[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5051 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5051

To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to improve 
     the Rural Energy for America Program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 27, 2023

 Ms. Spanberger (for herself and Mr. Valadao) introduced the following 
        bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to improve 
     the Rural Energy for America Program, 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 ``Rural Energy for America Program 
Modernization Act of 2023'' or the ``REAP Modernization Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. RURAL ENERGY FOR AMERICA PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Section 9007 of the Farm Security and Rural 
Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8107) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as 
                subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, and indenting 
                appropriately;
                    (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) (as so 
                redesignated), by striking ``The Secretary'' and 
                inserting the following:
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary'';
                    (C) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), in the 
                matter preceding subparagraph (A) (as so redesignated), 
                by inserting ``(referred to in this section as the 
                `Program')'' after ``Program''; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Climate benefits.--In carrying out the Program, the 
        Secretary shall promote the reduction of greenhouse gas 
        emissions as a result of carrying out projects funded by grants 
        and other financial assistance under the Program.'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (D), by striking 
                        ``and'' at the end;
                            (ii) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as 
                        subparagraph (G); and
                            (iii) by inserting after subparagraph (D) 
                        the following:
                    ``(E) a producer cooperative;
                    ``(F) a nongovernmental organization; and'';
                    (B) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (E), by striking 
                        ``and'' at the end;
                            (ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking the 
                        period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(G) the potential of the proposed program to 
                reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide other 
                climate benefits.''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (4)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (B), by redesignating 
                        clauses (i) and (ii) as subclauses (I) and 
                        (II), respectively, and indenting 
                        appropriately;
                            (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) and 
                        (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively, and 
                        indenting appropriately;
                            (iii) in the matter preceding clause (i) 
                        (as so redesignated), by striking ``A 
                        recipient'' and inserting the following:
                    ``(A) In general.--A recipient''; and
                            (iv) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(B) Grant options.--A grant awarded under 
                paragraph (1) may be used to carry out 1 or more of the 
                activities described in subparagraph (A).'';
            (3) in subsection (c)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by adding after and below 
                the end the following:
                ``The Secretary may, on a limited case-by-case basis, 
                provide financial assistance described in this 
                subparagraph to agricultural producer cooperatives and 
                rural electric cooperatives that do not otherwise 
                qualify for the assistance.'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (F), by striking 
                        ``and'' at the end;
                            (ii) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as 
                        subparagraph (H); and
                            (iii) by inserting after subparagraph (F) 
                        the following:
                    ``(G) the potential of the renewable energy system 
                to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and result in other 
                climate benefits; and''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ``25 percent'' 
                and inserting ``50 percent'';
            (4) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), and (f) as 
        subsections (e), (f), and (i), respectively;
            (5) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
    ``(d) Streamlined Application Process.--The Secretary shall develop 
a streamlined application process, including within each tier described 
in subsection (c)(4), under which an entity may apply for a grant under 
subsection (b), financial assistance under subsection (c), or a bundled 
application for a project with components eligible under clauses (i) 
and (ii) of subsection (c)(1)(A).'';
            (6) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated)--
                    (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 
                ``Outreach'' and inserting ``Outreach, Technical 
                Assistance, and Education'';
                    (B) by striking ``that adequate'' and inserting the 
                following: ``that--
            ``(1) adequate'';
                    (C) in paragraph (1) (as so designated), by 
                striking the period at the end and inserting a 
                semicolon; and
                    (D) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) technical assistance is provided to entities seeking 
        to apply for a grant or financial assistance under the Program; 
        and
            ``(3) outreach, technical assistance, and education is 
        provided to recipients of grants and other financial assistance 
        under the Program relating to integrating renewable energy 
        projects on land shared with crops or livestock.'';
            (7) in subsection (f) (as so redesignated), in paragraph 
        (1), by striking ``$20,000'' and inserting ``$50,000'';
            (8) by inserting after subsection (f) (as so redesignated) 
        the following:
    ``(g) Study.--
            ``(1) Definition of dual-use energy system.--In this 
        subsection, the term `dual-use energy system' means a system 
        under which renewable energy production and agricultural 
        production, including crop or animal production, occur together 
        on the same piece of land.
            ``(2) Study.--The Secretary shall carry out a study on 
        dual-use energy systems.
            ``(3) Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date of 
        enactment of the REAP Modernization Act of 2023, the Secretary 
        shall submit to Congress, and make publicly available online, a 
        report on the results of the study carried out under paragraph 
        (2), which shall include a recommendation as to whether the 
        scope of grants and other financial assistance under the 
        Program should be expanded to cover projects that generate more 
        energy without significantly impacting farm operations or 
        leading to the conversion of existing farm land.
    ``(h) Energy Generated.--In the case of a project funded by a grant 
or other financial assistance provided under the Program that takes 
place on a property on which a residence is closely associated with and 
shares an energy metering device with an agricultural operation or 
rural small business to be served by the project, there shall not be 
any requirement imposed relating to the quantity of energy generated by 
the project that must be used by the agricultural operation or rural 
small business.''; and
            (9) in subsection (i) (as so redesignated), by adding at 
        the end the following:
            ``(4) Outreach, technical assistance, and education.--Of 
        the funds made available to carry out this section for a fiscal 
        year, the Secretary shall use not more than 8 percent to carry 
        out subsection (e).
            ``(5) Reserve fund.--
                    ``(A) In general.--There is established a reserve 
                fund (referred to in this paragraph as the `reserve 
                fund'), into which, each fiscal year, not less than 15 
                percent of the funds made available under paragraphs 
                (1) and (3) to carry out this section for that fiscal 
                year shall be transferred.
                    ``(B) Use of reserve fund.--After all other funds 
                for the Program are obligated for a fiscal year, the 
                Secretary may use amounts in the reserve fund to 
                provide grants and other financial assistance under the 
                Program for projects using underutilized renewable 
                energy technologies.
                    ``(C) Unused funds.--If there are remaining funds 
                in the reserve fund at the end of a fiscal year, the 
                Secretary shall use those remaining funds to provide 
                grants and other financial assistance under the Program 
                without regard to whether the grants or financial 
                assistance relate to underutilized renewable energy 
                technologies.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendments.--Section 9007 of the Farm Security and 
Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8107) is amended by striking 
``subsection (f)'' each place it appears and inserting ``subsection 
(i)''.
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