II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2116 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with Indian tribes, 

to make grants, competitive grants, and special research grants to, and 

enter into cooperative agreements and other contracting instruments 

with, eligible entities to conduct research and education and training 

programs to protect and preserve Native American seeds, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 12, 2014 

Mr. HEINRICH (for himself and Mr. UDALL of New Mexico) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with 

Indian tribes, to make grants, competitive grants, and 

special research grants to, and enter into cooperative 

agreements and other contracting instruments with, eligible entities to conduct research and education and training programs to protect and preserve Native American 

seeds, and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native American Seeds 

3 Protection Act of 2014’’. 

4 SEC. 2. RESEARCH GRANTS FOR PURPOSES OF PROTEC5 TION AND PRESERVATION OF NATIVE AMER6 ICAN SEEDS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle C of the National Agri8 cultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 

9 1977 is amended by inserting after section 1418 (7 U.S.C. 

10 3153) the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 1419. RESEARCH GRANTS FOR PURPOSES OF PRO12 TECTION AND PRESERVATION OF NATIVE 

13 AMERICAN SEEDS. 

14 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en16 tity’ means— 

17 ‘‘(A) a 1994 Institution (as defined in sec18 tion 532 of the Equity in Educational Land19 Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note)); 

20 or 

21 ‘‘(B) an Indian tribe. 

22 ‘‘(2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

23 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

24 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

25 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 


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1 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED RESEARCH ENTITY.—The term 

2 ‘qualified research entity’ means an entity with a 

3 demonstrated capacity and infrastructure necessary 

4 to carry out agricultural research projects, includ5 ing— 

6 ‘‘(A) a State agricultural experiment sta7 tion; 

8 ‘‘(B) a college or university (including a 

9 1994 Institution); 

10 ‘‘(C) another research institution or orga11 nization; 

12 ‘‘(D) a private organization; 

13 ‘‘(E) a corporation; or 

14 ‘‘(F) an individual. 

15 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY.—Consistent with this section, the 

16 Secretary may make grants (including competitive grants 

17 and special research grants) to, and enter into cooperative 

18 agreements and other contracting instruments with, eligi19 ble entities to conduct research and education and training 

20 programs that— 

21 ‘‘(1) are objective, operationally independent, 

22 and external to the Federal Government; and 

23 ‘‘(2) concern the purity of Native American 

24 seeds (as defined by the Secretary, in consultation 

25 with Indian tribes). 


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1 ‘‘(c) COOPERATION REQUIRED.—Grant applications 

2 submitted by an eligible entity under this section shall cer3 tify that the research to be conducted will be performed 

4 under a cooperative agreement with at least 1 other quali5 fied research entity. 

6 ‘‘(d) ACTIVITIES.—Under this section, funding may 

7 be provided to conduct— 

8 ‘‘(1) research to assess the direct and indirect 

9 impacts of— 

10 ‘‘(A) public law and policies on traditional 

11 ways of life and cultural practices relating to 

12 the harvesting and cultivating of Native Amer13 ican seeds; and 

14 ‘‘(B) contaminants that compromise the 

15 integrity and purity of Native American seeds; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(2) education and training programs on— 

18 ‘‘(A) the methods necessary to conduct the 

19 research described in paragraph (1); and 

20 ‘‘(B) the best methods to continuously test, 

21 monitor, and otherwise protect the purity of 

22 Native American seeds. 

23 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—Beginning not later than 1 year after 

24 the date of enactment of this section, and each year there25 after, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on AgVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:21 Mar 18, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2116.IS S2116

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1 riculture of the House of Representatives and the Com2 mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Sen3 ate a report that contains— 

4 ‘‘(1) a description of the results of any research 

5 conducted under this section; 

6 ‘‘(2) a description of the effectiveness of any 

7 education and training programs conducted under 

8 this section in enabling eligible entities to ensure the 

9 purity of Native American seeds; and 

10 ‘‘(3) any recommendations of the Secretary to 

11 improve the effectiveness of the education and train12 ing programs.’’. 

13 (b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agri15 culture shall issue regulations to carry out section 1419 

16 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

17 Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (as added by subsection (a)), 

18 including regulations to define the term ‘‘Native American 

19 seed’’ for purposes of that section. 

20 SEC. 3. DEVELOPING SEED STORAGE FACILITIES TO PRE21 SERVE AND PROTECT NATIVE AMERICAN 

22 SEEDS. 

23 Section 306(a)(19)(A) of the Consolidated Farm and 

24 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(19)(A)) is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘,,’’ and inserting a comma; and 

2 (2) by inserting ‘‘, including the expansion, con3 struction, and infrastructure costs associated with 

4 developing seed storage facilities that are used to 

5 protect and preserve Native American seeds (as de6 fined by the Secretary pursuant to section 1419 of 

7 the National Agricultural Research, Education, and 

8 Teaching Policy Act of 1977)’’ before the period at 

9 the end. 

Æ 


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