S.Amdt. 105

SA 105. Mr. COONS submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the concurrent resolution S. Con. Res. 7, setting forth the
congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year
2025 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal
years 2026 through 2034; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:

At the end of title III, add the following:

SEC. ___. DEFICIT-NEUTRAL RESERVE FUND RELATING TO
AFFORDABLE, CLEAN ENERGY FOR AMERICAN FARMERS
AND RURAL SMALL BUSINESSES.

The Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the Senate
may revise the allocations of a committee or committees,
aggregates, and other appropriate levels in this resolution,
and make adjustments to the pay-as-you-go ledger, for one or
more bills, joint resolutions, amendments, amendments between
the Houses, motions, or conference reports relating to
requiring Executive Branch agencies to disburse funds to
grantees that have signed legal obligations with the Federal
Government to obtain funds that have been legally
appropriated by Congress to deploy cheap, clean energy for
American farmers and rural small businesses, which may
include funds made available under Public Law 117-169 (136
Stat. 1818) (commonly known as the ``Inflation Reduction Act
of 2022''), by the amounts provided in such legislation for
those purposes, provided that such legislation would not
increase the deficit over the period of the total of fiscal
years 2025 through 2034.

SEC. ___. SENSE OF THE SENATE.

It is the sense of the Senate that--
(1) funds described in the immediately preceding section
should be released to farmers, agriculture producers, and
rural small businesses to reimburse costs already incurred on
projects that have been constructed;
(2) continuing to hold those funds risks putting
significant financial strain on those farmers, agriculture
producers, and rural small businesses because of their
inability to recoup funding to which they are legally
entitled; and
(3) at a time when the rural economy of the United States
needs financial certainty, the Federal Government should not
be sending more shockwaves through the rural economy and food
producers.
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