I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8613 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Director of the National 

Science Foundation to carry out cross-cutting and collaborative research 

and development activities focused on the joint advancement of Department of Agriculture and National Science Foundation mission requirements and priorities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 4, 2024 

Mr. LUCAS (for himself and Ms. SALINAS) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and 

in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Director of 

the National Science Foundation to carry out cross-cutting and collaborative research and development activities 

focused on the joint advancement of Department of Agriculture and National Science Foundation mission requirements and priorities, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘NSF and USDA Inter3 agency Research Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND NATIONAL 

5 SCIENCE FOUNDATION RESEARCH AND DE6 VELOPMENT COORDINATION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture (in 

8 this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) and the Direc9 tor of the National Science Foundation (in this section 

10 referred to as the ‘‘Director’’) shall carry out cross-cutting 

11 and collaborative research and development activities fo12 cused on the joint advancement of Department of Agri13 culture and National Science Foundation mission require14 ments and priorities. 

15 (b) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Sec16 retary and the Director shall coordinate the activities 

17 under subsection (a) through the establishment of memo18 randa of understanding or other appropriate interagency 

19 agreements. Such memoranda or agreements, as the case 

20 may be, shall require the use of a competitive, merit review 

21 process, as appropriate. Such activities may include com22 ponents proposed by Federal agencies, institutions of 

23 higher education, non-profit institutions, and other appro24 priate entities, as determined appropriate under the 

25 memoranda or agreements. 


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1 (c) COORDINATION.—In carrying out the activities 

2 under subsection (a), the Secretary and the Director 

3 may— 

4 (1) conduct collaborative research in a variety 

5 of focus areas, such as— 

6 (A) plant, animal, and microbial biology 

7 relevant to agricultural challenges; 

8 (B) food and nutrition security; 

9 (C) rural economic revitalization; 

10 (D) cyber-physical systems; 

11 (E) smart and connected communities; 

12 (F) advanced sensors and models of soil 

13 and plant processes; 

14 (G) nano-biosensing and analytical tech15 nologies to improve food safety, water quality, 

16 biosecurity, plant and animal diseases, and soil 

17 health; 

18 (H) monitoring of food- or water-borne 

19 pathogens, allergens, and accidental, natural, or 

20 intentional bio- or chemical contaminants; 

21 (I) key emerging technology areas such as 

22 artificial intelligence, machine learning, automa23 tion, robotics, digital agriculture, and informa24 tion and communication technology for agricul25 tural uses; 


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1 (J) development and testing of new preci2 sion agriculture tools; and 

3 (K) workforce needs, education, and devel4 opment; 

5 (2) promote collaboration, open community6 based development, and data and information shar7 ing between Federal agencies, institutions of higher 

8 education, community colleges, area career and tech9 nical education schools, nonprofit institutions, and 

10 other appropriate entities by providing the necessary 

11 access and secure data and information transfer ca12 pabilities; 

13 (3) support research infrastructure, including 

14 new facilities, equipment and broadband deployment, 

15 as the Secretary and Director determine necessary; 

16 (4) develop translational technologies for com17 mercial utilization; 

18 (5) organize education, training, and research 

19 initiatives relating to STEM education and work20 force development, which may include— 

21 (A) activities supported by the Cooperative 

22 Extension System; 

23 (B) industrial partnership programs; 


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1 (C) workshops for educating preschool 

2 through grade 12 teachers on how to increase 

3 agricultural literacy; 

4 (D) development of agricultural-based 

5 science curricula for kindergarten through 

6 grade 12 students; and 

7 (E) distribution of resources for educators 

8 to implement curricula, such as the workshops 

9 developed under subparagraph (C); 

10 (6) award grants to institutions of higher edu11 cation, community colleges, area career and tech12 nical education schools, or eligible nonprofit institu13 tions (or consortia thereof), to establish a Center for 

14 Agricultural Research, Education, and Workforce 

15 Development; and 

16 (7) facilitate relationships between public and 

17 private entities to carry out the activities specified in 

18 paragraphs (1) through (6) upon the termination of 

19 any agreement entered into under subsection (b). 

20 (d) AGREEMENTS.—In carrying out the activities 

21 under subsection (a), the Secretary and the Director are 

22 authorized to— 

23 (1) carry out reimbursable agreements between 

24 the Department of Agriculture, the National Science 


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1 Foundation, and other entities in order to maximize 

2 the effectiveness of research and development; and 

3 (2) collaborate with other Federal agencies, as 

4 appropriate. 

5 (e) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 

6 of the enactment of this Act, the appropriate committees 

7 of Congress, a report detailing the following: 

8 (1) Interagency coordination between each Fed9 eral agency involved in the research and development 

10 activities carried out under this section. 

11 (2) Potential opportunities to expand the tech12 nical capabilities of the Department of Agriculture 

13 and the National Science Foundation. 

14 (3) Collaborative research achievements. 

15 (4) Areas of future mutually beneficial suc16 cesses. 

17 (5) Continuation of coordination activities be18 tween the Department of Agriculture and the Na19 tional Science Foundation. 

20 (f) RESEARCH SECURITY.—The activities authorized 

21 under this section shall be applied in a manner consistent 

22 with subtitle D of title VI of the Research and Develop23 ment, Competition, and Innovation Act (enacted as divi24 sion B of the CHIPS Act of 2022 (Public Law 117–167; 

25 42 U.S.C. 19231 et seq.)). 


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1 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 (1) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON3 GRESS.—The term ‘‘appropriate committees of Con4 gress’’ means each of the following committees: 

5 (A) The Committee on Agriculture of the 

6 House of Representatives. 

7 (B) The Committee on Science, Space, and 

8 Technology of the House of Representatives. 

9 (C) The Committee on Commerce, Science, 

10 and Transportation of the Senate. 

11 (D) The Committee on Agriculture, Nutri12 tion, and Forestry of the Senate. 

13 (2) AREA CAREER AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION

14 SCHOOL.—The term ‘‘area career and technical edu15 cation school’’ has the meaning given such term in 

16 section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Tech17 nical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2302). 

18 (3) COMMUNITY COLLEGE.—The term ‘‘commu19 nity college’’ has the meaning given such term in 

20 section 3167B of the Energy Science Education En21 hancement Act (42 U.S.C. 7381c–3). 

22 (4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 

23 term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 


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1 meaning given such term in section 101 of the High2 er Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 

Æ 


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