DOE and USDA Interagency Research Act in plain language
1: Short title
This section would let the Act be cited as the DOE and USDA Interagency Research Act.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the DOE and USDA Interagency Research Act .
2: Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture joint research and development activities
This section would require the Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out cross-cutting, collaborative research and development activities aimed at jointly advancing the mission requirements and priorities of both departments. The two secretaries would have to carry out and coordinate this work through a memorandum of understanding or other appropriate interagency agreement, and that memorandum or agreement would have to require a competitive, merit-reviewed process that considers applications from federal agencies, National Laboratories, institutions of higher education, nonprofit institutions, and other appropriate entities. In carrying out this work, the secretaries would be allowed, but not required, to conduct collaborative research across a list of focus areas: modeling, simulation, machine learning, artificial intelligence, data assimilation, large-scale data analytics, and predictive analysis to optimize algorithms for agriculture and energy purposes such as life-cycle analysis of agricultural or energy systems; fundamental agricultural, biological, computational, and environmental science and engineering, including advanced crop science, crop protection, breeding, and biological pest control, in collaboration with the program authorized under section 306 of the Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act (42 U.S.C. 18644); integrated natural resources and the energy-water nexus, including in collaboration with the program authorized under section 1010 of the Energy Act of 2020 (42 U.S.C. 16183); advanced biomass, biobased products, and biofuels, including in collaboration with activities authorized under section 9008(b) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8108(b)); diverse feedstocks for economically and environmentally sustainable fuels, including aviation and naval fuels; colocation of agricultural resources and activities and ecosystem services with diverse energy technologies and resources; colocation of agricultural resources and activities with carbon storage and utilization technologies; invasive species management to further the work of the Federal Interagency Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds; long-term and high-risk technological barriers to transformative science and technology solutions in agriculture and energy, including in collaboration with the program authorized under section 5012 of the America COMPETES Act (42 U.S.C. 16538); grid modernization and grid security; rural technology development, including manufacturing, precision agriculture technologies, and mechanization and automation technologies; and wildfire risks and prevention, including the power sector's role in fire prevention and mitigation and the impact of wildfires on energy infrastructure. The secretaries would also be allowed to develop methods for handling large voluntary, standardized, and integrated data sets on agricultural, environmental, supply chain, and economic information that vary in accuracy and scale; to promote collaboration, open community-based development, and data and information sharing among federal agencies, National Laboratories, institutions of higher education, nonprofit institutions, industry partners, and other appropriate entities by providing reliable access to secure data that complies with federal rules and regulations; to support research infrastructure and workforce development as the secretaries determine necessary; and to conduct collaborative research, development, and demonstration of methods and technologies to improve the efficiency of agriculture operations and the processing of agricultural products and to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with those operations and that processing. To carry out this work, the secretaries would be authorized to enter reimbursable agreements between the Department of Energy, the Department of Agriculture, and other entities to maximize the effectiveness of the research and development, and to collaborate with other federal agencies as appropriate. Not later than two years after the Act is enacted, the secretaries would have to submit a report to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, the House Committee on Agriculture, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, detailing interagency coordination between each federal agency involved in the activities carried out under this section, potential opportunities to expand the technical capabilities of the Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture, collaborative research achievements, areas of future mutually beneficial successes, and continuation of coordination activities between the two departments. All of the activities authorized under this section would have to be carried out consistent with the research security requirements in subtitle D of title VI of the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act (division B of Public Law 117-167; 42 U.S.C. 19231 et seq.).
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2. Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture joint research and development activities (a) In general The Secretary of Energy and the Secretary of Agriculture (in this section referred to as the Secretaries ) shall carry out cross-cutting and collaborative research and development activities focused on the joint advancement of Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture mission requirements and priorities. (b) Memorandum of understanding The Secretaries shall carry out and coordinate the activities under subsection (a) through the establishment of a memorandum of understanding, or other appropriate interagency agreement. Such memorandum or agreement shall require the use of a competitive, merit-reviewed process, which considers applications from Federal agencies, National Laboratories, institutions of higher education, nonprofit institutions, and other appropriate entities. (c) Coordination In carrying out the activities under subsection (a), the Secretaries may carry out the following: (1) Conduct collaborative research over a variety of focus areas, such as the following: (A) Modeling and simulation, machine learning, artificial intelligence, data assimilation, large scale data analytics, and predictive analysis in order to optimize algorithms for purposes related to agriculture and energy, such as life cycle analysis of agricultural or energy systems. (B) Fundamental agricultural, biological, computational, and environmental science and engineering, including advanced crop science, crop protection, breeding, and biological pest control, in collaboration with the program authorized under section 306 of the Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act ( 42 U.S.C. 18644 ). (C) Integrated natural resources and the energy-water nexus, including in collaboration with the program authorized under section 1010 of the Energy Act of 2020 (enacted as division Z of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 ( 42 U.S.C. 16183 )). (D) Advanced biomass, biobased products, and biofuels, including in collaboration with the activities authorized under section 9008(b) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 ( 7 U.S.C. 8108(b) ). (E) Diverse feedstocks for economically and environmentally sustainable fuels, including aviation and naval fuels. (F) Colocation of agricultural resources and activities and ecosystem services with diverse energy technologies and resources. (G) Colocation of agricultural resources and activities with carbon storage and utilization technologies. (H) Invasive species management to further the work done by the Federal Interagency Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds. (I) Long-term and high-risk technological barriers in the development of transformative science and technology solutions in the agriculture and energy sectors, including in collaboration with the program authorized under section 5012 of the America COMPETES Act ( 42 U.S.C. 16538 ). (J) Grid modernization and grid security. (K) Rural technology development, including manufacturing, precision agriculture technologies, and mechanization and automation technologies. (L) Wildfire risks and prevention, including the power sector’s role in fire prevention and mitigation and wildfire impacts on energy infrastructure. (2) Develop methods to accommodate large voluntary standardized and integrated data sets on agricultural, environmental, supply chain, and economic information with variable accuracy and scale. (3) Promote collaboration, open community-based development, and data and information sharing between Federal agencies, National Laboratories, institutions of higher education, nonprofit institutions, industry partners, and other appropriate entities by providing reliable access to secure data and information that are in compliance with Federal rules and regulations. (4) Support research infrastructure and workforce development as the Secretaries determine necessary. (5) Conduct collaborative research, development, and demonstration of methods and technologies to accomplish the following: (A) Improve the efficiency of agriculture operations and processing of agricultural products. (B) Reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with such operations and such processing. (d) Agreements In carrying out the activities under subsection (a), the Secretaries are authorized to— (1) carry out reimbursable agreements between the Department of Energy, the Department of Agriculture, and other entities in order to maximize the effectiveness of research and development; and (2) collaborate with other Federal agencies as appropriate. (e) Report Not later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall submit to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate, a report detailing the following: (1) Interagency coordination between each Federal agency involved in the research and development activities carried out under this section. (2) Potential opportunities to expand the technical capabilities of the Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture. (3) Collaborative research achievements. (4) Areas of future mutually beneficial successes. (5) Continuation of coordination activities between the Department of Energy and the Department of Agriculture. (f) Research security The activities authorized under this section shall be applied in a manner consistent with subtitle D of title VI of the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act (enacted as division B of Public Law 117–167 ; 42 U.S.C. 19231 et seq. ).