Summary
# PLAIN ENGLISH TRANSLATION: H.R. 2386 Community Wood Facilities Assistance Act of 2023
## WHAT THIS BILL DOES
This bill changes the rules for helping community wood facilities get federal assistance. It does this by amending two existing farm and agriculture laws to make it easier for these facilities to receive grants and support.
## WHO IT AFFECTS
Community wood facilities (businesses or organizations that process or manufacture forest products) get the most direct impact. Federal agencies managing these grant programs will also be affected by the new rules.
## KEY PROVISIONS
• The bill increases the maximum grant amount from 35 percent to 50 percent of eligible project costs (Sec. 2(4)(A))
• Grant awards cannot exceed $5,000,000 for a single project (Sec. 2(5))
• The bill sets funding at $50,000,000 for each year from 2024 through 2028, replacing the previous funding level (Sec. 2(9))
• The bill allows grants for construction, use, or retrofitting of forest products manufacturing facilities (Sec. 2(7)(C))
• Projects can now receive funding if they demonstrate either cost effectiveness or market competitiveness (Sec. 2(6)(C))
• Thermal energy projects can now reach 15 megawatts of thermal energy capacity, increased from 5 megawatts (Sec. 2(8)(A))
## WHAT CHANGES
If this bill becomes law, community wood facilities can receive larger grants covering up to 50 percent of project costs instead of 35 percent. The definition of eligible projects expands to include construction and retrofitting for "forest products manufacturing" instead of only existing sawmill use. Funding for these programs jumps to $50,000,000 annually for fiscal years 2024 through 2028. A separate wood innovations grant program will also accept applications from facilities focused on forest products manufacturing, not just existing sawmills.
## IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS
The bill uses the term "forest biomass" but does not explicitly define it in the provided text.
## EFFECTIVE DATE
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION H. R. 2386
To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to improve
assistance to community wood facilities, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 29, 2023
Ms. PEREZ (for herself, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. NEWHOUSE, and Ms. KUSTER) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agri-
culture, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for
a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for
consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com-
mittee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act
of 2002 to improve assistance to community wood facili-
ties, 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 ‘‘Community Wood Fa-
4
cilities Assistance Act of 2023’’.
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SEC. 2. COMMUNITY WOOD FACILITIES GRANT PROGRAM.
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Section 9013 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest-
7
ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8113) is amended—
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•HR 2386 IH
(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘EN-
1
ERGY
AND
WOOD
INNOVATION’’ and inserting
2
‘‘FACILITIES GRANT’’;
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(2) in subsection (a)—
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(A) in paragraph (1)(A)(iii), in the matter
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preceding subclause (I), by striking ‘‘woody bio-
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mass, including’’ and inserting ‘‘primarily forest
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biomass, including processing or manufac-
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turing’’; and
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(B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘Energy
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and Wood Innovation’’ and inserting ‘‘Facilities
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Grant’’;
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(3) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘Energy and
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Wood Innovation’’ and inserting ‘‘Facilities Grant’’;
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(4) in subsection (c)—
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(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘35’’ and
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inserting ‘‘50’’;
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(B) by striking paragraph (2); and
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(C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as
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paragraph (2);
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(5) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘exceed—’’ in
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the matter preceding paragraph (1) and all that fol-
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lows through the period at the end of paragraph (2)
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and inserting ‘‘exceed $5,000,000.’’;
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(6) in subsection (e)—
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•HR 2386 IH
(A) by striking paragraph (1);
1
(B)
by
redesignating
paragraphs
(2)
2
through (8) as paragraphs (1) through (7), re-
3
spectively; and
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(C) in paragraph (1) (as so redesignated),
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by inserting ‘‘or market competitiveness’’ after
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‘‘cost effectiveness’’;
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(7) in subsection (f)—
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(A) by striking paragraph (2);
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(B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and
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(4) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; and
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(C) in paragraph (2) (as so redesignated),
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by striking ‘‘use or retrofitting (or both) of ex-
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isting sawmill’’ and inserting ‘‘construction,
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use, or retrofitting of forest products manufac-
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turing’’;
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(8) in subsection (g)—
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(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘5
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megawatts of thermal energy or combined ther-
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mal and electric energy’’ and inserting ‘‘15
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megawatts of thermal energy’’; and
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(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘25 per-
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cent’’ and inserting ‘‘50 percent’’; and
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(9) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘$25,000,000
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for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023’’ and in-
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•HR 2386 IH
serting ‘‘$50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024
1
through 2028’’.
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SEC. 3. WOOD INNOVATIONS GRANT PROGRAM.
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Section 8643 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of
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2018 (7 U.S.C. 7655d) is amended—
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(1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘INNO-
6
VATION’’ and inserting ‘‘INNOVATIONS’’;
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(2) in subsection (c)—
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(A) in the subsection heading, by striking
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‘‘INCENTIVIZING USE OF EXISTING MILLING’’
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and inserting ‘‘EXPANDING FOREST PRODUCTS
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MANUFACTURING’’; and
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(B) by striking ‘‘use or retrofitting (or
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both) of existing sawmill’’ and inserting ‘‘con-
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struction, use, or retrofitting for forest products
15
manufacturing’’; and
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(3) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘50 percent
17
of’’ before ‘‘the amount’’.
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Æ
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