[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 50 (Thursday, March 22, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3620-S3625]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BOND (for himself and Mr. Harkin):
  S. 971. A bill to establish the National Institute of Food and 
Agriculture, to provide funding for the support of fundamental 
agricultural research of the highest quality, and for other purposes; 
to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Mr. BOND. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation with 
Sen. Harkin to establish the National Institute of Food and Agriculture 
to support fundamental agricultural research of the highest quality. I 
present this to begin a critical discussion about how we are going to 
ensure the United States capitalizes on new technology to maximize the 
benefits and minimize the costs of our agricultural production.
  We remain the world leader in food and fiber production. We do it 
safely and through technology and the hard work of the American farmer. 
In the past half century, the number of people fed by a single U.S. 
farm has grown from 19 to 129. Our farmers and farm leaders are on the 
cutting edge of developing new technology. And we have seen the 
innovations continue to come down the pike. This has made it possible 
for one farmer to feed 129 people.
  In addition, we export $60 billion worth of agricultural products, 
and we do so at less cost and at less harm to the environment than any 
of our competitors around the world, again, because of new practices, 
diligence on the part of farmers, and new technology.
  In a world that has a decreasing amount of soil available for 
cultivation, we have a growing population and we still have 800 million 
children who are hungry or malnourished throughout the world. Unless we 
maximize technology and new practices, production will continue to 
overtax the world's natural resources.
  Many people legitimately have raised concerns regarding new diseases 
and pests and related food safety issues. And they are growing. The 
ability of U.S. agriculture producers to maintain our world leadership 
in this environment is only as solid as our willingness to commit to 
forward-looking investments.
  Now, we also know from past experience that with new technology the 
doors are being opened to novel new uses of renewable agricultural 
products in the fields of energy, medicine, and industrial products. In 
the future, we can make our farm fields and farm animals factories for 
everyday products, fuels, and medicines in a way that is efficient and 
better preserves our natural resources. Advances in the life sciences 
have come about, such as genetics, proteomics, and cell and molecular 
biology. They are providing the base for new and continuing 
agricultural innovations.
  It was only about a dozen years ago that farmers in Missouri came to 
me to tell me about the potential that genetic engineering and plant 
biotechnology had for improving the production of food, and doing so 
with less impact on the environment, providing more nutritious food. 
Since that time, I have had a wonderful, continuing education, not in 
how it works but what it can do.
  We know now, for example, that in hungry areas of the world as many 
as half a million children go blind from Vitamin A deficiency, and 
maybe a

[[Page S3621]]

million die from this deficiency. Through plant biotechnology, the 
International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines and others 
have developed Golden Rice, taking a gene from the sunflower, a beta-
carotene gene, and they enrich the rice. The Golden Rice now has that 
Vitamin A, and that is going to make a significant difference in 
dealing with malnutrition.
  We also know that in many areas of the world, where agricultural 
production has overtaxed the land, where drought has cut the 
production, where virus has plagued production, the way we can make 
farmers self-sufficient and restore the farm economy in many of these 
countries, is through plant biotechnology. But this is just the 
beginning. This legislation I am introducing today seeks to lay the 
foundation for tremendous advances in the future.
  This legislation stems from findings and recommendations produced by 
a distinguished group of scientists working on the Agricultural 
Research, Economics and Education Task Force, which I was honored to be 
able to include in the 2002 farm bill. The distinguished task force was 
led by Dr. William H. Danforth, of St. Louis, the brother of our former 
distinguished colleague, Senator Jack Danforth. Dr. Bill Danforth has a 
tremendous reputation in science and in education, with a commitment to 
human welfare and is known worldwide. He was joined by Dr. Nancy Betts, 
the University of Nebraska; Mr. Michael Bryan, president of BBI 
International; Dr. Richard Coombe, the Watershed Agricultural Council; 
Dr. Victor Lechtenbert, Purdue University; Dr. Luis Sequeira, the 
University of Wisconsin; Dr. Robert Wideman, the University of 
Arkansas; and Dr. H. Alan Wood, Mississippi State University.
  I extend my congratulations and my sincere gratitude to Dr. Danforth 
and his team for providing the basis and the roadmap to ensure we have 
the mechanisms in place to solve the problems and capitalize on the 
opportunities in agricultural research. The full report of the task 
force can be found at www.ars.usda.gov/research.htm.
  In summary, that study concludes that it is absolutely necessary we 
reinvigorate and forward focus our technology to meet the 
responsibilities of our time. New investment is critical for the 
world's consumers, the protection of our natural resources, the 
standard of living for Americans who labor in rural America, and for 
the well-being of the hungry people and the needy people throughout the 
world.
  This legislation is supported by the some 22 Member and Associate 
Member Societies of the Federation of American Societies for 
Experimental Biology, as well as the Institute of Food Technologists, 
American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil 
Science Society of America, the Council for Agricultural Research, the 
National Coalition for Food and Agricultural Research, the American 
Soybean Association, National Cattlemen's Beef Association, National 
Chicken Council, National Corn Growers Association, National Farmers 
Union, National Milk Producers Federation, National Pork Producers 
Council, National Turkey Federation, Association of American Veterinary 
Medical Colleges and the United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association.
  I look forward to pursuing this vision in the 110th Congress. I 
invite my colleagues who are interested in science and research to 
review this report, to look at this measure, to join with me and 
Senator Harkin to talk about moving forward on what I think will be a 
tremendous opportunity to improve agriculture and its benefits to all 
our populations.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 971

       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 ``National Institute of Food 
     and Agriculture Act of 2007''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) the task force established under section 7404 of the 
     Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3101 
     note; 116 Stat. 457)--
       (A) conducted an exhaustive review of agricultural research 
     in the United States; and
       (B) evaluated the merits of establishing 1 or more national 
     institutes focused on disciplines important to the progress 
     of food and agricultural science;
       (2) according to findings and recommendations provided to 
     Congress by the task force--
       (A) agriculture in the United States faces critical 
     challenges, including impending crises in the food, 
     agricultural, and natural resource systems of the United 
     States;
       (B) exotic diseases and pests threaten crops and livestock;
       (C) the United States faces a public health epidemic due to 
     the increasing number of overweight and obese Americans;
       (D) agriculturally-related environmental degradation is a 
     serious problem for the United States and other parts of the 
     world;
       (E) certain animal diseases threaten human health; and
       (F) agricultural producers in the United States of several 
     primary crops are no longer the world's lowest-cost 
     producers;
       (3) to meet those critical challenges, it is essential that 
     the United States ensure that the agricultural innovation 
     that has been so successful in the past continues in the 
     future;
       (4) agricultural innovation has resulted in hybrid and 
     higher-yielding varieties of basic crops and enhanced the 
     global food supply by increasing yields on existing acres;
       (5) since 1960, the global population has tripled, but 
     there has been no net increase in the quantity of land in the 
     United States under cultivation;
       (6) as of the date of enactment of this Act, only 1.5 
     percent of the population of the United States provides food 
     and fiber to partially supply the needs of the United States;
       (7)(A) agriculture, fundamental agricultural research, and 
     fundamental sciences play a major role in maintaining the 
     health and welfare of all people of the United States and 
     maintaining the land and water of the United States; and
       (B) that role must be expanded;
       (8) research that leads to understandings of the ways in 
     which cells and organisms function is critical to continued 
     innovation in agriculture in the United States;
       (9) future innovations developed as a result of those 
     understandings are dependent on fundamental scientific 
     research and would be enhanced by ideas and technologies from 
     other fields of science and research;
       (10) opportunities to advance fundamental knowledge of 
     benefit to agriculture in the United States have never been 
     greater;
       (11) many of those new opportunities are the result of 
     amazing progress in the life sciences during recent decades, 
     attributable in large part to the provision made by the 
     Federal Government through the National Institutes of Health 
     and the National Science Foundation;
       (12) new technologies and new concepts have expedited 
     advances in the fields of genetics, cell and molecular 
     biology, and proteomics;
       (13) much of that scientific knowledge is ready to be used 
     in agriculture and food sciences through a sustained, 
     disciplined research effort at an institute dedicated to 
     conducting that research;
       (14) publicly-sponsored research is essential to continued 
     agricultural innovation--
       (A) to mitigate or harmonize the long-term effects of 
     agriculture on the environment;
       (B) to enhance the long-term sustainability of agriculture; 
     and
       (C) to improve the public health and welfare;
       (15) competitive, peer-reviewed fundamental agricultural 
     research is best suited to promoting the research from which 
     breakthrough innovations that agriculture and society require 
     will come;
       (16) it is in the national interest to dedicate additional 
     funds on a long-term, ongoing basis to an institute dedicated 
     to funding competitive, peer-reviewed grant programs that 
     support and promote the highest caliber of fundamental 
     agricultural research;
       (17) the capability of the United States to be 
     internationally competitive in agriculture is threatened by 
     inadequate investment in research;
       (18) to be successful over the long term, grant-receiving 
     institutions must be adequately reimbursed for costs of 
     conducting agricultural research if the institutions are to 
     pursue that kind of research; and
       (19) to meet those challenges, address those needs, and to 
     provide for vitally needed agricultural innovation, it is in 
     the national interest to provide sufficient Federal funds 
     over the long term to fund a significant program of 
     fundamental agricultural research through an independent 
     national institute.
       (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to establish a 
     national institute--
       (1) to ensure that the technological superiority of 
     agriculture in the United States effectively serves the 
     people of the United States in the coming decades; and
       (2) to support and promote fundamental agricultural 
     research of the highest caliber to achieve the goals of--
       (A) increasing the international competitiveness of 
     agriculture in the United States;
       (B) developing foods and expanding knowledge to improve 
     diet, nutrition, and health, and to combat obesity;
       (C) decreasing the dependence of the United States on 
     foreign sources of petroleum by--
       (i) developing biobased fuels and products;

[[Page S3622]]

       (ii) enhancing methods of production at biobased fuels 
     refineries;
       (iii) reducing energy consumption at biobased fuel 
     refineries; and
       (iv) increasing the use of coproducts of biobased fuels 
     production;
       (D) creating new and more useful products from plants and 
     animals;
       (E) improving food safety to reduce the incidence of 
     foodborne illness in the United States;
       (F) improving food security by protecting plants and 
     animals in the United States from insects, diseases, and the 
     threat of bioterrorism;
       (G) enhancing agricultural sustainability;
       (H) improving the environment;
       (I) strengthening the economies of rural communities in the 
     United States;
       (J) improving farm profitability and the viability and 
     competitiveness of small and moderate-sized farms;
       (K) strengthening national security by improving the 
     agricultural productivity of subsistence farmers in 
     developing countries to combat hunger and the political 
     instability that hunger produces;
       (L) assisting in modernizing and revitalizing the 
     agricultural research facilities of the United States at 
     institutions of higher education, independent, nonprofit 
     research institutions, and consortia of those institutions, 
     through capital investment; and
       (M) achieving such other goals, and meeting such other 
     needs, as the Secretary or the Institute determines to be 
     appropriate.

     SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Council.--The term ``Council'' means the Standing 
     Council of Advisors established by section 4(d)(1).
       (2) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
     Department of Agriculture.
       (3) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the Director of 
     the Institute.
       (4) Fundamental agricultural research; fundamental 
     science.--The terms ``fundamental agricultural research'' and 
     ``fundamental science'' mean research or science that, as 
     determined by the Secretary--
       (A) advances the frontiers of knowledge so as to lead to 
     practical results or to further scientific discovery; and
       (B) has an effect on agriculture, food, human health, or 
     another purpose of this Act as described in section 2(b).
       (5) Institute.--The term ``Institute'' means the National 
     Institute of Food and Agriculture established by section 
     4(a).
       (6) Multidisciplinary grant.--The term ``multidisciplinary 
     grant'' means a grant provided to 2 or more collaborating 
     investigators to carry out coordinated, multidisciplinary 
     research programs involving multiple disciplines that has 
     been approved by the Institute.
       (7) Project grant.--The term ``project grant'' means a 
     grant provided to 1 or more principal investigators to 
     conduct research that has been approved by the Institute.
       (8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Agriculture.
       (9) State.--The term ``State'' means--
       (A) each of the several States of the United States;
       (B) the District of Columbia;
       (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
       (D) Guam;
       (E) American Samoa;
       (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands;
       (G) the Federated States of Micronesia;
       (H) the Republic of the Marshall Islands;
       (I) the Republic of Palau; and
       (J) the United States Virgin Islands.
       (10) United states.--The term ``United States'', when used 
     in a geographical sense, means all of the States.

     SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT; COMPOSITION.

       (a) Establishment.--There is established within the 
     Department an agency to be known as the ``National Institute 
     of Food and Agriculture''.
       (b) Location.--The location of the Institute shall be 
     determined by the Secretary.
       (c) Composition.--The Institute shall be composed of the 
     Council (including committees and offices established under 
     section 5) and the Director.
       (d) Standing Council of Advisors.--
       (1) Establishment.--There is established a Standing Council 
     of Advisors.
       (2) Composition.--The Council shall be composed of 25 
     members, including--
       (A) the Director; and
       (B) 24 members appointed by the Secretary, with the 
     concurrence of the Director, of whom--
       (i) 12 members shall be highly-qualified scientists who, as 
     determined by the Secretary--

       (I) are not employees of the Federal Government;
       (II)(aa) have expertise in the fields of agricultural 
     research, science, food and nutrition, or related appropriate 
     fields; and
       (bb) represent a diversity of those fields;
       (III) are appropriate for membership on the Council solely 
     on the basis of established records of distinguished service; 
     and
       (IV) collectively represent the views of agricultural 
     research and scientific leaders in all regions of the United 
     States; and

       (ii) 12 stakeholders shall be distinguished members of the 
     public, as determined by the Secretary, including--

       (I) representatives of agricultural organizations and 
     industry; and
       (II) individuals with expertise in the environment, 
     subsistence agriculture, energy, food and nutrition, and 
     human health and disease.

       (3) Term.--The members of the Council shall serve 
     staggered, 4-year terms, as determined by the Secretary.
       (4) Meetings.--The Council shall meet at the call of the 
     Director and the Secretary, but not less often than annually.
       (5) Chairperson and vice chairperson.--The Council shall 
     elect a Chairperson and Vice Chairperson from among the 
     members of the Council.
       (6) Duties.--The Council shall--
       (A) assist the Director in--
       (i) establishing research priorities of the Institute; and
       (ii) reviewing, judging, and maintaining the relevance of 
     the programs of the Institute;
       (B) review all proposals approved by the scientific 
     committees established under section 5(a)(1) to ensure, to 
     the maximum extent practicable, that the purposes of this Act 
     are being met; and
       (C) through the meetings described in paragraph (4), 
     provide an interface between scientists and stakeholders to 
     ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that the Institute 
     is coordinating national goals with realistic scientific 
     opportunities.
       (e) Director.--
       (1) In general.--The Institute shall be headed by a 
     Director, who shall be an individual who is--
       (A) a distinguished scientist; and
       (B) appointed by the President (after taking into 
     consideration recommendations provided by the Council), by 
     and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
       (2) Term.--The Director shall serve for a single, 6-year 
     term.
       (3) Compensation.--The Director shall receive basic pay at 
     the rate provided for level II of the Executive Schedule 
     under section 5513 of title 5, United States Code.
       (4) Supervision.--The Director shall report directly to the 
     Secretary.
       (5) Authority and responsibilities of director.--
       (A) In general.--Except as otherwise specifically provided 
     in this Act, the Director shall--
       (i) exercise all of the authority provided to the Institute 
     by this Act (including any powers and functions delegated to 
     the Director by the Council);
       (ii) in consultation with the Council, formulate programs 
     in accordance with policies adopted by the Institute;
       (iii) establish committees and offices within the Institute 
     in accordance with section 5;
       (iv) establish procedures for the peer review of research 
     funded by the Institute;
       (v) establish procedures for the provision and 
     administration of grants by the Institute in accordance with 
     this Act;
       (vi) assess the personnel needs of agricultural research in 
     the areas supported by the Institute, and, if determined to 
     be appropriate by the Director or the Secretary, for other 
     areas of food and agricultural research; and
       (vii) cooperate with the Council to plan programs that will 
     help meet agricultural personnel needs in the future, 
     including portable fellowship and training programs in 
     fundamental agricultural research and fundamental science.
       (B) Finality of actions.--An action taken by the Director 
     in accordance with this Act (or in accordance with the terms 
     of a delegation of authority from the Council) shall be final 
     and binding upon the Institute.
       (C) Delegation and redelegation of functions.--
       (i) In general.--Except as provided in clauses (ii) and 
     (iii), the Director may, from time to time and as the 
     Director considers to be appropriate, authorize the 
     performance by any other officer, agency, or employee of the 
     Institute of any of the functions of the Director under this 
     Act, including functions delegated to the Director by the 
     Council.
       (ii) Policymaking functions.--The Director may not 
     redelegate policymaking functions delegated to the Director 
     by the Council.
       (iii) Contracts, grants, and other arrangements.--The 
     Director may enter into contracts and other arrangements, and 
     provide grants, in accordance with this Act--

       (I) only with the prior approval of the Council or under 
     authority delegated by the Council; and
       (II) subject to such conditions as the Council may specify.

       (iv) Reporting.--The Director shall promptly report each 
     contract or other arrangement entered into, each grant 
     awarded, and each other action of the Director taken, under 
     clause (iii) to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
     Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of 
     the House of Representatives.
       (6) Status on council.--
       (A) In general.--The Director shall be an ex officio member 
     of the Council.
       (B) Compensation and tenure.--Except with respect to 
     compensation and tenure, the service of the Director on the 
     Council shall be coordinated with the service of other 
     members of the Council.
       (C) Voting; election.--The Director shall be--
       (i) a voting member of the Council; and
       (ii) eligible for election by the Council as Chairperson or 
     Vice Chairperson of the Council.
       (7) Staff.--
       (A) In general.--Subject to this paragraph, the Director 
     shall recruit and hire such senior staff and other personnel 
     as are

[[Page S3623]]

     necessary to assist the Director in carrying out this Act.
       (B) Senior staff.--Each individual hired as senior staff of 
     the Director shall--
       (i) be a highly accomplished scientist, as determined by 
     the Director;
       (ii) be recruited from the active scientific community; and
       (iii) be appointed and serve on the basis of 4-year, 
     rotating appointments.
       (C) Temporary staff.--Staff hired by the Director under 
     this paragraph may include scientists and other technical and 
     professional personnel hired for limited terms, or on 
     temporary bases, including individuals on leave of absence 
     from academic, industrial, or research institutions to work 
     for the Institute.
       (D) Compensation.--
       (i) In general.--Except as provided in clause (ii), subject 
     to such policies as the Council shall periodically prescribe, 
     the Director may fix the compensation of staff hired under 
     this paragraph without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 
     and subchapter III of chapter 53 of title 5, United States 
     Code, relating to classification of positions and General 
     Schedule pay rates.
       (ii) Maximum rate of pay.--The rate of pay for an 
     individual hired under this paragraph shall not exceed the 
     rate payable for level V of the Executive Schedule under 
     section 5316 of title 5, United States Code.
       (8) Reporting and consultation.--The Director shall--
       (A) periodically report to the Secretary with respect to 
     activities carried out by the Institute; and
       (B) consult regularly with the Secretary to ensure, to the 
     maximum extent practicable, that--
       (i) research of the Institute is relevant to agriculture in 
     the United States and otherwise serves the national interest; 
     and
       (ii) the research of the Institute supplements and 
     enhances, and does not replace, research conducted or funded 
     by--

       (I) other agencies of the Department;
       (II) the National Science Foundation; or
       (III) the National Institutes of Health.

     SEC. 5. COMMITTEES AND OFFICES OF INSTITUTE.

       (a) Standing Scientific Committees.--
       (1) In general.--The Director may establish such number of 
     standing scientific committees within the Institute as the 
     Director determines to be appropriate.
       (2) Composition.--A standing scientific committee 
     established under paragraph (1) shall consist of such members 
     of the Council appointed under section 4(d)(2)(B)(i) as the 
     Director may select.
       (3) Term.--Members of a standing scientific committee 
     established under paragraph (1) shall serve for staggered, 4-
     year terms, as determined by the Director.
       (4) Review of proposals.--
       (A) In general.--A standing scientific committee shall 
     apply rigorous merit review to research proposals received by 
     the Institute to ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, 
     that research funded by the Institute is scientifically of 
     high quality.
       (B) Determination of scientific merit.--A research proposal 
     received by the Institute and reviewed by a standing 
     scientific committee under subparagraph (A) shall be--
       (i) assigned a score based on the scientific merit of the 
     proposal, as determined by the standing scientific committee; 
     and
       (ii) if approved by the standing scientific committee, 
     forwarded, along with the score, to the Council for final 
     review.
       (C) Declination of proposals.--If the Council determines 
     that a research proposal forwarded under this paragraph does 
     not meet standards of scientific review established by a 
     standing scientific committee or any similar standard 
     established by the Director, the Council shall decline to 
     recommend the research proposal for funding by the Institute.
       (5) Ad hoc review members.--The Director may supplement a 
     standing scientific committee under this subsection with 1 or 
     more ad hoc reviewers in a case in which a research proposal 
     received by the Institute requires specialized knowledge not 
     represented on that or any other standing scientific 
     committee.
       (b) Offices.--
       (1) Office of advanced science and application.--
       (A) Establishment.--The Director shall establish within the 
     Institute an Office of Advanced Science and Application 
     (referred to in this paragraph as the ``Office'').
       (B) Duties.--The Office shall--
       (i) closely monitor national needs and advances in research 
     with the goal of identifying pressing problems for which 
     solutions are realistically achievable through research;
       (ii) coordinate creative talent from diverse disciplines to 
     bridge potential gaps between fundamental agricultural 
     research and high-priority, practical needs; and
       (iii) recommend to the Director ways in which existing 
     fundamental agricultural research may be applied to the most 
     urgent problems addressed by the Institute.
       (C) Staff.--
       (i) In general.--The Office shall employ a small, focused 
     staff of rotating experts in science and agriculture.
       (ii) Talent pool; term.--Primary staff of the Office--

       (I) shall be appointed from the ranks of active scientists; 
     and
       (II) shall serve terms of not to exceed 3 years.

       (D) Intensive study groups.--The Office shall--
       (i) focus primarily on the most urgent problems addressed 
     by the Institute; and
       (ii) assemble such intensive study groups as are necessary 
     to address those problems.
       (E) Reports.--The Office shall submit to the Director and 
     the Council periodic reports that--
       (i) describe the activities being carried out by the 
     Office; and
       (ii) recommended new research priorities for the Office, as 
     appropriate.
       (2) Office of scientific assessment and liaison.--
       (A) Establishment.--The Director shall establish within the 
     Institute an Office of Scientific Assessment and Liaison 
     (referred to in this paragraph as the ``Office'').
       (B) Duties.--The Office shall--
       (i) monitor the effectiveness of the scientific 
     expenditures by the Institute;
       (ii) oversee the coordination of research efforts of the 
     Institute with those of other programs;
       (iii) assess the effectiveness of programs of the Institute 
     by evaluating--

       (I) the quality of the science funded by the Institute, 
     using such tools as are readily available; and
       (II) the contributions of the Institute to the national 
     research effort, including ways in which the Institute 
     collaborates and cooperates with the Department and with 
     other Federal agencies; and

       (iv) encourage cooperative approaches among various 
     research agencies within the Federal Government.
       (3) Office of scientific personnel.--
       (A) Establishment.--The Director shall establish within the 
     Institute an Office of Scientific Personnel (referred to in 
     this paragraph as the ``Office'').
       (B) Duties.--The Office shall--
       (i) cooperate with scientific and agricultural experts to 
     assess--

       (I) the number of scientists in agriculture and related 
     fields in the United States; and
       (II) how many additional scientists in agriculture and 
     related fields are needed to meet the purposes of this Act; 
     and

       (ii) generate and maintain data that may assist the 
     Director and the Council in planning appropriate Institute 
     fellowship and training programs.
       (4) Additional offices.--The Director may establish such 
     additional offices within the Institute as the Director or 
     the Council determines to be necessary to carry out the 
     duties of the Institute under this Act.

     SEC. 6. DUTIES.

       (a) In General.--The Institute shall provide competitive, 
     peer-reviewed grants in accordance with section 8(b) to 
     support and promote the highest quality of fundamental 
     agricultural research, including grants to fund research 
     proposals submitted by--
       (1) individual scientists;
       (2) research centers composed of a single institution or 
     multiple institutions; and
       (3) other individuals and entities from the private and 
     public sectors, including researchers of the Department and 
     other Federal agencies.
       (b) Report to Congress.--Not later than December 31, 2008, 
     and biennially thereafter, the Institute shall submit to the 
     Secretary, the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
     Forestry of the Senate, and the Committee on Agriculture of 
     the House of Representatives a comprehensive report that 
     describes the research funded and other activities carried 
     out by the Institute during the period covered by the report.

     SEC. 7. POWERS.

       (a) In General.--The Institute shall have such authority as 
     is necessary to carry out this Act, including the authority--
       (1) to promulgate such regulations as the Institute 
     considers to be necessary for governance of operations, 
     organization, and personnel;
       (2) to make such expenditures as are necessary to carry out 
     this Act;
       (3) to enter into contracts or other arrangements, or 
     modifications of contracts or other arrangements--
       (A) to provide for the conduct, by organizations or 
     individuals in the United States (including other agencies of 
     the Department, Federal agencies, and agencies of foreign 
     countries), of such fundamental agricultural research, 
     research relating to fundamental science, or related 
     activities as the Institute considers to be necessary to 
     carry out this Act; and
       (B) at the request of the Secretary, for the conduct of 
     such specific fundamental agricultural research as is in the 
     national interest or is otherwise of critical importance, as 
     determined by the Secretary, with the concurrence of the 
     Institute;
       (4) to make advance, progress, and other payments relating 
     to research and scientific activities without regard to 
     subsections (a) and (b) of section 3324 of title 31, United 
     States Code;
       (5) to acquire by purchase, lease, loan, gift, or 
     condemnation, and to hold and dispose of by grant, sale, 
     lease, or loan, real and personal property of all kinds 
     necessary for, or resulting from, the exercise of authority 
     under this Act;
       (6) to receive and use donated funds, if the funds are 
     donated without restriction other than that the funds be used 
     in furtherance of 1 or more of the purposes of the Institute;
       (7) to publish or arrange for the publication of research 
     and scientific information to further the full dissemination 
     of information

[[Page S3624]]

     of scientific value consistent with the national interest, 
     without regard to section 501 of title 44, United States 
     Code;
       (8)(A) to accept and use the services of voluntary and 
     uncompensated personnel; and
       (B) to provide such transportation and subsistence as are 
     authorized by section 5703 of title 5, United States Code, 
     for individuals serving without compensation;
       (9) to prescribe, with the approval of the Comptroller 
     General of the United States, the extent to which vouchers 
     for funds expended under contracts for scientific or 
     engineering research shall be subject to itemization or 
     substantiation prior to payment, without regard to the 
     limitations of other laws relating to the expenditure and 
     accounting of public funds;
       (10) to arrange with and reimburse the Secretary, and the 
     heads of other Federal agencies, for the performance of any 
     activity that the Institute is authorized to conduct; and
       (11) to enter into contracts, at the request of the 
     Secretary, for the carrying out of such specific agricultural 
     research as is in the national interest or otherwise of 
     critical importance, as determined by the Secretary, with the 
     consent of the Institute.
       (b) Transfer of Research Funds of Other Departments or 
     Agencies.--Funds available to the Secretary, or any other 
     department or agency of the Federal Government, for 
     agricultural or scientific research shall be--
       (1) available for transfer, with the approval of the 
     Secretary or the head of the other appropriate department or 
     agency involved, in whole or in part, to the Institute for 
     use in providing grants in accordance with the purposes for 
     which the funds were made available; and
       (2) if so transferred, expendable by the Institute for 
     those purposes.
       (c) Restriction on Activities.--The Institute--
       (1) shall be a grant-making entity only; and
       (2) shall not--
       (A) conduct fundamental agricultural research or research 
     relating to fundamental science; or
       (B) operate any laboratory or pilot facility.

     SEC. 8. BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS.

       (a) Budgetary Management Goals.--The Director, in 
     coordination with the Secretary, shall manage the budget of 
     the Institute to achieve the goals of--
       (1) providing sufficient funds over a period of time to 
     achieve the purposes of this Act;
       (2) fostering outstanding scientific talent, and directing 
     that talent toward work on issues relating to agriculture; 
     and
       (3) adequately reimbursing grant-receiving institutions for 
     costs to encourage the pursuit of agriculturally-related 
     research.
       (b) Budgetary Guidelines for Grants.--
       (1) In general.--To achieve the goals described in 
     subsection (a), the Institute shall, to the maximum extent 
     practicable, ensure that grants awarded for each fiscal year 
     comply with the guidelines described in paragraphs (2) and 
     (3).
       (2) Project grants.--With respect to project grants, to the 
     maximum extent practicable--
       (A) the Institute shall award approximately 1,000 new 
     project grants annually;
       (B) the average project grant amount, including overhead, 
     shall be approximately $225,000 for each fiscal year, as 
     adjusted in accordance with the Consumer Price Index for all-
     urban consumers, United States city average, as published by 
     the Bureau of Labor Statistics;
       (C) a project grant shall be provided for a maximum period 
     of 5 years, with an average award duration of 3.5 years;
       (D) the Institute shall require the recipients of a project 
     grant to submit appropriate reports on research carried out 
     using funds from the project grant; and
       (E) the Institute shall provide such number of training 
     project grants as the Director or the Institute determines to 
     be appropriate.
       (3) Multidisciplinary grants.--With respect to 
     multidisciplinary grants, to the maximum extent practicable--
       (A) for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2011, the 
     Institute shall provide 10 multidisciplinary grants;
       (B) for fiscal year 2012 and subsequent fiscal years, the 
     Institute shall provide multidisciplinary grants to fund not 
     fewer than 40 research centers, on the conditions that--
       (i) sufficient funds are available; and
       (ii) a sufficient number of qualified research proposals 
     are received;
       (C) the research centers provided multidisciplinary grants 
     may be composed of a single institution or multiple 
     institutions;
       (D) the average multidisciplinary grant amount, including 
     overhead, shall be approximately $3,000,000 for each fiscal 
     year, as adjusted in accordance with the Consumer Price Index 
     for all-urban consumers, United States city average, as 
     published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics;
       (E) a multidisciplinary grant shall be provided for a 
     maximum period of 5 years;
       (F) in the aggregate, multidisciplinary grants provided 
     under this paragraph for a fiscal year shall represent 
     approximately 15 percent of the total grants provided by the 
     Institute for the fiscal year, on the condition that a 
     sufficient number of qualified research proposals are 
     received for the fiscal year; and
       (G) merit review of the research proposal relating to the 
     multidisciplinary grant is conducted to ensure, to the 
     maximum extent practicable, that only quality research 
     proposals are funded.
       (c) Indirect Costs.--As part of a project grant or 
     multidisciplinary grant provided under this Act, the 
     Institute shall pay indirect costs of conducting research, 
     including the costs of overhead, to the recipient of the 
     grant at a rate that is not less than any standard negotiated 
     rate applicable to similar grants made by the National 
     Institutes of Health or the National Science Foundation, as 
     of the date of enactment of this Act, as determined by the 
     Secretary.

     SEC. 9. FUNDING.

       (a) In General.--Of the funds of the Commodity Credit 
     Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out this Act--
       (1) for fiscal year 2008, $245,000,000 for project grants, 
     of which not more than $20,000,000 shall be made available 
     for administrative expenses incurred by the Institute;
       (2) for fiscal year 2009, $515,000,000, of which--
       (A) not less than $450,000,000 shall be made available for 
     project grants;
       (B) not less than $30,000,000 shall be made available for 
     multidisciplinary grants; and
       (C) not more than $35,000,000 shall be available for 
     administrative expenses incurred by the Institute;
       (3) for fiscal year 2010, $780,000,000, of which--
       (A) not less than $675,000,000 shall be made available for 
     project grants;
       (B) not less than $60,000,000 shall be made available for 
     multidisciplinary grants; and
       (C) not more than $45,000,000 shall be made available for 
     administrative expenses incurred by the Institute;
       (4) for fiscal year 2011, $935,000,000, of which--
       (A) not less than $800,000,000 shall be made available for 
     project grants;
       (B) not less than $90,000,000 shall be made available for 
     multidisciplinary grants; and
       (C) not more than $45,000,000 shall be made available for 
     administrative expenses incurred by the Institute; and
       (5) for fiscal year 2012 and each fiscal year thereafter, 
     $966,000,000, of which--
       (A) not less than $800,000,000 shall be made available for 
     project grants;
       (B) not less than $120,000,000 shall be made available for 
     multidisciplinary grants; and
       (C) not more than $46,000,000 shall be made available for 
     administrative expenses incurred by the Institute.
       (b) Limitation.--For fiscal year 2012 and each subsequent 
     fiscal year, administrative expenses paid by the Institute 
     shall not exceed 5 percent of the total expenditures of the 
     Institute for the fiscal year.

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, today, Senator Bond and I are introducing 
the National Institute of Food and Agriculture Act of 2007. The 2002 
farm bill created a Research, Education and Economics Task Force within 
the Department of Agriculture (USDA)to evaluate agricultural research. 
A key recommendation of this task force was to create a National 
Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) within USDA in order to 
support fundamental food and agricultural research to ensure that 
American agriculture remains competitive now and in the future. This 
bill does exactly that. The NIFA would be a grant-making agency that 
funds food and agricultural research through a competitive, peer-
reviewed process. These funds would be in addition to, not as a 
substitute for, current research programs at USDA's Agricultural 
Research Service (ARS) and Cooperative State Research, Education, and 
Extension Service (CSREES).
  American agriculture must ensure that our Nation continues to produce 
safe and nutritious food for an increasing population.
  Other challenges include renewable energy production, rural 
development, food safety, nutrition and quality, and conserving the 
environment. The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry held a hearing on agricultural research on March 7 of this 
year, and it became clear to me that what we need in agricultural 
research is not only more resources, but also more competitive funding 
while at the same time, preserving the capacity funding necessary for 
intramural research, extension and education at USDA and at our land-
grant institutions. The NIFA Act of 2007 contains $3.4 billion of 
mandatory funding for the next 5 years to provide the food and 
agriculture sector with the innovation needed to confront these and 
other challenges facing American farmers and consumers of food and 
agriculture products now and in the future. Over a 10-year period, this 
legislation would provide for research a little over 1 percent of total 
mandatory funding at the Department of Agriculture. One percent is 
certainly a relatively modest investment given the public benefits of 
agricultural research, the results of which we reap every day as we 
consume a safe and affordable food supply, and as we look to increase 
farm-based renewable energy and biobased products. If we do not invest 
in research

[[Page S3625]]

now, increased globalization and competition from foreign markets will 
become real threats to U.S. agriculture. I encourage my colleagues to 
join me in supporting the National Institute of Food and Agriculture 
Act of 2007.
                                 ______