I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5955 
To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 to improve 
energy programs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 18, 2012 
Ms. KAPTUR (for herself, Mr. KIND, Ms. PINGREE of Maine, Mr. HINCHEY, 
Mr. BRALEY of Iowa, Mr. BOSWELL, Mr. LUJA´N, Mr. BUTTERFIELD, Mr. 
RYAN of Ohio, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Mr. LOEBSACK, Ms. LEE of Cali-
fornia, Ms. RICHARDSON, Mr. WALZ of Minnesota, Mr. MICHAUD, Mr. 
BLUMENAUER, and Ms. FUDGE) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Commit-
tees on Oversight and Government Reform and Science, Space, and Tech-
nology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act 
of 2002 to improve energy programs. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rural Energy Invest-
ment Act of 2012’’. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jun 20, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5955.IH
H5955
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) production of energy from domestic sources 
offers considerable economic and energy security 
benefits to the United States, including enduring 
and desirable jobs; 
(2) the agricultural and forestry sectors of the 
United States offer significant potential for produc-
tion of renewable energy; 
(3) both renewable energy production and adop-
tion of energy efficiency offer considerable environ-
mental benefits; and 
(4) investments in energy efficiency projects 
and renewable energy systems in rural areas of the 
United States provide very significant energy secu-
rity, economic, and environmental benefits to the en-
tire United States in addition to the rural area bene-
fits. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 9001 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest-
ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8101) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (6)— 
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘or’’ 
at the end; 
(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the 
period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jun 20, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5955.IH
H5955
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
subparagraph: 
‘‘(E) renewable chemicals.’’; 
(2) in paragraph (7)(A), by striking ‘‘and 
biobased products’’ and inserting ‘‘, renewable 
chemicals, or biobased products’’; 
(3) in paragraph (11), by inserting ‘‘(including 
a renewable chemical)’’ after ‘‘material or com-
pound’’; 
(4) by redesignating paragraphs (13) and (14) 
as paragraphs (14) and (15), respectively; and 
(5) by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(13) RENEWABLE CHEMICAL.—The term ‘re-
newable chemical’ means a monomer, polymer, plas-
tic, formulated product, or chemical substance pro-
duced from renewable biomass.’’. 
SEC. 4. BIOBASED MARKETS PROGRAM. 
Section 9002 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest-
ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8102) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end 
the following new subparagraphs: 
‘‘(F) 
BIOBASED
PRODUCT
DESIGNA-
TIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jun 20, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5955.IH
H5955
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
enactment of this subparagraph, the Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(i) increase the number of categories 
of biobased products designated and indi-
vidual biobased products eligible for pre-
ferred purchasing by 50 percent; 
‘‘(ii) begin to designate intermediate 
ingredients or feedstocks in the guidelines 
issued under this paragraph; and 
‘‘(iii) develop a recommendation for 
the designation of complex and finished 
biobased products in those guidelines. 
‘‘(G) CHANGES IN PROCUREMENT MECHA-
NISMS.— 
‘‘(i) ELECTRONIC PRODUCT PROCURE-
MENT
CATALOGS.—The Secretary shall 
work with relevant officials in agencies 
that have electronic product procurement 
catalogs to identify and implement solu-
tions to increase the visibility of biobased 
and other sustainable products. 
‘‘(ii) 
AGENCY-SPECIFIC
PRODUCT 
SPECIFICATIONS.— 
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—Not later 
than 1 year after the date of enact-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jun 20, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5955.IH
H5955
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
ment of this subparagraph and every 
4 years thereafter, the Secretary, in 
coordination with other appropriate 
officials, shall work with the senior 
sustainability officer of each agency 
that has established agency-specific 
product specifications to review and 
revise the product specifications to en-
sure that, to the maximum extent 
practicable, the product specifica-
tions— 
‘‘(aa) require the use of sus-
tainable 
products, 
including 
biobased products designated in 
accordance with this section; and 
‘‘(bb) do not contain any 
language prohibiting the use of 
biobased products. 
‘‘(II) REPORT.—Results of the 
reviews conducted under subclause (I) 
shall be reported annually to the Of-
fice of Management and Budget, the 
Office of Science and Technology Pol-
icy, and the appropriate committees of 
Congress. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jun 20, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5955.IH
H5955
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(H) REPORTING.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 
year after the date of enactment of this 
subparagraph, the Secretary and the Fed-
eral Acquisition Regulatory Council shall 
jointly propose an amendment to the Fed-
eral Acquisition Regulation to require re-
porting of biobased product purchases, to 
be made public on an annual basis. 
‘‘(ii) REPORTING
TEMPLATE.—After 
the promulgation of the proposed amend-
ment described in clause (i), the Secretary, 
in consultation with the Chief Acquisition 
Officers Council, shall develop and make 
available a reporting template to facilitate 
the annual reporting requirement.’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(5) COMPLIANCE.—The Secretary may take 
such action as the Secretary determines to be nec-
essary— 
‘‘(A) to determine the compliance rate 
among Federal agencies in buying designated 
biobased products; and 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jun 20, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5955.IH
H5955
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(B) to determine whether vendor and con-
tractor claims about biobased products meeting 
item designation definitions and minimum re-
quired biobased content are accurate.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (2)(B)— 
(i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 
the end; 
(ii) by redesignating clause (iii) as 
clause (iv); and 
(iii) by inserting after clause (ii), the 
following new clause: 
‘‘(iii) encourage the purchase of prod-
ucts that apply an innovative approach to 
growing, harvesting, procuring, processing, 
or manufacturing biobased products re-
gardless of the date of entry of the prod-
ucts into the marketplace.’’; 
(B) in paragraph (3)— 
(i) by striking ‘‘(3) USE OF LABEL.— 
The Secretary’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(3) USE OF LABEL.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 
(ii) by adding at the end the following 
new subparagraph: 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
20:35 Jun 22, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5955.IH
H5955
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(B) AUDITING
AND
COMPLIANCE.—The 
Secretary may carry out such auditing and 
compliance activities as the Secretary deter-
mines to be necessary to ensure compliance 
with subparagraph (A), including the imposition 
of a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 on 
a person who misuses the label and, after re-
ceiving a notice of violation, fails to take action 
to correct the misuse described in the notice.’’; 
and 
(C) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraphs: 
‘‘(4) FORESTRY
PRODUCTS
LABORATORY
CO-
ORDINATION.—In determining which products may 
qualify to use a label under paragraph (1), the Sec-
retary, in consultation with the Forest Products 
Laboratory, shall— 
‘‘(A) review and approve applications for 
designation as biobased products submitted by 
vendors or manufacturers of forest-related 
products; 
‘‘(B) expedite the approval of applications 
for designation as biobased products submitted 
by producers of innovative forest-related prod-
ucts resulting from technology developed by the 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jun 20, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5955.IH
H5955
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Forest Products Laboratory or partners of the 
Laboratory; and 
‘‘(C) provide appropriate technical assist-
ance to applicants, as determined by the Sec-
retary. 
‘‘(5) COMPLEX AND FINISHED PRODUCTS.—Not 
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 
paragraph, the Secretary shall develop a rec-
ommendation for labeling complex and finished 
products.’’; 
(3) by redesignating subsections (d) through (h) 
as subsections (e) through (i), respectively; 
(4) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-
lowing new subsection: 
‘‘(d) OUTREACH, EDUCATION, AND PROMOTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 
out a program of outreach, education, and pro-
motion activities intended to increase knowledge, 
awareness, and benefits of biobased products. 
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZED
ACTIVITIES.—In carrying 
out this subsection, the Secretary, at a minimum, 
shall— 
‘‘(A) not later than 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this paragraph, update all ex-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jun 20, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5955.IH
H5955
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
isting BioPreferred and related sustainable ac-
quisition training materials of the Department; 
‘‘(B) work cooperatively with the senior 
sustainability officers and chief acquisition offi-
cers of Federal agencies to immediately imple-
ment such BioPreferred program agency edu-
cation and outreach programs as are necessary 
to meet the requirements of this section; 
‘‘(C) work actively with groups that sup-
port employment for the blind or disabled, such 
as the Committee for Purchase From People 
Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, to pro-
mote education and outreach regarding BioPre-
ferred AbilityOne products to— 
‘‘(i) program, technical, and con-
tracting personnel; and 
‘‘(ii) Federal agency purchase card 
holders; 
‘‘(D) conduct consumer education and out-
reach (including consumer and awareness sur-
veys); 
‘‘(E) conduct outreach to and support for 
State and local governments interested in im-
plementing biobased purchasing programs; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jun 20, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5955.IH
H5955
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
‘‘(F) partner with industry and nonprofit 
groups to produce educational and outreach 
materials and conduct educational and outreach 
events; 
‘‘(G) sponsor special conferences and 
events to bring together buyers and sellers of 
biobased products; and 
‘‘(H) support pilot and demonstration 
projects.’’; 
(5) in subsection (h) (as redesignated by para-
graph (3)), by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(3) JOBS
CREATION
RESEARCH
AND
RE-
PORT.—Not later than 2 years after the date of en-
actment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall carry 
out a study, and submit to the President and the ap-
propriate committees of Congress a report, on job 
creation and the economic impact associated with 
the biobased product industry, including— 
‘‘(A) the number of jobs in the United 
States originating from the biobased product in-
dustry annually over the preceding 10 years, in-
cluding the job changes in specific sectors; 
‘‘(B) the dollar value of the domestic 
biobased products industry at the time of the 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jun 20, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5955.IH
H5955
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
report, including intermediates, feedstocks, and 
finished products, but excluding biofuels; 
‘‘(C) a forecast for biobased job creation 
potential over the next 10 years; 
‘‘(D) a forecast for growth in the biobased 
industry over the next 10 years; and 
‘‘(E) jobs data for both biofuels and 
biobased products, with data generated sepa-
rately for each category.’’; and 
(6) in subsection (i) (as redesignated by para-
graph (3))— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 
and’’; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2013 through 2017.’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and 
$4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 
through 2017’’ before the period at the end. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jun 20, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5955.IH
H5955
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 5. BIOREFINERY ASSISTANCE. 
Section 9003 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest-
ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8103) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (b)(2), by inserting ‘‘or a re-
newable chemical’’ after ‘‘biofuel’’ each place it ap-
pears in subparagraphs (A) and (B); 
(2) in subsection (c)(1), by inserting ‘‘or renew-
able chemicals’’ after ‘‘biofuels’’; 
(3) in subsection (d)(2)(C)— 
(A) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘or renew-
able chemical’’ after ‘‘biofuel’’; and 
(B) in clause (iii), by inserting ‘‘or renew-
able chemicals’’ after ‘‘biofuels’’; 
(4) in subsection (e)(1)(C)— 
(A) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘or renew-
able chemical’’ after ‘‘biofuel’’; and 
(B) in clauses (iii) and (vii), by inserting 
‘‘or renewable chemicals’’ after ‘‘biofuels’’ each 
place it appears; and 
(5) in subsection (h)— 
(A) in paragraph (1)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 
the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 
and’’; and 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jun 20, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5955.IH
H5955
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subparagraph: 
‘‘(C) $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2013 through 2017.’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and 
$75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 
through 2017’’ before the period at the end. 
SEC. 6. BIODIESEL FUEL EDUCATION PROGRAM. 
Section 9006 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest-
ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8106) is amended by striking 
subsection (d) and inserting the following new subsection: 
‘‘(d) FUNDING.— 
‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 
the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 
shall use to carry out this section $1,000,000 for 
each of fiscal years 2013 through 2017, to remain 
available until expended. 
‘‘(2) DISCRETIONARY FUNDING.—In addition to 
any other funds made available to carry out this sec-
tion, there is authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this section $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 
2013 through 2017.’’. 
SEC. 7. RURAL ENERGY FOR AMERICA PROGRAM. 
Section 9007 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest-
ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8107) is amended— 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
00:56 Jun 20, 2012
Jkt 019200
PO 00000
Frm 00014
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H5955.IH
H5955
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS