Sponsors (18)
The bill promotes domestic sustainable aviation fuel production—creating new rural and farm revenue streams and reducing aviation emissions and import reliance—while posing risks of higher commodity/food prices, environmental harms if feedstocks are mismanaged, added compliance costs, and fiscal/program tradeoffs for taxpayers and other biobased projects.
Farmers, foresters, and rural communities can gain new markets, jobs, and income by supplying feedstocks and participating in SAF projects supported by federal programs.
Increased domestic SAF production can lower aviation lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy security by reducing reliance on imported jet fuel.
Clear technical standards (ASTM references and a ≥50% lifecycle GHG reduction threshold) plus eligibility under Section 9003 and potential public–private partnerships create a practical pathway to certify, commercialize, and finance SAF projects.
Consumers, livestock producers, and some farmers could face higher commodity and food prices if cropland shifts toward SAF feedstocks or demand raises certain oilseed/biomass prices.
Expanding feedstock production without comprehensive sustainability safeguards risks land‑use change, higher lifecycle emissions, and biodiversity harms in producing regions.
Making SAF eligible for federal support and otherwise promoting production could increase federal program costs or shift Section 9003 resources away from other biobased or renewable-chemical projects, creating fiscal tradeoffs for taxpayers and competing firms.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Introduced February 27, 2025 by Max Miller · Last progress February 27, 2025
Creates a USDA-led "Farm to Fly" effort to grow U.S. production and use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). It adds a legal definition of SAF and makes SAF an eligible product and purpose in an existing USDA biorefinery and biobased product assistance program, while setting technical and lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) standards for qualifying fuels. The bill does not authorize new money or set timelines. It directs USDA to coordinate across its programs to support feedstock development, commercialization, rural partnerships, and public–private efforts to expand SAF supply, and it specifies that qualifying SAF must meet certain ASTM standards and achieve at least a 50% lifecycle GHG reduction versus petroleum jet fuel.