[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3253 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3253
To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to improve
biorefinery, renewable chemical, and biobased product manufacturing
assistance, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 7, 2025
Mr. Nunn of Iowa (for himself and Ms. Budzinski) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to improve
biorefinery, renewable chemical, and biobased product manufacturing
assistance, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Agricultural Biorefinery Innovation
and Opportunity Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. BIOREFINERY, RENEWABLE CHEMICAL, AND BIOBASED PRODUCT
MANUFACTURING ASSISTANCE.
Section 9003 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002
(7 U.S.C. 8103) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), in the matter preceding paragraph
(1), by striking ``to assist'' and inserting ``to develop
advanced biofuels (which, for purposes of this section, shall
include ultra-low-carbon bioethanol and zero-carbon
bioethanol), renewable chemicals, and biobased product
manufacturing and assist'';
(2) in subsection (b)(1)--
(A) by striking ``technologically new''; and
(B) by striking ``end-user products'' and inserting
``end-user products, renewable chemicals, and biobased
products'';
(3) in subsection (c)--
(A) by striking ``The Secretary shall make
available to eligible entities guarantees'' and
inserting the following: ``Subject to the availability
of funding, the Secretary shall make available to
eligible entities--
``(1) on a year-round basis, guarantees'';
(B) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), by
striking the period at the end and inserting ``, in
accordance with subsection (d); and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) grants, on a competitive basis, to develop,
construct, or retrofit pilot or demonstration-scale
biorefineries to demonstrate the commercial viability of 1 or
more processes for converting renewable biomass to advanced
biofuels, renewable chemicals, and biobased products in
accordance with subsection (e).'';
(4) in subsection (d)(1)--
(A) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (C);
(B) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (D) as
subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively;
(C) in subparagraph (A) (as so redesignated)--
(i) by striking ``In approving a loan
guarantee application'' and inserting the
following:
``(i) In general.--In approving an
application for a loan guarantee under
subsection (c)(1)''; and
(ii) by adding at the end the following:
``(ii) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive the
feasibility study under clause (i) for proven
or otherwise commercially available
technologies.''; and
(D) in subparagraph (B) (as so redesignated), by
striking ``loan guarantee applications'' and inserting
``applications for loan guarantees under subsection
(c)(1)'';
(5) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (k);
(6) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
``(e) Grants.--
``(1) Selection criteria.--
``(A) In general.--In approving applications for
grants under subsection (c)(2), the Secretary shall
establish a priority scoring system that assigns
priority scores to each application and only approve
applications that exceed a specified minimum score, as
determined by the Secretary.
``(B) Feasibility.--
``(i) In general.--In approving an
application for a grant under subsection
(c)(2), the Secretary shall determine the
technical and economic feasibility of the
project based on a feasibility study of the
project described in the application conducted
by an independent third party.
``(ii) Waiver.--The Secretary may waive the
feasibility study under clause (i) for proven
or otherwise commercially available
technologies.
``(C) Scoring system.--The priority scoring system
established under subparagraph (A) shall consider, with
respect to a project proposed in an application for a
grant under subsection (c)(2)--
``(i) the potential market for the advanced
biofuel, renewable chemical, or biobased
product, and the byproducts produced under the
project;
``(ii) the level of financial participation
by the eligible entity, including support from
non-Federal and private sources;
``(iii) whether the eligible entity is
proposing to use--
``(I) a feedstock not previously
used in the production of advanced
biofuels; or
``(II) a feedstock, process, or
technology in an innovative manner in
the production of renewable chemicals
or biobased products;
``(iv) whether the eligible entity is
proposing to work with producer associations or
cooperatives;
``(v) whether the eligible entity has
established that the adoption of the process
proposed in the application will have a
positive impact on resource conservation,
public health, and the environment;
``(vi) the potential for rural economic
development;
``(vii) whether the project can be
replicated;
``(viii) scalability for commercial use;
and
``(ix) in the case of an advanced biofuels
project, the contribution of the project to
domestic energy security.
``(2) Cost sharing.--
``(A) Limits.--The amount of a grant awarded under
subsection (c)(2) shall not exceed an amount that is 60
percent of the cost of the project carried out using
the grant.
``(B) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of
the cost of a project may be provided in the form of
cash or material, subject to the condition that the
material provided does not exceed 30 percent of the
non-Federal share.'';
(7) in subsection (g)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) in the matter preceding clause
(i), by inserting ``and grants'' after
``loan guarantees'';
(II) in clause (iii), by striking
``and'' at the end;
(III) in clause (iv), by striking
the period at the end and inserting ``;
and''; and
(IV) by adding at the end the
following:
``(v) $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years
2026 through 2030.''; and
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``Of
the total'' and all that follows through
``subparagraph (A)'' and inserting ``Of the
total amount of funds made available for each
of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 under
subparagraph (A)''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``2023'' and
inserting ``2030'';
(8) in subsection (h)(1), by striking ``subsections (a)
through (e), and (g)'' and inserting ``subsections (a) through
(e), (g), and (k)'';
(9) in subsection (i)(1), by striking ``subsections (a)
through (e) and subsection (g)'' and inserting ``subsections
(a) through (e), (g), and (k)''; and
(10) in subsection (j)(1), by striking ``subsections (a)
through (e) and (g)'' and inserting ``subsections (a) through
(e), (g), and (k)''.
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