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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2591 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2591
To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to
improve the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 27, 2023
Mr. Fetterman (for himself, Mr. Brown, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Markey, Mr. Van
Hollen, Mr. Casey, and Mr. Lujan) introduced the following bill; which
was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition,
and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to
improve the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, 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 ``Supporting Urban and Innovative
Farming Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF URBAN AGRICULTURE AND INNOVATIVE PRODUCTION.
Section 222 of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of
1994 (7 U.S.C. 6923) is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (3)(C), by inserting ``controlled-
environment agriculture, such as'' before ``indoor'';
(B) in paragraph (4)--
(i) in subparagraph (F), by striking
``and'' at the end;
(ii) in subparagraph (G), by striking the
period at the end and inserting a semicolon;
and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(H) leveraging the Department and State, Tribal,
and local agencies to provide technical assistance for
business incorporation, navigating local zoning, and
managing farm tract numbers for smaller, noncontiguous
parcels to growers implementing activities described in
paragraph (3);
``(I) leveraging the Department and State, Tribal,
and local agencies to promote conservation techniques
unique to urban agriculture and innovative production,
including techniques that address stormwater runoff and
the impacted nature of urban land and the subsurface of
the land; and
``(J) assisting urban, innovative, and controlled-
environment agriculture producers to navigate Federal,
State, Tribal, and local policies and regulations that
impact business or operations.''; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(5) Cooperative agreements.--
``(A) In general.--The Director may enter into
cooperative agreements with eligible entities described
in subparagraph (B) to support the implementation of
responsibilities described in paragraph (4).
``(B) Eligible entities.--An eligible entity
referred to in subparagraph (A) is--
``(i) a nonprofit organization;
``(ii) an agricultural cooperative;
``(iii) an Indian Tribe; or
``(iv) a producer network or association.
``(C) Priority.--In establishing cooperative
agreements under subparagraph (A), the Director shall
give priority to cooperative agreements with eligible
entities that--
``(i) serve geographic areas with high
concentrations of urban or suburban farms;
``(ii) have established relationships with,
or a history of serving, socially disadvantaged
populations;
``(iii) have experience working with
individuals with limited English proficiency;
or
``(iv) demonstrate experience providing
urban agriculture technical assistance in their
geographic region.'';
(2) in subsection (b)--
(A) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking ``2023'' and
inserting ``2028''; and
(B) in paragraph (7)(A), by striking ``the date
that'' and all that follows through ``paragraph
(2)(B)'' and inserting ``September 30, 2028'';
(3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
``(c) Grants.--
``(1) Authorization.--
``(A) In general.--The Director shall award
competitive grants to support the development of urban
and innovative agricultural production that improves
access to local foods in areas where access to fresh,
healthy food is limited, including through community
gardens, urban farms, rooftop farms, urban
agroforestry, orchards, outdoor vertical production,
green walls, indoor farms, controlled-environment
agriculture, greenhouses, high-tech vertical
technology, hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics.
``(B) Microgrants.--An eligible entity may use
funds from a grant under subparagraph (A) to provide
microgrants to urban and innovative producers to
support the growth of the farm or farm business of the
urban and innovative producer.
``(2) Eligible entities.--An entity eligible to receive a
grant under paragraph (1)(A) is any of the following:
``(A) A nonprofit organization.
``(B) A unit of local government.
``(C) A Tribal government.
``(D) An agricultural cooperative or other
agricultural business entity or a producer network or
association, including a community-supported
agriculture network or association.
``(E) Any school that serves any of grades
kindergarten through grade 12.
``(3) Priority.--In awarding grants under subparagraph (A)
of paragraph (1), the Director shall give priority to
applications from eligible entities that plan to use the grant
funds to provide microgrants in accordance with subparagraph
(B) of that paragraph.'';
(4) in subsection (d)--
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking ``Pilot
Projects'' and inserting ``Projects'';
(B) in paragraph (1)(C), in the matter preceding
clause (i), by striking ``2023'' and inserting
``2028''; and
(C) in paragraph (2)--
(i) in subparagraph (A)--
(I) by striking ``shall carry out
pilot projects under which the
Secretary''; and
(II) by inserting ``and construct
at-scale composting or anaerobic
digestion food waste-to-energy
projects'' after ``food waste reduction
plans'';
(ii) in subparagraph (B)--
(I) in the subparagraph heading, by
striking ``pilot'';
(II) in the matter preceding clause
(i), by inserting ``Indian Tribes,''
after ``counties,'';
(III) by redesignating clauses (vi)
through (viii) as clauses (vii) through
(ix), respectively; and
(IV) by inserting after clause (v)
the following:
``(vi) develop food waste-to-energy
operations;'';
(iii) by redesignating subparagraphs (C)
through (E) as subparagraphs (D) through (F),
respectively;
(iv) by inserting after subparagraph (B)
the following:
``(C) Limitation.--An entity that receives
assistance under this paragraph may not use that
assistance for an anaerobic digester that uses manure
as the majority of its undigested biomass.''; and
(v) by striking ``pilot'' each place it
appears; and
(5) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
``(e) Funding.--Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation,
the Secretary shall use to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each
of fiscal years 2024 through 2028, to remain available until
expended.''.
SEC. 3. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD RESEARCH INITIATIVE.
Section 2(b)(2)(E) of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities
Research Grants Act (7 U.S.C. 3157(b)(2)(E)) is amended--
(1) in clause (iv), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in clause (v), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(vi) hydroponics, aquaponics, aeroponics,
and other production technologies used in
controlled-environment agriculture
production.''.
SEC. 4. DATA COLLECTION ON URBAN, INDOOR, AND EMERGING AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCTION.
Section 1672E of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act
of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925g) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e);
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
``(d) Data Collection on Urban, Indoor, and Emerging Agricultural
Production.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this subsection and biennially thereafter, the
Secretary, acting through the Director of the National
Agricultural Statistics Service, shall prepare and transmit to
the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the
Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of
Representatives a report containing data on urban, indoor, and
other emerging agricultural production, including data on--
``(A) community gardens and farms located in urban
areas, suburbs, and urban clusters;
``(B) rooftop farms, outdoor vertical production,
and green walls;
``(C) controlled environment agriculture, indoor
farms, greenhouses, and high-tech vertical technology
farms;
``(D) hydroponic, aeroponic, and aquaponic farm
facilities;
``(E) other innovations in agricultural production,
as determined by the Secretary;
``(F) the locations of the facilities described in
subparagraphs (A) through (E); and
``(G) demographic information on the owners and
operators of those facilities.
``(2) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $14,000,000 for
the period of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.''; and
(3) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated), by inserting
``(other than subsection (d))'' after ``this section'' each
place it appears.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
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