Bill

S. 629 (119th): Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025 This act 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

Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025 This act 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 act also provides additional options to receive an advance on cost-sharing payments before carrying out emergency measures. The act 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 act 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 act 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.

house · Substantive

Rankings updated October 26, 2026, 11:44 AM ET · Votes through September 30, 2026
Exported candidates: 719 | Filings on file, by office: H: 5838 | P: 1467 | S: 1567. These counts include every filing for that office, so they are larger than the ranked list. One person can have more than one filing. Non-voting delegates are left out.

Official source

Summary

Recorded summary

The bill, as summarized, revises the Emergency Conservation Program and the Emergency Forest Restoration Program to expand payment eligibility for agricultural producers and owners of nonindustrial private forest land affected by natural disasters. It allows advance cost-sharing payments of 75% for replacement and 50% for repair or restoration under ECP, and up to 75% for emergency measures under EFRP. It extends the spending window from 60 to 180 days for ECP recipients, and it expands eligible wildfire-related damage to include certain non-natural wildfires and wildfires caused by the federal government.

debt_spendingdisaster_reliefenvironmental_policyfederal_spending_expansionstewardship

Theological note: The bill concerns stewardship of land and care for neighbors harmed by disaster, which are relevant goods. Its moral weight depends mainly on prudent design, fiscal scope, and accountability in federal disaster aid, not on any direct advancement or restraint of a named moral evil. Expanded eligibility for federally caused wildfire damage raises questions of responsible federal accountability that merit review of the operative text.

Scoring

How this bill is scored

Debt and war Cloture and Tier 1 Procedural votes Scoring mechanics monetary injustice economic justice

Roll

Recorded votes

Roll 223 · 23-Jun-2026 6:58 PM · On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass · Passed

Yea 368 · Nay 19 · Other 44

Yea

Nay

Other

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