Federal flood protection for farms gets cheaper, broader—and riskier for taxpayers
H.R. 1858 — Flooding Prevention, Assessment, and Restoration Act · Filed by Donald Davis (D-NC) · 8 cosponsors · Introduced Mar 5, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill expands the federal emergency watershed program to allow the Department of Agriculture to undertake flood-prevention measures that go beyond fixing immediate damage—including long-term protective improvements—if they are cost-effective and protect against repeated flooding. It also requires a national study of agricultural flood vulnerability within two years and increases federal cost-sharing for rehabilitating aging flood-control structures from 65% to 90%.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is to broaden federal authority and funding for watershed restoration and increase cost-sharing for structural repairs. It is a straightforward expansion of existing agricultural disaster-mitigation programs, not a deregulation, tax carve-out, or commemorative measure.
What the text implies
- The 90% federal cost-share for structural rehabilitation may create moral hazard, reducing incentives for local cost-control and potentially shifting long-term maintenance burden to federal taxpayers.
- The vulnerability study may identify agricultural regions with chronic flood risk, potentially informing future crop insurance or subsidy policy in ways not visible in this bill.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
agricultural producers and farm operators; rural water districts and watershed authorities; construction and engineering firms contracted for restoration work