The Biomass Research and Development Act of 1999. I would like to express my appreciation for the Herculean effort by the bipartisan leadership of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees and the House Science Committee in working with the authors of the various biomass bills to arrive at a meaningful compromise. This has been a time-consuming task for all of us, but it has been well worth the effort. The legislation would encourage the evaluation of new energy crops and accelerate the development of advanced biomass technologies to produce a variety of energy-related products and reduce U.S. reliance on fossil fuels. Specifically, the proposal would authorize additional federal dollars for competitively awarded grants and contracts for biobased product research and development.
Biomass encompasses plants, trimmings and other wastes that can be used to make energy.
Increased biomass use has the potential to provide economic growth as well as national energy security, environmental and public health benefits, reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, cutting greenhouse gas emissions and creating jobs. The conversion of biomass is particularly important to Colorado because of the potential threat of wildfires, which is increased by the close geographic proximity of national forests and major population centers. A total of 373,000 homes and 750,000 people live in areas along the Front Range that are potentially threatened by wildfires. Udall noted that the New Mexico wildfires of recent weeks highlight the public safety reasons to thin the wood-waste buildup, which is much more likely to be accomplished if there is a commercial market for this material. The Colorado State Forest Service, USDA's Forest Service Laboratory, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden have already begun research in these areas.