[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2155 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2155

To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to promote 
                        biobased manufacturing.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 5, 2012

Ms. Stabenow (for herself, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Coons, 
  Mr. Conrad, Mr. Casey, Mr. Tester, Mr. Carper, Mr. Harkin, and Mr. 
Nelson of Nebraska) 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 promote 
                        biobased manufacturing.

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

SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 9001 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 
(7 U.S.C. 8101) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (6)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``or'';
                    (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; or''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(E) renewable chemicals.'';
            (2) in paragraph (7), by striking subparagraph (A) and 
        inserting the following:
                    ``(A) converts renewable biomass into biofuels, 
                renewable chemicals, or biobased products; and'';
            (3) in paragraph (11), by striking ``or compound'' and 
        inserting ``, compound, or renewable chemical'';
            (4) by redesignating paragraphs (13) and (14) as paragraphs 
        (14) and (15), respectively; and
            (5) by inserting after paragraph (12) the following:
            ``(13) Renewable chemical.--The term `renewable chemical' 
        means a monomer, polymer, plastic, formulated product, or 
        chemical substance produced from renewable biomass.''.

SEC. 2. BIOBASED MARKETS PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 9002 of the Farm Security and Rural 
Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8102) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)(A)(i)--
                            (i) in subclause (I), by striking ``and'' 
                        at the end;
                            (ii) in subclause (II)(bb), by striking the 
                        period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                                    ``(III) establish a targeted 
                                biobased-only procurement requirement 
                                under which the procuring agency shall 
                                issue a certain number of biobased-only 
                                contracts when the procuring agency is 
                                purchasing products, or purchasing 
                                services that include the use of 
                                products, that are included in a 
                                biobased product category designated by 
                                the Secretary.''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (B)--
                                    (I) in clause (v)--
                                            (aa) by inserting ``as 
                                        determined to be necessary by 
                                        the Secretary based on the 
                                        availability of data,'' before 
                                        ``provide information''; and
                                            (bb) by striking ``and'' at 
                                        the end;
                                    (II) by redesignating clause (vi) 
                                as clause (vii); and
                                    (III) by inserting after clause (v) 
                                the following:
                            ``(vi) require reporting of quantities and 
                        types of biobased products purchased by 
                        procuring agencies; and''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) Required designations.--Not later than 1 year 
                after the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the 
                Secretary shall begin to designate intermediate 
                ingredients or feedstocks and assembled and finished 
                biobased products in the guidelines issued under this 
                paragraph.'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) by striking ``The Secretary'' and 
                        inserting the following:
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Auditing and compliance.--The Secretary may 
                carry out such auditing and compliance activities as 
                the Secretary determines to be necessary to ensure 
                compliance with subparagraph (A).''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(4) Assembled and finished products.--Not later than 1 
        year after the date of enactment of this paragraph, the 
        Secretary shall begin issuing criteria for determining which 
        assembled and finished products may qualify to receive the 
        label under paragraph (1).'';
            (3) by redesignating subsections (d) through (h) as 
        subsections (e) through (i), respectively;
            (4) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d) Outreach, Education, and Promotion.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may engage in outreach, 
        educational, and promotional activities intended to increase 
        knowledge, awareness, and benefits of biobased products.
            ``(2) Authorized activities.--In carrying out this 
        subsection, the Secretary, at a minimum, may--
                    ``(A) conduct consumer education and outreach 
                (including consumer and awareness surveys);
                    ``(B) conduct outreach to and support for State and 
                local governments interested in implementing biobased 
                purchasing programs;
                    ``(C) partner with industry and nonprofit groups to 
                produce educational and outreach materials and conduct 
                educational and outreach events;
                    ``(D) sponsor special conferences and events to 
                bring together buyers and sellers of biobased products; 
                and
                    ``(E) support pilot and demonstration projects.''; 
                and
            (5) in subsection (h) (as redesignated by paragraph (3))--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
                        ``and'' at the end;
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking 
                        the period at the end and inserting a 
                        semicolon; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) the progress made by other Federal agencies 
                in compliance with the biobased procurement 
                requirements, including the quantity of purchases made; 
                and
                    ``(D) the status of outreach, educational, and 
                promotional activities carried out by the Secretary 
                under subsection (d), including the attainment of 
                specific milestones and overall results.''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Economic impact study and report.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct a 
                study to assess the economic impact of the biobased 
                products industry, including--
                            ``(i) the quantity of products sold;
                            ``(ii) the value of the products;
                            ``(iii) the quantity of jobs created;
                            ``(iv) the quantity of petroleum displaced;
                            ``(v) other environmental benefits; and
                            ``(vi) areas in which the use or 
                        manufacturing of biobased products could be 
                        more effectively used, including identifying 
                        any technical and economic obstacles and 
                        recommending how those obstacles can be 
                        overcome.
                    ``(B) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the 
                date of enactment of this subparagraph, the Secretary 
                shall submit to Congress a report containing the 
                results of the study conducted under subparagraph 
                (A).''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 944(c)(2)(A) of the Energy 
Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 16253(c)(2)(A)) is amended by striking 
``section 9002(h)(1)'' and inserting ``section 9002(b)''.

SEC. 3. BIOREFINERY, RENEWABLE CHEMICAL, AND BIOBASED PRODUCT 
              MANUFACTURING ASSISTANCE.

    Section 9003 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 
(7 U.S.C. 8103) is amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by inserting ``, renewable 
        chemical, and biobased product manufacturing'' after 
        ``biorefinery'';
            (2) in subsection (a), by inserting ``renewable chemicals, 
        and biobased product manufacturing'' after ``advanced 
        biofuels,''; and
            (3) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) grants and loan guarantees to fund the development 
        and construction of renewable chemical and biobased product 
        manufacturing facilities.''.

SEC. 4. BIOMASS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT.

    Section 9008(e) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 
2002 (7 U.S.C. 8108(e)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (3)--
                    (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by 
                striking ``3'';
                    (B) by striking subparagraph (A); and
                    (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; and
            (2) in paragraph (6)(A)(iv), by striking ``(A), (B), and 
        (C)'' and inserting ``(A) and (B)''.
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