Sustaining Our Democracy Act

Senate Bill

S. 2588

119th Congress

Sustaining Our Democracy Act

In Committee

Introduced:Jul 31, 2025

Primary Sponsor

Ron Wyden

D - OR

Cosponsors

0

Quick Stats

Policy Area

Agriculture and Food

Summary

This bill would provide financial incentives to farmers and other producers to adopt soil management practices that increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil. This would help fight climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and locking it into the ground.

Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Introduced7/31/2025

StatusRead twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.

ChamberSenate

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Vote Prediction

Sustaining Our Democracy Act

This bill would provide financial incentives to farmers and other producers to adopt soil management practices that increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil. This would help fight climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and lockin

Community Breakdown

Pass

0%

Fail

0%

0 predictions

This bill would provide financial incentives to farmers and other producers to adopt soil management practices that increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil. This would help fight climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and locking it into the ground.

Bill Number: 2588
Introduced: 7/31/2025
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Policy Area: Agriculture and Food

Data from Congress.gov

AI-generated summary

Fact Sheet

Title: Sustaining Our Democracy Act
Bill Number: 2588
Sponsor: No sponsor
Status: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Rules and Administration.
Introduced: 7/31/2025
Summary: This bill would provide financial incentives to farmers and other producers to adopt soil management practices that increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil. This would help fight climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and locking it into the ground.

Data from Congress.gov

AI Summary

Plain-English explanation of this bill

This bill would provide financial incentives to farmers and other producers to adopt soil management practices that increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil. This would help fight climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and locking it into the ground.

Last updated: 12/30/2025

Official Summary

Congressional Research Service summary

Healthy Soils Healthy Climate Act of 2023This bill modifies the Environmental Quality Incentives Program of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide permanent incentive payments to producers to adopt practices designed to increase organic carbon levels in soil.USDA must<ul><li>conduct a study regarding changes in soil health and soil organic carbon levels as a result of the adopted practices;</li><li>develop ranking and scoring criteria under the program that prioritize soil health practices that score highest in soil carbon sequestration on eligible land;</li><li>create a soil organic carbon conservation activity plan under the program to measure and monitor sequestration and mitigation improvement levels from the practices;</li><li>provide for streamlined and coordinated procedures for the program and the Conservation Stewardship Program, including for contracting, conservation planning, conservation practices, and related administrative procedures; and</li><li>establish a program to provide grants to land-grant colleges and universities to conduct research relating to soil health and carbon science and to conduct research relating to soil health and carbon science at its agricultural research stations. </li></ul>

Key Points

Main provisions of the bill

Expands an existing USDA program to provide permanent payments to producers who use farming practices that increase soil carbon levels
Requires the USDA to study the impacts of these practices on soil health and carbon sequestration
Creates a new program to fund soil health research at land-grant universities and USDA research stations

How This Impacts Americans

Potential effects on citizens and communities

If passed, this bill would primarily impact American farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural producers. It would incentivize them to adopt climate-friendly soil management techniques, which could lead to reduced greenhouse gas emissions, improved soil fertility, and increased farm profitability over time. This could have positive ripple effects for rural communities and the environment as a whole.

Policy Areas

Primary Policy Area

Agriculture and Food

Related Subjects

Agricultural conservation and pollution

Agricultural education

Agricultural prices, subsidies, credit

Agricultural research

Air quality

Climate change and greenhouse gases

Congressional oversight

Environmental assessment, monitoring, research

Government studies and investigations

Higher education

+4 more

Scope & Jurisdiction

Jurisdiction Level

federal

Congressional Session

119th Congress

Citation Reference

2588, 119th Congress (2025). "Sustaining Our Democracy Act". Source: Voter's Right Platform. https://votersright.org/bills/118-s-2588

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