Sec. 7607. Under Secretary of Agriculture for Research, Education, and Economics

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Section 251 of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 ( 7 U.S.C. 6971 ) is amended— in subsection (c)— in paragraph (1), by striking ; and at the end and inserting a semicolon; in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; and by adding at the end the following: be responsible for the coordination of research activities with other Federal agencies. ; in subsection (e)(3)(C), by striking not less than 3 years and inserting not less than 1 year ; by redesignating subsection

(f)as subsection (g); and by inserting after subsection

(e)the following: The Secretary shall carry out cross-cutting and collaborative research and development activities focused on the joint advancement of the mission requirements and priorities of the Department of Agriculture and other Federal agencies. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 , the Secretary and the Secretary of Energy (referred to in this subparagraph as the Secretaries ) shall coordinate the activities under paragraph

(1)through the establishment of memoranda of understanding or other appropriate interagency agreements. Such a memorandum or such an agreement shall require the use of a competitive, merit-reviewed process as appropriate. Activities may include components proposed by Federal agencies, National Laboratories, institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, and other entities deemed appropriate under the memorandum or agreement. In carrying out the activities under paragraph (1), the Secretaries may— conduct collaborative research in a variety of focus areas; develop methods to accommodate large voluntary standardized and integrated data sets on agricultural, environmental, supply chain, and economic information with variable accuracy and scale; promote collaboration and open community-based development between— Federal agencies; National Laboratories; institutions of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1001 )); nonprofit institutions; industry partners; and other entities deemed appropriate under the memorandum or agreement involved; support research infrastructure, including new facilities and equipment, and workforce development as the Secretaries determine necessary; conduct collaborative research, development, and demonstration of methods and technologies; and facilitate relations between public and private entities to carry on the activities of this clause upon the termination of any agreement established under this subparagraph. In carrying out the activities under this subparagraph, the Secretaries are authorized to— carry out reimbursable agreements between the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Energy, and other entities in order to maximize the effectiveness of research and development; and collaborate with other Federal agencies, as appropriate. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 , the Secretary and the Director of the National Science Foundation (referred to in this subparagraph as the “Director”) shall coordinate the activities under paragraph

(1)through the establishment of memoranda of understanding or other appropriate interagency agreements. Such a memorandum or such an agreement shall require the use of a competitive, merit-reviewed process as appropriate. Activities may include components proposed by Federal agencies, institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, and other entities deemed appropriate under the memorandum or agreement. In carrying out the activities under paragraph (1), the Secretary and the Director may— conduct collaborative research in a variety of focus areas; promote collaboration and open, community-based development between— Federal agencies; institutions of higher education; community colleges (as defined in section 3167B of the Energy Science Education Enhancement Act ( 42 U.S.C. 7381c–3 )); area career and technical education schools (as defined in section 3 of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 ( 20 U.S.C. 2302 )); nonprofit institutions; industry partners; and other entities deemed appropriate under the memorandum or agreement; support research infrastructure, including new facilities, equipment and broadband deployment, as the Secretary and Director determine necessary; develop translational technologies for commercial utilization; organize education, training, and research initiatives relating to STEM education and workforce development, which may include— activities supported by the Cooperative Extension System; industrial partnership programs; workshops for educating kindergarten through grade 12 teachers on how to increase agricultural literacy; development of agricultural-based science curricula for kindergarten through grade 12 students; and distribution of resources for educators to implement curricula; and facilitate relationships between public and private entities to carry on the activities under this clause upon the termination of any agreement established under this subparagraph. In carrying out the activities under this subparagraph, the Secretary and the Director are authorized to— carry out reimbursable agreements between the Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation, and other entities in order to maximize the effectiveness of research and development; and collaborate with other Federal agencies as appropriate. In addition to the memoranda of understanding with Federal agencies described in subparagraphs

(A)and (B), the Secretary shall, as appropriate, enter into memoranda of understanding with the heads of other Federal agencies to coordinate the activities under paragraph (1). Not later than two years after the date of enactment of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 , the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report detailing— interagency coordination between each Federal agency involved in the research and development activities carried out under this section; potential opportunities to expand the technical capabilities of each Federal agency involved in the research and development activities carried out under this section; collaborative research achievements; areas of future mutually beneficial successes; continuation of coordination activities between each Federal agency involved in the research and development activities carried out under this section; potential opportunities for additional memoranda of understanding with other Federal agencies; and any additional information as the Secretary deems appropriate. 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 the CHIPS Act of 2022 ( Public Law 117–167 ; 42 U.S.C. 19231 et seq. )). .

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