[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8447 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8447
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish centers of
excellence for agricultural security research, extension, and
education, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 17, 2024
Mr. Bacon (for himself, Mr. Nunn of Iowa, and Mr. Carbajal) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish centers of
excellence for agricultural security research, extension, and
education, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``American Agricultural Security Act
of 2024''.
SEC. 2. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.
(a) Centers of Excellence.--The Secretary of Agriculture (referred
to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall establish at least 1 center
of excellence for the purpose of carrying out research, extension, and
education activities for each of the areas of focus described in
subsection (c).
(b) Host Institutions.--
(1) In general.--Institutions eligible to host or co-host a
center of excellence established under this section include--
(A) an 1862 Institution, as defined in section 2 of
the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education
Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601);
(B) an 1890 Institution, as defined in such section
2;
(C) a 1994 Institution, as defined in such section
2;
(D) a non-land-grant college of agriculture, as
defined in section 1404 of the National Agricultural
Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7
U.S.C. 3103);
(E) a Hispanic-serving agricultural college or
university, as defined in such section 1404; and
(F) an accredited school of veterinary medicine.
(2) Distribution.--To the maximum extent practicable, the
Secretary shall ensure the geographic diversity of institutions
selected to host or co-host a center of excellence established
under this section.
(3) Limitation.--An institution selected to host or co-host
a center of excellence under this section may host or co-host
only one such center of excellence at a time.
(4) Duties.--An institution or institutions selected to
host or co-host a center of excellence established under this
section shall partner with the Agricultural Research Service,
other Federal agencies, State Governments, other institutions
of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)), agricultural industry
groups, or other relevant entities to--
(A) reduce duplicative efforts and focus on filling
gaps across research, extension, and education
activities by enhancing coordination and improving
cost-effectiveness;
(B) leverage available resources by using public-
private partnerships;
(C) implement training and educational initiatives
to increase awareness and effectively disseminate
solutions to target audiences through extension
activities;
(D) increase the economic returns to rural
communities by identifying, attracting, and directing
funds to high-priority agricultural issues;
(E) rapidly respond to emerging issues that
threaten any sector of the United States agricultural
industry;
(F) focus on workforce development for employers to
recruit and retain high quality employees in rural
areas; and
(G) engage in assistance for administrative
management and education regarding potentially valuable
intellectual property derived from federally-supported
research, extension, and education activities.
(c) Areas of Focus.--The areas of focus described in this
subsection are each of the following:
(1) Biosecurity and cybersecurity.--Research, extension,
and education activities focused on agricultural biosecurity
and cybersecurity efforts to defend the United States food
supply from any attacks.
(2) Biosystems and agricultural engineering.--Research,
extension, and education activities focused on biosystems and
agricultural engineering, including precision agriculture
technologies and mechanization and automation technologies for
specialty crops.
(3) Digital agriculture.--Research, extension, and
education activities focused on developing, evaluating, and
deploying digital agriculture, including artificial
intelligence.
(4) Foreign animal disease.--Research, extension, and
education activities focused on foreign animal diseases,
including the ecology and etiology of emerging diseases,
control methods, and implementation strategies to enhance
preparedness and response efforts to protect the livestock and
poultry industry.
(d) Terms.--
(1) Duration.--The term of an award under this section
shall be for a 5-year period, and may be renewed for not more
than one additional 5-year period.
(2) Construction prohibited.--Funds made available under
this section shall not be used for the construction of a new
building or facility or the acquisition of, expansion,
remodeling, or alteration of an existing building or facility
(including site grading and improvement, and architect fees).
(e) Annual Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this section, and every year thereafter, the Secretary of
Agriculture shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House
of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry of the Senate a report describing--
(1) the projects initiated by each center of excellence
established under this section in the preceding year;
(2) the amount of funding for each such project and the
funding source;
(3) the institutions participating in each such project and
their shares of the overall funding for each project;
(4) the level of cost-sharing for each such project;
(5) technology transfer and intellectual property
management actions undertaken by each such center, such as the
number of relevant invention disclosures, provisional patents
filed, non-provisional patents filed and issued, number of
licenses executed, and start-up companies registered; and
(6) any additional information the Secretary determines to
be necessary.
(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2025 through 2029.
SEC. 3. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PROTECTION GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program under
which the Secretary will award grants on a competitive basis to
eligible entities to support research, extension, and education
activities that improve the capability of the United States to protect
the food and agricultural system from any chemical, biological,
cybersecurity, or bioterrorism attack.
(b) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under
this section shall use funds received through the grant--
(1) to encourage basic and applied research on, and the
development of, qualified agricultural countermeasures;
(2) to promote the development and expansion of teaching
programs in agriculture, veterinary medicine, and other
disciplines closely allied to the food and agriculture system
of the United States to increase the number of trained
individuals with an expertise in agricultural biosecurity and
cybersecurity;
(3) to expand or upgrade facilities to meet biosafety and
biosecurity requirements necessary to protect facility staff,
members of the public, and the food supply while carrying out
agricultural biosecurity research;
(4) to cover costs associated with the acquisition of
equipment and other capital costs related to expansion of food,
agriculture, and veterinary medicine teaching programs in
agricultural biosecurity and cybersecurity; or
(5) otherwise improve the capacity of the United States to
respond in a timely manner to emerging or existing threats.
(c) Eligible Entities.--An entity eligible to receive a grant under
this section is--
(1) a State agricultural experiment station;
(2) a State departments of agriculture;
(3) a college or university;
(4) a university research foundation;
(5) a research institution or organization;
(6) a Federal agency;
(7) a national laboratory; or
(8) any group consisting of 2 or more of the entities
described in paragraphs (1) through (7).
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2025 through 2029.
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