I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7482 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a program to award 

grants to eligible entities to carry out projects that further agricultural 

resiliency and modernization, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 2, 2020 

Mr. HARDER of California (for himself, Mr. COX of California, Mr. COSTA, 

Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, and Mr. PANETTA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out a program 

to award grants to eligible entities to carry out projects 

that further agricultural resiliency and modernization, 

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 ‘‘Future of Agricultural 

5 Resiliency And Modernization Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 


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1 (1) The evidence for human-induced climate 

2 change is undeniable and our agricultural commu3 nities are increasingly experiencing the impacts of 

4 climate change. 

5 (2) The volatility of weather patterns, ranging 

6 from more frequent and severe droughts, floods, and 

7 wildfires can negatively impact agricultural produc8 tivity. 

9 (3) Rural communities, that often lack federal 

10 and state resources, are especially vulnerable to the 

11 impacts of climate change, such as revenue losses, 

12 hours lost at work, and infrastructure damages. 

13 (4) Climate resilient practices and technologies 

14 are needed to help save Federal, State, and local 

15 taxpayers money. These technologies include manure 

16 resource recovery systems, which recover the nutri17 ents contained in organic matter from their source 

18 help protect water quality. 

19 (5) The need for measures that promote energy 

20 and water use efficiency, conservation, and renew21 able energy will greatly reduce the adverse impacts 

22 of climate change. 

23 (6) Many farmers and agricultural producers 

24 are currently utilizing environmentally beneficial 

25 practices that also better their production costs. 


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1 (7) Excessive heat exposure poses a direct 

2 threat to farm workers and the economy. Climate 

3 change increases this danger, as 18 of the 19 hottest 

4 years on record have occurred since 2001. Rising 

5 temperatures are projected to cause an increase in 

6 heat-related workplace injuries, illnesses, loss in 

7 labor capacity, and decreased productivity. In light 

8 of these findings, the Federal government has an ob9 ligation to protect farmworkers, outdoor workers, 

10 and employers in the United States from climate 

11 change. 

12 (8) The Department of Agriculture should use 

13 research and development programs to make dairy 

14 digesters more affordable while mitigating environ15 mental effects. Further, the Department should pro16 vide technical assistance, community support, and fi17 nancial incentives and grants for farmers to partner 

18 together to build cooperative digester models. The 

19 Department should use cross-agency collaborative 

20 models and utilize existing Federal programs, such 

21 as the Environmental Protection Agency’s AgSTAR 

22 program to increase farmer access and engagement 

23 in these efforts. 

24 (9) The Department should engage in partner25 ships with other Federal agencies to control invasive 


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1 species, in a manner that protects the environment, 

2 infrastructure, and agricultural lands in the United 

3 States. 

4 (10) Federal assistance is needed to help farm5 ing practices become more resilient and sustainable 

6 for the long-term. 

7 SEC. 3. FUTURE OF AGRICULTURAL RESILIENCY AND MOD8 ERNIZATION FUND. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

10 (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall carry 

11 out a program to award grants to eligible entities to carry 

12 out projects for a qualified purpose. 

13 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity eligible to re14 ceive a grant under this section is— 

15 (1) a Federal agency; 

16 (2) a State or a group of States; 

17 (3) a unit of local government or a group of 

18 local governments; 

19 (4) an irrigation district; 

20 (5) a Tribal government or a consortium of 

21 Tribal governments; 

22 (6) a State or regional transit agency or a 

23 group of State or regional transit agencies; 

24 (7) a nonprofit organization; 


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1 (8) a special purpose district or public author2 ity; 

3 (9) a third-party private entity, the primary 

4 business of which is related to agriculture (as deter5 mined by the Secretary); and 

6 (10) any other entity, as determined by the Sec7 retary. 

8 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity selected to re9 ceive a grant under this section may use funds received 

10 through the grant to carry out projects that further agri11 cultural resiliency and modernization through— 

12 (1) reducing greenhouse gas emissions and in13 creasing resilience in the agricultural sector; 

14 (2) increasing carbon sequestration; 

15 (3) improving soil health; 

16 (4) providing multiple benefits, including water 

17 supply reliability, ecosystem preservation, ground18 water management and enhancements, and water 

19 quality improvements; 

20 (5) in accordance with state and federal law, 

21 expediting projects with a focus in renewable energy, 

22 including biofuels; 

23 (6) incorporating collaborative partnerships that 

24 involve local communities in project planning on ecoVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7482.IH H7482

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1 nomic and social benefits of sustainable agricultural 

2 production; 

3 (7) investing in climate-resilient infrastructure 

4 and technology; 

5 (8) converting plant wastes into higher value 

6 biocarbon products, including practices like pyrol7 ysis; 

8 (9) improving air and water quality, including 

9 pollutants and odors, with dairy digesters and non10 digester manure management practices and tech11 nologies; 

12 (10) supporting clean air, water, climate, and a 

13 sustainable environment helping develop local and 

14 national resilience strategies against droughts, 

15 wildfires, and floods; 

16 (11) supporting and funding purchases of 

17 cleaner and lower emission agriculture-related equip18 ment like harvesting equipment, heavy-duty trucks, 

19 agricultural pump engines, tractors, and other 

20 equipment used in agricultural operations; and 

21 (12) increasing research on the most effective 

22 methods of eradicating and controlling invasive spe23 cies and pests, such as nutria. 


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1 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

2 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

3 $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025. 

4 SEC. 4. PYROLYSIS INNOVATION FUND GRANT PROGRAM. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall 

6 establish a program under which the Secretary will award 

7 grants to eligible entities to carry out not fewer than 10 

8 pilot projects, with the potential to reduce or sequester 

9 greenhouse emissions that convert and valorize tree nut 

10 harvest by-products and waste into multiple higher value 

11 biocarbon products, including sustainable industrial appli12 cations, agrochemicals, repurposing process heat, energy 

13 and construction materials. 

14 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY DEFINED.—The term ‘‘eligible 

15 entity’’ means— 

16 (1) a third-party private entity, the primary 

17 business of which is related to agriculture (as deter18 mined by the Secretary); 

19 (2) a nongovernmental organization with experi20 ence working with agricultural producers (as deter21 mined by the Secretary); and 

22 (3) a governmental organization. 

23 (c) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 

24 on which the first grant is awarded under subsection (a), 

25 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on AgriVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Jul 25, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7482.IH H7482

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1 culture of the House of Representatives and the Com2 mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Sen3 ate a report on— 

4 (1) the activities carried out using grants 

5 awarded under such subsection; 

6 (2) best practices used to leverage the invest7 ment of the Federal Government for the purposes 

8 specified in subsection (a); and 

9 (3) an assessment of the results achieved by the 

10 program established under this section. 

11 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

12 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

13 $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 through 2025. 

Æ 


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