[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2720 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2720
To direct the agricultural research service to expand organic research,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 19, 2023
Mr. Newhouse (for himself, Ms. Pingree, and Mr. Panetta) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the agricultural research service to expand organic research,
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 ``Strengthening Organic Agricultural
Research (SOAR) Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. ORGANIC RESEARCH AND EXTENSION INITIATIVE.
Section 1672B(f) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade
Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925b(f)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) in subparagraph (G), by striking ``and each
fiscal year thereafter.'' and inserting a semicolon;
and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(H) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;
``(I) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2025;
``(J) $80,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;
``(K) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; and
``(L) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2028 and each
fiscal year thereafter.''; and
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``2023'' and inserting
``2028''.
SEC. 3. RESEARCHING THE TRANSITION TO ORGANIC.
Title XVI of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of
1990 (7 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.) is amended by inserting before section
1667, as added by section 3, the following:
``SEC. 1666. RESEARCHING THE TRANSITION TO ORGANIC PROGRAM.
``(a) Competitive Specialized Research and Extension Grants
Authorized.--The Secretary may make competitive grants to support
research, education, and extension activities regarding the transition
of nonorganic production systems into organic production for the
purposes of--
``(1) overcoming social, economic, and management barriers
to organic transition;
``(2) documenting and understanding the effects of organic
practices on ecosystem services, including soil health and
fertility, greenhouse gas mitigation and sequestration, water
management, biodiversity-related services, and pest management;
and
``(3) developing improved technologies, methods, models,
and metrics to document, describe, and optimize ecosystem
services of transitioning agricultural production into organic
management.
``(b) Grant Types and Process.--Paragraphs (4), (7), (8), and
(11)(B) of subsection (b) of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities
Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157) shall apply with respect to the
making of grants under this section.
``(c) Partnerships Encouraged.--Following the completion of a peer
review process for applications for a grant received under this
section, the Secretary may provide a priority to any such proposal for
such a grant that--
``(1) is found in the peer review process to be
scientifically meritorious;
``(2) includes as active partners organic producers that
are conducting on-farm research and demostrations (and the
organizations that represent such producers); and
``(3) actively involves--
``(A) 1890 Institutions (as defined in section 2 of
the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education
Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601));
``(B) 1994 Institutions (as defined in such section
2); and
``(C) Hispanic-serving institutions (as defined in
section 1404 of the National Agricultural Research,
Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.
3103)).
``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section--
``(1) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through
2026; and
``(2) $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through
2028.''.
SEC. 4. ORGANIC PRODUCTION AND MARKET DATA INITIATIVES.
Section 7407 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002
(7 U.S.C. 5925c) is amended--
(1) in subsection (d)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in subparagraph (A), by striking
``and'' at the end;
(ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking the
period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(C) $10,000,000 for the period of fiscal years
2024 to 2028.''; and
(B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``2023'' and
inserting ``2028''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
``(e) Economic Impact Analysis of Organic Farming and
Certification.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture, acting
through the Administrator of the Economic Research Service
(referred to in this subsection as the `Secretary'), shall--
``(A) not later than 1 year after the date of the
enactment of this subsection, prepare, and submit, a
plan to conduct an economic impact analysis of organic
agriculture, as defined in section 2103 of the Organic
Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6502) to the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of
the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the
House of Representatives; and
``(B) not later than 3 years after the date on
which the plan is submitted under paragraph (1), submit
such economic impact analysis to the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and
the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives.
``(2) Contents.--The analysis under paragraph (1) shall
include an analysis of--
``(A) farming and ranching operations of a variety
of sizes, with regional differences, and that have a
diversity of production practices and methods; and
``(B) the direct and indirect economic impacts of
organic agriculture on rural and urban communities,
including--
``(i) the vitality of the local economy;
``(ii) the labor market;
``(iii) environmental quality;
``(iv) social dynamics;
``(v) land ownership; and
``(vi) any other information, data, or
analysis the Secretary considers necessary to
make the economic impact analysis
comprehensive, accurate, and useful.''.
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