[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 139 (Wednesday, August 4, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S5851]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2494. Ms. LUMMIS (for herself and Mr. Wyden) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2137 proposed by Mr. 
Schumer (for Ms. Sinema (for herself, Mr. Portman, Mr. Manchin, Mr. 
Cassidy, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Collins, Mr. Tester, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. 
Warner, and Mr. Romney)) to the bill H.R. 3684, to authorize funds for 
Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs, 
and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as 
follows:

        At the end of title VIII of division D, add the following:

     SEC. 408____. REGENERATIVE GRAZING DATA COLLECTION.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means--
       (A) public lands (as defined in section 103 of the Federal 
     Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)); and
       (B) National Forest System land.
       (2) Program.--The term ``program'' means the pilot program 
     established under subsection (b)(1).
       (3) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means the 
     Secretary of Agriculture (acting through the Chief of the 
     Forest Service) and the Secretary of the Interior (acting 
     through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management), 
     acting jointly.
       (b) Pilot Program for Use of Regenerative Grazing on 
     Federal Land to Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change.--
       (1) Establishment.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall establish a 
     pilot program to study the effectiveness of using grazing on 
     Federal land to mitigate the effects of climate change.
       (2) Requirements.--In carrying out the program, the 
     Secretaries shall--
       (A) identify--
       (i) a standard set of practices to study, such as carbon 
     beneficial practices in the conservation practice standards 
     of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, that support 
     conservation goals, including--

       (I) silvopasture;
       (II) practices that provide wildlife habitat benefits;
       (III) practices that consider flexibility in season of use;
       (IV) forage and biomass management;
       (V) planned grazing; and
       (VI) range monitoring; and

       (ii) sufficient grazing allotments on a diverse mixture of 
     ecosystems to identify how grazing is an effective tool to 
     mitigate effects of climate change, including the ability 
     to--

       (I) improve soil health;
       (II) sequester carbon;
       (III) reduce wildfire risk; and
       (IV) improve watershed resilience and biodiversity;

       (B) in developing, implementing, and monitoring the 
     program, consult with--
       (i) relevant subject matter experts at the Forest Service;
       (ii) relevant subject matter experts at the Bureau of Land 
     Management;
       (iii) the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation 
     Service;
       (iv) the Director of the United States Geological Survey;
       (v) ranchers and representatives of the ranching industry;
       (vi) representatives from grazing districts, associations, 
     or boards;
       (vii) environmental and conservation nongovernmental 
     organizations;
       (viii) institutions of higher education; and
       (ix) any other organization that the Secretaries determine 
     to be appropriate.
       (3) Use of funds.--Funds made available to carry out the 
     program may be used for--
       (A) the conduct of research activities;
       (B) the provision of technical assistance to permittees; or
       (C) the construction of infrastructure necessary for 
     implementing and analyzing regenerative grazing.
       (4) Report to congress.--Not later than 180 days after the 
     date on which the Secretaries determine that a sufficient 
     quantity of data has been collected under the program, the 
     Secretaries shall submit to the Committee on Energy and 
     Natural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture, 
     Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on 
     Natural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture of the 
     House of Representatives and make publicly available on the 
     websites of the Department of Agriculture and the Department 
     of the Interior a report on the findings and data derived 
     from the program, including whether and the extent to which 
     the use of regenerative grazing improved the ability to 
     mitigate the impacts of climate change.
       (5) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for 
     each of fiscal years 2021 through 2023, to remain available 
     until expended.
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