S. 144

119 S144 IS: Farm to Fly Act of 2025
 U.S. Senate
 2025-01-16
 text/xml
 EN
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 II  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  S. 144  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   January 16, 2025   Mr. Moran  (for himself,  Ms. Klobuchar ,  Ms. Ernst ,  Ms. Duckworth ,  Mr. Ricketts , and  Mr. Grassley ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the  Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry    A BILL
To amend the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 with respect to the definition of biofuels and sustainable aviation fuel, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Farm to Fly Act of 2025  .
2.
Purposes and findings
(a)
Purposes
The purposes of this Act are as follows:
(1)
To enable access for sustainable aviation fuels within Department of Agriculture bioenergy programs to foster alternative biofuels in national aviation, expanding the fuel supply, promoting clean energy sources, and supporting United States agriculture.
(2)
To recognize the critical role the United States agricultural sector plays in the production of sustainable aviation fuel and the importance of such fuel to achieving the goals of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge.
(b)
Findings
Congress finds the following:
(1)
Sustainable aviation fuels have the capacity to increase domestic energy security, support the agricultural sector, and foster the farm economy by accelerating the availability of a commercially viable and sustainable aviation biofuel industry in the United States.
(2)
Sustainable aviation fuels provide a critical opportunity to support farmers of the United States and the rest of the agricultural sector in the sector’s partnership with the aviation sector to support rural economic development.
(3)
Feedstocks have been identified for sustainable aviation fuels due to the collective abundance and perceived sustainability attributes of such feedstocks.
(4)
Sustainable aviation fuels will increase domestic energy security and create new markets for farmers of the United States while providing a new energy resource for the aviation sector.
3.
Definitions
Section 9001 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 ( 7 U.S.C. 8101 ) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (3)(B)—
(A)
in clause (iv), by inserting  and sustainable aviation fuel  after  diesel-equivalent fuel ;
(B)
by redesignating clauses (v) through (vii) as clauses (vi) through (viii), respectively; and
(C)
by inserting after clause (iv) the following:
(v)
biofuel, including sustainable aviation fuel, produced from an intermediate ingredient or feedstock;
 ; and
(2)
by adding at the end the following:
(18)
Sustainable aviation fuel
(A)
In general
The term  sustainable aviation fuel  means liquid fuel, the portion of which is not kerosene, which—
(i)
meets the requirements of—
(I)
ASTM International Standard D7566; or
(II)
the Fischer Tropsch provisions of ASTM International Standard D1655, Annex A1;
(ii)
is not derived from coprocessing an applicable material (or materials derived from an applicable material) with a feedstock which is not biomass;
(iii)
is not derived from palm fatty acid distillates or petroleum; and
(iv)
has been certified in accordance with subparagraph (B)(iii) as having a lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions reduction percentage of at least 50 percent.
(B)
Other definitions
For purposes of subparagraph (A):
(i)
Applicable material
The term  applicable material  means—
(I)
monoglycerides, diglycerides, and triglycerides;
(II)
free fatty acids; and
(III)
fatty acid esters.
(ii)
Biomass
The term  biomass  has the meaning given such term in  section 45K(c)(3)  of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(iii)
Lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions reduction percentage
The term  lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions reduction percentage  means, with respect to any sustainable aviation fuel, the percentage reduction in lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions achieved by such fuel as compared with petroleum-based jet fuel, as defined in accordance with—
(I)
the most recent Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation which has been adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization with the agreement of the United States; or
(II)
the most recent determinations under the Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Technologies (GREET) model developed by Argonne National Laboratory.
 .
4.
Farm to Fly collaboration initiative
The Secretary of Agriculture shall take such actions as are necessary to carry out a comprehensive and integrated pursuit of all Department of Agriculture mission areas for the advancement of sustainable aviation fuels through—
(1)
ensuring leadership working across Department of Agriculture agencies to maximize effectiveness;
(2)
identification of opportunities to maximize sustainable aviation fuels development and commercialization;
(3)
leveraging the capabilities of America’s farmers, foresters, and the agricultural sector in capturing the opportunities presented by the emerging sustainable aviation fuels market;
(4)
supporting rural economic development through improved sustainability for aviation; and
(5)
advancing public-private partnerships through collaboration complementing Federal Government efforts.
5.
Biorefinery, renewable chemical, and biobased product manufacturing assistance
Section 9003 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 ( 7 U.S.C. 8103 ) is amended—
(1)
in subsection (a)—
(A)
in paragraph (3), by striking  and  at the end;
(B)
in paragraph (4), by striking the period at the end and inserting  ; and ; and
(C)
by adding at the end the following:
(5)
foster and advance sustainable aviation fuels.
 ; and
(2)
in subsection (b)(3)—
(A)
in subparagraph (A)—
(i)
by indenting the margins of clauses (i) through (iii) appropriately;
(ii)
by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) as clauses (iii) and (iv), respectively; and
(iii)
by inserting after clause (i) the following:
(ii)
sustainable aviation fuel;
 ; and
(B)
in subparagraph (B)—
(i)
by indenting the margins of clauses (i) through (iii) appropriately;
(ii)
by redesignating clauses (ii) and (iii) as clauses (iii) and (iv), respectively; and
(iii)
by inserting after clause (i) the following:
(ii)
sustainable aviation fuel;
 .