[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4551 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 4551
To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching
Policy Act of 1977 to modify the BARD Fund, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 13, 2024
Mr. Hoeven (for himself and Mrs. Gillibrand) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching
Policy Act of 1977 to modify the BARD Fund, 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 ``United States-Israel Agriculture
Cooperation Improvement and Expansion Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the United States-Israel Binational Agricultural
Research and Development Fund (referred to in this section as
the ``BARD Fund'')--
(A) was established in 1977; and
(B) is a competitive funding program that supports
collaborative agricultural research in areas of mutual
interest to the United States and Israel;
(2) the primary mission of the BARD Fund is to bring
together United States and Israeli scientists to jointly
address key agricultural and food production challenges that
concern both countries;
(3) since its establishment, the BARD Fund has approved
more than 1,300 research projects, with a total investment of
$315,000,000 that has gained $16 for every $1 spent; and
(4) research funded by the BARD Fund has led to new
agricultural practices, commercial engagements, patents, and
breeding rights licenses, which serve as a growth engine to the
United States and Israeli economies.
SEC. 3. BARD FUND.
Section 1458(e) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension,
and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3291(e)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``entered into'' and
inserting ``as entered into in 1977'';
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``sector.''
and inserting ``sector in the United States, Israel,
signatories of the Abraham Accords Declaration, done at
Washington September 15, 2020, Arab States that have
normalized relations with Israel, and other interested
nations; and''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) support mid-stage research to advance
cooperative agricultural research projects of mutual
interest to the United States and Israel.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to the BARD Fund to carry out activities
under this subsection $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025
through 2029.''.
SEC. 4. AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Eligible commodity.--The term ``eligible commodity''
means an agricultural commodity (or the product of an
agricultural commodity) that--
(A) is produced in, and procured from, a developing
country; and
(B) at a minimum, meets each nutritional, quality,
and labeling standard of the country that receives the
agricultural commodity, as determined by the Secretary.
(2) Eligible organization.--The term ``eligible
organization'' means an organization that--
(A) is a private voluntary organization or
cooperative or intergovernmental organization; and
(B) partners with an Israeli institution to carry
out a field-based project under this section.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
(b) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish a program to
provide grants to, or enter into cooperative agreements with, eligible
organizations to carry out, in partnership with Israeli institutions,
field-based projects in foreign countries that enable local or regional
procurement of eligible commodities to respond to food shortages, with
an emphasis on developing long-term, sustainable, self-sufficient food
ecosystems.
(c) Proposals.--
(1) Applications.--To be eligible to receive a grant from,
or enter into a cooperative agreement with, the Secretary under
this section, an eligible organization shall submit to the
Secretary an application by such date, in such manner, and
containing such information as the Secretary may require.
(2) Selection of projects.--
(A) Project diversity.--
(i) In general.--Subject to clause (ii) and
subparagraph (B), in selecting proposals for
field-based projects to fund under this
section, the Secretary shall select a diversity
of projects, including--
(I) projects located in food
surplus regions;
(II) projects located in food
deficit regions that are carried out
using regional procurement methods; and
(III) projects located in multiple
geographical regions.
(ii) Priority.--In selecting proposals for
field-based projects to fund under this
section, the Secretary shall ensure that the
majority of selected proposals are for field-
based projects that--
(I) are located in Africa; and
(II) procure eligible commodities
that are produced in Africa.
(B) Development assistance.--A portion of the funds
made available to carry out this section shall be made
available for field-based projects under this section
that provide development assistance for a period of not
less than 1 year.
(C) Preference.--In selecting proposals for field-
based projects to fund under this section, the
Secretary may give preference to eligible organizations
that receive, or are working toward receiving,
assistance to carry out projects under the McGovern-
Dole International Food for Education and Child
Nutrition Program established under section 3107 of the
Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7
U.S.C. 1736o-1).
(d) Procurement.--
(1) In general.--Any eligible commodity that is procured
for a field-based project carried out under this section shall
be procured through any approach or methodology that the
Secretary considers to be an effective approach or methodology
to provide adequate information regarding the manner by which
to expedite, to the maximum extent practicable, the provision
of food aid to affected populations without significantly
increasing commodity costs for low-income consumers who procure
commodities sourced from the same markets in which the eligible
commodity is procured.
(2) Requirements.--
(A) Impact on local farmers and countries.--The
Secretary shall ensure that the local or regional
procurement of any eligible commodity under this
section will not have a disruptive impact on farmers
located in, or the economy of--
(i) the recipient country of the eligible
commodity; or
(ii) any country in the region in which the
eligible commodity may be procured.
(B) Transshipment.--The Secretary shall, in
accordance with such terms and conditions as the
Secretary considers to be appropriate, require from
each eligible organization seeking a grant or
cooperative agreement under this section commitments
designed to prevent or restrict--
(i) the resale or transshipment of any
eligible commodity procured under this section
to any country other than the recipient
country; and
(ii) the use of the eligible commodity for
any purpose other than food aid.
(C) World prices.--
(i) In general.--In carrying out this
section, the Secretary shall take any
precaution that the Secretary considers to be
reasonable to ensure that the procurement of
eligible commodities will not unduly disrupt--
(I) world prices for agricultural
commodities; or
(II) normal patterns of commercial
trade with foreign countries.
(ii) Procurement price.--The procurement of
any eligible commodity shall be made at a
reasonable market price with respect to the
economy of the country in which the eligible
commodity is procured, as determined by the
Secretary.
(e) Nongovernmental Organizations.--An eligible organization
receiving a grant or entering into a cooperative agreement under this
section that is a nongovernmental organization shall be subject to
regulations promulgated or guidelines issued by the Secretary to carry
out this section, including United States audit requirements that are
applicable to nongovernmental organizations.
(f) Reporting.--
(1) In general.--Each year, the Secretary shall submit to
the committees of Congress described in paragraph (2) a report
that describes the use of funds under this section, including--
(A) the impact of procurements and projects on--
(i) local and regional agricultural
producers; and
(ii) markets and consumers, including low-
income consumers; and
(B) implementation time frames and costs.
(2) Committees of congress described.--The committees of
Congress referred to in paragraph (1) are--
(A) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry of the Senate;
(B) the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives; and
(C) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives.
(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $10,000,000 for
each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029.
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