II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2798 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 14, 2023 Mr. Welch (for himself and Mr. Sanders ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to clarify land eligible for enrollment in the conservation reserve program.

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, unless the requirement to implement such a measure or practice has been imposed by an administrative order or a court order, in which case that land shall not be eligible for enrollment. .