[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5126 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5126
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
July 23, 2026
Ms. Baldwin (for herself, Ms. Smith, Mr. Heinrich, 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
animal breed patents or animal breed variety
protection and not utility patents.
``(D) Public cultivar.--The term `public cultivar'
means a cultivar--
``(i) that is the appropriately named and
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) germplasm collection and curation, with
emphasis on native plant and animal species;
``(E) public cultivars and animal breeds bred to
enhance the nutritional and health outcomes of local
and Indigenous populations;
``(F) public cultivars and animal breeds of
Indigenous and place-based importance that are
endangered; and
``(G) 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.
``(4) Requirement for domestic production.--No person that
receives title to a patent or 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''.
SEC. 4. IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL STRATEGIC GERMPLASM AND CULTIVAR
COLLECTION ASSESSMENT AND UTILIZATION PLAN.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this
section as the ``Secretary'') shall implement the National Strategic
Germplasm and Cultivar Collection Assessment and Utilization Plan
developed under section 1632(d)(6) of the Food, Agriculture,
Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5841(d)(6)) (referred to
in this section as the ``Plan'').
(b) Staff.--The Secretary shall retain or employ such staff as the
Secretary determines necessary to implement the Plan.
(c) Report.--The Secretary shall submit to Congress an annual
report that includes the following:
(1) A description of the progress towards implementation of
the Plan.
(2) A description of the staff retained or employed under
subsection (b).
(3) Annual expenditures related to the implementation of--
(A) the National Plant Germplasm System; and
(B) the Plan.
(4) Data on the use of the National Plant Germplasm System,
including--
(A) the number of germplasm requests submitted to
the Agricultural Research Service Germplasm Resources
Information Network;
(B) the sectors (such as private, public,
corporation, or independent) of the entities that
submitted requests described in subparagraph (A);
(C) the number of fulfilled requests described in
subparagraph (A), by crop and Agricultural Research
Service location; and
(D) the sectors described in subparagraph (B) of
the entities for which requests described in
subparagraph (A) were fulfilled.
SEC. 5. DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL STRATEGIC ANIMAL
GERMPLASM COLLECTION AND UTILIZATION PLAN.
Section 1632 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act
of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5841) is amended--
(1) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (6), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) by redesignating paragraph (7) as paragraph
(8); and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (6) the following:
``(7) subject to subsection (e), develop and implement a
national strategic animal germplasm collection assessment and
utilization plan that takes into consideration the resources
and research necessary to address the significant backlog of
characterization and maintenance of existing accessions
considered to be critical to preserve the viability of, and
public access to, animal germplasm; and''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(e) National Strategic Animal Germplasm Collection Assessment and
Utilization Plan Requirements.--In developing and implementing the plan
under subsection (d)(7), the Secretary shall--
``(1) engage broadly with the agricultural community,
including organic and agroecological producers and researchers
and the general community, to prioritize traits and breeds for
conservation; and
``(2) support data collection and documentation of traits
relevant to a broad range of agricultural systems, including--
``(A) organic systems, such as forage-based growth;
``(B) mobility;
``(C) reproductive longevity;
``(D) natural disease resistance; and
``(E) animal behavior.''.
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