No official summary available for this bill.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8024 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8024
To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to authorize assistance
for emergency measures in response to pine beetle outbreaks, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 16, 2024
Mr. Kelly of Mississippi (for himself, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr.
Guest, and Mr. Ezell) introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 to authorize assistance
for emergency measures in response to pine beetle outbreaks, 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 ``Emergency Pine Beetle Response Act
of 2024''.
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY MEASURES IN RESPONSE TO PINE BEETLE OUTBREAKS.
Section 407 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2206)
is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
``(e) Emergency Measures in Response to Pine Beetle Outbreaks.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Eligible itemized costs.--The term `eligible
itemized costs' means expenses incurred by a timber
service business in carrying out contractual services
associated with outbreak response measures, including--
``(i) labor or hours for truck drivers or
equipment operators;
``(ii) mileage or hours for use of
equipment, such as transports, bulldozers, and
skidders; and
``(iii) materials, such as gravel, grass
seed, culverts, and mats.
``(B) Outbreak response measures.--The term
`outbreak response measures' means measures necessary
to address pine beetle outbreaks on nonindustrial
private forest land, including--
``(i) timber harvesting or thinning;
``(ii) prescribed burning;
``(iii) debris removal;
``(iv) insecticide treatment;
``(v) establishment of buffer areas; and
``(vi) such other measures as the Secretary
determines to be appropriate.
``(C) Timber service business.--The term `timber
service business' means a business that derives gross
revenue from--
``(i) cutting or transporting timber from
forest land; or
``(ii) inspecting, planting, pruning, or
removing trees in residential or commercial
areas.
``(2) Assistance for owners of nonindustrial private forest
land.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall make
payments to an owner of nonindustrial private forest
land who carries out outbreak response measures to
restore forest health and forest-related resources
after the land is damaged by a pine beetle outbreak.
``(B) Cost share requirement.--Payments made under
subparagraph (A) shall not exceed 85 percent of the
total cost of the outbreak response measures carried
out by an owner of nonindustrial private forest land.
``(3) Assistance for timber service businesses.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall make
payments to a timber service business to cover eligible
itemized costs incurred in carrying out contractual
services associated with outbreak response measures to
restore forest health and forest-related resources on
nonindustrial private forest land after the land is
damaged by a pine beetle outbreak.
``(B) Cost share requirement.--Payments made under
subparagraph (A) shall not exceed 50 percent of the
total eligible itemized costs incurred by a timber
service business.
``(4) Eligibility and provision of payments.--
``(A) Eligibility.--To be eligible for a payment
under paragraph (2) or (3), an owner of nonindustrial
private forest land or a timber service business,
respectively, shall submit to the applicable local
office of the Farm Service Agency an application
demonstrating that--
``(i) to the satisfaction of the local
office, the nonindustrial private forest land
on which the outbreak response measures are
carried out had tree cover immediately before
the pine beetle outbreak;
``(ii) the nonindustrial private forest
land is located in a county that the Secretary
has designated as a primary natural disaster
area due to drought in the most recent calendar
year; and
``(iii) forest pest surveys conducted by
the Forest Service or a State forestry agency
confirm pine beetle infestations on or within a
reasonable distance from the nonindustrial
private forest land on which the outbreak
response measures are carried out.
``(B) Implementation by local offices.--The local
offices of the Farm Service Agency, in consultation
with the applicable county committees of the Farm
Service Agency, shall--
``(i) determine whether applicants for
payments under paragraphs (2) and (3) are
eligible for the payments; and
``(ii) provide payments to eligible
applicants.
``(5) Emergency outbreak public assistance grants.--The
Secretary may provide supplemental grants to State, Tribal, and
local governments to aid in the response to, and repair of
damage caused by, pine beetle outbreaks.''.
SEC. 3. EMERGENCY LOANS.
Section 321 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7
U.S.C. 1961) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
``(d) Loans to Owners of Nonindustrial Private Forest Land.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Nonindustrial private forest land.--The term
`nonindustrial private forest land' has the meaning
given the term in section 407(a) of the Agricultural
Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2206(a)).
``(B) Outbreak response measures.--The term
`outbreak response measures' has the meaning given the
term in section 407(e)(1) of the Agricultural Credit
Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2206(e)(1)).
``(2) Loans.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this
subtitle, the Secretary may make an emergency loan to an owner
of nonindustrial private forest land to carry out outbreak
response measures.
``(3) Amount.--The amount of an emergency loan under this
subsection shall be not less than 75 percent of the estimated
total cost of the outbreak response measures to be carried out
to address a pine beetle outbreak.
``(4) Loan repayment options.--In the case of an owner of
nonindustrial private forest land who receives an emergency
loan under this subsection and subsequently receives a cost-
share payment under section 407(e)(2) of the Agricultural
Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2206(e)(2)) with respect to the
same pine beetle outbreak on the same land, the owner may, at
the option of the owner, apply the amount of the cost-share
payment to the remaining principal on the emergency loan.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Forestry.
Referred to the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit.
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