[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4227 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4227

 To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide loans to support 
 the conversion of energy generation or heating and cooling systems to 
  the use of renewable biomass and to support the installation of new 
  equipment to use renewable biomass for such systems, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            December 8, 2009

Mr. Schrader (for himself, Mr. Walden, Mr. Baird, Ms. Herseth Sandlin, 
  Mrs. McMorris Rodgers, Mr. Minnick, and Mr. DeFazio) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to provide loans to support 
 the conversion of energy generation or heating and cooling systems to 
  the use of renewable biomass and to support the installation of new 
  equipment to use renewable biomass for such systems, 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 ``Incentives to Increase Use of 
Renewable Biomass Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE LOAN PROGRAM FOR CONVERSION OF 
              CERTAIN PUBLIC FACILITIES TO BIOMASS ENERGY GENERATION, 
              HEATING, OR COOLING SYSTEMS.

    Title IX of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 
U.S.C. 8101 et seq.), as amended by section 9001 of the Food, 
Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-246; 122 Stat. 
2064), is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

``SEC. 9014. LOAN PROGRAM FOR CONVERSION OF CERTAIN PUBLIC FACILITIES 
              TO BIOMASS ENERGY GENERATION, HEATING, OR COOLING 
              SYSTEMS.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish 
a program to provide interest-free loans to eligible institutions 
described in subsection (b) for capital costs for converting existing 
equipment or for installing new equipment to use renewable biomass for 
energy generation, heating, or cooling systems.
    ``(b) Eligible Institutions.--The following institutions are 
eligible for a loan under the program established under subsection (a):
            ``(1) An institution of higher education (as defined in 
        section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
        1001)).
            ``(2) A public or private elementary or secondary school.
            ``(3) A hospital.
            ``(4) A local government building.
            ``(5) A governmental, community, health, or educational 
        building owned or leased and occupied by an Indian tribe, 
        except any building used in whole or in part for gaming (as 
        defined in section 4 of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 
        U.S.C. 2703)).
    ``(c) Use of Loan Funds.--The Secretary shall ensure that an 
eligible institution receiving a loan under the program established 
under subsection (a) will use renewable biomass for not less than 75 
percent of the energy generation, heating, or cooling needs of the 
facility of the covered institution for which the loan is received.
    ``(d) Revolving Fund.--
            ``(1) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury 
        a revolving fund for the program established under subsection 
        (a).
            ``(2) Use of amounts in fund.--Amounts in the revolving 
        fund established under paragraph (1) shall be available to the 
        Secretary to carry out the program established under subsection 
        (a).
            ``(3) Deposits.--The amounts received as payment on loans 
        provided under the program established under subsection (a) 
        shall be deposited into the revolving fund established under 
        paragraph (1).
            ``(4) Initial deposit.--Of the funds of the Commodity 
        Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall make available 
        $100,000,000 to the revolving fund established under paragraph 
        (1).''.
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