,i #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #fahb ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,march #aj1 #bjbj,ms4 ,fudge 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,thompson of ,pennsylvania1 ,ms4 ,pingree1 ,mr4 ,delgado1 and ,ms4 ,schrier7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,soil and ,water ,resources ,conservation ,act of #aigg with respect to assessments of conservation programs1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,farmer-,driven ,conservation ,outcomes ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,amendments to the ,soil and ,water ,resources ,conservation ,act of #aigg ,the ,soil and ,water ,resources ,conservation ,act of #aigg 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #bjja et seq47 is amended by redesignating sections #h through #aj as sections #aj though #ab1 respectively1 and inserting after section #g the following3 #h4 ,conservation programs assessment 7a7 ,in general ,in coordination with the appraisal of soil1 water1 and related resources and with the national soil and water conservation program established under this ,act1 the ,secretary may carry out a conservation effects assessment project to quantify the environmental and economic effects of conservation practices1 develop the science base for managing the agricultural landscape for environmental quality and sustainable productive capacity1 and improve the efficacy of conservation practices and programs by evaluating conservation effects4 7b7 ,scope ,the project under this subsection may be carried out at national1 regional1 and watershed scales1 and may include cropland1 grazing lands1 wetlands1 forests1 and such other lands as the ,secretary may determine appropriate4 7c7 ,activities ,the project under this subsection may include research1 literature reviews and bibliographies1 modeling1 assessment1 monitoring and data collection1 outreach1 extension education1 and such other activities as the ,secretary may determine appropriate4 #i4 ,goals and assessment process for conservation programs 7a7 ,natural resource and environmental objectives and outcomes 7#a7 ,in general ,in coordination with the appraisal of soil1 water1 and related resources1 the soil and water conservation program1 and the conservation effects assessment project established by this ,act1 the ,secretary shall identify1 and periodically revise1 specific natural resource and environmental objectives and anticipated conservation outcomes and results1 by resource concern1 for the conservation programs established under subtitles ,d and ,h of title ,,xii of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe and the landscape conservation initiatives developed by the ,secretary4 7#b7 ,assessments ,to help measure outcomes and results1 the ,secretary shall1 to the maximum extent practicable1 make assessments of changes in the status and conditions of natural resources and the environment that result from the application of conservation activities supported directly by such conservation programs and initiatives4 7#c7 ,monitoring and program evaluation ,the ,secretary shall establish a coordinated monitoring and evaluation process for programs and initiatives to assess progress toward the identified objectives1 to gather information to improve program and initiative implementation in accordance with desired program and initiative outcomes and results1 and to assess the need for modifications to program or initiative rules or statutes4 7b7 ,monitoring and program evaluation 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall use not more than one percent of the total annual funding from the funds of the ,commodity ,credit ,corporation made available for new annual enrollments for the conservation programs established under subtitles ,d and ,h of title ,,xii of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe to establish a comprehensive monitoring and program evaluation process to assess progress in reaching natural resource and environmental objectives identified in accordance with subsection 7a7 and the contribution of individual programs and initiatives1 as well as the programs and initiatives collectively1 to that progress4 7#b7 ,implementation ,in implementing the monitoring and program evaluation process under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary may consider and incorporate resource concern inventories1 quality criteria1 conservation practices and enhancements1 and such other information as the ,secretary determines relevant for applying the monitoring and program evaluation process across each of the major land uses identified by the ,secretary4 7#c7 ,monitoring and evaluation process 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than two years after the date of enactment of this section1 the ,secretary shall issue a design for the comprehensive monitoring and evaluation process1 a schedule for implementing the process1 and a plan for coordinating the process with the national soil and water conservation program and conservation effects assessment project established under this ,act4 7,b7 ,methodology ,the design for the comprehensive monitoring and evaluation process issued under subparagraph 7,a7 shall-- 7i7 ensure that data made available to cooperators and researchers under this subsection is transformed into statistical aggregate at the county level1 in a form that protects personally identifiable information2 and 7ii7 take into account the cumulative nature of conservation over time1 the interactions and sequencing effects between conservation activities1 the differing times for conservation effects to be realized1 and other related measurement challenges4 7,c7 ,public research ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 in order to facilitate implementation of the monitoring and evaluation process1 the ,secretary shall make available conservation activity and program data to cooperators and researchers engaged in public research and evaluation activities to improve conservation outcomes under this subsection1 provided that-- 7i7 adequate assurances are provided to the ,secretary that any resulting research or information will be made publicly available and in a form that protects personally identifiable information2 and 7ii7 the ,national ,technical ,committee finds that any such research is likely to generate information that furthers the purpose of this section4 7#d7 ,cooperative agreements ,the ,secretary may implement the monitoring evaluation process in part through cooperative or contribution agreements with ,federal1 ,state1 and local agencies1 universities and colleges1 nongovernmental organizations with requisite expertise1 as determined by the ,secretary in consultation with the ,national ,technical ,committee4 7#e7 ,national technical committee 7,a7 ,composition ,the monitoring and evaluation process shall be administered by the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service with assistance from a national technical committee appointed by the ,secretary and composed of individuals with relevant technical and scientific expertise representing-- 7i7 the ,agricultural ,research ,service of the ,department of ,agriculture2 7ii7 the ,economic ,research ,service of the ,department of ,agriculture2 7iii7 the ,farm ,service ,agency of the ,department of ,agriculture2 7iv7 the ,united ,states ,fish and ,wildlife ,service2 7v7 the ,forest ,service2 7vi7 the ,national ,institute for ,food and ,agriculture2 7vii7 the ,united ,states ,geological ,survey2 7viii7 the ,environmental ,protection ,agency2 7ix7 ,state and tribal agencies2 7x7 land grant university natural resource research programs2 7xi7 nongovernmental organizations with expertise in the full array of conservation issues and measurement and evaluation of conservation outcomes2 7xii7 farmers across a variety of geographic regions and production types2 and 7xiii7 such other agencies1 institutions1 or organizations as the ,secretary may determine appropriate4 7,b7 ,,faca exemption ,the national technical committee shall be exempt from the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app474 7,c7 ,transparency ,the ,secretary shall ensure the proceedings and recommendations of the national technical committee are available to the public4 7#f7 ,voluntary participation ,in carrying out this subsection1 the ,secretary shall ensure that any on-farm monitoring activities that may be included as part of the monitoring and program evaluation process are voluntary on the part of the producer1 and may include appropriate compensation1 as determined by the ,secretary4 7c7 ,reporting 7#a7 ,report on objectives and methods ,beginning in the fiscal year that is #c years after the date of enactment of this subsection1 and periodically thereafter1 as determined by the ,secretary1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress1 and make publicly available1 a report that includes-- 7,a7 a description of conservation outcome objectives that are1 to the maximum extent practicable1 quantitative1 measurable1 and time-bound for each program established under subtitle ,d or ,h of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe and the landscape conservation initiatives developed by the ,secretary2 7,b7 a description of the approaches1 tools1 and methods used to measure or model the conservation outcomes and results and to estimate the cost-effectiveness of each such program2 and 7,c7 guidance to the conservation project partners working to implement conservation programs within a landscape-level project that provides a description of the approaches1 tools1 and methods the partners might consider using to measure and model the conservation outcomes and results of their projects4 7#b7 ,report on outcomes ,in conjunction with each of the reports to ,congress pursuant to section #g1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress1 and make publicly available1 a report that includes-- 7,a7 an assessment of progress made towards achieving conservation program objectives and anticipated outcomes and results for each conservation program established under subtitle ,d or ,h of title ,,xii of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe1 as well as for such programs collectively1 and the landscape conservation initiatives developed by the ,secretary2 7,b7 an evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of each such conservation program and initiative2 and 7,c7 recommendations1 in light of the assessment and evaluation1 to improve program implementation and improve the scientific and economic tools 7including any new or revised conservation practices1 conservation enhancements1 or conservation planning tools7 used to achieve stated natural resource conservation and environmental objectives4 7#c7 ,coordination ,the ,secretary may coordinate the reports required under paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b7 with any reports developed as part of the conservation effects assessment project authorized by section #h1 whenever such coordination is feasible and warranted1 as determined by the ,secretary4 4