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Union Calendar No. 252

107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2051

[Report No. 107–422]

To provide for the establishment of regional plant genome and gene expression

research and development centers.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 5, 2001

Mr. SMITH of Michigan introduced the following bill; which was referred to

the Committee on Science

APRIL 30, 2002

Additional sponsor: Mrs. BONO

APRIL 30, 2002

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on June 5, 2001]

A BILL

To provide for the establishment of regional plant genome

and gene expression research and development centers.

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

2 The National Science Foundation is authorized to

3 make grants for the establishment of regional plant ge4 nome and gene expression research and development cen5 ters, the purpose of which shall be to—

6 (1) develop capabilities in basic plant genome

7 research;

8 (2) extend basic plant genomics research

9 through plant breeding programs and accelerate its

10 application to the development and testing of new

11 varieties of enhanced food crops and crops that can

12 be used as alternative energy sources;

13 (3) develop alternative uses of agricultural

14 crops; and

15 (4) serve as centers for scientific and safety in16 formation on plant genomics.

17 SEC. 2. GRANT AWARDS.

18 Grant awards under this Act shall be made through

19 an open, peer-reviewed competition. When making awards,

20 the National Science Foundation shall ensure that as

21 many different agronomic environments as possible are

22 represented.

23 SEC. 3. MATCHING FUNDS.

24 The National Science Foundation shall not provide

25 under this Act more than 50 percent of the cost of estab26 lishing any research and development center.
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1 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na3 tional Science Foundation $3,000,000 for fiscal year 2002

4 and $4,500,000 for fiscal year 2003 to carry out this Act.

5 SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.

6 In this Act—

7 (1) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of the

8 National Science Foundation;

9 (2) the term ‘‘institution of higher education’’

10 has the meaning given such term in section 101 of the

11 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001); and

12 (3) the term ‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means a

13 nonprofit research institute or a nonprofit association

14 with experience and capability in plant biotechnology

15 research as determined by the Director.

16 SEC. 2. MATCHING FUNDS.

17 The Director may establish matching fund require18 ments for grantees to receive grants under this Act.

19 SEC. 3. PLANT GENOME AND GENE EXPRESSION RESEARCH

20 CENTERS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall award grants to

22 consortia of institutions of higher education or nonprofit

23 organizations (or both) to establish regional plant genome

24 and gene expression research centers. Grants shall be

25 awarded under this section on a merit-reviewed, competi26 tive basis. When making awards, the Director shall, to the
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1 extent practicable, ensure that the program created by this

2 section examines as many different agricultural environ3 ments as possible.

4 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the centers established

5 pursuant to subsection (a) shall be to conduct research in

6 plant genomics and plant gene expression. A center’s activi7 ties may include—

8 (1) basic plant genomics research and genomics

9 applications, including those related to cultivation of

10 crops in extreme environments and to cultivation of

11 crops with reduced reliance on fertilizer;

12 (2) basic research that will contribute to the de13 velopment or use of innovative plant-derived products;

14 (3) basic research on alternative uses for plants

15 and plant materials, including the use of plants as

16 renewable feedstock for alternative energy production

17 and nonpetroleum-based industrial chemicals and

18 precursors; and

19 (4) basic research and dissemination of informa20 tion on the ecological and other consequences of ge21 netically engineered plants.

22 SEC. 4. PARTNERSHIPS FOR PLANT BIOTECHNOLOGY IN

23 THE DEVELOPING WORLD.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The Director shall award

25 grants to institutions of higher education, nonprofit organi-
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1 zations, or consortia of such entities to establish research

2 partnerships for supporting the development of plant bio3 technology targeted to the needs of the developing world. The

4 Director, by means of outreach, shall encourage inclusion

5 of Historically Black Colleges or Universities, Hispanic6 serving institutions, or tribal colleges or universities in con7 sortia that enter into such partnerships.

8 (2) In order to be eligible to receive a grant under this

9 section, an institution of higher education or eligible non10 profit organization (or consortium thereof) shall enter into

11 a partnership with one or more research institutions in one

12 or more developing nations and may also include for-profit

13 companies involved in plant biotechnology.

14 (3) Grants under this section shall be awarded on a

15 merit-reviewed competitive basis.

16 (b) PURPOSE.—Grants awarded under this section

17 shall be used for support of research in plant biotechnology

18 targeted to the needs of the developing world. Such activities

19 may include—

20 (1) basic genomic research on crops grown in the

21 developing world;

22 (2) basic research in plant biotechnology that

23 will advance and expedite the development of im24 proved cultivars, including those that are pest-resist-
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1 ant, produce increased yield, reduce the need for fer2 tilizers, or increase tolerance to stress;

3 (3) basic research that could lead to the develop4 ment of technologies to produce pharmaceutical com5 pounds such as vaccines and medications in plants

6 that can be grown in the developing world; and

7 (4) research on the impact of plant biotechnology

8 on the social, political, economic, and environmental

9 conditions in countries in the developing world.

10 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

11 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Na12 tional Science Foundation $9,000,000 for fiscal year 2002,

13 $13,500,000 for fiscal year 2003, and $13,500,000 for fiscal

14 year 2004 to carry out this Act.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to authorize

the National Science Foundation to establish regional

centers for the purpose of plant genome and gene expression research and development and international research

partnerships for the advancement of plant biotechnology

in the developing world.’’.

Union Calendar No. 252

107TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2051

[Report No. 107–422]

A BILL

To provide for the establishment of regional plant

genome and gene expression research and development centers.

APRIL 30, 2002

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee

of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed