{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://tokuda.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-tokuda-introduces-bill-increase-conservation-financial-assistance-farmers", "Rep. Tokuda Introduces Bill to Increase Conservation Financial Assistance for Farmers and Ranchers", "2024-04-01", "2024", "2024-04", "Democrat", "House", "HI", "Jill N. Tokuda", "T000487", "tokuda.house.gov", "tokuda", "https://tokuda.house.gov/media/press-releases?PageNum_rs=7&", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda (D-HI) introduced the bipartisan Eliminating Access Barriers to Conservation Act to promote the use of voluntary conservation practices among agricultural producers in high-cost localities. The bill would grant the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) the authority to eliminate payment caps for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) in Hawai\u02bbi, Alaska, Guam, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.\n\nEQIP is the USDA\u2019s premier conservation program that assists farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners in implementing proven effective conservation practices on agricultural lands. The program provides technical and financial assistance to help producers improve water and air quality, reduce soil erosion and water runoff, increase soil health, and expand wildlife habitat. However, the current funding cap limits the effectiveness and reach of the program in higher cost, non-contiguous areas like Hawai\u2018i.\n\n\u201cAgricultural production and the responsible stewardship of our natural resources go hand in hand,\u201d said Rep. Tokuda, a member of the House Agriculture Committee. \u201cBut things cost more in Hawai\u02bbi, and I\u2019ve met with countless farmers and ranchers across our islands who want to invest in sustainable agriculture practices to improve production but they need more resources to do so. My bill will give our local producers a fighting chance to be effective in both protecting our \u2018\u0101ina and building resilience to market disruptions and the impacts of climate change.\u201d\n\n\u201cHawai\u2018i\u2019s ranchers are innovative and always looking for ways to improve their practices to leave the land better than they found it. The high cost of goods is a barrier for places like Hawai\u2018i, and removing the payment limitation through this Act will ensure that ranchers can get support on practices that are impactful on a large scale,\u201d said Nicole Galase of the Hawai\u02bbi Cattlemen\u2019s Council.\n\nThe Eliminating Access Barriers to Conservation Act was co-introduced by Delegate Jim Moylan (R-GU) and Rep. Ed Case (D-HI).\n\nThe text of the legislation can be found here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T20:47:55Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://tokuda.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-tokuda-introduces-bill-increase-conservation-financial-assistance-farmers"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6726128049194813, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}