II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2782 

To establish the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, to provide 

funding for the support of fundamental agricultural research of the 

highest quality, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 10, 2006 

Mr. TALENT (for himself, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. BOND, and Mr. LUGAR) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To establish the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, 

to provide funding for the support of fundamental agricultural research of the highest quality, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Institute of 

5 Food and Agriculture Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) the task force established under section 

2 7404 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment 

3 Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3101 note; 116 Stat. 457)— 

4 (A) conducted an exhaustive review of agri5 cultural research in the United States; and 

6 (B) evaluated the merits of establishing 1 

7 or more national institutes focused on dis8 ciplines important to the progress of food and 

9 agricultural science; 

10 (2) according to findings and recommendations 

11 provided to Congress by the task force— 

12 (A) agriculture in the United States faces 

13 critical challenges, including impending crises in 

14 the food, agricultural, and natural resource sys15 tems of the United States; 

16 (B) exotic diseases and pests threaten 

17 crops and livestock; 

18 (C) obesity has reached epidemic propor19 tions; 

20 (D) agriculturally-related environmental 

21 degradation is a serious problem for the United 

22 States and other parts of the world; 

23 (E) certain animal diseases threaten 

24 human health; and 


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1 (F) agricultural producers in the United 

2 States of several primary crops are no longer 

3 the world’s lowest-cost producers; 

4 (3) to meet those critical challenges, it is essen5 tial that the United States ensure that the agricul6 tural innovation that has been so successful in the 

7 past continues in the future; 

8 (4) agricultural innovation has resulted in hy9 brid and higher-yielding varieties of basic crops and 

10 enhanced the global food supply by increasing yields 

11 on existing acres; 

12 (5) since 1960, the global population has tri13 pled, but there has been no net increase in the quan14 tity of land in the United States under cultivation; 

15 (6) as of the date of enactment of this Act, only 

16 1.5 percent of the population of the United States 

17 provides food and fiber to partially supply the needs 

18 of the United States; 

19 (7)(A) agriculture, fundamental agricultural re20 search, and fundamental sciences play a major role 

21 in maintaining the health and welfare of all people 

22 of the United States and maintaining the land and 

23 water of the United States; and 

24 (B) that role must be expanded; 


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1 (8) research that leads to understandings of the 

2 ways in which cells and organisms function is critical 

3 to continued innovation in agriculture in the United 

4 States; 

5 (9) future innovations developed as a result of 

6 those understandings are dependent on fundamental 

7 scientific research and would be enhanced by ideas 

8 and technologies from other fields of science and re9 search; 

10 (10) opportunities to advance fundamental 

11 knowledge of benefit to agriculture in the United 

12 States have never been greater; 

13 (11) many of those new opportunities are the 

14 result of amazing progress in the life sciences during 

15 recent decades, attributable in large part to the pro16 vision made by the Federal Government through the 

17 National Institutes of Health and the National 

18 Science Foundation; 

19 (12) new technologies and new concepts have 

20 expedited advances in the fields of genetics, cell and 

21 molecular biology, and proteomics; 

22 (13) much of that scientific knowledge is ready 

23 to be used in agriculture and food sciences through 

24 a sustained, disciplined research effort at an insti25 tute dedicated to conducting that research; 


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1 (14) publicly-sponsored research is essential to 

2 continued agricultural innovation— 

3 (A) to mitigate or harmonize the long-term 

4 effects of agriculture on the environment; 

5 (B) to enhance the long-term sustainability 

6 of agriculture; and 

7 (C) to improve the public health and wel8 fare; 

9 (15) competitive, peer-reviewed fundamental ag10 ricultural research is best suited to promoting the 

11 research from which breakthrough innovations that 

12 agriculture and society require will come; 

13 (16) it is in the national interest to dedicate ad14 ditional funds on a long-term, ongoing basis to an 

15 institute dedicated to funding competitive, peer-re16 viewed grant programs that support and promote 

17 the highest caliber of fundamental agricultural re18 search; 

19 (17) the capability of the United States to be 

20 internationally competitive in agriculture is threat21 ened by inadequate investment in research; 

22 (18) to be successful over the long term, grant23 receiving institutions must be adequately reimbursed 

24 for costs of conducting agricultural research if the 

25 institutions are to pursue that kind of research; and 


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1 (19) to meet those challenges, address those 

2 needs, and to provide for vitally needed agricultural 

3 innovation, it is in the national interest to provide 

4 sufficient Federal funds over the long term to fund 

5 a significant program of fundamental agricultural 

6 research through an independent national institute. 

7 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to estab8 lish a national institute— 

9 (1) to ensure that the technological superiority 

10 of agriculture in the United States effectively serves 

11 the people of the United States in the coming dec12 ades; and 

13 (2) to support and promote fundamental agri14 cultural research of the highest caliber to achieve the 

15 goals of— 

16 (A) increasing the international competi17 tiveness of agriculture in the United States; 

18 (B) developing foods that improve health 

19 and combat obesity; 

20 (C) creating new and more useful products 

21 from plants and animals; 

22 (D) improving food safety and food secu23 rity by protecting plants and animals in the 

24 United States from insects, diseases, and the 

25 threat of bioterrorism; 


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1 (E) enhancing agricultural sustainability; 

2 (F) improving the environment; 

3 (G) strengthening the economies of rural 

4 communities in the United States; 

5 (H) decreasing dependence of the United 

6 States on foreign sources of petroleum by devel7 oping biobased fuels and materials from plants; 

8 (I) strengthening national security by im9 proving the agricultural productivity of subsist10 ence farmers in developing countries to combat 

11 hunger and the political instability that hunger 

12 produces; 

13 (J) assisting in modernizing and revital14 izing the agricultural research facilities of the 

15 United States at institutions of higher edu16 cation, independent, nonprofit research institu17 tions, and consortia of those institutions, 

18 through capital investment; and 

19 (K) achieving such other goals, and meet20 ing such other needs, as the Secretary or the 

21 Institute determines to be appropriate. 

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this Act: 


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1 (1) COUNCIL.—The term ‘‘Council’’ means the 

2 Standing Council of Advisors established by section 

3 4(d)(1). 

4 (2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’ 

5 means the Department of Agriculture. 

6 (3) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

7 the Director of the Institute. 

8 (4) FUNDAMENTAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH; 

9 FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE.—The terms ‘‘fundamental 

10 agricultural research’’ and ‘‘fundamental science’’ 

11 mean research or science that, as determined by the 

12 Secretary— 

13 (A) advances the frontiers of knowledge so 

14 as to lead to practical results or to further sci15 entific discovery; and 

16 (B) has an effect on agriculture, food, 

17 human health, or another purpose of this Act 

18 as described in section 2(b). 

19 (5) INSTITUTE.—The term ‘‘Institute’’ means 

20 the National Institute of Food and Agriculture es21 tablished by section 4(a). 

22 (6) MULTIDISCIPLINARY GRANT.—The term 

23 ‘‘multidisciplinary grant’’ means a grant provided to 

24 2 or more collaborating investigators to carry out co25 ordinated, multidisciplinary research programs inVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:11 May 11, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2782.IS S2782

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1 volving multiple disciplines that has been approved 

2 by the Institute. 

3 (7) PROJECT GRANT.—The term ‘‘project 

4 grant’’ means a grant provided to 1 or more prin5 cipal investigators to conduct research that has been 

6 approved by the Institute. 

7 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

8 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

9 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

10 (A) each of the several States of the 

11 United States; 

12 (B) the District of Columbia; 

13 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

14 (D) Guam; 

15 (E) American Samoa; 

16 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

17 Mariana Islands; 

18 (G) the Federated States of Micronesia; 

19 (H) the Republic of the Marshall Islands; 

20 (I) the Republic of Palau; and 

21 (J) the United States Virgin Islands. 

22 (10) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

23 States’’, when used in a geographical sense, means 

24 all of the States. 


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1 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT; COMPOSITION. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

3 the Department an agency to be known as the ‘‘National 

4 Institute of Food and Agriculture’’. 

5 (b) LOCATION.—The location of the Institute shall be 

6 determined by the Secretary. 

7 (c) COMPOSITION.—The Institute shall be composed 

8 of the Council (including committees and offices estab9 lished under section 5) and the Director. 

10 (d) STANDING COUNCIL OF ADVISORS.— 

11 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 

12 Standing Council of Advisors. 

13 (2) COMPOSITION.—The Council shall be com14 posed of 25 members, including— 

15 (A) the Director; and 

16 (B) 24 members appointed by the Sec17 retary, with the concurrence of the Director, of 

18 whom— 

19 (i) 12 members shall be highly-quali20 fied scientists who, as determined by the 

21 Secretary— 

22 (I) are not employees of the Fed23 eral Government; 

24 (II) have expertise in the fields of 

25 agricultural research, science, or re26 lated appropriate fields; 


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1 (III) are appropriate for member2 ship on the Council solely on the basis 

3 of established records of distinguished 

4 service; and 

5 (IV) collectively represent the 

6 views of agricultural research and sci7 entific leaders in all regions of the 

8 United States; and 

9 (ii) 12 stakeholders shall be distin10 guished members of the public, as deter11 mined by the Secretary, including— 

12 (I) representatives of agricultural 

13 organizations and industry; and 

14 (II) individuals with expertise in 

15 the environment, subsistence agri16 culture, energy, and human health 

17 and disease. 

18 (3) TERM.—The members of the Council shall 

19 serve staggered, 4-year terms, as determined by the 

20 Secretary. 

21 (4) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet at the 

22 call of the Director and the Secretary, but not less 

23 often than annually. 

24 (5) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 

25 The Council shall elect a Chairperson and Vice 


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1 Chairperson from among the members of the Coun2 cil. 

3 (6) DUTIES.—The Council shall— 

4 (A) assist the Director in— 

5 (i) establishing research priorities of 

6 the Institute; and 

7 (ii) reviewing, judging, and maintain8 ing the relevance of the programs of the 

9 Institute; 

10 (B) review all proposals approved by the 

11 scientific committees established under section 

12 5(a)(1) to ensure, to the maximum extent prac13 ticable, that the purposes of this Act are being 

14 met; and 

15 (C) through the meetings described in 

16 paragraph (4), provide an interface between sci17 entists and stakeholders to ensure, to the max18 imum extent practicable, that the Institute is 

19 coordinating national goals with realistic sci20 entific opportunities. 

21 (e) DIRECTOR.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Institute shall be head23 ed by a Director, who shall be an individual who 

24 is— 

25 (A) a distinguished scientist; and 


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1 (B) appointed by the President (after tak2 ing into consideration recommendations pro3 vided by the Council), by and with the advice 

4 and consent of the Senate. 

5 (2) TERM.—The Director shall serve for a sin6 gle, 6-year term. 

7 (3) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall re8 ceive basic pay at the rate provided for level II of 

9 the Executive Schedule under section 5513 of title 

10 5, United States Code. 

11 (4) SUPERVISION.—The Director shall report 

12 directly to the Secretary. 

13 (5) AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF DI14 RECTOR.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 

16 specifically provided in this Act, the Director 

17 shall— 

18 (i) exercise all of the authority pro19 vided to the Institute by this Act (includ20 ing any powers and functions delegated to 

21 the Director by the Council); 

22 (ii) in consultation with the Council, 

23 formulate programs in accordance with 

24 policies adopted by the Institute; 


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1 (iii) establish committees and offices 

2 within the Institute in accordance with sec3 tion 5; 

4 (iv) establish procedures for the peer 

5 review of research funded by the Institute; 

6 (v) establish procedures for the provi7 sion and administration of grants by the 

8 Institute in accordance with this Act; 

9 (vi) assess the personnel needs of ag10 ricultural research in the areas supported 

11 by the Institute, and, if determined to be 

12 appropriate by the Director or the Sec13 retary, for other areas of food and agricul14 tural research; and 

15 (vii) cooperate with the Council to 

16 plan programs that will help meet agricul17 tural personnel needs in the future, includ18 ing portable fellowship and training pro19 grams in fundamental agricultural re20 search and fundamental science. 

21 (B) FINALITY OF ACTIONS.—An action 

22 taken by the Director in accordance with this 

23 Act (or in accordance with the terms of a dele24 gation of authority from the Council) shall be 

25 final and binding upon the Institute. 


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1 (C) DELEGATION AND REDELEGATION OF

2 FUNCTIONS.— 

3 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

4 in clauses (ii) and (iii), the Director may, 

5 from time to time and as the Director con6 siders to be appropriate, authorize the per7 formance by any other officer, agency, or 

8 employee of the Institute of any of the 

9 functions of the Director under this Act, 

10 including functions delegated to the Direc11 tor by the Council. 

12 (ii) POLICYMAKING FUNCTIONS.—The 

13 Director may not redelegate policymaking 

14 functions delegated to the Director by the 

15 Council. 

16 (iii) CONTRACTS, GRANTS, AND

17 OTHER ARRANGEMENTS.—The Director 

18 may enter into contracts and other ar19 rangements, and provide grants, in accord20 ance with this Act— 

21 (I) only with the prior approval 

22 of the Council or under authority del23 egated by the Council; and 

24 (II) subject to such conditions as 

25 the Council may specify. 


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1 (iv) REPORTING.—The Director shall 

2 promptly report each contract or other ar3 rangement entered into, each grant award4 ed, and each other action of the Director 

5 taken, under clause (iii) to the Committee 

6 on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of 

7 the Senate and the Committee on Agri8 culture of the House of Representatives. 

9 (6) STATUS ON COUNCIL.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall be 

11 an ex officio member of the Council. 

12 (B) COMPENSATION AND TENURE.—Ex13 cept with respect to compensation and tenure, 

14 the service of the Director on the Council shall 

15 be coordinated with the service of other mem16 bers of the Council. 

17 (C) VOTING; ELECTION.—The Director 

18 shall be— 

19 (i) a voting member of the Council; 

20 and 

21 (ii) eligible for election by the Council 

22 as Chairperson or Vice Chairperson of the 

23 Council. 

24 (7) STAFF.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to this para2 graph, the Director shall recruit and hire such 

3 senior staff and other personnel as are nec4 essary to assist the Director in carrying out 

5 this Act. 

6 (B) SENIOR STAFF.—Each individual hired 

7 as senior staff of the Director shall— 

8 (i) be a highly accomplished scientist, 

9 as determined by the Director; 

10 (ii) be recruited from the active sci11 entific community; and 

12 (iii) be appointed and serve on the 

13 basis of 4-year, rotating appointments. 

14 (C) TEMPORARY STAFF.—Staff hired by 

15 the Director under this paragraph may include 

16 scientists and other technical and professional 

17 personnel hired for limited terms, or on tem18 porary bases, including individuals on leave of 

19 absence from academic, industrial, or research 

20 institutions to work for the Institute. 

21 (D) COMPENSATION.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

23 in clause (ii), subject to such policies as 

24 the Council shall periodically prescribe, the 

25 Director may fix the compensation of staff 


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1 hired under this paragraph without regard 

2 to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub3 chapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United 

4 States Code, relating to classification of 

5 positions and General Schedule pay rates. 

6 (ii) MAXIMUM RATE OF PAY.—The 

7 rate of pay for an individual hired under 

8 this paragraph shall not exceed the rate 

9 payable for level V of the Executive Sched10 ule under section 5316 of title 5, United 

11 States Code. 

12 (8) REPORTING AND CONSULTATION.—The Di13 rector shall— 

14 (A) periodically report to the Secretary 

15 with respect to activities carried out by the In16 stitute; and 

17 (B) consult regularly with the Secretary to 

18 ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, 

19 that— 

20 (i) research of the Institute is relevant 

21 to agriculture in the United States and 

22 otherwise serves the national interest; and 

23 (ii) the research of the Institute sup24 plements and enhances, and does not re25 place, research conducted or funded by— 


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1 (I) other agencies of the Depart2 ment; 

3 (II) the National Science Foun4 dation; or 

5 (III) the National Institutes of 

6 Health. 

7 SEC. 5. COMMITTEES AND OFFICES OF INSTITUTE. 

8 (a) STANDING SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEES.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may establish 

10 such number of standing scientific committees with11 in the Institute as the Director determines to be ap12 propriate. 

13 (2) COMPOSITION.—A standing scientific com14 mittee established under paragraph (1) shall consist 

15 of such members of the Council appointed under sec16 tion 4(d)(2)(B)(i) as the Director may select. 

17 (3) TERM.—Members of a standing scientific 

18 committee established under paragraph (1) shall 

19 serve for staggered, 4-year terms, as determined by 

20 the Director. 

21 (4) REVIEW OF PROPOSALS.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—A standing scientific 

23 committee shall apply rigorous merit review to 

24 research proposals received by the Institute to 

25 ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that 


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1 research funded by the Institute is scientifically 

2 of high quality. 

3 (B) DETERMINATION OF SCIENTIFIC

4 MERIT.—A research proposal received by the 

5 Institute and reviewed by a standing scientific 

6 committee under subparagraph (A) shall be— 

7 (i) assigned a score based on the sci8 entific merit of the proposal, as determined 

9 by the standing scientific committee; and 

10 (ii) if approved by the standing sci11 entific committee, forwarded, along with 

12 the score, to the Council for final review. 

13 (C) DECLINATION OF PROPOSALS.—If the 

14 Council determines that a research proposal 

15 forwarded under this paragraph does not meet 

16 standards of scientific review established by a 

17 standing scientific committee or any similar 

18 standard established by the Director, the Coun19 cil shall decline to recommend the research pro20 posal for funding by the Institute. 

21 (5) AD HOC REVIEW MEMBERS.—The Director 

22 may supplement a standing scientific committee 

23 under this subsection with 1 or more ad hoc review24 ers in a case in which a research proposal received 

25 by the Institute requires specialized knowledge not 


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1 represented on that or any other standing scientific 

2 committee. 

3 (b) OFFICES.— 

4 (1) OFFICE OF ADVANCED SCIENCE AND APPLI5 CATION.— 

6 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall 

7 establish within the Institute an Office of Ad8 vanced Science and Application (referred to in 

9 this paragraph as the ‘‘Office’’). 

10 (B) DUTIES.—The Office shall— 

11 (i) closely monitor national needs and 

12 advances in research with the goal of iden13 tifying pressing problems for which solu14 tions are realistically achievable through 

15 research; 

16 (ii) coordinate creative talent from di17 verse disciplines to bridge potential gaps 

18 between fundamental agricultural research 

19 and high-priority, practical needs; and 

20 (iii) recommend to the Director ways 

21 in which existing fundamental agricultural 

22 research may be applied to the most ur23 gent problems addressed by the Institute. 

24 (C) STAFF.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall 

2 employ a small, focused staff of rotating 

3 experts in science and agriculture. 

4 (ii) TALENT POOL; TERM.—Primary 

5 staff of the Office— 

6 (I) shall be appointed from the 

7 ranks of active scientists; and 

8 (II) shall serve terms of not to 

9 exceed 3 years. 

10 (D) INTENSIVE STUDY GROUPS.—The Of11 fice shall— 

12 (i) focus primarily on the most urgent 

13 problems addressed by the Institute; and 

14 (ii) assemble such intensive study 

15 groups as are necessary to address those 

16 problems. 

17 (E) REPORTS.—The Office shall submit to 

18 the Director and the Council periodic reports 

19 that— 

20 (i) describe the activities being carried 

21 out by the Office; and 

22 (ii) recommended new research prior23 ities for the Office, as appropriate. 

24 (2) OFFICE OF SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT AND

25 LIAISON.— 


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1 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall 

2 establish within the Institute an Office of Sci3 entific Assessment and Liaison (referred to in 

4 this paragraph as the ‘‘Office’’). 

5 (B) DUTIES.—The Office shall— 

6 (i) monitor the effectiveness of the sci7 entific expenditures by the Institute; 

8 (ii) oversee the coordination of re9 search efforts of the Institute with those of 

10 other programs; 

11 (iii) assess the effectiveness of pro12 grams of the Institute by evaluating— 

13 (I) the quality of the science 

14 funded by the Institute, using such 

15 tools as are readily available; and 

16 (II) the contributions of the In17 stitute to the national research effort, 

18 including ways in which the Institute 

19 collaborates and cooperates with the 

20 Department and with other Federal 

21 agencies; and 

22 (iv) encourage cooperative approaches 

23 among various research agencies within the 

24 Federal Government. 

25 (3) OFFICE OF SCIENTIFIC PERSONNEL.— 


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1 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall 

2 establish within the Institute an Office of Sci3 entific Personnel (referred to in this paragraph 

4 as the ‘‘Office’’). 

5 (B) DUTIES.—The Office shall— 

6 (i) cooperate with scientific and agri7 cultural experts to assess— 

8 (I) the number of scientists in 

9 agriculture and related fields in the 

10 United States; and 

11 (II) how many additional sci12 entists in agriculture and related 

13 fields are needed to meet the purposes 

14 of this Act; and 

15 (ii) generate and maintain data that 

16 may assist the Director and the Council in 

17 planning appropriate Institute fellowship 

18 and training programs. 

19 (4) ADDITIONAL OFFICES.—The Director may 

20 establish such additional offices within the Institute 

21 as the Director or the Council determines to be nec22 essary to carry out the duties of the Institute under 

23 this Act. 


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1 SEC. 6. DUTIES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Institute shall provide com3 petitive, peer-reviewed grants in accordance with section 

4 8(b) to support and promote the highest quality of funda5 mental agricultural research, including grants to fund re6 search proposals submitted by— 

7 (1) individual scientists; 

8 (2) research centers composed of a single insti9 tution or multiple institutions; and 

10 (3) other individuals and entities from the pri11 vate and public sectors, including researchers of the 

12 Department and other Federal agencies. 

13 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than Decem14 ber 31, 2007, and biennially thereafter, the Institute shall 

15 submit to the Secretary, the Committee on Agriculture, 

16 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, and the Committee 

17 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a com18 prehensive report that describes the research funded and 

19 other activities carried out by the Institute during the pe20 riod covered by the report. 

21 SEC. 7. POWERS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Institute shall have such au23 thority as is necessary to carry out this Act, including the 

24 authority— 


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1 (1) to promulgate such regulations as the Insti2 tute considers to be necessary for governance of op3 erations, organization, and personnel; 

4 (2) to make such expenditures as are necessary 

5 to carry out this Act; 

6 (3) to enter into contracts or other arrange7 ments, or modifications of contracts or other ar8 rangements— 

9 (A) to provide for the conduct, by organi10 zations or individuals in the United States (in11 cluding other agencies of the Department, Fed12 eral agencies, and agencies of foreign coun13 tries), of such fundamental agricultural re14 search, research relating to fundamental 

15 science, or related activities as the Institute 

16 considers to be necessary to carry out this Act; 

17 and 

18 (B) at the request of the Secretary, for the 

19 conduct of such specific fundamental agricul20 tural research as is in the national interest or 

21 is otherwise of critical importance, as deter22 mined by the Secretary, with the concurrence of 

23 the Institute; 

24 (4) to make advance, progress, and other pay25 ments relating to research and scientific activities 


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1 without regard to subsections (a) and (b) of section 

2 3324 of title 31, United States Code; 

3 (5) to acquire by purchase, lease, loan, gift, or 

4 condemnation, and to hold and dispose of by grant, 

5 sale, lease, or loan, real and personal property of all 

6 kinds necessary for, or resulting from, the exercise 

7 of authority under this Act; 

8 (6) to receive and use donated funds, if the 

9 funds are donated without restriction other than 

10 that the funds be used in furtherance of 1 or more 

11 of the purposes of the Institute; 

12 (7) to publish or arrange for the publication of 

13 research and scientific information to further the 

14 full dissemination of information of scientific value 

15 consistent with the national interest, without regard 

16 to section 501 of title 44, United States Code; 

17 (8)(A) to accept and use the services of vol18 untary and uncompensated personnel; and 

19 (B) to provide such transportation and subsist20 ence as are authorized by section 5703 of title 5, 

21 United States Code, for individuals serving without 

22 compensation; 

23 (9) to prescribe, with the approval of the Comp24 troller General of the United States, the extent to 

25 which vouchers for funds expended under contracts 


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1 for scientific or engineering research shall be subject 

2 to itemization or substantiation prior to payment, 

3 without regard to the limitations of other laws relat4 ing to the expenditure and accounting of public 

5 funds; 

6 (10) to arrange with and reimburse the Sec7 retary, and the heads of other Federal agencies, for 

8 the performance of any activity that the Institute is 

9 authorized to conduct; and 

10 (11) to enter into contracts, at the request of 

11 the Secretary, for the carrying out of such specific 

12 agricultural research as is in the national interest or 

13 otherwise of critical importance, as determined by 

14 the Secretary, with the consent of the Institute. 

15 (b) TRANSFER OF RESEARCH FUNDS OF OTHER DE16 PARTMENTS OR AGENCIES.—Funds available to the Sec17 retary, or any other department or agency of the Federal 

18 Government, for agricultural or scientific research shall 

19 be— 

20 (1) available for transfer, with the approval of 

21 the Secretary or the head of the other appropriate 

22 department or agency involved, in whole or in part, 

23 to the Institute for use in providing grants in ac24 cordance with the purposes for which the funds were 

25 made available; and 


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1 (2) if so transferred, expendable by the Insti2 tute for those purposes. 

3 (c) RESTRICTION ON ACTIVITIES.—The Institute— 

4 (1) shall be a grant-making entity only; and 

5 (2) shall not— 

6 (A) conduct fundamental agricultural re7 search or research relating to fundamental 

8 science; or 

9 (B) operate any laboratory or pilot facility. 

10 SEC. 8. BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS. 

11 (a) BUDGETARY MANAGEMENT GOALS.—The Direc12 tor, in coordination with the Secretary, shall manage the 

13 budget of the Institute to achieve the goals of— 

14 (1) providing sufficient funds over a period of 

15 time to achieve the purposes of this Act; 

16 (2) fostering outstanding scientific talent, and 

17 directing that talent toward work on issues relating 

18 to agriculture; and 

19 (3) adequately reimbursing grant-receiving in20 stitutions for costs to encourage the pursuit of agri21 culturally-related research. 

22 (b) BUDGETARY GUIDELINES FOR GRANTS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—To achieve the goals de24 scribed in subsection (a), the Institute shall, to the 

25 maximum extent practicable, ensure that grants 


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1 awarded for each fiscal year comply with the guide2 lines described in paragraphs (2) and (3). 

3 (2) PROJECT GRANTS.—With respect to project 

4 grants, to the maximum extent practicable— 

5 (A) the Institute shall award approxi6 mately 1,000 new project grants annually; 

7 (B) the average project grant amount, in8 cluding overhead, shall be approximately 

9 $225,000 for each fiscal year, as adjusted in ac10 cordance with the Consumer Price Index for all11 urban consumers, United States city average, 

12 as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics; 

13 (C) a project grant shall be provided for a 

14 maximum period of 5 years, with an average 

15 award duration of 3.5 years; 

16 (D) the Institute shall require the recipi17 ents of a project grant to submit appropriate 

18 reports on research carried out using funds 

19 from the project grant; and 

20 (E) the Institute shall provide such num21 ber of training project grants as the Director or 

22 the Institute determines to be appropriate. 

23 (3) MULTIDISCIPLINARY GRANTS.—With re24 spect to multidisciplinary grants, to the maximum 

25 extent practicable— 


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1 (A) for each of fiscal years 2007 through 

2 2010, the Institute shall provide 10 multidisci3 plinary grants; 

4 (B) for fiscal year 2011 and subsequent 

5 fiscal years, the Institute shall provide multi6 disciplinary grants to fund not fewer than 40 

7 research centers, on the conditions that— 

8 (i) sufficient funds are available; and 

9 (ii) a sufficient number of qualified 

10 research proposals are received; 

11 (C) the research centers provided multi12 disciplinary grants may be composed of a single 

13 institution or multiple institutions; 

14 (D) the average multidisciplinary grant 

15 amount, including overhead, shall be approxi16 mately $3,000,000 for each fiscal year, as ad17 justed in accordance with the Consumer Price 

18 Index for all-urban consumers, United States 

19 city average, as published by the Bureau of 

20 Labor Statistics; 

21 (E) a multidisciplinary grant shall be pro22 vided for a maximum period of 5 years; 

23 (F) in the aggregate, multidisciplinary 

24 grants provided under this paragraph for a fis25 cal year shall represent approximately 15 perVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:11 May 11, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2782.IS S2782

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1 cent of the total grants provided by the Insti2 tute for the fiscal year, on the condition that a 

3 sufficient number of qualified research pro4 posals are received for the fiscal year; and 

5 (G) merit review of the research proposal 

6 relating to the multidisciplinary grant is con7 ducted to ensure, to the maximum extent prac8 ticable, that only quality research proposals are 

9 funded. 

10 (c) INDIRECT COSTS.—As part of a project grant or 

11 multidisciplinary grant provided under this Act, the Insti12 tute shall pay indirect costs of conducting research, in13 cluding the costs of overhead, to the recipient of the grant 

14 at a rate that is not less than any standard negotiated 

15 rate applicable to similar grants made by the National In16 stitutes of Health or the National Science Foundation, as 

17 of the date of enactment of this Act, as determined by 

18 the Secretary. 

19 SEC. 9. FUNDING. 

20 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act— 

22 (1) for fiscal year 2007, $245,000,000 for 

23 project grants, of which not more than $20,000,000 

24 shall be made available for administrative expenses 

25 incurred by the Institute; 


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1 (2) for fiscal year 2008, $515,000,000, of 

2 which— 

3 (A) not less than $450,000,000 shall be 

4 made available for project grants; 

5 (B) not less than $30,000,000 shall be 

6 made available for multidisciplinary grants; and 

7 (C) not more than $35,000,000 shall be 

8 available for administrative expenses incurred 

9 by the Institute; 

10 (3) for fiscal year 2009, $780,000,000, of 

11 which— 

12 (A) not less than $675,000,000 shall be 

13 made available for project grants; 

14 (B) not less than $60,000,000 shall be 

15 made available for multidisciplinary grants; and 

16 (C) not more than $45,000,000 shall be 

17 made available for administrative expenses in18 curred by the Institute; 

19 (4) for fiscal year 2010, $935,000,000, of 

20 which— 

21 (A) not less than $800,000,000 shall be 

22 made available for project grants; 

23 (B) not less than $90,000,000 shall be 

24 made available for multidisciplinary grants; and 


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1 (C) not more than $45,000,000 shall be 

2 made available for administrative expenses in3 curred by the Institute; and 

4 (5) for fiscal year 2011 and each fiscal year 

5 thereafter, $966,000,000, of which— 

6 (A) not less than $800,000,000 shall be 

7 made available for project grants; 

8 (B) not less than $120,000,000 shall be 

9 made available for multidisciplinary grants; and 

10 (C) not more than $46,000,000 shall be 

11 made available for administrative expenses in12 curred by the Institute. 

13 (b) LIMITATION.—For fiscal year 2011 and each sub14 sequent fiscal year, administrative expenses paid by the 

15 Institute shall not exceed 5 percent of the total expendi16 tures of the Institute for the fiscal year. 

Æ 


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