H.R. 773 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the House, sent to the Committee on Agriculture, Jan 28, 2025
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryEnds NRCS public-private partnership contributions
This bill removes a program that lets the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, accept money from outside groups and businesses to help pay for conservation work. The bill keeps NRCS's ability to accept nonfederal funds for some specific conservation programs like those focused on environmental quality and stewardship, but stops the broader partnerships that were created a couple years ago to address climate change, protect water sources, and improve wildlife habitats.
How it affects you
This mainly affects conservation groups, businesses, and landowners who were using or planning to use the partnership program to fund land conservation projects. They'll no longer be able to contribute money through that particular pathway, though NRCS will still accept funding for certain other established conservation programs.
Read the official summary (Introduced in House, Jan 28, 2025)
This bill repeals provisions that allow the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to accept and use contributions for public-private partnerships.
Specifically, the bill repeals the public-private partnerships allowed under an act commonly known as the Sponsoring USDA Sustainability Targets in Agriculture to Incentivize Natural Solutions Act (the SUSTAINS Act). In addition, the bill allows NRCS to continue to accept nonfederal contributions of funds to certain programs (e.g., the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Stewardship Program) in order to support the purposes of the programs.
As background, Congress enacted provisions of the SUSTAINS Act as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. Under the SUSTAINS Act provisions, the NRCS may accept contributions of nonfederal funds to support a broad range of conservation programs for the purposes of addressing issues related to climate change, carbon sequestration, wildlife habitat improvement, and protection of drinking water sources. NRCS may match these contributions. In addition, those contributing funds may designate the funds for use in a specific program or geographic area.
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. 773
A BILL
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to repeal certain provisions relating to the acceptance and use of contributions for public-private partnerships, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Rep. Harriet M. Hageman (R-WY-At Large) · Introduced Jan 28, 2025 · Agriculture and Food · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Feb 28, 2025: “Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology.”