    ``(B) Report to congress.--Not later than 2 years 
                after the date of enactment of this subsection, and 
                every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to 
                Congress a report describing and analyzing the results 
                of the study conducted under subparagraph (A).
                    ``(C) Inclusion.--The report under subparagraph (B) 
                shall include an analysis of--
                            ``(i) the effect of various practices on 
                        soil organic carbon levels;
                            ``(ii) the extent to which the lessons 
                        learned in carrying out this subsection can be 
                        transferred to other geographic regions;
                            ``(iii) further data required to 
                        substantiate the connection between soil 
                        organic carbon levels and crop yield and 
                        resiliency, if applicable;
                            ``(iv) the effect of multiple practices on 
                        soil organic carbon levels;
                            ``(v) potential barriers to data collection 
                        across a variety of geographic regions; and
                            ``(vi) carbon permanence and loss of any 
                        sequestered carbon, based on weather, 
                        management, and other relevant factors, and the 
                        depth of sequestered carbon.''.
            (2) Funding.--Section 1240B(f) of the Food Security Act of 
        1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-2(f)) is amended by adding at the end 
        the following:
            ``(3) Incentive payments for soil health practices and 
        carbon sequestration monitoring.--For each fiscal year for 
        which funds are made available under section 1241(a)(3)(A), of 
        the funds made available for payments under the program, 
        $100,000,000 shall be used to provide incentive payments under 
        subsection (k).''.
    (c) Priority for Soil Health and Carbon Sequestration.--Section 
1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-2) (as amended 
by subsection (b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(l) Priority for Soil Health and Carbon Sequestration.--
            ``(1) In general.--To the maximum extent feasible, the 
        Secretary shall manage the program to promote practices that 
        enhance soil health and increase soil organic carbon levels.
            ``(2) Soil health and carbon sequestration on eligible 
        land.--The Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) develop ranking and scoring criteria under 
                the program that prioritize soil health practices that 
                score highest in soil carbon sequestration on eligible 
                land; and
                    ``(B) develop a soil organic carbon conservation 
                activity plan under the program to measure and monitor 
                sequestration and mitigation improvement levels from 
                the practices described in subparagraph (A), such as 
                cover crops, crop rotation, and improved soil 
                management.''.
    (d) Streamlining and Coordination.--Section 1240B of the Food 
Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-2) (as amended by subsection 
(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(m) Streamlining and Coordination.--To the maximum extent 
feasible, the Secretary shall provide for streamlined and coordinated 
procedures for the program and the conservation stewardship program 
under subchapter B, including applications, contracting, conservation 
planning, conservation practices, and related administrative 
procedures.''.
    (e) On-Farm Conservation Innovation Trials.--Section 1240H(c) of 
the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-8(c)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding subparagraph 
        (A), by striking ``2031'' and inserting ``2023, and 
        $100,000,000 of the funds made available to carry out this 
        subchapter for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2031''; and
            (2) in paragraph (7), in the matter preceding subparagraph 
        (A), by inserting ``including not less than 50 percent of the 
        funds made available to carry out this subsection for each of 
        fiscal years 2024 through 2031,'' after ``subsection,''.
    (f) Soil Health and Carbon Science Research Program at Agriculture 
Research Stations.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a 
program--
            (1) to provide grants to land-grant colleges and 
        universities to conduct research relating to soil health and 
        carbon science, including--
                    (A) the effect of various practices on soil organic 
                carbon levels;
                    (B) the extent to which the lessons learned from 
                the effects described in subparagraph (A) can be 
                transferred to other geographic regions;
                    (C) the connection between soil organic carbon 
                levels and crop yield and resiliency;
                    (D) the effect of multiple practices on soil 
                organic carbon levels;
                    (E) potential barriers to soil health and carbon 
                data collection across a variety of geographic regions; 
                and
                    (F) carbon permanence and loss of soil-sequestered 
                carbon, based on weather, management, and other 
                relevant factors, and the depth of sequestered carbon 
                by different practices; and
            (2) to conduct research relating to soil health and carbon 
        science at agriculture research stations of the Department of 
        Agriculture.
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