Future of Agricultural Resiliency And Modernization Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7482 To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a program to award grants to eligible entities to carry out projects that further agricultural resiliency and modernization, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 2, 2020 Mr. HARDER of California (for himself, Mr. COX of California, Mr. COSTA, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, and Mr. PANETTA) intro- duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agri- culture A BILL To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a program to award grants to eligible entities to carry out projects that further agricultural resiliency and modernization, 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 ‘‘Future of Agricultural 4 Resiliency And Modernization Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7482.IH H7482 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7482 IH (1) The evidence for human-induced climate 1 change is undeniable and our agricultural commu- 2 nities are increasingly experiencing the impacts of 3 climate change. 4 (2) The volatility of weather patterns, ranging 5 from more frequent and severe droughts, floods, and 6 wildfires can negatively impact agricultural produc- 7 tivity. 8 (3) Rural communities, that often lack federal 9 and state resources, are especially vulnerable to the 10 impacts of climate change, such as revenue losses, 11 hours lost at work, and infrastructure damages. 12 (4) Climate resilient practices and technologies 13 are needed to help save Federal, State, and local 14 taxpayers money. These technologies include manure 15 resource recovery systems, which recover the nutri- 16 ents contained in organic matter from their source 17 help protect water quality. 18 (5) The need for measures that promote energy 19 and water use efficiency, conservation, and renew- 20 able energy will greatly reduce the adverse impacts 21 of climate change. 22 (6) Many farmers and agricultural producers 23 are currently utilizing environmentally beneficial 24 practices that also better their production costs. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7482.IH H7482 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7482 IH (7) Excessive heat exposure poses a direct 1 threat to farm workers and the economy. Climate 2 change increases this danger, as 18 of the 19 hottest 3 years on record have occurred since 2001. Rising 4 temperatures are projected to cause an increase in 5 heat-related workplace injuries, illnesses, loss in 6 labor capacity, and decreased productivity. In light 7 of these findings, the Federal government has an ob- 8 ligation to protect farmworkers, outdoor workers, 9 and employers in the United States from climate 10 change. 11 (8) The Department of Agriculture should use 12 research and development programs to make dairy 13 digesters more affordable while mitigating environ- 14 mental effects. Further, the Department should pro- 15 vide technical assistance, community support, and fi- 16 nancial incentives and grants for farmers to partner 17 together to build cooperative digester models. The 18 Department should use cross-agency collaborative 19 models and utilize existing Federal programs, such 20 as the Environmental Protection Agency’s AgSTAR 21 program to increase farmer access and engagement 22 in these efforts. 23 (9) The Department should engage in partner- 24 ships with other Federal agencies to control invasive 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7482.IH H7482 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7482 IH species, in a manner that protects the environment, 1 infrastructure, and agricultural lands in the United 2 States. 3 (10) Federal assistance is needed to help farm- 4 ing practices become more resilient and sustainable 5 for the long-term. 6 SEC. 3. FUTURE OF AGRICULTURAL RESILIENCY AND MOD- 7 ERNIZATION FUND. 8 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agriculture 9 (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall carry 10 out a program to award grants to eligible entities to carry 11 out projects for a qualified purpose. 12 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity eligible to re- 13 ceive a grant under this section is— 14 (1) a Federal agency; 15 (2) a State or a group of States; 16 (3) a unit of local government or a group of 17 local governments; 18 (4) an irrigation district; 19 (5) a Tribal government or a consortium of 20 Tribal governments; 21 (6) a State or regional transit agency or a 22 group of State or regional transit agencies; 23 (7) a nonprofit organization; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7482.IH H7482 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7482 IH (8) a special purpose district or public author- 1 ity; 2 (9) a third-party private entity, the primary 3 business of which is related to agriculture (as deter- 4 mined by the Secretary); and 5 (10) any other entity, as determined by the Sec- 6 retary. 7 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity selected to re- 8 ceive a grant under this section may use funds received 9 through the grant to carry out projects that further agri- 10 cultural resiliency and modernization through— 11 (1) reducing greenhouse gas emissions and in- 12 creasing resilience in the agricultural sector; 13 (2) increasing carbon sequestration; 14 (3) improving soil health; 15 (4) providing multiple benefits, including water 16 supply reliability, ecosystem preservation, ground- 17 water management and enhancements, and water 18 quality improvements; 19 (5) in accordance with state and federal law, 20 expediting projects with a focus in renewable energy, 21 including biofuels; 22 (6) incorporating collaborative partnerships that 23 involve local communities in project planning on eco- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7482.IH H7482 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7482 IH nomic and social benefits of sustainable agricultural 1 production; 2 (7) investing in climate-resilient infrastructure 3 and technology; 4 (8) converting plant wastes into higher value 5 biocarbon products, including practices like pyrol- 6 ysis; 7 (9) improving air and water quality, including 8 pollutants and odors, with dairy digesters and non- 9 digester manure management practices and tech- 10 nologies; 11 (10) supporting clean air, water, climate, and a 12 sustainable environment helping develop local and 13 national resilience strategies against droughts, 14 wildfires, and floods; 15 (11) supporting and funding purchases of 16 cleaner and lower emission agriculture-related equip- 17 ment like harvesting equipment, heavy-duty trucks, 18 agricultural pump engines, tractors, and other 19 equipment used in agricultural operations; and 20 (12) increasing research on the most effective 21 methods of eradicating and controlling invasive spe- 22 cies and pests, such as nutria. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7482.IH H7482 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7482 IH (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 1 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 2 $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025. 3 SEC. 4. PYROLYSIS INNOVATION FUND GRANT PROGRAM. 4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall 5 establish a program under which the Secretary will award 6 grants to eligible entities to carry out not fewer than 10 7 pilot projects, with the potential to reduce or sequester 8 greenhouse emissions that convert and valorize tree nut 9 harvest by-products and waste into multiple higher value 10 biocarbon products, including sustainable industrial appli- 11 cations, agrochemicals, repurposing process heat, energy 12 and construction materials. 13 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—The term ‘‘eligible 14 entity’’ means— 15 (1) a third-party private entity, the primary 16 business of which is related to agriculture (as deter- 17 mined by the Secretary); 18 (2) a nongovernmental organization with experi- 19 ence working with agricultural producers (as deter- 20 mined by the Secretary); and 21 (3) a governmental organization. 22 (c) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 23 on which the first grant is awarded under subsection (a), 24 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agri- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7482.IH H7482 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7482 IH culture of the House of Representatives and the Com- 1 mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Sen- 2 ate a report on— 3 (1) the activities carried out using grants 4 awarded under such subsection; 5 (2) best practices used to leverage the invest- 6 ment of the Federal Government for the purposes 7 specified in subsection (a); and 8 (3) an assessment of the results achieved by the 9 program established under this section. 10 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 11 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 12 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025. 13 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7482.IH H7482 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS