H.R. 5781 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the House, sent to the Committee on Agriculture, Oct 17, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summarySpeeds up emergency watershed cleanup efforts
The USDA has a program that helps protect communities from floods, drought, fires, and other natural disasters by funding watershed protection projects. This bill makes the program faster by letting states, local governments, and tribes start emergency cleanup work before officially signing an agreement with USDA. The costs they spend upfront count toward their required share of the project, so they don't have to pay twice.
How it affects you
If you live in an area hit by flooding, drought, or wildfire, your local government and state can get emergency watershed protection started sooner rather than waiting for federal paperwork to finish. This could mean faster action to protect homes and property from natural disasters, especially in communities that need help right away.
Read the official summary (Introduced in House, Oct 17, 2025)
Making Access To Cleanup Happen Act of 2025 or the MATCH Act of 2025
This bill modifies the Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP) program to allow sponsors (i.e., states, local governments, and Indian tribes) to undertake certain emergency watershed protection measures prior to entering into a project agreement with USDA and count the costs as part of the sponsor's share of the project cost once an agreement with USDA is in place.
As background, USDA's EWP Program offers assistance to sponsors to carry out projects that help safeguard people and property from floods, drought, fires, windstorms, and other natural disasters that impair a watershed.
This bill requires USDA to identify a list of emergency watershed protection measures that a sponsor may incur costs for prior to entering into a project agreement with USDA under the EWP Program. USDA must develop a procedure, to be implemented at the state level, through which these entities may request additional emergency watershed protection measures. The cost of undertaking these additional measures may be incurred by a sponsor prior to entering into an agreement with USDA.
Further, USDA must consider pre-agreement costs incurred by a sponsor for undertaking the emergency watershed protection measures as meeting part of a sponsor's contribution towards the project costs.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
1st SessionH. R. 5781
A BILL
MATCH Act of 2025
Sponsor: Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO-2) · Introduced Oct 17, 2025 · Agriculture and Food · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Dec 2, 2025: “Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology.”