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[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2872 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2872
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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 18 (legislative day, September 16), 2025
Mrs. Hyde-Smith (for herself, Mr. Ossoff, Mrs. Britt, Mr. Kennedy, Mr.
Tuberville, and Ms. Lummis) introduced the following bill; which was
read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
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 2025''.
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 any expenses incurred by a timber
service business in carrying out a contractual service
associated with an outbreak response measure,
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, mats, and insecticides.
``(B) Outbreak response measure.--The term
`outbreak response measure' means any measure necessary
to address a pine beetle outbreak 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 a residential or commercial
area.
``(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 that carries out an outbreak response measure 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 the
eligible itemized costs of the timber service business
incurred in restoring 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, wildfire, hurricane or
excessive winds, an ice storm or blizzard, a
flood, or any other resource-impacting event
during the preceding 12-month period; 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 the repair of
damage caused by, pine beetle outbreaks.''.
SEC. 3. EMERGENCY LOANS.
(a) In General.--Section 321 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1961) is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (d);
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) by inserting ``(7 U.S.C. 2266(a))'' before the
period at the end; and
(B) by striking ``(c) The Secretary'' and inserting
the following:
``(d) Family Farm System.--The Secretary'';
(3) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c);
(4) by striking the section designation and all that
follows through ``(a) The Secretary'' in subsection (a) and
inserting the following:
``SEC. 321. DEFINITIONS; ELIGIBILITY FOR LOANS.
``(a) Definitions.--In this subtitle:
``(1) Able to obtain sufficient credit elsewhere.--The term
`able to obtain sufficient credit elsewhere', with respect to
an applicant, means that the applicant is able to obtain
sufficient credit elsewhere to finance the actual needs of the
applicant at a reasonable rate and terms, taking into
consideration prevailing private and cooperative rates and
terms in the community in or near which the applicant resides
for loans for similar purposes and periods of time.
``(2) Aquaculture.--The term `aquaculture' means the
husbandry of aquatic organisms under a controlled or selected
environment.
``(b) Eligible Persons.--The Secretary''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
``(e) 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 measure.--The term
`outbreak response measure' has the meaning given the
term in subsection (e)(1) of section 407 of the
Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2206).
``(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 an outbreak
response measure.
``(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 that receives an emergency
loan under this subsection and subsequently receives a cost-
share payment under subsection (e)(2) of section 407 of the
Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2206) with respect
to the same pine beetle outbreak on the same nonindustrial
private forest 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 under this subsection.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 531(a) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7
U.S.C. 1531(a)) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (16), by striking ``section 321(a)
of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7
U.S.C. 1961(a))'' and inserting ``section 321(b) of the
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C.
1961(b))''; and
(B) in paragraph (18), by striking ``section
2501(e) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and
Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(e))'' and inserting
``section 2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture,
Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C.
2279(a))''.
(2) Section 324(d)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1964(d)(1)) is amended, in the first
sentence, by striking ``section 321(b) of this title'' and
inserting ``section 321(c)''.
(3) Section 901(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C.
2497(a)) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (5), by redesignating clauses (i)
through (iii) as subparagraphs (A) through (C),
respectively, and indenting the subparagraphs
appropriately;
(B) in paragraph (16), by striking ``section 321(a)
of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7
U.S.C. 1961(a))'' and inserting ``section 321(b) of the
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C.
1961(b))''; and
(C) in paragraph (18), by striking ``section
2501(e) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and
Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(e))'' and inserting
``section 2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture,
Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C.
2279(a))''.
(4) Section 582(d)(1) of the National Flood Insurance
Reform Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 5154a(d)(1)) is amended by
striking ``section 321(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1961(a))'' and inserting ``section
321(b) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7
U.S.C. 1961(b))''.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
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