Seeds and Breeds for the Future Act

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2023 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 commer- cialization, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JUNE 15, 2023 Ms. BALDWIN (for herself, Mr. HEINRICH, Ms. SMITH, Mr. WYDEN, and Mr. FETTERMAN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred 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 Reorga- nization 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 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 ‘‘Seeds and Breeds for 4 the Future Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jul 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2023.IS S2023 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2023 IS SEC. 2. PUBLIC CULTIVAR DEVELOPMENT. 1 Section 2 of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities 2 Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157) is amended— 3 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 4 following: 5 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 6 ‘‘(A) CONVENTIONAL BREEDING.—The 7 term ‘conventional breeding’ means the develop- 8 ment of new varieties of an organism through 9 controlled mating and selection without the use 10 of transgenic methods. 11 ‘‘(B) CULTIVAR.—The term ‘cultivar’ 12 means a variety of a species of plant that has 13 been intentionally selected for use in cultivation 14 because of the improved characteristics of that 15 variety of the species. 16 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC ANIMAL BREED.—The term 17 ‘public animal breed’ means an animal breed— 18 ‘‘(i) that is the commercially available 19 uniform end product of a publicly funded 20 breeding program that has been suffi- 21 ciently tested to demonstrate improved 22 characteristics and stable performance; and 23 ‘‘(ii) with respect to which, if intellec- 24 tual property rights are asserted, the intel- 25 lectual property rights are in the form of 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jul 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2023.IS S2023 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2023 IS plant patents or plant variety protection 1 and not utility patents. 2 ‘‘(D) PUBLIC CULTIVAR.—The term ‘public 3 cultivar’ means a cultivar— 4 ‘‘(i) that is the commercially available 5 uniform end product of a publicly funded 6 breeding program that has been suffi- 7 ciently tested to demonstrate improved 8 characteristics and stable performance; and 9 ‘‘(ii) with respect to which, if intellec- 10 tual property rights are asserted, the intel- 11 lectual property rights are in the form of 12 plant patents or plant variety protection 13 and not utility patents. 14 ‘‘(E) PUBLIC CULTIVAR OR ANIMAL 15 BREED.—The term ‘public cultivar or animal 16 breed’ means— 17 ‘‘(i) a public animal breed; and 18 ‘‘(ii) a public cultivar.’’; and 19 (2) by adding at the end the following: 20 ‘‘(l) PUBLIC CULTIVAR AND ANIMAL BREED DEVEL- 21 OPMENT FUNDING.— 22 ‘‘(1) SET-ASIDE.— 23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the amount of 24 grants made under the provisions of law de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:40 Jul 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2023.IS S2023 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2023 IS scribed in subparagraph (B), the Secretary 1 shall ensure that not less than $75,000,000 for 2 each fiscal year is used for competitive research 3 grants that support the development of public 4 cultivars and animal breeds. 5 ‘‘(B) PROVISIONS OF LAW DESCRIBED.— 6 The provisions of law referred to in subpara- 7 graph (A) are— 8 ‘‘(i) subsections (b) and (c); 9 ‘‘(ii) section 1672B(e) of the Food, 10 Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act 11 of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925b(e)); 12 ‘‘(iii) sections 1619 through 1624 of 13 that Act (7 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.); 14 ‘‘(iv) any relevant competitive grant 15 program authorized by section 406 of the 16 Agricultural Research, Extension, and 17 Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 18 7626), as determined by the Secretary; 19 and 20 ‘‘(v) section 412 of that Act (7 U.S.C. 21 7632). 22 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In making grants under para- 23 graph (1), the Secretary shall give priority to high- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jul 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2023.IS S2023 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2023 IS potential research projects that lead to the release of 1 public cultivars and animal breeds, including— 2 ‘‘(A) regionally adapted public cultivars 3 and animal breeds; 4 ‘‘(B) public cultivars and animal breeds 5 bred for environmental resilience, including re- 6 silience to changing climates; 7 ‘‘(C) public animal breeds adapted to graz- 8 ing and overwintering as appropriate for the 9 applicable production region; 10 ‘‘(D) public cultivars and animal breeds 11 bred to enhance the nutritional and health out- 12 comes of local and Indigenous populations; 13 ‘‘(E) public cultivars and animal breeds of 14 Indigenous and place-based importance that are 15 endangered; and 16 ‘‘(F) public cultivars and animal breeds 17 with beneficial and compatible characteristics 18 and behaviors for dual-use renewable energy-ag- 19 ricultural systems. 20 ‘‘(3) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall ensure that 21 the terms and renewal process for any competitive 22 grants made under subsection (b) in accordance with 23 paragraph (1) facilitate the development and com- 24 mercialization of public cultivars and animal breeds 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jul 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2023.IS S2023 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2023 IS through long-term grants not less than 5 years in 1 length. 2 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENT FOR DOMESTIC PRODUC- 3 TION.—No person that receives title to a plant pat- 4 ent or plant variety protection relating to any public 5 cultivar or animal breed developed using funds re- 6 ceived under this subsection, and no assignee of any 7 such person, shall grant to any person the exclusive 8 right to use or sell that public cultivar or animal 9 breed unless that person agrees that any cultivars or 10 animals embodying the public cultivar or animal 11 breed or produced through the use of the public 12 cultivar or animal breed will be produced substan- 13 tially in the United States. 14 ‘‘(5) REPORT.—Not later than October 1 of 15 each year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 16 report that provides information on all public 17 cultivar and animal breeding research funded by the 18 Department of Agriculture, including— 19 ‘‘(A) a list of public cultivars and animal 20 breeds developed and released in a commercially 21 available form; 22 ‘‘(B) areas of high-priority research; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jul 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2023.IS S2023 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2023 IS ‘‘(C) identified research gaps relating to 1 public cultivar and animal breed development; 2 and 3 ‘‘(D) an assessment of the state of com- 4 mercialization for public cultivars and animal 5 breeds that have been developed.’’. 6 SEC. 3. PUBLIC CULTIVAR AND ANIMAL BREED RESEARCH 7 COORDINATION. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 251 of the Department of 9 Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6971) 10 is amended— 11 (1) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the 12 following: 13 ‘‘(7) PUBLIC CULTIVAR AND ANIMAL BREED 14 RESEARCH ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR.— 15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary 16 shall appoint a coordinator within the Research, 17 Education, and Extension Office that reports to 18 the Under Secretary to coordinate research ac- 19 tivities at the Department relating to the breed- 20 ing of public cultivars and animal breeds (as 21 defined in paragraph (3) of section 2(a) of the 22 Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research 23 Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157(a))). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jul 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2023.IS S2023 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2023 IS ‘‘(B) DUTIES OF COORDINATOR.—The co- 1 ordinator appointed under subparagraph (A) 2 shall— 3 ‘‘(i) coordinate plant and animal 4 breeding research activities funded by the 5 Department relating to the development of 6 public cultivars and animal breeds; 7 ‘‘(ii)(I) carry out ongoing analysis and 8 track activities for any Federal research 9 funding supporting plant and animal 10 breeding (including any public cultivars 11 and animal breeds developed with Federal 12 funds); and 13 ‘‘(II) ensure that the analysis and ac- 14 tivities are made available to the public not 15 later than 60 days after the last day of 16 each fiscal year; 17 ‘‘(iii) develop a strategic plan that es- 18 tablishes targets for public cultivar and 19 animal breed research investments across 20 the Department to ensure that a diverse 21 range of crop and animal needs are being 22 met in a timely and transparent manner; 23 ‘‘(iv) convene a working group in 24 order to carry out the coordination func- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jul 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2023.IS S2023 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2023 IS tions described in this subparagraph com- 1 prised of individuals who are responsible 2 for the management, administration, or 3 analysis of public cultivar and animal 4 breeding programs within the Department 5 from— 6 ‘‘(I) the National Institute of 7 Food and Agriculture; 8 ‘‘(II) the Agricultural Research 9 Service; and 10 ‘‘(III) the Economic Research 11 Service; 12 ‘‘(v) in order to maximize delivery of 13 public cultivars and animal breeds, pro- 14 mote collaboration among— 15 ‘‘(I) the coordinator; 16 ‘‘(II) the working group convened 17 under clause (iv); 18 ‘‘(III) the advisory council estab- 19 lished under section 1634 of the 20 Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and 21 Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5843); 22 ‘‘(IV) genetic resource conserva- 23 tion centers; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jul 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2023.IS S2023 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2023 IS ‘‘(V) land-grant colleges and uni- 1 versities (as defined in section 1404 of 2 the National Agricultural Research, 3 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 4 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)); 5 ‘‘(VI) Hispanic-serving institu- 6 tions (as defined in section 502(a) of 7 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 8 U.S.C. 1101a(a))); 9 ‘‘(VII) Native American-serving 10 nontribal institutions (as defined in 11 section 371(c) of the Higher Edu- 12 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 13 1067q(c))); 14 ‘‘(VIII) nongovernmental organi- 15 zations with interest or expertise in 16 public breeding; and 17 ‘‘(IX) public and private plant 18 and animal breeders, including small- 19 scale organic breeders; 20 ‘‘(vi) convene regular stakeholder lis- 21 tening sessions to provide input on na- 22 tional and regional priorities for public 23 cultivar and animal breeding research ac- 24 tivities across the Department; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jul 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2023.IS S2023 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2023 IS ‘‘(vii) evaluate and make rec- 1 ommendations to the Under Secretary on 2 training and resource needs to meet future 3 breeding challenges.’’; and 4 (2) in subsection (f)(1)(D)(i), by striking ‘‘(7 5 U.S.C. 450i(b))’’ and inserting ‘‘(7 U.S.C. 6 3157(b))’’. 7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 8 296(b)(6)(B) of the Department of Agriculture Reorga- 9 nization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)(6)(B)) is amended 10 by striking ‘‘Scientist; and’’ and inserting ‘‘Scientist (in- 11 cluding the public cultivar and animal breed research ac- 12 tivities coordinator under subsection (e)(7) of that sec- 13 tion); and’’. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:00 Jul 11, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2023.IS S2023 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS