Farm Bill passes Senate, energy title programs intact

Biomass Power & Thermal
By Anna Simet
June 21, 2012

The Senate has finished voting on 73 amendments proposed for the $500 billion 2012 Farm Bill and subsequently passed it on to the House, leaving the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, Rural Energy for America Program and Biorefinery Assistance Program slated for continuation.

Amendment 2226 was proposed by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., and would have eliminated all Farm Bill energy title funding. It was voted down in a June 20 vote of 36-63.

Among multiple programs under the energy title, REAP has been reauthorized at $20 million per year, with mandatory funding of $48.2 million for each of fiscal years 2013-2017. A cap of $500,000 has been put on grants, and no money is available for feasibility studies. Leftover funds from the Repowering Assistance Program, which has been repealed, will be transferred to REAP.

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