S. 4862

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4862 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4862

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to consider certain acreage not 
planted due to a lack of irrigation water to be eligible for prevented 
planting payments, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

June 23, 2026

Mr. Bennet introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to consider certain acreage not 
planted due to a lack of irrigation water to be eligible for prevented 
planting payments, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ELIGIBILITY OF ACREAGE NOT PLANTED DUE TO LACK OF IRRIGATION 
WATER.

(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Covered program.--The term ``covered program'' means a 
program to which section 718.103 of title 7, Code of Federal 
Regulations (or a successor regulation), applies.
(2) Irrigation water.--The term ``irrigation water'' means 
any water that--
(A) a landowner has access to, through 
appropriation, allocation, open access, or other 
availability, for the use of irrigating crops; and
(B) is sourced through snowmelt, runoff, stream 
flow, reservoir, groundwater aquifer, or another 
similar source.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
of Agriculture, acting through the Administrator of the Farm 
Service Agency.
(b) Eligibility.--In carrying out any covered program, the 
Secretary shall consider acreage on a farm to be prevented from 
planting for a crop year if--
(1) the producers on the farm did not plant those acres 
based on a reasonable expectation that there would be 
insufficient irrigation water available for that crop year to 
irrigate those acres;
(2) the infrastructure to irrigate those acres is installed 
and functional for that crop year;
(3) those acres have been irrigated in one or more of the 
previous 4 crop years in which irrigation water was sufficient;
(4) in one or more of the previous 4 crop years, the 
producers on the farm planted to those acres the same crop that 
was prevented from planting; and
(5) the land or environment for the acres prevented from 
planting does not support dryland farming for the crop that was 
prevented from planting.
(c) Limitations.--
(1) Reduction in payment amounts.--The Secretary shall 
reduce the amount of any payments provided under covered 
programs with respect to acreage that the Secretary considers 
to be prevented from planting pursuant to subsection (b)--
(A) for the fifth through eighth consecutive crop 
years by 50 percent;
(B) for the ninth and tenth consecutive crop years 
by 75 percent; and
(C) for the eleventh consecutive crop year and each 
crop year thereafter by 100 percent.
(2) Ineligibility.--Any acreage subject to a reduction 
under paragraph (1)(C) shall be permanently ineligible for 
payments provided under covered programs.
(d) Revisions to Regulations.--
(1) Drought conditions.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall 
revise section 718.103(e) of title 7, Code of Federal 
Regulations, to provide that a lack of water resulting from 
drought conditions described in that section shall include a 
lack of water resulting from drought conditions at the source 
of an irrigation supply.
(2) Disaster determination.--The Secretary of Agriculture 
shall revise section 718.103(g) of title 7, Code of Federal 
Regulations, to provide that, in determining natural disasters 
described in that section, the Commodity Credit Corporation 
shall consult with Farm Service Agency county committees and 
State technical committees.
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