I 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Emergency Pine Beetle 

5 Response Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. EMERGENCY MEASURES IN RESPONSE TO PINE 

7 BEETLE OUTBREAKS. 

8 Section 407 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 

9 (16 U.S.C. 2206) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub2 section (f); and 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(e) EMERGENCY MEASURES IN RESPONSE TO PINE

6 BEETLE OUTBREAKS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

8 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE ITEMIZED COSTS.—The 

9 term ‘eligible itemized costs’ means expenses in10 curred by a timber service business in carrying 

11 out contractual services associated with out12 break response measures, including— 

13 ‘‘(i) labor or hours for truck drivers or 

14 equipment operators; 

15 ‘‘(ii) mileage or hours for use of 

16 equipment, such as transports, bulldozers, 

17 and skidders; and 

18 ‘‘(iii) materials, such as gravel, grass 

19 seed, culverts, and mats. 

20 ‘‘(B) OUTBREAK RESPONSE MEASURES.— 

21 The term ‘outbreak response measures’ means 

22 measures necessary to address pine beetle out23 breaks on nonindustrial private forest land, in24 cluding— 

25 ‘‘(i) timber harvesting or thinning; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) prescribed burning; 

2 ‘‘(iii) debris removal; 

3 ‘‘(iv) insecticide treatment; 

4 ‘‘(v) establishment of buffer areas; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(vi) such other measures as the Sec7 retary determines to be appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(C) TIMBER SERVICE BUSINESS.—The 

9 term ‘timber service business’ means a business 

10 that derives gross revenue from— 

11 ‘‘(i) cutting or transporting timber 

12 from forest land; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) inspecting, planting, pruning, or 

14 removing trees in residential or commercial 

15 areas. 

16 ‘‘(2) ASSISTANCE FOR OWNERS OF NONINDUS17 TRIAL PRIVATE FOREST LAND.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

19 make payments to an owner of nonindustrial 

20 private forest land who carries out outbreak re21 sponse measures to restore forest health and 

22 forest-related resources after the land is dam23 aged by a pine beetle outbreak. 

24 ‘‘(B) COST SHARE REQUIREMENT.—Pay25 ments made under subparagraph (A) shall not 


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1 exceed 85 percent of the total cost of the out2 break response measures carried out by an 

3 owner of nonindustrial private forest land. 

4 ‘‘(3) ASSISTANCE FOR TIMBER SERVICE BUSI5 NESSES.— 

6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

7 make payments to a timber service business to 

8 cover eligible itemized costs incurred in carrying 

9 out contractual services associated with out10 break response measures to restore forest 

11 health and forest-related resources on nonindus12 trial private forest land after the land is dam13 aged by a pine beetle outbreak. 

14 ‘‘(B) COST SHARE REQUIREMENT.—Pay15 ments made under subparagraph (A) shall not 

16 exceed 50 percent of the total eligible itemized 

17 costs incurred by a timber service business. 

18 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBILITY AND PROVISION OF PAY19 MENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a 

21 payment under paragraph (2) or (3), an owner 

22 of nonindustrial private forest land or a timber 

23 service business, respectively, shall submit to 

24 the applicable local office of the Farm Service 

25 Agency an application demonstrating that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) to the satisfaction of the local of2 fice, the nonindustrial private forest land 

3 on which the outbreak response measures 

4 are carried out had tree cover immediately 

5 before the pine beetle outbreak; 

6 ‘‘(ii) the nonindustrial private forest 

7 land is located in a county that the Sec8 retary has designated as a primary natural 

9 disaster area due to drought in the most 

10 recent calendar year; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) forest pest surveys conducted by 

12 the Forest Service or a State forestry 

13 agency confirm pine beetle infestations on 

14 or within a reasonable distance from the 

15 nonindustrial private forest land on which 

16 the outbreak response measures are car17 ried out. 

18 ‘‘(B) IMPLEMENTATION BY LOCAL OF19 FICES.—The local offices of the Farm Service 

20 Agency, in consultation with the applicable 

21 county committees of the Farm Service Agency, 

22 shall— 

23 ‘‘(i) determine whether applicants for 

24 payments under paragraphs (2) and (3) 

25 are eligible for the payments; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) provide payments to eligible ap2 plicants. 

3 ‘‘(5) EMERGENCY OUTBREAK PUBLIC ASSIST4 ANCE GRANTS.—The Secretary may provide supple5 mental grants to State, Tribal, and local govern6 ments to aid in the response to, and repair of dam7 age caused by, pine beetle outbreaks.’’. 

8 SEC. 3. EMERGENCY LOANS. 

9 Section 321 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De10 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1961) is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub12 section (e); and 

13 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(d) LOANS TO OWNERS OF NONINDUSTRIAL PRI16 VATE FOREST LAND.— 

17 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

18 ‘‘(A) NONINDUSTRIAL PRIVATE FOREST

19 LAND.—The term ‘nonindustrial private forest 

20 land’ has the meaning given the term in section 

21 407(a) of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 

22 (16 U.S.C. 2206(a)). 

23 ‘‘(B) OUTBREAK RESPONSE MEASURES.— 

24 The term ‘outbreak response measures’ has the 

25 meaning given the term in section 407(e)(1) of 


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1 the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 

2 2206(e)(1)). 

3 ‘‘(2) LOANS.—Notwithstanding any other provi4 sion of this subtitle, the Secretary may make an 

5 emergency loan to an owner of nonindustrial private 

6 forest land to carry out outbreak response measures. 

7 ‘‘(3) AMOUNT.—The amount of an emergency 

8 loan under this subsection shall be not less than 75 

9 percent of the estimated total cost of the outbreak 

10 response measures to be carried out to address a 

11 pine beetle outbreak. 

12 ‘‘(4) LOAN REPAYMENT OPTIONS.—In the case 

13 of an owner of nonindustrial private forest land who 

14 receives an emergency loan under this subsection 

15 and subsequently receives a cost-share payment 

16 under section 407(e)(2) of the Agricultural Credit 

17 Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2206(e)(2)) with respect to 

18 the same pine beetle outbreak on the same land, the 

19 owner may, at the option of the owner, apply the 

20 amount of the cost-share payment to the remaining 

21 principal on the emergency loan.’’. 

Æ 


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