Congress moves to eliminate federal bioenergy subsidies, cutting rural support
H.R. 112 — FUEL Reform Act · Filed by Andy Biggs (R-AZ) · Introduced Jan 3, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill repeals Title IX of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, which established Department of Agriculture bioenergy subsidy programs. The repeal eliminates federal subsidies for bioenergy production and related agricultural support programs authorized under that title, removing ongoing government spending on these initiatives.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative function is to repeal a specific title of existing law that authorized bioenergy subsidies. It is a straightforward deregulatory/spending-reduction measure with no hidden mechanisms or riders.
What the text implies
- Repeal affects not only direct bioenergy subsidies but all programs authorized under Title IX of the 2002 Farm Act—the full scope depends on what that title contains, which is not restated here. The bill's brevity means the actual fiscal and programmatic impact cannot be fully assessed without consulting the cited statute.
- Rural agricultural communities and biofuel producers lose a revenue stream and investment incentive, potentially affecting farm income, rural employment, and capital investment in biofuel infrastructure already built under the subsidy regime.
- Removal of bioenergy incentives may reduce domestic renewable fuel production capacity and shift energy sourcing, with downstream effects on fuel prices, energy independence, and climate-related policy goals depending on what replaces the subsidy.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Repealing bioenergy subsidies reduces government spending and removes market distortions that favor one energy sector, which benefits taxpayers and consumers through lower fiscal burden and potentially more competitive energy markets. However, the repeal may increase costs for rural communities and agricultural producers who have relied on these programs for income and investment, and may reduce incentives for renewable fuel development that some argue serves climate and energy-independence goal
Named in the bill
Department of Agriculture, Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, Title IX (2002 Farm Act), bioenergy producers, agricultural sector
Where it stands
- Jan 3, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Jan 3, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform · Congress.gov: “Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Oversight and Government…”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (302 characters) on Aug 15, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-10-20.
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