Public breed and cultivar research

(a) In general The Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157) is amended— (1) by striking hereby each place it appears; (2) in subsection (a)— (A) by striking the subsection designation and heading and all that follows through In order in paragraph (1) and inserting the following: (a) Short title; definitions; establishment of grant program (1) Establishment of grant program In order; (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and (2) as paragraphs (3) and (1), respectively, and moving the paragraphs so as to appear in numerical order; and (C) by inserting after paragraph (1) (as so redesignated) the following: (2) Definitions In this section: (A) Conventional breeding The term conventional breeding means the development of a new variety of an organism through controlled mating and selection without the use of transgenic methods. (B) Cultivar The term cultivar means a variety of a species of plant that has been intentionally selected for use in cultivation because of the improved characteristics of that variety of the species. (C) Public animal breed The term public animal breed means an animal breed that is the commercially available end product of a publicly funded breeding program that has been sufficiently tested to demonstrate improved characteristics and stable performance. (D) Public cultivar The term public cultivar means a cultivar— (i) that is the commercially available end product of a publicly funded breeding program that has been sufficiently tested to demonstrate improved characteristics and stable performance; and (ii) with respect to which, if intellectual property rights are asserted, the intellectual property rights are in the form of plant patents or plant variety protection and not utility patents. (E) Public cultivar or animal breed The term public cultivar or animal breed means— (i) a public animal breed; and (ii) a public cultivar. (F) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture.; (3) in subsection (b)— (A) in paragraph (1), by striking of Agriculture (referred to in this subsection as the Secretary); and (B) by striking defined under each place it appears and inserting defined in; (4) in subsections (c), (e), (f), (g), (i), and (k), by striking Secretary of Agriculture each place it appears and inserting Secretary; and (5) by adding at the end the following: (l) Public breed and cultivar development funding (1) In general Of the total amount of grants made under the provisions of law described in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall ensure that not less than $75,000,000 for each fiscal year is used for competitive research grants that support the development of public cultivars and animal breeds. (2) Applicable programs The provisions of law referred to in paragraph (1) are— (A) subsections (a) and (b); (B) section 1672B(e) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925b(e)); (C) sections 1619 through 1624 of that Act (7 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.); (D) any relevant competitive grant program authorized by section 406 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7626), as determined by the Secretary; and (E) section 412 of that Act (7 U.S.C. 7632). (3) Priority In making grants under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give priority to high-potential research projects that lead to the release of regionally adapted public cultivars and animal breeds that assist producers in mitigating and adapting to climate change, including— (A) regionally adapted public cultivars and animal breeds; (B) public cultivars and animal breeds bred for environmental resilience, including resilience to changing climates, mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, and sequestering carbon; (C) public animal breeds adapted to grazing and overwintering as appropriate for the applicable production region; (D) public cultivars and animal breeds bred to enhance the nutritional and health outcomes of local and Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian populations; (E) public cultivars and animal breeds of indigenous and place-based importance that are endangered; and (F) public cultivars and animal breeds with beneficial and compatible characteristics and behaviors for dual-use renewable energy-agricultural systems. (4) Grants The Secretary shall ensure that— (A) the terms and renewal process for any competitive grants made under subsection (b) in accordance with paragraph (1) facilitates the development and commercialization of public cultivars and animal breeds through long-term grants with a term of not less than 5 years; and (B) Tribal consultation occurs to ensure public cultivar or animal breed development does not infringe on the abilities of Indian Tribes to maintain culturally sensitive animal breeds and cultivars. (5) Requirement for domestic production No person that receives title to a plant patent or plant variety protection relating to any public cultivar or animal breed developed using funds received under this subsection, and no assignee of any such person, shall grant to any person the exclusive right to use or sell that public cultivar or animal breed unless that person agrees that any cultivars or animals embodying the public cultivar or animal breed or produced through the use of the public cultivar or animal breed will be produced substantially in the United States. (6) Report Not later than October 1 of each year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that provides information relating to all public cultivar and animal breeding research funded by the Department of Agriculture, including— (A) a list of public cultivars and animal breeds developed and released in a commercially available form; (B) areas of high-priority research; (C) identified research gaps relating to public cultivar and animal breed development; and (D) an assessment of the state of commercialization for public cultivars and animal breeds.. (b) Public breed and cultivar research activities coordination (1) In general Section 251 of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6971) is amended— (A) in subsection (e), by adding at the end the following: (7) Public breed and cultivar research activities coordinator (A) In general The Under Secretary shall appoint a coordinator within the Office of the Chief Scientist that reports to the Under Secretary to coordinate research activities at the Department relating to the breeding of public cultivars and animal breeds (as defined in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157)). (B) Duties of coordinator The coordinator appointed under subparagraph (A) shall— (i) coordinate plant and animal breeding research activities funded by the Department relating to the development of public cultivars and animal breeds; (ii) (I) carry out ongoing analysis and track activities for any Federal research funding supporting plant and animal breeding (including any public cultivars and animal breeds developed with Federal funds); and (II) ensure that the analysis and activities are made available to the public not later than 60 days after the last day of each fiscal year; (iii) develop a strategic plan that establishes targets for public cultivar and animal breed research investments across the Department to ensure that a diverse range of crop and animal needs are being met in a timely and transparent manner, with a strong focus on delivery of resource-efficient, stress-tolerant, regionally adapted public cultivar and animal breeds that— (I) help build agricultural resilience to climate change; and (II) support on-farm carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas mitigation, nutritional quality, and other farmer-identified priority agronomic and market traits; (iv) convene a working group to carry out the coordination functions described in this subparagraph comprised of individuals who are responsible for the management, administration, or analysis of public cultivar and animal breeding programs within the Department from— (I) the National Institute of Food and Agriculture; (II) the Agricultural Research Service; and (III) the Economic Research Service; (v) in order to maximize delivery of public cultivars and animal breeds, promote collaboration among— (I) the coordinator; (II) the working group convened under clause (iv); (III) the advisory council established under section 1634 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5843); (IV) genetic resource conservation centers; (V) land-grant colleges and universities (as defined in section 1404 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)); (VI) Hispanic-serving institutions (as defined in section 502(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a(a))); (VII) Native American-serving nontribal institutions (as defined in section 371(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(c))); (VIII) Tribal Colleges and Universities (as defined in section 316(b) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b))) and federally recognized Indian Tribe extension programs; (IX) nongovernmental organizations with interest or expertise in public breeding; and (X) public and private plant and animal breeders, including small-scale organic breeders; (vi) convene regular stakeholder listening sessions to provide input on national and regional priorities for public cultivar and animal breed research activities across the Department; and (vii) evaluate and make recommendations to the Under Secretary with respect to training and resource needs to meet future breeding challenges.; and (B) in subsection (f)(1)(D)(i), by striking (7 U.S.C. 450i(b)) and inserting (7 U.S.C. 3157(b)). (2) Conforming amendment Section 296(b)(6)(B) of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)(6)(B)) is amended by striking Scientist; and and inserting Scientist (including the public breed and cultivar research activities coordinator under subsection (e)(7) of that section); and. (c) Public breed and cultivar development Subtitle H of title XVI of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5921 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 1681. Public breed and cultivar development (a) Funding The Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Administrator of the Agricultural Research Service (referred to in this section as the Secretary) and in conjunction with the Director of the National Genetic Resources Program appointed under section 1633, shall support the development of public breeds and cultivars (as defined in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157)) by Federal researchers. (b) Priority In supporting research under subsection (a) using funds made available pursuant to subsection (d), the Secretary shall give priority to high-potential research projects that lead to the release of regionally adapted public breeds and cultivars that assist producers in mitigating and adapting to climate change. (c) Report Not later than October 1 of each year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that provides information relating to all public breed and cultivar research funded by the Agricultural Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, including— (1) a list of public breeds and cultivars developed and released in a commercially available form; (2) areas of high-priority research; (3) identified research gaps relating to public breed and cultivar development, including newly emerging needs stemming from climate change; and (4) an assessment of the state of commercialization for breeds and cultivars that have been developed. (d) Funding Of the funds made available to the Secretary for each fiscal year, not less than $50,000,000 shall be made available to carry out this section..