The Federal Farm Bill

ELPC Testifies Before Senate Agriculture Committee

ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner was invited to testify before the Senate Agriculture Committee on the benefits of a strong Energy Title in the 2007 Farm Bil. Read his testimony here

 

Farm Bill Reauthorization

The 2002 Farm Bill expires in September 2007, and so Congress is starting to work in earnest on a new Farm Bill. The recent collapse of the WTO agriculture trade talks may affect the timing and scope of the next Farm Bill; Congress may, for example, decide to extend the Farm Bill for one or two years pending further WTO developments. Or it may decide to extend the bill for the full five year term. The House and Senate Agriculture Committees typically draft separate legislation first. A joint conference committee of the two committees then works to iron out differences and create a single bill acceptable to both the House and the Senate.

Here are the key resources and on-going activities related to the next Farm Bill, including committee membership, hearings, "marker" legislation that could be used to develop new Farm Bill legislation, and other resources.

Proposed Legislation

Several bills have been proposed which would expand and improve upon the current Farm Bill's Energy Title. Click here for summaries and more information.


Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002

In May 2002, following extensive hearings and negotiations that began in early 2001, Congress passed and the President signed the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 into law. For the first time the 2002 Farm Bill contained a new Title IX, the Energy Title, which committed hundreds of millions of dollars to clean energy development on farms, ranches, in rural areas.


Recommended Improvements to Farm Bill Energy Programs

 

Section 9002 - Biobased Product Federal Procurement

  • Program should continue at its existing $2 million annual funding level.
  • Building on the USDA’s work to provide even larger markets, the program should encourage states to implement their own biobased procurement programs.
  • Legislation should instruct USDA to conduct outreach to state purchasing mangers to promote this program.

Section 9003 - Biorefinery Development Grants

  • Congress has not funded this program since its inception in the 2002 Farm Bill, and a large new grant program for biorefineries in fact may not be fiscally or programmatically effective.
  • A better approach is to expand the Section 9006 program to include larger loan guarantees, and focus research dollars on advanced biorefineries.

Energy Audit and Renewable Energy Development

 

Section 9006 - Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Investments Program

 

Section 9008 - Biomass Research and Development Act

 

Section 9010 - Cellulosic Ethanol Expansion Program