119 S4912 IS: Building Up Farmland Frontiers for Ecological Resilience Act U.S. Senate 2026-06-24 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.

II119th CONGRESS2d SessionS. 4912IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESJune 24, 2026Mr. Welch (for himself and Mr. Sanders) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and ForestryA BILLTo amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to clarify land eligible for enrollment in the conservation reserve program.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Building Up Farmland Frontiers for Ecological Resilience Act or the BUFFER Act.

2.

Eligible land under the conservation reserve program

Section 1231(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(b)) is amended—(1)in paragraph (6)(B)(ii), by striking or at the end;(2)in paragraph (7)—(A)in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking as determined by the Secretary,; and(B)in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; or; and(3)by adding at the end the following:(8)land that is otherwise eligible for enrollment and for which a Tribal, State, or other local law, ordinance, or other regulation requires any resource-conserving or environmental protection measure or practice, unless the requirement to implement such a measure or practice has been imposed by an administrative order or a court order, in which case that land shall not be eligible for enrollment..