[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8447 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 8447

    To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish centers of 
     excellence for agricultural security research, extension, and 
                   education, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 17, 2024

Mr. Bacon (for himself, Mr. Nunn of Iowa, and Mr. Carbajal) introduced 
 the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish centers of 
     excellence for agricultural security research, extension, and 
                   education, 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 ``American Agricultural Security Act 
of 2024''.

SEC. 2. CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE.

    (a) Centers of Excellence.--The Secretary of Agriculture (referred 
to in this Act as the ``Secretary'') shall establish at least 1 center 
of excellence for the purpose of carrying out research, extension, and 
education activities for each of the areas of focus described in 
subsection (c).
    (b) Host Institutions.--
            (1) In general.--Institutions eligible to host or co-host a 
        center of excellence established under this section include--
                    (A) an 1862 Institution, as defined in section 2 of 
                the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education 
                Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601);
                    (B) an 1890 Institution, as defined in such section 
                2;
                    (C) a 1994 Institution, as defined in such section 
                2;
                    (D) a non-land-grant college of agriculture, as 
                defined in section 1404 of the National Agricultural 
                Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 
                U.S.C. 3103);
                    (E) a Hispanic-serving agricultural college or 
                university, as defined in such section 1404; and
                    (F) an accredited school of veterinary medicine.
            (2) Distribution.--To the maximum extent practicable, the 
        Secretary shall ensure the geographic diversity of institutions 
        selected to host or co-host a center of excellence established 
        under this section.
            (3) Limitation.--An institution selected to host or co-host 
        a center of excellence under this section may host or co-host 
        only one such center of excellence at a time.
            (4) Duties.--An institution or institutions selected to 
        host or co-host a center of excellence established under this 
        section shall partner with the Agricultural Research Service, 
        other Federal agencies, State Governments, other institutions 
        of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher 
        Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)), agricultural industry 
        groups, or other relevant entities to--
                    (A) reduce duplicative efforts and focus on filling 
                gaps across research, extension, and education 
                activities by enhancing coordination and improving 
                cost-effectiveness;
                    (B) leverage available resources by using public-
                private partnerships;
                    (C) implement training and educational initiatives 
                to increase awareness and effectively disseminate 
                solutions to target audiences through extension 
                activities;
                    (D) increase the economic returns to rural 
                communities by identifying, attracting, and directing 
                funds to high-priority agricultural issues;
                    (E) rapidly respond to emerging issues that 
                threaten any sector of the United States agricultural 
                industry;
                    (F) focus on workforce development for employers to 
                recruit and retain high quality employees in rural 
                areas; and
                    (G) engage in assistance for administrative 
                management and education regarding potentially valuable 
                intellectual property derived from federally-supported 
                research, extension, and education activities.
    (c) Areas of Focus.--The areas of focus described in this 
subsection are each of the following:
            (1) Biosecurity and cybersecurity.--Research, extension, 
        and education activities focused on agricultural biosecurity 
        and cybersecurity efforts to defend the United States food 
        supply from any attacks.
            (2) Biosystems and agricultural engineering.--Research, 
        extension, and education activities focused on biosystems and 
        agricultural engineering, including precision agriculture 
        technologies and mechanization and automation technologies for 
        specialty crops.
            (3) Digital agriculture.--Research, extension, and 
        education activities focused on developing, evaluating, and 
        deploying digital agriculture, including artificial 
        intelligence.
            (4) Foreign animal disease.--Research, extension, and 
        education activities focused on foreign animal diseases, 
        including the ecology and etiology of emerging diseases, 
        control methods, and implementation strategies to enhance 
        preparedness and response efforts to protect the livestock and 
        poultry industry.
    (d) Terms.--
            (1) Duration.--The term of an award under this section 
        shall be for a 5-year period, and may be renewed for not more 
        than one additional 5-year period.
            (2) Construction prohibited.--Funds made available under 
        this section shall not be used for the construction of a new 
        building or facility or the acquisition of, expansion, 
        remodeling, or alteration of an existing building or facility 
        (including site grading and improvement, and architect fees).
    (e) Annual Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this section, and every year thereafter, the Secretary of 
Agriculture 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 describing--
            (1) the projects initiated by each center of excellence 
        established under this section in the preceding year;
            (2) the amount of funding for each such project and the 
        funding source;
            (3) the institutions participating in each such project and 
        their shares of the overall funding for each project;
            (4) the level of cost-sharing for each such project;
            (5) technology transfer and intellectual property 
        management actions undertaken by each such center, such as the 
        number of relevant invention disclosures, provisional patents 
        filed, non-provisional patents filed and issued, number of 
        licenses executed, and start-up companies registered; and
            (6) any additional information the Secretary determines to 
        be necessary.
    (f) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2025 through 2029.

SEC. 3. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PROTECTION GRANT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a program under 
which the Secretary will award grants on a competitive basis to 
eligible entities to support research, extension, and education 
activities that improve the capability of the United States to protect 
the food and agricultural system from any chemical, biological, 
cybersecurity, or bioterrorism attack.
    (b) Use of Funds.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under 
this section shall use funds received through the grant--
            (1) to encourage basic and applied research on, and the 
        development of, qualified agricultural countermeasures;
            (2) to promote the development and expansion of teaching 
        programs in agriculture, veterinary medicine, and other 
        disciplines closely allied to the food and agriculture system 
        of the United States to increase the number of trained 
        individuals with an expertise in agricultural biosecurity and 
        cybersecurity;
            (3) to expand or upgrade facilities to meet biosafety and 
        biosecurity requirements necessary to protect facility staff, 
        members of the public, and the food supply while carrying out 
        agricultural biosecurity research;
            (4) to cover costs associated with the acquisition of 
        equipment and other capital costs related to expansion of food, 
        agriculture, and veterinary medicine teaching programs in 
        agricultural biosecurity and cybersecurity; or
            (5) otherwise improve the capacity of the United States to 
        respond in a timely manner to emerging or existing threats.
    (c) Eligible Entities.--An entity eligible to receive a grant under 
this section is--
            (1) a State agricultural experiment station;
            (2) a State departments of agriculture;
            (3) a college or university;
            (4) a university research foundation;
            (5) a research institution or organization;
            (6) a Federal agency;
            (7) a national laboratory; or
            (8) any group consisting of 2 or more of the entities 
        described in paragraphs (1) through (7).
    (d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2025 through 2029.
                                 <all>