I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 8447 
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish centers of excellence for 
agricultural security research, extension, and education, and for other 
purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 17, 2024 
Mr. BACON (for himself, Mr. NUNN of Iowa, and Mr. CARBAJAL) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish centers 
of excellence for agricultural security research, extension, 
and education, 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. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘American Agricultural 
Security Act of 2024’’. 
SEC. 2. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE. 
(a) CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.—The Secretary of 
Agriculture (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’) 
shall establish at least 1 center of excellence for the pur-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:26 Jun 27, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8447.IH
H8447
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
pose of carrying out research, extension, and education ac-
tivities for each of the areas of focus described in sub-
section (c). 
(b) HOST INSTITUTIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Institutions eligible to host 
or co-host a center of excellence established under 
this section include— 
(A) an 1862 Institution, as defined in sec-
tion 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, 
and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 
7601); 
(B) an 1890 Institution, as defined in such 
section 2; 
(C) a 1994 Institution, as defined in such 
section 2; 
(D) a non-land-grant college of agriculture, 
as defined in section 1404 of the National Agri-
cultural Research, Extension, and Teaching 
Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103); 
(E) a Hispanic-serving agricultural college 
or university, as defined in such section 1404; 
and 
(F) an accredited school of veterinary med-
icine. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:26 Jun 27, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8447.IH
H8447
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
(2) DISTRIBUTION.—To the maximum extent 
practicable, the Secretary shall ensure the geo-
graphic diversity of institutions selected to host or 
co-host a center of excellence established under this 
section. 
(3) LIMITATION.—An institution selected to 
host or co-host a center of excellence under this sec-
tion may host or co-host only one such center of ex-
cellence at a time. 
(4) DUTIES.—An institution or institutions se-
lected to host or co-host a center of excellence estab-
lished under this section shall partner with the Agri-
cultural Research Service, other Federal agencies, 
State Governments, other institutions of higher edu-
cation (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)), agricultural 
industry groups, or other relevant entities to— 
(A) reduce duplicative efforts and focus on 
filling gaps across research, extension, and edu-
cation activities by enhancing coordination and 
improving cost-effectiveness; 
(B) leverage available resources by using 
public-private partnerships; 
(C) implement training and educational 
initiatives to increase awareness and effectively 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:26 Jun 27, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8447.IH
H8447
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
disseminate 
solutions 
to 
target 
audiences 
through extension activities; 
(D) increase the economic returns to rural 
communities by identifying, attracting, and di-
recting funds to high-priority agricultural 
issues; 
(E) rapidly respond to emerging issues 
that threaten any sector of the United States 
agricultural industry; 
(F) focus on workforce development for 
employers to recruit and retain high quality em-
ployees in rural areas; and 
(G) engage in assistance for administrative 
management and education regarding poten-
tially valuable intellectual property derived from 
federally-supported research, extension, and 
education activities. 
(c) AREAS OF FOCUS.—The areas of focus described 
in this subsection are each of the following: 
(1) BIOSECURITY
AND
CYBERSECURITY.—Re-
search, extension, and education activities focused on 
agricultural biosecurity and cybersecurity efforts to 
defend the United States food supply from any at-
tacks. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:26 Jun 27, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8447.IH
H8447
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
(2) BIOSYSTEMS
AND
AGRICULTURAL
ENGI-
NEERING.—Research, extension, and education ac-
tivities focused on biosystems and agricultural engi-
neering, including precision agriculture technologies 
and mechanization and automation technologies for 
specialty crops. 
(3) DIGITAL AGRICULTURE.—Research, exten-
sion, and education activities focused on developing, 
evaluating, and deploying digital agriculture, includ-
ing artificial intelligence. 
(4) FOREIGN ANIMAL DISEASE.—Research, ex-
tension, and education activities focused on foreign 
animal diseases, including the ecology and etiology 
of emerging diseases, control methods, and imple-
mentation strategies to enhance preparedness and 
response efforts to protect the livestock and poultry 
industry. 
(d) TERMS.— 
(1) DURATION.—The term of an award under 
this section shall be for a 5-year period, and may be 
renewed for not more than one additional 5-year pe-
riod. 
(2) CONSTRUCTION PROHIBITED.—Funds made 
available under this section shall not be used for the 
construction of a new building or facility or the ac-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:26 Jun 27, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8447.IH
H8447
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
quisition of, expansion, remodeling, or alteration of 
an existing building or facility (including site grad-
ing and improvement, and architect fees). 
(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of the enactment of this section, and every year 
thereafter, the Secretary of Agriculture shall submit to the 
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For-
estry of the Senate a report describing— 
(1) the projects initiated by each center of ex-
cellence established under this section in the pre-
ceding year; 
(2) the amount of funding for each such project 
and the funding source; 
(3) the institutions participating in each such 
project and their shares of the overall funding for 
each project; 
(4) the level of cost-sharing for each such 
project; 
(5) technology transfer and intellectual property 
management actions undertaken by each such cen-
ter, such as the number of relevant invention disclo-
sures, provisional patents filed, non-provisional pat-
ents filed and issued, number of licenses executed, 
and start-up companies registered; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:26 Jun 27, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8447.IH
H8447
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
(6) any additional information the Secretary de-
termines to be necessary. 
(f) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029. 
SEC. 3. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PROTECTION GRANT 
PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 
program under which the Secretary will award grants on 
a competitive basis to eligible entities to support research, 
extension, and education activities that improve the capa-
bility of the United States to protect the food and agricul-
tural system from any chemical, biological, cybersecurity, 
or bioterrorism attack. 
(b) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 
a grant under this section shall use funds received through 
the grant— 
(1) to encourage basic and applied research on, 
and the development of, qualified agricultural coun-
termeasures; 
(2) to promote the development and expansion 
of teaching programs in agriculture, veterinary med-
icine, and other disciplines closely allied to the food 
and agriculture system of the United States to in-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:26 Jun 27, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8447.IH
H8447
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
crease the number of trained individuals with an ex-
pertise in agricultural biosecurity and cybersecurity; 
(3) to expand or upgrade facilities to meet bio-
safety and biosecurity requirements necessary to 
protect facility staff, members of the public, and the 
food supply while carrying out agricultural biosecu-
rity research; 
(4) to cover costs associated with the acquisi-
tion of equipment and other capital costs related to 
expansion of food, agriculture, and veterinary medi-
cine teaching programs in agricultural biosecurity 
and cybersecurity; or 
(5) otherwise improve the capacity of the 
United States to respond in a timely manner to 
emerging or existing threats. 
(c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity eligible to re-
ceive a grant under this section is— 
(1) a State agricultural experiment station; 
(2) a State departments of agriculture; 
(3) a college or university; 
(4) a university research foundation; 
(5) a research institution or organization; 
(6) a Federal agency; 
(7) a national laboratory; or 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:26 Jun 27, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H8447.IH
H8447
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
(8) any group consisting of 2 or more of the en-
tities described in paragraphs (1) through (7). 
(d) AUTHORIZATION
OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
19:26 Jun 27, 2024
Jkt 049200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H8447.IH
H8447
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS