[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2023 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2023
To amend the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act
and the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to further
plant cultivar and animal breed research, development, and
commercialization, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 15, 2023
Ms. Baldwin (for herself, Mr. Heinrich, Ms. Smith, Mr. Wyden, and Mr.
Fetterman) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act
and the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to further
plant cultivar and animal breed research, development, and
commercialization, 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 ``Seeds and Breeds for the Future
Act''.
SEC. 2. PUBLIC CULTIVAR DEVELOPMENT.
Section 2 of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research
Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Definitions.--In this section:
``(A) Conventional breeding.--The term
`conventional breeding' means the development of new
varieties of an organism through controlled mating and
selection without the use of transgenic methods.
``(B) Cultivar.--The term `cultivar' means a
variety of a species of plant that has been
intentionally selected for use in cultivation because
of the improved characteristics of that variety of the
species.
``(C) Public animal breed.--The term `public animal
breed' means an animal breed--
``(i) that is the commercially available
uniform end product of a publicly funded
breeding program that has been sufficiently
tested to demonstrate improved characteristics
and stable performance; and
``(ii) with respect to which, if
intellectual property rights are asserted, the
intellectual property rights are in the form of
plant patents or plant variety protection and
not utility patents.
``(D) Public cultivar.--The term `public cultivar'
means a cultivar--
``(i) that is the commercially available
uniform end product of a publicly funded
breeding program that has been sufficiently
tested to demonstrate improved characteristics
and stable performance; and
``(ii) with respect to which, if
intellectual property rights are asserted, the
intellectual property rights are in the form of
plant patents or plant variety protection and
not utility patents.
``(E) Public cultivar or animal breed.--The term
`public cultivar or animal breed' means--
``(i) a public animal breed; and
``(ii) a public cultivar.''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(l) Public Cultivar and Animal Breed Development Funding.--
``(1) Set-aside.--
``(A) In general.--Of the amount of grants made
under the provisions of law described in subparagraph
(B), the Secretary shall ensure that not less than
$75,000,000 for each fiscal year is used for
competitive research grants that support the
development of public cultivars and animal breeds.
``(B) Provisions of law described.--The provisions
of law referred to in subparagraph (A) are--
``(i) subsections (b) and (c);
``(ii) section 1672B(e) of the Food,
Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of
1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925b(e));
``(iii) sections 1619 through 1624 of that
Act (7 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.);
``(iv) any relevant competitive grant
program authorized by section 406 of the
Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education
Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7626), as
determined by the Secretary; and
``(v) section 412 of that Act (7 U.S.C.
7632).
``(2) Priority.--In making grants under paragraph (1), the
Secretary shall give priority to high-potential research
projects that lead to the release of public cultivars and
animal breeds, including--
``(A) regionally adapted public cultivars and
animal breeds;
``(B) public cultivars and animal breeds bred for
environmental resilience, including resilience to
changing climates;
``(C) public animal breeds adapted to grazing and
overwintering as appropriate for the applicable
production region;
``(D) public cultivars and animal breeds bred to
enhance the nutritional and health outcomes of local
and Indigenous populations;
``(E) public cultivars and animal breeds of
Indigenous and place-based importance that are
endangered; and
``(F) public cultivars and animal breeds with
beneficial and compatible characteristics and behaviors
for dual-use renewable energy-agricultural systems.
``(3) Grants.--The Secretary shall ensure that the terms
and renewal process for any competitive grants made under
subsection (b) in accordance with paragraph (1) facilitate the
development and commercialization of public cultivars and
animal breeds through long-term grants not less than 5 years in
length.
``(4) Requirement for domestic production.--No person that
receives title to a plant patent or plant variety protection
relating to any public cultivar or animal breed developed using
funds received under this subsection, and no assignee of any
such person, shall grant to any person the exclusive right to
use or sell that public cultivar or animal breed unless that
person agrees that any cultivars or animals embodying the
public cultivar or animal breed or produced through the use of
the public cultivar or animal breed will be produced
substantially in the United States.
``(5) Report.--Not later than October 1 of each year, the
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that provides
information on all public cultivar and animal breeding research
funded by the Department of Agriculture, including--
``(A) a list of public cultivars and animal breeds
developed and released in a commercially available
form;
``(B) areas of high-priority research;
``(C) identified research gaps relating to public
cultivar and animal breed development; and
``(D) an assessment of the state of
commercialization for public cultivars and animal
breeds that have been developed.''.
SEC. 3. PUBLIC CULTIVAR AND ANIMAL BREED RESEARCH COORDINATION.
(a) In General.--Section 251 of the Department of Agriculture
Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6971) is amended--
(1) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the following:
``(7) Public cultivar and animal breed research activities
coordinator.--
``(A) In general.--The Under Secretary shall
appoint a coordinator within the Research, Education,
and Extension Office that reports to the Under
Secretary to coordinate research activities at the
Department relating to the breeding of public cultivars
and animal breeds (as defined in paragraph (3) of
section 2(a) of the Competitive, Special, and
Facilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157(a))).
``(B) Duties of coordinator.--The coordinator
appointed under subparagraph (A) shall--
``(i) coordinate plant and animal breeding
research activities funded by the Department
relating to the development of public cultivars
and animal breeds;
``(ii)(I) carry out ongoing analysis and
track activities for any Federal research
funding supporting plant and animal breeding
(including any public cultivars and animal
breeds developed with Federal funds); and
``(II) ensure that the analysis and
activities are made available to the public not
later than 60 days after the last day of each
fiscal year;
``(iii) develop a strategic plan that
establishes targets for public cultivar and
animal breed research investments across the
Department to ensure that a diverse range of
crop and animal needs are being met in a timely
and transparent manner;
``(iv) convene a working group in order to
carry out the coordination functions described
in this subparagraph comprised of individuals
who are responsible for the management,
administration, or analysis of public cultivar
and animal breeding programs within the
Department from--
``(I) the National Institute of
Food and Agriculture;
``(II) the Agricultural Research
Service; and
``(III) the Economic Research
Service;
``(v) in order to maximize delivery of
public cultivars and animal breeds, promote
collaboration among--
``(I) the coordinator;
``(II) the working group convened
under clause (iv);
``(III) the advisory council
established under section 1634 of the
Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and
Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5843);
``(IV) genetic resource
conservation centers;
``(V) land-grant colleges and
universities (as defined in section
1404 of the National Agricultural
Research, Extension, and Teaching
Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103));
``(VI) Hispanic-serving
institutions (as defined in section
502(a) of the Higher Education Act of
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a)));
``(VII) Native American-serving
nontribal institutions (as defined in
section 371(c) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(c)));
``(VIII) nongovernmental
organizations with interest or
expertise in public breeding; and
``(IX) public and private plant and
animal breeders, including small-scale
organic breeders;
``(vi) convene regular stakeholder
listening sessions to provide input on national
and regional priorities for public cultivar and
animal breeding research activities across the
Department; and
``(vii) evaluate and make recommendations
to the Under Secretary on training and resource
needs to meet future breeding challenges.'';
and
(2) in subsection (f)(1)(D)(i), by striking ``(7 U.S.C.
450i(b))'' and inserting ``(7 U.S.C. 3157(b))''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 296(b)(6)(B) of the Department
of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)(6)(B)) is
amended by striking ``Scientist; and'' and inserting ``Scientist
(including the public cultivar and animal breed research activities
coordinator under subsection (e)(7) of that section); and''.
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