I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5023 

To expand opportunity for agricultural producers, increase consumer choice 

in food markets, and enhance American international competitiveness 

by establishing new programs for food innovation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Mr. MCGOVERN (for himself, Ms. MCCOLLUM, and Ms. ADAMS) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To expand opportunity for agricultural producers, increase 

consumer choice in food markets, and enhance American 

international competitiveness by establishing new programs for food innovation, 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 ‘‘Peas, Legumes, And Nuts Today Act’’ or the ‘‘PLANT 

6 Act’’. 

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

8 this Act is as follows: 


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Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definition of covered commodity. 

Sec. 3. Marketing loans. 

Sec. 4. Market access program. 

Sec. 5. Operating loans. 

Sec. 6. Guaranteed operating loans. 

Sec. 7. Loans to private business enterprises. 

Sec. 8. Rural business development grants. 

Sec. 9. Rural cooperative development grants. 

Sec. 10. Appropriate technology transfer for rural areas program. 

Sec. 11. Rural innovation stronger economy grant program. 

Sec. 12. Plant-based protein input research program. 

Sec. 13. Pulse crop health initiative. 

Sec. 14. Value-added producer grants. 

Sec. 15. Emerging protein production research, education, and extension initiative. 

Sec. 16. Plant-based food innovation initiatives. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF COVERED COMMODITY. 

2 Section 1111 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

3 U.S.C. 9011) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (6)(A), by striking ‘‘and pea5 nuts’’ and inserting ‘‘peanuts, and mushrooms.’’; 

6 and 

7 (2) in paragraph (19)— 

8 (A) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

9 ‘‘$2.40’’ and inserting ‘‘$3.00’’; 

10 (B) in subparagraph (K), by striking 

11 ‘‘$11.00’’ and inserting ‘‘$13.75’’; 

12 (C) in subparagraph (L), by striking 

13 ‘‘$19.97’’ and inserting ‘‘$24.93’’; 

14 (D) in subparagraph (M), by striking 

15 ‘‘$19.04’’ and inserting ‘‘$23.80’’; 

16 (E) in subparagraph (N), by striking 

17 ‘‘$21.54’’ and inserting ‘‘$26.93’’; and 


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1 (F) by adding at the end the following: 

2 ‘‘(P) For mushrooms, $1.16 per pound.’’. 

3 SEC. 3. MARKETING LOANS. 

4 Section 1202(b) of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 

5 U.S.C. 9032(b)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘$2.00’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘$3.00’’; 

8 (2) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘$6.15’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘$7.65’’; 

10 (3) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘$13.00’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘$16.25’’; 

12 (4) in paragraph (14), by striking ‘‘$10.00’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘$12.50’’; 

14 (5) in paragraph (15), by striking ‘‘$14.00’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘$17.50’’; and 

16 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(21) In the case of mushrooms, $1.16 per 

18 pound.’’. 

19 SEC. 4. MARKET ACCESS PROGRAM. 

20 Section 203(b) of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 

21 (7 U.S.C. 5623(b)) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and plant 

23 protein products (as defined in section 223 of the 

24 Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 


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1 1994)’’ before ‘‘) through cost-share assistance’’; 

2 and 

3 (2) in paragraph (8), by inserting ‘‘, including 

4 entities involved in the development or promotion of 

5 plant protein products (as defined in section 223 of 

6 the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act 

7 of 1994)’’ after ‘‘entities’’. 

8 SEC. 5. OPERATING LOANS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 312(a) of the Consoli10 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

11 1942(a)) is amended— 

12 (1) in paragraph (9)(B)(ii), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

13 the end; 

14 (2) in paragraph (10), by striking the period 

15 and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

16 (3) by adding the following: 

17 ‘‘(11) supporting projects that facilitate the de18 velopment of plant protein products and connect 

19 rural markets and economies.’’. 

20 (b) PLANT PROTEIN PRODUCT DEFINED.—Section 

21 343(a) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1991(a)) is amended by 

22 adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(14) PLANT PROTEIN PRODUCT.—The term 

24 ‘plant protein product’ has the meaning given the 


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1 term in section 223 of the Department of Agri2 culture Reorganization Act of 1994.’’. 

3 SEC. 6. GUARANTEED OPERATING LOANS. 

4 Section 312(b) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

5 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1942(b)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

7 end; 

8 (2) in paragraph (9), by striking the period and 

9 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

10 (3) by adding the following: 

11 ‘‘(10) supporting projects that facilitate the de12 velopment of plant protein products and connect 

13 rural markets and economies.’’. 

14 SEC. 7. LOANS TO PRIVATE BUSINESS ENTERPRISES. 

15 Section 310B(a)(2) of the Consolidated Farm and 

16 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(a)(2)) is amend17 ed— 

18 (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

19 the end; 

20 (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period 

21 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (3) by inserting at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(E) facilitating economic opportunity for 

24 plant protein products, as well as relevant supVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Aug 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5023.IH H5023

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1 ply chains and processing capacity for plant 

2 protein products.’’. 

3 SEC. 8. RURAL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. 

4 Section 310B(c)(3)(A) of the Consolidated Farm and 

5 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(c)(3)(A)) is 

6 amended— 

7 (1) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

8 (2) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘or’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘and’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(vi) projects that support the devel12 opment of business enterprises related to 

13 plant protein products; or’’. 

14 SEC. 9. RURAL COOPERATIVE DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. 

15 Section 310B(e) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

16 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(e)) is amended by add17 ing at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(14) GRANTS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF CERTAIN

19 PLANT PROTEIN CROPS.—The Secretary may make 

20 grants under this section to nonprofit institutions to 

21 support the development of pulse crops, vegetables, 

22 legumes, and fungi, including fava beans, mush23 rooms, oats, and the pulse crop industry, including 

24 by— 


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1 ‘‘(A) developing and disseminating science2 based tools and information, technical and mar3 keting assistance, job training and development; 

4 ‘‘(B) developing new and innovative tech5 nologies to improve and utilize pulse crops as 

6 an ingredient in food products; and 

7 ‘‘(C) providing technical and nontechnical 

8 assistance and education to food companies 

9 using pulse crops, and value-added production 

10 processes.’’. 

11 SEC. 10. APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FOR 

12 RURAL AREAS PROGRAM. 

13 Section 310B(i)(2)(D) of the Consolidated Farm and 

14 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(i)(2)(D)) is 

15 amended by inserting ‘‘or plant protein products’’ after 

16 ‘‘commodities’’. 

17 SEC. 11. RURAL INNOVATION STRONGER ECONOMY GRANT 

18 PROGRAM. 

19 Section 379I of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

20 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2008w) is amended— 

21 (1) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(6) GRANT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PLANT24 BASED FOODS.—At least 1 grant awarded under 


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1 paragraph (1) shall be for the purposes of sup2 porting the development of plant protein products.’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (d)(1)(B)(vi), by inserting ‘‘, 

4 including the development of new plant protein prod5 ucts’’ before the semicolon; and 

6 (3) in subsection (j), by striking ‘‘$10,000,000 

7 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023’’ and in8 serting ‘‘$30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 

9 through 2028’’. 

10 SEC. 12. PLANT-BASED PROTEIN INPUT RESEARCH PRO11 GRAM. 

12 Section 1672(d) of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva13 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925) is amended 

14 by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(21) PLANT-BASED PROTEIN INPUT RESEARCH

16 PROGRAM.—Research and extension grants may be 

17 made under this section for the purpose of carrying 

18 out or enhancing research to improve the 

19 functionality, flavor, and nutritional value of the use 

20 of soybeans, wheat, mushrooms, oats, sorghum, al21 monds, and other crops for the plant protein indus22 try.’’. 


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1 SEC. 13. PULSE CROP HEALTH INITIATIVE. 

2 Section 1672(e) of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva3 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925(e)) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

7 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

8 (B) in subparagraph (E)(ii), by striking 

9 the period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

10 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(F) sharing technical and non-technical 

12 assistance to plant protein producers.’’; and 

13 (2) in paragraph (5), by inserting after 

14 ‘‘$25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 through 

15 2023’’ the following: ‘‘$40,000,000 for each of fiscal 

16 years 2024 through 2029’’. 

17 SEC. 14. VALUE-ADDED PRODUCER GRANTS. 

18 Section 210A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 

19 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1627c) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘section 

22 343(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

23 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a))’’ and in24 serting ‘‘section 2501(a) of the Food, Agri25 culture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 

26 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a))’’; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘has the 

2 meaning given the term in section 231(a) of the 

3 Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 (7 

4 U.S.C. 1632a(a))’’ and inserting ‘‘means any 

5 farm in which the majority of the business is 

6 owned by an operator and any individuals re7 lated to the operator by blood, marriage, or 

8 adoption, including relatives who do not live in 

9 the household of the operator. The term in10 cludes any farm organized as a sole proprietor11 ship, partnership, or family corporation. The 

12 term does not include any farm organized as a 

13 non-family corporation or cooperative, or any 

14 farm with a hired manager’’; and 

15 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(14) INDEPENDENT PRODUCER.—The term 

17 ‘independent producer’ means an operator— 

18 ‘‘(A) of a small or medium-sized farm or 

19 ranch that is structured as a family farm; and 

20 ‘‘(B) who produces and owns more than 20 

21 percent of the agricultural commodity to which 

22 value will be added as the subject of a project 

23 proposed under subsection (d).’’; 

24 (2) in subsection (d)(5)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (A), by adding at the 

2 end the following: ‘‘In doing so, the Secretary 

3 shall not exclude any producer that does not 

4 own and produce from at least 50 percent of 

5 their own agricultural commodity, or require 

6 any producer to have been in production for a 

7 minimum number of years to be eligible for par8 ticipation.’’; 

9 (B) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking 

10 ‘‘(as determined by the Secretary)’’; and 

11 (C) in subparagraph (C)(i)(III), by insert12 ing ‘‘and whose net income does not exceed 

13 $1,000,000 or 125 percent of the county me14 dian income, whichever is greater’’ before the 

15 semicolon; 

16 (3) in subsection (f)(1)— 

17 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subpara18 graph (A); 

19 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

20 subparagraph (B) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

21 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(C) operate small or medium-sized family 

23 farms.’’; and 

24 (4) in subsection (i)— 

25 (A) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘$50,000,000’’ and in2 serting ‘‘$100,000,000’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking ‘‘2019’’ and inserting 

4 ‘‘2024’’; 

5 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘$20,000,000’’ and in7 serting ‘‘$40,000,000’’; and 

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘2019’’ and inserting 

9 ‘‘2024’’; and 

10 (C) in paragraph (3)(A)— 

11 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘35 per12 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘45 percent’’; and 

13 (ii) in clause (ii)(III), by inserting ‘‘, 

14 including for plant protein products’’ be15 fore the period. 

16 SEC. 15. EMERGING PROTEIN PRODUCTION RESEARCH, 

17 EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION INITIATIVE. 

18 Subtitle A of the Department of Agriculture Reorga19 nization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6911 et seq.) is amended 

20 by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 223. OFFICE OF PLANT-BASED FOODS AND INNOVA22 TIVE PRODUCTION. 

23 ‘‘(a) OFFICE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab2 lish in the Department an Office of Plant-Based 

3 Foods and Innovative Production. 

4 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The Secretary shall appoint a 

5 senior official to serve as the Director of the Office 

6 of Plant-Based Foods and Innovative Production 

7 (referred to in this section as the ‘Director’). 

8 ‘‘(3) MISSION.—The mission of the Office of 

9 Plant-Based Foods and Innovative Production shall 

10 be to encourage and promote plant-based protein 

11 and plant-based food options and plant protein prod12 ucts, including the edible proteins made from plants 

13 (such as vegetables, beans, and legumes), fungi, or 

14 other nonanimal sources, through any of the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(A) The development, construction, or ac17 quisition of land, buildings, plants, equipment, 

18 access streets and roads, parking areas, facility 

19 construction, expansion, or production capacity 

20 expansions. 

21 ‘‘(B) Providing technical and nontechnical 

22 assistance to plant-based food suppliers and 

23 processors in product development. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Supporting other innovations in 

2 plant-based protein and food products, as deter3 mined by the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(4) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Director shall be 

5 responsible for engaging in activities to carry out the 

6 mission described in paragraph (3), including by— 

7 ‘‘(A) managing programs and providing as8 sistance to plant-based companies and industry; 

9 ‘‘(B) advising the Secretary with respect to 

10 the promotion of plant protein products; 

11 ‘‘(C) coordinating with the agencies and 

12 officials of the Department to update relevant 

13 programs; 

14 ‘‘(D) engaging in stakeholder relations and 

15 developing external partnerships; 

16 ‘‘(E) identifying common State and munic17 ipal best practices for navigating local policies; 

18 ‘‘(F) coordinating networks of existing 

19 stakeholder organizations; and 

20 ‘‘(G) collaborating with heads of other 

21 Federal agencies, including the Commissioner 

22 of Food and Drugs. 

23 ‘‘(b) EMERGING PROTEIN AND INNOVATIVE PRODUC24 TION ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec3 retary shall establish an Emerging Protein and In4 novative Production Advisory Committee (referred to 

5 in this subsection as the ‘Committee’) to advise the 

6 Secretary on— 

7 ‘‘(A) the development of policies and out8 reach relating to protein-rich foods sourced 

9 from plant ingredients and emerging agricul10 tural production practices; and 

11 ‘‘(B) any other aspects of the implementa12 tion of this section. 

13 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee shall 

15 be composed of 12 members, of whom— 

16 ‘‘(i) 4 shall be individuals who are ag17 ricultural producers, of whom— 

18 ‘‘(I) 2 individuals shall be agri19 cultural producers located in a rural 

20 area; and 

21 ‘‘(II) 2 individuals shall be farm22 ers that use innovative technology; 

23 ‘‘(ii) 2 shall be representatives from 

24 an institution of higher education or exten25 sion program; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) 1 shall be an individual who rep2 resents a nonprofit organization, which 

3 may include a public health, environ4 mental, or community organization; 

5 ‘‘(iv) 1 shall be an individual who rep6 resents business and economic develop7 ment, which may include a business devel8 opment entity, a chamber of commerce, a 

9 city government, or a planning organiza10 tion; 

11 ‘‘(v) 1 shall be an individual with sup12 ply chain experience, which may include a 

13 food aggregator, wholesale food distributor, 

14 food hub, or an individual who has direct15 to-consumer market experience; 

16 ‘‘(vi) 1 shall be an individual from a 

17 financing entity; and 

18 ‘‘(vii) 2 shall be individuals with re19 lated experience or expertise in research fo20 cused on protein-rich foods sourced from 

21 plants and in products sourced from plants 

22 as determined by the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(B) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—The Sec24 retary shall appoint the members of the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:25 Aug 17, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5023.IH H5023

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1 mittee not later than 180 days after the date of 

2 enactment of this section. 

3 ‘‘(3) PERIOD OF APPOINTMENT; VACANCIES.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

5 subparagraph (B), a member of the Committee 

6 shall be appointed for a term of 3 years. 

7 ‘‘(B) INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—Of the 

8 members first appointed to the Committee— 

9 ‘‘(i) 4 of the members, as determined 

10 by the Secretary, shall be appointed for a 

11 term of 3 years; 

12 ‘‘(ii) 4 of the members, as determined 

13 by the Secretary, shall be appointed for a 

14 term of 2 years; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) 4 of the members, as determined 

16 by the Secretary, shall be appointed for a 

17 term of 1 year. 

18 ‘‘(C) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the 

19 Committee— 

20 ‘‘(i) shall not affect the powers of the 

21 Committee; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) shall be filled as soon as prac23 ticable in the same manner as the original 

24 appointment. 


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1 ‘‘(D) CONSECUTIVE TERMS.—An initial 

2 appointee of the Committee may serve an addi3 tional consecutive term if the member is re4 appointed by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) FREQUENCY.—The Committee shall 

7 meet not fewer than 3 times per year. 

8 ‘‘(B) INITIAL MEETING.—Not later than 

9 180 days after the date on which the members 

10 are appointed under paragraph (2)(B), the 

11 Committee shall hold the first meeting of the 

12 Committee. 

13 ‘‘(5) DUTIES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Committee 

15 shall— 

16 ‘‘(i) develop recommendations and ad17 vise the Director on policies, initiatives, 

18 and outreach administered by the Office of 

19 Emerging Protein and Innovative Produc20 tion; 

21 ‘‘(ii) evaluate and review ongoing re22 search and extension activities relating to 

23 protein-rich products sourced from plants 

24 and the development of other plant-based 

25 foods; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) identify new and existing bar2 riers to successful plant protein product 

3 development and emerging agricultural 

4 practices employed by plant protein pro5 ducers; and 

6 ‘‘(iv) provide additional assistance and 

7 advice to the Director as appropriate. 

8 ‘‘(B) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year 

9 after the date on which the Committee is estab10 lished, and every 2 years through 2028, the 

11 Committee shall submit to the Secretary, the 

12 Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep13 resentatives, and the Committee on Agriculture, 

14 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report 

15 describing the recommendations developed 

16 under subparagraph (A). 

17 ‘‘(6) PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) COMPENSATION.—A member of the 

19 Committee shall serve without compensation. 

20 ‘‘(B) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—A member of 

21 the Committee shall be allowed travel expenses, 

22 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in ac23 cordance with section 5703 of title 5, United 

24 States Code. 

25 ‘‘(7) TERMINATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara2 graph (B), the Committee shall terminate on 

3 the date that is 5 years after the date on which 

4 the members are appointed under paragraph 

5 (2)(B). 

6 ‘‘(B) EXTENSIONS.—Before the date on 

7 which the Committee terminates, the Secretary 

8 may renew the Committee for 1 or more 2-year 

9 periods. 

10 ‘‘(c) GRANTS.—The Director shall award competitive 

11 grants to support the development of plant-based foods 

12 and related innovative production to any of the following 

13 eligible entities: 

14 ‘‘(1) A nonprofit organization. 

15 ‘‘(2) A unit of local government. 

16 ‘‘(3) A Tribal government. 

17 ‘‘(4) Any school that serves any of grades kin18 dergarten through grade 12. 

19 ‘‘(5) A for-profit organization with fewer than 

20 500 employees. 

21 ‘‘(6) An institution of higher education, includ22 ing a land-grant college or university and a nonland23 grant college of agriculture (as those terms are de24 fined in section 1404 of the National Agricultural 


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1 Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 

2 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)). 

3 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) The term ‘plant protein product’ means a 

5 protein product made from a plant (such as a vege6 table, bean, or legume), fungi, or other nonanimal 

7 source of protein. 

8 ‘‘(2) The term ‘plant protein producer’ means a 

9 producer of a plant protein product or any processed 

10 or manufactured product thereof. 

11 ‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

13 and the amendments made by this section $25,000,000 

14 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.’’. 

15 SEC. 16. PLANT-BASED FOOD INNOVATION INITIATIVES. 

16 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

17 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall select 

18 not fewer than 5 eligible entities to host regionally located 

19 plant-based food product and business innovation initia20 tives for the purposes of— 

21 (1) diversifying product markets to reduce risk 

22 and developing higher-value use for such products; 

23 (2) promoting business development that diver24 sifies the income of producers of plant-based food 


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1 products through processing and market innovation; 

2 and 

3 (3) encouraging the production and use of 

4 plant-based food products and domestic ingredients 

5 for such products. 

6 (b) ENTITIES ELIGIBLE TO HOST INITIATIVE.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), an 

8 entity is eligible to host an initiative under sub9 section (a) if such entity is a State department of 

10 agriculture or other State entity, a nonprofit organi11 zation, or an institution of higher education (as de12 fined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 

13 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) that has— 

14 (A) a capacity to provide consultation and 

15 expertise necessary to advance the purpose and 

16 activities of the proposed initiative; and 

17 (B) expertise in grant distribution and 

18 tracking. 

19 (2) INELIGIBLE ENTITY.—Notwithstanding 

20 paragraph (1), an animal protein checkoff program 

21 shall not be eligible to host an initiative under sub22 section (a). 

23 (3) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity seeking to 

24 host an initiative under subsection (a) shall submit 

25 to the Secretary an application in such time, in such 


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1 manner, and containing such information as the Sec2 retary may specify. 

3 (c) CONSULTATION.—An entity that hosts an initia4 tive shall consult with the Secretary, and the Adminis5 trator of the Agricultural Marketing Service in carrying 

6 out the initiative. 

7 (d) PARTNERS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—An entity eligible to host an 

9 initiative under subsection (a) may, for purposes of 

10 hosting such initiative, partner with an organization 

11 or entity with expertise or experience in proteins, in12 cluding the marketing, research, education, or pro13 motion of plant-based food product. 

14 (2) TIMING.—A partnership established pursu15 ant to paragraph (1) may be established— 

16 (A) prior to the submission of the applica17 tion under subsection (d); or 

18 (B) after approval of the application, in 

19 consultation with the Secretary. 

20 (e) ACTIVITIES OF INITIATIVES.— 

21 (1) ASSISTANCE TO PRODUCERS OF PLANT22 BASED FOOD PRODUCTS.— 

23 (A) DIRECT ASSISTANCE.—An initiative 

24 established under subsection (a) shall provide 

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1 ucts assistance through private consultation or 

2 widely available distribution. Such assistance 

3 may be provided— 

4 (i) by the entity that hosts the initia5 tive under subsection (d)(1); 

6 (ii) through contracting with industry 

7 experts; 

8 (iii) through the provision of technical 

9 assistance, such as informational websites, 

10 webinars, conferences, trainings, plant 

11 tours, and field days; 

12 (iv) through research institutions; or 

13 (v) through workforce development 

14 programs. 

15 (B) GRANTS.—An initiative may provide a 

16 grant on a noncompetitive basis to an entity 

17 that receives assistance under subparagraph (A) 

18 to advance the business activities recommended 

19 as a result of that assistance. 

20 (2) TYPES OF ASSISTANCE.—Assistance pro21 vided by an initiative established under subsection 

22 (a) may include— 

23 (A) business consulting, including business 

24 plan development for plant-based food products, 


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•HR 5023 IH

1 strategic planning assistance, and distribution 

2 and supply chain innovation; 

3 (B) marketing and branding assistance, in4 cluding market messaging, packaging innova5 tion, consumer assessments, innovation in 

6 emerging market opportunities, and evaluation 

7 of regional, national, and international markets; 

8 (C) assistance in product innovation, in9 cluding the development of value-added prod10 ucts, innovation in byproduct reprocessing and 

11 use maximization, and product production 

12 training, including in new, rare, or innovative 

13 techniques; and 

14 (D) other assistance, as determined by the 

15 Secretary. 

16 (3) GRANTS TO PLANT-BASED FOOD PRODUCT

17 BUSINESSES.— 

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—An initiative shall pro19 vide grants on a competitive basis to new and 

20 existing producers of plant-based food products 

21 developing plant-based food products for the 

22 purpose of— 

23 (i) modernization, specialization, and 

24 transition of equipment and facilities; 


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•HR 5023 IH

1 (ii) value chain and commodity inno2 vation and facility and process updates for 

3 plant-based proteins producers; 

4 (iii) product development, packaging, 

5 and marketing of protein products; and 

6 (iv) transitioning from a livestock or 

7 dairy-based production to a plant-based 

8 food product-based production. 

9 (B) GRANT AMOUNTS.—Grants provided 

10 under this paragraph shall not exceed 

11 $500,000, unless a greater amount is approved 

12 by the Secretary. 

13 (4) CONFLICT OF INTEREST.—The Secretary 

14 shall establish guidelines and procedures to prevent 

15 any conflict of interest or the appearance of a con16 flict of interest by an initiative (including a partner 

17 of the initiative) with respect to providing funding 

18 under paragraph (1) or (3). An initiative shall agree, 

19 as a condition on the receipt of funds under this sec20 tion, to comply with such guidelines and procedures. 

21 (5) PRIORITY.—In providing direct assistance 

22 under paragraph (1) and grants under paragraph 

23 (3), an initiative shall give priority to— 

24 (A) producers of plant-based food products 

25 with limited access to other forms of assistance; 


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•HR 5023 IH

1 (B) employee-owned businesses; 

2 (C) minority-owned and other businesses 

3 owned by members of historically disadvantaged 

4 communities; 

5 (D) cooperatives; 

6 (E) producers of plant-based food products 

7 that add substantial value in processing or mar8 keting, such as whole-cut products and specialty 

9 products; and 

10 (F) institutions of higher education that 

11 primarily serve minorities. 

12 (6) REQUIREMENT.—A foreign person making 

13 a direct investment (as those terms are defined in 

14 section 801.2 of title 15, Code of Federal Regula15 tions (or successor regulations)) in the United 

16 States is not eligible to receive direct assistance 

17 under subsection (f)(1) or a grant under subsection 

18 (f)(3). 

19 (f) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.— 

20 (1) MULTIYEAR FUNDING ALLOCATIONS.—In 

21 distributing funds made available to carry out this 

22 section, the Secretary shall seek to make awards in 

23 multiyear funding allocations. 


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1 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—Not less than 50 percent 

2 of the funds made available under subsection (i) 

3 shall be allocated to grants under subsection (f)(3). 

4 (g) REPORT.—Not later than January 31, 2027, the 

5 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on— 

6 (1) the outcomes of the initiatives under this 

7 section; and 

8 (2) any related activities and opportunities that 

9 the Secretary may pursue to further increase protein 

10 innovation. 

11 (h) ANIMAL PROTEIN CHECKOFF PROGRAM DE12 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘animal protein check13 off program’’ means a commodity promotion program 

14 under a commodity promotion law (as defined in section 

15 501 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform 

16 Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7401)) with respect to commodities 

17 consisting of, or produced using animal proteins. 

18 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

19 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

20 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2028. 

Æ 


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