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. 
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 ‘‘Emergency Pine Beetle 
Response Act of 2024’’. 
SEC. 2. EMERGENCY MEASURES IN RESPONSE TO PINE 
BEETLE OUTBREAKS. 
Section 407 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 
(16 U.S.C. 2206) is amended— 
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(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub-
section (f); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(e) EMERGENCY MEASURES IN RESPONSE TO PINE 
BEETLE OUTBREAKS.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE
ITEMIZED
COSTS.—The 
term ‘eligible itemized costs’ means expenses in-
curred by a timber service business in carrying 
out contractual services associated with out-
break response measures, including— 
‘‘(i) labor or hours for truck drivers or 
equipment operators; 
‘‘(ii) mileage or hours for use of 
equipment, such as transports, bulldozers, 
and skidders; and 
‘‘(iii) materials, such as gravel, grass 
seed, culverts, and mats. 
‘‘(B) OUTBREAK RESPONSE MEASURES.— 
The term ‘outbreak response measures’ means 
measures necessary to address pine beetle out-
breaks on nonindustrial private forest land, in-
cluding— 
‘‘(i) timber harvesting or thinning; 
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‘‘(ii) prescribed burning; 
‘‘(iii) debris removal; 
‘‘(iv) insecticide treatment; 
‘‘(v) establishment of buffer areas; 
and 
‘‘(vi) such other measures as the Sec-
retary determines to be appropriate. 
‘‘(C) TIMBER
SERVICE
BUSINESS.—The 
term ‘timber service business’ means a business 
that derives gross revenue from— 
‘‘(i) cutting or transporting timber 
from forest land; or 
‘‘(ii) inspecting, planting, pruning, or 
removing trees in residential or commercial 
areas. 
‘‘(2) ASSISTANCE FOR OWNERS OF NONINDUS-
TRIAL PRIVATE FOREST LAND.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
make payments to an owner of nonindustrial 
private forest land who carries out outbreak re-
sponse measures to restore forest health and 
forest-related resources after the land is dam-
aged by a pine beetle outbreak. 
‘‘(B) COST
SHARE
REQUIREMENT.—Pay-
ments made under subparagraph (A) shall not 
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exceed 85 percent of the total cost of the out-
break response measures carried out by an 
owner of nonindustrial private forest land. 
‘‘(3) ASSISTANCE FOR TIMBER SERVICE BUSI-
NESSES.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
make payments to a timber service business to 
cover eligible itemized costs incurred in carrying 
out contractual services associated with out-
break response measures to restore forest 
health and forest-related resources on nonindus-
trial private forest land after the land is dam-
aged by a pine beetle outbreak. 
‘‘(B) COST
SHARE
REQUIREMENT.—Pay-
ments made under subparagraph (A) shall not 
exceed 50 percent of the total eligible itemized 
costs incurred by a timber service business. 
‘‘(4) ELIGIBILITY
AND
PROVISION
OF
PAY-
MENTS.— 
‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for a 
payment under paragraph (2) or (3), an owner 
of nonindustrial private forest land or a timber 
service business, respectively, shall submit to 
the applicable local office of the Farm Service 
Agency an application demonstrating that— 
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‘‘(i) to the satisfaction of the local of-
fice, the nonindustrial private forest land 
on which the outbreak response measures 
are carried out had tree cover immediately 
before the pine beetle outbreak; 
‘‘(ii) the nonindustrial private forest 
land is located in a county that the Sec-
retary has designated as a primary natural 
disaster area due to drought in the most 
recent calendar year; and 
‘‘(iii) forest pest surveys conducted by 
the Forest Service or a State forestry 
agency confirm pine beetle infestations on 
or within a reasonable distance from the 
nonindustrial private forest land on which 
the outbreak response measures are car-
ried out. 
‘‘(B) IMPLEMENTATION
BY
LOCAL
OF-
FICES.—The local offices of the Farm Service 
Agency, in consultation with the applicable 
county committees of the Farm Service Agency, 
shall— 
‘‘(i) determine whether applicants for 
payments under paragraphs (2) and (3) 
are eligible for the payments; and 
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‘‘(ii) provide payments to eligible ap-
plicants. 
‘‘(5) EMERGENCY
OUTBREAK
PUBLIC
ASSIST-
ANCE GRANTS.—The Secretary may provide supple-
mental grants to State, Tribal, and local govern-
ments to aid in the response to, and repair of dam-
age caused by, pine beetle outbreaks.’’. 
SEC. 3. EMERGENCY LOANS. 
Section 321 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De-
velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1961) is amended— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub-
section (e); and 
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(d) LOANS TO OWNERS OF NONINDUSTRIAL PRI-
VATE FOREST LAND.— 
‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
‘‘(A) NONINDUSTRIAL
PRIVATE
FOREST 
LAND.—The term ‘nonindustrial private forest 
land’ has the meaning given the term in section 
407(a) of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 
(16 U.S.C. 2206(a)). 
‘‘(B) OUTBREAK RESPONSE MEASURES.— 
The term ‘outbreak response measures’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 407(e)(1) of 
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