I 118th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 5466 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES September 14, 2023 Ms. Balint introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to expand the definition of eligible land for the purposes of the conservation reserve program, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Building Up Farmland Frontiers for Ecological Resilience Act or the BUFFER Act . 2. Eligible land under the conservation reserve program Section 1231(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3831(b) ) is amended— (1) in paragraph (6)(B)(ii), by striking or at the end; (2) in paragraph (7)(C), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; or ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (8) land that is otherwise eligible for enrollment and for which a Tribal, State, or other local law, ordinance, or other regulation requires any resource-conserving or environmental protection measure or practice; however, if the requirement to implement such a measure or practice has been imposed by an administrative order or a court order, then such land shall not be eligible. .