H.R. 9572 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the House, sent to the Committee on Agriculture, Jul 2, 2026
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryHelps farmland qualify for conservation payments
The Conservation Reserve Program pays farmers to protect environmentally sensitive land by taking it out of production and using conservation practices. Right now, farmland is ineligible for these payments if state or local environmental laws require certain conservation measures. This bill would change that, allowing land to stay eligible for payments even if it's already subject to those requirements, though land covered by court orders wouldn't qualify.
How it affects you
Farmers and agricultural producers in areas with state or local environmental rules could become eligible for federal conservation payments they weren't able to get before. This could help offset costs of protecting sensitive land while following local environmental laws.
Read the official summary (Introduced in House, Jul 2, 2026)
Building Up Farmland Frontiers for Ecological Resilience Act or the BUFFER Act
This bill provides that certain land (that is under state regulations) is eligible to participate under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Under CRP, the Department of Agriculture provides annual payments to agricultural producers to take highly erodible and environmentally sensitive land out of production and install resource-conserving practices.
Specifically, land otherwise eligible under the program remains eligible for enrollment even if a tribal, state, or other local law, ordinance, or other regulation requires any resource-conserving or environmental protection measure or practice. The bill includes an exception that makes the land ineligible under the program if the implementation requirement has been imposed by an administrative order or a court order.
Current regulations exclude from enrollment eligibility (with exceptions) land that is subject to tribal, state, or other local laws, ordinances, or other regulations that require any resource-conserving or environmental protection measures or practices.
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.
2nd SessionH. R. 9572
A BILL
BUFFER Act
Sponsor: Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT-At Large) · Introduced Jul 2, 2026 · Agriculture and Food · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Jul 2, 2026: “Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.”