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[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 971 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Institute of Food and 
Agriculture Act of 2007''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) the task force established under section 7404 of the 
        Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3101 
        note; 116 Stat. 457)--
                    (A) conducted an exhaustive review of agricultural 
                research in the United States; and
                    (B) evaluated the merits of establishing 1 or more 
                national institutes focused on disciplines important to 
                the progress of food and agricultural science;
            (2) according to findings and recommendations provided to 
        Congress by the task force--
                    (A) agriculture in the United States faces critical 
                challenges, including impending crises in the food, 
                agricultural, and natural resource systems of the 
                United States;
                    (B) exotic diseases and pests threaten crops and 
                livestock;
                    (C) the United States faces a public health 
                epidemic due to the increasing number of overweight and 
                obese Americans;
                    (D) agriculturally-related environmental 
                degradation is a serious problem for the United States 
                and other parts of the world;
                    (E) certain animal diseases threaten human health; 
                and
                    (F) agricultural producers in the United States of 
                several primary crops are no longer the world's lowest-
                cost producers;
            (3) to meet those critical challenges, it is essential that 
        the United States ensure that the agricultural innovation that 
        has been so successful in the past continues in the future;
            (4) agricultural innovation has resulted in hybrid and 
        higher-yielding varieties of basic crops and enhanced the 
        global food supply by increasing yields on existing acres;
            (5) since 1960, the global population has tripled, but 
        there has been no net increase in the quantity of land in the 
        United States under cultivation;
            (6) as of the date of enactment of this Act, only 1.5 
        percent of the population of the United States provides food 
        and fiber to partially supply the needs of the United States;
            (7)(A) agriculture, fundamental agricultural research, and 
        fundamental sciences play a major role in maintaining the 
        health and welfare of all people of the United States and 
        maintaining the land and water of the United States; and
            (B) that role must be expanded;
            (8) research that leads to understandings of the ways in 
        which cells and organisms function is critical to continued 
        innovation in agriculture in the United States;
            (9) future innovations developed as a result of those 
        understandings are dependent on fundamental scientific research 
        and would be enhanced by ideas and technologies from other 
        fields of science and research;
            (10) opportunities to advance fundamental knowledge of 
        benefit to agriculture in the United States have never been 
        greater;
            (11) many of those new opportunities are the result of 
        amazing progress in the life sciences during recent decades, 
        attributable in large part to the provision made by the Federal 
        Government through the National Institutes of Health and the 
        National Science Foundation;
            (12) new technologies and new concepts have expedited 
        advances in the fields of genetics, cell and molecular biology, 
        and proteomics;
            (13) much of that scientific knowledge is ready to be used 
        in agriculture and food sciences through a sustained, 
        disciplined research effort at an institute dedicated to 
        conducting that research;
            (14) publicly-sponsored research is essential to continued 
        agricultural innovation--
                    (A) to mitigate or harmonize the long-term effects 
                of agriculture on the environment;
                    (B) to enhance the long-term sustainability of 
                agriculture; and
                    (C) to improve the public health and welfare;
            (15) competitive, peer-reviewed fundamental agricultural 
        research is best suited to promoting the research from which 
        breakthrough innovations that agriculture and society require 
        will come;
            (16) it is in the national interest to dedicate additional 
        funds on a long-term, ongoing basis to an institute dedicated 
        to funding competitive, peer-reviewed grant programs that 
        support and promote the highest caliber of fundamental 
        agricultural research;
            (17) the capability of the United States to be 
        internationally competitive in agriculture is threatened by 
        inadequate investment in research;
            (18) to be successful over the long term, grant-receiving 
        institutions must be adequately reimbursed for costs of 
        conducting agricultural research if the institutions are to 
        pursue that kind of research; and
            (19) to meet those challenges, address those needs, and to 
        provide for vitally needed agricultural innovation, it is in 
        the national interest to provide sufficient Federal funds over 
        the long term to fund a significant program of fundamental 
        agricultural research through an independent national 
        institute.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to establish a national 
institute--
            (1) to ensure that the technological superiority of 
        agriculture in the United States effectively serves the people 
        of the United States in the coming decades; and
            (2) to support and promote fundamental agricultural 
        research of the highest caliber to achieve the goals of--
                    (A) increasing the international competitiveness of 
                agriculture in the United States;
                    (B) developing foods and expanding knowledge to 
                improve diet, nutrition, and health, and to combat 
                obesity;
                    (C) decreasing the dependence of the United States 
                on foreign sources of petroleum by--
                            (i) developing biobased fuels and products;
                            (ii) enhancing methods of production at 
                        biobased fuels refineries;
                            (iii) reducing energy consumption at 
                        biobased fuel refineries; and
                            (iv) increasing the use of coproducts of 
                        biobased fuels production;
                    (D) creating new and more useful products from 
                plants and animals;
                    (E) improving food safety to reduce the incidence 
                of foodborne illness in the United States;
                    (F) improving food security by protecting plants 
                and animals in the United States from insects, 
                diseases, and the threat of bioterrorism;
                    (G) enhancing agricultural sustainability;
                    (H) improving the environment;
                    (I) strengthening the economies of rural 
                communities in the United States;
                    (J) improving farm profitability and the viability 
                and competitiveness of small and moderate-sized farms;
                    (K) strengthening national security by improving 
                the agricultural productivity of subsistence farmers in 
                developing countries to combat hunger and the political 
                instability that hunger produces;
                    (L) assisting in modernizing and revitalizing the 
                agricultural research facilities of the United States 
                at institutions of higher education, independent, 
                nonprofit research institutions, and consortia of those 
                institutions, through capital investment; and
                    (M) achieving such other goals, and meeting such 
                other needs, as the Secretary or the Institute 
                determines to be appropriate.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the Standing 
        Council of Advisors established by section 4(d)(1).
            (2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Agriculture.
            (3) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
        the Institute.
            (4) Fundamental agricultural research; fundamental 
        science.--The terms ``fundamental agricultural research'' and 
        ``fundamental science'' mean research or science that, as 
        determined by the Secretary--
                    (A) advances the frontiers of knowledge so as to 
                lead to practical results or to further scientific 
                discovery; and
                    (B) has an effect on agriculture, food, human 
                health, or another purpose of this Act as described in 
                section 2(b).
            (5) Institute.--The term ``Institute'' means the National 
        Institute of Food and Agriculture established by section 4(a).
            (6) Multidisciplinary grant.--The term ``multidisciplinary 
        grant'' means a grant provided to 2 or more collaborating 
        investigators to carry out coordinated, multidisciplinary 
        research programs involving multiple disciplines that has been 
        approved by the Institute.
            (7) Project grant.--The term ``project grant'' means a 
        grant provided to 1 or more principal investigators to conduct 
        research that has been approved by the Institute.
            (8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
            (9) State.--The term ``State'' means--
                    (A) each of the several States of the United 
                States;
                    (B) the District of Columbia;
                    (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
                    (D) Guam;
                    (E) American Samoa;
                    (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 
                Islands;
                    (G) the Federated States of Micronesia;
                    (H) the Republic of the Marshall Islands;
                    (I) the Republic of Palau; and
                    (J) the United States Virgin Islands.
            (10) United states.--The term ``United States'', when used 
        in a geographical sense, means all of the States.

SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT; COMPOSITION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established within the Department an 
agency to be known as the ``National Institute of Food and 
Agriculture''.
    (b) Location.--The location of the Institute shall be determined by 
the Secretary.
    (c) Composition.--The Institute shall be composed of the Council 
(including committees and offices established under section 5) and the 
Director.
    (d) Standing Council of Advisors.--
            (1) Establishment.--There is established a Standing Council 
        of Advisors.
            (2) Composition.--The Council shall be composed of 25 
        members, including--
                    (A) the Director; and
                    (B) 24 members appointed by the Secretary, with the 
                concurrence of the Director, of whom--
                            (i) 12 members shall be highly-qualified 
                        scientists who, as determined by the 
                        Secretary--
                                    (I) are not employees of the 
                                Federal Government;
                                    (II)(aa) have expertise in the 
                                fields of agricultural research, 
                                science, food and nutrition, or related 
                                appropriate fields; and
                                    (bb) represent a diversity of those 
                                fields;
                                    (III) are appropriate for 
                                membership on the Council solely on the 
                                basis of established records of 
                                distinguished service; and
                                    (IV) collectively represent the 
                                views of agricultural research and 
                                scientific leaders in all regions of 
                                the United States; and
                            (ii) 12 stakeholders shall be distinguished 
                        members of the public, as determined by the 
                        Secretary, including--
                                    (I) representatives of agricultural 
                                organizations and industry; and
                                    (II) individuals with expertise in 
                                the environment, subsistence 
                                agriculture, energy, food and 
                                nutrition, and human health and 
                                disease.
            (3) Term.--The members of the Council shall serve 
        staggered, 4-year terms, as determined by the Secretary.
            (4) Meetings.--The Council shall meet at the call of the 
        Director and the Secretary, but not less often than annually.
            (5) Chairperson and vice chairperson.--The Council shall 
        elect a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from among the members 
        of the Council.
            (6) Duties.--The Council shall--
                    (A) assist the Director in--
                            (i) establishing research priorities of the 
                        Institute; and
                            (ii) reviewing, judging, and maintaining 
                        the relevance of the programs of the Institute;
                    (B) review all proposals approved by the scientific 
                committees established under section 5(a)(1) to ensure, 
                to the maximum extent practicable, that the purposes of 
                this Act are being met; and
                    (C) through the meetings described in paragraph 
                (4), provide an interface between scientists and 
                stakeholders to ensure, to the maximum extent 
                practicable, that the Institute is coordinating 
                national goals with realistic scientific opportunities.
    (e) Director.--
            (1) In general.--The Institute shall be headed by a 
        Director, who shall be an individual who is--
                    (A) a distinguished scientist; and
                    (B) appointed by the President (after taking into 
                consideration recommendations provided by the Council), 
                by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
            (2) Term.--The Director shall serve for a single, 6-year 
        term.
            (3) Compensation.--The Director shall receive basic pay at 
        the rate provided for level II of the Executive Schedule under 
        section 5513 of title 5, United States Code.
            (4) Supervision.--The Director shall report directly to the 
        Secretary.
            (5) Authority and responsibilities of director.--
                    (A) In general.--Except as otherwise specifically 
                provided in this Act, the Director shall--
                            (i) exercise all of the authority provided 
                        to the Institute by this Act (including any 
                        powers and functions delegated to the Director 
                        by the Council);
                            (ii) in consultation with the Council, 
                        formulate programs in accordance with policies 
                        adopted by the Institute;
                            (iii) establish committees and offices 
                        within the Institute in accordance with section 
                        5;
                            (iv) establish procedures for the peer 
                        review of research funded by the Institute;
                            (v) establish procedures for the provision 
                        and administration of grants by the Institute 
                        in accordance with this Act;
                            (vi) assess the personnel needs of 
                        agricultural research in the areas supported by 
                        the Institute, and, if determined to be 
                        appropriate by the Director or the Secretary, 
                        for other areas of food and agricultural 
                        research; and
                            (vii) cooperate with the Council to plan 
                        programs that will help meet agricultural 
                        personnel needs in the future, including 
                        portable fellowship and training programs in 
                        fundamental agricultural research and 
                        fundamental science.
                    (B) Finality of actions.--An action taken by the 
                Director in accordance with this Act (or in accordance 
                with the terms of a delegation of authority from the 
                Council) shall be final and binding upon the Institute.
                    (C) Delegation and redelegation of functions.--
                            (i) In general.--Except as provided in 
                        clauses (ii) and (iii), the Director may, from 
                        time to time and as the Director considers to 
                        be appropriate, authorize the performance by 
                        any other officer, agency, or employee of the 
                        Institute of any of the functions of the 
                        Director under this Act, including functions 
                        delegated to the Director by the Council.
                            (ii) Policymaking functions.--The Director 
                        may not redelegate policymaking functions 
                        delegated to the Director by the Council.
                            (iii) Contracts, grants, and other 
                        arrangements.--The Director may enter into 
                        contracts and other arrangements, and provide 
                        grants, in accordance with this Act--
                                    (I) only with the prior approval of 
                                the Council or under authority 
                                delegated by the Council; and
                                    (II) subject to such conditions as 
                                the Council may specify.
                            (iv) Reporting.--The Director shall 
                        promptly report each contract or other 
                        arrangement entered into, each grant awarded, 
                        and each other action of the Director taken, 
                        under clause (iii) to the Committee on 
                        Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 
                        Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the 
                        House of Representatives.
            (6) Status on council.--
                    (A) In general.--The Director shall be an ex 
                officio member of the Council.
                    (B) Compensation and tenure.--Except with respect 
                to compensation and tenure, the service of the Director 
                on the Council shall be coordinated with the service of 
                other members of the Council.
                    (C) Voting; election.--The Director shall be--
                            (i) a voting member of the Council; and
                            (ii) eligible for election by the Council 
                        as Chairperson or Vice Chairperson of the 
                        Council.
            (7) Staff.--
                    (A) In general.--Subject to this paragraph, the 
                Director shall recruit and hire such senior staff and 
                other personnel as are necessary to assist the Director 
                in carrying out this Act.
                    (B) Senior staff.--Each individual hired as senior 
                staff of the Director shall--
                            (i) be a highly accomplished scientist, as 
                        determined by the Director;
                            (ii) be recruited from the active 
                        scientific community; and
                            (iii) be appointed and serve on the basis 
                        of 4-year, rotating appointments.
                    (C) Temporary staff.--Staff hired by the Director 
                under this paragraph may include scientists and other 
                technical and professional personnel hired for limited 
                terms, or on temporary bases, including individuals on 
                leave of absence from academic, industrial, or research 
                institutions to work for the Institute.
                    (D) Compensation.--
                            (i) In general.--Except as provided in 
                        clause (ii), subject to such policies as the 
                        Council shall periodically prescribe, the 
                        Director may fix the compensation of staff 
                        hired under this paragraph without regard to 
                        the provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III 
                        of chapter 53 of title 5, United States Code, 
                        relating to classification of positions and 
                        General Schedule pay rates.
                            (ii) Maximum rate of pay.--The rate of pay 
                        for an individual hired under this paragraph 
                        shall not exceed the rate payable for level V 
                        of the Executive Schedule under section 5316 of 
                        title 5, United States Code.
            (8) Reporting and consultation.--The Director shall--
                    (A) periodically report to the Secretary with 
                respect to activities carried out by the Institute; and
                    (B) consult regularly with the Secretary to ensure, 
                to the maximum extent practicable, that--
                            (i) research of the Institute is relevant 
                        to agriculture in the United States and 
                        otherwise serves the national interest; and
                            (ii) the research of the Institute 
                        supplements and enhances, and does not replace, 
                        research conducted or funded by--
                                    (I) other agencies of the 
                                Department;
                                    (II) the National Science 
                                Foundation; or
                                    (III) the National Institutes of 
                                Health.

SEC. 5. COMMITTEES AND OFFICES OF INSTITUTE.

    (a) Standing Scientific Committees.--
            (1) In general.--The Director may establish such number of 
        standing scientific committees within the Institute as the 
        Director determines to be appropriate.
            (2) Composition.--A standing scientific committee 
        established under paragraph (1) shall consist of such members 
        of the Council appointed under section 4(d)(2)(B)(i) as the 
        Director may select.
            (3) Term.--Members of a standing scientific committee 
        established under paragraph (1) shall serve for staggered, 4-
        year terms, as determined by the Director.
            (4) Review of proposals.--
                    (A) In general.--A standing scientific committee 
                shall apply rigorous merit review to research proposals 
                received by the Institute to ensure, to the maximum 
                extent practicable, that research funded by the 
                Institute is scientifically of high quality.
                    (B) Determination of scientific merit.--A research 
                proposal received by the Institute and reviewed by a 
                standing scientific committee under subparagraph (A) 
                shall be--
                            (i) assigned a score based on the 
                        scientific merit of the proposal, as determined 
                        by the standing scientific committee; and
                            (ii) if approved by the standing scientific 
                        committee, forwarded, along with the score, to 
                        the Council for final review.
                    (C) Declination of proposals.--If the Council 
                determines that a research proposal forwarded under 
                this paragraph does not meet standards of scientific 
                review established by a standing scientific committee 
                or any similar standard established by the Director, 
                the Council shall decline to recommend the research 
                proposal for funding by the Institute.
            (5) Ad hoc review members.--The Director may supplement a 
        standing scientific committee under this subsection with 1 or 
        more ad hoc reviewers in a case in which a research proposal 
        received by the Institute requires specialized knowledge not 
        represented on that or any other standing scientific committee.
    (b) Offices.--
            (1) Office of advanced science and application.--
                    (A) Establishment.--The Director shall establish 
                within the Institute an Office of Advanced Science and 
                Application (referred to in this paragraph as the 
                ``Office'').
                    (B) Duties.--The Office shall--
                            (i) closely monitor national needs and 
                        advances in research with the goal of 
                        identifying pressing problems for which 
                        solutions are realistically achievable through 
                        research;
                            (ii) coordinate creative talent from 
                        diverse disciplines to bridge potential gaps 
                        between fundamental agricultural research and 
                        high-priority, practical needs; and
                            (iii) recommend to the Director ways in 
                        which existing fundamental agricultural 
                        research may be applied to the most urgent 
                        problems addressed by the Institute.
                    (C) Staff.--
                            (i) In general.--The Office shall employ a 
                        small, focused staff of rotating experts in 
                        science and agriculture.
                            (ii) Talent pool; term.--Primary staff of 
                        the Office--
                                    (I) shall be appointed from the 
                                ranks of active scientists; and
                                    (II) shall serve terms of not to 
                                exceed 3 years.
                    (D) Intensive study groups.--The Office shall--
                            (i) focus primarily on the most urgent 
                        problems addressed by the Institute; and
                            (ii) assemble such intensive study groups 
                        as are necessary to address those problems.
                    (E) Reports.--The Office shall submit to the 
                Director and the Council periodic reports that--
                            (i) describe the activities being carried 
                        out by the Office; and
                            (ii) recommended new research priorities 
                        for the Office, as appropriate.
            (2) Office of scientific assessment and liaison.--
                    (A) Establishment.--The Director shall establish 
                within the Institute an Office of Scientific Assessment 
                and Liaison (referred to in this paragraph as the 
                ``Office'').
                    (B) Duties.--The Office shall--
                            (i) monitor the effectiveness of the 
                        scientific expenditures by the Institute;
                            (ii) oversee the coordination of research 
                        efforts of the Institute with those of other 
                        programs;
                            (iii) assess the effectiveness of programs 
                        of the Institute by evaluating--
                                    (I) the quality of the science 
                                funded by the Institute, using such 
                                tools as are readily available; and
                                    (II) the contributions of the 
                                Institute to the national research 
                                effort, including ways in which the 
                                Institute collaborates and cooperates 
                                with the Department and with other 
                                Federal agencies; and
                            (iv) encourage cooperative approaches among 
                        various research agencies within the Federal 
                        Government.
            (3) Office of scientific personnel.--
                    (A) Establishment.--The Director shall establish 
                within the Institute an Office of Scientific Personnel 
                (referred to in this paragraph as the ``Office'').
                    (B) Duties.--The Office shall--
                            (i) cooperate with scientific and 
                        agricultural experts to assess--
                                    (I) the number of scientists in 
                                agriculture and related fields in the 
                                United States; and
                                    (II) how many additional scientists 
                                in agriculture and related fields are 
                                needed to meet the purposes of this 
                                Act; and
                            (ii) generate and maintain data that may 
                        assist the Director and the Council in planning 
                        appropriate Institute fellowship and training 
                        programs.
            (4) Additional offices.--The Director may establish such 
        additional offices within the Institute as the Director or the 
        Council determines to be necessary to carry out the duties of 
        the Institute under this Act.

SEC. 6. DUTIES.

    (a) In General.--The Institute shall provide competitive, peer-
reviewed grants in accordance with section 8(b) to support and promote 
the highest quality of fundamental agricultural research, including 
grants to fund research proposals submitted by--
            (1) individual scientists;
            (2) research centers composed of a single institution or 
        multiple institutions; and
            (3) other individuals and entities from the private and 
        public sectors, including researchers of the Department and 
        other Federal agencies.
    (b) Report to Congress.--Not later than December 31, 2008, and 
biennially thereafter, the Institute shall submit to the Secretary, the 
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, and 
the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a 
comprehensive report that describes the research funded and other 
activities carried out by the Institute during the period covered by 
the report.

SEC. 7. POWERS.

    (a) In General.--The Institute shall have such authority as is 
necessary to carry out this Act, including the authority--
            (1) to promulgate such regulations as the Institute 
        considers to be necessary for governance of operations, 
        organization, and personnel;
            (2) to make such expenditures as are necessary to carry out 
        this Act;
            (3) to enter into contracts or other arrangements, or 
        modifications of contracts or other arrangements--
                    (A) to provide for the conduct, by organizations or 
                individuals in the United States (including other 
                agencies of the Department, Federal agencies, and 
                agencies of foreign countries), of such fundamental 
                agricultural research, research relating to fundamental 
                science, or related activities as the Institute 
                considers to be necessary to carry out this Act; and
                    (B) at the request of the Secretary, for the 
                conduct of such specific fundamental agricultural 
                research as is in the national interest or is otherwise 
                of critical importance, as determined by the Secretary, 
                with the concurrence of the Institute;
            (4) to make advance, progress, and other payments relating 
        to research and scientific activities without regard to 
        subsections (a) and (b) of section 3324 of title 31, United 
        States Code;
            (5) to acquire by purchase, lease, loan, gift, or 
        condemnation, and to hold and dispose of by grant, sale, lease, 
        or loan, real and personal property of all kinds necessary for, 
        or resulting from, the exercise of authority under this Act;
            (6) to receive and use donated funds, if the funds are 
        donated without restriction other than that the funds be used 
        in furtherance of 1 or more of the purposes of the Institute;
            (7) to publish or arrange for the publication of research 
        and scientific information to further the full dissemination of 
        information of scientific value consistent with the national 
        interest, without regard to section 501 of title 44, United 
        States Code;
            (8)(A) to accept and use the services of voluntary and 
        uncompensated personnel; and
            (B) to provide such transportation and subsistence as are 
        authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States Code, for 
        individuals serving without compensation;
            (9) to prescribe, with the approval of the Comptroller 
        General of the United States, the extent to which vouchers for 
        funds expended under contracts for scientific or engineering 
        research shall be subject to itemization or substantiation 
        prior to payment, without regard to the limitations of other 
        laws relating to the expenditure and accounting of public 
        funds;
            (10) to arrange with and reimburse the Secretary, and the 
        heads of other Federal agencies, for the performance of any 
        activity that the Institute is authorized to conduct; and
            (11) to enter into contracts, at the request of the 
        Secretary, for the carrying out of such specific agricultural 
        research as is in the national interest or otherwise of 
        critical importance, as determined by the Secretary, with the 
        consent of the Institute.
    (b) Transfer of Research Funds of Other Departments or Agencies.--
Funds available to the Secretary, or any other department or agency of 
the Federal Government, for agricultural or scientific research shall 
be--
            (1) available for transfer, with the approval of the 
        Secretary or the head of the other appropriate department or 
        agency involved, in whole or in part, to the Institute for use 
        in providing grants in accordance with the purposes for which 
        the funds were made available; and
            (2) if so transferred, expendable by the Institute for 
        those purposes.
    (c) Restriction on Activities.--The Institute--
            (1) shall be a grant-making entity only; and
            (2) shall not--
                    (A) conduct fundamental agricultural research or 
                research relating to fundamental science; or
                    (B) operate any laboratory or pilot facility.

SEC. 8. BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS.

    (a) Budgetary Management Goals.--The Director, in coordination with 
the Secretary, shall manage the budget of the Institute to achieve the 
goals of--
            (1) providing sufficient funds over a period of time to 
        achieve the purposes of this Act;
            (2) fostering outstanding scientific talent, and directing 
        that talent toward work on issues relating to agriculture; and
            (3) adequately reimbursing grant-receiving institutions for 
        costs to encourage the pursuit of agriculturally-related 
        research.
    (b) Budgetary Guidelines for Grants.--
            (1) In general.--To achieve the goals described in 
        subsection (a), the Institute shall, to the maximum extent 
        practicable, ensure that grants awarded for each fiscal year 
        comply with the guidelines described in paragraphs (2) and (3).
            (2) Project grants.--With respect to project grants, to the 
        maximum extent practicable--
                    (A) the Institute shall award approximately 1,000 
                new project grants annually;
                    (B) the average project grant amount, including 
                overhead, shall be approximately $225,000 for each 
                fiscal year, as adjusted in accordance with the 
                Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers, United 
                States city average, as published by the Bureau of 
                Labor Statistics;
                    (C) a project grant shall be provided for a maximum 
                period of 5 years, with an average award duration of 
                3.5 years;
                    (D) the Institute shall require the recipients of a 
                project grant to submit appropriate reports on research 
                carried out using funds from the project grant; and
                    (E) the Institute shall provide such number of 
                training project grants as the Director or the 
                Institute determines to be appropriate.
            (3) Multidisciplinary grants.--With respect to 
        multidisciplinary grants, to the maximum extent practicable--
                    (A) for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2011, the 
                Institute shall provide 10 multidisciplinary grants;
                    (B) for fiscal year 2012 and subsequent fiscal 
                years, the Institute shall provide multidisciplinary 
                grants to fund not fewer than 40 research centers, on 
                the conditions that--
                            (i) sufficient funds are available; and
                            (ii) a sufficient number of qualified 
                        research proposals are received;
                    (C) the research centers provided multidisciplinary 
                grants may be composed of a single institution or 
                multiple institutions;
                    (D) the average multidisciplinary grant amount, 
                including overhead, shall be approximately $3,000,000 
                for each fiscal year, as adjusted in accordance with 
                the Consumer Price Index for all-urban consumers, 
                United States city average, as published by the Bureau 
                of Labor Statistics;
                    (E) a multidisciplinary grant shall be provided for 
                a maximum period of 5 years;
                    (F) in the aggregate, multidisciplinary grants 
                provided under this paragraph for a fiscal year shall 
                represent approximately 15 percent of the total grants 
                provided by the Institute for the fiscal year, on the 
                condition that a sufficient number of qualified 
                research proposals are received for the fiscal year; 
                and
                    (G) merit review of the research proposal relating 
                to the multidisciplinary grant is conducted to ensure, 
                to the maximum extent practicable, that only quality 
                research proposals are funded.
    (c) Indirect Costs.--As part of a project grant or 
multidisciplinary grant provided under this Act, the Institute shall 
pay indirect costs of conducting research, including the costs of 
overhead, to the recipient of the grant at a rate that is not less than 
any standard negotiated rate applicable to similar grants made by the 
National Institutes of Health or the National Science Foundation, as of 
the date of enactment of this Act, as determined by the Secretary.

SEC. 9. FUNDING.

    (a) In General.--Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, 
the Secretary shall use to carry out this Act--
            (1) for fiscal year 2008, $245,000,000 for project grants, 
        of which not more than $20,000,000 shall be made available for 
        administrative expenses incurred by the Institute;
            (2) for fiscal year 2009, $515,000,000, of which--
                    (A) not less than $450,000,000 shall be made 
                available for project grants;
                    (B) not less than $30,000,000 shall be made 
                available for multidisciplinary grants; and
                    (C) not more than $35,000,000 shall be available 
                for administrative expenses incurred by the Institute;
            (3) for fiscal year 2010, $780,000,000, of which--
                    (A) not less than $675,000,000 shall be made 
                available for project grants;
                    (B) not less than $60,000,000 shall be made 
                available for multidisciplinary grants; and
                    (C) not more than $45,000,000 shall be made 
                available for administrative expenses incurred by the 
                Institute;
            (4) for fiscal year 2011, $935,000,000, of which--
                    (A) not less than $800,000,000 shall be made 
                available for project grants;
                    (B) not less than $90,000,000 shall be made 
                available for multidisciplinary grants; and
                    (C) not more than $45,000,000 shall be made 
                available for administrative expenses incurred by the 
                Institute; and
            (5) for fiscal year 2012 and each fiscal year thereafter, 
        $966,000,000, of which--
                    (A) not less than $800,000,000 shall be made 
                available for project grants;
                    (B) not less than $120,000,000 shall be made 
                available for multidisciplinary grants; and
                    (C) not more than $46,000,000 shall be made 
                available for administrative expenses incurred by the 
                Institute.
    (b) Limitation.--For fiscal year 2012 and each subsequent fiscal 
year, administrative expenses paid by the Institute shall not exceed 5 
percent of the total expenditures of the Institute for the fiscal year.
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