II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3399 

To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to guarantee investments that 

will open new markets for forest owners in rural areas of the United 

States, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 5, 2023 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mr. BRAUN, and Ms. STABENOW) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to guarantee investments that will open new markets for forest owners 

in rural areas of the United States, 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 ‘‘Rural Forest Markets 

5 Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. RURAL FOREST MARKET INVESTMENT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) COVERED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘covered en2 tity’’ means an eligible entity for which a bond, loan, 

3 or other investment vehicle is guaranteed under the 

4 program. 

5 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti6 ty’’ means a private entity, State forestry agency, or 

7 publicly supported, charitable nonprofit organization 

8 described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Rev9 enue Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under 

10 section 501(a) of that Code engaged in or seeking to 

11 engage in the aggregation of sustainable forestry 

12 practices implemented by rural private forest land13 owners to facilitate the sale of environmental credits 

14 in voluntary environmental credit markets. 

15 (3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

16 the Rural Forest Market Investment Program estab17 lished under subsection (b)(1). 

18 (4) RURAL.—The term ‘‘rural’’ has the mean19 ing given the term in section 343(a) of the Consoli20 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

21 1991(a)). 

22 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

23 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

24 (6) VOLUNTARY ENVIRONMENTAL CREDIT MAR25 KET.—The term ‘‘voluntary environmental credit 


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1 market’’ means a voluntary market through which 

2 environmental credits may be bought or sold. 

3 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

5 a program, to be known as the ‘‘Rural Forest Mar6 ket Investment Program’’, to guarantee environ7 mental impact bonds, loans, or other investment ve8 hicles, as determined by the Secretary, issued for the 

9 sole purpose of financing eligible projects described 

10 in subsection (c), to enable rural private forest land11 owners and covered entities to participate in vol12 untary environmental credit markets. 

13 (2) ADMINISTRATION.— 

14 (A) LOAN GUARANTEES.—The Secretary 

15 shall make available and administer guarantees 

16 on environmental impact bonds, loans, or other 

17 investment vehicles, as determined by the Sec18 retary, through the facilities and authorities of 

19 the Under Secretary for Rural Development. 

20 (B) FORESTRY RELATED MATTERS.— 

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

22 carry out through the facilities and au23 thorities of the Under Secretary for Nat24 ural Resources and Environment the re25 quirements and administration under this 


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1 section of matters relating to forests, for2 estry, tree planting activities, forest prod3 uct markets, the timber supply, appro4 priate activities to develop and carry out 

5 an eligible project, and activities to facili6 tate the participation of a rural private 

7 forest landowner or a covered entity in vol8 untary environmental credit markets, and 

9 as otherwise provided in this section, as 

10 determined appropriate by the Secretary. 

11 (ii) COLLABORATION.—The Under 

12 Secretary for Natural Resources and Envi13 ronment shall collaborate with the Under 

14 Secretary for Rural Development, includ15 ing by providing information and technical 

16 assistance, to ensure that the making and 

17 administration of guarantees under this 

18 section is fully informed by the matters de19 scribed in clause (i) and as otherwise pro20 vided in this section, as determined appro21 priate by the Secretary. 

22 (3) CONSIDERATION.—In establishing the pro23 gram, the Secretary shall consider ways to ensure 

24 that the program— 


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1 (A) minimizes disruptions to traditional 

2 forest products markets, including by— 

3 (i) collecting data on commercially 

4 available timber that serves wood proc5 essing facilities, including— 

6 (I) the quantity and species of 

7 timber supply available to wood prod8 ucts facilities in each of the 4 regions 

9 described in the most recent Renew10 able Resource Assessment prepared 

11 under section 3 of the Forest and 

12 Rangeland Renewable Resources 

13 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 

14 1601); and 

15 (II) any additional information, 

16 as identified by the Secretary; and 

17 (ii) using data collected under clause 

18 (i) to make a determination on whether fi19 nancing each eligible project described in 

20 subsection (c) may impact commercially 

21 available timber supply; 

22 (B) allows for the continued production of 

23 sustainable timber supplies by utilizing meth24 odologies that consider the carbon storage bene25 fits of wood products; 


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1 (C) allows for landowners who are not cur2 rently involved in traditional forest products 

3 markets, including those who have not histori4 cally accessed Department of Agriculture assist5 ance programs, to participate in the program 

6 through activities such as conservation ease7 ments, reforestation, and other appropriate ac8 tivities, as determined by the Secretary; 

9 (D) facilitates participation opportunities 

10 for forest landowners, and ensures program ac11 cess for those who have not historically accessed 

12 Department of Agriculture assistance programs; 

13 and 

14 (E) is carried out in a manner that in15 creases forestland values for participating land16 owners in ways that enable landowners of 

17 small-acreage forests to maintain— 

18 (i) ownership of the land in the family 

19 of the landowner; and 

20 (ii) forest use of the land. 

21 (c) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), an 

23 eligible project referred to in subsection (b)(1) is a 

24 project developed by an eligible entity using meth25 odologies that, as determined by the Secretary— 


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1 (A) are approved by a credible, third-party 

2 entity; and 

3 (B) meet global benchmarks for high-integ4 rity. 

5 (2) USES OF FINANCING.— 

6 (A) IN GENERAL.—A covered entity shall 

7 use the bond, loan, or other investment vehicle 

8 guaranteed for the covered entity under the 

9 program for appropriate activities to develop 

10 and carry out an eligible project described in 

11 paragraph (1), as determined by the Secretary. 

12 (B) ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR CERTAIN

13 ORGANIZATIONS.—In the case of a bond, loan, 

14 or other investment vehicle guaranteed under 

15 the program that supports an eligible project 

16 described in paragraph (1), the Secretary may 

17 allow a portion of the amount of the bond, loan, 

18 or other investment vehicle to cover additional 

19 activities to facilitate the participation of the 

20 covered entity or a rural private forest land21 owner in voluntary environmental credit mar22 kets. 

23 (C) PROHIBITION.—A bond, loan, or other 

24 investment vehicle guaranteed under the pro25 gram shall not be used to create a floor price 


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1 or artificial demand for the environmental cred2 its generated under eligible projects described 

3 in paragraph (1). 

4 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—A project described in sub5 section (c) that includes the practice of tree planting may 

6 only be carried out, as determined by the Secretary— 

7 (1) on land that was historically forested, as de8 termined based on— 

9 (A) data collected through the Forest In10 ventory and Analysis Program of the Forest 

11 Service; and 

12 (B) other appropriate scientific resources, 

13 as determined by the Secretary; 

14 (2) using tree species that are native to the re15 gion and at ecologically appropriate densities; and 

16 (3) in a manner that does not create other neg17 ative impacts to biodiversity or the environment. 

18 (e) GUARANTEE AMOUNT.—With respect to bonds, 

19 loans, and other investment vehicles guaranteed under the 

20 program, the Secretary shall guarantee not more than 

21 $150,000,000 in the aggregate. 

22 (f) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

23 (1) APPRAISALS.—The Secretary may require 

24 an appraisal of an eligible entity requesting a guar25 antee under the program, including to assess the 


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1 creditworthiness of the eligible entity, by a special2 ized appraiser that uses standards that are similar 

3 to standards used for similar purposes in the private 

4 sector, as determined by the Secretary. 

5 (2) FINANCIAL INFORMATION.—The Secretary 

6 may require financial information from an eligible 

7 entity requesting a guarantee under the program in 

8 the same manner as is generally required by com9 mercial lenders. 

10 (g) AUDITING.—Not less frequently than annually, 

11 the Secretary shall conduct audits of each eligible project 

12 financed under the program to ensure that the method13 ology used with respect to the project continues to comply 

14 with the standards determined by the Secretary under 

15 subparagraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (c)(1). 

16 (h) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

18 regulations to implement the program. 

19 (i) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—The authority to 

20 guarantee a new bond, loan, or other investment vehicle 

21 under this section terminates on September 30, 2028. 

Æ 


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