I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6091 

To provide for the reform and continuation of agricultural and other programs 

of the Department of Agriculture through fiscal year 2023, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 13, 2018 

Ms. ADAMS (for herself and Mr. LUETKEMEYER) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To provide for the reform and continuation of agricultural 

and other programs of the Department of Agriculture 

through fiscal year 2023, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Recognizing and En5 couraging Agricultural Leadership Opportunity Act’’ or 

6 the ‘‘REAL Opportunity Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. CENTERS FOR EXCELLENCE AND LEADERSHIP AT 

2 1890 INSTITUTIONS. 

3 The Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act 

4 of 1990 is amended by inserting after section 1673 (7 

5 U.S.C. 5926) the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 1673A. CENTERS FOR EXCELLENCE AND LEADER7 SHIP. 

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab9 lish not more than 6 Centers of Excellence and Leadership 

10 (in this section referred to as the ‘Centers’) to be led by 

11 not fewer than three and not more than 4 lead 1890 Insti12 tutions selected by the Secretary of Agriculture in con13 sultation with the Director of the National Institute of 

14 Food and Agriculture. A lead 1890 Institution may not 

15 be selected to lead more than one Center. 

16 ‘‘(b) TECHNICAL COMMITTEE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab18 lish a technical committee for each Center to man19 age and administer the Center— 

20 ‘‘(A) to ensure the identification of appro21 priate priorities for the scope of the work of the 

22 Center; 

23 ‘‘(B) to ensure a competitive grant process 

24 with respect to grants awarded by the Center; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(C) to conduct appropriate assessments 

2 and evaluations of activities carried out by the 

3 Center. 

4 ‘‘(2) COMPOSITION.—A technical committee es5 tablished under paragraph (1) for a Center shall be 

6 composed of— 

7 ‘‘(A) one representative from each 1890 

8 Institution participating with the Center; and 

9 ‘‘(B) a designee of the 1890 Universities 

10 Foundation. 

11 ‘‘(c) CENTER AREAS OF FOCUS AND GOALS.—The 

12 Secretary shall designate Centers of Excellence and Lead13 ership to focus on one or more of the following areas and 

14 corresponding activities: 

15 ‘‘(1) With respect to student success and work16 force development, such activities as may be nec17 essary to ensure that students have the skills and 

18 education needed to work in agriculture and food in19 dustries, agriculture science, technology, engineering, 

20 mathematics, and related fields of study. 

21 ‘‘(2) With respect to nutrition, health, wellness, 

22 and quality of life, research, education, and exten23 sion activities that increase access to healthy food, 

24 improve nutrition, mitigate preventable diseases, and 


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1 develop strategies to assist limited resource individ2 uals in accessing health and nutrition resources. 

3 ‘‘(3) With respect to farming systems, rural 

4 prosperity, and economic sustainability— 

5 ‘‘(A) sharing best practices with farmers to 

6 improve agricultural production, processing, 

7 and marketing; 

8 ‘‘(B) activities designed to reduce urban 

9 food deserts; 

10 ‘‘(C) examining new uses for traditional 

11 and nontraditional crops, animals, and natural 

12 resources; and 

13 ‘‘(D) such activities as are carried out, as 

14 of the date of the enactment of this section, by 

15 the Center of Innovative and Sustainable Small 

16 Farms, Ranches, and Forest Lands. 

17 ‘‘(4) With respect to global food security and 

18 defense— 

19 ‘‘(A) engaging in international partner20 ships that strengthen agricultural development 

21 in developing countries; 

22 ‘‘(B) partnering with international re23 searchers regarding new and emerging animal 

24 and plant pests and diseases; 


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1 ‘‘(C) engaging in agricultural disaster re2 covery; and 

3 ‘‘(D) such activities as are carried out, as 

4 of the date of the enactment of this section, by 

5 the Center for International Engagement. 

6 ‘‘(5) With respect to natural resources, energy, 

7 and the environment, such activities as may be nec8 essary to protect and manage domestic natural re9 sources for current and future production of food 

10 and agricultural products. 

11 ‘‘(6) With respect to emerging technologies, ac12 tivities related to— 

13 ‘‘(A) developing of emerging technologies 

14 to increase the agricultural productivity; 

15 ‘‘(B) enhancing small farm economic via16 bility; and 

17 ‘‘(C) improving rural communities by— 

18 ‘‘(i) developing genetic and sensor 

19 technologies for food and agriculture; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) providing technology training to 

21 farmers. 

22 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.—Beginning not later than one year 

23 after the date on which funds are first allocated under 

24 subsection (g)(2) and annually thereafter, the Secretary 


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1 shall submit to Congress a comprehensive progress report 

2 describing— 

3 ‘‘(1) the resources invested in the Centers; and 

4 ‘‘(2) the work done by the Centers. 

5 ‘‘(e) LEAD 1890 INSTITUTION DEFINED.—In this 

6 section, the term ‘lead 1890 Institution’ means an 1890 

7 Institution (as defined in section 2 of the Agricultural Re8 search, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 

9 U.S.C. 7601)) that has the critical mass of faculty, special 

10 facilities, and capacity to engage in and support the identi11 fied education, extension, and research priorities of a Cen12 ter. 

13 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.’’. 

Æ 


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