American Farm Improvement Act of 2007

To enhance the ongoing profitability and viability of America's farms, forests, and ranches by making conservation activities more cost-effective and efficient, by creating new revenue opportunities through biofuels, and for other purposes.

6/11/2007--Introduced.
American Farm Improvement Act of 2007 - Amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the Farmland Stewardship Process whose purposes shall be to:
(1) enable conservation programs to be responsive to local and site-specific conditions;
(2) reduce administrative procedures and costs; and
(3) coordinate multiple conservation programs and develop a delivery mechanism which can be applied to individual owners, operators, or producers. Sets forth program provisions. Directs the Secretary to:
(1) enter into stewardship conservation agreements with owners, operators, and producers; and
(2) make rural land stewardship implementation grants (from funds available for the farmland protection program). Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000, the Clean Air Act, the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, and Executive Order 13134 to harmonize specified definitions, including "biomass," "renewable biomass," "cellulosic biomass," and "cellulosic feedstock." Amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to authorize the Secretary to:
(1) guarantee loans made by private institutions for construction of facilities to process and convert cellulosic biomass materials directly into alcohol-based fuels, bio-fuels, or other commercial products; and
(2) make grants, loans, and loan guarantees to farm owners and tenants for the purchase and installation of equipment and the construction of facilities for processing animal wastes and byproducts into liquid fuel, energy, and other commercial products. Amends the Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000 to include the production of crops grown for cellulosic feedstock and biomass (energy crops) in the biomass research and development initiative.


... morehide bill summarySee Full Bill Text

Sponsor

• Rep. Tim Mahoney [D, FL-16]
• and 1 Co-Sponsors
  • Rep. Adam Putnam [R, FL-12]
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Committees

• House Agriculture
• 4 more
  • House Energy and Commerce
  • House Energy and Commerce
  • House Science and Technology
  • House Agriculture
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Amendments

This bill has no amendments.

Amendments to H.R.2656

Number	Status	Purpose

Bill Status

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Introduced		Voted on by House		Voted on by Senate		Considered By President		Bill Becomes Law
June 11, 2007

Show All Actions (8 actions)Hide Actions

All Bill Actions

• Apr 25, 2008: Executive Comment Requested from USDA.
• Apr 25, 2008: Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research.
• Jun 11, 2007: Referred to House Science and Technology
• Jun 11, 2007: Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality.
• Jun 11, 2007: Referred to House Energy and Commerce
• Jun 11, 2007: Referred to House Agriculture
• Jun 11, 2007: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, and Science and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
• Introduced on Jun 11, 2007.

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Related Issue Areas:

• Environmental protection
• Agriculture
• Administrative procedure
• Agricultural conservation
• 29 more
• Agricultural prices
• Agricultural subsidies
• Agricultural wastes
• Alcohol as fuel
• Alternative energy sources
• Biomass energy
• Budgets
• Building construction
• Cellulose
• Commercialization
• Construction costs
• Department of Agriculture
• Energy
• Energy crops
• Energy facilities
• Energy research
• Executive departments
• Farm lands
• Farmers
• Federally-guaranteed loans
• Government lending
• Law
• Natural resources
• Oils and fats
• Public contracts
• Refuse as fuel
• Research and development
• Science policy
• Solid wastes

Data from the Congressional Research Service

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Blog Coverage

June 10, 2007 HR 2656, To enhance the ongoing profitability and viability of ...

HR 2656 would enhance the ongoing profitability and viability of America's farms, forests, and ranches by making conservation activities more cost-effective and efficient, by creating new revenue opportunities through biofuels....

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