EESI Co-Signs Letter in Support of Farm Bill’s Clean Energy Programs

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute has joined more than 130 other national, regional and state stakeholder groups in urging Congress to quickly adopt a five-year Farm Bill that re-authorizes rural clean energy programs and provides $900 million in mandatory funding for them. The Farm Bill's Energy Title, as it is known, promotes rural development through energy efficiency, renewable energy, and investments in domestic bioenergy. Investing in bioenergy and energy efficiency can reduce America's dependence on oil and create jobs in struggling rural areas across the country.

The United States "is experiencing strong growth in the development and commercialization of biofuels, bioproducts, biopower, biogas, energy crops, renewable energy, renewable chemicals and energy efficiency," says the letter, which was spearheaded by the 25x'25 Alliance , the Ag Energy Coalition , and the Environmental Law and Policy Center . "These important and growing industries all benefit agriculture and forestry and are poised to make huge contributions to our economic, environmental and national security in the coming years, provided that we maintain stable policies that support clean energy manufacturing and innovation."

The energy programs in question use a modest amount of federal money to leverage billions of dollars in private investment, creating thousands of jobs in the process. They include the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), Biorefinery Assistance Program (BAP) and Biobased Markets Program (Biopreferred). These energy programs represented only 0.7 percent of overall spending in the 2008 Farm Bill, and yet every single state benefited from them and they helped rural communities cut input costs and diversify incomes.

The Senate and House have passed two different Farm Bills, which must now be merged into one. Representatives from the two chambers began conference negotiations on October 30 in order to iron out the differences. If Congress does not pass a new Farm Bill by January 1, 2014, certain parts of federal agricultural policy will revert back to 1940s-era regulations and price levels.

For more information

• "Farm Bill Energy Title Support Letter," co-signed by EESI.

   

• "Farm Bill negotiations to begin next week," Washington Post

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