[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5134 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5134

To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to improve 
         the biobased markets program, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             August 4, 2023

 Mr. Alford (for himself and Ms. Craig) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to 
   the Committee on Oversight and Accountability, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to improve 
         the biobased markets 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 ``Biomanufacturing and Jobs Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) biobased products provide additional markets for farm 
        commodities, reducing the reliance of the United States on 
        petroleum and increasing the use of renewable agricultural 
        resources while driving rural economic development and growth;
            (2) United States farmers produce feedstock used to produce 
        a variety of biobased products, including personal care 
        products, industrial paints solvents, construction materials, 
        and apparels and textiles;
            (3) the BioPreferred Program of the Department of 
        Agriculture is designed to increase the purchase and use of 
        biobased products through a mandatory Federal purchasing 
        initiative and a voluntary labeling initiative, thereby 
        supporting additional markets for agricultural commodities and 
        rural economic development;
            (4) according to the Department of Agriculture, there are 
        approximately 15,000 biobased products participating in the 
        BioPreferred Program, with approximately 2,600 biobased 
        products authorized to display the ``USDA Certified Biobased 
        Product'' label under the voluntary labeling initiative; and
            (5) the Department of Agriculture has estimated that--
                    (A) as of 2008, there were more than 17,000 
                biobased products in the United States; and
                    (B) as of 2014, there were more than 40,000 
                biobased products in the United States, demonstrating 
                an increase in biobased products in the United States 
                of 135 percent in 6 years.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to recognize the value that biobased products bring to 
        agriculture in the United States;
            (2) to support domestic manufacturing of biobased products 
        made from agricultural commodities, including corn and 
        soybeans;
            (3) to expand the role of the Department of Agriculture in 
        the promotion of biobased products;
            (4) to build on procurement programs administered by the 
        Department of Agriculture to increase Federal purchasing of 
        biobased products;
            (5) to strengthen domestic manufacturing of biobased 
        products; and
            (6) to make a national commitment to the rural and 
        agricultural economies of the United States.

SEC. 3. BIOBASED MARKETS PROGRAM.

    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)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)(i)--
                                    (I) in subclause (II)(bb), by 
                                striking ``and'' at the end;
                                    (II) in subclause (III), by 
                                striking the period at the end and 
                                inserting ``; and''; and
                                    (III) by adding at the end the 
                                following:
                                    ``(IV) on an annual basis, update 
                                the procurement requirement described 
                                in subclause (III) by increasing the 
                                number of biobased-only contracts or 
                                the volume purchased under those 
                                contracts from the previous year.'';
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
                        clause (iii) and inserting the following:
                            ``(iii) are available only at a price that 
                        exceeds the price premium established under 
                        paragraph (3)(B)(viii) for those items.''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(G) Guidance.--The Secretary, in coordination 
                with the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, shall 
                issue guidance to procuring agencies to consider 
                product lifespan, savings, and efficacy when making 
                procurement decisions under this subsection.'';
                    (B) in paragraph (3)(B)--
                            (i) in clause (vii), by striking ``and'' at 
                        the end;
                            (ii) by redesignating clause (viii) as 
                        clause (ix); and
                            (iii) by inserting after clause (vii) the 
                        following:
                            ``(viii) establish price premiums for 
                        different types of biobased products; and''; 
                        and
                    (C) in paragraph (4)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)--
                                    (I) by striking clause (ii); and
                                    (II) by redesignating clauses (iii) 
                                and (iv) as clauses (ii) and (iii), 
                                respectively;
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B)(i)--
                                    (I) in the matter preceding 
                                subclause (I)--
                                            (aa) by inserting ``and the 
                                        Secretary'' after ``Policy''; 
                                        and
                                            (bb) by striking 
                                        ``information concerning--'' 
                                        and inserting ``a report that 
                                        describes, for the year covered 
                                        by the report--'';
                                    (II) in subclause (I), by inserting 
                                ``, including the actions taken by the 
                                procuring agency to establish and 
                                implement the biobased procurement 
                                program of the procuring agency under 
                                that paragraph'' before the semicolon;
                                    (III) in subclause (IV), by 
                                striking ``and'' at the end;
                                    (IV) in subclause (V), by striking 
                                ``and'' at the end; and
                                    (V) by adding at the end the 
                                following:
                                    ``(VI)(aa) the specific categories 
                                of biobased products that are 
                                unavailable to meet the procurement 
                                needs of the procuring agency; and
                                    ``(bb) the desired performance 
                                standards and other relevant 
                                specifications for those products; and
                                    ``(VII) if applicable, the 
                                procurement requirement or updated 
                                procurement requirement established 
                                under paragraph (2)(A)(i) that the 
                                procuring agency failed to meet and 
                                reasons for the failure; and''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(D) Verification.--The Office of Federal 
                Procurement Policy, in consultation with the Secretary, 
                shall--
                            ``(i) annually collect the information 
                        required to be reported under subparagraph (B) 
                        and make the information publicly available; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) annually verify, using the 
                        information collected under subparagraph (B), 
                        that each procuring agency under paragraph 
                        (2)(A)(i), as applicable, has established a 
                        procurement program in accordance with 
                        subclause (I) of that paragraph.
                    ``(E) Training.--
                            ``(i) In general.--Not later than 2 years 
                        after the date of enactment of this 
                        subparagraph, each procuring agency shall have 
                        completed training on biobased product 
                        purchasing for the appropriate staff of the 
                        procuring agency, including contracting 
                        officers, purchase card managers, and purchase 
                        card holders.
                            ``(ii) Materials.--The Office of Federal 
                        Procurement Policy, in cooperation with the 
                        Secretary, shall provide training materials for 
                        procuring agencies conducting training pursuant 
                        to clause (i).
                    ``(F) Federal catalog updates.--Not later than 2 
                years after the date of the enactment of this 
                subparagraph, the Administrator for Federal Procurement 
                Policy, in cooperation with the Secretary, shall--
                            ``(i) direct the Administrator of General 
                        Services to update the Federal Procurement Data 
                        System described in section 1122(a)(4) of title 
                        41, United States Code, or any successor 
                        system, to include biobased product 
                        designations;
                            ``(ii) direct that the System for Award 
                        Management collect biobased product purchasing 
                        data;
                            ``(iii) direct that Federal online 
                        procurement systems, including GSA Advantage! 
                        and FedMall, include designations for products 
                        that meet the guidelines under paragraph (3);
                            ``(iv) require, to the maximum extent 
                        practicable, that Federal online procurement 
                        systems, including GSA Advantage! and FedMall, 
                        use North American Industry Classification 
                        System codes, North American Product 
                        Classification System-based product codes, and 
                        other product codes, as determined in 
                        consultation with the Secretary, when 
                        identifying products that meet the guidelines 
                        under paragraph (3); and
                            ``(v) require agencies with online Federal 
                        sales platforms to include reporting of these 
                        purchases in their reporting on products that 
                        meet the guidelines under paragraph (3).'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end the 
                following:
                    ``(C) Regulations.--The Secretary shall promulgate 
                such regulations as the Secretary determines to be 
                appropriate to ensure the integrity of the label 
                described in paragraph (1), including regulations to 
                define additional terms necessary to avoid or reduce 
                public confusion relating to the label.
                    ``(D) Unauthorized use.--Not later than 120 days 
                after the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the 
                Secretary shall, in coordination with the Inspector 
                General of the Department of Agriculture, notify the 
                public of how to report an instance of unauthorized use 
                of the label described in paragraph (1).''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Public marketing and education.--The Secretary may 
        conduct outreach to educate the public on and promote the use 
        of biobased products, including by--
                    ``(A) conducting outreach to small businesses 
                producing biobased products that seek a label under 
                this subsection;
                    ``(B) providing information about biobased product 
                procurement preferences to State procurement agencies; 
                and
                    ``(C) establishing public-private partnerships to 
                further increase awareness and use of biobased 
                products.
            ``(6) Acceptance and use of contributions.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary may establish an 
                account to accept contributions of non-Federal funds to 
                carry out public marketing and education under 
                paragraph (5).
                    ``(B) Deposit and use of contributions.--
                Contributions of non-Federal funds received to carry 
                out the activities under paragraph (5) shall--
                            ``(i) be deposited into the account 
                        established under this paragraph for those 
                        activities;
                            ``(ii) be available to and subject to the 
                        control of the Secretary, without further 
                        appropriation and until expended, to carry out 
                        those activities; and
                            ``(iii) supplement any funding made 
                        available under subsection (k) and allocated by 
                        the Secretary for those activities.
            ``(7) Report.--Not later than December 31, 2024, and 
        annually thereafter, the Secretary shall make publicly 
        available on the website of the Department of Agriculture and 
        submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 
        of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
        Representatives a report that includes--
                    ``(A) a list of the biobased products that were 
                authorized to use the label described in paragraph (1) 
                during the preceding fiscal year;
                    ``(B) a description of the audit and compliance 
                activities conducted under paragraph (3)(B) during the 
                preceding fiscal year, including any findings of 
                noncompliance and any actions taken by the Secretary to 
                address the noncompliance;
                    ``(C)(i) a description of the public marketing and 
                education conducted by the Secretary under paragraph 
                (5); and
                    ``(ii) a plan for conducting public marketing and 
                education under that paragraph for the following two 
                fiscal years that is designed to increase the use of 
                the label described in paragraph (1) and the purchase 
                of biobased products; and
                    ``(D) the total amount of contributions of non-
                Federal funds accepted into the account established 
                under paragraph (6).'';
            (3) in subsection (f)(1), in the matter preceding 
        subparagraph (A), by striking ``The Secretary and the Secretary 
        of Commerce shall jointly'' and inserting ``The Secretary of 
        Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary, shall'';
            (4) in subsection (j)(3)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)--
                            (i) in clause (v), by striking ``; and'' 
                        and inserting ``, including greenhouse gas 
                        emissions reduced and avoided;'';
                            (ii) in clause (vi), by striking the period 
                        at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                            ``(vii) identifying available industry 
                        methodologies to establish a lifecycle 
                        greenhouse gas emissions assessment methodology 
                        for biobased products.''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``this 
                subparagraph'' and inserting ``the Biomanufacturing and 
                Jobs Act and every 5 years thereafter'';
            (5) in subsection (k), by striking ``2023'' each place it 
        appears and inserting ``2028''; and
            (6) in subsection (l)--
                    (A) by striking ``In this section'' and inserting 
                the following:
            ``(1) In general.--In this section''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Standard.--The Secretary shall use the most recent 
        version of the ASTM-D-6866 standard of ASTM International to 
        determine the contents of biobased products.''.

SEC. 4. BIOBASED TASK FORCE.

    Title IX of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 is 
amended by inserting after section 9003 (7 U.S.C. 8103) the following:

``SEC. 9004. BIOBASED TASK FORCE.

    ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a task force 
(referred to in this section as the `task force')--
            ``(1) to coordinate programs and activities within the 
        Department of Agriculture relating to the research, 
        development, promotion, marketing, and analysis of biobased 
        products, including to support the use of agricultural 
        commodities and forest products in biobased products;
            ``(2) to maximize the resources allocated towards the 
        research, development, promotion, marketing, and analysis of 
        biobased products by the Department of Agriculture;
            ``(3) to determine the effectiveness of the programs and 
        activities described in paragraph (1); and
            ``(4) to make recommendations for improvements to those 
        programs and activities.
    ``(b) Membership.--The task force shall be composed of not less 
than 1 representative from each of the following mission areas or 
offices of the Department of Agriculture:
            ``(1) The rural development mission area.
            ``(2) The National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
            ``(3) The Economic Research Service.
            ``(4) The Agricultural Research Service.
            ``(5) The National Agricultural Statistics Service.
            ``(6) The Office of the Chief Scientist.
            ``(7) The Office of the Chief Economist.
            ``(8) The Office of Energy Policy and New Uses.
            ``(9) Any other mission area or office with 
        responsibilities relating to the research, development, 
        promotion, marketing, or analysis of biobased products.
    ``(c) Lead Mission Area.--The rural development mission area of the 
Department of Agriculture shall be the lead mission area for the task 
force.
    ``(d) Process for Public Input.--The task force shall establish a 
process for public input to help inform the determination of the task 
force under subsection (a)(3) of the effectiveness of the programs and 
activities described in subsection (a)(1).
    ``(e) Study and Report.--
            ``(1) In general.--The task force shall conduct a study 
        that--
                    ``(A) identifies any existing programs and 
                activities of the Department of Agriculture that may 
                offer new opportunities to advance the research, 
                development, promotion, marketing, and analysis of 
                biobased products; and
                    ``(B) describes those new opportunities and how 
                those programs and activities may be used to advance 
                and support the research, development, promotion, 
                marketing, and analysis of biobased products.
            ``(2) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date of 
        enactment of the Biomanufacturing and Jobs Act, the task force 
        shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
        Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the 
        House of Representatives a report that describes--
                    ``(A) a summary of the work conducted by the task 
                force;
                    ``(B) the findings of the study conducted under 
                paragraph (1); and
                    ``(C) recommendations for improvements to the 
                programs and activities described in subsection (a)(1) 
                and identified under paragraph (1)(A).
    ``(f) Termination.--The task force shall terminate on the date that 
is 4 years after the date of enactment of the Biomanufacturing and Jobs 
Act.
    ``(g) Nonapplicability.--Chapter 10 of title 5, United States Code, 
shall not apply to the task force.''.
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