I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2118 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 2, 2007 

Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota (for himself, Mr. BOUSTANY, Mr. MARSHALL, 

Mr. GRAVES, Mr. PUTNAM, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, and Mr. 

AKIN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Agriculture 

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 2007’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purpose of this Act is to establish a national in3 stitute— 

4 (1) to ensure that the technological superiority 

5 of agriculture in the United States effectively serves 

6 the people of the United States in the coming dec7 ades; and 

8 (2) to support and promote fundamental agri9 cultural research and science of the highest caliber 

10 to achieve the goals of— 

11 (A) increasing the international competi12 tiveness of agriculture in the United States; 

13 (B) developing foods that improve human 

14 health and combat obesity; 

15 (C) creating new and more useful products 

16 from plants and animals; 

17 (D) improving food safety and food secu18 rity by protecting plants and animals in the 

19 United States from insects, diseases, and the 

20 threat of bioterrorism; 

21 (E) enhancing agricultural sustainability; 

22 (F) improving natural resources; 

23 (G) strengthening the economies of rural 

24 communities in the United States; 

25 (H) decreasing dependence of the United 

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1 oping biobased fuels and products, enhancing 

2 production technologies at biofuels plants and 

3 biorefineries, reducing energy consumption at 

4 such plants and increasing the use and value of 

5 the co-products of biofuels production; 

6 (I) strengthening national security by im7 proving the agricultural productivity of farmers 

8 in developing countries to combat hunger and 

9 the political instability that hunger produces; 

10 (J) assisting in modernizing and revital11 izing agricultural research in the United States 

12 at institutions of higher education, independent, 

13 nonprofit research institutions, and consortia of 

14 those institutions, through capital investment; 

15 (K) achieving such other goals, and meet16 ing such other needs, as the Secretary or the 

17 Institute determines to be appropriate; and 

18 (L) ensuring the ability of United States 

19 producers to successfully combat sanitary and 

20 phytosanitary nontrade barriers. 

21 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

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

24 Standing Council of Advisors established in section 

25 4. 


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

2 means the Department of Agriculture. 

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

4 the Director of the Institute. 

5 (4) FUNDAMENTAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH

6 AND SCIENCE.—The term ‘‘fundamental agricultural 

7 research and science’’ means research and science 

8 that, as determined by the Secretary— 

9 (A) advances the frontiers of knowledge so 

10 as to lead to practical results or to further sci11 entific discovery; and 

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

13 human health, or another purpose of this Act 

14 as described in section 2(b). 

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

16 the National Institute of Food and Agriculture es17 tablished by section 4. 

18 (6) MULTIDISCIPLINARY GRANT.—The term 

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

20 2 or more collaborating investigators to carry out co21 ordinated, multidisciplinary research programs in22 volving multiple disciplines that have been approved 

23 by the Institute. 

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

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1 cipal investigators to conduct research that has been 

2 approved by the Institute. 

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

4 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

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

6 (A) each of the several States of the 

7 United States; 

8 (B) the District of Columbia; 

9 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

10 (D) Guam; 

11 (E) American Samoa; 

12 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

13 Mariana Islands; 

14 (G) the Federated States of Micronesia; 

15 (H) the Republic of the Marshall Islands; 

16 (I) the Republic of Palau; and 

17 (J) the United States Virgin Islands. 

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

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

20 all of the States. 

21 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT; COMPOSITION. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

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

24 Institute of Food and Agriculture’’. 


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1 (b) COMPOSITION.—The Institute shall be composed 

2 of the Council (including committees and offices estab3 lished under section 5) and the Director. 

4 (c) STANDING COUNCIL OF ADVISORS.— 

5 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 

6 Standing Council of Advisors. 

7 (2) COMPOSITION.—The Council shall be com8 posed of 25 members, including— 

9 (A) the Director; and 

10 (B) 18 members appointed by the Sec11 retary, with the concurrence of the Director, 3 

12 members appointed by the Committee on Agri13 culture of the House of Representatives, and 3 

14 members appointed by the Committee on Agri15 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, 

16 of whom— 

17 (i) 12 members shall be highly-quali18 fied scientists who, 6 as determined and 

19 appointed by the Secretary, 3 as deter20 mined and appointed by the Committee on 

21 Agriculture of the House of Representa22 tives, and 3 as determined and appointed 

23 by the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri24 tion, and Forestry of the Senate— 


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1 (I) are not employees of the Fed2 eral Government; 

3 (II) have expertise in the fields of 

4 agricultural research, science, or re5 lated appropriate fields; 

6 (III) are appropriate for member7 ship on the Council solely on the basis 

8 of established records of distinguished 

9 service; and 

10 (IV) collectively represent the 

11 views of agricultural research and sci12 entific leaders in all regions of the 

13 United States; and 

14 (ii) 12 members shall be distinguished 

15 members of the public, as determined by 

16 the Secretary, including— 

17 (I) representatives of agricultural 

18 organizations and industry; and 

19 (II) individuals with expertise in 

20 natural resources, sustainable agri21 culture, energy, and human health 

22 and disease. 

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

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

25 Secretary and Congress. 


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

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

3 often than annually. 

4 (5) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 

5 The Council shall elect to 1-year terms a Chair6 person and Vice Chairperson from among the mem7 bers of the Council. One shall be elected from among 

8 the members described in paragraph (2)(B)(i) and 

9 one shall be elected from among the members de10 scribed in paragraph (2)(B)(ii). 

11 (6) DUTIES.—The Council shall— 

12 (A) assist the Director in— 

13 (i) establishing research priorities of 

14 the Institute; and 

15 (ii) reviewing, judging, and maintain16 ing the relevance of the programs of the 

17 Institute; 

18 (B) review all proposals approved by the 

19 scientific committees established under section 

20 5(a)(1) to ensure, to the maximum extent prac21 ticable, that the purposes of this Act are being 

22 met; and 

23 (C) through the meetings described in 

24 paragraph (4), provide an interface between sci25 entists and stakeholders to ensure, to the maxVerDate Aug 31 2005 17:14 May 10, 2007 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2118.IH H2118

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1 imum extent practicable, that the Institute is 

2 coordinating national goals with realistic sci3 entific opportunities. 

4 (d) DIRECTOR.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Institute shall be head6 ed by a Director, who shall be an individual who 

7 is— 

8 (A) a distinguished agricultural researcher 

9 and scientist; and 

10 (B) appointed by the President (after tak11 ing into consideration recommendations pro12 vided by the Council), by and with the advice 

13 and consent of the Senate. 

14 (2) TERM.—The Director shall serve for a sin15 gle, 6-year term. 

16 (3) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall re17 ceive basic pay at the rate provided for level II of 

18 the Executive Schedule under section 5513 of title 

19 5, United States Code. 

20 (4) SUPERVISION.—The Director shall report 

21 directly to the Secretary. 

22 (5) AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF DI23 RECTOR.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 

2 specifically provided in this Act, the Director 

3 shall— 

4 (i) exercise all of the authority pro5 vided to the Institute by this Act (includ6 ing any powers and functions delegated to 

7 the Director by the Council); 

8 (ii) in consultation with the Council, 

9 formulate programs in accordance with 

10 policies adopted by the Institute; 

11 (iii) establish committees and offices 

12 within the Institute in accordance with sec13 tion 5; 

14 (iv) establish procedures for the peer 

15 review of research funded by the Institute; 

16 (v) establish procedures for the provi17 sion and administration of grants by the 

18 Institute in accordance with this Act; 

19 (vi) assess the personnel needs of ag20 ricultural research in the areas supported 

21 by the Institute, and, if determined to be 

22 appropriate by the Director or the Sec23 retary, for other areas of food and agricul24 tural research; and 


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1 (vii) cooperate with the Council to 

2 plan programs that will help meet agricul3 tural personnel needs in the future, includ4 ing portable fellowship and training pro5 grams in fundamental agricultural re6 search and science. 

7 (B) FINALITY OF ACTIONS.—An action 

8 taken by the Director in accordance with this 

9 Act (or in accordance with the terms of a dele10 gation of authority from the Council) shall be 

11 final and binding upon the Institute. 

12 (C) DELEGATION AND REDELEGATION OF

13 FUNCTIONS.— 

14 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

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

16 from time to time and as the Director con17 siders to be appropriate, authorize the per18 formance by any other officer, agency, or 

19 employee of the Institute of any of the 

20 functions of the Director under this Act, 

21 including functions delegated to the Direc22 tor by the Council. 

23 (ii) POLICYMAKING FUNCTIONS.—The 

24 Director may not redelegate policymaking 


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1 functions delegated to the Director by the 

2 Council. 

3 (iii) CONTRACTS, GRANTS, AND

4 OTHER ARRANGEMENTS.—The Director 

5 may enter into contracts and other ar6 rangements, and provide grants, in accord7 ance with this Act— 

8 (I) only with the prior approval 

9 of the Council or under authority del10 egated by the Council; and 

11 (II) subject to such conditions as 

12 the Council may specify. 

13 (iv) REPORTING.—The Director shall 

14 promptly report each contract or other ar15 rangement entered into, each grant award16 ed, and each other action of the Director 

17 taken, under clause (iii) to the Committee 

18 on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of 

19 the Senate and the Committee on Agri20 culture of the House of Representatives. 

21 (6) STATUS ON COUNCIL.— 

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

23 an ex officio member of the Council. 

24 (B) COMPENSATION AND TENURE.—Ex25 cept with respect to compensation and tenure, 


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1 the service of the Director on the Council shall 

2 be coordinated with the service of other mem3 bers of the Council. 

4 (C) VOTING; ELECTION.—The Director 

5 shall be— 

6 (i) a voting member of the Council; 

7 and 

8 (ii) eligible for election by the Council 

9 as Chairperson or Vice Chairperson of the 

10 Council. 

11 (7) STAFF.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to this para13 graph, the Director shall recruit and hire such 

14 senior staff and other personnel as are nec15 essary to assist the Director in carrying out 

16 this Act. 

17 (B) SENIOR STAFF.—Each individual hired 

18 as senior staff of the Director shall— 

19 (i) be a highly accomplished agricul20 tural researcher and scientist, as deter21 mined by the Director; 

22 (ii) be recruited from the active agri23 cultural research and science community; 

24 and 


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1 (iii) be appointed and serve on the 

2 basis of 4-year, rotating appointments. 

3 (C) TEMPORARY STAFF.—Staff hired by 

4 the Director under this paragraph may include 

5 agricultural researchers and scientists and other 

6 technical and professional personnel hired for 

7 limited terms, or on temporary bases, including 

8 individuals on leave of absence from academic, 

9 industrial, research, or science institutions to 

10 work for the Institute. 

11 (D) COMPENSATION.— 

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

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

14 the Council shall periodically prescribe, the 

15 Director may fix the compensation of staff 

16 hired under this paragraph without regard 

17 to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub18 chapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United 

19 States Code, relating to classification of 

20 positions and General Schedule pay rates. 

21 (ii) MAXIMUM RATE OF PAY.—The 

22 rate of pay for an individual hired under 

23 this paragraph shall not exceed the rate 

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1 ule under section 5316 of title 5, United 

2 States Code. 

3 (8) REPORTING AND CONSULTATION.—The Di4 rector shall— 

5 (A) periodically report to the Secretary 

6 with respect to activities carried out by the In7 stitute; and 

8 (B) consult regularly with the Secretary to 

9 ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, 

10 that— 

11 (i) research of the Institute is relevant 

12 to agriculture in the United States and 

13 otherwise serves the national interest; and 

14 (ii) the research of the Institute sup15 plements and enhances, and does not re16 place, research conducted or funded by— 

17 (I) other agencies of the Depart18 ment; 

19 (II) the National Science Foun20 dation; or 

21 (III) the National Institutes of 

22 Health. 

23 SEC. 5. COMMITTEES AND OFFICES OF INSTITUTE. 

24 (a) STANDING SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEES.— 


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

2 such number of standing scientific committees with3 in the Institute as the Director determines to be ap4 propriate. 

5 (2) COMPOSITION.—A standing scientific com6 mittee established under paragraph (1) shall consist 

7 of such members of the Council appointed under sec8 tion 4(d)(2)(B)(i) as the Director may select. 

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

10 committee established under paragraph (1) shall 

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

12 the Director. 

13 (4) REVIEW OF PROPOSALS.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—A standing scientific 

15 committee shall apply rigorous merit review to 

16 research proposals received by the Institute to 

17 ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that 

18 research funded by the Institute is scientifically 

19 of high quality. 

20 (B) DETERMINATION OF SCIENTIFIC

21 MERIT.—A research proposal received by the 

22 Institute and reviewed by a standing scientific 

23 committee under subparagraph (A) shall be— 


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1 (i) assigned a score based on the sci2 entific merit of the proposal, as determined 

3 by the standing scientific committee; and 

4 (ii) if approved by the standing sci5 entific committee, forwarded, along with 

6 the score, to the Council for final review. 

7 (C) DECLINATION OF PROPOSALS.—If the 

8 Council determines that a research proposal 

9 forwarded under this paragraph does not meet 

10 standards of scientific review established by a 

11 standing scientific committee or any similar 

12 standard established by the Director, the Coun13 cil shall decline to recommend the research pro14 posal for funding by the Institute. 

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

16 may supplement a standing scientific committee 

17 under this subsection with 1 or more ad hoc review18 ers in a case in which a research proposal received 

19 by the Institute requires specialized knowledge not 

20 represented on that or any other standing scientific 

21 committee. 

22 (b) OFFICES.— 

23 (1) OFFICE OF ADVANCED SCIENCE AND APPLI24 CATION.— 


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1 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall 

2 establish within the Institute an Office of Ad3 vanced Science and Application (referred to in 

4 this paragraph as the ‘‘Office’’). 

5 (B) DUTIES.—The Office shall— 

6 (i) closely monitor national needs and 

7 advances in fundamental agricultural re8 search and science with the goal of identi9 fying pressing problems for which solutions 

10 are realistically achievable through funda11 mental agricultural research and science; 

12 (ii) coordinate creative talent from di13 verse disciplines to bridge potential gaps 

14 between fundamental agricultural research 

15 and science and high-priority, practical 

16 needs; and 

17 (iii) recommend to the Director ways 

18 in which existing fundamental agricultural 

19 research and science may be applied to the 

20 most urgent problems addressed by the In21 stitute. 

22 (C) STAFF.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall 

24 employ a small, focused staff of rotating 


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1 experts in agricultural research and 

2 science. 

3 (ii) TALENT POOL; TERM.—Primary 

4 staff of the Office— 

5 (I) shall be appointed from the 

6 ranks of active agricultural research7 ers and 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) recommend new research priorities 

23 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 and science, including grants 

6 to fund research proposals submitted by— 

7 (1) individual scientists; 

8 (2) research consortiums composed of a single 

9 institution 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, 2008, 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 and science, or related activities as the 

15 Institute considers to be necessary to carry out 

16 this Act; and 

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

18 conduct of such specific fundamental agricul19 tural research and science as is in the national 

20 interest or is otherwise of critical importance, 

21 as determined by the Secretary, with the con22 currence of the Institute; 

23 (4) to make advance, progress, and other pay24 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.—If the Committee on Agri17 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, the Com18 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives, 

19 and any other Committees of jurisdiction are notified not 

20 less than 30 days in advance of any transfer, funds avail21 able to the Secretary, or any other department or agency 

22 of the Federal Government, for agricultural or scientific 

23 research shall be— 

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

25 the Secretary or the head of the other appropriate 


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

2 to the Institute for use in providing grants in ac3 cordance with the purposes for which the funds were 

4 made available; and 

5 (2) if so transferred, expendable by the Insti6 tute for those purposes. 

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

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

9 (2) shall not— 

10 (A) conduct fundamental agricultural re11 search or research relating to fundamental 

12 science; or 

13 (B) operate any laboratory or pilot facility. 

14 SEC. 8. BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS. 

15 (a) BUDGETARY MANAGEMENT GOALS.—The Direc16 tor, in coordination with the Secretary, shall manage the 

17 budget of the Institute to achieve the goals of— 

18 (1) providing sufficient funds over a period of 

19 time to achieve the purposes of this Act; 

20 (2) fostering outstanding scientific talent, and 

21 directing that talent toward work on issues relating 

22 to agriculture; and 

23 (3) adequately reimbursing grant-receiving in24 stitutions for costs to encourage the pursuit of fun25 damental agricultural research and science. 


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1 (b) BUDGETARY GUIDELINES FOR GRANTS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—To achieve the goals de3 scribed in subsection (a), the Institute shall, to the 

4 maximum extent practicable, ensure that grants 

5 awarded for each fiscal year comply with the guide6 lines described in paragraphs (2) and (3). 

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

8 grants, to the maximum extent practicable— 

9 (A) the Institute shall award approxi10 mately 1,000 new project grants annually; 

11 (B) the average project grant amount, in12 cluding overhead, shall be approximately 

13 $225,000 for each fiscal year, as adjusted in ac14 cordance with the Consumer Price Index for all15 urban consumers, United States city average, 

16 as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics; 

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

18 maximum period of 5 years, with an average 

19 award duration of 3.5 years; 

20 (D) the Institute shall require the recipi21 ents of a project grant to submit appropriate 

22 reports on research carried out using funds 

23 from the project grant; and 


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1 (E) the Institute shall provide such num2 ber of training project grants as the Director or 

3 the Institute determines to be appropriate. 

4 (3) MULTIDISCIPLINARY GRANTS.—With re5 spect to multidisciplinary grants, to the maximum 

6 extent practicable— 

7 (A) for each of fiscal years 2008 through 

8 2011, the Institute shall provide 10 multidisci9 plinary grants; 

10 (B) for fiscal year 2012 and subsequent 

11 fiscal years, the Institute shall provide multi12 disciplinary grants to fund not fewer than 40 

13 research consortiums, on the conditions that— 

14 (i) sufficient funds are available; and 

15 (ii) a sufficient number of qualified 

16 research proposals are received; 

17 (C) the research consortiums provided mul18 tidisciplinary grants may be composed of a sin19 gle institution or multiple institutions; 

20 (D) the average multidisciplinary grant 

21 amount, including overhead, shall be approxi22 mately $3,000,000 for each fiscal year, as ad23 justed in accordance with the Consumer Price 

24 Index for all-urban consumers, United States 


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1 city average, as published by the Bureau of 

2 Labor Statistics; 

3 (E) a multidisciplinary grant shall be pro4 vided for a maximum period of 5 years; 

5 (F) in the aggregate, multidisciplinary 

6 grants provided under this paragraph for a fis7 cal year shall represent approximately 15 per8 cent of the total grants provided by the Insti9 tute for the fiscal year, on the condition that a 

10 sufficient number of qualified research pro11 posals are received for the fiscal year; and 

12 (G) merit review of the research proposal 

13 relating to the multidisciplinary grant is con14 ducted to ensure, to the maximum extent prac15 ticable, that only quality research proposals are 

16 funded. 

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

18 multidisciplinary grant provided under this Act, the Insti19 tute shall pay indirect costs of conducting research, in20 cluding the costs of overhead, to the recipient of the grant 

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

22 rate applicable to similar grants made by the National In23 stitutes of Health or the National Science Foundation, as 

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

25 the Secretary. 


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1 SEC. 9. FUNDING. 

2 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The following funds, facilities, 

3 and authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation are 

4 authorized to be used to carry out this Act: 

5 (1) For fiscal year 2008, $245,000,000 for 

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

7 shall be made available for administrative expenses 

8 incurred by the Institute. 

9 (2) For fiscal year 2009, $515,000,000, of 

10 which— 

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

12 made available for project grants; 

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

14 made available for multidisciplinary grants; and 

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

16 available for administrative expenses incurred 

17 by the Institute. 

18 (3) For fiscal year 2010, $780,000,000, of 

19 which— 

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

21 made available for project grants; 

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

23 made available for multidisciplinary grants; and 

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

25 made available for administrative expenses in26 curred by the Institute. 


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1 (4) For fiscal year 2010, $935,000,000, of 

2 which— 

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

4 made available for project grants; 

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

6 made available for multidisciplinary grants; and 

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

8 made available for administrative expenses in9 curred by the Institute. 

10 (5) For fiscal year 2011 and each fiscal year 

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

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

13 made available for project grants; 

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

15 made available for multidisciplinary grants; and 

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

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

19 (b) LIMITATION.—For fiscal year 2011 and each sub20 sequent fiscal year, administrative expenses paid by the 

21 Institute shall not exceed 5 percent of the total expendi22 tures of the Institute for the fiscal year. 

Æ 


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