H.R. 9572 — Introduced in House

I 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 9572 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES July 2, 2026 Ms. Balint introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to clarify land eligible for enrollment in the conservation reserve program. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Building Up Farmland Frontiers for Ecological Resilience Act or the BUFFER Act. 2. Eligible land under the conservation reserve program Section 1231(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(b)) is amended— (1) in paragraph (6)(B)(ii), by striking or at the end; (2) in paragraph (7)— (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking as determined by the Secretary,; and (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; or; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (8) land that is otherwise eligible for enrollment and for which a Tribal, State, or other local law, ordinance, or other regulation requires any resource-conserving or environmental protection measure or practice, unless the requirement to implement such a measure or practice has been imposed by an administrative order or a court order, in which case that land shall not be eligible for enrollment. .