S.Amdt. 3386

SA 3386. Mr. SASSE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 3224 proposed by Mr. Roberts (for himself and Ms.
Stabenow) 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__. GAO STUDY ON NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION
SERVICE DETERMINATIONS OF PROGRAM
INELIGIBILITY.

(a) In General.--As soon as practicable after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United
States shall conduct a study of the coordination between the
Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Farm Service
Agency to determine--
(1) the number of producers that were determined to be
ineligible for Department of Agriculture benefits as a result
of noncompliance with applicable requirements under
conservation programs (referred to in this section as
``applicable conservation requirements'');
(2) in any case in which a producer was determined not to
be in compliance with an applicable conservation requirement,
the penalties enforced against the producer;
(3) the total number of acres determined not to be in
compliance with applicable conservation requirements;
(4) applicable procedures to ensure producers can work with
the Natural Resources Conservation Service to bring the acres
of the producers into compliance with applicable conservation
requirements;
(5) the coordination between county and State offices with
respect to evaluation of compliance with applicable
conservation requirements; and
(6)(A) the means by which the Natural Resources
Conservation Service determines which tracts of land to
evaluate for compliance with applicable conservation
requirements; and
(B) whether a random order of selection is the most
efficient way to evaluate whether producers are achieving
compliance with applicable conservation requirements.
(b) Components.--The study under subsection (a) shall
include--
(1) an evaluation of the appeals process relating to
determinations of ineligibility for Federal programs,
including a review, during the 5-year period ending on the
date on which the study is commenced, of those appeals
brought to the National Appeals Division; and
(2) the development of recommendations, taking into
consideration affected watersheds, regions, counties, and
adjacent landowners, to improve efficiency in the management
of Federal resources relating to producer compliance with
applicable conservation requirements.
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