What This Bill Does
This bill changes the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority from a pilot program (a temporary test program) into a permanent program. The bill updates what agricultural challenges the program can work on and changes how much money Congress gives the program each year.
Who It Affects
The Secretary of Agriculture (the head of the Department of Agriculture) and the Director of the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority are directly affected. The program itself may also involve other officials and staff within the Department of Agriculture.
Key Provisions
• The program now includes water conservation technologies and innovation as areas it can research (Sec. 2(2)).
• The program can now work on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, water conservation, and protection against drought, infectious diseases, and plant and animal pests (Sec. 2(3)(B)).
• The program gets $100,000,000 for each year from 2024 through 2029, increased from $50,000,000 for each year from 2019 through 2023 (Sec. 2(5)(B)).
• The Director must establish and maintain a staff with enough skills and expertise to carry out the program's responsibilities (Sec. 2(4)(A)).
• The Secretary may use other available money from the Department of Agriculture to fund the program in addition to the money Congress provides (Sec. 2(5)(C)).
What Changes
The Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority changes from a pilot program to a permanent program. The funding amount doubles from $50,000,000 to $100,000,000 per year. The program's focus expands to include water conservation, greenhouse gas reduction, and disease protection.
Important Definitions
None defined in bill text.
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 834
To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy
Act of 1977 to reauthorize the Agriculture Advanced Research and
Development Authority, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 16, 2023
Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. MARSHALL) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nu-
trition, and Forestry
A BILL
To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension,
and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to reauthorize the
Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Au-
thority, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Advancing Cutting
4
Edge Agriculture Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘ACE Agriculture
5
Act of 2023’’.
6
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:21 Mar 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S834.IS
S834
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2
•S 834 IS
SEC. 2. AGRICULTURE ADVANCED RESEARCH AND DEVEL-
1
OPMENT AUTHORITY.
2
Section 1473H of the National Agricultural Re-
3
search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7
4
U.S.C. 3319k) is amended—
5
(1) in the section heading, by striking
6
‘‘PILOT’’;
7
(2) in subsection (a)(6)(A), by striking ‘‘grow-
8
ing,’’ and inserting ‘‘growing (including water con-
9
servation technologies and innovation),’’;
10
(3) in subsection (b)—
11
(A) by striking ‘‘pilot program’’ each place
12
it appears and inserting ‘‘program’’;
13
(B) in paragraph (2)—
14
(i) in subparagraph (B)—
15
(I) by inserting ‘‘the long-term
16
and high-risk technological’’ before
17
‘‘barriers’’; and
18
(II) by striking ‘‘and resilience to
19
extreme
weather;’’
and
inserting
20
‘‘water conservation, the reduction,
21
avoidance, sequestration, or mitigation
22
of greenhouse gas emissions from the
23
agriculture sector, and resilience to
24
extreme weather, drought, infectious
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:21 Mar 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S834.IS
S834
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3
•S 834 IS
diseases, plant and animal pathogens,
1
and plant and animal pests;’’; and
2
(ii) in subparagraph (D), by inserting
3
‘‘or economic cost’’ before the period at the
4
end;
5
(C) in paragraph (3)(B)—
6
(i) in clause (ii), in the matter pre-
7
ceding subclause (I), by striking ‘‘advise
8
the Chief Scientist on, and’’; and
9
(ii) by striking clause (iii) and insert-
10
ing the following:
11
‘‘(iii) RELATIONSHIP WITHIN THE DE-
12
PARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.—
13
‘‘(I) CHIEF SCIENTIST.—The Di-
14
rector shall work in close collaboration
15
with the Office of the Chief Scientist.
16
‘‘(II)
OTHER
PROGRAMS.—No
17
other official who is the head of any
18
other program of the Department of
19
Agriculture shall report to the Direc-
20
tor.’’; and
21
(D) in paragraph (9), by striking the para-
22
graph designation and heading and all that fol-
23
lows through ‘‘In carrying out’’ and inserting
24
the following:
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:21 Mar 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S834.IS
S834
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4
•S 834 IS
‘‘(9) PERSONNEL MATTERS.—
1
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall es-
2
tablish and maintain within the AGARDA a
3
staff with sufficient qualifications and expertise
4
to enable the AGARDA to carry out the respon-
5
sibilities of the AGARDA under this section in
6
conjunction with other operations of the De-
7
partment of Agriculture.
8
‘‘(B) USE OF EXISTING PERSONNEL AU-
9
THORITIES.—In carrying out’’;
10
(4) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the
11
following:
12
‘‘(4) USE OF STRATEGIC PLAN.—The Secretary
13
shall use the strategic plan developed under para-
14
graph (1) and dated 2022 to inform the administra-
15
tion of the AGARDA under this section.’’;
16
(5) in subsection (d)—
17
(A) by redesignating subparagraph (C) of
18
paragraph (2) as paragraph (5), indenting ap-
19
propriately, and moving the paragraph so as to
20
appear after paragraph (3);
21
(B)
in
paragraph
(3),
by
striking
22
‘‘$50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019
23
through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000,000
24
for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2029’’;
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:21 Mar 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S834.IS
S834
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5
•S 834 IS
(C) by inserting after paragraph (3) the
1
following:
2
‘‘(4) OTHER FUNDING.—In addition to amounts
3
otherwise made available to carry out this section,
4
the Secretary may use to carry out this section other
5
unobligated funds available to the Secretary for any
6
other purpose.’’; and
7
(D) in paragraph (5) (as redesignated by
8
subparagraph (A)), by striking ‘‘this para-
9
graph’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (2) or (4)’’;
10
and
11
(6) by striking subsection (e).
12
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014
23:21 Mar 27, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\S834.IS
S834
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS