S. 5526
Agricultural Act of 2026
Sponsor: John Boozman · 0 cosponsors
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Text of the bill
I Commodities
A Commodity Policy
B Dairy
C Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance
D Administration
II Conservation
A Conservation Reserve Program
B Environmental Quality Incentives Program
C Conservation Stewardship Program
D Funding and administration
E Agricultural Conservation Easement Program
F Regional Conservation Partnership Program
G Forest Conservation Easement Program
H Other Conservation programs
III Trade
A Food for Peace Act
B Agricultural Trade Act of 1978
C Other agricultural trade laws
D Reports
IV Nutrition
A Supplemental nutrition assistance program
B Commodity distribution programs
C Miscellaneous
V Credit
A Farm Credit System
B Farm ownership and operating loans
C Administrative provisions
VI Rural Development
A Rural Electrification Act of 1936
I Rural broadband access
II Additional amendments
(a) Cushion of credit accounts. Section 313(a)(1) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 940c(a)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(C) Special deposits and withdrawals
(i) In general. Effective beginning on the date of enactment of this subparagraph, the Secretary may permit—
(I) deposits of funds into the cushion of credit accounts for Rural Utilities Service electric program borrowers or awardees for the purpose of providing adequate security for loans or grant awards made pursuant to section 9003(j) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8103(j));
(II) withdrawals of funds from the cushion of credit accounts for Rural Utilities Service electric program borrowers or awardees for the purpose of—
(aa) payments for purchases under power purchase and energy storage agreements;
(bb) infrastructure construction; or
(cc) loan payments to the Rural Utilities Service; or
(III) deposits of funds into or withdrawals of funds from the cushion of credit accounts for Rural Utilities Service electric program borrowers or awardees for such other purposes as the Secretary determines necessary to reduce risk to the Federal Government for projects funded by the Rural Utilities Service or to reduce electric rates to rural ratepayers.
(ii) Effect. Deposits of funds into or withdrawals of funds from the cushion of credit accounts, and the accrual of interest on those deposits, shall not be a basis to change the jurisdiction of any Federal or State regulatory agency regarding any depositing or withdrawing Rural Utilities Service electric program borrower or awardee and shall not constitute the receipt of financing by the depositing Rural Utilities Service electric program borrower or awardee for purposes of section 201(f) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 824(f)) or any other Federal, State, or local regulatory laws, frameworks, or regimes.
(iii) Interest
(I) In general. Deposits under this subparagraph shall accrue interest at the prescribed cushion of credit annual interest rate.
(II) Withdrawals. Interest accrued under subclause (I) may be withdrawn solely for the purposes described in this subparagraph.
(III) Effect. Notwithstanding any other applicable laws or regulations relating to interest earned on Federal grant or other funds, interest accrued under subclause (I) on deposits under this subparagraph shall constitute property of the depositing Rural Utilities Service electric program borrower or awardee from the date of such deposit, subject only to the restrictions on withdrawal under this subparagraph.
(b) Rural Electrification Act program eligibility. To facilitate continued investment in rural electric infrastructure and the timely replacement of aging infrastructure, current and former Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.) borrowers shall be deemed to be eligible to participate in electric loan and grant programs under that Act, subject to the funding priorities of the Rural Utilities Service.
(c) Electric loans for renewable energy. Section 317 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 940g) is amended by striking subsection (c).
(d) Grants
(1) Authority. Section 2(a) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 902(a)) is amended—
(A) in the subsection heading, by inserting and grants after loans; and
(B) by inserting and grants after loans the first place it appears.
(2) Funds. Section 4(a) of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 904(a)) is amended by inserting and grants after loans the first place it appears.
(e) Prevailing wages. If the payment of prevailing wages is required by statute or regulation, the Rural Utilities Service may accept awardee certifications as evidence of compliance, subject to periodic review by the Rural Development Office of External Affairs.
B Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act
C Miscellaneous
I Rural care economy
II Other miscellaneous provisions
VII Research, Extension, and Related Matters
A National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977
B Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990
C Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998
D Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
I Agricultural security
II Miscellaneous provisions
E Other Matters
VIII Forestry
A Forest data modernization
B Forest health and management
I Forest Service management
II State and private partnerships
III Timber innovation
C Forest conservation
D Land designations
E White oak resilience
F Other matters
IX Energy
X Horticulture
A Horticulture marketing and information
B Regulatory reform
XI Crop insurance
XII Miscellaneous
A Livestock
B National security
C Fertilizer
D United States grain standards reauthorization
E Year-Round E15 and RFS reform
F Other miscellaneous provisions