[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 828 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 828

  To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of 
 Agriculture to make cost-share payments for on-farm energy production 
          under the environmental quality incentives program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 8, 2007

  Mr. Baucus (for himself, Mr. Harkin, and Mr. Tester) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of 
 Agriculture to make cost-share payments for on-farm energy production 
          under the environmental quality incentives program.

    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 ``On-farm Energy Production Act of 
2007''.

SEC. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PROGRAM.

    (a) Purposes.--Section 1240 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3839aa) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (4), by striking ``and'' at the end;
            (2) in paragraph (5), by striking the period at the end and 
        inserting ``; and''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(6) assisting producers in accordance with section 1240J 
        in producing on-farm energy.''.
    (b) Limitation on Payments.--Section 1240G of the Food Security Act 
of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-7) is amended by inserting ``(or $50,000 in 
the case of a contract entered into under section 1240J)'' after 
``under this chapter''.
    (c) On-Farm Energy Production.--Chapter 4 of subtitle D of title 
XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 1240J. ON-FARM ENERGY PRODUCTION.

    ``(a) In General.--In carrying out the program under this chapter, 
the Secretary shall promote on-farm energy production by providing 
cost-share payments to producers that produce energy on the farms of 
the producers, including--
            ``(1) solar energy;
            ``(2) wind energy; and
            ``(3) renewable fuel (as that term is defined in section 
        211(o) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7545(o)).
    ``(b) Eligibility.--In determining whether to provide cost-share 
payments to producers under this section, the Secretary shall 
consider--
            ``(1) the amount of on-farm energy produced by the 
        producers as compared to the amount of assistance provided to 
        the producers;
            ``(2) whether the producers are actively engaged in 
        farming; and
            ``(3) the degree to which the on-farm energy produced by 
        the producers assists the producers in attaining energy self-
        sufficiency.''.
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