[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4297 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4297

To provide loan guarantees for renewable energy projects using biomass 
                               material.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 5, 2004

Mr. Simpson (for himself and Mr. Otter) introduced the following bill; 
           which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide loan guarantees for renewable energy projects using biomass 
                               material.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEM LOAN GUARANTEES.

    Section 9006 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 
(7 U.S.C. 8106) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ``The'' each place it 
        appears and inserting ``Except as provided in subsection (e), 
        the'';
            (2) by redesignating subsections (e) and (f) as subsections 
        (f) and (g), respectively; and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
    ``(e) Loan Guarantees for Major Projects.--
            ``(1) Definition of subsidy costs.--In this subsection, the 
        term `subsidy costs' has the meaning given the term `cost' in 
        section 502 of the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (2 U.S.C. 
        661a).
            ``(2) Projects.--Subsection (c)(1) shall not apply to a 
        loan guarantee made under this section to carry out a project 
        if--
                    ``(A) the loan will be used--
                            ``(i) to purchase a renewable energy system 
                        associated with a commercial production 
                        agricultural enterprise; and
                            ``(ii) to promote a solution to an 
                        environmental problem of the State in which the 
                        project will be carried out;
                    ``(B) the principal amount of the loan is not less 
                than $50,000,000 and not more than $100,000,000;
                    ``(C) the lender of the loan exercises due 
                diligence with respect to the borrower of the loan;
                    ``(D) the borrower of the loan pays in full, before 
                the guarantee is issued, a guarantee fee in the amount 
                of the estimated subsidy cost of the guarantee, as 
                determined by the Director of the Office of Management 
                and Budget;
                    ``(E) the project is certified by the appropriate 
                State agency, as designated by the Governor of the 
                State in which the project will be carried out;
                    ``(F) the project requires no Federal or State 
                financial assistance, other than the loan guarantee 
                provided under this subsection; and
                    ``(G) the project complies with all necessary 
                permits, licenses, and approvals required under the 
                laws of the State.
            ``(3) Priority.--In making loan guarantees under this 
        section for projects described in paragraph (2), the Secretary 
        shall give priority to renewable energy projects that promote 
        the production of an agricultural commodity that is imported 
        into the United States.
            ``(4) Cost sharing.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The amount of a loan guarantee 
                under this section for a project described in paragraph 
                (2) shall not exceed 80 percent of the total project 
                cost.
                    ``(B) Subordination.--Any financing for the non-
                Federal share of the total project cost shall be 
                subordinated to the federally guaranteed portion of the 
                total project cost.
            ``(5) Maximum amount.--
                    ``(A) Individual loans.--The amount of principal 
                for a loan under this section for a project described 
                in paragraph (2) shall not exceed $100,000,000.
                    ``(B) All loans.--The total outstanding amount of 
                principal for loans under this section for all projects 
                described in paragraph (2) shall not exceed 
                $1,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.''.
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