Bill > S5023

This bill, the Agriculture Disaster Assistance Improvement Act of 2022, aims to improve disaster assistance programs of the Department of Agriculture. The key provisions of the bill include: 1. Expanding eligibility for the Emergency Conservation Program to include federal land users, state/local government land lessees, and allowing for the use of permanent improvements like water wells and pipelines. 2. Expanding the Emergency Forest Restoration Program to cover federal lands, state/local government lands, and allowing for permanent improvements like water wells and pipelines. 3. Modifying the Livestock Forage Disaster Program to reduce the minimum consecutive weeks of drought from 8 to 4 for eligibility, and increasing the monthly payment from 1 to 2 for 8+ consecutive weeks of drought. 4. Improving the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish program by incorporating per-hive and per-colony loss rates for honey bee producers and setting a standardized expected mortality rate. 5. Establishing an interagency working group to improve the data used for the United States Drought Monitor, and requiring coordination between the Farm Service Agency and Forest Service on drought response activities.