Research for Healthy Soils Act

I 119TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3991 To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to include as a high-priority research and extension area research on microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances on farmland. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 12, 2025 Ms. PEREZ (for herself and Mrs. K IM) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture A BILL To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to include as a high-priority research and extension area research on microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances on farmland. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Research for Healthy 4 Soils Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Jun 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3991.IH H3991kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3991 IH SEC. 2. MICROPLASTICS AND PER- AND 1 POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES ON FARM-2 LAND. 3 Section 1672(d) of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva-4 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925(d)) is amend-5 ed by adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘(21) M ICROPLASTICS AND PER - AND 7 POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES ON FARMLAND .— 8 Research and extension grants may be made under 9 this section for the purposes of carrying out or en-10 hancing research on the agricultural impacts of 11 microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl sub-12 stances, including structural firefighting foam, in 13 land-applied biosolids or compost on farmland, in-14 cluding by— 15 ‘‘(A) conducting surveys and collecting 16 data on concentration, particle size, and chem-17 ical composition of such substances in land-ap-18 plied biosolids on farmland; 19 ‘‘(B) the development or analysis of tech-20 niques, including wastewater treatment and 21 composting, to filter out or biodegrade such 22 substances from biosolids intended to be used 23 for agricultural purposes; 24 ‘‘(C) conducting an analysis of the impact 25 on agricultural crops and soil health of such 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Jun 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3991.IH H3991kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3991 IH substances in land-applied biosolids on farm-1 land, including the uptake of such substances 2 by various crops or livestock; 3 ‘‘(D) conducting research to better under-4 stand how wastewater processing impacts such 5 substances; 6 ‘‘(E) conducting research to better under-7 stand the fate, residence time, and transport of 8 such substances on farmland; and 9 ‘‘(F) conducting research on how to reme-10 diate soil and water systems contaminated with 11 such substances.’’. 12 SEC. 3. REAUTHORIZATION OF HIGH-PRIORITY RESEARCH 13 AND EXTENSION INITIATIVES. 14 Section 1672 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 15 and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925) is amended by 16 striking ‘‘2023’’ each place it appears in subsection (e)(5), 17 subsection (f)(5), paragraphs (1)(B), (2)(B), and (3) of 18 subsection (g), and subsection (h) and inserting ‘‘2031’’. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Jun 18, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3991.IH H3991kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB