- On July 28, 2010, the House Agriculture Committee approved three bills for consideration by the U.S. House of Representatives. H.R. 5509, the Chesapeake Bay Restoration and Improvement Act, is a bipartisan bill that will give farmers and ranchers in the Chesapeake Bay region additional tools to help them meet regulatory requirements imposed on them by the Environmental Protection Agency. Congressmen Tim Holden, D-Penn., and Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research, introducedthe bill, which has the support of a wide range of agriculture organizations. The bill passed the Committee by ­­­­­­a voice vote.