105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1150

AN ACT

To ensure that federally funded agricultural research, extension, and education address high-priority concerns with

national or multistate significance, to reform, extend,

and eliminate certain agricultural research programs,

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform

6 Act of 1997’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Definitions.

TITLE I—PRIORITIES, SCOPE, AND REVIEW OF AGRICULTURAL

RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND EDUCATION

Sec. 101. Standards for Federal funding of agricultural research, extension,

and education.

Sec. 102. Priority setting process.

Sec. 103. Relevance and merit of federally funded agricultural research, extension, and education.

Sec. 104. Research formula funds for 1862 Institutions.

Sec. 105. Extension formula funds for 1862 Institutions.

Sec. 106. Research facilities.

TITLE II—OTHER REFORMS OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH,

EXTENSION, AND EDUCATION

Subtitle A—Amendments to National Agricultural Research, Extension, and

Teaching Policy Act of 1977

Sec. 201. Advisory Board.

Sec. 202. Grants and fellowships for food and agricultural sciences education.

Sec. 203. Policy research centers.

Sec. 204. International agricultural research, extension, and teaching.

Sec. 205. General administrative costs.

Sec. 206. Expansion of authority to enter into cost-reimbursable agreements.

Subtitle B—Amendments to Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act

of 1990

Sec. 211. National Agricultural Weather Information System.

Sec. 212. National Food Genome Strategy.

Sec. 213. Imported fire ant control, management, and eradication.

Sec. 214. Agricultural telecommunications program.

Sec. 215. Assistive technology program for farmers with disabilities.

Subtitle C—Amendments to Other Laws

Sec. 221. 1994 Institutions.

Sec. 222. Cooperative agricultural extension work by 1862, 1890, and 1994 Institutions.

Sec. 223. Eligibility of certain colleges and universities for extension funding.

Sec. 224. Integration of research and extension.

Sec. 225. Competitive, special, and facilities research grants.

Sec. 226. Fund for Rural America.

Sec. 227. Honey research, promotion, and consumer information.

Sec. 228. Office of Energy Policy and New Uses.

Sec. 229. Kiwifruit research, promotion, and consumer information program.

Sec. 230. National aquaculture policy, planning, and development.

Subtitle D—New Programs
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Sec. 231. Biobased products.

Sec. 232. Precision agriculture.

Sec. 233. Formosan termite eradication program.

Sec. 234. Nutrient composition data.

Sec. 235. Consolidated administrative and laboratory facility.

Sec. 236. National Swine Research Center.

Sec. 237. Coordinated program of research, extension, and education to improve viability of small and medium size dairy and livestock operations.

Sec. 238. Support for research regarding diseases of wheat and barley caused

by Fusarium graminearum.

Sec. 239. Food animal residue avoidance database program.

Sec. 240. Financial assistance for certain rural areas.

Subtitle E—Studies and Miscellaneous

Sec. 241. Evaluation and assessment of agricultural research, extension, and

education programs.

Sec. 242. Study of federally funded agricultural research, extension, and education.

Sec. 243. Sense of Congress on State match for 1890 Institutions.

TITLE III—INITIATIVE FOR FUTURE AGRICULTURE AND FOOD

SYSTEMS

Sec. 301. Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems.

TITLE IV—EXTENSION OR REPEAL OF CERTAIN AUTHORITIES;

TECHNICAL AMENDMENTS

Sec. 401. Extensions of authorities.

Sec. 402. Repeal of authorities.

Sec. 403. Short titles for Smith-Lever Act and Hatch Act of 1887.

Sec. 404. Technical corrections to research provisions of Federal Agriculture

Improvement and Reform Act of 1996.

TITLE V—AGRICULTURAL PROGRAM SAVINGS

Sec. 501. Nutrition programs.

Sec. 502. Information technology funding.

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this Act:

3 (1) 1862 INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘1862 Insti4 tution’’ means a college or university eligible to re5 ceive funds under the Act of July 2, 1862 (12 Stat.

6 503, chapter 130; 7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.).

7 (2) 1890 INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘1890 Insti8 tution’’ means a college or university eligible to re-
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1 ceive funds under the Act of August 30, 1890 (26

2 Stat. 419, chapter 841; 7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.), in3 cluding Tuskegee University.

4 (3) 1994 INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘1994 Insti5 tution’’ means a 1994 Institution (as defined in sec6 tion 532 of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant

7 Status Act of 1994 (Public Law 103–382; 7 U.S.C.

8 301 note)).

9 (4) ADVISORY BOARD.—The term ‘‘Advisory

10 Board’’ means the National Agricultural Research,

11 Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory

12 Board established under section 1408 of the Na13 tional Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teach14 ing Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3123).

15 (5) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘Department’’

16 means the Department of Agriculture.

17 (6) HATCH ACT OF 1887.—The term ‘‘Hatch

18 Act of 1887’’ means the Hatch Act of 1887 (as des19 ignated by section 403(b)).

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

21 the Secretary of Agriculture.

22 (8) SMITH-LEVER ACT.—The term ‘‘Smith23 Lever Act’’ means the Smith-Lever Act (as des24 ignated by section 403(a)).
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1 (9) STAKEHOLDER.—The term ‘‘stakeholder’’

2 means a person who conducts or uses agricultural

3 research, extension, or education.

4 TITLE I—PRIORITIES, SCOPE,

5 AND REVIEW OF AGRICUL6 TURAL RESEARCH, EXTEN7 SION, AND EDUCATION

8 SEC. 101. STANDARDS FOR FEDERAL FUNDING OF AGRI9 CULTURAL RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND

10 EDUCATION.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure that

12 agricultural research, extension, or education activities de13 scribed in subsection (b) address a concern that—

14 (1) is a priority, as determined under section

15 102(a); and

16 (2) has national or multistate significance.

17 (b) APPLICATION.—Subsection (a) applies to—

18 (1) research activities conducted by the Agricul19 tural Research Service; and

20 (2) research, extension, or education activities

21 administered, on a competitive basis, by the Cooper22 ative State Research, Education, and Extension

23 Service.
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1 SEC. 102. PRIORITY SETTING PROCESS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with section 1402 of

3 the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and

4 Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3101), the Sec5 retary shall establish priorities for agricultural research,

6 extension, and education activities conducted or funded by

7 the Department.

8 (b) INPUT FROM STAKEHOLDERS.—

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—In establishing priorities for

10 agricultural research, extension, and education ac11 tivities conducted or funded by the Department, the

12 Secretary shall solicit and consider input and rec13 ommendations from stakeholders.

14 (2) 1862, 1890, AND 1994 INSTITUTIONS.—

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Effective beginning Oc16 tober 1, 1998, to obtain agricultural research,

17 extension, or education formula funds from the

18 Secretary, each 1862 Institution, 1890 Institu19 tion, and 1994 Institution shall establish and

20 implement a process for obtaining stakeholder

21 input concerning the use of the funds.

22 (B) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall

23 promulgate regulations that prescribe—

24 (i) the requirements for an Institution

25 to comply with subparagraph (A); and
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1 (ii) the consequences for an Institu2 tion of not complying with subparagraph

3 (A), which may include the withholding

4 and redistribution of funds to which the

5 Institution may be entitled until the Insti6 tution complies with subparagraph (A).

7 (c) MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES.—Section 1402 of the

8 National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching

9 Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3101) is amended—

10 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘AND

11 MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES’’ after ‘‘PURPOSES’’;

12 (2) by inserting ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—’’ before

13 ‘‘The purposes’’; and

14 (3) by adding at the end the following:

15 ‘‘(b) MANAGEMENT PRINCIPLES.—To the maximum

16 extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure that feder17 ally supported and conducted agricultural research, edu18 cation, and extension activities are accomplished in a man19 ner that—

20 ‘‘(1) integrates agricultural research, education,

21 and extension functions to better link research to

22 technology transfer and information dissemination

23 activities;
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1 ‘‘(2) encourages regional and multistate pro2 grams to address relevant issues of common concern

3 and to better leverage scarce resources;

4 ‘‘(3) achieves agricultural research, education,

5 and extension objectives through multi-institutional

6 and multifunctional approaches and by conducting

7 research at facilities and institutions best equipped

8 to achieve those objectives; and

9 ‘‘(4) requires accountability to be measured

10 against shared national goals of the research, edu11 cation, and economics mission area agencies of the

12 Department and their partners that receive Federal

13 research, extension, and higher education funds,

14 consistent with the Government Performance and

15 Results Act of 1993 (Public Law 103–62) and

16 amendments made by that Act.’’.

17 (d) NOTIFICATION OF ADVISORY BOARD AND CON18 GRESS.—Section 1408 of the National Agricultural Re19 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7

20 U.S.C. 3123) is amended—

21 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) through (g)

22 as subsections (e) through (h), respectively; and

23 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the follow24 ing:
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1 ‘‘(d) NOTIFICATION OF ADVISORY BOARD AND CON2 GRESS.—

3 ‘‘(1) ADVISORY BOARD.—The Secretary shall

4 provide a written response to the Advisory Board re5 garding the implementation of any written rec6 ommendations made by the Advisory Board to the

7 Secretary under subsection (c).

8 ‘‘(2) CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall provide

9 to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of

10 Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture,

11 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a copy of the

12 response of the Secretary to an Advisory Board rec13 ommendation concerning the priority mission areas

14 of the Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food

15 Systems established under section 301(c)(2)(B) of

16 the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education

17 Reform Act of 1997.’’.

18 SEC. 103. RELEVANCE AND MERIT OF FEDERALLY FUNDED

19 AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND

20 EDUCATION.

21 (a) REVIEW OF CSREES RESEARCH.—The Sec22 retary shall establish procedures that ensure—

23 (1) scientific peer review of each agricultural re24 search grant administered, on a competitive basis,
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1 by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and

2 Extension Service; and

3 (2) merit review of each agricultural extension

4 or education grant administered, on a competitive

5 basis, by the Cooperative State Research, Education,

6 and Extension Service.

7 (b) ADVISORY BOARD REVIEW.—The Advisory Board

8 shall review, on an annual basis, the relevance to the Sec9 retary’s priorities established under section 102(a), and

10 adequacy, of the funding of all agricultural research, ex11 tension, or education activities of the Department.

12 (c) REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS.—

13 (1) REVIEW RESULTS.—As soon as practicable

14 after the initial review is conducted under subsection

15 (b) for a fiscal year, and each fiscal year thereafter,

16 the Secretary shall consider the results of the annual

17 review when formulating each request for proposals,

18 and evaluating proposals, involving an agricultural

19 research, extension, or education activity funded, on

20 a competitive basis, by the Department.

21 (2) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.—In formulating a

22 request for proposals described in paragraph (1), the

23 Secretary shall solicit and consider input from stake24 holders on the prior year’s request for proposals.
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1 (d) SCIENTIFIC PEER REVIEW OF ARS RE2 SEARCH.—

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish

4 procedures that ensure scientific peer review of re5 search activities of the Agricultural Research Serv6 ice.

7 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The procedures shall re8 quire that—

9 (A) at least once every 5 years, a review

10 panel verify that a research activity referred to

11 in paragraph (1) and research conducted by

12 each scientist employed by the Agricultural Re13 search Service—

14 (i) has scientific merit and relevance

15 to the priorities established under section

16 102(a); and

17 (ii) has national or multistate signifi18 cance, as required under section 101(a)(2);

19 (B) a review panel comprised of individuals

20 with scientific expertise, a majority of whom are

21 not employees of the Agricultural Research

22 Service; and

23 (C) the results of the panel reviews are

24 transmitted to—
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1 (i) the Committee on Agriculture of

2 the House of Representatives;

3 (ii) the Committee on Agriculture,

4 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate; and

5 (iii) the Advisory Board.

6 (e) MERIT REVIEW.—

7 (1) 1862 AND 1890 INSTITUTIONS.—Effective

8 beginning October 1, 1998, to obtain agricultural re9 search or extension funds from the Secretary for an

10 activity, each 1862 Institution and 1890 Institution

11 shall—

12 (A) establish a process for merit review of

13 the activity; and

14 (B) review the activity in accordance with

15 the process.

16 (2) 1994 INSTITUTIONS.—Effective beginning

17 October 1, 1998, to obtain agricultural extension

18 funds from the Secretary for an activity, each 1994

19 Institution shall—

20 (A) establish a process for merit review of

21 the activity; and

22 (B) review the activity in accordance with

23 the process.

24 (f) REPEAL OF PROVISIONS FOR WITHHOLDING

25 FUNDS.—
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1 (1) SMITH-LEVER ACT.—Section 6 of the

2 Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 346) is repealed.

3 (2) HATCH ACT OF 1887.—Section 7 of the

4 Hatch Act of 1887 (7 U.S.C. 361g) is amended by

5 striking the last paragraph.

6 (3) NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, EX7 TENSION, AND TEACHING POLICY ACT OF 1977.—

8 Section 1468 of the National Agricultural Research,

9 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7

10 U.S.C. 3314) is repealed.

11 SEC. 104. RESEARCH FORMULA FUNDS FOR 1862 INSTITU12 TIONS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Hatch Act of

14 1887 (7 U.S.C. 361c) is amended—

15 (1) in subsection (c), by striking paragraph (3)

16 and inserting the following:

17 ‘‘(3) Not less than 25 percent shall be allotted

18 to the States for cooperative research employing

19 multidisciplinary approaches in which a State agri20 cultural experiment station, working with another

21 State agricultural experiment station, the Agricul22 tural Research Service, a college, or a university, co23 operates to solve problems that concern more than

24 1 State. The funds available under this paragraph,

25 together with the funds available under subsection
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1 (b) for a similar purpose, shall be designated as the

2 ‘Multistate Research Fund, State Agricultural Ex3 periment Stations’.

4 ‘‘(4) Research carried out under paragraph (3)

5 shall be subject to scientific peer review. A project

6 review under this paragraph shall be considered to

7 satisfy the merit review requirements of section

8 103(e) of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and

9 Education Reform Act of 1997.’’; and

10 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘regional re11 search fund, State agricultural experiment stations,’’

12 and inserting ‘‘Multistate Research Fund, State Ag13 ricultural Experiment Stations,’’.

14 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 5 of the

15 Hatch Act of 1887 (7 U.S.C. 361e) is amended in the

16 first sentence by striking ‘‘regional research fund’’ and in17 serting ‘‘Multistate Research Fund, State Agricultural

18 Experiment Stations’’.

19 SEC. 105. EXTENSION FORMULA FUNDS FOR 1862 INSTITU20 TIONS.

21 Section 3 of the Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343) is

22 amended by adding at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(h) MULTISTATE COOPERATIVE EXTENSION AC24 TIVITIES.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less than the applica2 ble percentage specified under paragraph (2) of the

3 amounts that are made available to carry out sub4 sections (b) and (c) during a fiscal year shall be al5 lotted to States for cooperative extension activities in

6 which 2 or more States cooperate to solve problems

7 that concern more than 1 State (referred to in this

8 subsection as ‘multistate activities’).

9 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGES.—

10 ‘‘(A) CURRENT EXPENDITURES ON

11 MULTISTATE ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary of

12 Agriculture shall determine the percentage of

13 Federal formula funds described in paragraph

14 (1) that each State expended for fiscal year

15 1997 for multistate activities.

16 ‘‘(B) PLANNED EXPENDITURES ON

17 MULTISTATE ACTIVITIES.—For fiscal year 2000

18 and each subsequent fiscal year, a State shall

19 expend for multistate activities a percentage of

20 the Federal formula funds described in para21 graph (1) for a fiscal year that is at least equal

22 to the lesser of—

23 ‘‘(i) 25 percent; or

24 ‘‘(ii) twice the percentage for the

25 State determined under subparagraph (A).
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1 ‘‘(C) REDUCTION BY SECRETARY.—The

2 Secretary may reduce the minimum percentage

3 required to be allotted for multistate activities

4 under subparagraph (B) in a case of hardship,

5 infeasibility, or other similar circumstance be6 yond the control of the State, as determined by

7 the Secretary.

8 ‘‘(D) PLAN OF WORK.—The State shall in9 clude in the plan of work of the State a descrip10 tion of the manner in which the State will meet

11 the requirements of this paragraph.

12 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection does not

13 apply to funds provided—

14 ‘‘(A) by a State or local government pursu15 ant to a matching requirement;

16 ‘‘(B) to a 1994 Institution (as defined in

17 section 532 of the Equity in Educational Land18 Grant Status Act of 1994 (Public Law 103–

19 382; 7 U.S.C. 301 note)); or

20 ‘‘(C) to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,

21 the Virgin Islands, or Guam.

22 ‘‘(i) MERIT REVIEW.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Effective beginning Octo24 ber 1, 1998, extension activity carried out under

25 subsection (h) shall be subject to merit review.
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1 ‘‘(2) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—An extension ac2 tivity that is merit reviewed under paragraph (1)

3 shall be considered to have been reviewed under sec4 tion 103(e) of the Agricultural Research, Extension,

5 and Education Reform Act of 1997.’’.

6 SEC. 106. RESEARCH FACILITIES.

7 (a) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—Section

8 3(c)(2)(C)(ii) of the Research Facilities Act (7 U.S.C.

9 390a(c)(2)(C)(ii)) is amended by striking ‘‘regional needs’’

10 and inserting ‘‘national or multistate needs’’.

11 (b) NATIONAL OR MULTISTATE NEEDS SERVED BY

12 ARS FACILITIES.—Section 3 of the Research Facilities

13 Act (7 U.S.C. 390a) is amended by adding at the end the

14 following:

15 ‘‘(e) NATIONAL OR MULTISTATE NEEDS SERVED BY

16 ARS FACILITIES.—The Secretary shall ensure that each

17 research activity conducted by a facility of the Agricultural

18 Research Service serves a national or multistate need.’’.

19 (c) 10-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN.—Section 4(d) of the

20 Research Facilities Act (7 U.S.C. 390b(d)) is amended by

21 striking ‘‘regional’’ and inserting ‘‘multistate’’.

22 (d) COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH CAPACITY.—Section

23 4 of the Research Facilities Act (7 U.S.C. 390b) is amend24 ed by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(g) COMPREHENSIVE RESEARCH CAPACITY.—After

2 submission of the 10-year strategic plan required under

3 subsection (d), the Secretary shall continue to review peri4 odically each operating agricultural research facility con5 structed in whole or in part with Federal funds, and each

6 planned agricultural research facility proposed to be con7 structed in whole or in part with Federal funds, pursuant

8 to criteria established by the Secretary, to ensure that a

9 comprehensive research capacity is maintained.’’.

10 (e) PRIORITY RESEARCH.—The Competitive, Special,

11 and Facilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 450i) is

12 amended in subsection (b)(2) by striking ‘‘regional’’ and

13 inserting ‘‘multistate’’.

14 TITLE II—OTHER REFORMS OF

15 AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH,

16 EXTENSION, AND EDUCATION

17 Subtitle A—Amendments to Na18 tional Agricultural Research,

19 Extension, and Teaching Policy

20 Act of 1977

21 SEC. 201. ADVISORY BOARD.

22 Section 1408(b) of the National Agricultural Re23 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7

24 U.S.C. 3123(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing:
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1 ‘‘(7) EQUAL REPRESENTATION OF PUBLIC AND

2 PRIVATE SECTOR MEMBERS.—In appointing mem3 bers to serve on the Advisory Board, the Secretary

4 shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable,

5 equal representation of public and private sector

6 members.’’.

7 SEC. 202. GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS FOR FOOD AND AGRI8 CULTURAL SCIENCES EDUCATION.

9 Section 1417 of the National Agricultural Research,

10 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

11 3152) is amended—

12 (1) by redesignating subsections (c), (d), (e),

13 (f), (g), (h), (i), and (j) as subsections (d), (f), (g),

14 (h), (i), (j), (k), and (l), respectively;

15 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the follow16 ing:

17 ‘‘(c) PRIORITIES.—In awarding grants under sub18 section (b), the Secretary shall give priority to—

19 ‘‘(1) applications for teaching enhancement

20 projects that demonstrate enhanced coordination

21 among all types of institutions eligible for funding

22 under this section; and

23 ‘‘(2) applications for teaching enhancement

24 projects that focus on innovative, multidisciplinary

25 education programs, material, and curricula.’’; and
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1 (3) by inserting after subsection (d) (as redesig2 nated by paragraph (1)) the following:

3 ‘‘(e) FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION INFOR4 MATION SYSTEM.—From amounts made available for

5 grants authorized under this section, the Secretary may

6 maintain a national food and agricultural education infor7 mation system that contains information on enrollment,

8 degrees awarded, faculty, and employment placement in

9 the food and agricultural sciences and such other informa10 tion as the Secretary considers appropriate.’’.

11 SEC. 203. POLICY RESEARCH CENTERS.

12 Section 1419A(a) of the National Agricultural Re13 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7

14 U.S.C. 3155(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and trade

15 agreements’’ after ‘‘public policies’’.

16 SEC. 204. INTERNATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, EX17 TENSION, AND TEACHING.

18 (a) TEACHING.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1458 of the Na20 tional Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teach21 ing Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3291) is amend22 ed—

23 (A) in the section heading, by striking

24 ‘‘RESEARCH AND EXTENSION’’ and inserting

25 ‘‘RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND TEACHING’’;
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1 (B) in subsection (a)—

2 (i) in paragraph (1)—

3 (I) by striking ‘‘related research

4 and extension’’ and inserting ‘‘related

5 research, extension, and teaching’’;

6 and

7 (II) in subparagraph (B), by

8 striking ‘‘research and extension on’’

9 and inserting ‘‘research, extension,

10 and teaching initiatives addressing’’;

11 (ii) in paragraph (2), by striking

12 ‘‘education’’ and inserting ‘‘teaching’’;

13 (iii) in paragraph (4), by striking

14 ‘‘scientists and experts’’ and inserting

15 ‘‘science and education experts’’;

16 (iv) in paragraph (5), by inserting

17 ‘‘teaching,’’ after ‘‘development,’’;

18 (v) in paragraph (6), by striking

19 ‘‘education’’ and inserting ‘‘teaching’’;

20 (vi) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘re21 search and extension’’ and inserting ‘‘re22 search, extension, and teaching’’; and

23 (vii) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘re24 search capabilities’’ and inserting ‘‘re-
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1 search, extension, and teaching capabili2 ties’’; and

3 (C) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘counter4 part agencies’’ and inserting ‘‘counterpart re5 search, extension, and teaching agencies’’.

6 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The subtitle

7 heading of subtitle I of title XIV of the National Ag8 ricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy

9 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3291 et seq.) is amended by

10 striking ‘‘Research and Extension’’ and inserting

11 ‘‘Research, Extension, and Teaching’’.

12 (b) GRANTS FOR COLLABORATIVE PROJECTS.—Sec13 tion 1458(a) of the National Agricultural Research, Ex14 tension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

15 3291(a)) is amended—

16 (1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

17 end;

18 (2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at

19 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

20 (3) by adding at the end the following:

21 ‘‘(9) make competitive grants for collaborative

22 projects that—

23 ‘‘(A) involve Federal scientists or scientists

24 from land-grant colleges and universities or

25 other colleges and universities with scientists at
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1 international agricultural research centers in

2 other nations, including the international agri3 cultural research centers of the Consultative

4 Group on International Agriculture Research;

5 ‘‘(B) focus on developing and using new

6 technologies and programs for—

7 ‘‘(i) increasing the production of food

8 and fiber, while safeguarding the environ9 ment worldwide and enhancing the global

10 competitiveness of United States agri11 culture; or

12 ‘‘(ii) training scientists;

13 ‘‘(C) are mutually beneficial to the United

14 States and other countries; and

15 ‘‘(D) encourage private sector involvement

16 and the leveraging of private sector funds.’’.

17 (c) REPORTS.—Section 1458 of the National Agricul18 tural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of

19 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3291) is amended by adding at the end

20 the following:

21 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall provide biennial

22 reports to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of

23 Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri24 tion, and Forestry of the Senate on efforts of the Federal

25 Government to—
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1 ‘‘(1) coordinate international agricultural re2 search within the Federal Government; and

3 ‘‘(2) more effectively link the activities of do4 mestic and international agricultural researchers,

5 particularly researchers of the Agricultural Research

6 Service.’’.

7 SEC. 205. GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle K of the National Agri9 cultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of

10 1977 is amended by inserting before section 1463 (7

11 U.S.C. 3311) the following:

12 ‘‘SEC. 1461. GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise provided in

14 law, indirect costs charged against a grant described in

15 subsection (b) shall not exceed 25 percent of the total Fed16 eral funds provided under the grant award, as determined

17 by the Secretary.

18 ‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) shall apply

19 to—

20 ‘‘(1) a competitive research grant made under

21 subsection (b) of the Competitive, Special, and Fa22 cilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 450i(b)); and

23 ‘‘(2) except as otherwise provided in law, a com24 petitive research, extension, or education grant made

25 under—
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1 ‘‘(A) section 793 of the Federal Agri2 culture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996

3 (7 U.S.C. 2204f); or

4 ‘‘(B) section 301 of the Agricultural Re5 search, Extension, and Education Reform Act

6 of 1997.’’.

7 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Section 1469 of the

8 National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching

9 Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3315) is amended—

10 (1) by striking the section heading and all that

11 follows through ‘‘Except as’’ and inserting the fol12 lowing:

13 ‘‘SEC. 1469. AUDITING, REPORTING, BOOKKEEPING, AND

14 ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS.

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as’’;

16 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the

17 following:

18 ‘‘(3) the Secretary may retain up to 4 percent

19 of amounts appropriated for agricultural research,

20 extension, and teaching assistance programs for the

21 administration of those programs authorized under

22 this or any other Act; and’’; and

23 (3) by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(b) COMMUNITY FOOD PROJECTS.—The Secretary

25 may retain, for the administration of community food
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1 projects under section 25 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977

2 (7 U.S.C. 2034), 4 percent of amounts available for the

3 projects, notwithstanding the availability of any appro4 priation for administrative expenses of the projects.’’.

5 SEC. 206. EXPANSION OF AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO

6 COST-REIMBURSABLE AGREEMENTS.

7 Section 1473A of the National Agricultural Research,

8 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

9 3319a) is amended in the first sentence by inserting ‘‘or

10 other colleges and universities’’ after ‘‘institutions’’.

11 Subtitle B—Amendments to Food,

12 Agriculture, Conservation, and

13 Trade Act of 1990

14 SEC. 211. NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL WEATHER INFORMA15 TION SYSTEM.

16 Title XVI of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation,

17 and Trade Act of 1990 is amended by striking subtitle

18 D (7 U.S.C. 5851 et seq.) and inserting the following:

19 ‘‘Subtitle D—National Agricultural

20 Weather Information System

21 ‘‘SEC. 1637. SHORT TITLE; PURPOSES.

22 ‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This subtitle may be cited as

23 the ‘National Agricultural Weather Information System

24 Act of 1997’.

25 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this subtitle are—
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1 ‘‘(1) to facilitate the management and coordina2 tion of a national agricultural weather and climate

3 station network for Federal and State agencies, col4 leges and universities, and the private sector;

5 ‘‘(2) to ensure that timely and accurate infor6 mation is obtained and disseminated; and

7 ‘‘(3) to aid research and education that requires

8 a comprehensive agricultural weather and climate

9 database.

10 ‘‘SEC. 1638. AGRICULTURAL WEATHER SYSTEM.

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agri12 culture may establish the National Agricultural Weather

13 Information System (referred to in this subtitle as the

14 ‘System’). The System shall be comprised of the oper15 ational and research activities of the Federal, State, and

16 regional agricultural weather information systems.

17 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding chapter 63 of

18 title 31, United States Code, to carry out this subtitle,

19 the Secretary may—

20 ‘‘(1) enter into contracts, grants, cooperative

21 agreements and interagency agreements without re22 gard to competitive requirements, except as other23 wise provided in this subtitle, with other Federal and

24 State agencies to—
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1 ‘‘(A) support operational weather and cli2 mate data observations, analysis, and derived

3 products;

4 ‘‘(B) preserve historical data records for

5 research studies useful in agriculture;

6 ‘‘(C) jointly develop improved computer

7 models and computing capacity for storage, re8 trieval, dissemination and analysis of agricul9 tural weather and climate information;

10 ‘‘(D) enhance the quality and availability

11 of weather and climate information needed by

12 the private sector for value-added products and

13 agriculturalists for decisionmaking; and

14 ‘‘(E) sponsor joint programs to train pri15 vate sector meteorologists and agriculturalists

16 about the optimum use of agricultural weather

17 and climate data;

18 ‘‘(2) obtain standardized weather observation

19 data collected in near real time through regional and

20 State agricultural weather information systems;

21 ‘‘(3) coordinate the activities of the Chief Mete22 orologist of the Department of Agriculture and

23 weather and climate research activities of the De24 partment of Agriculture with other Federal agencies

25 and the private sector;
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1 ‘‘(4) make grants to plan and administer State

2 and regional agricultural weather information sys3 tems, including research in atmospheric sciences and

4 climatology;

5 ‘‘(5) encourage private sector participation in

6 the System through cooperation with the private sec7 tor, including cooperation in the generation of

8 weather and climate data useful for site-specific ag9 ricultural weather forecasting; and

10 ‘‘(6) make competitive grants to carry out re11 search in all aspects of atmospheric sciences and cli12 matology regarding the collection, retention, and dis13 semination of agricultural weather and climate ob14 servations and information with priority given to

15 proposals that emphasize—

16 ‘‘(A) techniques and processes that relate

17 to—

18 ‘‘(i) weather- or climate-induced agri19 cultural losses; and

20 ‘‘(ii) improvement of information on

21 weather and climate extremes (such as

22 drought, floods, freeze, and storms) well in

23 advance of their occurrence;

24 ‘‘(B) the improvement of site-specific

25 weather data collection and forecasting;
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1 ‘‘(C) the impact of weather on economic

2 and environmental costs in agricultural produc3 tion; or

4 ‘‘(D) the preservation and management of

5 the ecosystem.

6 ‘‘SEC. 1639. FUNDING AND ADMINISTRATION.

7 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION WORK.—Not more than 2 8 ⁄3 of the funds made

9 available for a fiscal year to carry out this subtitle shall

10 be used for work with the National Oceanic and Atmos11 pheric Administration.

12 ‘‘(b) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Secretary of Ag13 riculture may retain for administration of the System up

14 to 4 percent of the amounts made available to carry out

15 this subtitle, notwithstanding the availability of any appro16 priation for administrative expenses to carry out this sub17 title.

18 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.—

19 ‘‘(1) BUILDINGS OR FACILITIES.—Funds made

20 available to carry out this subtitle shall not be used

21 for the planning, repair, rehabilitation, acquisition,

22 or construction of a building or facility.

23 ‘‘(2) EQUIPMENT PURCHASES.—Of funds made

24 available under a grant award under this subtitle, a
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1 grantee may use for equipment purchases not more

2 than the lesser of—

3 ‘‘(A) $15,000; or

‘‘(B) 1 4 ⁄3 of the amount of the grant award.

5 ‘‘SEC. 1640. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

6 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out

7 this subtitle $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1998

8 through 2002.’’.

9 SEC. 212. NATIONAL FOOD GENOME STRATEGY.

10 Section 1671 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation,

11 and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5924) is amended to

12 read as follows:

13 ‘‘SEC. 1671. NATIONAL FOOD GENOME STRATEGY.

14 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are—

15 ‘‘(1) to expand the knowledge of public and pri16 vate sector entities and persons concerning genomes

17 for species of importance to the food and agriculture

18 sectors in order to maximize the return on the in19 vestment in plant, animal, and microbial genomics;

20 ‘‘(2) to focus on the species that will yield early,

21 scientifically important results that will enhance the

22 usefulness of many plant, animal, and microbial spe23 cies;

24 ‘‘(3) to build on genomic research, such as the

25 Human Genome Initiative and the Arabidopsis Ge-
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1 nome Project, to understand gene structure and

2 function that is expected to have considerable pay3 offs in crop species ranging from corn to soybean to

4 cotton and animal species ranging from cattle to

5 swine to poultry;

6 ‘‘(4) to develop improved bioinformatics to en7 hance both sequence or structure determination and

8 analysis of the biological function of genes and gene

9 products;

10 ‘‘(5) to develop, within the National Food Ge11 nome Strategy required under subsection (b) for ag12 riculturally important plants, animals, and microbes,

13 a Plant Genome Initiative under which—

14 ‘‘(A) the Plant Genome Initiative will be

15 an interagency activity conducted with—

16 ‘‘(i) as the lead Federal agency—

17 ‘‘(I) the Department of Agri18 culture; or

19 ‘‘(II) if funding provided for the

20 Plant Genome Initiative through the

21 Department of Agriculture is substan22 tially less than funding provided for

23 the Initiative through another Federal

24 agency, the other Federal agency, as

25 determined by the President; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) the National Science Foundation

2 and the Department of Energy as partici3 pants; and

4 ‘‘(B) the National Institutes of Health will

5 continue to invest in the underlying critical

6 technologies through its Human Genome Initia7 tive and other genetics research;

8 ‘‘(6) to establish, within the National Food Ge9 nome Strategy, an Animal Genome Initiative—

10 ‘‘(A) to address the obstacles limiting the

11 development and implementation of gene-based

12 approaches for animal improvement, such as

13 high-resolution genomic maps; and

14 ‘‘(B) to take advantage of complementary

15 work of the Human Genome Initiative, the Ag16 ricultural Research Service, and State agricul17 tural experiment stations;

18 ‘‘(7) to encourage Federal Government partici19 pants to maximize the utility of public and private

20 partnerships for food genome research;

21 ‘‘(8) to allow resources developed under this

22 section, including data, software, germplasm, and

23 other biological materials, to be openly accessible to

24 all persons, subject to any confidentiality require25 ments imposed by law; and
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1 ‘‘(9) to encourage international partnerships

2 with each partner country responsible for financing

3 its own strategy for food genome research.

4 ‘‘(b) DUTIES OF SECRETARY.—The Secretary of Ag5 riculture (referred to in this section as the ‘Secretary’)

6 shall develop and carry out a National Food Genome

7 Strategy to—

8 ‘‘(1) study and map agriculturally significant

9 genes to achieve sustainable and secure agricultural

10 production;

11 ‘‘(2) ensure that current gaps in existing agri12 cultural genetics knowledge are filled;

13 ‘‘(3) identify and develop a functional under14 standing of genes responsible for economically im15 portant traits in plants, animals, and microbes of

16 importance to agriculture;

17 ‘‘(4) ensure future genetic improvement of agri18 culturally important species;

19 ‘‘(5) support preservation of diverse germplasm;

20 ‘‘(6) ensure preservation of biodiversity to

21 maintain access to genes that may be of importance

22 in the future; and

23 ‘‘(7) otherwise carry out the purposes of this

24 section.
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1 ‘‘(c) CONTRACTS, GRANTS, AND COOPERATIVE

2 AGREEMENTS.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter

4 into or make contracts, grants, or cooperative agree5 ments with individuals and organizations in accord6 ance with section 1472 of the National Agricultural

7 Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of

8 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3318).

9 ‘‘(2) COMPETITIVE BASIS.—A grant under this

10 subsection shall be made on a competitive basis.

11 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION.—

12 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall pro13 mulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry

14 out this section.

15 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION WITH THE NATIONAL

16 ACADEMY OF SCIENCES.—The Secretary may use

17 funds made available under this section to consult

18 with the National Academy of Sciences regarding

19 the administration of the National Food Genome

20 Strategy.

21 ‘‘(3) INDIRECT COSTS.—Indirect costs under

22 this section shall be allowable at the rate indirect

23 costs are allowable for contracts, grants, or coopera24 tive agreements entered into or made by the Na25 tional Science Foundation for genomic research.’’.
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1 SEC. 213. IMPORTED FIRE ANT CONTROL, MANAGEMENT,

2 AND ERADICATION.

3 Section 1672 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation,

4 and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925) is amended—

5 (1) by striking subsections (a), (d), (e), and (f);

6 (2) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), and

7 (g) as subsections (a), (b), and (c), respectively; and

8 (3) by adding at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(d) IMPORTED FIRE ANT CONTROL, MANAGEMENT,

10 AND ERADICATION.—

11 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL ADVISORY AND IMPLEMENTA12 TION BOARD ON IMPORTED FIRE ANT CONTROL,

13 MANAGEMENT, AND ERADICATION.—

14 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of

15 Agriculture may establish a National Advisory

16 and Implementation Board on Imported Fire

17 Ant Control, Management, and Eradication (re18 ferred to in this subsection as the ‘Board’).

19 ‘‘(B) MEMBERSHIP.—The Board shall con20 sist of 12 members who are experts in ento21 mology, ant ecology, wildlife biology, electrical

22 engineering, economics, or agribusiness and

23 who are appointed by the Secretary from aca24 demia, research institutes, and the private sec25 tor.

26 ‘‘(C) COMPENSATION.—
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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A member of the

2 Board shall not receive any compensation

3 by reason of service on the Board.

4 ‘‘(ii) EXPENSES.—A member of the

5 Board shall be reimbursed for travel, sub6 sistence, and other necessary expenses in7 curred by the member in the performance

8 of a duty of the member.

9 ‘‘(D) TERMINATION.—The Board shall ter10 minate 60 days after the date on which the na11 tional plan is submitted to the Board under

12 paragraph (4)(B).

13 ‘‘(2) INITIAL GRANTS.—

14 ‘‘(A) REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.—

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary

16 shall publish a request for proposals for

17 grants for research or demonstration

18 projects related to the control, manage19 ment, and possible eradication of imported

20 fire ants.

21 ‘‘(ii) INPUT FROM BOARD.—In devel22 oping a request for proposals under clause

23 (i), the Secretary shall solicit and consider

24 input from the Board.
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1 ‘‘(B) SELECTION.—Not later than 1 year

2 after the date of publication of the request for

3 proposals, the Secretary shall evaluate and se4 lect meritorious research or demonstration

5 projects related to the control, management,

6 and possible eradication of imported fire ants.

7 ‘‘(C) GRANTS.—The Secretary may award

8 a total of $6,000,000 for each fiscal year in

9 grants to colleges, universities, research insti10 tutes, Federal laboratories, or private entities

11 selected under subparagraph (B), for a term of

12 not to exceed 5 years, for the purpose of con13 ducting research or demonstration projects re14 lated to the control, management, and possible

15 eradication of imported fire ants. Each project

16 shall be completed not later than the end of the

17 term of the grant.

18 ‘‘(3) SUBSEQUENT GRANTS.—

19 ‘‘(A) EVALUATION; SELECTION.—If the

20 Secretary awards grants under paragraph

21 (2)(C), the Secretary shall—

22 ‘‘(i) evaluate all of the research or

23 demonstration projects conducted under

24 paragraph (2)(C) for their use as the basis

25 of a national plan for the control, manage-
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1 ment, and possible eradication of imported

2 fire ants by the Federal Government, State

3 and local governments, and owners and op4 erators of land; and

5 ‘‘(ii) on the basis of the evaluation, se6 lect the projects the Secretary considers

7 most promising for additional research or

8 demonstration related to the control, man9 agement, and possible eradication of im10 ported fire ants and notify the Board of

11 the selection.

12 ‘‘(B) GRANTS.—The Secretary may award

13 a grant of up to $4,000,000 for each fiscal year

14 to each of the colleges, universities, research in15 stitutes, Federal laboratories, or private entities

16 selected under subparagraph (A)(ii) for the pur17 pose of conducting research or demonstration

18 projects for the preparation of a national plan

19 for the control, management, and possible

20 eradication of imported fire ants. Each project

21 shall be completed not later than 2 years after

22 the grant is made.

23 ‘‘(4) NATIONAL PLAN.—
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1 ‘‘(A) EVALUATION; SELECTION.—If the

2 Secretary awards grants under paragraph

3 (3)(B), the Secretary shall—

4 ‘‘(i) evaluate all of the research or

5 demonstration projects conducted under

6 paragraph (3)(B) for their use as the basis

7 of a national plan for the control, manage8 ment, and possible eradication of imported

9 fire ants by the Federal Government, State

10 and local governments, and owners and op11 erators of land; and

12 ‘‘(ii) on the basis of the evaluation, se13 lect 1 project funded under paragraph

14 (3)(B), or a combination of grant projects,

15 as the basis for the plan and notify the

16 Board of the selection.

17 ‘‘(B) GRANT.—The Secretary may award a

18 grant of up to $5,000,000 to the sponsor or

19 sponsors of the grant project selected under

20 subparagraph (A)(ii) for the purpose of the

21 final preparation of the national plan for the

22 control, management, and possible eradication

23 of imported fire ants that is based on the

24 project. If the Secretary awards a grant under

25 this subparagraph, the national plan shall be
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1 completed, and submitted to the Board, not

2 later than 1 year after the grant is made.

3 ‘‘(C) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later

4 than 60 days after the plan is submitted to the

5 Board under subparagraph (B), the Secretary

6 shall submit to Congress the national plan for

7 the control, management, and possible eradi8 cation of imported fire ants.

9 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

10 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

11 as are necessary to carry out this subsection for

12 each of fiscal years 1998 through 2002.’’.

13 SEC. 214. AGRICULTURAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS PRO14 GRAM.

15 Section 1673 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation,

16 and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5926) is amended—

17 (1) in subsection (c)—

18 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1)

19 through (5) as paragraphs (2) through (6), re20 spectively;

21 (B) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as

22 so redesignated) the following:

23 ‘‘(1) A*DEC.—The term ‘A*DEC’ means the

24 distance education consortium known as A*DEC.’’;

25 and
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1 (C) by adding at the end the following:

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

3 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through

4 A*DEC.’’;

5 (2) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘The Sec6 retary shall establish a program, to be administered

7 by the Assistant Secretary for Science and Edu8 cation,’’ and inserting ‘‘The Secretary of Agriculture

9 shall establish a program, to be administered

10 through a grant provided to A*DEC under terms

11 and conditions established by the Secretary of Agri12 culture,’’; and

13 (3) in the first sentence of subsection (f)(2), by

14 striking ‘‘the Assistant Secretary for Science and

15 Education’’ and inserting ‘‘A*DEC’’.

16 SEC. 215. ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM FOR FARM17 ERS WITH DISABILITIES.

18 Section 1680 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation,

19 and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5933) is amended—

20 (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (6);

21 (2) in subsection (b)—

22 (A) in striking ‘‘DISSEMINATION.—’’ and

23 all that follows through ‘‘GENERAL.—The’’ and

24 inserting ‘‘DISSEMINATION.—The’’; and

25 (B) by striking paragraph (2); and
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1 (3) by adding at the end the following:

2 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2),

4 there is authorized to be appropriated to carry out

5 this section $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1998

6 through 2002.

7 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL GRANT.—Not more than 15

8 percent of the amounts made available under para9 graph (1) for a fiscal year shall be used to carry out

10 subsection (b).’’.

11 Subtitle C—Amendments to Other

12 Laws

13 SEC. 221. 1994 INSTITUTIONS.

14 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 532 of the Equity in Edu15 cational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (Public Law

16 103–382; 7 U.S.C. 301 note) is amended by adding at

17 the end the following:

18 ‘‘(30) Little Priest Tribal College.’’.

19 (b) ACCREDITATION.—Section 533(a) of the Equity

20 in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (Public

21 Law 103–382; 7 U.S.C. 301 note) is amended by adding

22 at the end the following:

23 ‘‘(3) ACCREDITATION.—To receive funding

24 under sections 534 and 535, a 1994 Institution shall

25 certify to the Secretary that the Institution is—
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1 ‘‘(A) accredited by a nationally recognized

2 accrediting agency or association determined by

3 the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec4 retary of Education, to be a reliable authority

5 as to the quality of training offered; or

6 ‘‘(B) as determined by the agency or asso7 ciation, making progress toward the accredita8 tion.’’.

9 SEC. 222. COOPERATIVE AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION WORK

10 BY 1862, 1890, AND 1994 INSTITUTIONS.

11 Section 3(b)(3) of the Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C.

12 343(b)(3)) is amended in the last sentence by striking

13 ‘‘State institutions’’ and all that follows through the pe14 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘1994 Institutions (in ac15 cordance with regulations that the Secretary may promul16 gate) and may be administered by the Institutions through

17 cooperative agreements with colleges and universities eligi18 ble to receive funds under the Act of July 2, 1862 (12

19 Stat. 503, chapter 130; 7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), or the Act

20 of August 30, 1890 (26 Stat. 419, chapter 841; 7 U.S.C.

21 321 et seq.), including Tuskegee University, located in any

22 State.’’.
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1 SEC. 223. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN COLLEGES AND UNI2 VERSITIES FOR EXTENSION FUNDING.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Smith-Lever Act

4 (7 U.S.C. 343) is amended by striking subsection (d) and

5 inserting the following:

6 ‘‘(d) FUNDING OF EXTENSION ACTIVITIES.—

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall receive

8 such amounts as Congress shall determine for ad9 ministrative, technical, and other services and for co10 ordinating the extension work of the Department

11 and the several States, territories, and possessions of

12 the United States.

13 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN COLLEGES AND

14 UNIVERSITIES FOR EXTENSION FUNDING.—

15 ‘‘(A) COMPETITIVE AWARDS.—Colleges

16 and universities (as defined in section 1404 of

17 the National Agricultural Research, Extension,

18 and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

19 3103)), including a foundation established by

20 the colleges or universities, shall be eligible for

21 extension funding awarded under paragraph (1)

22 on a competitive basis.

23 ‘‘(B) NONCOMPETITIVE AWARDS.—

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—An entity de25 scribed in clause (ii) shall be eligible for
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1 extension funding awarded under para2 graph (1) on a noncompetitive basis.

3 ‘‘(ii) APPLICABILITY.—Clause (i) shall

4 apply to—

5 ‘‘(I) a college or university eligi6 ble to receive funds under the Act of

7 July 2, 1862 (12 Stat. 503, chapter

8 130; 7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.);

9 ‘‘(II) a college or university eligi10 ble to receive funds under the Act of

11 August 30, 1890 (26 Stat. 419, chap12 ter 841; 7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.), includ13 ing Tuskegee University;

14 ‘‘(III) a 1994 Institution (as de15 fined in section 532 of the Equity in

16 Educational Land-Grant Status Act

17 of 1994 (Public Law 103–382; 7

18 U.S.C. 301 note)); and

19 ‘‘(IV) a foundation established by

20 a college, university, or Institution de21 scribed in this clause.

22 ‘‘(3) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING, COOP23 ERATIVE AGREEMENTS, AND REIMBURSABLE AGREE24 MENTS.—To maximize the use of Federal resources,

25 the Secretary of Agriculture shall, to the maximum
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1 extent practicable, enter into memoranda of under2 standing, cooperative agreements, or reimbursable

3 agreements with other Federal agencies under which

4 the agencies provide funds, facilities, and other re5 sources of the agencies to the Department of Agri6 culture to assist the Department in carrying out ex7 tension work.’’.

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 3 of the

9 Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343) is amended—

10 (1) in subsections (b)(1) and (c), by striking

11 ‘‘Federal Extension Service’’ each place it appears

12 and inserting ‘‘Secretary of Agriculture’’; and

13 (2) in subsection (g)(1), by striking ‘‘through

14 the Federal Extension Service’’.

15 SEC. 224. INTEGRATION OF RESEARCH AND EXTENSION.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3 of the Hatch Act of

17 1887 (7 U.S.C. 361c) is amended by adding at the end

18 the following:

19 ‘‘(h) INTEGRATION OF RESEARCH AND EXTEN20 SION.—

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not less than the applica22 ble percentage specified under paragraph (2) of the

23 Federal formula funds that are made available to

24 carry out this Act and subsections (b) and (c) of sec25 tion 3 of the Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343), to
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1 colleges and universities eligible to receive funds

2 under the Act of July 2, 1862 (12 Stat. 503, chap3 ter 130; 7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), during a fiscal year

4 shall be allotted to activities that integrate coopera5 tive research and extension (referred to in this sub6 section as ‘integrated activities’).

7 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGES.—

8 ‘‘(A) CURRENT EXPENDITURES ON INTE9 GRATED ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary of Agri10 culture shall determine the percentage of the

11 Federal formula funds described in paragraph

12 (1) that each State expended for fiscal year

13 1997 for integrated activities.

14 ‘‘(B) PLANNED EXPENDITURES ON INTE15 GRATED ACTIVITIES.—For fiscal year 2000 and

16 each subsequent fiscal year, a State shall ex17 pend for integrated activities a percentage of

18 the Federal formula funds described in para19 graph (1) for a fiscal year that is at least equal

20 to the lesser of—

21 ‘‘(i) 25 percent; or

22 ‘‘(ii) twice the percentage for the

23 State determined under subparagraph (A).

24 ‘‘(C) REDUCTION BY SECRETARY.—The

25 Secretary may reduce the minimum percentage
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1 required to be allotted for integrated activities

2 under subparagraph (B) in a case of hardship,

3 infeasibility, or other similar circumstance be4 yond the control of the State, as determined by

5 the Secretary.

6 ‘‘(D) COMPLIANCE.—The State shall pro7 vide to the Secretary a description of the man8 ner in which the State will meet the require9 ments of this paragraph.

10 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY.—This subsection does not

11 apply to funds provided—

12 ‘‘(A) by a State or local government pursu13 ant to a matching requirement;

14 ‘‘(B) to a 1994 Institution (as defined in

15 section 532 of the Equity in Educational Land16 Grant Status Act of 1994 (Public Law 103–

17 382; 7 U.S.C. 301 note)); or

18 ‘‘(C) to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,

19 the Virgin Islands, or Guam.

20 ‘‘(4) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.—Funds that are

21 used in accordance with paragraph (2)(B) may also

22 be used to satisfy the requirements of subsection

23 (c)(3) and the requirements of section 3(h) of the

24 Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343(h)).’’.
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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 3 of the

2 Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343) (as amended by section

3 105(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(j) REFERENCE TO OTHER LAW.—Section 3(h) of

5 the Hatch Act of 1887 (7 U.S.C. 361c(h)) shall apply to

6 amounts made available to carry out this Act.’’.

7 SEC. 225. COMPETITIVE, SPECIAL, AND FACILITIES RE8 SEARCH GRANTS.

9 (a) COMPETITIVE GRANTS.—The Competitive, Spe10 cial, and Facilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 450i)

11 is amended in subsection (b)—

12 (1) in the first sentence of paragraph (1), by

13 inserting ‘‘national laboratories,’’ after ‘‘Federal

14 agencies,’’; and

15 (2) in the second sentence of paragraph (3)(E),

16 by striking ‘‘an individual shall have less than’’ and

17 all that follows through ‘‘research experience’’ and

18 inserting ‘‘an individual shall be within 5 years of

19 the individual’s initial career track position’’.

20 (b) SPECIAL GRANTS.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Competitive, Special,

22 and Facilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 450i)

23 is amended by striking subsection (c) and inserting

24 the following:

25 ‘‘(c) SPECIAL GRANTS.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agri2 culture may make grants, for periods not to exceed

3 3 years, to colleges, universities, other research insti4 tutions and organizations, Federal agencies, private

5 organizations or corporations, and individuals for

6 the purpose of conducting research to address—

7 ‘‘(A) agricultural research needs of imme8 diate importance, by themselves or in conjunc9 tion with extension or education; or

10 ‘‘(B) new or emerging areas of agricultural

11 research, by themselves or in conjunction with

12 extension or education.

13 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary may not

14 make a grant under this subsection—

15 ‘‘(A) for any purpose for which a grant

16 may be made under subsection (d); or

17 ‘‘(B) for the planning, repair, rehabilita18 tion, acquisition, or construction of a building

19 or facility.

20 ‘‘(3) REVIEW REQUIREMENTS.—

21 ‘‘(A) RESEARCH ACTIVITIES.—The Sec22 retary shall make a grant under this subsection

23 for a research activity only if—

24 ‘‘(i) the activity has undergone sci25 entific peer review arranged by the grantee
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1 in accordance with regulations promul2 gated by the Secretary; and

3 ‘‘(ii) except in the case of a grant

4 awarded competitively under this sub5 section, the grantee provides to the Sec6 retary a proposed plan for graduation from

7 noncompetitive Federal funding for grants

8 under this subsection.

9 ‘‘(B) EXTENSION AND EDUCATION ACTIVI10 TIES.—The Secretary shall make a grant under

11 this subsection for an extension or education

12 activity only if—

13 ‘‘(i) the activity has undergone merit

14 review arranged by the grantee in accord15 ance with regulations promulgated by the

16 Secretary; and

17 ‘‘(ii) except in the case of a grant

18 awarded competitively under this sub19 section, the grantee provides to the Sec20 retary a proposed plan for graduation from

21 noncompetitive Federal funding for grants

22 under this subsection.

23 ‘‘(4) PARTNERSHIPS.—

24 ‘‘(A) IMMEDIATE NEEDS.—Except in the

25 case of a grant awarded competitively under
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1 this subsection, to receive a grant under para2 graph (1)(A), a recipient of a grant shall enter

3 into a partnership to carry out the grant with

4 another entity referred to in paragraph (1).

5 ‘‘(B) NEW AND EMERGING AREAS.—Ex6 cept in the case of a grant awarded competi7 tively under this subsection, after a recipient

8 has received a grant under paragraph (1)(B)

9 for 3 consecutive years, to receive such a grant

10 for an additional year, the recipient shall enter

11 into a partnership to carry out the grant with

12 2 or more entities referred to in paragraph (1).

13 ‘‘(5) REPORTS.—

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of a grant

15 under this subsection shall—

16 ‘‘(i) prepare on an annual basis a re17 port describing the results of the research,

18 extension, or education activity and the

19 merit of the results; and

20 ‘‘(ii) submit the report to the Sec21 retary.

22 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—

23 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro24 vided in clause (ii), on request, the Sec-
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1 retary shall make the report available to

2 the public.

3 ‘‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS.—Clause (i) shall

4 not apply to the extent that making the re5 port, or a part of the report, available to

6 the public is not authorized or permitted

7 by section 552 of title 5, United States

8 Code, or section 1905 of title 18, United

9 States Code.

10 ‘‘(6) SET ASIDE FOR ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—

11 Of the amounts made available for a fiscal year to

12 carry out this subsection, not more than 4 percent

13 of the amounts may be retained by the Secretary to

14 pay administrative costs incurred by the Secretary to

15 carry out this subsection.’’.

16 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made

17 by paragraph (1) takes effect on October 1, 1998.

18 SEC. 226. FUND FOR RURAL AMERICA.

19 Section 793(b) of the Federal Agriculture Improve20 ment and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 2204f(b)) is

21 amended—

22 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘January 1,

23 1997, October 1, 1998, and October 1, 1999’’ and

24 inserting ‘‘October 1, 1997, and each October 1

25 thereafter through October 1, 2001’’; and
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1 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the

2 following:

3 ‘‘(3) PURPOSES.—Subject to subsection (d), of

4 the amounts transferred to the Account for a fiscal

5 year, the Secretary shall make available—

6 ‘‘(A) for activities described in subsection

7 (c)(1), not less than 50 percent, and not more

8 than 67 percent, of the funds in the Account;

9 and

10 ‘‘(B) for activities described in subsection

11 (c)(2), all funds in the Account not made avail12 able under subparagraph (A).’’.

13 SEC. 227. HONEY RESEARCH, PROMOTION, AND CONSUMER

14 INFORMATION.

15 (a) FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.—Section 2 of the

16 Honey Research, Promotion, and Consumer Information

17 Act (7 U.S.C. 4601) is amended—

18 (1) by striking the section heading and ‘‘SEC.

19 2. The Congress’’ and inserting the following:

20 ‘‘SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

21 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress’’; and

22 (2) in subsection (a) (as designated by para23 graph (1)), by adding at the end the following:

24 ‘‘(8) Research directed at improving the cost-ef25 fectiveness and efficiency of beekeeping and develop-
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1 ing better means of dealing with pest and disease

2 problems is essential to keeping honey and honey

3 product prices competitive, facilitating market

4 growth, and maintaining the financial well-being of

5 the honey industry.

6 ‘‘(9) Research involving the quality, safety, and

7 image of honey and honey products, and how that

8 quality, safety, and image may be affected during

9 the extraction, processing, packaging, marketing,

10 and other stages of the honey and honey product

11 production and distribution process, is highly impor12 tant to building and maintaining markets for honey

13 and honey products.’’.

14 (b) RESEARCH PROJECTS.—Section 7(f) of the

15 Honey Research, Promotion, and Consumer Information

16 Act (7 U.S.C. 4606(f)) is amended—

17 (1) by striking ‘‘(f) Funds’’ and inserting the

18 following:

19 ‘‘(f) USE OF FUNDS.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Funds’’;

21 (2) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and in22 serting the following:

23 ‘‘(3) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Secretary shall’’;

24 and
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1 (3) by inserting after paragraph (1) (as des2 ignated by paragraph (1)) the following:

3 ‘‘(2) RESEARCH PROJECTS.—

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Honey Board

5 shall reserve at least 8 percent of all assess6 ments collected during a year for expenditure

7 on approved research projects designed to ad8 vance the cost-effectiveness, competitiveness, ef9 ficiency, pest and disease control, and other

10 management aspects of beekeeping and honey

11 production.

12 ‘‘(B) SUBSEQUENT AVAILABILITY.—If all

13 funds reserved under subparagraph (A) are not

14 allocated to approved research projects in a

15 year, any unallocated reserved funds shall be

16 carried forward for allocation and expenditure

17 under subparagraph (A) in subsequent years.’’.

18 SEC. 228. OFFICE OF ENERGY POLICY AND NEW USES.

19 Subtitle A of the Department of Agriculture Reorga20 nization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6911 et seq.) is amended

21 by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘SEC. 220. OFFICE OF ENERGY POLICY AND NEW USES.

23 ‘‘An Office of Energy Policy and New Uses of the

24 Department shall be established in the Office of the Sec25 retary.’’.
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1 SEC. 229. KIWIFRUIT RESEARCH, PROMOTION, AND

2 CONSUMER INFORMATION PROGRAM.

3 (a) AMENDMENTS TO ORDERS.—Section 554(c) of

4 the National Kiwifruit Research, Promotion, and

5 Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C. 7463(c)) is amended

6 in the second sentence by inserting before the period at

7 the end the following: ‘‘, except that an amendment to an

8 order shall not require a referendum to become effective’’.

9 (b) NATIONAL KIWIFRUIT BOARD.—Section 555 of

10 the National Kiwifruit Research, Promotion, and

11 Consumer Information Act (7 U.S.C. 7464) is amended—

12 (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraphs

13 (1) through (3) and inserting the following:

14 ‘‘(1) 10 members who are producers, exporters,

15 or importers (or their representatives), based on a

16 proportional representation of the level of domestic

17 production and imports of kiwifruit (as determined

18 by the Secretary).

19 ‘‘(2) 1 member appointed from the general pub20 lic.’’;

21 (2) in subsection (b)—

22 (A) by striking ‘‘MEMBERSHIP.—’’ and all

23 that follows through ‘‘paragraph (2), the’’ and

24 inserting ‘‘MEMBERSHIP.—Subject to the 11-

25 member limit, the’’; and

26 (B) by striking paragraph (2); and
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1 (3) in subsection (c)—

2 (A) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘who

3 are producers’’ after ‘‘members’’;

4 (B) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘who

5 are importers or exporters’’ after ‘‘members’’;

6 and

7 (C) in the second sentence of paragraph

8 (5), by inserting ‘‘and alternate’’ after ‘‘mem9 ber’’.

10 SEC. 230. NATIONAL AQUACULTURE POLICY, PLANNING,

11 AND DEVELOPMENT.

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 of the National Aqua13 culture Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 2802) is amended—

14 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the propaga15 tion’’ and all that follows through the period at the

16 end and inserting the following: ‘‘the commercially

17 controlled cultivation of aquatic plants, animals, and

18 microorganisms, but does not include private for19 profit ocean ranching of Pacific salmon in a State

20 in which the ranching is prohibited by law.’’;

21 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘or aquatic

22 plant’’ and inserting ‘‘aquatic plant, or microorga23 nism’’;
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1 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through

2 (9) as paragraphs (8) through (10), respectively;

3 and

4 (4) by inserting after paragraph (6) the follow5 ing:

6 ‘‘(7) PRIVATE AQUACULTURE.—The term ‘pri7 vate aquaculture’ means the commercially controlled

8 cultivation of aquatic plants, animals, and micro9 organisms other than cultivation carried out by the

10 Federal Government, any State or local government,

11 or an Indian tribe recognized by the Bureau of In12 dian Affairs.’’.

13 (b) NATIONAL AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT

14 PLAN.—Section 4 of the National Aquaculture Act of

15 1980 (16 U.S.C. 2803) is amended—

16 (1) in subsection (c)—

17 (A) in subparagraph (A), by adding ‘‘and’’

18 at the end;

19 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘;

20 and’’ and inserting a period; and

21 (C) by striking subparagraph (C);

22 (2) in the second sentence of subsection (d), by

23 striking ‘‘Secretaries determine that’’ and inserting

24 ‘‘Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of

25 Commerce, the Secretary of the Interior, and the
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1 heads of such other agencies as the Secretary deter2 mines are appropriate, determines that’’; and

3 (3) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘Secretaries’’

4 and inserting ‘‘Secretary, in consultation with the

5 Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the Inte6 rior, and the heads of such other agencies as the

7 Secretary determines are appropriate,’’.

8 (c) FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF SECRETARIES.—

9 Section 5(b)(3) of the National Aquaculture Act of 1980

10 (16 U.S.C. 2804(b)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘Secretar11 ies deem’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary, in consultation with

12 the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the Interior,

13 and the heads of such other agencies as the Secretary de14 termines are appropriate, consider’’.

15 (d) COORDINATION OF NATIONAL ACTIVITIES RE16 GARDING AQUACULTURE.—The first sentence of section

17 6(a) of the National Aquaculture Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C.

18 2805(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘(f)’’ and inserting ‘‘(e)’’.

19 (e) NATIONAL POLICY FOR PRIVATE AQUA20 CULTURE.—The National Aquaculture Act of 1980 (16

21 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is amended—

22 (1) by redesignating sections 7, 8, 9, 10, and

23 11 as sections 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, respectively; and

24 (2) by inserting after section 6 (16 U.S.C.

25 2805) the following:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 7. NATIONAL POLICY FOR PRIVATE AQUACULTURE.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In consultation with the Sec3 retary of Commerce and the Secretary of the Interior, the

4 Secretary shall coordinate and implement a national policy

5 for private aquaculture in accordance with this section. In

6 developing the policy, the Secretary may consult with

7 other agencies and organizations.

8 ‘‘(b) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AQUACULTURE

9 PLAN.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop

11 and implement a Department of Agriculture Aqua12 culture Plan (referred to in this section as the ‘De13 partment plan’) for a unified aquaculture program

14 of the Department of Agriculture (referred to in this

15 section as the ‘Department’) to support the develop16 ment of private aquaculture.

17 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS OF DEPARTMENT PLAN.—The

18 Department plan shall address—

19 ‘‘(A) programs of individual agencies of

20 the Department related to aquaculture that are

21 consistent with Department programs related to

22 other areas of agriculture, including livestock,

23 crops, products, and commodities under the ju24 risdiction of agencies of the Department;
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1 ‘‘(B) the treatment of cultivated aquatic

2 animals as livestock and cultivated aquatic

3 plants as agricultural crops; and

4 ‘‘(C) means for effective coordination and

5 implementation of aquaculture activities and

6 programs within the Department, including in7 dividual agency commitments of personnel and

8 resources.

9 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL AQUACULTURE INFORMATION CEN10 TER.—In carrying out section 5, the Secretary may main11 tain and support a National Aquaculture Information

12 Center at the National Agricultural Library as a reposi13 tory for information on national and international aqua14 culture.

15 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF AQUACULTURE.—The Sec16 retary shall treat—

17 ‘‘(1) private aquaculture as agriculture; and

18 ‘‘(2) commercially cultivated aquatic animals,

19 plants, and microorganisms, and products of the ani20 mals, plants, and microorganisms, produced by pri21 vate persons and transported or moved in standard

22 commodity channels as agricultural livestock, crops,

23 and commodities.

24 ‘‘(e) PRIVATE AQUACULTURE POLICY COORDINA25 TION, DEVELOPMENT, AND IMPLEMENTATION.—
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1 ‘‘(1) RESPONSIBILITY.—The Secretary shall

2 have responsibility for coordinating, developing, and

3 carrying out policies and programs for private aqua4 culture.

5 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Secretary shall—

6 ‘‘(A) coordinate all intradepartmental func7 tions and activities relating to private aqua8 culture; and

9 ‘‘(B) establish procedures for the coordina10 tion of functions, and consultation with, the co11 ordinating group.

12 ‘‘(f) LIAISON WITH DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE

13 AND THE INTERIOR.—The Secretary of Commerce and

14 the Secretary of the Interior shall each designate an offi15 cer or employee of the Department of the Secretary to be

16 the liaison of the Department to the Secretary of Agri17 culture.’’.

18 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section

19 11 of the National Aquaculture Act of 1980 (as redesig20 nated by subsection (e)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘the

21 fiscal years 1991, 1992, and 1993’’ each place it appears

22 and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 1991 through 2002’’.
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1 Subtitle D—New Programs

2 SEC. 231. BIOBASED PRODUCTS.

3 (a) DEFINITION OF BIOBASED PRODUCT.—In this

4 section, the term ‘‘biobased product’’ means a product

5 that is produced from a renewable agricultural or forestry

6 product.

7 (b) COORDINATION OF BIOBASED PRODUCT ACTIVI8 TIES.—The Secretary shall—

9 (1) coordinate the research, technical expertise,

10 economic information, and market information re11 sources and activities of the Department to develop,

12 commercialize, and promote the use of biobased

13 products;

14 (2) solicit input from private sector persons who

15 produce, or are interested in producing, biobased

16 products;

17 (3) provide a centralized contact point for ad18 vice and technical assistance for promising and inno19 vative biobased products; and

20 (4) submit an annual report to Congress de21 scribing the coordinated research, marketing, and

22 commercialization activities of the Department relat23 ing to biobased products.

24 (c) RESEARCH AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS FOR

25 BIOBASED PRODUCTS.—
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1 (1) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE CONTRACTOR.—

2 In this subsection, the term ‘‘eligible contractor’’

3 means—

4 (A) a party that has entered into a cooper5 ative research and development agreement with

6 the Department under section 12 of the Steven7 son-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980

8 (15 U.S.C. 3710a);

9 (B) a recipient of funding from the Alter10 native Agricultural Research and Commer11 cialization Corporation established under sec12 tion 1658 of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva13 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5902);

14 (C) a recipient of funding from the Bio15 technology Research and Development Center;

16 or

17 (D) a recipient of funding from the De18 partment under a Small Business Innovation

19 Research Program established under section 9

20 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 638).

21 (2) RESEARCH.—The Secretary may use the

22 funds, facilities, and technical expertise of the Agri23 cultural Research Service, cooperative research and

24 development agreement funds, or other funds—
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1 (A) to enter into cooperative agreements

2 with eligible contractors to operate pilot plants

3 and other large-scale preparation facilities to

4 promote the practical application of biobased

5 technologies; and

6 (B) to conduct—

7 (i) research on environmental impacts

8 of the technologies;

9 (ii) research on lowering the cost of

10 manufacturing biobased products; or

11 (iii) other appropriate research.

12 (3) SALE OF BIOBASED PRODUCTS.—For the

13 purpose of determining the market potential for

14 biobased products, an eligible contractor who enters

15 into a cooperative agreement may sell biobased prod16 ucts produced at a pilot plant or other large-scale

17 preparation facility under paragraph (2).

18 (d) PILOT PROJECT.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting

20 through the Agricultural Research Service, shall es21 tablish and carry out a pilot project under which

22 grants are provided, on a competitive basis, to sci23 entists of the Agricultural Research Service to—

24 (A) encourage innovative and collaborative

25 science; and
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1 (B) during each of fiscal years 1999

2 through 2001, develop biobased products with

3 promising commercial potential.

4 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

5 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out

6 this subsection $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years

7 1999 through 2002.

8 SEC. 232. PRECISION AGRICULTURE.

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

10 (1) AGRICULTURAL INPUTS.—The term ‘‘agri11 cultural inputs’’ includes all farm management, ag12 ronomic, and field-applied agricultural production in13 puts, such as machinery, labor, time, fuel, irrigation

14 water, commercial nutrients, livestock waste, crop

15 protection chemicals, agronomic data and informa16 tion, application and management services, seed, and

17 other inputs used in agricultural production.

18 (2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible en19 tity’’ means—

20 (A) a State agricultural experiment sta21 tion;

22 (B) a college or university;

23 (C) a research institution or organization;

24 (D) a Federal agency;

25 (E) a national laboratory;
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1 (F) a private organization or corporation;

2 or

3 (G) an individual.

4 (3) PRECISION AGRICULTURE.—The term ‘‘pre5 cision agriculture’’ means an integrated information6 and production-based farming system that is de7 signed to increase long-term site-specific and whole8 farm production efficiencies, productivity, and profit9 ability while minimizing unintended impacts on wild10 life and the environment by—

11 (A) combining agricultural sciences, agri12 cultural inputs and practices, agronomic pro13 duction databases, and precision agriculture

14 technologies to efficiently manage agronomic

15 systems;

16 (B) gathering on-farm information pertain17 ing to the variation and interaction of site-spe18 cific spatial and temporal factors affecting crop

19 production;

20 (C) integrating the information with ap21 propriate data derived from remote sensing and

22 other precision agriculture technologies in a

23 timely manner in order to facilitate on-farm de24 cisionmaking; or
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1 (D) using the information to prescribe and

2 deliver site-specific application of agricultural

3 inputs and management practices in agricul4 tural production systems.

5 (4) PRECISION AGRICULTURE TECH6 NOLOGIES.—The term ‘‘precision agriculture tech7 nologies’’ includes—

8 (A) instrumentation and techniques rang9 ing from sophisticated sensors and software

10 systems to manual sampling and data collection

11 tools that measure, record, and manage spatial

12 and temporal data;

13 (B) technologies for searching out and as14 sembling information necessary for sound agri15 cultural production decisionmaking;

16 (C) open systems technologies for data

17 networking and processing that produce valued

18 systems for farm management decisionmaking,

19 including high bandwidth networks, distributed

20 processing, spatial databasing, object tech21 nology, global positioning systems, data model22 ing, high performance image processing, high

23 resolution satellite imagery, digital

24 orthophotogrammetry simulation, geographic in-
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1 formation systems, computer aided design, and

2 digital cartography; or

3 (D) machines that deliver information

4 based management practices, including global

5 positioning satellites, digital field mapping, on6 the-go yield monitoring, automated pest scout7 ing, and site-specific agricultural input applica8 tion to accomplish the objectives of precision

9 agriculture.

10 (5) SYSTEMS RESEARCH.—The term ‘‘systems

11 research’’ means an integrated, coordinated, and it12 erative investigative process that considers the mul13 tiple interacting components and aspects of precision

14 agriculture systems, including synthesis of new

15 knowledge regarding the physical-chemical-biological

16 processes and complex interactions with cropping

17 and natural resource systems, precision agriculture

18 technologies development and implementation, data

19 and information collection and interpretation, pro20 duction scale planning, production-scale implementa21 tion, and farm production efficiencies, productivity,

22 and profitability.

23 (b) GRANTS.—After consultation with the Advisory

24 Board, the Secretary may make competitive grants, for

25 periods not to exceed 5 years, to eligible entities to carry
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1 out research, education, and information dissemination

2 projects for the development and promotion of precision

3 agriculture. The projects shall address 1 or more of the

4 following:

5 (1) The study and promotion of components of

6 precision agriculture technologies using a systems

7 research approach designed to increase long-term

8 site-specific and whole-farm production efficiencies,

9 productivity, and profitability.

10 (2) The improvement in the understanding of

11 agronomic systems, including soil, water, land cover,

12 and meteorological variability.

13 (3) The development, demonstration, and dis14 semination of information regarding precision agri15 culture technologies and systems into an integrated

16 program.

17 (4) The promotion of systems research and edu18 cation projects focusing on the integration of the

19 multiple aspects of precision agriculture, including

20 development, production-scale implementation, and

21 farm production efficiencies, productivity, and profit22 ability.

23 (5) The education of agricultural producers and

24 consumers regarding the costs and benefits of preci25 sion agriculture as it relates to increased long-term
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1 farm production efficiencies, productivity, and profit2 ability, as well as the maintenance of the environ3 ment and improvements in international trade.

4 (6) The provision of training and educational

5 programs for State cooperative extension services

6 agents, agricultural producers, agricultural input

7 machinery, product, and service providers, and cer8 tified crop advisers and other professionals involved

9 in agricultural production and the transfer of inte10 grated precision agriculture technology.

11 (7) The study of whether precision agriculture

12 technologies are applicable and accessible to small

13 and medium size farms and the study of methods of

14 improving the applicability of precision agriculture

15 technologies to the farms.

16 (c) EDUCATION AND INFORMATION DISSEMINA17 TION.—Of the funds allocated for grants under this sec18 tion, the Secretary shall reserve a portion of the funds

19 for education and information dissemination grants re20 garding precision agriculture.

21 (d) PRECISION AGRICULTURE PARTNERSHIPS.—

22 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—In carrying out this sec23 tion, the Secretary, in consultation with the Advisory

24 Board, shall encourage the establishment of appro-
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1 priate multistate and national partnerships or con2 sortia among—

3 (A) land-grant colleges and universities;

4 (B) State agricultural experiment stations;

5 (C) State cooperative extension services;

6 (D) other colleges and universities with de7 monstrable expertise regarding precision agri8 culture;

9 (E) agencies of the Department;

10 (F) national laboratories;

11 (G) agribusinesses;

12 (H) agricultural equipment and input man13 ufacturers and retailers;

14 (I) certified crop advisers;

15 (J) commodity organizations;

16 (K) other Federal or State government en17 tities and agencies;

18 (L) nonagricultural industries and non19 profit organizations with demonstrable expertise

20 regarding precision agriculture; and

21 (M) agricultural producers and other land

22 managers.

23 (2) AGREEMENT BETWEEN SECRETARY OF EN24 ERGY AND SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE.—The

25 partnerships established pursuant to this subsection
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1 may include the agreement entered into (before the

2 date of enactment of this Act) by the Secretary of

3 Energy (on behalf of the national laboratories of the

4 Department of Energy) and the Secretary of Agri5 culture (on behalf of agencies of the Department) to

6 promote cooperation and coordination between the

7 national laboratories of the Department of Energy

8 and agencies of the Department of Agriculture in

9 the areas of systems research, technology research

10 and development, and the transfer, utilization, and

11 private-sector commercialization of technology.

12 (3) ROLE OF PARTNERSHIPS.—Partnerships de13 scribed in paragraph (1) shall be eligible grantees

14 for conducting systems research (including on-farm

15 research) regarding precision agriculture and preci16 sion agriculture technologies.

17 (e) LIMITATION.—A grant made under this section

18 may not be used for the planning, repair, rehabilitation,

19 acquisition, or construction of a building or facility.

20 (f) MATCHING FUNDS.—The Secretary may not take

21 the offer or availability of matching funds into consider22 ation in making a grant under this section.

23 (g) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than January 1 of

24 each year, the Secretary shall transmit to Congress an an25 nual report describing the policies, priorities, and oper-
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1 ations of the grant program authorized by this section

2 during the preceding fiscal year.

3 (h) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall promulgate

4 such regulations as the Secretary considers necessary to

5 carry out this section.

6 (i) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAWS.—The Federal

7 Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) and title XVIII

8 of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2281

9 et seq.) shall not apply to a panel or board created for

10 the purpose of reviewing applications or proposals submit11 ted under this section.

12 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be

14 appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry

15 out this section for each of fiscal years 1998 through

16 2002, of which, for each fiscal year—

17 (A) not less than 30 percent shall be avail18 able to make grants for research to be con19 ducted by multidisciplinary teams;

20 (B) not less than 40 percent shall be avail21 able to make grants for research to be con22 ducted by eligible entities conducting mission23 linked systems research; and

24 (C) not more than 4 percent may be re25 tained by the Secretary to pay administrative
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1 costs incurred by the Secretary in carrying out

2 this section.

3 (2) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Funds made

4 available under paragraph (1) shall be available for

5 obligation for a 2-year period beginning on October

6 1 of the fiscal year for which the funds are made

7 available.

8 SEC. 233. FORMOSAN TERMITE ERADICATION PROGRAM.

9 (a) RESEARCH PROGRAM.—The Secretary may make

10 competitive research grants for terms of not to exceed 5

11 years to regional and multijurisdictional entities, local gov12 ernment planning organizations, and local governments

13 for the purpose of conducting research for the control,

14 management, and possible eradication of Formosan ter15 mites in the United States.

16 (b) ERADICATION PROGRAM.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may enter

18 into cooperative agreements with regional and multi19 jurisdictional entities, local government planning or20 ganizations, and local governments for the purposes

21 of—

22 (A) conducting projects for the control,

23 management, and possible eradication of For24 mosan termites in the United States; and
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1 (B) collecting data on the effectiveness of

2 the projects.

3 (2) FUNDING PRIORITY.—In allocating funds

4 made available to carry out this subsection, the Sec5 retary shall provide a higher priority for regions or

6 locations with the highest historical rates of infesta7 tion of Formosan termites.

8 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

9 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

10 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1998 through 2002.

11 SEC. 234. NUTRIENT COMPOSITION DATA.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall update, on a

13 periodic basis, nutrient composition data.

14 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date

15 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to

16 the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representa17 tives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and

18 Forestry of the Senate a report that describes—

19 (1) the method the Secretary will use to update

20 nutrient composition data, including the quality as21 surance criteria that will be used and the method for

22 generating the data; and

23 (2) the timing for updating the data.
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1 SEC. 235. CONSOLIDATED ADMINISTRATIVE AND LABORA2 TORY FACILITY.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the Federal

4 Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 (40

5 U.S.C. 471 et seq.), the Public Buildings Act of 1959 (40

6 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), or section 5 of the Public Buildings

7 Amendments of 1972 (40 U.S.C. 602a), the Secretary, in

8 consultation with the Administrator of General Services,

9 may enter into contracts for the design, construction, and

10 operation of a consolidated administrative and laboratory

11 facility of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

12 to be located in or near Ames, Iowa.

13 (b) AWARDING OF CONTRACT.—

14 (1) SOLICITATION.—The Secretary may solicit

15 contract proposals from interested parties to carry

16 out subsection (a).

17 (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding contracts under

18 subsection (a), the Secretary shall—

19 (A) review the proposals; and

20 (B) provide a higher priority to proposals

21 that—

22 (i) are—

23 (I) the most cost effective for the

24 Federal Government; or

25 (II) safer, based on the relative

26 safety of the proposed facility in com-
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1 parison to facilities of the Animal and

2 Plant Health Inspection Service lo3 cated in Ames, Iowa, in existence on

4 the date of enactment of this Act; and

5 (ii) allow for the use of donated land,

6 federally owned property, or lease-purchase

7 arrangements.

8 (c) DONATIONS.—In carrying out this section, the

9 Secretary may, in connection with real property, buildings,

10 and facilities, accept on behalf of the Animal and Plant

11 Health Inspection Service such gifts or donations of serv12 ices or property, real or personal, as the Secretary deter13 mines necessary.

14 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

15 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec16 essary to carry out this section for each of fiscal years

17 1998 through 2002, to remain available until expended.

18 SEC. 236. NATIONAL SWINE RESEARCH CENTER.

19 Subject to the availability of appropriations to carry

20 out this section, or through a reprogramming of funds

21 provided for swine research to carry out this section pur22 suant to established procedures, during the period begin23 ning on the date of enactment of this Act and ending De24 cember 31, 1998, the Secretary, acting through the Agri25 cultural Research Service, may accept as a gift, and ad-
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1 minister, the National Swine Research Center located in

2 Ames, Iowa.

3 SEC. 237. COORDINATED PROGRAM OF RESEARCH, EXTEN4 SION, AND EDUCATION TO IMPROVE VIABIL5 ITY OF SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZE DAIRY AND

6 LIVESTOCK OPERATIONS.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may carry out a

8 coordinated program of research, extension, and education

9 to improve the competitiveness, viability, and sustain10 ability of small and medium size dairy and livestock oper11 ations (referred to in this section as ‘‘operations’’).

12 (b) COMPONENTS.—To the extent the Secretary

13 elects to carry out the program, the Secretary shall con14 duct—

15 (1) research, development, and on-farm exten16 sion and education concerning low-cost production

17 facilities and practices, management systems, and

18 genetics that are appropriate for the operations;

19 (2) research and extension on management-in20 tensive grazing systems for livestock and dairy pro21 duction to realize the potential for reduced capital

22 and feed costs through greater use of management

23 skills, labor availability optimization, and the natural

24 benefits of grazing pastures;
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1 (3) research and extension on integrated crop

2 and livestock systems that increase efficiencies, re3 duce costs, and prevent environmental pollution to

4 strengthen the competitive position of the oper5 ations;

6 (4) economic analyses and market feasibility

7 studies to identify new and expanded opportunities

8 for producers on the operations that provide tools

9 and strategies to meet consumer demand in domestic

10 and international markets, such as cooperative mar11 keting and value-added strategies for milk and meat

12 production and processing; and

13 (5) technology assessment that compares the

14 technological resources of large specialized producers

15 with the technological needs of producers on the op16 erations to identify and transfer existing technology

17 across all sizes and scales and to identify the specific

18 research and education needs of the producers.

19 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary may use the

20 funds, facilities, and technical expertise of the Agricultural

21 Research Service and the Cooperative State Research,

22 Education, and Extension Service and other funds avail23 able to the Secretary (other than funds of the Commodity

24 Credit Corporation) to carry out this section.
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1 SEC. 238. SUPPORT FOR RESEARCH REGARDING DISEASES

2 OF WHEAT AND BARLEY CAUSED BY FUSAR3 IUM GRAMINEARUM.

4 (a) RESEARCH GRANT AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary

5 may make a grant to a consortium of land-grant colleges

6 and universities to enhance the ability of the consortium

7 to carry out a multi-State research project aimed at un8 derstanding and combating diseases of wheat and barley

9 caused by Fusarium graminearum and related fungi (re10 ferred to in this section as ‘‘wheat scab’’).

11 (b) RESEARCH COMPONENTS.—Funds provided

12 under this section shall be available for the following col13 laborative, multi-State research activities:

14 (1) Identification and understanding of the epi15 demiology of wheat scab and the toxicological prop16 erties of vomitoxin, a toxic metabolite commonly oc17 curring in wheat and barley infected with wheat

18 scab.

19 (2) Development of crop management strategies

20 to reduce the risk of wheat scab occurrence.

21 (3) Development of—

22 (A) efficient and accurate methods to mon23 itor wheat and barley for the presence of wheat

24 scab and resulting vomitoxin contamination;
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1 (B) post-harvest management techniques

2 for wheat and barley infected with wheat scab;

3 and

4 (C) milling and food processing techniques

5 to render contaminated grain safe.

6 (4) Strengthening and expansion of plant-breed7 ing activities to enhance the resistance of wheat and

8 barley to wheat scab, including the establishment of

9 a regional advanced breeding material evaluation

10 nursery and a germplasm introduction and evalua11 tion system.

12 (5) Development and deployment of alternative

13 fungicide application systems and formulations to

14 control wheat scab and consideration of other chemi15 cal control strategies to assist farmers until new

16 more resistant wheat and barley varieties are avail17 able.

18 (c) COMMUNICATIONS NETWORKS.—Funds provided

19 under this section shall be available for efforts to con20 centrate, integrate, and disseminate research, extension,

21 and outreach-orientated information regarding wheat

22 scab.

23 (d) MANAGEMENT.—To oversee the use of a grant

24 made under this section, the Secretary may establish a

25 committee composed of the directors of the agricultural
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1 experiment stations in the States in which land-grant col2 leges and universities that are members of the consortium

3 are located.

4 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

5 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

6 $5,200,000 for each of fiscal years 1998 through 2002.

7 SEC. 239. FOOD ANIMAL RESIDUE AVOIDANCE DATABASE

8 PROGRAM.

9 (a) CONTINUATION OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary

10 shall continue operation of the Food Animal Residue

11 Avoidance Database program (referred to in this section

12 as the ‘‘FARAD program’’) through contracts with appro13 priate colleges or universities.

14 (b) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out the FARAD pro15 gram, the Secretary shall—

16 (1) provide livestock producers, extension spe17 cialists, scientists, and veterinarians with informa18 tion to prevent drug, pesticide, and environmental

19 contaminant residues in food animal products;

20 (2) maintain up-to-date information concern21 ing—

22 (A) withdrawal times on FDA-approved

23 food animal drugs and appropriate withdrawal

24 intervals for drugs used in food animals in the

25 United States, as established under section
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1 512(a) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cos2 metic Act (21 U.S.C. 360b(a));

3 (B) official tolerances for drugs and pes4 ticides in tissues, eggs, and milk;

5 (C) descriptions and sensitivities of rapid

6 screening tests for detecting residues in tissues,

7 eggs, and milk; and

8 (D) data on the distribution and fate of

9 chemicals in food animals;

10 (3) publish periodically a compilation of food

11 animal drugs approved by the Food and Drug Ad12 ministration;

13 (4) make information on food animal drugs

14 available to the public through handbooks and other

15 literature, computer software, a telephone hotline,

16 and the Internet;

17 (5) furnish producer quality-assurance pro18 grams with up-to-date data on approved drugs;

19 (6) maintain a comprehensive and up-to-date,

20 residue avoidance database;

21 (7) provide professional advice for determining

22 the withdrawal times necessary for food safety in the

23 use of drugs in food animals; and

24 (8) engage in other activities designed to pro25 mote food safety.
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1 (c) CONTRACTS.—

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall offer to

3 enter into contracts with appropriate colleges and

4 universities to operate the FARAD program.

5 (2) TERM.—The term of a contract under sub6 section (a) shall be 3 years, with options to extend

7 the term of the contract triennially.

8 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

9 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

10 $1,000,000 for each fiscal year.

11 SEC. 240. FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE FOR CERTAIN RURAL

12 AREAS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide finan14 cial assistance to a nationally recognized organization to

15 promote educational opportunities at the primary and sec16 ondary levels in rural areas with a historic incidence of

17 poverty and low academic achievement, including the

18 Lower Mississippi River Delta.

19 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

20 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section up

21 to $10,000,000 for each fiscal year.
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1 Subtitle E—Studies and

2 Miscellaneous

3 SEC. 241. EVALUATION AND ASSESSMENT OF AGRICUL4 TURAL RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND EDU5 CATION PROGRAMS.

6 (a) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall conduct a

7 performance evaluation to determine whether federally

8 funded agricultural research, extension, and education

9 programs result in public goods that have national or

10 multistate significance.

11 (b) CONTRACT.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter

13 into a contract with an expert in research assess14 ment and performance evaluation to provide input

15 and recommendations to the Secretary with respect

16 to federally funded agricultural research, extension,

17 and education programs.

18 (2) GUIDELINES FOR PERFORMANCE MEASURE19 MENT.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The contractor under

21 paragraph (1) shall develop and propose to the

22 Secretary practical guidelines for measuring

23 performance of federally funded agricultural re24 search, extension, and education programs.
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1 (B) CONSISTENCY WITH GPRA.—The

2 guidelines shall be consistent with the Govern3 ment Performance and Results Act of 1993

4 (Public Law 103–62) and amendments made by

5 that Act.

6 SEC. 242. STUDY OF FEDERALLY FUNDED AGRICULTURAL

7 RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND EDUCATION.

8 (a) STUDY.—Not later than January 1, 1999, the

9 Secretary shall request the National Academy of Sciences

10 to conduct a study of the role and mission of federally

11 funded agricultural research, extension, and education.

12 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The study shall—

13 (1) evaluate the strength of science conducted

14 by the Agricultural Research Service and the rel15 evance of the science to national priorities;

16 (2) examine how the work of the Agricultural

17 Research Service relates to the capacity of the agri18 cultural research, extension, and education system of

19 the United States;

20 (3) examine the formulas for funding agricul21 tural research and extension; and

22 (4) examine the system of competitive grants

23 for agricultural research, extension, and education.

24 (c) REPORTS.—The Secretary shall prepare and sub25 mit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep-
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1 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition

2 and Forestry of the Senate—

3 (1) not later than 18 months after the com4 mencement of the study, a report that describes the

5 results of the study as it relates to paragraphs (1)

6 and (2) of subsection (b), including any appropriate

7 recommendations; and

8 (2) not later than 3 years after the commence9 ment of the study, a report that describes the results

10 of the study as it relates to paragraphs (3) and (4)

11 of subsection (b), including any appropriate rec12 ommendations.

13 SEC. 243. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON STATE MATCH FOR 1890

14 INSTITUTIONS.

15 It is the sense of Congress that States should provide

16 matching funds for agricultural research and extension

17 formula funds provided by the Federal Government to

18 1890 Institutions.

19 TITLE III—INITIATIVE FOR FU20 TURE AGRICULTURE AND

21 FOOD SYSTEMS

22 SEC. 301. INITIATIVE FOR FUTURE AGRICULTURE AND

23 FOOD SYSTEMS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Treas25 ury of the United States an account to be known as the
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1 Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems (re2 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Account’’) to provide

3 funds for activities authorized under this section.

4 (b) FUNDING.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Out of any funds in the

6 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary

7 of the Treasury shall transfer to the Account—

8 (A) on October 1, 1997, $100,000,000;

9 and

10 (B) on October 1, 1998, and each October

11 1 thereafter through October 1, 2001,

12 $170,000,000.

13 (2) ENTITLEMENT.—The Secretary—

14 (A) shall be entitled to receive the funds

15 transferred to the Account under paragraph

16 (1);

17 (B) shall accept the funds; and

18 (C) shall use the funds to carry out this

19 section.

20 (c) PURPOSES.—

21 (1) CRITICAL EMERGING ISSUES.—The Sec22 retary shall use the funds in the Account—

23 (A) subject to paragraph (2), for research,

24 extension, and education grants (referred to in
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1 this section as ‘‘grants’’) to address critical

2 emerging agricultural issues related to—

3 (i) future food production;

4 (ii) environmental protection; or

5 (iii) farm income; and

6 (B) for activities carried out under the Al7 ternative Agricultural Research and Commer8 cialization Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5901 et seq.).

9 (2) PRIORITY MISSION AREAS.—

10 (A) FISCAL YEAR 1998.—In making grants

11 under this section for fiscal year 1998, the Sec12 retary shall address priority mission areas relat13 ed to—

14 (i) food genome;

15 (ii) food safety, food technology, and

16 human nutrition;

17 (iii) new and alternative uses and pro18 duction of agricultural commodities and

19 products;

20 (iv) agricultural biotechnology; and

21 (v) natural resource management, in22 cluding precision agriculture.

23 (B) FISCAL YEARS 1999 THROUGH 2002.—

24 In making grants under this section for each of
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1 fiscal years 1999 through 2002, the Secretary

2 shall address—

3 (i) priority mission areas described in

4 subparagraph (A); or

5 (ii) after consultation with the Advi6 sory Board, new or different priority mis7 sion areas, including the viability and com8 petitiveness of small and medium sized

9 dairy, livestock, crop, and other commodity

10 operations.

11 (d) ELIGIBLE GRANTEES.—The Secretary may make

12 a grant under this section to—

13 (1) a Federal research agency;

14 (2) a national laboratory;

15 (3) a college or university or a research founda16 tion maintained by a college or university; or

17 (4) a private research organization with an es18 tablished and demonstrated capacity to perform re19 search or technology transfer.

20 (e) USE OF GRANTS.—

21 (1) SMALLER INSTITUTIONS.—The Secretary

22 may award grants under this section to ensure that

23 the faculty of small and mid-sized institutions who

24 have not previously been successful in obtaining

25 competitive grants awarded by the Secretary under
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1 subsection (b) of the Competitive, Special, and Fa2 cilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 450i(b)) re3 ceive a portion of the grants.

4 (2) PRIORITIES.—In making grants under this

5 section, the Secretary shall provide a higher priority

6 to—

7 (A) a project that is multistate, multi-insti8 tutional, or multidisciplinary; or

9 (B) a project that integrates agricultural

10 research, extension, and education.

11 (f) ADMINISTRATION.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—In making grants under this

13 section, the Secretary shall—

14 (A) seek and accept proposals for grants;

15 (B) determine the relevance and merit of

16 proposals through a system of peer review in

17 accordance with section 103;

18 (C) award grants on the basis of merit,

19 quality, and relevance to advancing the pur20 poses and priority mission areas established

21 under subsection (c); and

22 (D) solicit and consider input from stake23 holders in accordance with section 102(b)(1).

24 (2) COMPETITIVE BASIS.—A grant under this

25 section shall be awarded on a competitive basis.
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1 (3) TERM.—A grant under this section shall

2 have a term that does not exceed 5 years.

3 (4) MATCHING FUNDS.—As a condition of mak4 ing a grant under this section, the Secretary shall

5 require the funding of the grant be matched with

6 equal matching funds from a non-Federal source if

7 the grant is—

8 (A) for applied research that is commodity9 specific; and

10 (B) not of national scope.

11 (5) DELEGATION.—

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ad13 minister this section through the Cooperative

14 State Research, Education, and Extension Serv15 ice of the Department.

16 (B) INSTITUTES.—The Secretary may es17 tablish 1 or more institutes to carry out all or

18 part of the activities authorized under this sec19 tion.

20 (6) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Funds for

21 grants under this section shall be available for obli22 gation for a 2-year period.

23 (7) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Secretary

24 may use not more than 4 percent of the funds made

25 available for grants under this section for adminis-
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1 trative costs incurred by the Secretary in carrying

2 out this section.

3 (8) BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES.—Funds made

4 available for grants under this section shall not be

5 used for the construction of a new building or facil6 ity or the acquisition, expansion, remodeling, or al7 teration of an existing building or facility (including

8 site grading and improvement and architect fees).

9 TITLE IV—EXTENSION OR RE10 PEAL OF CERTAIN AUTHORI11 TIES; TECHNICAL AMEND12 MENTS

13 SEC. 401. EXTENSIONS OF AUTHORITIES.

14 (a) NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, EXTEN15 SION, AND TEACHING POLICY ACT OF 1977.—The Na16 tional Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching

17 Policy Act of 1977 is amended—

18 (1) in subsection (l) of section 1417 (7 U.S.C.

19 3152) (as redesignated by section 202(1)), by strik20 ing ‘‘1997’’ and inserting ‘‘2002’’;

21 (2) in section 1419(d) (7 U.S.C. 3154(d)), by

22 striking ‘‘1997’’ and inserting ‘‘2002’’;

23 (3) in section 1419A(d) (7 U.S.C. 3155(d)), by

24 striking ‘‘fiscal years 1996 and 1997’’ and inserting

25 ‘‘each of fiscal years 1996 through 2002’’;
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1 (4) in section 1424(d) (7 U.S.C. 3174(d)), by

2 striking ‘‘fiscal years 1996 and 1997’’ and inserting

3 ‘‘each of fiscal years 1996 through 2002’’;

4 (5) in section 1425(c)(3) (7 U.S.C. 3175(c)(3)),

5 by striking ‘‘and 1997’’ and inserting ‘‘through

6 2002’’;

7 (6) in the first sentence of section 1433(a) (7

8 U.S.C. 3195(a)), by striking ‘‘1997’’ and inserting

9 ‘‘2002’’;

10 (7) in section 1434(a) (7 U.S.C. 3196(a)), by

11 striking ‘‘1997’’ and inserting ‘‘2002’’;

12 (8) in section 1447(b) (7 U.S.C. 3222b(b)), by

13 striking ‘‘and 1997’’ and inserting ‘‘through 2002’’;

14 (9) in section 1448 (7 U.S.C. 3222c)—

15 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘and

16 1997’’ and inserting ‘‘through 2002’’; and

17 (B) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘1997’’

18 and inserting ‘‘2002’’;

19 (10) in section 1455(c) (7 U.S.C. 3241(c)), by

20 striking ‘‘fiscal year 1997’’ and inserting ‘‘each of

21 fiscal years 1997 through 2002’’;

22 (11) in section 1463 (7 U.S.C. 3311), by strik23 ing ‘‘1997’’ each place it appears in subsections (a)

24 and (b) and inserting ‘‘2002’’;
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1 (12) in section 1464 (7 U.S.C. 3312), by strik2 ing ‘‘1997’’ and inserting ‘‘2002’’;

3 (13) in section 1473D(a) (7 U.S.C. 3319d(a)),

4 by striking ‘‘1997’’ and inserting ‘‘2002’’;

5 (14) in the first sentence of section 1477 (7

6 U.S.C. 3324), by striking ‘‘1997’’ and inserting

7 ‘‘2002’’; and

8 (15) in section 1483(a) (7 U.S.C. 3336(a)), by

9 striking ‘‘1997’’ and inserting ‘‘2002’’.

10 (b) FOOD, AGRICULTURE, CONSERVATION, AND

11 TRADE ACT OF 1990.—The Food, Agriculture, Conserva12 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 is amended—

13 (1) in section 1635(b) (7 U.S.C. 5844(b)), by

14 striking ‘‘1997’’ and inserting ‘‘2002’’;

15 (2) in section 1673(h) (7 U.S.C. 5926(h)), by

16 striking ‘‘1997’’ and inserting ‘‘2002’’;

17 (3) in section 1676(e) (7 U.S.C. 5929(e)), by

18 striking ‘‘fiscal year 1997’’ and inserting ‘‘each of

19 fiscal years 1997 through 2002’’;

20 (4) in section 2381(e) (7 U.S.C. 3125b(e)), by

21 striking ‘‘1997’’ and inserting ‘‘2002’’; and

22 (5) in section 2412 (7 U.S.C. 6710), by striking

23 ‘‘1997’’ and inserting ‘‘2002’’.

24 (c) CRITICAL AGRICULTURAL MATERIALS ACT.—

25 Section 16(a) of the Critical Agricultural Materials Act
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1 (7 U.S.C. 178n(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘1997’’ and

2 inserting ‘‘2002’’.

3 (d) RESEARCH FACILITIES ACT.—Section 6(a) of the

4 Research Facilities Act (7 U.S.C. 390d(a)) is amended by

5 striking ‘‘fiscal years 1996 and 1997’’ and inserting ‘‘each

6 of fiscal years 1996 through 2002’’.

7 (e) NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, EXTEN8 SION, AND TEACHING POLICY ACT AMENDMENTS OF

9 1985.—Section 1431 of the National Agricultural Re10 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act Amendments

11 of 1985 (99 Stat. 1566) is amended by striking ‘‘1997’’

12 and inserting ‘‘2002’’.

13 (f) COMPETITIVE, SPECIAL, AND FACILITIES RE14 SEARCH GRANT ACT.—Subsection (b)(10) of the Competi15 tive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C.

16 450i(b)(10)) is amended by striking ‘‘1997’’ and inserting

17 ‘‘2002’’.

18 (g) NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, EXTEN19 SION, AND TEACHING POLICY ACT AMENDMENTS OF

20 1981.—Section 1432(b)(5) of the National Agricultural

21 Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act Amend22 ments of 1981 (Public Law 97–98; 7 U.S.C. 3222 note)

23 is amended by striking ‘‘1997’’ and inserting ‘‘2002’’.

24 (h) EQUITY IN EDUCATIONAL LAND-GRANT STATUS

25 ACT OF 1994.—Sections 533(b) and 535 of the Equity
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1 in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (Public

2 Law 103–382; 7 U.S.C. 301 note) are amended by strik3 ing ‘‘2000’’ each place it appears and inserting ‘‘2002’’.

4 (i) RENEWABLE RESOURCES EXTENSION ACT OF

5 1978.—Section 6 of the Renewable Resources Extension

6 Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 1675) is amended in the first sen7 tence by striking ‘‘the fiscal year ending September 30,

8 1988,’’ and all that follows through the period at the end

9 and inserting ‘‘each of fiscal years 1987 through 2002.’’.

10 SEC. 402. REPEAL OF AUTHORITIES.

11 (a) NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH, EXTEN12 SION, AND TEACHING POLICY ACT OF 1977.—Sections

13 1424A and 1476 of the National Agricultural Research,

14 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

15 3174a, 3323) are repealed.

16 (b) FOOD, AGRICULTURE, CONSERVATION, AND

17 TRADE ACT OF 1990.—Subtitle G of title XIV and sec18 tions 1670 and 1675 of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva19 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5501 et seq., 5923,

20 5928) are repealed.

21 (c) FEDERAL AGRICULTURE IMPROVEMENT AND RE22 FORM ACT OF 1996.—Subtitle E of title VIII of the Fed23 eral Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996

24 (110 Stat. 1184) is repealed.
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1 SEC. 403. SHORT TITLES FOR SMITH-LEVER ACT AND

2 HATCH ACT OF 1887.

3 (a) SMITH-LEVER ACT.—The Act of May 8, 1914

4 (commonly known as the ‘‘Smith-Lever Act’’) (38 Stat.

5 372, chapter 79; 7 U.S.C. 341 et seq.), is amended by

6 adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘SEC. 11. SHORT TITLE.

8 ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘Smith-Lever Act’.’’.

9 (b) HATCH ACT OF 1887.—The Act of March 2,

10 1887 (commonly known as the ‘‘Hatch Act of 1887’’) (24

11 Stat. 440, chapter 314; 7 U.S.C. 361a et seq.), is amended

12 by adding at the end the following:

13 ‘‘SEC. 10. SHORT TITLE.

14 ‘‘This Act may be cited as the ‘Hatch Act of 1887’.’’.

15 SEC. 404. TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO RESEARCH PROVI16 SIONS OF FEDERAL AGRICULTURE IMPROVE17 MENT AND REFORM ACT OF 1996.

18 (a) SUPPLEMENTAL AND ALTERNATIVE CROPS RE19 SEARCH.—Section 819(b)(5) of the Federal Agriculture

20 Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–

21 127; 110 Stat. 1167) is amended by striking ‘‘paragraph

22 (3)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (c)(3)’’.

23 (b) JOINT COUNCIL ON FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL

24 SCIENCES.—Section 1413(b) of the National Agricultural

25 Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7
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1 U.S.C. 3128(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘Joint Council,

2 the Advisory Board,’’ and inserting ‘‘Advisory Board’’.

3 (c) ADVISORY BOARD.—

4 (1) SUPPORT FOR ADVISORY BOARD.—Section

5 1412 of the National Agricultural Research, Exten6 sion, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

7 3127) is amended—

8 (A) in subsections (a) and (b), by striking

9 ‘‘their duties’’ each place it appears and insert10 ing ‘‘its duties’’; and

11 (B) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘their

12 recommendations’’ and inserting ‘‘its rec13 ommendations’’.

14 (2) GENERAL PROVISIONS.—Section 1413(a) of

15 the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and

16 Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3128(a)) is

17 amended by striking ‘‘their powers’’ and inserting

18 ‘‘its duties’’.

19 (d) PLANT AND ANIMAL PEST AND DISEASE CON20 TROL PROGRAM.—Section 1629(g) of the Food, Agri21 culture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C.

22 5832(g)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 1650,’’.

23 (e) GRANTS TO UPGRADE 1890 LAND-GRANT COL24 LEGE EXTENSION FACILITIES.—Section 873 of the Fed25 eral Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996
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1 (Public Law 104–127; 110 Stat. 1175) is amended by

2 striking ‘‘1981’’ and inserting ‘‘1985’’.

3 (f) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

4 this section take effect on April 4, 1996.

5 TITLE V—AGRICULTURAL

6 PROGRAM SAVINGS

7 SEC. 501. NUTRITION PROGRAMS.

8 (a) FOOD STAMPS.—Section 16 of the Food Stamp

9 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2025) is amended—

10 (1) in the first sentence of subsection (a), by

11 striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘Subject to

12 subsection (k), the Secretary’’; and

13 (2) by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(k) REDUCTIONS IN PAYMENTS FOR ADMINISTRA15 TIVE COSTS.—

16 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:

17 ‘‘(A) AFDC PROGRAM.—The term ‘AFDC

18 program’ means the program of aid to families

19 with dependent children established under part

20 A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42

21 U.S.C. 601 et seq. (as in effect, with respect to

22 a State, during the base period for that State)).

23 ‘‘(B) BASE PERIOD.—The term ‘base pe24 riod’ means the period used to determine the

25 amount of the State family assistance grant for
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1 a State under section 403 of the Social Security

2 Act (42 U.S.C. 603).

3 ‘‘(C) MEDICAID PROGRAM.—The term

4 ‘medicaid program’ means the program of med5 ical assistance under a State plan or under a

6 waiver of the plan under title XIX of the Social

7 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq.).

8 ‘‘(2) DETERMINATIONS OF AMOUNTS ATTRIB9 UTABLE TO BENEFITING PROGRAMS.—The Secretary

10 of Health and Human Services, in consultation with

11 the Secretary of Agriculture and the States, shall,

12 with respect to the base period for each State, deter13 mine—

14 ‘‘(A) the annualized amount the State re15 ceived under section 403(a)(3) of the Social Se16 curity Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(3) (as in effect

17 during the base period)) for administrative

18 costs common to determining the eligibility of

19 individuals, families, and households eligible or

20 applying for the AFDC program and the food

21 stamp program, the AFDC program and the

22 medicaid program, and the AFDC program, the

23 food stamp program, and the medicaid program

24 that were allocated to the AFDC program; and
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1 ‘‘(B) the annualized amount the State

2 would have received under section 403(a)(3) of

3 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 603(a)(3)

4 (as so in effect)), section 1903(a)(7) of the So5 cial Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396b(a)(7) (as so

6 in effect)), and subsection (a) of this section (as

7 so in effect), for administrative costs common

8 to determining the eligibility of individuals,

9 families, and households eligible or applying for

10 the AFDC program and the food stamp pro11 gram, the AFDC program and the medicaid

12 program, and the AFDC program, the food

13 stamp program, and the medicaid program, if

14 those costs had been allocated equally among

15 such programs for which the individual, family,

16 or household was eligible or applied for.

17 ‘‘(3) REDUCTION IN PAYMENT.—Notwithstand18 ing any other provision of this section, effective for

19 each of fiscal years 1998 through 2002, the Sec20 retary shall reduce, for each fiscal year, the amount

21 paid under subsection (a) to each State by an

22 amount equal to the amount determined for the food

23 stamp program under paragraph (2)(B).

24 ‘‘(4) DETERMINATIONS NOT SUBJECT TO RE25 VIEW.—The determinations of the Secretary of
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1 Health and Human Services under paragraph (2)

2 shall be final and not subject to administrative or ju3 dicial review.

4 ‘‘(5) ALLOCATION OF COMMON ADMINISTRATIVE

5 COSTS.—In allocating administrative costs common

6 to determining the eligibility of individuals, families,

7 and households eligible or applying for 2 or more

8 State-administered public benefit programs, the head

9 of a Federal agency may require States to allocate

10 the costs among the programs.’’.

11 (b) MEALS FOR CHILDREN OF WORKING FAMI12 LIES.—

13 (1) GRANTS FOR LOW-INCOME AREAS.—Section

14 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C.

15 1773) is amended by adding at the end the follow16 ing:

17 ‘‘(f) LOW-INCOME AREA GRANT PROGRAM.—

18 ‘‘(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:

19 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE SCHOOL.—The term ‘eligi20 ble school’ means a school—

21 ‘‘(i) attended by children, a significant

22 percentage of whom are members of low23 income families, as determined by the Sec24 retary; and
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1 ‘‘(ii)(I) as used with respect to a

2 school breakfast program, that agrees to

3 operate the school breakfast program es4 tablished or expanded with the assistance

5 provided under this subsection for a period

6 of not less than 3 years; and

7 ‘‘(II) as used with respect to a sum8 mer food service program for children, that

9 agrees to operate the summer food service

10 program for children established or ex11 panded with the assistance provided under

12 this subsection for a period of not less

13 than 3 years.

14 ‘‘(B) SERVICE INSTITUTION.—The term

15 ‘service institution’ means an institution or or16 ganization described in paragraph (1)(B) or (7)

17 of section 13(a) of the National School Lunch

18 Act (42 U.S.C. 1761(a)).

19 ‘‘(C) SUMMER FOOD SERVICE PROGRAM

20 FOR CHILDREN.—The term ‘summer food serv21 ice program for children’ means a program au22 thorized by section 13 of the National School

23 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761).

24 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es25 tablish a program under this subsection to be known
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1 as the ‘Low-Income Area Grant Program’ (referred

2 to in this subsection as the ‘Program’) to assist eli3 gible schools and service institutions through grants

4 to initiate or expand programs under the school

5 breakfast program and the summer food service pro6 gram for children.

7 ‘‘(3) PAYMENTS.—

8 ‘‘(A) APPROPRIATION.—Out of any moneys

9 in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the

10 Secretary of the Treasury shall provide to the

11 Secretary $5,000,000 for fiscal year 1998 and

12 each fiscal year thereafter.

13 ‘‘(B) ENTITLEMENT TO FUNDS.—The Sec14 retary shall be entitled to receive the funds

15 made available under subparagraph (A) and

16 shall accept the funds.

17 ‘‘(C) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary shall

18 use the funds made available under subpara19 graph (A) to make payments under the Pro20 gram—

21 ‘‘(i) in the case of the school breakfast

22 program, to school food authorities for eli23 gible schools; and
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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of the summer food

2 service program for children, to service in3 stitutions.

4 ‘‘(D) INSUFFICIENT NUMBER OF APPLI5 CANTS.—The Secretary may expend less than

6 the amount described in subparagraph (A) for

7 a fiscal year to the extent that there is an in8 sufficient number of suitable applicants to initi9 ate or expand programs under this subsection

10 for the fiscal year.

11 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall make pay12 ments under the Program on a competitive basis and

13 in the following order of priority (subject to the

14 other provisions of this subsection) to:

15 ‘‘(A) School food authorities for eligible

16 schools to assist the schools with nonrecurring

17 expenses incurred in—

18 ‘‘(i) initiating a school breakfast pro19 gram under this section; or

20 ‘‘(ii) expanding a school breakfast

21 program.

22 ‘‘(B) Service institutions to assist the insti23 tutions with nonrecurring expenses incurred

24 in—
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1 ‘‘(i) initiating a summer food service

2 program for children; or

3 ‘‘(ii) expanding a summer food service

4 program for children.

5 ‘‘(5) PAYMENTS ADDITIONAL.—Payments under

6 the Program shall be in addition to payments under

7 subsection (b) of this section and section 13 of the

8 National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761).

9 ‘‘(6) PREFERENCES.—Consistent with para10 graph (4), in making payments under the Program

11 for any fiscal year to initiate or expand school

12 breakfast programs or summer food service pro13 grams for children, the Secretary shall provide a

14 preference to a school food authority for an eligible

15 school or service institution that—

16 ‘‘(A) in the case of a summer food service

17 program for children, is a public or private non18 profit school food authority;

19 ‘‘(B) has significant public or private re20 sources that will be used to carry out the initi21 ation or expansion of the programs during the

22 year;

23 ‘‘(C) serves an unmet need among low-in24 come children, as determined by the Secretary;

25 or
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1 ‘‘(D) is not operating a school breakfast

2 program or summer food service program for

3 children, as appropriate.

4 ‘‘(7) RECOVERY AND REALLOCATION.—The

5 Secretary shall act in a timely manner to recover

6 and reallocate to other school food authorities for el7 igible schools or service institutions any amounts

8 under the Program that are not expended within a

9 reasonable period (as determined by the Secretary).

10 ‘‘(8) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—Expenditures

11 of funds from State, local, and private sources for

12 the maintenance of the school breakfast program

13 and the summer food service program for children

14 shall not be diminished as a result of payments re15 ceived under the Program.’’.

16 (2) MEALS AND SUPPLEMENTS.—Section

17 13(b)(2) of the National School Lunch Act (42

18 U.S.C. 1761(b)(2)) is amended—

19 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A)

20 and (B) as clauses (i) and (ii), respectively;

21 (B) by striking ‘‘(2) Any service’’ and in22 serting the following:

23 ‘‘(2) MEALS AND SUPPLEMENTS.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any service’’;
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1 (C) by striking ‘‘3 meals, or 2 meals and

2 1 supplement,’’ and inserting ‘‘4 meals’’; and

3 (D) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(B) CAMPS AND MIGRANT PROGRAMS.—A

5 camp or migrant program may serve a break6 fast, a lunch, a supper, and meal supple7 ments.’’.

8 (3) NUMBER OF MEALS AND SUPPLEMENTS.—

9 Section 17(f)(2) of the National School Lunch Act

10 (42 U.S.C. 1766(f)(2)) is amended by striking sub11 paragraph (B) and inserting the following:

12 ‘‘(B) NUMBER OF MEALS AND SUPPLE13 MENTS.—

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Except as pro15 vided in clause (ii), no reimbursement may

16 be made to any institution under this para17 graph, or to a family or group day care

18 home sponsoring organization under para19 graph (3), for more than 2 meals and 1

20 supplement per day per child.

21 ‘‘(ii) CHILD CARE.—A reimbursement

22 may be made to an institution under this

23 paragraph (but not a family or group day

24 care home sponsoring organization) for 2

25 meals and 2 supplements, or 3 meals and
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1 1 supplement, per day per child for chil2 dren that are maintained in a child care

3 setting for 8 or more hours per day.’’.

4 (4) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made

5 by paragraphs (2) and (3) take effect on September

6 1, 1998.

7 (c) INFORMATION CLEARINGHOUSE.—Section 26(d)

8 of the National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769g(d))

9 is amended in the first sentence by striking ‘‘$150,000’’

10 and all that follows through ‘‘1998’’ and inserting

11 ‘‘$150,000 for fiscal year 1997, and $185,000 for each

12 of fiscal years 1998 through 2002’’.

13 (d) FOOD STAMP ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTAIN INDI14 ANS.—

15 (1) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN INDIANS.—Sec16 tion 402(a)(2)(G) of the Personal Responsibility and

17 Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8

18 U.S.C. 1612(a)(2)(G)) is amended—

19 (A) in the subparagraph heading, by strik20 ing ‘‘SSI EXCEPTION’’ and inserting ‘‘EXCEP21 TION’’; and

22 (B) by striking ‘‘program defined in para23 graph (3)(A) (relating to the supplemental se24 curity income program)’’ and inserting ‘‘speci-
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1 fied Federal programs described in paragraph

2 (3)’’.

3 (2) BENEFITS FOR CERTAIN INDIANS.—Section

4 403(d) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Op5 portunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C.

6 1613(d)) is amended—

7 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking

8 ‘‘SSI AND MEDICAID’’; and

9 (B) by striking ‘‘(a)(3)(A)’’ and inserting

10 ‘‘(a)(3)’’.

11 SEC. 502. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY FUNDING.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(g) of the Commodity

13 Credit Corporation Charter Act (15 U.S.C. 714b(g)) is

14 amended in the first sentence by striking ‘‘$275,000,000’’

15 and inserting ‘‘$193,000,000’’.

16 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by

17 subsection (a) takes effect on October 1, 1997.

Passed the Senate October 29, 1997.

Attest:

Secretary.
105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1150

AN ACT

To ensure that federally funded agricultural reother purposes. tain agricultural research programs, and for nificance, to reform, extend, and eliminate cer- priority concerns with national or multistate sig- search, extension, and education address high-
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