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H.R. 4688: Land Grants-Mercedes Conservation Program Eligibility Act of 2017

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H.R. 4688: Land Grants-Mercedes Conservation Program Eligibility Act of 2017

115th Congress · introduced 2017-12-19 · Agriculture and Food · Latest: Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

  1. Where it came from: introduced 2017-12-19 · official record
  2. Who proposed it: Rep. Lujan Grisham, Michelle [D-NM-1] · what a sponsor is
  3. What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
  4. Where it stands now: Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
  5. If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Land Grants-Mercedes Conservation Program Eligibility Act of 2017

Plain summary

Land Grants-Mercedes Conservation Program Eligibility Act of 2017 This bill amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to authorize the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to enter into an alternative funding arrangement under any USDA conservation program with a land grant-merced. A land grant-merced is a community, town, colony, or pueblo that: (1) includes certain land granted by Mexico or Spain; or (2) asserted title pursuant to the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, through the Office of the Surveyor General for New Mexico or the U.S. Court of Private Land Claims. (An alternative funding arrangement allows a land grant-merced to receive assistance directly from the conservation programs.) USDA may also provide technical and administrative assistance under the alternative funding arrangement. USDA may enter into an arrangement if: (1) the goals and objectives of the applicable conservation program will be met by the arrangement, and (2) statutory limitations regarding contracts with individual producers will not be exceeded by any member of the land grant-merced.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Land Grants-Mercedes Conservation Program Eligibility Act of 2017

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in House)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Rep. Lujan Grisham, Michelle [D-NM-1] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Ben Ray Luján (D-NM)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (4)
Authorization
A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.
Bill
A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
Securities
Financial investments that can be bought and sold, such as stocks and bonds.
Statute
A written law passed by a legislature. A statute can be changed by a later law; changing a constitution needs an amendment.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Record fed-us-cong115-hr4688 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115