1.This Act may be cited as the
National Institute of Food and
Agriculture Act of 2007
.
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)the United States faces a public health
epidemic due to the increasing number of overweight and obese Americans;
(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 and expanding knowledge to
improve diet, nutrition, and health, and to combat obesity;
(C)decreasing the dependence of the United
States on foreign sources of petroleum by—
(i)developing biobased fuels and
products;
(ii)enhancing methods of production at biobased
fuels refineries;
(iii)reducing energy consumption at biobased
fuel refineries; and
(iv)increasing the use of coproducts of
biobased fuels production;
(D)creating new and more useful products from
plants and animals;
(E)improving food safety to reduce the
incidence of foodborne illness in the United States;
(F)improving food security by protecting
plants and animals in the United States from insects, diseases, and the threat
of bioterrorism;
(G)enhancing agricultural
sustainability;
(H)improving the environment;
(I)strengthening the economies of rural
communities in the United States;
(J)improving farm profitability and the
viability and competitiveness of small and moderate-sized farms;
(K)strengthening national security by
improving the agricultural productivity of subsistence farmers in developing
countries to combat hunger and the political instability that hunger
produces;
(L)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
(M)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)- (aa)have expertise in the fields of
agricultural research, science, food and nutrition, or related appropriate
fields; and
- (bb)represent a diversity of those
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, food and nutrition, 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, 2008, 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 2008 through 2011,
the Institute shall provide 10 multidisciplinary grants;
(B)for fiscal year 2012 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)Of the funds of the Commodity Credit
Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out this Act—
(1)for fiscal year 2008, $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 2009, $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 2010, $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 2011, $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 2012 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 2012 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.