YourVoice.Now Summary
Your MoneyWorkers & JobsCivil LibertiesCriminal Justice & Due ProcessCorporate BenefitsHigh-Earner BenefitsEnvironmentTransparency & AccountabilityTargeted & Unrelated ProvisionsGun LawsFarmers could get less federal help for dams, ponds, and waste lagoons — and USDA would report spending each year.
Your Money
The program would pay at most 40 percent of the cost of 25 kinds of projects, like dams and ponds, instead of 75 percent. Beginning, veteran, and some other farmers could still get more.
The bill lowers the dollar limit on what one person or business can get, not counting incentive contracts. But the law sets that limit only for contracts signed in fiscal years 2014 through 2023, and the bill adds no later years.
More about this bill
If you farm or ranch and use EQIP, you could get less federal help for some projects. EQIP is a farm program that helps pay for conservation work. The bill caps the federal share at 40 percent, down from 75 percent, for 25 kinds of projects. These include dams, ponds, access roads, land clearing, irrigation pipelines, and farm waste storage and treatment lagoons. Most other projects would still be paid at up to 75 percent. Beginning, veteran, and some other farmers could still get higher rates under current law. The bill also changes a dollar limit on how much one person or business can get, from $450,000 to $150,000. But the law writes that limit only for contracts signed in fiscal years 2014 through 2023. The bill adds no later years. Payments under conservation incentive contracts, a separate part of the program, do not count toward the limit. The bill deletes an old rule that set aside half of program money for livestock and grazing projects. The law wrote that rule only for the years 2019 through 2023. It also deletes an expired wildlife set-aside for 2014 through 2018. A rule that sets aside 10 percent for wildlife habitat through 2031 would stay. The Agriculture Department would have to report to Congress each year on where the money goes. The report would break spending down by type of project, by state, and by farm size.
Congressional Summary
EQIP Improvement Act of 2025This bill modifies payment limitations and reduces the federal cost share and required payments for certain projects authorized under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). As background, this Department of Agriculture program provides technical and financial assistance to agricultural producers and forest landowners to address natural resource concerns.Specifically, the bill limits the total payments available to a person or legal entity under EQIP to $150,000 over a specified five-year period. (A $450,000 statutory limit was in effect for FY2019-FY2024, and a regulatory contract limit of $450,000 currently applies.)The bill also reduces the maximum federal cost share to 40% (from 75%) for the costs associated with planning, installation, or maintenance for specified conservation practices (e.g., access roads, dams, and waste storage facilities) and removes a requirement that 50% of EQIP funding for payments go to practices related to livestock production.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2025-12-16
- Date Added
- 2026-10-19
- Source
- Congress.gov →
Like reading a bill in plain English?
We're building an app that does this for every bill in Congress and lets you tell your reps how you want them to vote. We're a small team getting ready to launch, and we're trying to show investors that real people want this. Be one of them. Help us get it built. Leave your email and we'll tell you the moment the app is ready.