On behalf of the Land Trust Alliance and our 1,000 members, I'm pleased to applaud the U.S. Senate's early reintroduction of the Charitable Conservation Easement Program Integrity Act.

Now that the 116th Congress is seated, our community is presented with the opportunity to make a difference on federal policies impacting land trusts nationwide.

I come to you today with three major updates on items of great consequence to the Land Trust Alliance and the land conservation community.

UPDATE: Building on the U.S. Senate's vote to pass the Farm Bill, the U.S. House of Representatives voted Dec. 12 to approve the legislation, 369-47. This completes the bill's journey through Congress.

The elections are over and Congress has returned to Washington, D.C. with a lot on their plates and a short window of opportunity to get it done. Welcome to the 2018 congressional lame duck session!

Congress must act now. Every day we lack a new Farm Bill is another day we stand to lose another farm or ranch.

June was a busy month for the Farm Bill — and that makes us hopeful reauthorization can beat a Sept. 30 deadline.

As we await the U.S. House of Representatives floor vote later this month on the Farm Bill, the Senate Agriculture Committee has introduced its bipartisan version of the bill.

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass the Farm Bill. The vote, 198-213, saw 30 Republicans join 183 Democrats to defeat the bill.