,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #dhej ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,october #bc 7legislative day1 ,october #ai71 #bjbj,mr4 ,wyden introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe to create permanent payments within the environmental quality incentives program for soil health practices and carbon sequestration monitoring1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,healthy ,soils ,healthy ,climate ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,amendments to the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7a7 ,increased payments for high-,priority practices ,section #abdj;,b7d77#g77;,a7 of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chci;aa-#b7;d77#g77;,a77 is amended-- 7#a7 in clause 7iii71 by striking or at the end2 7#b7 in clause 7iv71 by striking the period at the end and inserting 2 or2 and 7#c7 by adding at the end the following3 7v7 increases soil organic carbon levels4 4 7b7 ,incentive payments for soil health practices and carbon sequestration monitoring 7#a7 ,in general ,section #abdj;,b of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chci;aa-#b7 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7k7 ,incentive payments for soil health practices and carbon sequestration monitoring 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall provide incentive payments to producers to adopt practices designed to improve soil health through increasing carbon levels in soil 7referred to in this section as soil organic carbon levels74 7#b7 ,requirements ,in providing the incentive payments under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 establish payments to provide an incentive for the use of practices across a variety of geographic regions that-- 7i7 improve soil health2 7ii7 sequester carbon in the soil2 or 7iii7 meet the goals described in clauses 7i7 and 7ii72 and 7,b7 establish protocols for measuring soil organic carbon levels before and after treatment under this subsection to measure gains in soil health as a result of the practices4 7#c7 ,study2 report to congress 7,a7 ,study ,not later than #b years after the date of enactment of this subsection1 and every #b years thereafter1 the ,secretary shall conduct a study regarding changes in soil health and soil organic carbon levels as a result of the practices used under this subsection4 7,b7 ,report to congress ,not later than #b years after the date of enactment of this subsection1 and every #b years thereafter1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress a report describing and analyzing the results of the study conducted under subparagraph 7,a74 7,c7 ,inclusion ,the report under subparagraph 7,b7 shall include an analysis of-- 7i7 the effect of various practices on soil organic carbon levels2 7ii7 the extent to which the lessons learned in carrying out this subsection can be transferred to other geographic regions2 7iii7 further data required to substantiate the connection between soil organic carbon levels and crop yield and resiliency1 if applicable2 7iv7 the effect of multiple practices on soil organic carbon levels2 and 7v7 potential barriers to data collection across a variety of geographic regions4 4 7#b7 ,funding ,section #abdj;,b7f7 of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chci;aa-#b7;f77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#c7 ,incentive payments for soil health practices and carbon sequestration monitoring ,for each fiscal year for which funds are made available under section #abda7;a77#c77;,a71 of the funds made available for payments under the program1 #ajj1jjj1jjj shall be used to provide incentive payments under subsection 7k74 4 7#c7 ,conforming amendments ,section #abdj;,h of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chci;aa-#h7 is amended-- 7,a7 in subsection 7c71 by striking paragraph 7#g72 and 7,b7 in subsection 7d77#a7-- 7i7 in subparagraph 7,b71 by adding and at the end2 7ii7 in subparagraph 7,c71 by striking 2 and and inserting a period2 and 7iii7 by striking subparagraph 7,d74 7c7 ,priority for soil health and carbon sequestration ,section #abdj;,b of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chci;aa-#b7 7as amended by subsection 7b77#a77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7l7 ,priority for soil health and carbon sequestration 7#a7 ,in general ,to the maximum extent feasible1 the ,secretary shall manage the program to promote practices at least #a of the benefits of which is enhancement of soil health or increasing soil organic carbon levels4 7#b7 ,soil health and carbon sequestration on eligible land ,the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 develop ranking and scoring criteria under the program that prioritize practices that score highest in soil carbon sequestration on eligible land2 and 7,b7 develop a soil organic carbon conservation activity plan under the program to measure and monitor sequestration and mitigation improvement levels from the practices described in subparagraph 7,a71 such as cover crops1 crop rotation1 and improved soil management4 4 7d7 ,streamlining and coordination ,section #abdj;,b of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chci;aa-#b7 7as amended by subsection 7c77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7m7 ,streamlining and coordination ,to the maximum extent feasible1 the ,secretary shall provide for streamlined and coordinated procedures for the program and the conservation stewardship program under subchapter ,b1 including applications1 contracting1 conservation planning1 conservation practices1 and related administrative procedures4 4 7e7 ,soil health and carbon science research program at agriculture research stations ,the ,secretary of ,agriculture shall establish a program-- 7#a7 to provide grants to land-grant colleges and universities to conduct research relating to soil health and carbon science2 and 7#b7 to conduct research relating to soil health and carbon science at agriculture research stations of the ,department of ,agriculture4