II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 971 

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 

MARCH 22, 2007 

Mr. BOND (for himself, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. LUGAR, and Mr. NELSON of Nebraska) 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 2007’’. 

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) the United States faces a public health 

19 epidemic due to the increasing number of over20 weight and obese Americans; 

21 (D) agriculturally-related environmental 

22 degradation is a serious problem for the United 

23 States and other parts of the world; 

24 (E) certain animal diseases threaten 

25 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 and expanding knowl19 edge to improve diet, nutrition, and health, and 

20 to combat obesity; 

21 (C) decreasing the dependence of the 

22 United States on foreign sources of petroleum 

23 by— 

24 (i) developing biobased fuels and 

25 products; 


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1 (ii) enhancing methods of production 

2 at biobased fuels refineries; 

3 (iii) reducing energy consumption at 

4 biobased fuel refineries; and 

5 (iv) increasing the use of coproducts 

6 of biobased fuels production; 

7 (D) creating new and more useful products 

8 from plants and animals; 

9 (E) improving food safety to reduce the in10 cidence of foodborne illness in the United 

11 States; 

12 (F) improving food security by protecting 

13 plants and animals in the United States from 

14 insects, diseases, and the threat of bioterrorism; 

15 (G) enhancing agricultural sustainability; 

16 (H) improving the environment; 

17 (I) strengthening the economies of rural 

18 communities in the United States; 

19 (J) improving farm profitability and the vi20 ability and competitiveness of small and mod21 erate-sized farms; 

22 (K) strengthening national security by im23 proving the agricultural productivity of subsist24 ence farmers in developing countries to combat 


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1 hunger and the political instability that hunger 

2 produces; 

3 (L) assisting in modernizing and revital4 izing the agricultural research facilities of the 

5 United States at institutions of higher edu6 cation, independent, nonprofit research institu7 tions, and consortia of those institutions, 

8 through capital investment; and 

9 (M) achieving such other goals, and meet10 ing such other needs, as the Secretary or the 

11 Institute determines to be appropriate. 

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

13 In this Act: 

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

15 Standing Council of Advisors established by section 

16 4(d)(1). 

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

18 means the Department of Agriculture. 

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

20 the Director of the Institute. 

21 (4) FUNDAMENTAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH; 

22 FUNDAMENTAL SCIENCE.—The terms ‘‘fundamental 

23 agricultural research’’ and ‘‘fundamental science’’ 

24 mean research or science that, as determined by the 

25 Secretary— 


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1 (A) advances the frontiers of knowledge so 

2 as to lead to practical results or to further sci3 entific discovery; and 

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

5 human health, or another purpose of this Act 

6 as described in section 2(b). 

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

8 the National Institute of Food and Agriculture es9 tablished by section 4(a). 

10 (6) MULTIDISCIPLINARY GRANT.—The term 

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

12 2 or more collaborating investigators to carry out co13 ordinated, multidisciplinary research programs in14 volving multiple disciplines that has been approved 

15 by the Institute. 

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

17 grant’’ means a grant provided to 1 or more prin18 cipal investigators to conduct research that has been 

19 approved by the Institute. 

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

21 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

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

23 (A) each of the several States of the 

24 United States; 

25 (B) the District of Columbia; 


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1 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

2 (D) Guam; 

3 (E) American Samoa; 

4 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

5 Mariana Islands; 

6 (G) the Federated States of Micronesia; 

7 (H) the Republic of the Marshall Islands; 

8 (I) the Republic of Palau; and 

9 (J) the United States Virgin Islands. 

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

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

12 all of the States. 

13 SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT; COMPOSITION. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 

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

16 Institute of Food and Agriculture’’. 

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

18 determined by the Secretary. 

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

20 of the Council (including committees and offices estab21 lished under section 5) and the Director. 

22 (d) STANDING COUNCIL OF ADVISORS.— 

23 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a 

24 Standing Council of Advisors. 


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1 (2) COMPOSITION.—The Council shall be com2 posed of 25 members, including— 

3 (A) the Director; and 

4 (B) 24 members appointed by the Sec5 retary, with the concurrence of the Director, of 

6 whom— 

7 (i) 12 members shall be highly-quali8 fied scientists who, as determined by the 

9 Secretary— 

10 (I) are not employees of the Fed11 eral Government; 

12 (II)(aa) have expertise in the 

13 fields of agricultural research, science, 

14 food and nutrition, or related appro15 priate fields; and 

16 (bb) represent a diversity of 

17 those fields; 

18 (III) are appropriate for member19 ship on the Council solely on the basis 

20 of established records of distinguished 

21 service; and 

22 (IV) collectively represent the 

23 views of agricultural research and sci24 entific leaders in all regions of the 

25 United States; and 


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1 (ii) 12 stakeholders shall be distin2 guished members of the public, as deter3 mined by the Secretary, including— 

4 (I) representatives of agricultural 

5 organizations and industry; and 

6 (II) individuals with expertise in 

7 the environment, subsistence agri8 culture, energy, food and nutrition, 

9 and human health and disease. 

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

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

12 Secretary. 

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

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

15 often than annually. 

16 (5) CHAIRPERSON AND VICE CHAIRPERSON.— 

17 The Council shall elect a Chairperson and Vice 

18 Chairperson from among the members of the Coun19 cil. 

20 (6) DUTIES.—The Council shall— 

21 (A) assist the Director in— 

22 (i) establishing research priorities of 

23 the Institute; and 


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1 (ii) reviewing, judging, and maintain2 ing the relevance of the programs of the 

3 Institute; 

4 (B) review all proposals approved by the 

5 scientific committees established under section 

6 5(a)(1) to ensure, to the maximum extent prac7 ticable, that the purposes of this Act are being 

8 met; and 

9 (C) through the meetings described in 

10 paragraph (4), provide an interface between sci11 entists and stakeholders to ensure, to the max12 imum extent practicable, that the Institute is 

13 coordinating national goals with realistic sci14 entific opportunities. 

15 (e) DIRECTOR.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Institute shall be head17 ed by a Director, who shall be an individual who 

18 is— 

19 (A) a distinguished scientist; and 

20 (B) appointed by the President (after tak21 ing into consideration recommendations pro22 vided by the Council), by and with the advice 

23 and consent of the Senate. 

24 (2) TERM.—The Director shall serve for a sin25 gle, 6-year term. 


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1 (3) COMPENSATION.—The Director shall re2 ceive basic pay at the rate provided for level II of 

3 the Executive Schedule under section 5513 of title 

4 5, United States Code. 

5 (4) SUPERVISION.—The Director shall report 

6 directly to the Secretary. 

7 (5) AUTHORITY AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF DI8 RECTOR.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise 

10 specifically provided in this Act, the Director 

11 shall— 

12 (i) exercise all of the authority pro13 vided to the Institute by this Act (includ14 ing any powers and functions delegated to 

15 the Director by the Council); 

16 (ii) in consultation with the Council, 

17 formulate programs in accordance with 

18 policies adopted by the Institute; 

19 (iii) establish committees and offices 

20 within the Institute in accordance with sec21 tion 5; 

22 (iv) establish procedures for the peer 

23 review of research funded by the Institute; 


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1 (v) establish procedures for the provi2 sion and administration of grants by the 

3 Institute in accordance with this Act; 

4 (vi) assess the personnel needs of ag5 ricultural research in the areas supported 

6 by the Institute, and, if determined to be 

7 appropriate by the Director or the Sec8 retary, for other areas of food and agricul9 tural research; and 

10 (vii) cooperate with the Council to 

11 plan programs that will help meet agricul12 tural personnel needs in the future, includ13 ing portable fellowship and training pro14 grams in fundamental agricultural re15 search and fundamental science. 

16 (B) FINALITY OF ACTIONS.—An action 

17 taken by the Director in accordance with this 

18 Act (or in accordance with the terms of a dele19 gation of authority from the Council) shall be 

20 final and binding upon the Institute. 

21 (C) DELEGATION AND REDELEGATION OF

22 FUNCTIONS.— 

23 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

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

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1 siders to be appropriate, authorize the per2 formance by any other officer, agency, or 

3 employee of the Institute of any of the 

4 functions of the Director under this Act, 

5 including functions delegated to the Direc6 tor by the Council. 

7 (ii) POLICYMAKING FUNCTIONS.—The 

8 Director may not redelegate policymaking 

9 functions delegated to the Director by the 

10 Council. 

11 (iii) CONTRACTS, GRANTS, AND

12 OTHER ARRANGEMENTS.—The Director 

13 may enter into contracts and other ar14 rangements, and provide grants, in accord15 ance with this Act— 

16 (I) only with the prior approval 

17 of the Council or under authority del18 egated by the Council; and 

19 (II) subject to such conditions as 

20 the Council may specify. 

21 (iv) REPORTING.—The Director shall 

22 promptly report each contract or other ar23 rangement entered into, each grant award24 ed, and each other action of the Director 

25 taken, under clause (iii) to the Committee 


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1 on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of 

2 the Senate and the Committee on Agri3 culture of the House of Representatives. 

4 (6) STATUS ON COUNCIL.— 

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

6 an ex officio member of the Council. 

7 (B) COMPENSATION AND TENURE.—Ex8 cept with respect to compensation and tenure, 

9 the service of the Director on the Council shall 

10 be coordinated with the service of other mem11 bers of the Council. 

12 (C) VOTING; ELECTION.—The Director 

13 shall be— 

14 (i) a voting member of the Council; 

15 and 

16 (ii) eligible for election by the Council 

17 as Chairperson or Vice Chairperson of the 

18 Council. 

19 (7) STAFF.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to this para21 graph, the Director shall recruit and hire such 

22 senior staff and other personnel as are nec23 essary to assist the Director in carrying out 

24 this Act. 


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1 (B) SENIOR STAFF.—Each individual hired 

2 as senior staff of the Director shall— 

3 (i) be a highly accomplished scientist, 

4 as determined by the Director; 

5 (ii) be recruited from the active sci6 entific community; and 

7 (iii) be appointed and serve on the 

8 basis of 4-year, rotating appointments. 

9 (C) TEMPORARY STAFF.—Staff hired by 

10 the Director under this paragraph may include 

11 scientists and other technical and professional 

12 personnel hired for limited terms, or on tem13 porary bases, including individuals on leave of 

14 absence from academic, industrial, or research 

15 institutions to work for the Institute. 

16 (D) COMPENSATION.— 

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided 

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

19 the Council shall periodically prescribe, the 

20 Director may fix the compensation of staff 

21 hired under this paragraph without regard 

22 to the provisions of chapter 51 and sub23 chapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United 

24 States Code, relating to classification of 

25 positions and General Schedule pay rates. 


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1 (ii) MAXIMUM RATE OF PAY.—The 

2 rate of pay for an individual hired under 

3 this paragraph shall not exceed the rate 

4 payable for level V of the Executive Sched5 ule under section 5316 of title 5, United 

6 States Code. 

7 (8) REPORTING AND CONSULTATION.—The Di8 rector shall— 

9 (A) periodically report to the Secretary 

10 with respect to activities carried out by the In11 stitute; and 

12 (B) consult regularly with the Secretary to 

13 ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, 

14 that— 

15 (i) research of the Institute is relevant 

16 to agriculture in the United States and 

17 otherwise serves the national interest; and 

18 (ii) the research of the Institute sup19 plements and enhances, and does not re20 place, research conducted or funded by— 

21 (I) other agencies of the Depart22 ment; 

23 (II) the National Science Foun24 dation; or 


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1 (III) the National Institutes of 

2 Health. 

3 SEC. 5. COMMITTEES AND OFFICES OF INSTITUTE. 

4 (a) STANDING SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEES.— 

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

6 such number of standing scientific committees with7 in the Institute as the Director determines to be ap8 propriate. 

9 (2) COMPOSITION.—A standing scientific com10 mittee established under paragraph (1) shall consist 

11 of such members of the Council appointed under sec12 tion 4(d)(2)(B)(i) as the Director may select. 

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

14 committee established under paragraph (1) shall 

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

16 the Director. 

17 (4) REVIEW OF PROPOSALS.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—A standing scientific 

19 committee shall apply rigorous merit review to 

20 research proposals received by the Institute to 

21 ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that 

22 research funded by the Institute is scientifically 

23 of high quality. 

24 (B) DETERMINATION OF SCIENTIFIC

25 MERIT.—A research proposal received by the 


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1 Institute and reviewed by a standing scientific 

2 committee under subparagraph (A) shall be— 

3 (i) assigned a score based on the sci4 entific merit of the proposal, as determined 

5 by the standing scientific committee; and 

6 (ii) if approved by the standing sci7 entific committee, forwarded, along with 

8 the score, to the Council for final review. 

9 (C) DECLINATION OF PROPOSALS.—If the 

10 Council determines that a research proposal 

11 forwarded under this paragraph does not meet 

12 standards of scientific review established by a 

13 standing scientific committee or any similar 

14 standard established by the Director, the Coun15 cil shall decline to recommend the research pro16 posal for funding by the Institute. 

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

18 may supplement a standing scientific committee 

19 under this subsection with 1 or more ad hoc review20 ers in a case in which a research proposal received 

21 by the Institute requires specialized knowledge not 

22 represented on that or any other standing scientific 

23 committee. 

24 (b) OFFICES.— 


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1 (1) OFFICE OF ADVANCED SCIENCE AND APPLI2 CATION.— 

3 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall 

4 establish within the Institute an Office of Ad5 vanced Science and Application (referred to in 

6 this paragraph as the ‘‘Office’’). 

7 (B) DUTIES.—The Office shall— 

8 (i) closely monitor national needs and 

9 advances in research with the goal of iden10 tifying pressing problems for which solu11 tions are realistically achievable through 

12 research; 

13 (ii) coordinate creative talent from di14 verse disciplines to bridge potential gaps 

15 between fundamental agricultural research 

16 and high-priority, practical needs; and 

17 (iii) recommend to the Director ways 

18 in which existing fundamental agricultural 

19 research may be applied to the most ur20 gent problems addressed by the Institute. 

21 (C) STAFF.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Office shall 

23 employ a small, focused staff of rotating 

24 experts in science and agriculture. 


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1 (ii) TALENT POOL; TERM.—Primary 

2 staff of the Office— 

3 (I) shall be appointed from the 

4 ranks of active scientists; and 

5 (II) shall serve terms of not to 

6 exceed 3 years. 

7 (D) INTENSIVE STUDY GROUPS.—The Of8 fice shall— 

9 (i) focus primarily on the most urgent 

10 problems addressed by the Institute; and 

11 (ii) assemble such intensive study 

12 groups as are necessary to address those 

13 problems. 

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

15 the Director and the Council periodic reports 

16 that— 

17 (i) describe the activities being carried 

18 out by the Office; and 

19 (ii) recommended new research prior20 ities for the Office, as appropriate. 

21 (2) OFFICE OF SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT AND

22 LIAISON.— 

23 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall 

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1 entific Assessment and Liaison (referred to in 

2 this paragraph as the ‘‘Office’’). 

3 (B) DUTIES.—The Office shall— 

4 (i) monitor the effectiveness of the sci5 entific expenditures by the Institute; 

6 (ii) oversee the coordination of re7 search efforts of the Institute with those of 

8 other programs; 

9 (iii) assess the effectiveness of pro10 grams of the Institute by evaluating— 

11 (I) the quality of the science 

12 funded by the Institute, using such 

13 tools as are readily available; and 

14 (II) the contributions of the In15 stitute to the national research effort, 

16 including ways in which the Institute 

17 collaborates and cooperates with the 

18 Department and with other Federal 

19 agencies; and 

20 (iv) encourage cooperative approaches 

21 among various research agencies within the 

22 Federal Government. 

23 (3) OFFICE OF SCIENTIFIC PERSONNEL.— 

24 (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall 

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1 entific Personnel (referred to in this paragraph 

2 as the ‘‘Office’’). 

3 (B) DUTIES.—The Office shall— 

4 (i) cooperate with scientific and agri5 cultural experts to assess— 

6 (I) the number of scientists in 

7 agriculture and related fields in the 

8 United States; and 

9 (II) how many additional sci10 entists in agriculture and related 

11 fields are needed to meet the purposes 

12 of this Act; and 

13 (ii) generate and maintain data that 

14 may assist the Director and the Council in 

15 planning appropriate Institute fellowship 

16 and training programs. 

17 (4) ADDITIONAL OFFICES.—The Director may 

18 establish such additional offices within the Institute 

19 as the Director or the Council determines to be nec20 essary to carry out the duties of the Institute under 

21 this Act. 

22 SEC. 6. DUTIES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Institute shall provide com24 petitive, peer-reviewed grants in accordance with section 

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1 mental agricultural research, including grants to fund re2 search proposals submitted by— 

3 (1) individual scientists; 

4 (2) research centers composed of a single insti5 tution or multiple institutions; and 

6 (3) other individuals and entities from the pri7 vate and public sectors, including researchers of the 

8 Department and other Federal agencies. 

9 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than Decem10 ber 31, 2008, and biennially thereafter, the Institute shall 

11 submit to the Secretary, the Committee on Agriculture, 

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

13 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a com14 prehensive report that describes the research funded and 

15 other activities carried out by the Institute during the pe16 riod covered by the report. 

17 SEC. 7. POWERS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Institute shall have such au19 thority as is necessary to carry out this Act, including the 

20 authority— 

21 (1) to promulgate such regulations as the Insti22 tute considers to be necessary for governance of op23 erations, organization, and personnel; 

24 (2) to make such expenditures as are necessary 

25 to carry out this Act; 


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1 (3) to enter into contracts or other arrange2 ments, or modifications of contracts or other ar3 rangements— 

4 (A) to provide for the conduct, by organi5 zations or individuals in the United States (in6 cluding other agencies of the Department, Fed7 eral agencies, and agencies of foreign coun8 tries), of such fundamental agricultural re9 search, research relating to fundamental 

10 science, or related activities as the Institute 

11 considers to be necessary to carry out this Act; 

12 and 

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

14 conduct of such specific fundamental agricul15 tural research as is in the national interest or 

16 is otherwise of critical importance, as deter17 mined by the Secretary, with the concurrence of 

18 the Institute; 

19 (4) to make advance, progress, and other pay20 ments relating to research and scientific activities 

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

22 3324 of title 31, United States Code; 

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

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

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


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1 kinds necessary for, or resulting from, the exercise 

2 of authority under this Act; 

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

4 funds are donated without restriction other than 

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

6 of the purposes of the Institute; 

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

8 research and scientific information to further the 

9 full dissemination of information of scientific value 

10 consistent with the national interest, without regard 

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

12 (8)(A) to accept and use the services of vol13 untary and uncompensated personnel; and 

14 (B) to provide such transportation and subsist15 ence as are authorized by section 5703 of title 5, 

16 United States Code, for individuals serving without 

17 compensation; 

18 (9) to prescribe, with the approval of the Comp19 troller General of the United States, the extent to 

20 which vouchers for funds expended under contracts 

21 for scientific or engineering research shall be subject 

22 to itemization or substantiation prior to payment, 

23 without regard to the limitations of other laws relat24 ing to the expenditure and accounting of public 

25 funds; 


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1 (10) to arrange with and reimburse the Sec2 retary, and the heads of other Federal agencies, for 

3 the performance of any activity that the Institute is 

4 authorized to conduct; and 

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

6 the Secretary, for the carrying out of such specific 

7 agricultural research as is in the national interest or 

8 otherwise of critical importance, as determined by 

9 the Secretary, with the consent of the Institute. 

10 (b) TRANSFER OF RESEARCH FUNDS OF OTHER DE11 PARTMENTS OR AGENCIES.—Funds available to the Sec12 retary, or any other department or agency of the Federal 

13 Government, for agricultural or scientific research shall 

14 be— 

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

16 the Secretary or the head of the other appropriate 

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

18 to the Institute for use in providing grants in ac19 cordance with the purposes for which the funds were 

20 made available; and 

21 (2) if so transferred, expendable by the Insti22 tute for those purposes. 

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

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

25 (2) shall not— 


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1 (A) conduct fundamental agricultural re2 search or research relating to fundamental 

3 science; or 

4 (B) operate any laboratory or pilot facility. 

5 SEC. 8. BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS. 

6 (a) BUDGETARY MANAGEMENT GOALS.—The Direc7 tor, in coordination with the Secretary, shall manage the 

8 budget of the Institute to achieve the goals of— 

9 (1) providing sufficient funds over a period of 

10 time to achieve the purposes of this Act; 

11 (2) fostering outstanding scientific talent, and 

12 directing that talent toward work on issues relating 

13 to agriculture; and 

14 (3) adequately reimbursing grant-receiving in15 stitutions for costs to encourage the pursuit of agri16 culturally-related research. 

17 (b) BUDGETARY GUIDELINES FOR GRANTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—To achieve the goals de19 scribed in subsection (a), the Institute shall, to the 

20 maximum extent practicable, ensure that grants 

21 awarded for each fiscal year comply with the guide22 lines described in paragraphs (2) and (3). 

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

24 grants, to the maximum extent practicable— 


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1 (A) the Institute shall award approxi2 mately 1,000 new project grants annually; 

3 (B) the average project grant amount, in4 cluding overhead, shall be approximately 

5 $225,000 for each fiscal year, as adjusted in ac6 cordance with the Consumer Price Index for all7 urban consumers, United States city average, 

8 as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics; 

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

10 maximum period of 5 years, with an average 

11 award duration of 3.5 years; 

12 (D) the Institute shall require the recipi13 ents of a project grant to submit appropriate 

14 reports on research carried out using funds 

15 from the project grant; and 

16 (E) the Institute shall provide such num17 ber of training project grants as the Director or 

18 the Institute determines to be appropriate. 

19 (3) MULTIDISCIPLINARY GRANTS.—With re20 spect to multidisciplinary grants, to the maximum 

21 extent practicable— 

22 (A) for each of fiscal years 2008 through 

23 2011, the Institute shall provide 10 multidisci24 plinary grants; 


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1 (B) for fiscal year 2012 and subsequent 

2 fiscal years, the Institute shall provide multi3 disciplinary grants to fund not fewer than 40 

4 research centers, on the conditions that— 

5 (i) sufficient funds are available; and 

6 (ii) a sufficient number of qualified 

7 research proposals are received; 

8 (C) the research centers provided multi9 disciplinary grants may be composed of a single 

10 institution or multiple institutions; 

11 (D) the average multidisciplinary grant 

12 amount, including overhead, shall be approxi13 mately $3,000,000 for each fiscal year, as ad14 justed in accordance with the Consumer Price 

15 Index for all-urban consumers, United States 

16 city average, as published by the Bureau of 

17 Labor Statistics; 

18 (E) a multidisciplinary grant shall be pro19 vided for a maximum period of 5 years; 

20 (F) in the aggregate, multidisciplinary 

21 grants provided under this paragraph for a fis22 cal year shall represent approximately 15 per23 cent of the total grants provided by the Insti24 tute for the fiscal year, on the condition that a 


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1 sufficient number of qualified research pro2 posals are received for the fiscal year; and 

3 (G) merit review of the research proposal 

4 relating to the multidisciplinary grant is con5 ducted to ensure, to the maximum extent prac6 ticable, that only quality research proposals are 

7 funded. 

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

9 multidisciplinary grant provided under this Act, the Insti10 tute shall pay indirect costs of conducting research, in11 cluding the costs of overhead, to the recipient of the grant 

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

13 rate applicable to similar grants made by the National In14 stitutes of Health or the National Science Foundation, as 

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

16 the Secretary. 

17 SEC. 9. FUNDING. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds of the Commodity 

19 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out 

20 this Act— 

21 (1) for fiscal year 2008, $245,000,000 for 

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

23 shall be made available for administrative expenses 

24 incurred by the Institute; 


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1 (2) for fiscal year 2009, $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 2010, $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 2011, $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 2012 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 2012 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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