[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5252 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5252

   To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to make adjustments to the 
   environmental quality incentives program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 22, 2023

  Mrs. Hayes introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to make adjustments to the 
   environmental quality incentives program, 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 ``EQIP Improvement Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PROGRAM REFORMS.

    (a) In General.--Section 1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3839aa-2) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d), by striking paragraph (2) and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(2) Limitation on payments.--A payment to a producer for 
        performing a practice may not exceed, as determined by the 
        Secretary--
                    ``(A) except as provided in subparagraphs (B) 
                through (D), 75 percent of the costs associated with 
                planning, design, materials, equipment, installation, 
                labor, management, maintenance, or training;
                    ``(B) 40 percent of the costs associated with 
                planning, design, materials, equipment, installation, 
                labor, management, maintenance, or training for--
                            ``(i) an access road;
                            ``(ii) an animal mortality facility;
                            ``(iii) an aquaculture pond;
                            ``(iv) clearing and snagging;
                            ``(v) a dam;
                            ``(vi) a dam using a diversion;
                            ``(vii) a dike;
                            ``(viii) a diversion;
                            ``(ix) a fish raceway or tank;
                            ``(x) an irrigation pipeline;
                            ``(xi) an irrigation reservoir;
                            ``(xii) land clearing;
                            ``(xiii) land smoothing;
                            ``(xiv) a livestock pipeline;
                            ``(xv) obstruction removal;
                            ``(xvi) a pond;
                            ``(xvii) a pumping plant;
                            ``(xviii) spoil spreading;
                            ``(xix) a surface drain using a field 
                        ditch;
                            ``(xx) a main or lateral surface drain;
                            ``(xxi) a vertical drain;
                            ``(xxii) a waste facility closure;
                            ``(xxiii) a waste storage facility;
                            ``(xxiv) waste transfer; or
                            ``(xxv) a waste treatment lagoon;
                    ``(C) 100 percent of income foregone by the 
                producer; or
                    ``(D) in the case of a practice that includes 1 or 
                more elements described in subparagraphs (A) through 
                (C)--
                            ``(i) 75 percent of the costs incurred with 
                        respect to any elements described in 
                        subparagraph (A);
                            ``(ii) 40 percent of the costs incurred 
                        with respect to any elements described in 
                        subparagraph (B); and
                            ``(iii) 100 percent of the income forgone 
                        with respect to any elements described in 
                        subparagraph (C).''; and
            (2) in subsection (f), by striking the subsection 
        designation and heading and all that follows through ``For 
        each'' in paragraph (2)(B) and inserting the following:
    ``(f) Allocation of Funding for Wildlife Habitat.--For each''.
    (b) Limitation on Payments.--Section 1240G of the Food Security Act 
of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-7) is amended by striking ``$450,000'' and 
inserting ``$150,000''.
    (c) Report to Congress.--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) Annual Report to Congress.--Not less frequently than once 
each year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report describing--
            ``(1) the amount obligated under the program with respect 
        to each category of practice, with information categorized by 
        fiscal year and State; and
            ``(2) the amount obligated under the program in each State, 
        with information categorized by fiscal year and the size of the 
        operation of each producer.''.
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