(b) OFFICES.— 
(1) OFFICE OF ADVANCED SCIENCE AND APPLI-
CATION.— 
(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall 
establish within the Institute an Office of Ad-
vanced Science and Application (referred to in 
this paragraph as the ‘‘Office’’). 
(B) DUTIES.—The Office shall— 
(i) closely monitor national needs and 
advances in fundamental agricultural re-
search and science with the goal of identi-
fying pressing problems for which solutions 
are realistically achievable through funda-
mental agricultural research and science; 
(ii) coordinate creative talent from di-
verse disciplines to bridge potential gaps 
between fundamental agricultural research 
and science and high-priority, practical 
needs; and 
(iii) recommend to the Director ways 
in which existing fundamental agricultural 
research and science may be applied to the 
most urgent problems addressed by the In-
stitute. 
(C) STAFF.— 
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(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Office shall 
employ a small, focused staff of rotating 
experts 
in 
agricultural 
research 
and 
science. 
(ii) TALENT
POOL; TERM.—Primary 
staff of the Office— 
(I) shall be appointed from the 
ranks of active agricultural research-
ers and scientists; and 
(II) shall serve terms of not to 
exceed 3 years. 
(D) INTENSIVE STUDY GROUPS.—The Of-
fice shall— 
(i) focus primarily on the most urgent 
problems addressed by the Institute; and 
(ii) assemble such intensive study 
groups as are necessary to address those 
problems. 
(E) REPORTS.—The Office shall submit to 
the Director and the Council periodic reports 
that— 
(i) describe the activities being carried 
out by the Office; and 
(ii) recommended new research prior-
ities for the Office, as appropriate. 
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(2) OFFICE OF SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT AND 
LIAISON.— 
(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall 
establish within the Institute an Office of Sci-
entific Assessment and Liaison (referred to in 
this paragraph as the ‘‘Office’’). 
(B) DUTIES.—The Office shall— 
(i) monitor the effectiveness of the sci-
entific expenditures by the Institute; 
(ii) oversee the coordination of re-
search efforts of the Institute with those of 
other programs; 
(iii) assess the effectiveness of pro-
grams of the Institute by evaluating— 
(I) the quality of the science 
funded by the Institute, using such 
tools as are readily available; and 
(II) the contributions of the In-
stitute to the national research effort, 
including ways in which the Institute 
collaborates and cooperates with the 
Department and with other Federal 
agencies; and 
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(iv) encourage cooperative approaches 
among various research agencies within the 
Federal Government. 
(3) OFFICE OF SCIENTIFIC PERSONNEL.— 
(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Director shall 
establish within the Institute an Office of Sci-
entific Personnel (referred to in this paragraph 
as the ‘‘Office’’). 
(B) DUTIES.—The Office shall— 
(i) cooperate with scientific and agri-
cultural experts to assess— 
(I) the number of scientists in 
agriculture and related fields in the 
United States; and 
(II) how many additional sci-
entists in agriculture and related 
fields are needed to meet the purposes 
of this Act; and 
(ii) generate and maintain data that 
may assist the Director and the Council in 
planning appropriate Institute fellowship 
and training programs. 
(4) ADDITIONAL OFFICES.—The Director may 
establish such additional offices within the Institute 
as the Director or the Council determines to be nec-
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essary to carry out the duties of the Institute under 
this Act. 
SEC. 6. DUTIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Institute shall provide com-
petitive, peer-reviewed grants in accordance with section 
8(b) to support and promote the highest quality of funda-
mental agricultural research and science, including grants 
to fund research proposals submitted by— 
(1) individual scientists; 
(2) research centers composed of a single insti-
tution or multiple institutions; and 
(3) other individuals and entities from the pri-
vate and public sectors, including researchers of the 
Department and other Federal agencies. 
(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than Decem-
ber 31, 2007, and biennially thereafter, the Institute shall 
submit to the Secretary, the Committee on Agriculture, 
Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, and the Committee 
on Agriculture of the House of Representatives a com-
prehensive report that describes the research funded and 
other activities carried out by the Institute during the pe-
riod covered by the report. 
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SEC. 7. POWERS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Institute shall have such au-
thority as is necessary to carry out this Act, including the 
authority— 
(1) to promulgate such regulations as the Insti-
tute considers to be necessary for governance of op-
erations, organization, and personnel; 
(2) to make such expenditures as are necessary 
to carry out this Act; 
(3) to enter into contracts or other arrange-
ments, or modifications of contracts or other ar-
rangements— 
(A) to provide for the conduct, by organi-
zations or individuals in the United States (in-
cluding other agencies of the Department, Fed-
eral agencies, and agencies of foreign coun-
tries), of such fundamental agricultural re-
search and science, or related activities as the 
Institute considers to be necessary to carry out 
this Act; and 
(B) at the request of the Secretary, for the 
conduct of such specific fundamental agricul-
tural research and science as is in the national 
interest or is otherwise of critical importance, 
as determined by the Secretary, with the con-
currence of the Institute; 
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(4) to make advance, progress, and other pay-
ments relating to research and scientific activities 
without regard to subsections (a) and (b) of section 
3324 of title 31, United States Code; 
(5) to acquire by purchase, lease, loan, gift, or 
condemnation, and to hold and dispose of by grant, 
sale, lease, or loan, real and personal property of all 
kinds necessary for, or resulting from, the exercise 
of authority under this Act; 
(6) to receive and use donated funds, if the 
funds are donated without restriction other than 
that the funds be used in furtherance of 1 or more 
of the purposes of the Institute; 
(7) to publish or arrange for the publication of 
research and scientific information to further the 
full dissemination of information of scientific value 
consistent with the national interest, without regard 
to section 501 of title 44, United States Code; 
(8)(A) to accept and use the services of vol-
untary and uncompensated personnel; and 
(B) to provide such transportation and subsist-
ence as are authorized by section 5703 of title 5, 
United States Code, for individuals serving without 
compensation; 
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(9) to prescribe, with the approval of the Comp-
troller General of the United States, the extent to 
which vouchers for funds expended under contracts 
for scientific or engineering research shall be subject 
to itemization or substantiation prior to payment, 
without regard to the limitations of other laws relat-
ing to the expenditure and accounting of public 
funds; 
(10) to arrange with and reimburse the Sec-
retary, and the heads of other Federal agencies, for 
the performance of any activity that the Institute is 
authorized to conduct; and 
(11) to enter into contracts, at the request of 
the Secretary, for the carrying out of such specific 
agricultural research as is in the national interest or 
otherwise of critical importance, as determined by 
the Secretary, with the consent of the Institute. 
(b) TRANSFER OF RESEARCH FUNDS OF OTHER DE-
PARTMENTS OR AGENCIES.—If the Committee on Agri-
culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, the Com-
mittee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives, 
and any other Committees of jurisdiction are notified not 
less than 30 days in advance of any transfer, funds avail-
able to the Secretary, or any other department or agency 
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of the Federal Government, for agricultural or scientific 
research shall be— 
(1) available for transfer, with the approval of 
the Secretary or the head of the other appropriate 
department or agency involved, in whole or in part, 
to the Institute for use in providing grants in ac-
cordance with the purposes for which the funds were 
made available; and 
(2) if so transferred, expendable by the Insti-
tute for those purposes. 
(c) RESTRICTION ON ACTIVITIES.—The Institute— 
(1) shall be a grant-making entity only; and 
(2) shall not— 
(A) conduct fundamental agricultural re-
search or research relating to fundamental 
science; or 
(B) operate any laboratory or pilot facility. 
SEC. 8. BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS. 
(a) BUDGETARY MANAGEMENT GOALS.—The Direc-
tor, in coordination with the Secretary, shall manage the 
budget of the Institute to achieve the goals of— 
(1) providing sufficient funds over a period of 
time to achieve the purposes of this Act; 
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(2) fostering outstanding scientific talent, and 
directing that talent toward work on issues relating 
to agriculture; and 
(3) adequately reimbursing grant-receiving in-
stitutions for costs to encourage the pursuit of fun-
damental agricultural research and science. 
(b) BUDGETARY GUIDELINES FOR GRANTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—To achieve the goals de-
scribed in subsection (a), the Institute shall, to the 
maximum extent practicable, ensure that grants 
awarded for each fiscal year comply with the guide-
lines described in paragraphs (2) and (3). 
(2) PROJECT GRANTS.—With respect to project 
grants, to the maximum extent practicable— 
(A) the Institute shall award approxi-
mately 1,000 new project grants annually; 
(B) the average project grant amount, in-
cluding 
overhead, 
shall 
be 
approximately 
$225,000 for each fiscal year, as adjusted in ac-
cordance with the Consumer Price Index for all- 
urban consumers, United States city average, 
as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics; 
(C) a project grant shall be provided for a 
maximum period of 5 years, with an average 
award duration of 3.5 years; 
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(D) the Institute shall require the recipi-
ents of a project grant to submit appropriate 
reports on research carried out using funds 
from the project grant; and 
(E) the Institute shall provide such num-
ber of training project grants as the Director or 
the Institute determines to be appropriate. 
(3) MULTIDISCIPLINARY
GRANTS.—With re-
spect to multidisciplinary grants, to the maximum 
extent practicable— 
(A) for each of fiscal years 2007 through 
2010, the Institute shall provide 10 multidisci-
plinary grants; 
(B) for fiscal year 2011 and subsequent 
fiscal years, the Institute shall provide multi-
disciplinary grants to fund not fewer than 40 
research centers, on the conditions that— 
(i) sufficient funds are available; and 
(ii) a sufficient number of qualified 
research proposals are received; 
(C) the research centers provided multi-
disciplinary grants may be composed of a single 
institution or multiple institutions; 
(D) the average multidisciplinary grant 
amount, including overhead, shall be approxi-
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