| Title XI: Crop Insurance | |||
Title IX: Energy
What it does: The 2018 farm bill was the fourth to contain an energy title, with total spending estimated at $428 million over the life of the legislation, or 0.1% of the total cost, according to the Congressional Research Service.
What it costs: Not counting IRA funding, $500 million of the projected 10-year cost of farm bill programs through 2033.
What’s in play: The bulk of the funding, 87%, goes to the popular Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and the Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance program.
REAP, which provides loans and grants for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, got $250 million over five years and then $2 billion in funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. The IRA money must be spent before fiscal 2032 under the budget reconciliation rules used to pass that legislation. House Republicans are trying to use the fiscal 2024 appropriations process to reduce the IRA funding and limit its use to loans.
Three other programs have no funding beyond 2023: Biorefinery Assistance, the Bioengineered Program for Advanced Biofuels and the Biobased Markets Program, according to the Congressional Research Service.
The title has long been a priority for Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., who is not running for re-election in 2024.
Notable marker bills:
S.1495 – The HEAT Act, led by Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., would allow REAP to be used for industrial heat pumps.
