I 
119TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 641 
To establish an interagency committee on soil carbon sequestration research, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 23, 2025 
Ms. MCCLELLAN (for herself, Mr. LAWLER, Mr. SORENSEN, Ms. BONAMICI, 
and Ms. SCHOLTEN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, and in addition to the 
Committees on Agriculture, and Natural Resources, 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 establish an interagency committee on soil carbon 
sequestration research, 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 ‘‘Coordination for Soil 
Carbon Research and Monitoring Act’’. 
SEC. 2. SOIL CARBON RESEARCH AND MONITORING. 
(a) INTERAGENCY COMMITTEE.— 
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(1) IN
GENERAL.—There is established an 
interagency committee to be known as the ‘‘Inter-
agency Committee on Soil Carbon Research’’ (in this 
section referred to as the ‘‘Interagency Committee’’), 
to be led by the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy and composed of representatives from the fol-
lowing: 
(A) The Department of Agriculture. 
(B) The Department of Energy. 
(C) The Department of the Interior. 
(D) The Environmental Protection Agency. 
(E) The United States Geological Survey. 
(F) The National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration. 
(G) The National Science Foundation. 
(H) The National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration. 
(I) The White House Environmental Jus-
tice Advisory Council. 
(J) The National Institute of Standards 
and Technology. 
(K) Such other Federal agencies as the Di-
rector of the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy determines appropriate. 
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(2) 
DUTIES.—The 
Interagency 
Committee 
shall— 
(A) develop a cross-agency strategic plan 
for Federal research, development, and deploy-
ment regarding soil carbon sequestration sam-
pling and measurement methodologies, meas-
urement and monitoring technologies, and com-
munity needs; 
(B) propose roles and responsibilities to 
each Federal agency to advance soil carbon se-
questration research and monitoring; 
(C) oversee working groups established 
under this section; 
(D) as appropriate, seek to consult with 
Federal agencies and with the Office of Man-
agement and Budget regarding planning and 
budget review, respectively, concerning matters 
relating to Federal soil carbon sequestration re-
search and monitoring; 
(E) not later than one year after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, submit to Con-
gress a baseline report on existing soil carbon 
sequestration research and monitoring activi-
ties; 
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(F) submit to Congress progress reports 
on soil carbon sequestration research and moni-
toring activities at one-, three-, and five-year in-
tervals after the submission of the baseline re-
port under subparagraph (E); 
(G) encourage coordination between Fed-
eral agencies and evaluate soil carbon seques-
tration monitoring activities, data collection on 
soil carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes, 
and long-term storage protocols for soil carbon; 
(H) support comprehensive reporting on 
soil carbon sequestration related activities based 
on a standardized integration of existing and 
new relevant data collection efforts across Fed-
eral agencies; 
(I) share recommendations for review and 
input with soil science experts from academia, 
private industry, and nonprofit organizations 
that represent the geographic, operational, and 
demographic diversity of United States agri-
culture; and 
(J) designate a member of the Interagency 
Committee to collaborate with Federal agency 
heads on soil carbon sequestration research and 
monitoring activities. 
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(3) WORKING GROUPS.— 
(A) IN GENERAL.—The Interagency Com-
mittee may, as appropriate and necessary, es-
tablish working groups to coordinate on cross- 
cutting priorities on soil carbon research as de-
termined by the Interagency Committee, includ-
ing relating to the following: 
(i) 
Monitoring, 
Reporting, 
and 
Verification (MRV). 
(ii) Data collection and management, 
with a focus on measurement standards, 
standards for use of new technologies, and 
data architecture for accessibility across 
agencies. 
(iii) Fundamental research, including 
regarding soil carbon dynamics, plant 
breeding, and soil amendments. 
(iv) Community engagement in re-
search development and dissemination of 
results, particularly with historically under-
served and disadvantaged groups. 
(B) DUTIES.—Working groups established 
pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall— 
(i) identify ongoing research and mon-
itoring efforts on soil carbon at each Fed-
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eral agency represented in each such work-
ing group; 
(ii) identify gaps in current efforts on 
soil carbon sequestration research and 
monitoring; 
(iii) 
outline 
current 
collaboration 
across agencies on soil carbon sequestra-
tion research and monitoring; 
(iv) propose coordinated projects and 
budget requests to advance the field of soil 
carbon sequestration research and moni-
toring; 
(v) engage with and conduct outreach 
to agricultural communities and producers, 
particularly those historically underserved, 
to ensure soil carbon sequestration re-
search and monitoring is rooted in stake-
holder engagement and on-the-ground per-
spectives; 
(vi) engage with research and exten-
sion soil scientists, private industry, non-
profit organizations, and other inter-
disciplinary soil science expert groups to 
ensure that recommendations are informed 
by the best available science; and 
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(vii) collaborate on the development of 
standardized monitoring of the long-term 
carbon and environmental impacts of soil 
carbon sequestration research. 
(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out 
this section. 
Æ 
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