A senate committee must act next: committee consideration.
Legislative Progress
Senate
House
President
Law
Unlikely to pass
While it helps farmers, standalone agricultural bills often struggle to pass unless they are part of a much larger farm funding package.
Key Points
The BUFFER Act changes the rules for a federal program that pays farmers to protect their land. This program helps the environment by keeping certain areas of farmland wild or unplanted.
Right now, farmers might be blocked from the program if their local or state laws already require them to protect that land. This bill would let those farmers join and get paid even if local laws are already in place.
The bill makes sure that farmers are not punished for following local environmental rules. It aims to get more land into conservation by removing these technical barriers.
There is one exception. If a court or a government agency orders a farmer to protect land because of a legal problem, that land still cannot be part of the program.
Impact Analysis
Govbase has not yet run an impact analysis on this legislation.
Milestones
2 milestones2 actions
Jun 24, 2026Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Jun 24, 2026
Introduced in Senate
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
No votes, news coverage, or related bills recorded for this bill yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
BUFFER Act
Bill NumberS 4912
Congress119th Congress
ChamberSenate
Latest ActionRead twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
