H.R. 6867 — Introduced in House

I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 6867 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 19, 2023Mr. Nunn of Iowa (for himself and Ms. Spanberger) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To create an Office of Conservation Innovation within the Natural Resources Conservation Service. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Conservation Innovation Act of 2023. 2. Office of Conservation Innovation Section 1242(h) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842(h)) is amended by adding at the end the following: (5) Office of Conservation Innovation (A) In general The Secretary shall establish within the Office of the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service an Office of Conservation Innovation (referred to in this paragraph as the Office) which shall be under the direct supervision of the Chief. (B) Duties The Office shall— (i) provide support to the Chief in meeting the requirements of this subsection; and (ii) encourage innovation in conservation practices through— (I) revisions of existing conservation practice standards; (II) recommendations of interim conservation practice standards; and (III) recommendations of new conservation practice standards. (C) Staff The Chief shall detail to the Office not more than 6 employees of the Department of Agriculture who are technical specialists that possess an understanding of conventional, organic, and other production techniques representing— (i) agronomy and agroecology; (ii) grazing lands ecology (including rangeland, pastureland, and grazed forest land); (iii) animal husbandry (including animal nutrition and feed management); (iv) water conservation, drainage water management, and irrigation engineering technology; (v) agricultural engineering (including animal waste management, energy, and structural measures); and (vi) forest ecology. (6) Funding The Secretary shall use funding from the annual appropriations for conservation operations of the Natural Resources Conservation Service to carry out this subsection. .