S. 2872

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2872 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2872

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

September 18 (legislative day, September 16), 2025

Mrs. Hyde-Smith (for herself, Mr. Ossoff, Mrs. Britt, Mr. Kennedy, Mr. 
Tuberville, and Ms. Lummis) introduced the following bill; which was 
read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

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 Representatives 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 2025''.

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--
(1) by redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (f); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
``(e) Emergency Measures in Response to Pine Beetle Outbreaks.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Eligible itemized costs.--The term `eligible 
itemized costs' means any expenses incurred by a timber 
service business in carrying out a contractual service 
associated with an outbreak response measure, 
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, mats, and insecticides.
``(B) Outbreak response measure.--The term 
`outbreak response measure' means any measure necessary 
to address a pine beetle outbreak on nonindustrial 
private forest land, including--
``(i) timber harvesting or thinning;
``(ii) prescribed burning;
``(iii) debris removal;
``(iv) insecticide treatment;
``(v) establishment of buffer areas; and
``(vi) such other measures as the Secretary 
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 a residential or commercial 
area.
``(2) Assistance for owners of nonindustrial private forest 
land.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall make 
payments to an owner of nonindustrial private forest 
land that carries out an outbreak response measure to 
restore forest health and forest-related resources 
after the land is damaged by a pine beetle outbreak.
``(B) Cost-share requirement.--Payments made under 
subparagraph (A) shall not exceed 85 percent of the 
total cost of the outbreak response measures carried 
out by an owner of nonindustrial private forest land.
``(3) Assistance for timber service businesses.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall make 
payments to a timber service business to cover the 
eligible itemized costs of the timber service business 
incurred in restoring forest health and forest-related 
resources on nonindustrial private forest land after 
the land is damaged by a pine beetle outbreak.
``(B) Cost-share requirement.--Payments 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 payments.--
``(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--
``(i) to the satisfaction of the local 
office, 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 Secretary 
has designated as a primary natural disaster 
area due to drought, wildfire, hurricane or 
excessive winds, an ice storm or blizzard, a 
flood, or any other resource-impacting event 
during the preceding 12-month period; 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 carried out.
``(B) Implementation by local offices.--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
``(ii) provide payments to eligible 
applicants.
``(5) Emergency outbreak public assistance grants.--The 
Secretary may provide supplemental grants to State, Tribal, and 
local governments to aid in the response to, and the repair of 
damage caused by, pine beetle outbreaks.''.

SEC. 3. EMERGENCY LOANS.

(a) In General.--Section 321 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1961) is amended--
(1) by striking subsection (d);
(2) in subsection (c)--
(A) by inserting ``(7 U.S.C. 2266(a))'' before the 
period at the end; and
(B) by striking ``(c) The Secretary'' and inserting 
the following:
``(d) Family Farm System.--The Secretary'';
(3) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c);
(4) by striking the section designation and all that 
follows through ``(a) The Secretary'' in subsection (a) and 
inserting the following:

``SEC. 321. DEFINITIONS; ELIGIBILITY FOR LOANS.

``(a) Definitions.--In this subtitle:
``(1) Able to obtain sufficient credit elsewhere.--The term 
`able to obtain sufficient credit elsewhere', with respect to 
an applicant, means that the applicant is able to obtain 
sufficient credit elsewhere to finance the actual needs of the 
applicant at a reasonable rate and terms, taking into 
consideration prevailing private and cooperative rates and 
terms in the community in or near which the applicant resides 
for loans for similar purposes and periods of time.
``(2) Aquaculture.--The term `aquaculture' means the 
husbandry of aquatic organisms under a controlled or selected 
environment.
``(b) Eligible Persons.--The Secretary''; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
``(e) Loans to Owners of Nonindustrial Private 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 measure.--The term 
`outbreak response measure' has the meaning given the 
term in subsection (e)(1) of section 407 of the 
Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2206).
``(2) Loans.--Notwithstanding any other provision of this 
subtitle, the Secretary may make an emergency loan to an owner 
of nonindustrial private forest land to carry out an outbreak 
response measure.
``(3) Amount.--The amount of an emergency loan under this 
subsection shall be not less than 75 percent of the estimated 
total cost of the outbreak response measures to be carried out 
to address a pine beetle outbreak.
``(4) Loan repayment options.--In the case of an owner of 
nonindustrial private forest land that receives an emergency 
loan under this subsection and subsequently receives a cost-
share payment under subsection (e)(2) of section 407 of the 
Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2206) with respect 
to the same pine beetle outbreak on the same nonindustrial 
private forest land, the owner may, at the option of the owner, 
apply the amount of the cost-share payment to the remaining 
principal on the emergency loan under this subsection.''.
(b) Conforming Amendments.--
(1) Section 531(a) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 
U.S.C. 1531(a)) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (16), by striking ``section 321(a) 
of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 
U.S.C. 1961(a))'' and inserting ``section 321(b) of the 
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 
1961(b))''; and
(B) in paragraph (18), by striking ``section 
2501(e) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and 
Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(e))'' and inserting 
``section 2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture, 
Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 
2279(a))''.
(2) Section 324(d)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1964(d)(1)) is amended, in the first 
sentence, by striking ``section 321(b) of this title'' and 
inserting ``section 321(c)''.
(3) Section 901(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 
2497(a)) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (5), by redesignating clauses (i) 
through (iii) as subparagraphs (A) through (C), 
respectively, and indenting the subparagraphs 
appropriately;
(B) in paragraph (16), by striking ``section 321(a) 
of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 
U.S.C. 1961(a))'' and inserting ``section 321(b) of the 
Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 
1961(b))''; and
(C) in paragraph (18), by striking ``section 
2501(e) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and 
Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(e))'' and inserting 
``section 2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture, 
Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 
2279(a))''.
(4) Section 582(d)(1) of the National Flood Insurance 
Reform Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 5154a(d)(1)) is amended by 
striking ``section 321(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1961(a))'' and inserting ``section 
321(b) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 
U.S.C. 1961(b))''.
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