MATCH Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
The MATCH Act changes how the Emergency Watershed Protection Program treats urgent work done before a formal agreement is signed. Within 180 days, the Secretary must identify emergency watershed measures whose costs a State government, local government, or Indian Tribe sponsor may incur before entering an agreement. The Secretary also must create State-level procedures and deadlines for sponsors to request additional disaster-specific preagreement measures. If the Secretary later enters an agreement with the sponsor, those approved preagreement costs count toward the sponsor contribution. The bill speeds urgent erosion, flooding, and watershed protection work, but it leaves the sponsor with the risk that costs will not be reimbursed or credited if no federal agreement is ultimately signed.
Who Benefits and How
State emergency watershed sponsors benefit because approved preagreement costs can count toward their contribution once an agreement is signed. Local governments benefit because they can start urgent watershed protection work before federal paperwork is complete. Indian Tribes benefit from the same preagreement cost-credit pathway for disaster recovery measures. Disaster-affected communities benefit if sponsors can move faster on erosion control, flood protection, and watershed stabilization.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Emergency watershed project sponsors bear financial risk because preagreement costs are not guaranteed unless an agreement is later approved. NRCS watershed program staff must identify eligible measures and build State-level request procedures within 180 days. State conservation offices must manage deadlines and additional-measure requests for specific natural disasters. Federal taxpayers may fund cost-share credit for work that sponsors begin before final agreement execution.
Key Provisions
- Requires the Secretary to identify preagreement emergency watershed measures within 180 days.
- Creates State-level procedures for requesting additional disaster-specific preagreement measures.
- Allows approved preagreement costs to count toward the sponsor contribution after an agreement is signed.
- Leaves sponsors responsible for the risk of incurring costs before federal approval.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Lets State, local, and Tribal emergency watershed sponsors count specified preagreement costs toward their sponsor contribution under the Emergency Watershed Protection Program while making sponsors bear the risk if no agreement is approved.
Key Policy Areas
Agriculture, Disaster Recovery, Watershed Protection
Primary Purpose
Lets State, local, and Tribal emergency watershed sponsors count specified preagreement costs toward their sponsor contribution under the Emergency Watershed Protection Program while making sponsors bear the risk if no agreement is approved.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- State emergency watershed sponsors
- Local governments
- Indian Tribes
- Disaster-affected communities
Identified Costs
- Emergency watershed project sponsors
- NRCS watershed program staff
- State conservation offices
- Federal taxpayers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeReferred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology.
Mr. Neguse (for himself, Ms. Maloy, and Mr. Garamendi) introduced …
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Local governments, State emergency watershed sponsors
Indian Tribes, NRCS watershed program staff
Positive-direction: Indian Tribes
Negative-direction: NRCS watershed program staff
Disaster-affected communities, Emergency watershed project sponsors
Positive-direction: Disaster-affected communities
Negative-direction: Emergency watershed project sponsors
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology