Congresswoman Caraveo Leads House Ag Dems Pressing to Protect IRA Programs For Rural Development in Farm Bill

WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Yadira Caraveo, M.D. (CO-08), Ranking Member on the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development, today led House Agriculture Committee Democrats in pressing Committee leadership to fully utilize Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funding in the next Farm Bill to aid rural communities, businesses, and utilities in their clean energy transition, as intended by the IRA.

In a letter sent to Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA-15) and Ranking Member David Scott (D-GA-13), Caraveo was joined by all Committee Democrats in highlighting the importance of these investments to lower costs for rural Americans and help rural communities transition to clean energy sources.

“As you negotiate the 2023 Farm Bill, we write to express our strong support for using the full funding in billions of dollars provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to aid rural communities, businesses, and utilities in their clean energy transition, as intended. The IRA represents the single largest investment in rural electrification since passage of the Rural Electrification Act in 1936 and makes enormous strides to incentivize rural and farming communities in their transition to clean energy,” wrote the Members.

“As we continue to drive towards a bipartisan Farm Bill, we urge you to keep these USDA IRA initiatives intact. Energy, and our ability to keep it reliable and affordable, is one of the most important inputs to keep costs down for our farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses,” the Members wrote. 

In their letter, the Members advocate to fund vital rural development programs including:

• The Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) initiative: this year alone, PACE garnered 803 project proposals, amounting to a $12 billion investment in clean energy assets across rural communities.

• The Empowering Rural America (New ERA) initiative: this year saw an unprecedented demand for New ERA, with rural electric cooperatives submitting 750 proposals seeking a total of $43 billion in USDA funding. And these funds are expected to catalyze nearly $100 billion in clean energy investments within rural areas.

• The Rural Energy For America Program (REAP): This program received a 1000% increase in requests in Fiscal Year 2023 compared to the previous year, underscoring the high demand for IRA investment in rural energy initiatives.

The full list of Members who signed onto the letter include: Reps. Gabe Vasquez (NM-02), Alma Adams, Ph.D (NC-12), Sanford Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), Shontel Brown (OH-11), Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Greg Casar (TX-35), Jim Costa (CA-16), Angie Craig (MN-02), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Sharice Davids (KS-03), Don Davis (NC-01), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA-03), Jahana Hayes (CT-05), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Abigail Spanberger (VA-07), Eric Sorensen (IL-17), Elissa Slotkin (MI-07), Darren Soto (FL09), and Jill Tokuda (HI-02).

See the full text of the letter here and below: 

Dear Chair Thompson and Ranking Member Scott,

As you negotiate the 2023 Farm Bill, we write to express our strong support for using the full funding in billions of dollars provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to aid rural communities, businesses, and utilities in their clean energy transition, as intended. The IRA represents the single largest investment in rural electrification since passage of the Rural Electrification Act in 1936 and makes enormous strides to incentivize rural and farming communities in their transition to clean energy. Iti is imperative we preserve and fully fund these programs, the Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE), Empowering Rural America (New ERA), and Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) at the USDA.

In May, USDA introduced its guidance for the $1 billion PACE and the $9.7 billion New ERA programs. PACE is tailored to drive private renewable energy economic development in rural and tribal communities by offering forgivable low-cost loans to projects that serve or are owned by underserved rural communities. New ERA is a grant and loan program designed to help rural electric cooperatives make large scale investments in, and own, clean energy to reduce costs for their members. Both programs have been remarkably successful in generating broad support from rural electric cooperatives, renewable energy developers, and local governments.

September 15th marked the deadline for initial applications to New ERA, and, in early October, USDA announced that it had received record demand for the program, with 750 proposals from rural electric cooperatives, worth more than $43 billion in requests to drive nearly $100 billion in rural clean energy investments. USDA received requests from nearly every state that hosts rural electric cooperatives, and Puerto Rico. Non-profit electric cooperatives have been vital to the quality of life in rural areas going back to the 1930s when they partnered with USDA to electrify rural America. However, as non-profits, they have fewer financial resources to support large infrastructure investments and projects. The New ERA program presents the opportunity for rural electric cooperatives and Rural Utility Service borrowers to transition their energy portfolio to more efficient, reliable, and affordable energy sources.

At the end of September, USDA closed the initial application window for the PACE program. The agency received 803 project proposals to build clean energy assets in rural communities, worth $12 billion, clarifying the need for these types of public investments. USDA has already started asking PACE applicants for formal proposals and expects to reach out to New ERA finalists soon.

Similarly, USDA is making record levels of grant, loan, and technical assistance awards for REAP. The surge in amount of grant funds requested, for example, is unprecedented, with a 1000% increase in Fiscal Year 2023, showing an interest and need heretofore never seen in over two decades of the program’s existence.

As we continue to drive towards a bipartisan Farm Bill, we urge you to keep these USDA IRA initiatives intact. Energy, and our ability to keep it reliable and affordable, is one of the most important inputs to keep costs down for our farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses. Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,