Two Years of the Inflation Reduction Act: Key Highlights and Impact

WASHINGTON, DC, August 16, 2024 – Two years prior, President Biden enacted the Inflation Reduction Act, marking the most substantial investment in climate initiatives and clean energy in global history. This transformative legislation is fundamental to the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America strategy, effectively lowering energy expenses, generating new revenue opportunities, and addressing the climate crisis. The Inflation Reduction Act has endowed the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) with unprecedented resources to better assist communities across the country.

“The Inflation Reduction Act has initiated a new era of innovation, enhancing prosperity for rural areas and bolstering climate resilience,” stated Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “The substantial resources provided by this Act enable USDA to significantly enhance the quality of life for every American by reducing energy costs, mitigating wildfire hazards, and integrating more farmers into our in-demand conservation programs, among other benefits.”

In conjunction with President Biden’s landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, American Rescue Plan, and other ongoing investments, the Inflation Reduction Act represents a once-in-a-generation commitment to supporting rural communities and their infrastructure needs. It addresses the climate crisis while fostering improved health outcomes for these communities. The Act enhances access to affordable clean energy and climate-smart agricultural practices, creating high-quality jobs and safeguarding communities from escalating wildfire and extreme heat threats.

These investments align with the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 initiative, which aims to allocate 40 percent of the benefits from specific Federal climate, clean energy, and affordable housing investments to disadvantaged communities historically impacted by underinvestment and pollution burdens.

Paving the Way to a Clean Energy Future

USDA is undertaking its largest single investment in rural electrification since the Rural Electrification Act of 1936. In 2023, USDA allocated $13.2 billion to establish electrification infrastructure throughout rural America, promoting clean, affordable, and reliable energy solutions that enhance quality of life. This funding is designed to ensure access to clean energy, ultimately lowering energy costs and generating new income sources for communities.

Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, USDA has:

• Allocated over $525 million for 14 innovative clean energy projects designed to benefit rural Americans through partially forgivable loans via the Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) program. In May 2023, USDA made $1 billion available as part of its ongoing funding rollout.
• Invested $605 million in 4,529 initiatives that assist agricultural producers and rural small businesses in implementing renewable energy systems and enhancing energy efficiency through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). Since the Biden-Harris Administration’s commencement, USDA has contributed $2.2 billion to over 7,200 REAP projects.
• Announced $181 million to support 222 efforts via the Higher Blends Infrastructure Incentive Program (HBIIP), aimed at enhancing the availability of domestic biofuels and offering Americans cleaner fuel choices at the pump.
• Plans to award $9.7 billion through the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) Program, facilitating the transition for rural Americans to clean, reliable, and affordable energy. USDA is presently reviewing applications and expects to announce awards this fall.

Fostering Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry

The Inflation Reduction Act takes decisive action against the climate crisis by unleashing significant funding for USDA’s conservation, forestry, and climate-smart agriculture initiatives.

With a commitment of $19.5 billion available for NRCS, the Act is addressing the high demand for conservation programs that provide financial assistance to farmers and ranchers, enabling them to protect natural resources while enhancing production. For Fiscal Year 2023, NRCS reported over $2.8 billion in conservation financial assistance, facilitating more than 45,000 contracts—the highest in its 89-year history. The agency has also made state-specific data accessible, outlining FY23 funding distributions related to the Farm Bill and Inflation Reduction Act.

In Fiscal Year 2024, commencing October 1, 2023, the Inflation Reduction Act allocated $1.65 billion for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), $754 million for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), and $472 million for the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). In both FY23 and the early months of FY24, NRCS partnered with over 18,000 landowners to conserve 6.2 million acres through EQIP and collaborated with more than 5,800 to conserve nearly 7 million acres through CSP.

To bolster conservation efforts and adopt climate-smart agriculture, NRCS further:

The Inflation Reduction Act allocated $300 million to enhance the measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification (MMRV) processes associated with greenhouse gas emissions and carbon sequestration in climate-smart agriculture and forestry. NRCS is actively implementing this strategy and recently published a series of webinars in July 2024 to update the public on its progress.

Adding to the investments made through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act supplied an extra $4.9 billion to the Forest Service, aimed at protecting communities from wildfires and advancing climate-smart forestry practices.

Some noteworthy Forest Service investments from the Inflation Reduction Act include:

• Over $1 billion in competitive grants to enhance equitable access to trees and green spaces in urban and community forests across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and several U.S. territories and Tribal Nations.
• $1.2 billion dedicated to reducing hazardous fuels and wildfire risks to communities, essential infrastructure, and natural ecosystems throughout the country.
• $170 million allocated to conserve private forestlands, recognizing their value for recreation, wildlife habitats, and as sustainable sources of wood and other forest products.
• $190 million designated to assist private forest landowners in adapting to and mitigating climate change impacts while preserving working forestlands.
• $145 million to connect forest landowners with emerging climate markets, propelling rural economies and enabling small and underserved forest landowners to contribute to combating climate change.

Advancing an Inclusive Agricultural Future

The Inflation Reduction Act continues to focus on the future of producers by cultivating a diverse and equitable workforce in agriculture and food production, improving accessibility to land and capital, and supporting farmers in their ventures. Acknowledging the historic challenges faced by producers in satisfying the nation’s and global food and fuel demands, USDA has:

• Allocated $2.4 billion to support over 43,800 distressed borrowers of direct and guaranteed Farm Service Agency (FSA) loans, helping them achieve long-term stability and run viable agricultural operations.
• Distributed $2 billion to 43,000 farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners who experienced discrimination in USDA farm lending initiatives prior to January 2021.
• Established the Increasing Land Access Program and selected 50 groundbreaking projects totaling $300 million to enhance access to land, capital, and markets for underserved agricultural stakeholders.
• Launched the NextGen program in 2023, designed to develop and support the new generation of food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences professionals by investing $262.5 million in training and support for over 20,000 future leaders in the food and agricultural sector through 33 collaborative partners.

For further details about USDA’s implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, visit: www.usda.gov/ira.

USDA impacts the lives of Americans daily in numerous positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is revolutionizing the nation’s food system with an emphasis on resilient local and regional food production, promoting fair markets for all producers, ensuring equitable access to safe and nutritious food, and generating new markets and income streams for farmers through climate-smart practices in food and forestry. The Department is making landmark investments in rural infrastructure and clean energy capabilities while being committed to equity by eliminating systemic barriers and building a workforce that reflects America’s diversity. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.

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