[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 18, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5487-S5489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      BY Mr. ROBERTS (for himself, Mr. Murkowski, Mr. Grams, Mr. Hagel, 
        and Mr. Craig):
  S. 1066. A bill to amend the National Agricultural Research, 
Extension, and Teaching Policy Act to 1977 to encourage the use of and 
research into agricultural best practices to improve the environment, 
and for other purposes; to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry.


        CARBON CYCLE AND AGRICUTURAL BEST PRACTICES RESEARCH ACT

  Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President I rise today to introduce an important 
component to further the scientific understanding of the earth's role 
as it relates to the environment, specifically the carbon cycle. What 
sparked my interest in introducing a carbon cycle research bill was a 
1998 finding by academic and federal researchers that the North 
American continent from 1988 to 1992 absorbed an equivalent amount of 
the carbon dioxide emitted from fossil fuel emissions during the same 
time. Scientists know it happened, but cannot pinpoint the mechanisms 
of the process. Although you cannot watch carbon dioxide move into 
soil, you can see soil with high levels of carbon like river bottomland 
that has rich dark soil. Naturally, the question arises of how 
agriculture supplements this natural process.
  By introducing this bill, it is my intention to follow through on the 
advice of climate scientists that there is a need for more research 
because the carbon cycle issue is complex. The bill makes sure that 
USDA is researching voluntary agricultural best practices such as 
conservation tillage, buffer strips, the Conservation Reserve Program, 
and new technology like precision sprayers that have multiple 
environmental benefits.
  These voluntary agricultural best practices increase soil carbon 
levels also tend to reduce soil erosion, reduce fuel costs for 
producers, improve soil fertility, and increase production. It's a win 
win win. Nonetheless, there are agencies and individuals with agendas 
that believe agriculture is a source of greenhouse gas emissions and do 
not care about the multitude of benefits accruing from production 
agriculture. Therefore, we must arm agriculture with sound science on 
the carbon cycle.
  This bill is intended to give producers and policymakers better 
understanding of the link between the carbon cycle and voluntary best 
practices. It authorizes USDA to conduct basic research on the 
mechanics of carbon being stored in soil and applied research to fine 
tune voluntary agricultural practices to increase the storage of carbon 
in soils. Furthermore, research will be helpful in finding out if 
agriculture can be a tool to solve the challenge of climate change.
  I also want to make clear that this is a research bill. It has 
nothing to do with trading carbon credits or setting up a scheme for 
early action rewards if the Protocol becomes effective. The whole point 
of this bill is that there needs to be an understanding of the science 
and examining methods to meet the challenge of climate change without 
an international treaty. This bill compliments other legislation, such 
as Mr. Murkowski's bill, that calls for increased energy efficiency 
research.
  The bill taps into USDA's broad research capabilities as it relates 
to production techniques and soil databases, but I have also 
incorporated state-of-the-art research tools including satellite-based 
technology. Satellite based

[[Page S5488]]

remote sensing is becoming more useful as an agricultural production 
component. Right now, satellites measure the greening up of wheat 
during spring months, making more precise estimates of wheat harvests. 
In discussions with remote sensing leaders at the University of Kansas, 
remote sensing has a role in providing the ``big picture'' as it 
relates to what agriculture is doing as it relates to the carbon cycle, 
such as mapping vegetation and estimating the amount of carbon it can 
store in soil.
  Because of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's 
initial research that shows the North American Continent is a net 
carbon sink, I have included bill language to use air monitors to study 
the regional interaction of carbon dioxide. For instance, measure the 
movement of air from Denver to Kansas City. If the carbon dioxide level 
is lower in Kansas City than Denver, Kansas agriculture and land is 
absorbing carbon. With this data, scientists can start looking at 
specific ag practices.
  It is my hope that the Senate can enact this legislation to be 
proactive in meeting the climate challenge, encouraging voluntary 
agricultural best practices and technology that have multiple benefits. 
This is a strategy that is based on commonsense, not suggestions made 
by the International Panel on Climate Change that would halt production 
agriculture as we know it. Producers can use technology to feed a 
troubled and hungry world, plus absorb carbon dioxide.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the legislation was ordered to be printed 
in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1066

       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 ``Carbon Cycle and 
     Agricultural Best Practices Research Act''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) agricultural producers in the United States--
       (A) have, in good faith, participated in mandatory and 
     voluntary conservation programs, the successes of which are 
     unseen by the general public, to preserve natural resources; 
     and
       (B) have a personal stake in ensuring that the air, water, 
     and soil of the United States are productive since 
     agricultural productivity directly affects--
       (i) the economic success of agricultural producers; and
       (ii) the production of food and fiber for developing and 
     developed nations;
       (2) in addition to providing food and fiber, agriculture 
     serves an environmental role by providing benefits to air, 
     soil, and water through agricultural best practices;
       (3) those conservation programs and Federal land provide 
     the United States with an enormous potential to increase the 
     quantity of carbon stored in agricultural land and 
     commodities through the carbon cycle;
       (4) according to the Climate Modeling and Diagnostics 
     Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration, North American soils, crops, rangelands, and 
     forests absorbed an equivalent quantity of carbon dioxide 
     emitted from fossil fuel combustion as part of the natural 
     carbon cycle from 1988 through 1992;
       (5) the estimated quantity of carbon stored in world soils 
     is more than twice the carbon in living vegetation or in the 
     atmosphere;
       (6) agricultural best practices can increase the quantity 
     of carbon stored in farm soils, crops, and rangeland;
       (7) although there is a tremendous quantity of carbon 
     stored in soil that supports agricultural operations in the 
     United States, the quantity of carbon stored in soil may be 
     increased by using a strategy that would benefit the 
     environment without implementing a United Nations-sponsored 
     climate change protocol or treaty;
       (8) Federal research is needed to identify--
       (A) the agricultural best practices that supplement the 
     natural carbon cycle; and
       (B) Federal conservation programs that can be altered to 
     increase the environmental benefits provided by the natural 
     carbon cycle;
       (9) increasing soil organic carbon is widely recognized as 
     a means of increasing agricultural production and meeting the 
     growing domestic and international food consumption needs 
     with a positive environmental benefit;
       (10) agricultural best practices include the more efficient 
     use of agriculture inputs and equipment; and
       (11) tax credits should be offered in order to facilitate 
     the widespread use of more efficient agriculture inputs and 
     equipment and to increase environmental benefits.

     SEC. 3. AGRICULTURAL BEST PRACTICES.

       Title XIV of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, 
     and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) is 
     amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``Subtitle N--Carbon Cycle and Agricultural Best Practices

     ``SEC. 1490. DEFINITIONS.

       ``In this subtitle:
       ``(1) Agricultural best practice.--The term `agricultural 
     best practice' means a voluntary practice used by 1 or more 
     agricultural producers to manage a farm or ranch that has a 
     beneficial or minimal impact on the environment, including--
       ``(A) crop residue management;
       ``(B) soil erosion management;
       ``(C) nutrient management;
       ``(D) remote sensing;
       ``(E) precision agriculture;
       ``(F) integrated pest management;
       ``(G) animal waste management;
       ``(H) cover crop management;
       ``(I) water quality and utilization management;
       ``(J) grazing and range management;
       ``(K) wetland management;
       ``(L) buffer strip use; and
       ``(M) tree planting.
       ``(2) Conservation program.--The term `conservation 
     program' means a program established under--
       ``(A) subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 
     1985 (16 U.S.C. 3830 et seq.);
       ``(B) section 401 or 402 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 
     1978 (16 U.S.C. 2201, 2202);
       ``(C) section 3 or 8 of the Watershed Protection and Flood 
     Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1003, 1006a); or
       ``(D) any other provision of law that authorizes the 
     Secretary to make payments or provide other assistance to 
     agricultural producers to promote conservation.

     ``SEC. 1491. CARBON CYCLE AND AGRICULTURAL BEST PRACTICES 
                   RESEARCH.

       ``(a) In General.--The Department of Agriculture shall be 
     the lead agency with respect to any agricultural soil carbon 
     research conducted by the Federal Government.
       ``(b) Research Services.--
       ``(1) Agricultural research service.--The Secretary, acting 
     through the Agricultural Research Service, shall collaborate 
     with other Federal agencies to develop data and conduct 
     research addressing soil carbon balance and storage, making 
     special efforts to--
       ``(A) determine the effects of management and conservation 
     on carbon storage in cropland and grazing land;
       ``(B) evaluate the long-term impact of tillage and residue 
     management systems on the accumulation of organic carbon;
       ``(C) study the transfer of organic carbon to soil; and
       ``(D) study carbon storage of commodities.
       ``(2) Natural Resources Conservation Service.--
       ``(A) Research missions.--The research missions of the 
     Secretary, acting through the Natural Resources Conservation 
     Service, include--
       ``(i) the development of a soil carbon database to--

       ``(I) provide online access to information about soil 
     carbon potential in a format that facilitates the use of the 
     database in making land management decisions; and
       ``(II) allow additional and more refined data to be linked 
     to similar databases containing information on forests and 
     rangeland;

       ``(ii) the conversion to an electronic format and linkage 
     to the national soil database described in clause (i) of 
     county-level soil surveys and State-level soil maps;
       ``(iii) updating of State-level soil maps;
       ``(iv) the linkage, for information purposes only, of soil 
     information to other soil and land use databases; and
       ``(v) the completion of evaluations, such as field 
     validation and calibration, of modeling, remote sensing, and 
     statistical inventory approaches to carbon stock assessments 
     related to land management practices and agronomic systems at 
     the field, regional, and national levels.
       ``(B) Unit of information.--The Secretary, acting through 
     the Natural Resources Conservation Service, shall disseminate 
     a national basic unit of information for an assessment of the 
     carbon storage potential of soils in the United States.
       ``(3) Economic Research Service Report.--Not later than 1 
     year after the date of enactment of this section, the 
     Secretary, acting through the Economic Research Service, 
     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 analyzes the impact 
     of the financial health of the farm economy of the United 
     States under the Kyoto Protocol and other international 
     agreements under the Framework Convention on Climate Change--
       ``(A) with and without market mechanisms (including whether 
     the mechanisms are permits for emissions and whether the 
     permits are issued by allocation, auction, or otherwise);
       ``(B) with and without the participation of developing 
     countries;
       ``(C) with and without carbon sinks; and
       ``(D) with respect to the imposition of traditional command 
     and control measures.
       ``(c) Consortia.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may designate not more 
     than 2 carbon cycle and agricultural best practices research 
     consortia.
       ``(2) Selection.--The consortia designated by the Secretary 
     shall be selected in a competitive manner by the Cooperative 
     State Research, Education, and Extension Service.
       ``(3) Duties.--The consortia shall--

[[Page S5489]]

       ``(A) identify, develop, and evaluate agricultural best 
     practices using partnerships composed of Federal, State, or 
     private entities and the Department of Agriculture, including 
     the Agricultural Research Service;
       ``(B) develop necessary computer models to predict and 
     assess the carbon cycle, as well as other priorities 
     requested by the Secretary and the heads of other Federal 
     agencies;
       ``(C) estimate and develop mechanisms to measure carbon 
     levels made available as a result of voluntary Federal 
     conservation programs, private and Federal forests, and other 
     land uses; and
       ``(D) develop outreach programs, in coordination with 
     extension services, to share information on carbon cycle and 
     agricultural best practices that is useful to agricultural 
     producers.
       ``(4) Consortia participants.--The participants in the 
     consortia may include--
       ``(A) land-grant colleges and universities;
       ``(B) State geological surveys;
       ``(C) research centers of the National Aeronautics and 
     Space Administration;
       ``(D) other Federal agencies;
       ``(E) representatives of agricultural businesses and 
     organizations; and
       ``(F) representatives of the private sector.
       ``(5) Authorization of appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection 
     $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 through 2002.
       ``(d) Promotion of Agricultural Best Practices.--The 
     Secretary shall promote voluntary agricultural best practices 
     that take into account soil organic matter dynamics, carbon 
     cycle, ecology, and soil organisms that will lead to the more 
     effective use of soil resources to--
       ``(1) enhance the carbon cycle;
       ``(2) improve soil quality;
       ``(3) increase the use of renewable resources; and
       ``(4) overcome unfavorable physical soil properties.
       ``(e) Annual Report.--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 an annual report that describes programs that are or 
     will be conducted by the Secretary, through land-grant 
     colleges and universities, to provide to agricultural 
     producers the results of research conducted on agricultural 
     best practices, including the results of--
       ``(1) research;
       ``(2) future research plans;
       ``(3) consultations with appropriate scientific 
     organizations;
       ``(4) proposed extension outreach activities; and
       ``(5) findings of scientific peer review under section 
     103(d)(1) of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and 
     Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7613(d)(1)).

     ``SEC. 1492. CARBON CYCLE REMOTE SENSING TECHNOLOGY.

       ``(a) Carbon Cycle Remote Sensing Technology Program.--
       ``(1) In General.--The Secretary, in cooperation with the 
     Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
     Administration, shall develop a carbon cycle remote sensing 
     technology program--
       ``(A) to provide, on a near-continual basis, a real-time 
     and comprehensive view of vegetation conditions; and
       ``(B) to assess and model agricultural carbon 
     sequestration.
       ``(2) Use of centers.--The Administrator of the National 
     Aeronautics and Space Administration shall use regional earth 
     science application centers to conduct research under this 
     section.
       ``(3) Researched areas.--The areas that shall be the 
     subjects of research conducted under this section include--
       ``(A) the mapping of carbon-sequestering land use and land 
     cover;
       ``(B) the monitoring of changes in land cover and 
     management
       ``(C) new systems for the remote sensing of soil carbon; 
     and
       ``(D) regional-scale carbon sequestration estimation.
       ``(b) Regional Earth Science Application Center.--
       ``(1) In general.--The Secretary, in cooperation with the 
     Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
     Administration, shall carry out this section through the 
     Regional Earth Science Application Center located at the 
     University of Kansas (referred to in this section as the 
     `Center'), if the Center enters into a partnership with a 
     land-grant college or university.
       ``(2) Duties of center.--The Center shall serve as a 
     research facility and clearinghouse for satellite data, 
     software, research, and related information with respect to 
     remote sensing research conducted under this section.
       ``(3) Use of center.--The Secretary, in cooperation with 
     the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space 
     Administration, shall use the Center for carrying out remote 
     sensing research relating to agricultural best practices.
       ``(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for 
     fiscal years 2000 through 2002.

     ``SEC. 1493. CONSERVATION PREMIUM PAYMENTS.

       ``In addition to payments that are made by the Secretary to 
     producers under conservation programs, the Secretary may 
     offer conservation premium payments to producers that are 
     participating in the conservation programs to compensate the 
     producers for allowing researchers to scientifically analyze, 
     and collect information with respect to, agricultural best 
     practices that are carried out by the producers as part of 
     conservation projects and activities that are funded, in 
     whole or in part, by the Federal Government.

     ``SEC. 1494. ASSISTANCE FOR AGRICULTURAL BEST PRACTICES AND 
                   NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANS UNDER 
                   CONSERVATION PROGRAMS.

       ``(a) In General.--In addition to assistance that is 
     provided by the Secretary to producers under conservation 
     programs, the Secretary, on request of the producers, shall 
     provide education through extension activities and technical 
     and financial assistance to producers that are participating 
     in the conservation programs to assist the producers in 
     planning, designing, and installing agricultural best 
     practices and natural resource management plans established 
     under the conservation programs.
       ``(b) Information to Developing Nations.--The Secretary 
     shall disseminate to developing nations information on 
     agricultural best practices and natural resource management 
     plans that--
       ``(1) provide crucial agricultural benefits for soil and 
     water quality; and
       ``(2) increase production.

     ``SEC. 1495. CARBON CYCLE RESEARCH MONITORING SYSTEM.

       ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary, in conjunction with 
     the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
     Administration and the United States Global Change Research 
     Program, may establish a nationwide carbon cycle monitoring 
     system (referred to in this section as the `monitoring 
     system') to research the flux of carbon between soil, air, 
     and water.
       ``(b) Purpose of System.--The monitoring system shall focus 
     on locating network monitors on or near agricultural best 
     practices that are--
       ``(1) undertaken voluntarily;
       ``(2) undertaken through a conservation program of the 
     Department of Agriculture;
       ``(3) implemented as part of a program or activity of the 
     Department of Agriculture; or
       ``(4) identified by the Administrator of the National 
     Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
       ``(c) Memorandum of Understanding.--The Secretary may enter 
     into a memorandum of understanding with the Administrator of 
     the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to ensure 
     that research goals of programs established by the Federal 
     Government related to carbon monitoring are met through the 
     monitoring system.
       ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to carry out this subtitle $10,000,000.''.
                                 ______