Hageman Sponsors Bill to Repeal SUSTAINS Act
Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Harriet Hageman introduced a bill to repeal the SUSTAINS Act, a misguided law empowering non-governmental actors to exercise authority over USDA conservation programs while pushing the 30x30 agenda’s use of natural capital accounting for evaluating the value of private lands.
Representative Hageman stated, “As the Biden-Harris Administration continues to roll out the SUSTAINS Act, we must ensure it is not a means to advance the radical concept of natural capital accounting as applied to our private property rights. I support the right to voluntarily enter into conservation agreements with the USDA and understand the value of allowing conservation driven entities to donate to advance the scope of these efforts.
“The SUSTAINS Act, however, is a substantial departure from this system, empowering the outside organizations or individuals to direct federal programs and prescribe the terms for their share of the environmental service benefits developed on the land in which they invest. This new concept poses a serious risk to private property rights and encourages bad actors to weaponize conservation to lock up the productive use of lands in the name of climate change.”
Background
Congress has long authorized USDA to accept private dollars to pair with mandatory government spending for conservation programs. This helps extend conservation opportunities to more Americans in a fiscally responsible manner. However, Speaker Pelosi gave a parting gift to the Biden-Harris Administration’s natural capital strategy in the SUSTAINS Act to disrupt this system in favor of the donating entities who now can invest in priorities like climate change and own environmental service benefits derived from the land, a staple of natural capital accounting. This bill simply restores the statute to the pre-Pelosi era to protect private property rights.
Contact: Chris Berardi, Sr. Advisor/Communications Director