[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 139 (Wednesday, August 4, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Page S5883]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2572. Ms. HIRONO (for herself and Ms. Klobuchar) submitted an 
amendment intended to be proposed to amendment SA 2137 proposed by Mr. 
Schumer (for Ms. Sinema (for herself, Mr. Portman, Mr. Manchin, Mr. 
Cassidy, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Collins, Mr. Tester, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. 
Warner, and Mr. Romney)) to the bill H.R. 3684, to authorize funds for 
Federal-aid highways, highway safety programs, and transit programs, 
and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as 
follows:

        At the end of division G, add the following:

       TITLE XII--AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH FACILITIES INFRASTRUCTURE

     SEC. 71201. FUNDING FOR AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH FACILITIES AND 
                   RESEARCH FACILITIES OF THE AGRICULTURAL 
                   RESEARCH SERVICE.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Agricultural research facility.--The term 
     ``agricultural research facility'' has the meaning given the 
     term in section 2 of the Research Facilities Act (7 U.S.C. 
     390).
       (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of Agriculture.
       (b) Appropriation.--In addition to amounts otherwise 
     available, there is appropriated to the Secretary for the 
     period of fiscal years 2022 through 2026, out of any money in 
     the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, $12,500,000,000, to 
     remain available until expended, to carry out this section, 
     of which the Secretary shall use--
       (1) $11,500,000,000 to carry out the competitive grant 
     program established under section 4 of the Research 
     Facilities Act (7 U.S.C. 390b) to provide to agricultural 
     research facilities the Federal share of the costs of the 
     construction, alteration, acquisition, modernization, 
     renovation, or remodeling of--
       (A) the agricultural research facilities; or
       (B) the equipment of the agricultural research facilities 
     necessary for conducting agricultural research; and
       (2) $1,000,000,000 to provide direct payments to research 
     facilities of the Agricultural Research Service for the 
     purpose of addressing deferred maintenance, with priority 
     given to the most critical structures, in accordance with the 
     Agricultural Research Service Capital Investment Strategy 
     dated April 23, 2012.
       (c) Secretarial Waiver.--Notwithstanding section 3(c)(2)(A) 
     of the Research Facilities Act (7 U.S.C. 390a(c)(2)(A), in 
     carrying out subsection (b)(1), the Secretary, on a case-by-
     case basis, as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, 
     may provide that the Federal share of the costs described in 
     that subsection is up to 100 percent of those costs.
       (d) Equitable Distribution.--
       (1) In general.--In awarding grants under the program 
     described in paragraph (1) of subsection (b) using amounts 
     made available by that subsection, the Secretary, to the 
     maximum extent practicable, shall ensure--
       (A) an equitable geographic distribution of funds;
       (B) an equitable distribution of funds to diverse 
     institutions; and
       (C) an equitable distribution of funds to agricultural 
     research facilities of various sizes.
       (2) Requirement.--Of the amounts made available by 
     subsection (b) to carry out paragraph (1) of that subsection, 
     not more than 20 percent may be provided for projects in any 
     1 State each fiscal year.
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