[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5971 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5971

   To require the Secretary of Agriculture to direct a study on soil 
            health of Federal lands, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 17, 2023

                Mr. Neguse introduced the following bill

                            October 25, 2023

                Referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the Secretary of Agriculture to direct a study on soil 
            health of Federal lands, 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 ``Study on Improving Lands Act''.

SEC. 2. STUDY.

    The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the Secretary of 
the Interior, shall direct the National Academies of Science to study 
and report on the state of soil health on Federal lands in the United 
States.

SEC. 3. DUTIES.

    The National Academies of Science shall determine the parameters by 
which to measure soil health, including--
            (1) soil organic matter and other measurements;
            (2) soil qualities that lead to the sequester of carbon; 
        and
            (3) soil qualities that support strong ecosystems and 
        resilient environments.

SEC. 4. DATABASE.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the Secretary of the 
Interior and the National Academies of Science, shall--
            (1) commence a study on the state of soil health on Federal 
        lands that determines impacts such as grazing, wildfire, 
        recreation, invasive species, and other relevant impacts on 
        soil health on Federal lands; and
            (2) create a database of the information collected during 
        the study.

SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

    (a) Annual Reports.--Not later than 180 days after the commencement 
of the study under section 4, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall evaluate the progress of that study and report any 
short-term findings to the Committee on Natural Resources and the 
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate.
    (b) Report and Recommendations.--Not later than 2 years after the 
commencement of the study under this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture 
shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on 
Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry of the Senate a report summarizing the results of the study 
together with any recommendations for legislative or regulatory action 
to improve soil health, increase carbon sequestration, and improve 
community benefits of soil health programs on Federal lands.
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