S.Amdt. 3155

SA 3155. Mr. CASEY (for himself and Mr. Moran) submitted an amendment
intended to be proposed by him to the bill H.R. 2, to provide for the
reform and continuation of agricultural and other programs of the
Department of Agriculture through fiscal year 2023, and for other
purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle D of title II, add the following:

SEC. 24__. SENSE OF CONGRESS RELATING TO CONSERVATION
PROGRAMS.

It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the investment in conservation provided by this Act is
critical to the protection of natural resources,
environmental enhancement, and the long-term food security of
the United States;
(2) establishing clear objectives and anticipated outcomes
for conservation programs is essential for tracking progress
on achieving objectives over time;
(3) a measurement, evaluation, and reporting system should
be established to help define and assess conservation
outcomes and thereby help ensure robust, positive returns on
the taxpayer investment in conservation programs;
(4) an outcomes-based measurement, evaluation, and
reporting system for conservation programs under this Act and
Acts amended by this Act should be coordinated with the
broader existing activities by the Department of Agriculture
under the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977
(16 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.) and the Conservation Effects
Assessment Project; and
(5) determining a secure and ongoing funding source will be
critical to the success of the measure, evaluation, and
reporting system described in paragraph (4).
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