Official Summaries

Increased TSP Access Act of 2025

This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to modify the certification process for Technical Service Providers (TSPs) at the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) by establishing an approval process for nonfederal certifying entities and a streamlined certification process for TSPs that hold certain specialty certifications.

As background, TSPs are third-party service providers, such as private businesses, Indian tribes, and nonprofit organizations, that work on behalf of customers to offer planning, design, and implementation services that meet NRCS criteria.

The bill specifies that USDA must ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, third-party providers with expertise in the technical aspects of conservation practice design, implementation, and evaluation are eligible to become approved TSPs.

USDA must provide a streamlined certification process for TSPs who hold appropriate specialty certifications (e.g., certified crop advisors).

In determining the eligibility of a nonfederal certifying entity, USDA must consider the ability, experience, expertise, and history of the entity. USDA must decide whether to approve an application submitted by a nonfederal certifying entity to certify TSPs within a specified time period.  

USDA must also review a TSP's certification by a nonfederal certifying entity within a specified time period. If the certification is satisfactory, USDA must include the TSP on a USDA-maintained registry of certified TSPs.

The bill also specifies that TSPs must be paid at rates equivalent to technical assistance provided by USDA.

Further, USDA must provide accessible public information on TSPs, including information on funding, certification results, and utilization rates.

Current Full Text

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 575 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 575

   To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to modify the delivery of 
             technical assistance, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 21, 2025

Mr. Baird (for himself, Mr. Sorensen, Mr. Vasquez, Mr. Bost, Mr. Steil, 
  Ms. Pettersen, Ms. Tokuda, Mr. Finstad, Mr. LaHood, Mr. Flood, Mr. 
 Johnson of South Dakota, Mr. Yakym, Mr. Davis of North Carolina, Ms. 
Lee of Nevada, Mr. Scott Franklin of Florida, Ms. Hoyle of Oregon, Mr. 
 Feenstra, Ms. Budzinski, Mr. Bacon, Ms. Salinas, Ms. Schrier, and Mr. 
    Pocan) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to modify the delivery of 
             technical assistance, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Increased TSP Access Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. DELIVERY OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

    Section 1242 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842) is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph 
                (3); and
                    (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
            ``(2) Non-federal certifying entity.--The term `non-Federal 
        certifying entity' means a non-Federal entity or State agency 
        described in subparagraph (A) or (B), respectively, of 
        subsection (e)(4).'';
            (2) in subsection (b), by striking ``science-based, site-
        specific practices designed'' and inserting ``timely, science-
        based, and site-specific practice design and implementation 
        assistance'';
            (3) in subsection (d), by inserting ``(including private 
        sector entities)'' after ``non-Federal entities'';
            (4) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ``Food, 
                Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008'' and inserting 
                ``Increased TSP Access Act of 2025'';
                    (B) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
                        ``ensure'' and all that follows through 
                        ``engineering,'' and inserting ``ensure that 
                        third-party providers with expertise in the 
                        technical aspects of conservation planning, 
                        watershed planning, environmental engineering, 
                        conservation practice design, implementation, 
                        and evaluation, or other technical skills, as 
                        determined by the Secretary,''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ``by 
                        the Secretary'' after ``established''; and
                    (C) by striking paragraphs (4) and (5) and 
                inserting the following:
            ``(4) Certification.--The Secretary shall certify a third-
        party provider through--
                    ``(A) a certification process administered by the 
                Secretary, acting through the Chief of the Natural 
                Resources Conservation Service;
                    ``(B) a non-Federal entity (other than a State 
                agency) approved by the Secretary to perform the 
                certification; or
                    ``(C) a State agency with statutory authority to 
                certify, administer, or license professionals in one or 
                more fields of natural resources, agriculture, or 
                engineering approved by the Secretary to perform the 
                certification.
            ``(5) Timely decisions.--Not later than 10 business days 
        after the date on which the Secretary receives a notification 
        submitted by a non-Federal certifying entity that the non-
        Federal certifying entity has certified a third-party provider, 
        the Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) review the certification; and
                    ``(B) if the certification is satisfactory to the 
                Secretary, include the name of the third-party provider 
                on the registry of certified third-party providers 
                maintained by the Secretary.
            ``(6) Non-federal certifying entity process.--
                    ``(A) Establishment.--Not later than 180 days after 
                the date of enactment of the Increased TSP Access Act 
                of 2025, the Secretary shall establish a process for 
                the certification of third-party providers by non-
                Federal certifying entities, with the goal of 
                increasing third-party provider capacity, including the 
                certification of qualified agricultural retailers, 
                cooperatives, professional societies, service 
                providers, and organizations described in section 
                1265A(3)(B)(i).
                    ``(B) Eligibility of non-federal certifying 
                entities.--In determining the eligibility of a non-
                Federal certifying entity under subparagraph (A), the 
                Secretary shall consider--
                            ``(i) the ability of the non-Federal 
                        certifying entity to assess qualifications of a 
                        third-party provider and certify third-party 
                        providers at scale;
                            ``(ii) the experience of the non-Federal 
                        certifying entity in working with third-party 
                        providers and eligible participants;
                            ``(iii) the expertise of the non-Federal 
                        certifying entity in the technical and science-
                        based aspects of conservation delivery 
                        described in paragraph (3)(A);
                            ``(iv) the history of the non-Federal 
                        certifying entity in working with agricultural 
                        producers; and
                            ``(v) such other qualifications as the 
                        Secretary determines to be appropriate.
                    ``(C) Approval.--Not later than 40 business days 
                after the date on which the Secretary receives an 
                application submitted by a non-Federal certifying 
                entity to certify third-party providers under this 
                section, the Secretary shall make a decision on whether 
                to approve the non-Federal certifying entity to certify 
                third-party providers.
                    ``(D) Duties of non-federal certifying entities.--A 
                non-Federal certifying entity approved by the Secretary 
                to certify third-party providers shall--
                            ``(i) assess the ability of a third-party 
                        provider to appropriately provide technical 
                        assistance to eligible participants;
                            ``(ii) provide training to ensure that a 
                        third-party provider certified by the non-
                        Federal certifying entity is qualified to 
                        provide that technical assistance;
                            ``(iii) submit to the Secretary a timely 
                        notice of--
                                    ``(I) each third-party provider 
                                certified by the non-Federal certifying 
                                entity, for inclusion on the registry 
                                of certified third-party providers 
                                maintained by the Secretary; and
                                    ``(II) each third-party provider 
                                the certification of which is withdrawn 
                                by the non-Federal certifying entity.
            ``(7) Streamlined certification.--Not later than 180 days 
        after the date of enactment of the Increased TSP Access Act of 
        2025, the Secretary shall provide a streamlined certification 
        process for a third-party provider that has an appropriate 
        specialty certification, including a certified crop advisor 
        certified by the American Society of Agronomy, a professional 
        engineer, or a holder of a technical certification approved by 
        the Secretary.''; and
            (5) in subsection (f)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding 
                subparagraph (A), by inserting ``or a non-Federal 
                certifying entity'' after ``third-party provider'';
                    (B) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(3) Review.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of the Increased TSP Access Act of 2025, and 
        additionally thereafter at the discretion of the Secretary, the 
        Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) review certification requirements for third-
                party providers;
                    ``(B) make any adjustments considered necessary by 
                the Secretary to improve participation and the quality 
                and effectiveness of conservation practices implemented 
                and adopted with support from technical service 
                providers;
                    ``(C) conduct outreach to and receive input from 
                third-party providers, both that currently participate 
                in the program under this section and those that no 
                longer participate in the program, and entities, 
                organizations, and associations providing or supporting 
                consultative services to agriculture, livestock, and 
                forest producers to assess barriers and opportunities 
                for the use of third-party provider assistance for 
                improved conservation program delivery; and
                    ``(D) set a target utilization rate for third-party 
                providers.'';
                    (C) in paragraph (4)(A)(i), by inserting 
                ``maintenance,'' after ``outreach,''; and
                    (D) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(5) Payment amounts.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall establish 
                fair and reasonable amounts of payments for technical 
                services provided by third-party providers at rates 
                equivalent to, but that do not exceed, technical 
                assistance provided by the Secretary.
                    ``(B) Considerations.--In determining fair and 
                reasonable payment amounts under subparagraph (A), the 
                Secretary shall consider specialized equipment, 
                frequency of site visits, training, travel and 
                transportation, and such other factors as the Secretary 
                determines to be appropriate.
                    ``(C) Exclusion.--A payment provided under another 
                Federal program directly to an eligible participant for 
                technical assistance provided by a third-party provider 
                certified under this section shall be--
                            ``(i) excluded from cost-sharing 
                        requirements under the program under which the 
                        payment was provided; and
                            ``(ii) equal to not more than 100 percent 
                        of the fair and reasonable payment amount for 
                        the applicable technical assistance determined 
                        under subparagraph (B).
            ``(6) Transparency.--Not later than 1 year after the date 
        of enactment of the Increased TSP Access Act of 2025, the 
        Secretary shall provide accessible public information on--
                    ``(A) funds obligated to third-party providers 
                through--
                            ``(i) contracts entered into between 
                        eligible participants and individual third-
                        party providers; and
                            ``(ii) agreements with public and private 
                        sector entities to secure third-party technical 
                        assistance;
                    ``(B) certification results, including--
                            ``(i) the number of third-party providers 
                        certified by the Secretary;
                            ``(ii) the number of non-Federal certifying 
                        entities approved by the Secretary;
                            ``(iii) the number of third-party providers 
                        certified by non-Federal certifying entities; 
                        and
                            ``(iv) the number of third-party providers 
                        certified based on State agency or professional 
                        association credentialing;
                    ``(C) how third-party providers contribute to the 
                quality and effectiveness of conservation practices 
                implemented and adopted, and what improvements are 
                needed; and
                    ``(D) the target utilization rate set under 
                paragraph (3)(D) and how actual utilization compares to 
                that target rate.''.
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