Balancing Food, Farm, and the Environment Act of 2013
Latest action · May 22, 2013 Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedMay 8, 2013
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Balancing Food, Farm, and the Environment Act of 2013 - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to make a producer violating certain conservation requirements under the highly erodible land or wetland programs ineligible for federal crop insurance premiums.
Requires producers under the highly erodible land program and the wetland conservation program to comply with specified conservation requirements.
Extends and revises: (1) the conservation reserve program, (2) the conservation stewardship program, and (3) the environmental quality incentives program.
Establishes: (1) a conservation reserve easement program, and (2) a conservation innovation grant program.
Directs the Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) to use Commodity Credit Corporation funds and facilities to carry out the following programs through FY2018: (1) the conservation reserve program, (2) the conservation security program, (3) the conservation stewardship program, (4) the environmental quality incentives program, (5) the conservation innovation grant program, (6) the agricultural conservation easement program, and (7) the conservation loan and loan guarantee program.
Authorizes a conservation loan and loan guarantee program.
Establishes an agricultural conservation easement program which shall combine the purposes and functions of the wetlands reserve program, the grassland reserve program, and the farmland protection program.
Provides: (1) funding for the purchase by eligible entities of agricultural land easements and other interests in eligible land, and (2) assistance to owners of eligible land to restore and protect wetland through easements and related wetland easement plans.
Authorizes the Secretary to enter into one or more agreements with a state, nongovernmental organization, or Indian tribe to carry out a special wetlands reserve enhancement program which shall include a reservation of haying and grazing component.
Establishes a regional conservation partnership program which shall combine the purposes and functions of the agricultural water enhancement program, the Chesapeake Bay Watershed program, the cooperative conservation partnership initiative, and the Great Lakes basin program for soil erosion and sediment control.
Repeals: (1) the emergency forestry conservation reserve program, (2) the wetlands reserve program, (3) the farmland protection program and farm viability program, (4) the grassland reserve program, (5) the environmental easement program, (6) the program of conservation innovation grants and payments, (7) the agricultural water enhancement program, (8) the wildlife habitat incentive program, (9) the
Cosponsors 25
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from May 8, 2013 to Nov 15, 2013; 12 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Original | May 8, 2013 |
| D-CA | George Miller | Original | May 8, 2013 |
| D-CA | Henry A. Waxman | Original | May 8, 2013 |
| D-VA | James P. Moran | Original | May 8, 2013 |
| D-CA | Jared Huffman | Original | May 8, 2013 |
| D-MI | John D. Dingell | Original | May 8, 2013 |
| D-MN | Keith Ellison | Original | May 8, 2013 |
| D-CA | Lois Capps | Original | May 8, 2013 |
| D-NY | Louise McIntosh Slaughter | Original | May 8, 2013 |
| D-WI | Ron Kind | Original | May 8, 2013 |
| D-NJ | Rush Holt | Original | May 8, 2013 |
| D-CA | Sam Farr | Original | May 8, 2013 |
| D-CA | Judy Chu | May 17, 2013 | |
| D-OR | Peter A. DeFazio | May 17, 2013 | |
| D-CA | Susan A. Davis | May 17, 2013 | |
| D-CA | Scott H. Peters | Jun 27, 2013 | |
| D-VA | Gerald E. Connolly | Jul 10, 2013 | |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Jul 10, 2013 | |
| D-MI | John Conyers, Jr. | Jul 10, 2013 | |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Jul 26, 2013 | |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Aug 2, 2013 | |
| D-NH | Carol Shea-Porter | Sep 9, 2013 | |
| D-MA | William R. Keating | Sep 9, 2013 | |
| D-MN | Betty McCollum | Nov 15, 2013 | |
| D-PA | Matt Cartwright | Nov 15, 2013 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Agriculture Committee | Referred May 8, 2013 |
| Forestry and Horticulture Subcommittee | Referred May 22, 2013 |
Actions 5
Everything that happened, newest first.
- May 22, 2013Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy, and Forestry.
- May 8, 2013Introduced in House
- May 8, 2013Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR E624)
- May 8, 2013Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
- May 7, 2013Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H2461)
In the Congressional Record 2
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| House | Debate and remarks H3104 | Earl Blumenauer D-OR | Jun 5, 2013 |
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E624 | Earl Blumenauer D-OR | May 8, 2013 |
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H2535.
CRS reports 1
Congressional Research Service work that CRS links to this bill or the law it became, newest first.
Cite it 1
Products on other subjects that cite it, usually among other measures.
| Product | Title | Kind | Published |
|---|---|---|---|
| R43230 | Climate Change Legislation in the 113th Congress Archived | Report | Mar 12, 2014 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 923 | Balancing Food, Farm, and the Environment Act of 2013 | Related bill | May 9, 2013 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To modernize the conservation title of the Food Security Act of 1985, protect long-term taxpayer investment, increase small and midsize farmer's access to programs, and prioritize modern-day conservation needs through management practices, local engagement, and stewardship.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Balancing Food, Farm, and the Environment Act of 2013
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Agriculture and Food.
- Agricultural conservation and pollution
- Agricultural insurance
- Agricultural practices and innovations
- Agricultural prices, subsidies, credit
- Agriculture and Food
- Air quality
- Birds
- Chesapeake Bay
- Climate change and greenhouse gases
- Disaster relief and insurance
- Environmental technology
- Farmland
- Forests, forestry, trees
- Government lending and loan guarantees
- Government studies and investigations
- Great Lakes
- Land use and conservation
- Minority and disadvantaged businesses
- Public contracts and procurement
- Soil pollution
- Solid waste and recycling
- Water quality
- Water use and supply
- Watersheds
- Wetlands
- Wildlife conservation and habitat protection
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- May 8, 2013Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
