H.R. 1326 · Passed House · Agriculture and Food

DOE and USDA Interagency Research Act

Sponsor: Frank D. Lucas (R-OK)

What it does

• Requires the Departments of Energy and Agriculture to carry out collaborative research and development through an interagency agreement.
• Authorizes reimbursable agreements and collaboration with other federal agencies.
• Requires a competitive, merit-reviewed process open to federal agencies, national laboratories, universities, and nonprofit institutions.
• Allows research in areas such as artificial intelligence, biofuels, grid modernization, rural technology, wildfire prevention, and agricultural data sets.
• Supports research infrastructure, workforce development, and work to improve agricultural efficiency and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Official summary

DOE and USDA Interagency Research Act This bill requires the Department of Energy and Department of Agriculture to carry out cross-cutting and collaborative research and development activities through the establishment of an interagency agreement. The agencies are authorized to (1) carry out reimbursable agreements in order to maximize research and development effectiveness, and (2) collaborate with other federal agencies. Further, the interagency agreement must require the use of a competitive, merit-reviewed process, which considers applications from federal agencies, national laboratories, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit institutions. Research and development activities may include collaborative research in a variety of focus areas such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, biofuels and biobased products, grid modernization and security, rural technology development, and wildfire risks and prevention; developing methods to accommodate large voluntary standardized and integrated data sets on agricultural, environmental, supply chain, and economic information; supporting research infrastructure and workforce development; and collaborative research and…

Latest action

Mar 25, 2025: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Committee: Senate Energy and Natural Resources