DOE and USDA Interagency Research Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1326 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1326

To provide for Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture joint
      research and development activities, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 13, 2025

Mr. Lucas (for himself and Ms. Lofgren) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology,
  and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
  of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
                               concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To provide for Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture joint
      research and development activities, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``DOE and USDA Interagency Research
Act''.

SEC. 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.).
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