S. 629: Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025
A Senate bill (S.) in the 119th U.S. Congress.
Overview
| Congress | 119th U.S. Congress (2025–2026) |
|---|---|
| Type | Senate bill (S.) |
| Originating chamber | Senate |
| Introduced | 2025-02-19 |
| Sponsor | Sen. Fischer, Deb [R-NE] |
| Policy area | Agriculture and Food |
| Cosponsors | 2 |
| Latest action | 2026-07-12 — Became Public Law No: 119-102. |
| Last updated | 2026-07-31 |
Summary
Official summary (Introduced in Senate, 2025-02-19):
Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025
This bill revises the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) and the Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) to expand eligibility for payments to agricultural producers and owners of forest land impacted by natural disasters. The bill also provides additional options to receive an advance on cost-sharing payments before carrying out emergency measures.
The bill expands advance ECP payments to include the replacement, repair, or restoration of farmland or conservation structures requiring an immediate response. Producers may receive an advance on cost-sharing payments for 75% of the cost of the replacement and 50% of the cost of the repair or restoration. Current law limits advance payments to 25% of the cost of the repair or replacement of fencing.
Under EFRP, the bill allows owners of nonindustrial private forest land impacted by a natural disaster to receive an advance on cost-sharing payments for up to 75% of the cost of the emergency measures. Currently, advance payments are not available under the program.
ECP and EFRP recipients must use the funds within 180 days after the funds are disbursed. This provides additional time to ECP recipients who currently must use the funds within 60 days.
The bill also expands eligibility for payments under the programs to include emergency measures to address damages caused by (1) a wildfire that is not caused naturally, if the damage is caused by the spread of the wildfire due to natural causes; and (2) a wildfire that is caused by the federal government.
Cosponsors (2)
| Name | Party / state |
|---|---|
| Ben Ray Luján | D NM (original cosponsor) 2025-02-19 |
| Adam B. Schiff | D CA (original cosponsor) 2025-02-19 |
Full text & official record
The official bill text, section-by-section summary, amendments, committee reports, and the complete legislative timeline for S. 629 are published by Congress on congress.gov.
Frequently asked questions
What is S. 629?
S. 629 is a Senate bill (S.) introduced in the 119th U.S. Congress, originating in the Senate. Official title: Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025.
Where can I read the full bill text?
The full text, cosponsors, amendments, and legislative status for S. 629 are available on congress.gov.
Bill data: congress.gov API (official congressional records).