# 119-s-971: Chesapeake Bay Conservation Acceleration Act of 2025

119-s-971, Chesapeake Bay Conservation Acceleration Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-08-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-971
- As of: 2026-08-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-971
- Congress: 119
- Title: Chesapeake Bay Conservation Acceleration Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-03-11
- Sponsor: Sen. Van Hollen, Chris [D-MD] (D-MD)
- Cosponsors: 5
- Policy area: Environmental Protection
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-08-01

## Summary

**Creates targeted conservation help for farmers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed to cut erosion, sediment, and nutrient runoff.** It would also create a federal task force to improve how conservation investments are credited and shift oversight of two invasive catfish to FDA authority. - Farmers and landowners in the Chesapeake Bay watershed would get new enrollment opportunities and funding under Farm Bill conservation programs to control erosion, reduce sediment and nutrient runoff, restore habitat, and boost climate resilience. - State and local water-quality programs and the agricultural community would gain a Task Force co‑chaired by USDA and EPA to design a federal action plan for counting, reporting, and verifying nutrient reductions and to promote data sharing and time‑saving technologies. - Seafood processors, importers, and regulators handling blue catfish and flathead catfish would see inspection and grading move from USDA meat rules to Food and Drug Administration oversight, with a required memorandum of understanding in 90 days and final regulations in 180 days.

## Cosponsors (5)

- Sen. Alsobrooks, Angela D. [D-MD] (D-MD), 2025-03-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Fetterman, John [D-PA] (D-PA), 2025-03-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Kaine, Tim [D-VA] (D-VA), 2025-03-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warner, Mark R. [D-VA] (D-VA), 2025-03-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Blunt Rochester, Lisa [D-DE] (D-DE), 2025-03-13T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- More conservation help for Bay farmers: benefit, high. If enacted, farmers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed would get a package of targeted conservation help. The bill would create a Chesapeake Bay States Partnership Initiative to fund erosion control, nutrient and sediment reduction, better livestock waste systems, and wetland conservation through exis…
- More food and farm training grants: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would expand grants and paid work-based learning in food and agricultural sciences. Community colleges and postsecondary vocational institutions would be explicitly eligible. The bill would authorize $60 million each year for fiscal years 2026 through 2031 to support these gran…
- Faster hiring for NRCS technical jobs: benefit, low. If enacted, the Secretary could directly appoint qualified people to Natural Resources Conservation Service technical assistance jobs without most normal hiring rules. Appointees must still meet qualification standards set by the Office of Personnel Management. This could speed hiring for conservat…

## Related bills

- 119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act
- 119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026
- 119-s-1503: Equality Act
- 119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act
- 119-sres-854: A resolution designating September 2026 as "National Voting Rights Month".
- 119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-s-971 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/971)

## Related
- [119-s-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-51)
- [119-s-5108: Right to IVF Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5108)
- [119-s-1503: Equality Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1503)
- [119-s-1748: Kids Online Safety Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1748)
- [119-sres-854: A resolution designating September 2026 as "National Voting Rights Month".](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-854)
- [119-s-2150: Women’s Health Protection Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2150)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-971 (as of 2026-08-01).