[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 123 (Tuesday, July 18, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3055-S3056]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 879. Mr. PADILLA submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by 
him to the bill S. 2226, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 
2024 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military 
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

       At the end of subtitle G of title X, add the following:

     SEC. 10___. GRANTS TO STATES AND INDIAN TRIBES FOR 
                   MULTIBENEFIT PROGRAMS TO VOLUNTARILY REPURPOSE 
                   AGRICULTURAL LAND TO REDUCE CONSUMPTIVE WATER 
                   USE.

       (a) Authorization of Grants.--
       (1) In general.--Section 101 of the Reclamation States 
     Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991 (43 U.S.C. 2211) is 
     amended--
       (A) by redesignating subsections (b) through (d) as 
     subsections (c) through (e), respectively; and
       (B) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:
       ``(b) Grants to States and Indian Tribes for Multibenefit 
     Programs to Voluntarily Repurpose Agricultural Land.--
       ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
       ``(A) Basin-scale.--The term `basin-scale' means an 
     eligible landscape area or sub-basin that--
       ``(i) includes multiple water users; or

[[Page S3056]]

       ``(ii) aligns with the boundaries of a State, Tribal, 
     regional, or local land or water management agency.
       ``(B) Covered program.--The term `covered program' means an 
     existing program of an eligible entity or a pilot program 
     proposed to be carried out by an eligible entity, the purpose 
     of which is to voluntarily repurpose or provide for the 
     transition of, over a period of years, irrigated agricultural 
     land to reduce consumptive water use, while providing 
     community health, economic wellbeing, water supply, habitat, 
     and climate benefits.
       ``(C) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
       ``(i) a State (including a designated State agency); or
       ``(ii) a Tribal government.
       ``(2) Authorization of grants.--The Secretary shall carry 
     out a program under which the Secretary shall provide 
     competitive matching grants to eligible entities, in 
     accordance with this subsection, to carry out covered 
     programs.
       ``(3) Eligible programs.--To be eligible for a grant under 
     paragraph (2), a covered program shall--
       ``(A) be basin-scale;
       ``(B) reduce consumptive water use;
       ``(C) repurpose or transition irrigated agricultural land 
     for not less than 10 years;
       ``(D) provide, for not less than 10 years, 1 or more other 
     measurable benefits to the environment or community in which 
     the program is being carried out, including--
       ``(i) restoring upland habitat;
       ``(ii) restoring riparian habitat;
       ``(iii) creating pollinator habitat;
       ``(iv) restoring flood plains connection to stream or river 
     channels;
       ``(v) creating dedicated multibenefit recharge areas;
       ``(vi) dry-land farming or planting non-irrigated or water-
     saving cover crops;
       ``(vii) switching from irrigated agriculture to non-
     irrigated rangeland;
       ``(viii) creating park or community recreation areas;
       ``(ix) acquiring a conservation easement on land taken out 
     of irrigated agricultural production to permanently protect a 
     new use of the land;
       ``(x) facilitation of renewable energy projects that have 
     an overall greenhouse gas reduction; and
       ``(xi) reestablishment of Tribal land uses.
       ``(4) Application.--To be eligible for a grant under 
     paragraph (2), an eligible entity shall submit to the 
     Secretary an application in such form, at such time, and 
     containing such information as the Secretary may require, 
     including a description of the manner in which the eligible 
     entity would use the grant funds to carry out projects under 
     the covered program that reduce consumptive water use by 
     converting irrigated agricultural land to a new use that--
       ``(A) reduces groundwater withdrawals or consumptive water 
     use for not less than 10 years; and
       ``(B) provides other measurable benefits to the environment 
     or communities in which the covered program is being carried 
     out.
       ``(5) Priority.--In providing grants under paragraph (2), 
     the Secretary shall give priority to covered programs that--
       ``(A) provide direct benefits to disadvantaged communities; 
     or
       ``(B) were developed through a multi-stakeholder planning 
     process.
       ``(6) Voluntary conservation agreements.--
       ``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (C), the 
     Secretary (acting through the Director of the United States 
     Fish and Wildlife Service) or the Secretary of Commerce 
     (acting through the Director of the National Marine Fisheries 
     Service), as applicable, shall seek to enter into voluntary 
     conservation agreements, with the individuals and entities 
     described in subparagraph (B), under which the individuals 
     and entities entering into the agreements would carry out on 
     formerly irrigated agricultural land converted under a 
     covered program carried out under this subsection or on 
     associated aquatic resources actions that contribute to the 
     recovery of species listed as endangered or threatened under 
     the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).
       ``(B) Entities and individuals described.--The individuals 
     and entities referred to in subparagraph (A) are the 
     following:
       ``(i) Eligible entities provided grants to carry out a 
     covered program under paragraph (2).
       ``(ii) Owners of irrigated agricultural land converted 
     under a covered program carried out under this subsection.
       ``(iii) Owners of land adjacent to irrigated agricultural 
     land converted under a covered program carried out under this 
     subsection.
       ``(7) Annual report to congress.--Annually, the Secretary 
     shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 
     report that describes the status of covered programs for 
     which grant funds have been provided under this subsection 
     during the period covered by the report, including a 
     description of--
       ``(A) the achievements and effectiveness of each covered 
     program with respect to reducing groundwater withdrawals and 
     reducing consumptive water use;
       ``(B) the quantity of groundwater or surface water that was 
     conserved; and
       ``(C) the community agricultural sustainability or 
     environmental benefits that were achieved under each covered 
     program.
       ``(8) Authorization of appropriations.--
       ``(A) In general.--There is authorized to be appropriated 
     to carry out this subsection $250,000,000 for the period of 
     fiscal years 2024 through 2028.
       ``(B) Reservation of funds.--Of the amounts made available 
     for a fiscal year under subparagraph (A), 50 percent shall be 
     used--
       ``(i) to provide grants for covered programs that are pilot 
     programs; or
       ``(ii) if no applications for grants for a pilot program 
     for the applicable fiscal year are submitted, to provide 
     grants to eligible covered programs that are existing 
     programs.''.
       (2) Conforming amendments.--
       (A) Section 102(c) of the Reclamation States Emergency 
     Drought Relief Act of 1991 (43 U.S.C. 2212) is amended, in 
     the first sentence of the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 
     striking ``section 101(c)'' and inserting ``section 101(d)''.
       (B) Section 301 of the Reclamation States Emergency Drought 
     Relief Act of 1991 (43 U.S.C. 2241) is amended by striking 
     ``section 303 of this Act'' and inserting ``section 
     101(b)(7)(A) or 303''.
       (b) Applicable Period of Drought Program.--Section 104 of 
     the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991 
     (43 U.S.C. 2214) is amended by striking subsection (a) and 
     inserting the following:
       ``(a) In General.--The programs and authorities established 
     under this title shall only become operative in a Reclamation 
     State or in the State of Hawaii if--
       ``(1)(A) the Governor of the affected State, or the 
     governing body of the affected Indian Tribe with respect to a 
     reservation, has made a request for temporary drought 
     assistance; and
       ``(B) the Secretary has determined that the temporary 
     assistance is merited;
       ``(2) a drought emergency has been declared by the Governor 
     of the affected State;
       ``(3) a drought contingency plan has been approved in 
     accordance with title II;
       ``(4) for purposes of subsection (b) of section 101, the 
     affected State has implemented a covered program under that 
     subsection; or
       ``(5) in the case of a Colorado River Basin State, by 
     operation of the Colorado River Basin Drought Contingency 
     Plan executed in accordance with the Colorado River Drought 
     Contingency Plan Authorization Act (Public Law 116-14; 133 
     Stat. 850).''.

     SEC. 10__. GRANTS TO SUPPORT AGRICULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY TO 
                   REDUCE RELIANCE ON GROUNDWATER AND REDUCE 
                   CONSUMPTIVE WATER USE.

       Section 9504(a) of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act 
     of 2009 (42 U.S.C. 10364(a)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)(J)--
       (A) in clause (ii), by striking ``or'' at the end;
       (B) in clause (iii), by striking the period at the end and 
     inserting ``; or''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(iv) to reduce groundwater withdrawals and otherwise 
     reduce consumptive water use to respond to drought.'';
       (2) in paragraph (2)(B)--
       (A) in clause (i), by striking ``and'' at the end;
       (B) in clause (ii)(II), by striking the period at the end 
     and inserting ``; and''; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(iii) for a project to carry out on an activity described 
     in paragraph (1)(J)(iv)--

       ``(I) a proposal to repurpose irrigated agricultural land 
     for not less than 10 years to reduce consumptive water use, 
     while providing community health, economic wellbeing, water 
     supply, habitat, and climate resilience benefits, including--

       ``(aa) restoring upland habitat;
       ``(bb) restoring riparian habitat;
       ``(cc) creating pollinator habitat;
       ``(dd) restoring the connection of floodplains to stream or 
     river channels;
       ``(ee) creating dedicated multi-benefit recharge areas;
       ``(ff) dry-land farming or planting nonirrigated cover 
     crops;
       ``(gg) switching from irrigated agriculture to nonirrigated 
     rangeland;
       ``(hh) creating park or community recreation areas;
       ``(ii) acquiring a conservation easement on land taken out 
     of irrigated agricultural production to permanently protect 
     any of the new uses;
       ``(jj) facilitation of renewable energy projects that have 
     an overall greenhouse gas reduction; and
       ``(kk) reestablishment of Tribal land uses; and

       ``(II) a demonstration of the manner in which the proposed 
     activity would--

       ``(aa) reduce groundwater withdrawals or consumptive water 
     use for not less than 10 years; and
       ``(bb) provide other measurable benefits to the environment 
     or disadvantaged communities.''; and
       (3) in paragraph (4)--
       (A) by striking ``In providing'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(A) In general.--In providing''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(B) Grants to repurpose agricultural land.--For purposes 
     of evaluating applications for grants described in paragraph 
     (2)(B)(iii), the Secretary shall give priority to 
     applications for proposals that provide direct benefits to 
     disadvantaged communities.''.
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