[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2116 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2116

  To direct the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with Indian 
tribes, to make grants, competitive grants, and special research grants 
    to, and enter into cooperative agreements and other contracting 
 instruments with, eligible entities to conduct research and education 
 and training programs to protect and preserve Native American seeds, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 12, 2014

 Mr. Heinrich (for himself and Mr. Udall of New Mexico) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with Indian 
tribes, to make grants, competitive grants, and special research grants 
    to, and enter into cooperative agreements and other contracting 
 instruments with, eligible entities to conduct research and education 
 and training programs to protect and preserve Native American seeds, 
                        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 ``Native American Seeds Protection Act 
of 2014''.

SEC. 2. RESEARCH GRANTS FOR PURPOSES OF PROTECTION AND PRESERVATION OF 
              NATIVE AMERICAN SEEDS.

    (a) In General.--Subtitle C of the National Agricultural Research, 
Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 is amended by inserting 
after section 1418 (7 U.S.C. 3153) the following:

``SEC. 1419. RESEARCH GRANTS FOR PURPOSES OF PROTECTION AND 
              PRESERVATION OF NATIVE AMERICAN SEEDS.

    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Eligible entity.--The term `eligible entity' means--
                    ``(A) a 1994 Institution (as defined in section 532 
                of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 
                1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note)); or
                    ``(B) an Indian tribe.
            ``(2) Indian tribe.--The term `Indian tribe' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
        Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
            ``(3) Qualified research entity.--The term `qualified 
        research entity' means an entity with a demonstrated capacity 
        and infrastructure necessary to carry out agricultural research 
        projects, including--
                    ``(A) a State agricultural experiment station;
                    ``(B) a college or university (including a 1994 
                Institution);
                    ``(C) another research institution or organization;
                    ``(D) a private organization;
                    ``(E) a corporation; or
                    ``(F) an individual.
    ``(b) Authority.--Consistent with this section, the Secretary may 
make grants (including competitive grants and special research grants) 
to, and enter into cooperative agreements and other contracting 
instruments with, eligible entities to conduct research and education 
and training programs that--
            ``(1) are objective, operationally independent, and 
        external to the Federal Government; and
            ``(2) concern the purity of Native American seeds (as 
        defined by the Secretary, in consultation with Indian tribes).
    ``(c) Cooperation Required.--Grant applications submitted by an 
eligible entity under this section shall certify that the research to 
be conducted will be performed under a cooperative agreement with at 
least 1 other qualified research entity.
    ``(d) Activities.--Under this section, funding may be provided to 
conduct--
            ``(1) research to assess the direct and indirect impacts 
        of--
                    ``(A) public law and policies on traditional ways 
                of life and cultural practices relating to the 
                harvesting and cultivating of Native American seeds; 
                and
                    ``(B) contaminants that compromise the integrity 
                and purity of Native American seeds; and
            ``(2) education and training programs on--
                    ``(A) the methods necessary to conduct the research 
                described in paragraph (1); and
                    ``(B) the best methods to continuously test, 
                monitor, and otherwise protect the purity of Native 
                American seeds.
    ``(e) Report.--Beginning not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this section, and each year thereafter, the Secretary 
shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry of the Senate a report that contains--
            ``(1) a description of the results of any research 
        conducted under this section;
            ``(2) a description of the effectiveness of any education 
        and training programs conducted under this section in enabling 
        eligible entities to ensure the purity of Native American 
        seeds; and
            ``(3) any recommendations of the Secretary to improve the 
        effectiveness of the education and training programs.''.
    (b) Regulations.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall issue 
regulations to carry out section 1419 of the National Agricultural 
Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (as added by 
subsection (a)), including regulations to define the term ``Native 
American seed'' for purposes of that section.

SEC. 3. DEVELOPING SEED STORAGE FACILITIES TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT 
              NATIVE AMERICAN SEEDS.

    Section 306(a)(19)(A) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 
Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(19)(A)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``,,'' and inserting a comma; and
            (2) by inserting ``, including the expansion, construction, 
        and infrastructure costs associated with developing seed 
        storage facilities that are used to protect and preserve Native 
        American seeds (as defined by the Secretary pursuant to section 
        1419 of the National Agricultural Research, Education, and 
        Teaching Policy Act of 1977)'' before the period at the end.
                                 <all>