I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5208 
To amend the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act and 
the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to further 
plant cultivar research, development, and commercialization, and for 
other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 7, 2018 
Mr. POCAN (for himself and Mr. SOTO) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research 
Grant Act and the Department of Agriculture Reorga-
nization Act of 1994 to further plant cultivar research, 
development, and commercialization, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘Seeds for the Future 
Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. PUBLIC CULTIVAR DEVELOPMENT. 
Section 2 of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities 
Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(A) CONVENTIONAL
BREEDING.—The term 
‘conventional breeding’ means the development of 
new varieties of an organism through controlled 
mating and selection without the use of transgenic 
methods. 
‘‘(B) CULTIVAR.—The term ‘cultivar’ means a 
variety of a species of plant that has been inten-
tionally selected for use in cultivation because of the 
improved characteristics of that variety of the spe-
cies. 
‘‘(C) PUBLIC
CULTIVAR.—The term ‘public 
cultivar’ means a cultivar that is the commercially 
available uniform end product of a publicly funded 
breeding program that has been sufficiently tested to 
demonstrate improved characteristics and stable per-
formance.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(l) PUBLIC CULTIVAR DEVELOPMENT FUNDING.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount of grants 
made under subsections (b) and (c), the Secretary of 
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Agriculture (referred to in this subsection as the 
‘Secretary’) shall ensure that not less than 
$50,000,000 for each fiscal year is used for competi-
tive research grants that support the development of 
public cultivars. 
‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In making grants under para-
graph (1), the Secretary shall give priority to high- 
potential research projects that lead to the release of 
public cultivars. 
‘‘(3) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall ensure that 
the terms and renewal process for any competitive 
grants made under subsection (b) facilitate the de-
velopment and commercialization of public cultivars 
through long-term grants not less than 5 years in 
length. 
‘‘(4) REPORT.—Not later than October 1 of 
each year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 
report that provides information on all public 
cultivar and breeding research funded by the De-
partment of Agriculture, including— 
‘‘(A) a list of public cultivars and varieties 
of public cultivars developed and released in a 
commercially available form; 
‘‘(B) areas of high-priority research; 
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‘‘(C) identified research gaps relating to 
public cultivar development; and 
‘‘(D) an assessment of the state of com-
mercialization for cultivars that have been de-
veloped.’’. 
SEC. 3. PUBLIC CULTIVAR RESEARCH COORDINATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 251 of the Department of 
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6971) 
is amended— 
(1) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(6) PUBLIC CULTIVAR RESEARCH ACTIVITIES 
COORDINATOR.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary 
shall appoint a coordinator within the Research, 
Education, and Extension Office that reports to 
the Under Secretary to coordinate research ac-
tivities at the Department relating to the breed-
ing of public cultivars (as defined in paragraph 
(3) of section 2(a) of the Competitive, Special, 
and Facilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 
3157(a))). 
‘‘(B) DUTIES OF COORDINATOR.—The co-
ordinator appointed under subparagraph (A) 
shall— 
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‘‘(i) coordinate plant breeding re-
search activities funded by the Department 
relating to the development of public culti-
vars; 
‘‘(ii)(I) carry out ongoing analysis and 
track activities for any Federal research 
funding supporting plant breeding (includ-
ing any public cultivars developed with 
Federal funds); and 
‘‘(II) ensure that the analysis and ac-
tivities are made available to the public not 
later than 60 days after the last day of 
each fiscal year; 
‘‘(iii) develop a strategic plan that es-
tablishes targets for public cultivar re-
search investments across the Department 
to ensure that a diverse range of crop 
needs are being met in a timely and trans-
parent manner; 
‘‘(iv) convene a working group in 
order to carry out the coordination func-
tions described in this subparagraph com-
prised of individuals who are responsible 
for the management, administration, or 
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analysis of public breeding programs with-
in the Department from— 
‘‘(I) the National Institute of 
Food and Agriculture; 
‘‘(II) the Agricultural Research 
Service; and 
‘‘(III) the Economic Research 
Service; 
‘‘(v) in order to maximize delivery of 
public 
cultivars, 
promote 
collaboration 
among— 
‘‘(I) the coordinator; 
‘‘(II) the working group convened 
under clause (iv); 
‘‘(III) the advisory council estab-
lished under section 1634 of the 
Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and 
Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5843); 
‘‘(IV) genetic resource conserva-
tion centers; 
‘‘(V) land-grant colleges and uni-
versities (as defined in section 1404 of 
the National Agricultural Research, 
Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 
1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)); 
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‘‘(VI) Hispanic-serving institu-
tions (as defined in section 502(a) of 
the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 
U.S.C. 1101a(a))); 
‘‘(VII) Native American-serving 
nontribal institutions (as defined in 
section 371(c) of the Higher Edu-
cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
1067q(c))); 
‘‘(VIII) nongovernmental organi-
zations with interest or expertise in 
public breeding; and 
‘‘(IX) public and private plant 
breeders; 
‘‘(vi) convene regular stakeholder lis-
tening sessions to provide input on na-
tional and regional priorities for public 
cultivar breeding research activities across 
the Department; and 
‘‘(vii) 
evaluate 
and 
make 
rec-
ommendations to the Under Secretary on 
training and resource needs to meet future 
breeding challenges.’’; and 
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(2) in subsection (f)(1)(D)(i), by striking ‘‘(7 
U.S.C. 
450i(b))’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘(7 
U.S.C. 
3157(b))’’. 
(b) 
CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—Section 
296(b)(6)(B) of the Department of Agriculture Reorga-
nization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)(6)(B)) is amended 
by striking ‘‘Office; and’’ and inserting ‘‘Office (including 
the public cultivar research activities coordinator under 
subsection (e)(6) of that section); and’’. 
Æ 
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