Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) Improvement Act of 2021

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2243 To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to improve the Rural Energy for America Program, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 24, 2021 Ms. SMITH (for herself and Mr. LUJA´N) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to improve the Rural Energy for America Pro- gram, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rural Energy for 4 America Program (REAP) Improvement Act of 2021’’. 5 SEC. 2. RURAL ENERGY FOR AMERICA PROGRAM. 6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 9007 of the Farm Secu- 7 rity and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8107) 8 is amended— 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2243.IS S2243 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2243 IS (1) in subsection (a)— 1 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 2 (2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, 3 and indenting appropriately; 4 (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph 5 (A) (as so redesignated), by striking ‘‘The Sec- 6 retary’’ and inserting the following: 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; 8 (C) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), in 9 the matter preceding subparagraph (A) (as so 10 redesignated), by inserting ‘‘(referred to in this 11 section as the ‘Program’)’’ after ‘‘Program’’; 12 and 13 (D) by adding at the end the following: 14 ‘‘(2) CLIMATE BENEFITS.—In carrying out the 15 Program, the Secretary shall promote the reduction 16 of greenhouse gas emissions in projects funded by 17 grants and other financial assistance under the Pro- 18 gram.’’; 19 (2) in subsection (b)— 20 (A) in paragraph (2)— 21 (i) in subparagraph (D), by striking 22 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 23 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 24 (E) as subparagraph (G); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2243.IS S2243 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2243 IS (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 1 (D) the following: 2 ‘‘(E) a producer cooperative; 3 ‘‘(F) a nongovernmental organization; 4 and’’; and 5 (B) in paragraph (3)— 6 (i) in subparagraph (E), by striking 7 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 8 (ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 9 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 10 and’’; and 11 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 12 lowing: 13 ‘‘(G) the potential of the proposed program 14 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide 15 other climate benefits.’’; 16 (3) in subsection (c)— 17 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)— 18 (i) in clause (i), in the matter pre- 19 ceding subclause (I), by striking ‘‘pro- 20 ducers’’ and inserting ‘‘producers, producer 21 cooperatives, electric cooperatives,’’; and 22 (ii) in clause (ii), in the matter pre- 23 ceding subclause (I), by striking ‘‘pro- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2243.IS S2243 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2243 IS ducers’’ and inserting ‘‘producers, producer 1 cooperatives, and electric cooperatives’’; 2 (B) in paragraph (2)— 3 (i) in subparagraph (F), by striking 4 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 5 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 6 (G) as subparagraph (H); and 7 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 8 (F) the following: 9 ‘‘(G) the potential of the renewable energy 10 system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and 11 result in other climate benefits; and’’; and 12 (C) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘25 13 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘50 percent’’; 14 (4) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), and 15 (f) as subsections (e), (f), and (i), respectively; 16 (5) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol- 17 lowing: 18 ‘‘(d) STREAMLINED APPLICATION PROCESS.—The 19 Office of Rural Development shall develop a streamlined 20 application process, including within each tier described 21 in subsection (c)(4), under which an entity may apply for 22 a grant under subsection (b), financial assistance under 23 subsection (c), or both.’’; 24 (6) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2243.IS S2243 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2243 IS (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 1 ‘‘OUTREACH’’ and inserting ‘‘OUTREACH, 2 TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND EDUCATION’’; 3 (B) by striking ‘‘that adequate’’ and in- 4 serting the following: ‘‘that— 5 ‘‘(1) adequate’’; 6 (C) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), by 7 striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 8 and’’; and 9 (D) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(2) outreach, technical assistance, and edu- 11 cation is provided to recipients of grants and other 12 financial assistance under the Program relating to 13 integrating renewable energy projects on land shared 14 with crops or livestock.’’; 15 (7) by inserting after subsection (f) (as so re- 16 designated) the following: 17 ‘‘(g) STUDY.— 18 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF DUAL-USE ENERGY SYS- 19 TEM.—In this subsection, the term ‘dual-use energy 20 system’ means a system under which renewable en- 21 ergy production and agricultural production, includ- 22 ing crop or animal production, occur together on the 23 same piece of land. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2243.IS S2243 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2243 IS ‘‘(2) STUDY.—The Secretary shall carry out a 1 study on dual-use energy systems. 2 ‘‘(3) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 3 date of enactment of the Rural Energy for America 4 Program (REAP) Improvement Act of 2021, the 5 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the 6 results of the study carried out under paragraph (2), 7 which shall include a recommendation as to whether 8 the scope of grants and other financial assistance 9 under the Program should be expanded to cover 10 projects that generate more energy without signifi- 11 cantly impacting farm operations or leading to the 12 conversion of existing farm land. 13 ‘‘(h) ENERGY GENERATED.—There shall not be any 14 restriction imposed on the quantity of energy that is gen- 15 erated under a project funded by a grant or other financial 16 assistance provided under the Program for the benefit of 17 the recipient of the grant or other financial assistance.’’; 18 and 19 (8) in subsection (i) (as so redesignated)— 20 (A) in paragraph (1)— 21 (i) in the matter preceding subpara- 22 graph (A), by striking ‘‘expended—’’ and 23 all that follows through the period at the 24 end of subparagraph (E) and inserting 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2243.IS S2243 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2243 IS ‘‘expended, $150,000,000 for each of fiscal 1 years 2021 through 2030.’’; 2 (ii) by striking ‘‘Of the funds’’ and in- 3 serting the following: 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds’’; and 5 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 6 lowing: 7 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL FUNDS.—In addition to 8 amounts made available under subparagraph 9 (A), there is appropriated to the Secretary to 10 carry out this section, out of funds in the 11 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 12 $1,000,000,000, to remain available until ex- 13 pended.’’; 14 (B) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking 15 ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph 16 (1)(A)’’; and 17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 18 ‘‘(4) RESERVE FUND.— 19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—There is established a 20 reserve fund for the purpose of providing grants 21 and other financial assistance under the Pro- 22 gram relating to underused renewable energy 23 technologies. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2243.IS S2243 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2243 IS ‘‘(B) FUNDS.—For each fiscal year, not 1 less than 15 percent of the funds made avail- 2 able under paragraphs (1)(A) and (3) to carry 3 out this section for that fiscal year shall be 4 transferred to the reserve fund established by 5 subparagraph (A).’’. 6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 9007 of 7 the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 8 U.S.C. 8107) is amended by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ each 9 place it appears and inserting ‘‘subsection (i)’’. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:21 Jul 09, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2243.IS S2243 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS