[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2343 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2343

     To support research and development programs in agricultural 
 biotechnology and genetic engineering targeted to addressing the food 
              and economic needs of the developing world.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 27, 2001

Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas (for herself, Mrs. Clayton, and Mr. 
    Reyes) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To support research and development programs in agricultural 
 biotechnology and genetic engineering targeted to addressing the food 
              and economic needs of the developing world.

    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 ``Biotechnology and Agriculture in the 
Developing World Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Portions of the developing world are facing a pandemic 
        of malnutrition and disease. 200,000,000 people on the African 
        continent alone are chronically malnourished. Traditional 
        farming practices cannot meet the growing needs of the 
        developing world. Africa's crop production is the lowest in the 
        world and even with about \2/3\ of its labor force engaged in 
        agriculture, Africa currently imports more than 25 percent of 
        its grain for food and feed.
            (2) Biotechnology can help developing countries produce 
        higher crop yields while using fewer pesticides and herbicides.
            (3) Biotechnology can also promote sustainable agriculture, 
        leading to food and economic security.
            (4) The quality and nutritional content of food can be 
        improved through biotechnology.
            (5) Vitamin-enhanced foods, foods higher in protein, and 
        fruits and vegetables with a longer shelf-life have been 
        developed using biotechnology.
            (6) Biotechnology offers the prospect of delivering 
        vaccines to immunize against life-threatening illnesses through 
        agricultural products in a safe and effective manner that 
        overcomes the infrastructure and cost limitations faced by 
        traditional vaccination methods in the developing world.
            (7) Biotechnology can play a useful role in increasing crop 
        yields and thus reduce the amount of land that needs to be 
        farmed. Since most food production and farming in the 
        developing world is done by women, such an increase in 
        productivity enables women to spend their time on other 
        productive activities and better care for their families.
            (8) One obstacle for biotechnology in the developing world 
        is the capacity of scientific organizations and public funding 
        for agricultural research. Increased funding for international 
        research programs from the United States would have a great 
        impact.
            (9) To get the full environmental, food, and economic 
        benefits of biotechnology for the developing world, it must be 
        available in the international marketplace.

SEC. 3. AGRICULTURAL BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FOR THE 
              DEVELOPING WORLD.

    (a) Grant Program.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a 
program to award grants to entities described in subsection (b) for the 
development of agricultural biotechnology with respect to the 
developing world. The Secretary shall administer and oversee the 
program through the Foreign Agricultural Service of the Department of 
Agriculture.
    (b) Partnerships.--(1) In order to be eligible to receive a grant 
under this section, the grantee must be a participating institution of 
higher education, a nonprofit organization, or consortium of for profit 
institutions with in-country agricultural research institutions.
    (2) A participating institution of higher education shall be an 
historically black or land-grant college or university, an Hispanic 
serving institution, or a tribal college or university that has 
agriculture or the biosciences in its curricula.
    (c) Competitive Award.--Grants shall be awarded under this section 
on a merit-reviewed competitive basis.
    (d) Use of Funds.--The activities for which the grant funds may be 
expended include the following:
            (1) Enhancing the nutritional content of agricultural 
        products that can be grown in the developing world to address 
        malnutrition through biotechnology.
            (2) Increasing the yield and safety of agricultural 
        products that can be grown in the developing world through 
        biotechnology.
            (3) Increasing through biotechnology the yield of 
        agricultural products that can be grown in the developing world 
        that are drought and stress-resistant.
            (4) Extending the growing range of crops that can be grown 
        in the developing world through biotechnology.
            (5) Enhancing the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables grown 
        in the developing world through biotechnology.
            (6) Developing environmentally sustainable agricultural 
        products through biotechnology.
            (7) Developing vaccines to immunize against life-
        threatening illnesses and other medications that can be 
        administered by consuming genetically engineered agricultural 
        products.
    (e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for each of the 
fiscal years 2002 through 2006.
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