[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2023 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2023

 To amend the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act 
and the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to further 
      plant cultivar and animal breed research, development, and 
               commercialization, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 15, 2023

 Ms. Baldwin (for herself, Mr. Heinrich, Ms. Smith, Mr. Wyden, and Mr. 
  Fetterman) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
   referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act 
and the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to further 
      plant cultivar and animal breed research, development, and 
               commercialization, 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 ``Seeds and Breeds for the Future 
Act''.

SEC. 2. PUBLIC CULTIVAR DEVELOPMENT.

    Section 2 of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research 
Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(3) Definitions.--In this section:
                    ``(A) Conventional breeding.--The term 
                `conventional breeding' means the development of new 
                varieties of an organism through controlled mating and 
                selection without the use of transgenic methods.
                    ``(B) Cultivar.--The term `cultivar' means a 
                variety of a species of plant that has been 
                intentionally selected for use in cultivation because 
                of the improved characteristics of that variety of the 
                species.
                    ``(C) Public animal breed.--The term `public animal 
                breed' means an animal breed--
                            ``(i) that is the commercially available 
                        uniform end product of a publicly funded 
                        breeding program that has been sufficiently 
                        tested to demonstrate improved characteristics 
                        and stable performance; and
                            ``(ii) with respect to which, if 
                        intellectual property rights are asserted, the 
                        intellectual property rights are in the form of 
                        plant patents or plant variety protection and 
                        not utility patents.
                    ``(D) Public cultivar.--The term `public cultivar' 
                means a cultivar--
                            ``(i) that is the commercially available 
                        uniform end product of a publicly funded 
                        breeding program that has been sufficiently 
                        tested to demonstrate improved characteristics 
                        and stable performance; and
                            ``(ii) with respect to which, if 
                        intellectual property rights are asserted, the 
                        intellectual property rights are in the form of 
                        plant patents or plant variety protection and 
                        not utility patents.
                    ``(E) Public cultivar or animal breed.--The term 
                `public cultivar or animal breed' means--
                            ``(i) a public animal breed; and
                            ``(ii) a public cultivar.''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(l) Public Cultivar and Animal Breed Development Funding.--
            ``(1) Set-aside.--
                    ``(A) In general.--Of the amount of grants made 
                under the provisions of law described in subparagraph 
                (B), the Secretary shall ensure that not less than 
                $75,000,000 for each fiscal year is used for 
                competitive research grants that support the 
                development of public cultivars and animal breeds.
                    ``(B) Provisions of law described.--The provisions 
                of law referred to in subparagraph (A) are--
                            ``(i) subsections (b) and (c);
                            ``(ii) section 1672B(e) of the Food, 
                        Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 
                        1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925b(e));
                            ``(iii) sections 1619 through 1624 of that 
                        Act (7 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.);
                            ``(iv) any relevant competitive grant 
                        program authorized by section 406 of the 
                        Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education 
                        Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7626), as 
                        determined by the Secretary; and
                            ``(v) section 412 of that Act (7 U.S.C. 
                        7632).
            ``(2) Priority.--In making grants under paragraph (1), the 
        Secretary shall give priority to high-potential research 
        projects that lead to the release of public cultivars and 
        animal breeds, including--
                    ``(A) regionally adapted public cultivars and 
                animal breeds;
                    ``(B) public cultivars and animal breeds bred for 
                environmental resilience, including resilience to 
                changing climates;
                    ``(C) public animal breeds adapted to grazing and 
                overwintering as appropriate for the applicable 
                production region;
                    ``(D) public cultivars and animal breeds bred to 
                enhance the nutritional and health outcomes of local 
                and Indigenous populations;
                    ``(E) public cultivars and animal breeds of 
                Indigenous and place-based importance that are 
                endangered; and
                    ``(F) public cultivars and animal breeds with 
                beneficial and compatible characteristics and behaviors 
                for dual-use renewable energy-agricultural systems.
            ``(3) Grants.--The Secretary shall ensure that the terms 
        and renewal process for any competitive grants made under 
        subsection (b) in accordance with paragraph (1) facilitate the 
        development and commercialization of public cultivars and 
        animal breeds through long-term grants not less than 5 years in 
        length.
            ``(4) Requirement for domestic production.--No person that 
        receives title to a plant patent or plant variety protection 
        relating to any public cultivar or animal breed developed using 
        funds received under this subsection, and no assignee of any 
        such person, shall grant to any person the exclusive right to 
        use or sell that public cultivar or animal breed unless that 
        person agrees that any cultivars or animals embodying the 
        public cultivar or animal breed or produced through the use of 
        the public cultivar or animal breed will be produced 
        substantially in the United States.
            ``(5) Report.--Not later than October 1 of each year, the 
        Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that provides 
        information on all public cultivar and animal breeding research 
        funded by the Department of Agriculture, including--
                    ``(A) a list of public cultivars and animal breeds 
                developed and released in a commercially available 
                form;
                    ``(B) areas of high-priority research;
                    ``(C) identified research gaps relating to public 
                cultivar and animal breed development; and
                    ``(D) an assessment of the state of 
                commercialization for public cultivars and animal 
                breeds that have been developed.''.

SEC. 3. PUBLIC CULTIVAR AND ANIMAL BREED RESEARCH COORDINATION.

    (a) In General.--Section 251 of the Department of Agriculture 
Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6971) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the following:
            ``(7) Public cultivar and animal breed research activities 
        coordinator.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Under Secretary shall 
                appoint a coordinator within the Research, Education, 
                and Extension Office that reports to the Under 
                Secretary to coordinate research activities at the 
                Department relating to the breeding of public cultivars 
                and animal breeds (as defined in paragraph (3) of 
                section 2(a) of the Competitive, Special, and 
                Facilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157(a))).
                    ``(B) Duties of coordinator.--The coordinator 
                appointed under subparagraph (A) shall--
                            ``(i) coordinate plant and animal breeding 
                        research activities funded by the Department 
                        relating to the development of public cultivars 
                        and animal breeds;
                            ``(ii)(I) carry out ongoing analysis and 
                        track activities for any Federal research 
                        funding supporting plant and animal breeding 
                        (including any public cultivars and animal 
                        breeds developed with Federal funds); and
                            ``(II) ensure that the analysis and 
                        activities are made available to the public not 
                        later than 60 days after the last day of each 
                        fiscal year;
                            ``(iii) develop a strategic plan that 
                        establishes targets for public cultivar and 
                        animal breed research investments across the 
                        Department to ensure that a diverse range of 
                        crop and animal needs are being met in a timely 
                        and transparent manner;
                            ``(iv) convene a working group in order to 
                        carry out the coordination functions described 
                        in this subparagraph comprised of individuals 
                        who are responsible for the management, 
                        administration, or analysis of public cultivar 
                        and animal breeding programs within the 
                        Department from--
                                    ``(I) the National Institute of 
                                Food and Agriculture;
                                    ``(II) the Agricultural Research 
                                Service; and
                                    ``(III) the Economic Research 
                                Service;
                            ``(v) in order to maximize delivery of 
                        public cultivars and animal breeds, promote 
                        collaboration among--
                                    ``(I) the coordinator;
                                    ``(II) the working group convened 
                                under clause (iv);
                                    ``(III) the advisory council 
                                established under section 1634 of the 
                                Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and 
                                Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5843);
                                    ``(IV) genetic resource 
                                conservation centers;
                                    ``(V) land-grant colleges and 
                                universities (as defined in section 
                                1404 of the National Agricultural 
                                Research, Extension, and Teaching 
                                Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103));
                                    ``(VI) Hispanic-serving 
                                institutions (as defined in section 
                                502(a) of the Higher Education Act of 
                                1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a)));
                                    ``(VII) Native American-serving 
                                nontribal institutions (as defined in 
                                section 371(c) of the Higher Education 
                                Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(c)));
                                    ``(VIII) nongovernmental 
                                organizations with interest or 
                                expertise in public breeding; and
                                    ``(IX) public and private plant and 
                                animal breeders, including small-scale 
                                organic breeders;
                            ``(vi) convene regular stakeholder 
                        listening sessions to provide input on national 
                        and regional priorities for public cultivar and 
                        animal breeding research activities across the 
                        Department; and
                            ``(vii) evaluate and make recommendations 
                        to the Under Secretary on training and resource 
                        needs to meet future breeding challenges.''; 
                        and
            (2) in subsection (f)(1)(D)(i), by striking ``(7 U.S.C. 
        450i(b))'' and inserting ``(7 U.S.C. 3157(b))''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 296(b)(6)(B) of the Department 
of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)(6)(B)) is 
amended by striking ``Scientist; and'' and inserting ``Scientist 
(including the public cultivar and animal breed research activities 
coordinator under subsection (e)(7) of that section); and''.
                                 <all>