January 27, 2026
Mr. Messmer (for himself and Mr. Vasquez) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide for floodplain easement restoration and management, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Restoring America’s Floodplains Act
.
Sec. 2. Emergency watershed program floodplain easement restoration and management
(a) Floodplain easements
Section 403(b) of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203(b)) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively;
(2)
by inserting after the subsection header the following:
(1) Easement restoration
The Secretary is authorized to restore appropriate vegetative cover, hydrological functions, and other functions and values of the land subject to a floodplain easement acquired under subsection (a).
(2) Easement maintenance
The Secretary is authorized to monitor, maintain, and enhance appropriate vegetative cover, hydrological functions, and other restoration measures on land subject to a floodplain easement acquired under subsection (a).
(3) Contracts and agreements
In carrying out paragraphs (1) and (2), the Secretary may—
(A)
enter into contracts with landowners; and
(B)
enter into agreements with States, nongovernmental organizations, and Indian Tribes.
(4) Compatible use authority
The Secretary may authorize a landowner to carry out activities on land subject to a floodplain easement acquired under subsection (a) that are—
(A)
compatible uses necessary to carry out paragraph (1) or (2); or
(B)
compatible economic uses (including such activities as hunting and fishing, managed timber harvest, water management, or periodic haying or grazing) if such uses are consistent with long-term protection of the floodplain functions and values for which the easement was acquired.; and
(3)
in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by striking paragraph (1)
and inserting paragraph (5)
each place it appears.
(b) Level of restoration
Section 403 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(c) Level of restoration
In carrying out this section, the Secretary may undertake measures that increase the level of protection above that which would be necessary to address the immediate impairment of the watershed if the Secretary determines that such restoration is in the best interest of the long-term health of the watershed and the long-term protection of the watershed from repetitive impairments.