I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 260 
To authorize the Secretary of Energy to make loan guarantees for cellulosic 
ethanol production technology development. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 7, 2009 
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Science and Technology, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To authorize the Secretary of Energy to make loan guaran-
tees for cellulosic ethanol production technology develop-
ment. 
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 ‘‘21st Century Energy 
Independence Act of 2009’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:56 Jan 14, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H260.IH
H260
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
(1) The Energy Information Administration es-
timates that the United States imports nearly 60 
percent of the oil it consumes. 
(2) The world’s greatest petroleum reserves re-
side in regions of high geopolitical risk, 57 percent 
of which are in the Persian Gulf. 
(3) Replacing oil imports with domestic alter-
natives such as traditional and cellulosic ethanol can 
not only help reduce the $180,000,000,000 that oil 
contributes to our annual trade deficit, it can end 
our addiction to foreign oil. 
(4) According to the Department of Agri-
culture, biomass can displace 30 percent of our Na-
tion’s petroleum consumption. 
(5) Along with traditional production of ethanol 
from corn, cellulosic ethanol can be produced domes-
tically from a variety of feedstocks, including 
switchgrass, corn stalks, and municipal solid wastes, 
which are available throughout our Nation. 
(6) Cellulosic ethanol also relies on its own by-
products to fuel the refining process, yielding a posi-
tive energy balance. 
(7) Even though the potential production of 
traditional 
corn-based 
ethanol 
is 
about 
10,000,000,000 gallons per year, the potential pro-
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:56 Jan 14, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H260.IH
H260
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
duction of cellulosic ethanol is estimated to be 
60,000,000,000 gallons per year. 
(8) In addition to ensuring access to more 
abundant sources of energy, replacing petroleum use 
with ethanol will help reduce United States carbon 
emissions, which are otherwise expected to increase 
by 80 percent by 2025. 
(9) Cellulosic ethanol can also reduce green-
house gas emissions by 87 percent. 
(10) Facilitating the transition from foreign oil 
to ethanol will protect our environment from dan-
gerous carbon and greenhouse gas emissions. 
(11) Cellulosic ethanol technology requires ini-
tial governmental investment and policy support to 
achieve the necessary scale to become self-sufficient 
and gain market-penetrating capacity. 
SEC. 3. PURPOSE. 
In carrying out this Act, the Secretary of Energy (in 
this Act referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall seek to en-
sure the availability of 200 percent of the volume of renew-
able fuels required to be available in the United States 
by 2013 under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and to en-
sure the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions from the 
production and use of renewable fuels by 25 percent. 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:56 Jan 14, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H260.IH
H260
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
SEC. 4. LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM. 
The Secretary shall establish a program for making 
loan guarantees for up to 80 percent of the cost of a 
project, consistent with section 3, for— 
(1) up to 5 projects for the harvesting, storing, 
and delivery of agriculture residues for use in cellu-
losic or traditional ethanol production plants; 
(2) cellulosic ethanol production technologies 
that will reduce the initial capital cost to $2.50 per 
annual gallon, and reduce operation and mainte-
nance costs to 125 percent of those at traditional 
corn ethanol plants; 
(3) advanced biomass gasifiers that can provide 
at least 90 percent of the thermal input require-
ments for traditional ethanol plants to produce 
syngas; and 
(4) appropriately scaled catalytic conversion 
process (such as Fischer-Tropsch) projects to con-
vert syngas to liquid fuels with the potential for eco-
nomic conversion at facilities producing 100,000,000 
annual gallons, with projects colocated at ethanol fa-
cilities already using advanced gasifiers given pri-
ority. 
SEC. 5. LIMITATIONS. 
The Secretary shall make a loan guarantee under sec-
tion 4(1)— 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:56 Jan 14, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H260.IH
H260
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS
(1) for a traditional ethanol plant only if the 
agriculture residue products are used as feedstock to 
replace thermal input requirements otherwise pro-
vided by fossil fuels such as natural gas or coal; and 
(2) for an existing ethanol plant only if the ap-
plicant demonstrates the potential to reduce carbon 
dioxide emissions related to ethanol production by at 
least 75 percent. 
SEC. 6. GRANTS. 
The Secretary may additionally provide grants for 
projects described in section 4(2) for up to 50 percent of 
the capital costs of the initial commercialization projects. 
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary for carrying out this Act, $250,000,000. 
Æ 
VerDate Nov 24 2008 
00:56 Jan 14, 2009
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H260.IH
H260
rfrederick on PROD1PC67 with BILLS