Heinrich, Luján Urge USDA To Prioritize Drought In Deploying Inflation Reduction Act Funds

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) are urging Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to ensure that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) supports conservation practices that mitigate the impacts of drought while combatting climate change. In a letter, the senators push the USDA to use their mandate from the Inflation Reduction Act to address drought-related issues, including enhancing groundwater recharge, reducing salinity, improving irrigation efficiencies, reducing groundwater pumping, and utilizing organic practices.

“As USDA finalizes criteria for priority projects and activities that address greenhouse gas emissions, reduce nitrogen losses, and improve soil carbon, we urge you to pay special attention to practices that also address drought,” said the lawmakers. “These will help meet climate goals while helping Western farmers currently facing the worst megadrought in 1,200 years.”

“Farmers and ranchers know better than most that our ability to feed the nation – and to support family farmers and farmworkers alike – depends on clean air, clean water, and land stewardship,” continued the lawmakers. “In order to truly support the farmers, ranchers, and farmworkers who feed our nation in adopting and expanding climate-smart activities and systems, we must ensure that the historic funding in the Inflation Reduction Act for emissions reductions also bolsters drought resilience.” 

The Inflation Reduction Act included $20 billion to incentivize climate smart agriculture through existing conservation programs, such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), which provide technical and financial assistance to address on-farm natural resource concerns like soil erosion, water conservation, and air quality.

New Mexico and the Western United States remain under threat from extreme drought. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 70% of the area in Western states is classified as experiencing some level of drought, with nearly 30% of Western land experiencing extreme or exceptional drought.

Senators Heinrich and Luján recently joined a bipartisan group of fourteen Western senators in sending a letter urging the USDA to ensure that its programs are funded and administered to more effectively address the dire drought conditions throughout the West. They helped secure a historic $4 billion in funding for drought resiliency in the Inflation Reduction Act to stabilize water supplies. 

The letter to USDA was led by U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and in addition to Senators Heinrich and Luján, the letter is also signed by U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.). 

Read the full text of the letter below or by clicking here. 

Dear Secretary Vilsack and Chief Cosby,

We write to you in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) request for information on implementation of climate-smart funding in the Inflation Reduction Act (P.L. 117-169). As you work to finalize details, we urge the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to specifically incentivize the adoption of conservation practices that, while combatting climate change, can simultaneously mitigate the impacts of drought. 

As you know, the Inflation Reduction Act invested $20 billion through key conservation programs to ensure that the agricultural sector plays a central role in combatting the climate crisis. As USDA finalizes criteria for priority projects and activities that address greenhouse gas emissions, reduce nitrogen losses, and improve soil carbon, we urge you to pay special attention to practices that also address drought, including enhancing groundwater recharge, reducing salinity, improving irrigation efficiencies, reducing pumping, and utilizing organic practices. These and other practices will help meet climate goals while also helping Western farmers currently facing the worst megadrought in 1,200 years. 

Farmers and ranchers know better than most that our ability to feed the nation – and to support family farmers and farmworkers alike – depends on clean air, clean water, and land stewardship. In order to truly support the farmers, ranchers, and farmworkers who feed our nation in adopting and expanding climate-smart activities and systems, we must ensure that the historic funding in the Inflation Reduction Act for emissions reductions also bolsters drought resilience. 

We thank you for your consideration of this request, and we look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

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