II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2998 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 29 (legislative day, September 22), 2023 Mr. Brown (for himself and Mr. Warnock ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To amend the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 and the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 to modify provisions relating to matching funds requirements for research and extension activities at eligible institutions and related reporting requirements.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Land-Grant Research Equity and Accountability Act . 2. Matching funds requirement for research and extension activities at eligible institutions (a) Modification Section 1449 of the Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 ( 7 U.S.C. 3222d ) is amended— (1) in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— (A) by striking , 1999 and inserting of each fiscal year ; and (B) by striking fiscal year 1999 and inserting that fiscal year ; and (2) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following: (c) State matching funds requirement (1) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle, for each fiscal year, a State shall provide to each eligible institution located in the State matching funds in an amount equal to the amounts provided to the eligible institution from non-Federal sources for that fiscal year, as described in subsection (b). (2) Attestation to Secretary (A) In general Not less frequently than once each fiscal year, a State shall submit to the Secretary an attestation that describes whether the State— (i) plans to fulfill the matching funds requirement under paragraph (1) for that fiscal year; or (ii) is unable to fulfill that matching funds requirement for the fiscal year. (B) Publication The Secretary shall publish each attestation submitted under subparagraph (A) on an annual basis. . (b) Reports Section 7116 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 ( 7 U.S.C. 2207d ) is amended— (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1)— (A) by striking 7601) and inserting 7601)) ; and (B) by striking Not later and inserting the following: (a) Match reporting Not later ; and (2) by adding at the end the following: (b) Outreach (1) In general The Secretary shall provide to the legislature and Governor of each State in which an 1862 Institution or 1890 Institution (as those terms are defined in section 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 ( 7 U.S.C. 7601 )) is located information relating to each matching requirement applicable to the State under the programs referred to in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subsection (a). (2) Form The information under paragraph (1) shall be provided— (A) through direct outreach; and (B) not later than the February 1 immediately preceding the date on which the award cycle under the applicable program commences. (c) Attestations (1) In general Not less frequently than once each year, the Governor of each State described in subsection (b)(1) shall submit to the Secretary an attestation that describes whether the State— (A) is able to fulfill each matching requirement regarding which information is provided under that subsection for that year; or (B) is unable to fulfill that matching requirement for the year. (2) Reports Not later than December 31 of each calendar year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress, and make publicly available on the website of the Department of Agriculture, an annual report describing the attestations received under paragraph (1) during that calendar year. .