1 | 1 | | I |
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2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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3 | 3 | | 1 |
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4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 575 |
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5 | 5 | | To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to modify the delivery of technical |
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6 | 6 | | assistance, and for other purposes. |
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7 | 7 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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8 | 8 | | JANUARY21, 2025 |
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9 | 9 | | Mr. B |
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10 | 10 | | AIRD(for himself, Mr. SORENSEN, Mr. VASQUEZ, Mr. BOST, Mr. STEIL, |
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11 | 11 | | Ms. P |
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12 | 12 | | ETTERSEN, Ms. TOKUDA, Mr. FINSTAD, Mr. LAHOOD, Mr. FLOOD, |
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13 | 13 | | Mr. J |
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14 | 14 | | OHNSONof South Dakota, Mr. YAKYM, Mr. DAVISof North Caro- |
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15 | 15 | | lina, Ms. L |
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16 | 16 | | EEof Nevada, Mr. SCOTTFRANKLINof Florida, Ms. HOYLE |
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17 | 17 | | of Oregon, Mr. F |
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18 | 18 | | EENSTRA, Ms. BUDZINSKI, Mr. BACON, Ms. SALINAS, |
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19 | 19 | | Ms. S |
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20 | 20 | | CHRIER, and Mr. POCAN) introduced the following bill; which was |
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21 | 21 | | referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL |
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22 | 22 | | To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to modify the |
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23 | 23 | | delivery of technical assistance, and for other purposes. |
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24 | 24 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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25 | 25 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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26 | 26 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
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27 | 27 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Increased TSP Access 4 |
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28 | 28 | | Act of 2025’’. 5 |
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29 | 29 | | SEC. 2. DELIVERY OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 6 |
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30 | 30 | | Section 1242 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 7 |
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31 | 31 | | U.S.C. 3842) is amended— 8 |
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33 | 33 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 2 |
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34 | 34 | | •HR 575 IH |
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35 | 35 | | (1) in subsection (a)— 1 |
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36 | 36 | | (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 2 |
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37 | 37 | | paragraph (3); and 3 |
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38 | 38 | | (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 4 |
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39 | 39 | | following: 5 |
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40 | 40 | | ‘‘(2) N |
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41 | 41 | | ON-FEDERAL CERTIFYING ENTITY .—The 6 |
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42 | 42 | | term ‘non-Federal certifying entity’ means a non- 7 |
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43 | 43 | | Federal entity or State agency described in subpara-8 |
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44 | 44 | | graph (A) or (B), respectively, of subsection (e)(4).’’; 9 |
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45 | 45 | | (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘science- 10 |
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46 | 46 | | based, site-specific practices designed’’ and inserting 11 |
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47 | 47 | | ‘‘timely, science-based, and site-specific practice de-12 |
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48 | 48 | | sign and implementation assistance’’; 13 |
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49 | 49 | | (3) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘(including 14 |
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50 | 50 | | private sector entities)’’ after ‘‘non-Federal entities’’; 15 |
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51 | 51 | | (4) in subsection (e)— 16 |
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52 | 52 | | (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘Food, 17 |
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53 | 53 | | Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008’’ and in-18 |
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54 | 54 | | serting ‘‘Increased TSP Access Act of 2025’’; 19 |
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55 | 55 | | (B) in paragraph (3)— 20 |
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56 | 56 | | (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 21 |
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57 | 57 | | ‘‘ensure’’ and all that follows through ‘‘en-22 |
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58 | 58 | | gineering,’’ and inserting ‘‘ensure that 23 |
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59 | 59 | | third-party providers with expertise in the 24 |
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60 | 60 | | technical aspects of conservation planning, 25 |
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63 | 63 | | •HR 575 IH |
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64 | 64 | | watershed planning, environmental engi-1 |
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65 | 65 | | neering, conservation practice design, im-2 |
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66 | 66 | | plementation, and evaluation, or other 3 |
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67 | 67 | | technical skills, as determined by the Sec-4 |
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68 | 68 | | retary,’’; and 5 |
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69 | 69 | | (ii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting 6 |
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70 | 70 | | ‘‘by the Secretary’’ after ‘‘established’’; 7 |
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71 | 71 | | and 8 |
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72 | 72 | | (C) by striking paragraphs (4) and (5) and 9 |
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73 | 73 | | inserting the following: 10 |
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74 | 74 | | ‘‘(4) C |
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75 | 75 | | ERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall cer-11 |
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76 | 76 | | tify a third-party provider through— 12 |
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77 | 77 | | ‘‘(A) a certification process administered 13 |
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78 | 78 | | by the Secretary, acting through the Chief of 14 |
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79 | 79 | | the Natural Resources Conservation Service; 15 |
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80 | 80 | | ‘‘(B) a non-Federal entity (other than a 16 |
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81 | 81 | | State agency) approved by the Secretary to per-17 |
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82 | 82 | | form the certification; or 18 |
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83 | 83 | | ‘‘(C) a State agency with statutory author-19 |
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84 | 84 | | ity to certify, administer, or license profes-20 |
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85 | 85 | | sionals in one or more fields of natural re-21 |
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86 | 86 | | sources, agriculture, or engineering approved by 22 |
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87 | 87 | | the Secretary to perform the certification. 23 |
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88 | 88 | | ‘‘(5) T |
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89 | 89 | | IMELY DECISIONS.—Not later than 10 24 |
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90 | 90 | | business days after the date on which the Secretary 25 |
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93 | 93 | | •HR 575 IH |
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94 | 94 | | receives a notification submitted by a non-Federal 1 |
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95 | 95 | | certifying entity that the non-Federal certifying enti-2 |
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96 | 96 | | ty has certified a third-party provider, the Secretary 3 |
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97 | 97 | | shall— 4 |
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98 | 98 | | ‘‘(A) review the certification; and 5 |
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99 | 99 | | ‘‘(B) if the certification is satisfactory to 6 |
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100 | 100 | | the Secretary, include the name of the third- 7 |
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101 | 101 | | party provider on the registry of certified third- 8 |
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102 | 102 | | party providers maintained by the Secretary. 9 |
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103 | 103 | | ‘‘(6) N |
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104 | 104 | | ON-FEDERAL CERTIFYING ENTITY PROC -10 |
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105 | 105 | | ESS.— 11 |
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106 | 106 | | ‘‘(A) E |
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107 | 107 | | STABLISHMENT.—Not later than 12 |
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108 | 108 | | 180 days after the date of enactment of the In-13 |
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109 | 109 | | creased TSP Access Act of 2025, the Secretary 14 |
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110 | 110 | | shall establish a process for the certification of 15 |
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111 | 111 | | third-party providers by non-Federal certifying 16 |
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112 | 112 | | entities, with the goal of increasing third-party 17 |
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113 | 113 | | provider capacity, including the certification of 18 |
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114 | 114 | | qualified agricultural retailers, cooperatives, 19 |
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115 | 115 | | professional societies, service providers, and or-20 |
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116 | 116 | | ganizations described in section 1265A(3)(B)(i). 21 |
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117 | 117 | | ‘‘(B) E |
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118 | 118 | | LIGIBILITY OF NON-FEDERAL CER-22 |
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119 | 119 | | TIFYING ENTITIES.—In determining the eligi-23 |
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120 | 120 | | bility of a non-Federal certifying entity under 24 |
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122 | 122 | | ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS 5 |
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123 | 123 | | •HR 575 IH |
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124 | 124 | | subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall con-1 |
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125 | 125 | | sider— 2 |
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126 | 126 | | ‘‘(i) the ability of the non-Federal cer-3 |
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127 | 127 | | tifying entity to assess qualifications of a 4 |
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128 | 128 | | third-party provider and certify third-party 5 |
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129 | 129 | | providers at scale; 6 |
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130 | 130 | | ‘‘(ii) the experience of the non-Federal 7 |
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131 | 131 | | certifying entity in working with third- 8 |
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132 | 132 | | party providers and eligible participants; 9 |
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133 | 133 | | ‘‘(iii) the expertise of the non-Federal 10 |
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134 | 134 | | certifying entity in the technical and 11 |
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135 | 135 | | science-based aspects of conservation deliv-12 |
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136 | 136 | | ery described in paragraph (3)(A); 13 |
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137 | 137 | | ‘‘(iv) the history of the non-Federal 14 |
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138 | 138 | | certifying entity in working with agricul-15 |
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139 | 139 | | tural producers; and 16 |
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140 | 140 | | ‘‘(v) such other qualifications as the 17 |
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141 | 141 | | Secretary determines to be appropriate. 18 |
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142 | 142 | | ‘‘(C) A |
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143 | 143 | | PPROVAL.—Not later than 40 busi-19 |
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144 | 144 | | ness days after the date on which the Secretary 20 |
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145 | 145 | | receives an application submitted by a non-Fed-21 |
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146 | 146 | | eral certifying entity to certify third-party pro-22 |
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147 | 147 | | viders under this section, the Secretary shall 23 |
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148 | 148 | | make a decision on whether to approve the non- 24 |
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151 | 151 | | •HR 575 IH |
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152 | 152 | | Federal certifying entity to certify third-party 1 |
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153 | 153 | | providers. 2 |
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154 | 154 | | ‘‘(D) D |
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155 | 155 | | UTIES OF NON -FEDERAL CERTI-3 |
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156 | 156 | | FYING ENTITIES.—A non-Federal certifying en-4 |
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157 | 157 | | tity approved by the Secretary to certify third- 5 |
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158 | 158 | | party providers shall— 6 |
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159 | 159 | | ‘‘(i) assess the ability of a third-party 7 |
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160 | 160 | | provider to appropriately provide technical 8 |
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161 | 161 | | assistance to eligible participants; 9 |
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162 | 162 | | ‘‘(ii) provide training to ensure that a 10 |
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163 | 163 | | third-party provider certified by the non- 11 |
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164 | 164 | | Federal certifying entity is qualified to 12 |
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165 | 165 | | provide that technical assistance; 13 |
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166 | 166 | | ‘‘(iii) submit to the Secretary a timely 14 |
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167 | 167 | | notice of— 15 |
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168 | 168 | | ‘‘(I) each third-party provider 16 |
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169 | 169 | | certified by the non-Federal certifying 17 |
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170 | 170 | | entity, for inclusion on the registry of 18 |
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171 | 171 | | certified third-party providers main-19 |
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172 | 172 | | tained by the Secretary; and 20 |
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173 | 173 | | ‘‘(II) each third-party provider 21 |
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174 | 174 | | the certification of which is withdrawn 22 |
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175 | 175 | | by the non-Federal certifying entity. 23 |
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176 | 176 | | ‘‘(7) S |
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177 | 177 | | TREAMLINED CERTIFICATION .—Not later 24 |
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178 | 178 | | than 180 days after the date of enactment of the In-25 |
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181 | 181 | | •HR 575 IH |
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182 | 182 | | creased TSP Access Act of 2025, the Secretary shall 1 |
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183 | 183 | | provide a streamlined certification process for a 2 |
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184 | 184 | | third-party provider that has an appropriate spe-3 |
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185 | 185 | | cialty certification, including a certified crop advisor 4 |
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186 | 186 | | certified by the American Society of Agronomy, a 5 |
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187 | 187 | | professional engineer, or a holder of a technical cer-6 |
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188 | 188 | | tification approved by the Secretary.’’; and 7 |
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189 | 189 | | (5) in subsection (f)— 8 |
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190 | 190 | | (A) in paragraph (2), in the matter pre-9 |
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191 | 191 | | ceding subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘or a 10 |
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192 | 192 | | non-Federal certifying entity’’ after ‘‘third- 11 |
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193 | 193 | | party provider’’; 12 |
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194 | 194 | | (B) by striking paragraph (3) and insert-13 |
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195 | 195 | | ing the following: 14 |
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196 | 196 | | ‘‘(3) R |
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197 | 197 | | EVIEW.—Not later than 1 year after the 15 |
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198 | 198 | | date of enactment of the Increased TSP Access Act 16 |
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199 | 199 | | of 2025, and additionally thereafter at the discretion 17 |
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200 | 200 | | of the Secretary, the Secretary shall— 18 |
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201 | 201 | | ‘‘(A) review certification requirements for 19 |
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202 | 202 | | third-party providers; 20 |
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203 | 203 | | ‘‘(B) make any adjustments considered 21 |
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204 | 204 | | necessary by the Secretary to improve participa-22 |
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205 | 205 | | tion and the quality and effectiveness of con-23 |
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206 | 206 | | servation practices implemented and adopted 24 |
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207 | 207 | | with support from technical service providers; 25 |
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210 | 210 | | •HR 575 IH |
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211 | 211 | | ‘‘(C) conduct outreach to and receive input 1 |
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212 | 212 | | from third-party providers, both that currently 2 |
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213 | 213 | | participate in the program under this section 3 |
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214 | 214 | | and those that no longer participate in the pro-4 |
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215 | 215 | | gram, and entities, organizations, and associa-5 |
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216 | 216 | | tions providing or supporting consultative serv-6 |
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217 | 217 | | ices to agriculture, livestock, and forest pro-7 |
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218 | 218 | | ducers to assess barriers and opportunities for 8 |
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219 | 219 | | the use of third-party provider assistance for 9 |
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220 | 220 | | improved conservation program delivery; and 10 |
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221 | 221 | | ‘‘(D) set a target utilization rate for third- 11 |
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222 | 222 | | party providers.’’; 12 |
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223 | 223 | | (C) in paragraph (4)(A)(i), by inserting 13 |
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224 | 224 | | ‘‘maintenance,’’ after ‘‘outreach,’’; and 14 |
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225 | 225 | | (D) by striking paragraph (5) and insert-15 |
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226 | 226 | | ing the following: 16 |
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227 | 227 | | ‘‘(5) P |
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228 | 228 | | AYMENT AMOUNTS .— 17 |
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229 | 229 | | ‘‘(A) I |
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230 | 230 | | N GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 18 |
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231 | 231 | | establish fair and reasonable amounts of pay-19 |
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232 | 232 | | ments for technical services provided by third- 20 |
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233 | 233 | | party providers at rates equivalent to, but that 21 |
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234 | 234 | | do not exceed, technical assistance provided by 22 |
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235 | 235 | | the Secretary. 23 |
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236 | 236 | | ‘‘(B) C |
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237 | 237 | | ONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 24 |
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238 | 238 | | fair and reasonable payment amounts under 25 |
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241 | 241 | | •HR 575 IH |
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242 | 242 | | subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall consider 1 |
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243 | 243 | | specialized equipment, frequency of site visits, 2 |
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244 | 244 | | training, travel and transportation, and such 3 |
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245 | 245 | | other factors as the Secretary determines to be 4 |
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246 | 246 | | appropriate. 5 |
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247 | 247 | | ‘‘(C) E |
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248 | 248 | | XCLUSION.—A payment provided 6 |
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249 | 249 | | under another Federal program directly to an 7 |
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250 | 250 | | eligible participant for technical assistance pro-8 |
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251 | 251 | | vided by a third-party provider certified under 9 |
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252 | 252 | | this section shall be— 10 |
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253 | 253 | | ‘‘(i) excluded from cost-sharing re-11 |
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254 | 254 | | quirements under the program under 12 |
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255 | 255 | | which the payment was provided; and 13 |
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256 | 256 | | ‘‘(ii) equal to not more than 100 per-14 |
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257 | 257 | | cent of the fair and reasonable payment 15 |
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258 | 258 | | amount for the applicable technical assist-16 |
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259 | 259 | | ance determined under subparagraph (B). 17 |
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260 | 260 | | ‘‘(6) T |
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261 | 261 | | RANSPARENCY.—Not later than 1 year 18 |
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262 | 262 | | after the date of enactment of the Increased TSP 19 |
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263 | 263 | | Access Act of 2025, the Secretary shall provide ac-20 |
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264 | 264 | | cessible public information on— 21 |
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265 | 265 | | ‘‘(A) funds obligated to third-party pro-22 |
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266 | 266 | | viders through— 23 |
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269 | 269 | | •HR 575 IH |
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270 | 270 | | ‘‘(i) contracts entered into between el-1 |
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271 | 271 | | igible participants and individual third- 2 |
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272 | 272 | | party providers; and 3 |
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273 | 273 | | ‘‘(ii) agreements with public and pri-4 |
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274 | 274 | | vate sector entities to secure third-party 5 |
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275 | 275 | | technical assistance; 6 |
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276 | 276 | | ‘‘(B) certification results, including— 7 |
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277 | 277 | | ‘‘(i) the number of third-party pro-8 |
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278 | 278 | | viders certified by the Secretary; 9 |
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279 | 279 | | ‘‘(ii) the number of non-Federal certi-10 |
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280 | 280 | | fying entities approved by the Secretary; 11 |
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281 | 281 | | ‘‘(iii) the number of third-party pro-12 |
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282 | 282 | | viders certified by non-Federal certifying 13 |
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283 | 283 | | entities; and 14 |
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284 | 284 | | ‘‘(iv) the number of third-party pro-15 |
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285 | 285 | | viders certified based on State agency or 16 |
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286 | 286 | | professional association credentialing; 17 |
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287 | 287 | | ‘‘(C) how third-party providers contribute 18 |
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288 | 288 | | to the quality and effectiveness of conservation 19 |
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289 | 289 | | practices implemented and adopted, and what 20 |
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290 | 290 | | improvements are needed; and 21 |
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291 | 291 | | ‘‘(D) the target utilization rate set under 22 |
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292 | 292 | | paragraph (3)(D) and how actual utilization 23 |
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293 | 293 | | compares to that target rate.’’. 24 |
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294 | 294 | | Æ |
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