119-hr1326

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1326 Referred in Senate

    (RFS) ]

<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 1326

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

 March 25, 2025

 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
 Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

 AN ACT

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.).

 Passed the House of Representatives March 24, 2025.

 Attest:

 KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

 Clerk.