[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3472 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3472

To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to further 
      the adoption of technologies developed by the Department of 
     Agriculture, to encourage small business partnerships in the 
  development of energy through biorefineries, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 11, 2008

 Mr. Feingold introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to further 
      the adoption of technologies developed by the Department of 
     Agriculture, to encourage small business partnerships in the 
  development of energy through biorefineries, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Energy and Technology Advancement 
Act of 2008''.

SEC. 2. FEDERAL ENERGY AND FORESTRY BUSINESS ASSISTANCE.

    Title IX of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 
U.S.C. 8101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 9014. FEDERAL ENERGY AND FORESTRY BUSINESS ASSISTANCE.

    ``(a) Support for Business Incubators.--
            ``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
                    ``(A) Business incubator.--The term `business 
                incubator' means the programs and assistance designed 
                to accelerate the successful development of new or 
                existing small businesses through an array of support 
                resources and services, developed and managed by the 
                Secretary.
                    ``(B) Department.--The term `Department' means the 
                Department of Agriculture.
            ``(2) Duty of secretary.--To further the adoption of 
        technologies developed by the Department, the Secretary shall 
        establish criteria and procedures to facilitate and encourage 
        businesses and other organizations--
                    ``(A) to rent equipment and property owned by the 
                Federal Government for the development of new and 
                improved products and processes (including the 
                production of reasonable quantities of product for 
                sale);
                    ``(B) to authorize employees of the Department and 
                employees of the private sector to work together in 
                experimental or production facilities owned by--
                            ``(i) the Federal Government; or
                            ``(ii) a private entity;
                    ``(C) to provide business support services to 
                start-up and small businesses; and
                    ``(D) to enter into cooperative agreements with 
                Indian tribes, States, counties, institutions of higher 
                education, and other educational and governmental units 
                to support business incubators for businesses that use 
                technologies and products of interest to the Secretary.
    ``(b) Establishment of Biorefinery Pilot Plant.--
            ``(1) Duty of secretary.--Not later than 90 days after the 
        date of enactment of this section, in accordance with paragraph 
        (2), the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees 
        of Congress a plan for the development and construction of a 
        biorefinery pilot plant.
            ``(2) Cost estimates.--The Secretary shall include in the 
        plan described in paragraph (1) a comprehensive estimate of 
        each cost relating to the development and construction of the 
        biorefinery pilot plant that is the subject of the plan.
            ``(3) Design requirements.--The biorefinery pilot plant 
        that is the subject of the plan described in paragraph (1) 
        shall be designed to enable the plant--
                    ``(A) to produce liquid fuels from woody, 
                agricultural, and other biomass--
                            ``(i) in a flexible, multi-bioproduct 
                        manner;
                            ``(ii) in a sustainable manner that 
                        addresses life-cycle inputs and outputs; and
                            ``(iii) in quantities sufficient--
                                    ``(I) to provide proof of process; 
                                and
                                    ``(II) to allow for business 
                                incubator and support services 
                                described in subsection (a); and
                    ``(B) to employ, at a minimum, thermochemical and 
                biochemical conversion processes in the production of 
                liquid fuels.
    ``(c) Funding.--Of the amounts made available to the Secretary for 
programmatic and administrative expenditures, the Secretary shall use 
such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.''.
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