Sponsors
The bill reduces federal spending and simplifies agency responsibilities by eliminating biomass RD&D program authorities, but does so at the cost of direct support for farmers and rural bioeconomy firms, slower commercialization of biofuels, potential local job losses, and increased difficulty meeting clean‑energy and emissions goals.
Taxpayers: Lowers federal spending by eliminating subsidy programs and grant authorities for biomass research, development, and demonstration (RD&D).
Federal agencies: Reduces statutory complexity and duplicative program authorities tied to biomass R&D, simplifying obligations for implementing agencies.
Farmers and rural bioeconomy firms: Lose access to grants, subsidies, and technical programs that supported development of biofuels and biobased products, reducing direct financial and technical support.
Environmental and climate goals: Removing statutory support for biomass R&D could make it harder to meet clean-energy and emissions-reduction targets that relied on advanced biofuels as part of the energy mix.
Renewable energy sector: Slows development and commercialization of advanced biofuels and biorefineries by eliminating program authorities and definitions that enabled R&D and pilot projects.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Repeals the federal law that created biomass research and development programs and removes related statutory definitions and authorities.
Introduced January 3, 2025 by Andrew S. Biggs · Last progress January 3, 2025
Repeals the federal statutory authority that created and governed biomass research and development programs by removing Title IX of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. § 8101 et seq.). That repeal eliminates the legal definitions (for example, “advanced biofuel,” “biobased product,” and “biorefinery”), the grant and subsidy authorities, and the program framework that supported federal biomass R&D and related activities. The change ends the authorized federal program structure for biomass research and development going forward and will require federal agencies, researchers, industry participants, and affected states to adjust where those programs, definitions, or authorities had been relied upon. The text does not specify an effective date in the provided summary.