I 
108TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2920
To ensure that efforts to address world hunger through the use of genetically 
engineered animals and crops actually help developing countries and 
peoples while protecting human health and the environment, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JULY 25, 2003
Mr. KUCINICH (for himself, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr. SANDERS, Ms. LEE, Mr. CON-
YERS, Mr. OLVER, Mr. ACEVEDO-VILA´, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. NADLER, 
Mr. OWENS, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. WATERS, Ms. WATSON, and Ms. 
WOOLSEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on International Relations, and in addition to the Committees on 
Ways and Means, Financial Services, and Agriculture, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned 
A BILL 
To ensure that efforts to address world hunger through 
the use of genetically engineered animals and crops actu-
ally help developing countries and peoples while pro-
tecting human health and the environment, and for other 
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; FINDINGS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Real Solutions to World Hunger Act of 2003’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; findings. 
Sec. 2. Definitions. 
Sec. 3. Ensuring safety and mitigating ecological impacts of United States ex-
ports of genetically engineered animals, plants, and seeds. 
Sec. 4. Promotion of international research regarding sustainable agriculture to 
assist developing countries. 
Sec. 5. Position of the United States in the international financial institutions 
regarding genetically engineered animals, plants, and seeds. 
Sec. 6. Tax on biotech companies to help fund sustainable agriculture research.
(c) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) The need for mandatory labeling, safety 
testing, and environmental reviews of genetically en-
gineered foods do not constitute obstacles to the ces-
sation of world hunger. 
(2) The dominant causes of world hunger are 
not technological in nature, but rooted in basic so-
cial-economic failures. 
(3) Technologies, like genetically engineered 
food, may have a limited role, but economics remain 
the significant barrier to a consistent food supply, 
and the development of expensive genetically engi-
neered foods may only exacerbate this trend. 
(4) Most genetically engineered food products 
and almost all research funding for the development 
of genetically engineered food target developed na-
tion agriculture and consumers. Developing coun-
tries cannot afford this technology and therefore are 
vastly ignored. 
(5) Agroecological interventions have had sig-
nificant success in helping developing nations feed
themselves with higher yields and improved environ-
mental practices, all within reasonable costs for de-
veloping countries. 
(6) If the biotech industry believes they can 
help mitigate hunger concerns, domestic or foreign, 
then requiring biotech companies to make available 
the necessary resources for this purpose is appro-
priate.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) GENETICALLY ENGINEERED ANIMAL.—The 
term ‘‘genetically engineered animal’’ means an ani-
mal that contains a genetically engineered material 
or was produced with a genetically engineered mate-
rial. An animal shall be considered to contain a ge-
netically engineered material or to have been pro-
duced with a genetically engineered material if the 
animal has been injected or otherwise treated with 
a genetically engineered material or is the offspring 
of an animal that has been so injected or treated.
(2) GENETICALLY
ENGINEERED
PLANT.—The 
term ‘‘genetically engineered plant’’ means a plant 
that contains a genetically engineered material or 
was produced from a genetically engineered seed. A 
plant shall be considered to contain a genetically en-
gineered material if the plant has been injected or 
otherwise treated with a genetically engineered mate-
rial (except that the use of manure as a fertilizer for 
the plant may not be construed to mean that the 
plant is produced with a genetically engineered ma-
terial). 
(3) GENETICALLY
ENGINEERED
SEED.—The 
term ‘‘genetically engineered seed’’ means a seed 
that contains a genetically engineered material or 
was produced with a genetically engineered material. 
A seed shall be considered to contain a genetically 
engineered material or to have been produced with 
a genetically engineered material if the seed (or the 
plant from which the seed is derived) has been in-
jected or otherwise treated with a genetically engi-
neered material (except that the use of manure as 
a fertilizer for the plant may not be construed to 
mean that any resulting seeds are produced with a 
genetically engineered material).
(4) GENETICALLY
ENGINEERED
MATERIAL.—
The term ‘‘genetically engineered material’’ means 
material that has been altered at the molecular or 
cellular level by means that are not possible under 
natural conditions or processes (including recom-
binant DNA and RNA techniques, cell fusion, micro-
encapsulation, macroencapsulation, gene deletion 
and doubling, introducing a foreign gene, and chang-
ing the positions of genes), other than a means con-
sisting exclusively of breeding, conjugation, fer-
mentation, hybridization, in vitro fertilization or tis-
sue culture or mutagenesis. 
(5) BIOTECH
COMPANY.—The term ‘‘biotech 
company’’ means a person engaged in the business 
of creating genetically engineered material and ob-
taining the patent rights to that material for the 
purposes of commercial exploitation of that material. 
The term does not include the employees of such 
person. 
SEC. 3. ENSURING SAFETY AND MITIGATING ECOLOGICAL 
IMPACTS OF UNITED STATES EXPORTS OF 
GENETICALLY 
ENGINEERED 
ANIMALS, 
PLANTS, AND SEEDS. 
It shall be unlawful for any person to ship or offer 
for shipment, or for any carrier or other person to trans-
port or receive for transportation, to any foreign country, 
any genetically engineered animal, genetically engineered 
plant, or genetically engineered seed that the person
knows, or has reason to believe, will be used by the ulti-
mate purchaser to produce an agricultural commodity if—
(1) the genetically engineered animal, geneti-
cally engineered plant, or genetically engineered 
seed—
(A) was denied a Federal approval nec-
essary as a condition for commercial marketing 
in the United States; or 
(B) was the subject of an application for 
such a Federal approval that was withdrawn; or 
(2) the government of the foreign country has 
not certified that ecological impacts related to the 
importation of the genetically engineered animal, ge-
netically engineered plant, or genetically engineered 
seed have been mitigated to the satisfaction of the 
foreign government. 
SEC. 4. PROMOTION OF INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH RE-
GARDING SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE TO 
ASSIST DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. 
(a) GRANTS FOR INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH.—The 
Secretary of Agriculture may make grants to designated 
international research institutions for the purpose of pro-
moting the development of sustainable agriculture tech-
niques that rely on minimum artificial inputs to meet the 
food and fiber needs of developing countries. Eligible sus-
tainable agriculture techniques may not derive any genetic 
engineered material.
(b) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—A grant recipient shall 
use the funds provided under this section only in a manner 
consistent with the purpose for which the grant is award-
ed. 
(c) DESIGNATED INSTITUTIONS.—The Secretary of 
Health and Human Services shall designate the inter-
national research institutions eligible to apply for a grant 
under this section. The designated institutions shall in-
clude the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organiza-
tion and the Consultative Group on International Agricul-
tural Research. 
(d) COMPETITIVE BASIS.—Grants under this section 
shall be made on a competitive basis. 
(e) FUNDING SOURCE.—The Secretary of Agriculture 
shall use the Sustainable Agriculture Trust Fund, in such 
amounts as provided in advance in appropriation Acts, to 
make grants under this section.
SEC. 5. POSITION OF THE UNITED STATES IN THE INTER-
NATIONAL 
FINANCIAL 
INSTITUTIONS 
RE-
GARDING GENETICALLY ENGINEERED ANI-
MALS, PLANTS, AND SEEDS. 
The Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the 
United States Executive Director at each international fi-
nancial institution (as defined in section 1701(c)(2) of the 
International Financial Institutions Act) to make no effort 
to encourage the institution to prohibit any country eligi-
ble for assistance under the Heavily Indebted Poor Coun-
tries (HIPC) Initiative of the International Bank for Re-
construction and Development from requiring compulsory 
licensing with respect to any genetically engineered ani-
mal, genetically engineered plant, or genetically engi-
neered seed. 
SEC. 6. TAX ON BIOTECH COMPANIES TO HELP FUND SUS-
TAINABLE AGRICULTURE RESEARCH. 
(a) SPECIAL TAX.—
(1) TAX IMPOSED.—Subchapter A of chapter 1 
of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 
adding at the end the following new part: 
‘‘PART VIII—TAX ON GENETIC ENGINEERING 
BUSINESSES
‘‘Sec. 59B. Imposition of tax.
‘‘SEC. 59B. IMPOSITION OF TAX. 
‘‘(a) TAX IMPOSED.—In the case of a corporation, 
there is hereby imposed (in addition to any other tax im-
posed by this subtitle) a tax equal to 1 percent of the gross 
income of such business for the taxable year which is at-
tributable (directly or indirectly) to—
‘‘(1) the marketing in the United States of any 
genetically engineered organism, or 
‘‘(2) the holding of a patent on any such an or-
ganism. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘geneti-
cally engineered organism’ means—
‘‘(1) an organism that has been altered at the 
molecular or cellular level by means that are not 
possible under natural conditions or processes (in-
cluding but not limited to recombinant DNA and 
RNA techniques, cell fusion, microencapsulation, 
macroencapsulation, gene deletion and doubling, in-
troducing a foreign gene, and changing the positions 
of genes), other than a means consisting exclusively 
of breeding, conjugation, fermentation, hybridiza-
tion, in vitro fertilization, tissue culture, or 
mutagenesis; and 
‘‘(2) an organism made through sexual or asex-
ual reproduction (or both) involving an organism de-
scribed in subparagraph (A), if possessing any of the
altered molecular or cellular characteristics of the 
organism so described.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL
AMENDMENT.—The table of 
parts for such subchapter A is amended by adding 
at the end the following new item:
‘‘Part VIII. Tax on genetic engineering businesses.’’.
(3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this subsection shall apply to taxable years begin-
ning after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE TRUST FUND.—
(1) CREATION
AND
FUNDING
SOURCE.—Sub-
chapter A of chapter 98 of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 (relating to trust fund code) is amend-
ed by adding at the end the following new section: 
‘‘SEC. 9511. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE TRUST FUND.
‘‘(a) CREATION OF TRUST FUND.—There is estab-
lished in the Treasury of the United States a trust fund 
to be known as the ‘Sustainable Agriculture Trust Fund’, 
consisting of such amounts as may be appropriated or 
credited to the Sustainable Agriculture Trust Fund as 
provided in this section or section 9602(b). 
‘‘(b) TRANSFER
TO TRUST FUND
OF CERTAIN 
TAXES.—There is hereby appropriated to the Sustainable 
Agriculture Trust Fund amounts equivalent to the taxes 
received in the Treasury under section 59B.