Sponsors (18)
Official title: To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 with respect to the definition of biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 27, 2025 by Max Miller · Last progress February 27, 2025
The bill promotes domestic SAF production to create rural jobs, new markets for farmers, and lower aviation emissions and energy dependence, but it raises risks of higher food/commodity prices, environmental harms without strict sustainability safeguards, taxpayer costs, and administrative complexity that could concentrate benefits among larger firms.
Farmers, foresters, rural communities, and small biofuel producers gain new markets, revenue, and jobs as SAF demand creates feedstock markets and supports commercial-scale biorefineries in rural areas.
The general public and climate objectives benefit because advancing SAF deployment reduces aviation lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions compared with conventional jet fuel.
Airlines, fuel producers, and SAF developers gain clearer, internationally recognized pathways and market access because the bill aligns lifecycle testing (ICAO CORSIA, GREET) and ASTM standards and links qualifying SAF to credits/programs.
Consumers, livestock producers, and some farmers face higher food and commodity prices if cropland shifts toward SAF feedstock production and program-driven demand raises commodity prices.
Rural communities and ecosystems risk negative land‑use change and other environmental harm if sustainability criteria are weak or 'perceived sustainable' feedstocks prove unsustainable.
Taxpayers and USDA program priorities could bear higher costs and diverted resources as federal subsidies, program expansions, and staff time are used to support SAF commercialization.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Adds sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to USDA bioenergy program law, defines SAF with a 50% lifecycle GHG reduction threshold, and directs USDA to lead SAF commercialization efforts.
Creates a USDA-led, cross-department effort to promote sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) by adding SAF into existing bioenergy program definitions and purposes, defining SAF and its certification threshold, and directing USDA to coordinate commercialization, farmer participation, and public–private partnerships. It amends statutory definitions for advanced biofuel to explicitly include SAF produced from intermediate feedstocks and sets a 50% lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction threshold for SAF certification. The law directs the Secretary of Agriculture to lead USDA-wide activities to identify commercialization opportunities, leverage agriculture and forestry feedstocks, and support rural economic development tied to increasing domestic SAF supply. It also explicitly adds SAF to the eligible technologies and program purposes of the Section 9003 bioenergy program to foster SAF development and market uptake.