1.This Act may be cited as
the National Institute of Food and
Agriculture Act of 2006
.
2.
(a)Congress
finds that—
(1)the task force
established under section 7404 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of
2002 (7 U.S.C. 3101 note; 116 Stat. 457)—
(A)conducted an
exhaustive review of agricultural research in the United States; and
(B)evaluated the
merits of establishing 1 or more national institutes focused on disciplines
important to the progress of food and agricultural science;
(2)according to
findings and recommendations provided to Congress by the task force—
(A)agriculture in
the United States faces critical challenges, including impending crises in the
food, agricultural, and natural resource systems of the United States;
(B)exotic diseases
and pests threaten crops and livestock;
(C)obesity has
reached epidemic proportions;
(D)agriculturally-related
environmental degradation is a serious problem for the United States and other
parts of the world;
(E)certain animal
diseases threaten human health; and
(F)agricultural
producers in the United States of several primary crops are no longer the
world’s lowest-cost producers;
(3)to meet those
critical challenges, it is essential that the United States ensure that the
agricultural innovation that has been so successful in the past continues in
the future;
(4)agricultural
innovation has resulted in hybrid and higher-yielding varieties of basic crops
and enhanced the global food supply by increasing yields on existing
acres;
(5)since 1960, the
global population has tripled, but there has been no net increase in the
quantity of land in the United States under cultivation;
(6)as of the date of
enactment of this Act, only 1.5 percent of the population of the United States
provides food and fiber to partially supply the needs of the United
States;
(7)(A)agriculture,
fundamental agricultural research, and fundamental sciences play a major role
in maintaining the health and welfare of all people of the United States and
maintaining the land and water of the United States; and
(B)that role must be expanded;
(8)research that
leads to understandings of the ways in which cells and organisms function is
critical to continued innovation in agriculture in the United States;
(9)future
innovations developed as a result of those understandings are dependent on
fundamental scientific research and would be enhanced by ideas and technologies
from other fields of science and research;
(10)opportunities to
advance fundamental knowledge of benefit to agriculture in the United States
have never been greater;
(11)many of those
new opportunities are the result of amazing progress in the life sciences
during recent decades, attributable in large part to the provision made by the
Federal Government through the National Institutes of Health and the National
Science Foundation;
(12)new technologies
and new concepts have expedited advances in the fields of genetics, cell and
molecular biology, and proteomics;
(13)much of that
scientific knowledge is ready to be used in agriculture and food sciences
through a sustained, disciplined research effort at an institute dedicated to
conducting that research;
(14)publicly-sponsored
research is essential to continued agricultural innovation—
(A)to mitigate or
harmonize the long-term effects of agriculture on the environment;
(B)to enhance the
long-term sustainability of agriculture; and
(C)to improve the
public health and welfare;
(15)competitive,
peer-reviewed fundamental agricultural research is best suited to promoting the
research from which breakthrough innovations that agriculture and society
require will come;
(16)it is in the
national interest to dedicate additional funds on a long-term, ongoing basis to
an institute dedicated to funding competitive, peer-reviewed grant programs
that support and promote the highest caliber of fundamental agricultural
research;
(17)the capability
of the United States to be internationally competitive in agriculture is
threatened by inadequate investment in research;
(18)to be successful
over the long term, grant-receiving institutions must be adequately reimbursed
for costs of conducting agricultural research if the institutions are to pursue
that kind of research; and
(19)to meet those
challenges, address those needs, and to provide for vitally needed agricultural
innovation, it is in the national interest to provide sufficient Federal funds
over the long term to fund a significant program of fundamental agricultural
research through an independent national institute.
(b)The
purpose of this Act is to establish a national institute—
(1)to ensure that
the technological superiority of agriculture in the United States effectively
serves the people of the United States in the coming decades; and
(2)to support and
promote fundamental agricultural research of the highest caliber to achieve the
goals of—
(A)increasing the
international competitiveness of agriculture in the United States;
(B)developing foods
that improve health and combat obesity;
(C)creating new and
more useful products from plants and animals;
(D)improving food
safety and food security by protecting plants and animals in the United States
from insects, diseases, and the threat of bioterrorism;
(E)enhancing
agricultural sustainability;
(F)improving the
environment;
(G)strengthening the
economies of rural communities in the United States;
(H)decreasing
dependence of the United States on foreign sources of petroleum by developing
biobased fuels and materials from plants;
(I)strengthening
national security by improving the agricultural productivity of subsistence
farmers in developing countries to combat hunger and the political instability
that hunger produces;
(J)assisting in
modernizing and revitalizing the agricultural research facilities of the United
States at institutions of higher education, independent, nonprofit research
institutions, and consortia of those institutions, through capital investment;
and
(K)achieving such
other goals, and meeting such other needs, as the Secretary or the Institute
determines to be appropriate.
3.In this Act:
(1)The
term Council means the Standing Council of Advisors established by
section 4(d)(1).
(2)The
term Department means the Department of Agriculture.
(3)The
term Director means the Director of the Institute.
(4)Fundamental
agricultural research; fundamental scienceThe terms
fundamental agricultural research and fundamental
science mean research or science that, as determined by the
Secretary—
(A)advances the
frontiers of knowledge so as to lead to practical results or to further
scientific discovery; and
(B)has an effect on
agriculture, food, human health, or another purpose of this Act as described in
section 2(b).
(5)The
term Institute means the National Institute of Food and
Agriculture established by section 4(a).
(6)The term multidisciplinary grant means a grant
provided to 2 or more collaborating investigators to carry out coordinated,
multidisciplinary research programs involving multiple disciplines that has
been approved by the Institute.
(7)The term project grant means a grant provided
to 1 or more principal investigators to conduct research that has been approved
by the Institute.
(8)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture.
(9)The
term State means—
(A)each of the
several States of the United States;
(B)the District of
Columbia;
(C)the Commonwealth
of Puerto Rico;
(D)Guam;
(E)American
Samoa;
(F)the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands;
(G)the Federated
States of Micronesia;
(H)the Republic of
the Marshall Islands;
(I)the Republic of
Palau; and
(J)the United States
Virgin Islands.
(10)The term United States, when used in a
geographical sense, means all of the States.
4.Establishment;
composition
(a)There
is established within the Department an agency to be known as the
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
.
(b)The
location of the Institute shall be determined by the Secretary.
(c)The
Institute shall be composed of the Council (including committees and offices
established under section 5) and the Director.
(d)Standing
council of advisors
(1)There
is established a Standing Council of Advisors.
(2)The
Council shall be composed of 25 members, including—
(A)the Director;
and
(B)24 members
appointed by the Secretary, with the concurrence of the Director, of
whom—
(i)12
members shall be highly-qualified scientists who, as determined by the
Secretary—
(I)are not employees
of the Federal Government;
(II)have expertise
in the fields of agricultural research, science, or related appropriate
fields;
(III)are appropriate
for membership on the Council solely on the basis of established records of
distinguished service; and
(IV)collectively
represent the views of agricultural research and scientific leaders in all
regions of the United States; and
(ii)12
stakeholders shall be distinguished members of the public, as determined by the
Secretary, including—
(I)representatives
of agricultural organizations and industry; and
(II)individuals with
expertise in the environment, subsistence agriculture, energy, and human health
and disease.
(3)The
members of the Council shall serve staggered, 4-year terms, as determined by
the Secretary.
(4)The
Council shall meet at the call of the Director and the Secretary, but not less
often than annually.
(5)Chairperson and
vice chairpersonThe Council shall elect a Chairperson and Vice
Chairperson from among the members of the Council.
(6)The
Council shall—
(A)assist the
Director in—
(i)establishing
research priorities of the Institute; and
(ii)reviewing,
judging, and maintaining the relevance of the programs of the Institute;
(B)review all
proposals approved by the scientific committees established under section
5(a)(1) to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the purposes of this
Act are being met; and
(C)through the
meetings described in paragraph (4), provide an interface between scientists
and stakeholders to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the
Institute is coordinating national goals with realistic scientific
opportunities.
(e)
(1)The Institute shall be headed by a Director, who shall be
an individual who is—
(A)a distinguished
scientist; and
(B)appointed by the
President (after taking into consideration recommendations provided by the
Council), by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(2)The
Director shall serve for a single, 6-year term.
(3)The
Director shall receive basic pay at the rate provided for level II of the
Executive Schedule under section 5513 of title 5, United States Code.
(4)The
Director shall report directly to the Secretary.
(5)Authority and
responsibilities of director
(A)Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Act,
the Director shall—
(i)exercise all of
the authority provided to the Institute by this Act (including any powers and
functions delegated to the Director by the Council);
(ii)in
consultation with the Council, formulate programs in accordance with policies
adopted by the Institute;
(iii)establish
committees and offices within the Institute in accordance with section
5;
(iv)establish
procedures for the peer review of research funded by the Institute;
(v)establish
procedures for the provision and administration of grants by the Institute in
accordance with this Act;
(vi)assess the
personnel needs of agricultural research in the areas supported by the
Institute, and, if determined to be appropriate by the Director or the
Secretary, for other areas of food and agricultural research; and
(vii)cooperate with
the Council to plan programs that will help meet agricultural personnel needs
in the future, including portable fellowship and training programs in
fundamental agricultural research and fundamental science.
(B)An action taken by the Director in accordance with this
Act (or in accordance with the terms of a delegation of authority from the
Council) shall be final and binding upon the Institute.
(C)Delegation and
redelegation of functions
(i)Except as provided in clauses (ii) and (iii), the
Director may, from time to time and as the Director considers to be
appropriate, authorize the performance by any other officer, agency, or
employee of the Institute of any of the functions of the Director under this
Act, including functions delegated to the Director by the Council.
(ii)The Director may not redelegate policymaking functions
delegated to the Director by the Council.
(iii)Contracts,
grants, and other arrangementsThe Director may enter into
contracts and other arrangements, and provide grants, in accordance with this
Act—
(I)only with the
prior approval of the Council or under authority delegated by the Council;
and
(II)subject to such
conditions as the Council may specify.
(iv)The
Director shall promptly report each contract or other arrangement entered into,
each grant awarded, and each other action of the Director taken, under clause
(iii) to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate
and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives.
(6)
(A)The Director shall be an ex officio member of the
Council.
(B)Except with respect to compensation and tenure, the
service of the Director on the Council shall be coordinated with the service of
other members of the Council.
(C)The Director shall be—
(i)a
voting member of the Council; and
(ii)eligible for
election by the Council as Chairperson or Vice Chairperson of the
Council.
(7)
(A)Subject to this paragraph, the Director shall recruit and
hire such senior staff and other personnel as are necessary to assist the
Director in carrying out this Act.
(B)Each individual hired as senior staff of the Director
shall—
(i)be
a highly accomplished scientist, as determined by the Director;
(ii)be
recruited from the active scientific community; and
(iii)be appointed
and serve on the basis of 4-year, rotating appointments.
(C)Staff hired by the Director under this paragraph may
include scientists and other technical and professional personnel hired for
limited terms, or on temporary bases, including individuals on leave of absence
from academic, industrial, or research institutions to work for the
Institute.
(D)
(i)Except as provided in clause (ii), subject to such
policies as the Council shall periodically prescribe, the Director may fix the
compensation of staff hired under this paragraph without regard to the
provisions of chapter 51 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United
States Code, relating to classification of positions and General Schedule pay
rates.
(ii)The rate of pay for an individual hired under this
paragraph shall not exceed the rate payable for level V of the Executive
Schedule under section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.
(8)Reporting and
consultationThe Director shall—
(A)periodically
report to the Secretary with respect to activities carried out by the
Institute; and
(B)consult regularly
with the Secretary to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that—
(i)research of the
Institute is relevant to agriculture in the United States and otherwise serves
the national interest; and
(ii)the research of
the Institute supplements and enhances, and does not replace, research
conducted or funded by—
(I)other agencies of
the Department;
(II)the National
Science Foundation; or
(III)the National
Institutes of Health.
5.Committees and
Offices of Institute
(a)Standing
Scientific Committees
(1)The Director may establish such number of standing
scientific committees within the Institute as the Director determines to be
appropriate.
(2)A
standing scientific committee established under paragraph (1) shall consist of
such members of the Council appointed under section 4(d)(2)(B)(i) as the
Director may select.
(3)Members
of a standing scientific committee established under paragraph (1) shall serve
for staggered, 4-year terms, as determined by the Director.
(4)
(A)A standing scientific committee shall apply rigorous
merit review to research proposals received by the Institute to ensure, to the
maximum extent practicable, that research funded by the Institute is
scientifically of high quality.
(B)Determination
of scientific meritA research proposal received by the Institute
and reviewed by a standing scientific committee under subparagraph (A) shall
be—
(i)assigned a score
based on the scientific merit of the proposal, as determined by the standing
scientific committee; and
(ii)if
approved by the standing scientific committee, forwarded, along with the score,
to the Council for final review.
(C)If the Council determines that a research proposal
forwarded under this paragraph does not meet standards of scientific review
established by a standing scientific committee or any similar standard
established by the Director, the Council shall decline to recommend the
research proposal for funding by the Institute.
(5)The Director may supplement a standing scientific
committee under this subsection with 1 or more ad hoc reviewers in a case in
which a research proposal received by the Institute requires specialized
knowledge not represented on that or any other standing scientific
committee.
(b)
(1)Office of
Advanced Science and Application
(A)The
Director shall establish within the Institute an Office of Advanced Science and
Application (referred to in this paragraph as the Office).
(B)The
Office shall—
(i)closely monitor
national needs and advances in research with the goal of identifying pressing
problems for which solutions are realistically achievable through
research;
(ii)coordinate
creative talent from diverse disciplines to bridge potential gaps between
fundamental agricultural research and high-priority, practical needs;
and
(iii)recommend to
the Director ways in which existing fundamental agricultural research may be
applied to the most urgent problems addressed by the Institute.
(C)
(i)The Office shall employ a small, focused staff of
rotating experts in science and agriculture.
(ii)Primary staff of the Office—
(I)shall be
appointed from the ranks of active scientists; and
(II)shall serve
terms of not to exceed 3 years.
(D)The Office shall—
(i)focus primarily
on the most urgent problems addressed by the Institute; and
(ii)assemble such
intensive study groups as are necessary to address those problems.
(E)The
Office shall submit to the Director and the Council periodic reports
that—
(i)describe the
activities being carried out by the Office; and
(ii)recommended new
research priorities for the Office, as appropriate.
(2)Office of
scientific assessment and liaison
(A)The
Director shall establish within the Institute an Office of Scientific
Assessment and Liaison (referred to in this paragraph as the
Office).
(B)The
Office shall—
(i)monitor the
effectiveness of the scientific expenditures by the Institute;
(ii)oversee the
coordination of research efforts of the Institute with those of other
programs;
(iii)assess the
effectiveness of programs of the Institute by evaluating—
(I)the quality of
the science funded by the Institute, using such tools as are readily available;
and
(II)the
contributions of the Institute to the national research effort, including ways
in which the Institute collaborates and cooperates with the Department and with
other Federal agencies; and
(iv)encourage
cooperative approaches among various research agencies within the Federal
Government.
(3)Office of
Scientific Personnel
(A)The
Director shall establish within the Institute an Office of Scientific Personnel
(referred to in this paragraph as the Office).
(B)The
Office shall—
(i)cooperate with
scientific and agricultural experts to assess—
(I)the number of
scientists in agriculture and related fields in the United States; and
(II)how many
additional scientists in agriculture and related fields are needed to meet the
purposes of this Act; and
(ii)generate and
maintain data that may assist the Director and the Council in planning
appropriate Institute fellowship and training programs.
(4)The Director may establish such additional offices within
the Institute as the Director or the Council determines to be necessary to
carry out the duties of the Institute under this Act.
6.
(a)The Institute shall
provide competitive, peer-reviewed grants in accordance with section 8(b) to
support and promote the highest quality of fundamental agricultural research,
including grants to fund research proposals submitted by—
(1)individual scientists;
(2)research centers composed of a single
institution or multiple institutions; and
(3)other individuals and entities from the
private and public sectors, including researchers of the Department and other
Federal agencies.
(b)Not later than December 31, 2007, and biennially
thereafter, the Institute shall submit to the Secretary, the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, and the Committee on
Agriculture of the House of Representatives a comprehensive report that
describes the research funded and other activities carried out by the Institute
during the period covered by the report.
7.
(a)The Institute shall have such authority as is necessary
to carry out this Act, including the authority—
(1)to promulgate
such regulations as the Institute considers to be necessary for governance of
operations, organization, and personnel;
(2)to make such
expenditures as are necessary to carry out this Act;
(3)to enter into
contracts or other arrangements, or modifications of contracts or other
arrangements—
(A)to provide for
the conduct, by organizations or individuals in the United States (including
other agencies of the Department, Federal agencies, and agencies of foreign
countries), of such fundamental agricultural research, research relating to
fundamental science, or related activities as the Institute considers to be
necessary to carry out this Act; and
(B)at the request of
the Secretary, for the conduct of such specific fundamental agricultural
research as is in the national interest or is otherwise of critical importance,
as determined by the Secretary, with the concurrence of the Institute;
(4)to make advance,
progress, and other payments relating to research and scientific activities
without regard to subsections (a) and (b) of section 3324 of title 31, United
States Code;
(5)to acquire by
purchase, lease, loan, gift, or condemnation, and to hold and dispose of by
grant, sale, lease, or loan, real and personal property of all kinds necessary
for, or resulting from, the exercise of authority under this Act;
(6)to receive and
use donated funds, if the funds are donated without restriction other than that
the funds be used in furtherance of 1 or more of the purposes of the
Institute;
(7)to publish or
arrange for the publication of research and scientific information to further
the full dissemination of information of scientific value consistent with the
national interest, without regard to section 501 of title 44, United States
Code;
(8)(A)to accept and use the
services of voluntary and uncompensated personnel; and
(B)to provide such transportation and
subsistence as are authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States Code,
for individuals serving without compensation;
(9)to prescribe,
with the approval of the Comptroller General of the United States, the extent
to which vouchers for funds expended under contracts for scientific or
engineering research shall be subject to itemization or substantiation prior to
payment, without regard to the limitations of other laws relating to the
expenditure and accounting of public funds;
(10)to arrange with
and reimburse the Secretary, and the heads of other Federal agencies, for the
performance of any activity that the Institute is authorized to conduct;
and
(11)to enter into
contracts, at the request of the Secretary, for the carrying out of such
specific agricultural research as is in the national interest or otherwise of
critical importance, as determined by the Secretary, with the consent of the
Institute.
(b)Transfer of
research funds of other departments or agenciesFunds available
to the Secretary, or any other department or agency of the Federal Government,
for agricultural or scientific research shall be—
(1)available for
transfer, with the approval of the Secretary or the head of the other
appropriate department or agency involved, in whole or in part, to the
Institute for use in providing grants in accordance with the purposes for which
the funds were made available; and
(2)if so
transferred, expendable by the Institute for those purposes.
(c)Restriction on
activitiesThe Institute—
(1)shall be a
grant-making entity only; and
(2)shall not—
(A)conduct
fundamental agricultural research or research relating to fundamental science;
or
(B)operate any
laboratory or pilot facility.
8.
(a)Budgetary
management goalsThe Director, in coordination with the
Secretary, shall manage the budget of the Institute to achieve the goals
of—
(1)providing
sufficient funds over a period of time to achieve the purposes of this
Act;
(2)fostering
outstanding scientific talent, and directing that talent toward work on issues
relating to agriculture; and
(3)adequately
reimbursing grant-receiving institutions for costs to encourage the pursuit of
agriculturally-related research.
(b)Budgetary
guidelines for grants
(1)To achieve the goals described in subsection (a), the
Institute shall, to the maximum extent practicable, ensure that grants awarded
for each fiscal year comply with the guidelines described in paragraphs (2) and
(3).
(2)With respect to project grants, to the maximum extent
practicable—
(A)the Institute
shall award approximately 1,000 new project grants annually;
(B)the average
project grant amount, including overhead, shall be approximately $225,000 for
each fiscal year, as adjusted in accordance with the Consumer Price Index for
all-urban consumers, United States city average, as published by the Bureau of
Labor Statistics;
(C)a project grant
shall be provided for a maximum period of 5 years, with an average award
duration of 3.5 years;
(D)the Institute
shall require the recipients of a project grant to submit appropriate reports
on research carried out using funds from the project grant; and
(E)the Institute
shall provide such number of training project grants as the Director or the
Institute determines to be appropriate.
(3)With respect to multidisciplinary grants, to the maximum
extent practicable—
(A)for each of
fiscal years 2007 through 2010, the Institute shall provide 10
multidisciplinary grants;
(B)for fiscal year
2011 and subsequent fiscal years, the Institute shall provide multidisciplinary
grants to fund not fewer than 40 research centers, on the conditions
that—
(i)sufficient funds
are available; and
(ii)a
sufficient number of qualified research proposals are received;
(C)the research
centers provided multidisciplinary grants may be composed of a single
institution or multiple institutions;
(D)the average
multidisciplinary grant amount, including overhead, shall be approximately
$3,000,000 for each fiscal year, as adjusted in accordance with the Consumer
Price Index for all-urban consumers, United States city average, as published
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics;
(E)a
multidisciplinary grant shall be provided for a maximum period of 5
years;
(F)in the aggregate,
multidisciplinary grants provided under this paragraph for a fiscal year shall
represent approximately 15 percent of the total grants provided by the
Institute for the fiscal year, on the condition that a sufficient number of
qualified research proposals are received for the fiscal year; and
(G)merit review of
the research proposal relating to the multidisciplinary grant is conducted to
ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that only quality research proposals
are funded.
(c)As part of a project grant or multidisciplinary grant
provided under this Act, the Institute shall pay indirect costs of conducting
research, including the costs of overhead, to the recipient of the grant at a
rate that is not less than any standard negotiated rate applicable to similar
grants made by the National Institutes of Health or the National Science
Foundation, as of the date of enactment of this Act, as determined by the
Secretary.
9.
(a)Authorization
of appropriationsThere are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out this Act—
(1)for fiscal year
2007, $245,000,000 for project grants, of which not more than $20,000,000 shall
be made available for administrative expenses incurred by the Institute;
(2)for fiscal year
2008, $515,000,000, of which—
(A)not less than
$450,000,000 shall be made available for project grants;
(B)not less than
$30,000,000 shall be made available for multidisciplinary grants; and
(C)not more than
$35,000,000 shall be available for administrative expenses incurred by the
Institute;
(3)for fiscal year
2009, $780,000,000, of which—
(A)not less than
$675,000,000 shall be made available for project grants;
(B)not less than
$60,000,000 shall be made available for multidisciplinary grants; and
(C)not more than
$45,000,000 shall be made available for administrative expenses incurred by the
Institute;
(4)for fiscal year
2010, $935,000,000, of which—
(A)not less than
$800,000,000 shall be made available for project grants;
(B)not less than
$90,000,000 shall be made available for multidisciplinary grants; and
(C)not more than
$45,000,000 shall be made available for administrative expenses incurred by the
Institute; and
(5)for fiscal year
2011 and each fiscal year thereafter, $966,000,000, of which—
(A)not less than
$800,000,000 shall be made available for project grants;
(B)not less than
$120,000,000 shall be made available for multidisciplinary grants; and
(C)not more than
$46,000,000 shall be made available for administrative expenses incurred by the
Institute.
(b)For
fiscal year 2011 and each subsequent fiscal year, administrative expenses paid
by the Institute shall not exceed 5 percent of the total expenditures of the
Institute for the fiscal year.