AG RESEARCH Act
Bill: S.2636 | Sponsor: Sen. Hirono, Mazie K. (D-HI)
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
AuGmenting Research and Educational Sites to Ensure Agriculture Remains Cutting-edge and Helpful Act or the AG RESEARCH Act
This bill provides funding for maintenance at agricultural research facilities.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) must (1) revise its review process for evaluating proposals for agricultural research facilities to include consulting with representatives of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) peer review panels; and (2) establish a grant program within NIFA to provide agricultural research facilities with a federal share of the cost for the construction, alteration, acquisition, modernization, renovation, or remodeling of the research facilities or the equipment necessary for agricultural research.
Additionally, USDA must use specified Commodity Credit Corporation funds to provide direct payments to research facilities of the Agricultural Research Service for addressing deferred maintenance. USDA must give priority to the most critical structures in accordance with the Agricultural Research Service Capital Investment Strategy (April 2012).

To amend the Research Facilities Act and the Agricultural Research, 
    Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 to address deferred 
    maintenance at agricultural research facilities, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``AuGmenting Research and Educational 
Sites to Ensure Agriculture Remains Cutting-edge and Helpful Act'' or 
the ``AG RESEARCH Act''.

SEC. 2. AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH FACILITIES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) in 2019, agriculture and related industries--
                    (A) contributed $1,109,000,000,000 to the gross 
                domestic product of the United States (5.2 percent of 
                the total gross domestic product of the United States); 
                and
                    (B) provided 22,200,000 jobs domestically (10.9 
                percent of total employment in the United States);
            (2) the Department of Agriculture funds more than 
        $1,600,000,000 in research funding each year to schools of 
        agriculture;
            (3) a study published in 2015 found that deferred 
        maintenance needs at 91 schools of agriculture across the 
        United States totaled $8,400,000,000, with a total replacement 
        cost of $29,000,000,000;
            (4) a study published in 2021 found that deferred 
        maintenance needs at schools of agriculture across the United 
        States had increased to $11,500,000,000, with a total 
        replacement cost of $38,100,000,000; and
            (5) infrastructure investments must be made at schools of 
        agriculture to ensure that United States agricultural research 
        remains globally competitive.
    (b) Evaluation of Proposals.--Section 3(d) of the Research 
Facilities Act (7 U.S.C. 390a(d)) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs 
        (2) and (3), respectively; and
            (2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so redesignated) 
        the following:
            ``(1) review the proposal in consultation with 
        representatives of National Institute of Food and Agriculture 
        peer review panels;''.
    (c) Grants for Agricultural Research Facilities.--Section 4 of the 
Research Facilities Act (7 U.S.C. 390b) is amended to read as follows:

``SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH FACILITIES.

    ``(a) Purpose.--The purpose of this section is to assist 
agricultural research facilities in efforts to alter or repair those 
facilities or equipment of the facilities necessary for conducting 
agricultural research.
    ``(b) Grant Program.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish in the 
        National Institute of Food and Agriculture a competitive grant 
        program to provide to agricultural research facilities the 
        Federal share of the cost of the construction, alteration, 
        acquisition, modernization, renovation, or remodeling of--
                    ``(A) the agricultural research facilities; or
                    ``(B) equipment of the agricultural research 
                facilities necessary for conducting agricultural 
                research.
            ``(2) Secretarial waiver.--Notwithstanding section 
        3(c)(2)(A), the Secretary may provide that the Federal share 
        described in paragraph (1) is up to 100 percent of the costs 
        described in that paragraph on a case-by-case basis, as the 
        Secretary determines to be appropriate.
    ``(c) Requirements.--
            ``(1) Amount; terms and conditions.--Grants awarded under 
        this section shall be in such amounts and under such terms and 
        conditions as the Secretary determines are necessary to carry 
        out the purpose of this section.
            ``(2) Equitable distribution.--To the maximum extent 
        practicable, grants shall be awarded under this section to 
        ensure--
                    ``(A) an equitable geographic distribution of 
                funds;
                    ``(B) an equitable distribution of funds to diverse 
                institutions; and
                    ``(C) an equitable distribution of funds to 
                agricultural research facilities of various sizes.
            ``(3) Limitation.--Not greater than 20 percent of amounts 
        made available to carry out this section shall be awarded to 
        projects in any 1 State.
            ``(4) Administration.--In carrying out this section, the 
        Secretary shall establish procedures for--
                    ``(A) the submission of proposals for competitive 
                grants; and
                    ``(B) in consultation with representatives of 
                National Institute of Food and Agriculture peer review 
                panels, the review and selection of proposals submitted 
                under subparagraph (A).''.
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--Section 6 of the Research 
Facilities Act (7 U.S.C. 390d) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), in the first sentence, by striking 
        ``2023'' and inserting ``2026''; and
            (2) in subsection (b), by inserting ``Federal'' before 
        ``administration''.

SEC. 3. AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH CENTERS.

    (a) Finding.--Congress finds that the Agricultural Research Service 
Capital Investment Strategy dated April 2012 indicates that research 
facilities of the Agricultural Research Services have more than 
$1,000,000,000 in deferred maintenance.
    (b) Direct Funding for Deferred Maintenance at ARS Research 
Facilities.--Title IV of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and 
Education Reform Act of 1998 is amended by inserting before section 404 
(7 U.S.C. 7624) the following:

``SEC. 401. DIRECT FUNDING FOR DEFERRED MAINTENANCE AT ARS RESEARCH 
              FACILITIES.

    ``(a) In General.--Using amounts made available under subsection 
(c), the Secretary shall provide direct payments to research facilities 
of the Agricultural Research Service for the purpose of addressing 
deferred maintenance.
    ``(b) Priority.--In providing direct payments under subsection (a), 
the Secretary shall give priority to the most critical structures in 
accordance with the Agricultural Research Service Capital Investment 
Strategy dated April 2012.
    ``(c) Funding.--Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, 
the Secretary shall use to carry out this section $200,000,000 for each 
of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.''.
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