S. 2624 · 115th Congress
EQIP Improvement Act of 2018
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 115th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
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BookerSponsor1 cosponsor · 1 R
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to modify the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). (EQIP provides financial and technical assistance for agricultural producers and land owners to implement certain conservation practices.)
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Mar 22, 2018
EQIP Improvement Act of 2018
This bill amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to modify the Department of Agriculture (USDA) Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). (EQIP provides financial and technical assistance for agricultural producers and land owners to implement certain conservation practices.)
The bill modifies EQIP to:
- reduce the maximum federal cost-share from 75% to 40% for specified practices,
- repeal the requirement for at least 60% of the funds made available for EQIP payments to be targeted at practices relating to livestock production, and
- reduce the five-year EQIP payment cap from $450,000 to $150,000.
The bill also requires USDA to: (1) coordinate the program with the conservation effects assessments carried out by USDA, and (2) revise the guidance issued to states for allocating funds to require data regarding environmental concerns to be used as a primary factor to prioritize projects.
USDA must prioritize EQIP applications that consist only of the performance of certain land management or vegetative practices that are a cost-effective means of addressing the most pressing impairments that threaten to degrade or impair water quality, water quantity, soil or related natural resources within a local watershed, or a specific natural resource boundary.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: EQIP Improvement Act of 2018
Latest action (Mar 22, 2018): Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Policy area: Agriculture and Food · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Mar 22, 2018
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.