,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #bgcb ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,october #bi1 #bjai,mr4 ,bennet introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,department of ,agriculture ,reorganization ,act of #aiid to establish the ,advanced ,research ,projects ,agency-,terra1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,arpa-,terra ,act of #bjai4 #b4 ,advanced ,research ,projects ,agency-,terra 7a7 ,in general ,subtitle ,a of the ,department of ,agriculture ,reorganization ,act of #aiid 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #fiaa et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #bbd;,b4 ,advanced ,research ,projects ,agency-,terra 7a7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,,arpa-,terra ,the term ,,arpa-,terra means the ,advanced ,research ,projects ,agency-,terra established by subsection 7b74 7#b7 ,director ,the term ,director means the ,director of ,,arpa-,terra appointed under subsection 7d74 7#c7 ,fund ,the term ,fund means the ,agriculture ,transformation ,acceleration ,fund established under subsection 7l77#a74 7b7 ,establishment ,there is established the ,advanced ,research ,projects ,agency-,terra in the ,department-- 7#a7 to overcome the long-term and high-risk technological barriers in the development of agricultural technologies that enhance export competitiveness1 environmental sustainability1 and resilience to extreme weather and infectious disease2 and 7#b7 to ensure that the ,united ,states maintains a technological lead in developing and deploying advanced agricultural technologies that increase economic opportunities for farmers1 ranchers1 and rural communities4 7c7 ,means ,to achieve the goals described in subsection 7b71 ,,arpa-,terra shall carry out agriculture technology projects that-- 7#a7 identify and promote revolutionary advances in fundamental sciences2 7#b7 translate scientific discoveries and cutting-edge inventions into technological innovations2 and 7#c7 accelerate transformational technological advances in areas that1 due to technical and financial uncertainty1 industry is not likely to undertake without ,federal assistance4 7d7 ,director 7#a7 ,appointment ,there shall be in the ,department a ,director of ,,arpa-,terra1 who shall be appointed by the ,president1 by and with the advice and consent of the ,senate4 7#b7 ,qualifications ,the ,director shall be an individual who1 by reason of professional background and experience1 is especially qualified to advise the ,secretary on1 and manage research programs addressing1 matters pertaining to long-term and high-risk technological barriers to the development of agricultural technologies4 7#c7 ,relationship to ,secretary ,the ,director shall report to the ,secretary4 7#d7 ,relationship to ,chief ,scientist ,in carrying out the responsibilities of the ,director1 the ,director shall coordinate with the ,chief ,scientist to identify relevant scientific priorities and future trends relating to agricultural technologies4 7#e7 ,relationship to other programs ,no other programs within the ,department shall report to the ,director4 7e7 ,responsibilities ,the responsibilities of the ,director shall include-- 7#a7 approving all new programs within ,,arpa-,terra2 7#b7 developing funding criteria and assessing the success of programs through the establishment of technical milestones2 7#c7 administering the ,fund through awards to institutions of higher education1 companies1 research foundations1 trade and industry research collaborations1 or consortia of those entities1 which may include land-grant institutions1 federally funded research and development centers1 research stations1 and research laboratories1 to achieve the goals described in subsection 7b7 through targeted acceleration of-- 7,a7 novel early-stage research with possible technology applications2 7,b7 development of techniques1 processes1 and technologies1 and related testing and evaluation2 7,c7 research and development of manufacturing processes for novel technologies2 and 7,d7 coordination with nongovernmental entities for demonstration of technologies and research applications to facilitate technology transfer2 7#d7 terminating programs carried out under this section that are not achieving the goals of the programs2 and 7#e7 to the maximum extent practicable1 ensuring that the ,fund supports research that reflects diversity with respect to region1 water quantity1 and agricultural practice4 7f7 ,personnel 7#a7 ,program managers 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,director shall designate employees to serve as program managers for each of the programs established by the ,director pursuant to subsection 7e74 7,b7 ,responsibilities ,a program manager of a program shall be responsible for-- 7i7 establishing research and development goals for the program1 including through the convening of workshops and conferring with outside experts1 and publicizing the goals of the program to the public and private sectors2 7ii7 soliciting applications for specific areas of particular promise1 especially areas that the private sector or the ,federal ,government are not likely to undertake alone2 7iii7 building research collaborations for carrying out the program2 7iv7 selecting on the basis of merit1 after soliciting advice under subsection 7j7 as appropriate1 each of the projects to be supported under the program after considering-- 7,i7 the novelty and scientific and technical merit of the proposed projects2 7,,ii7 the demonstrated capabilities of the applicants to successfully carry out the proposed project2 7,,iii7 the consideration by the applicant of future commercial applications of the project1 including the feasibility of partnering with one or more commercial entities2 and 7,,iv7 any other criteria that the ,director determines to be appropriate2 7v7 preparing technologies for an eventual transfer from lab to market2 7vi7 monitoring the progress of projects supported under the program2 and 7vii7 recommending program restructure or termination of research partnerships or whole projects4 7,c7 ,term ,the term of a program manager-- 7i7 shall be #d years2 and 7ii7 may be renewed by the ,director4 7#b7 ,hiring and management 7,a7 ,in general ,the ,director shall have the authority-- 7i7 to make appointments of scientific1 engineering1 and professional personnel without regard to the civil service laws2 and 7ii7 to fix the compensation of personnel described in clause 7i7 at a rate to be determined by the ,director4 7,b7 ,private recruiting firms ,the ,secretary or the ,director may contract with private recruiting firms for the hiring of qualified technical staff to carry out this section4 7,c7 ,additional staff ,the ,director may use all existing authorities of the ,secretary to hire administrative1 financial1 and clerical staff as necessary to carry out this section4 7g7 ,reports and roadmaps 7#a7 ,annual report ,as part of the annual budget request submitted to ,congress under section #aaje of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code1 the ,director shall provide to the appropriate committees of ,congress a report that describes projects supported by ,,arpa-,terra during the previous fiscal year4 7#b7 ,strategic vision roadmap ,not later than ,october #a1 #bjbj1 and ,october #a1 #bjbc1 the ,director shall provide to the appropriate committees of ,congress a roadmap that describes the strategic vision that ,,arpa-,terra will use to guide the choices of ,,arpa-,terra for future technology investments over the following #c fiscal years4 7h7 ,coordination and nonduplication 7#a7 ,in general ,to the maximum extent practicable1 the ,director shall ensure that the activities of ,,arpa-,terra are coordinated with1 and do not duplicate the efforts of1 programs and laboratories within the ,department and other relevant research agencies4 7#b7 ,technology transfer coordinator ,to the extent appropriate1 the ,director may coordinate technology transfer efforts-- 7,a7 with the ,department2 and 7,b7 to increase the transfer of technologies to market1 with outside entities1 including the ,foundation for ,food and ,agricultural ,research4 7#c7 ,lessons learned ,in developing ,,arpa-,terra1 the ,director shall build on lessons learned from the ,agriculture ,advanced ,research and ,development ,authority pilot program established under section #adgc;,h of the ,national ,agricultural ,research1 ,extension1 and ,teaching ,policy ,act of #aigg 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #ccaik74 7i7 ,federal demonstration of technologies ,the ,secretary shall make available to purchasing and procurement programs of ,federal agencies information regarding the potential to demonstrate technologies resulting from activities funded through ,,arpa-,terra4 7j7 ,advice 7#a7 ,advisory committees ,the ,director may seek advice on any aspect of ,,arpa-,terra from-- 7,a7 an existing ,department advisory committee2 and 7,b7 a new advisory committee organized to support the programs of ,,arpa-,terra and to provide advice and assistance on-- 7i7 specific program tasks1 including transfer from lab to market2 or 7ii7 overall direction of ,,arpa-,terra4 7#b7 ,additional sources of advice ,in carrying out this section1 the ,director may seek advice and review from-- 7,a7 the ,president's ,council of ,advisors on ,science and ,technology2 7,b7 the ,foundation for ,food and ,agriculture ,research2 7,c7 the ,advanced ,research ,projects ,agency-,energy2 7,d7 the ,defense ,advanced ,research ,projects ,agency2 and 7,e7 any professional or scientific organization1 or individual agricultural practitioner1 with expertise in specific processes or technologies under development by ,,arpa-,terra4 7k7 ,existing authorities ,the authority under this section-- 7#a7 is in addition to existing authorities of the ,secretary2 and 7#b7 does not supersede or modify any existing authorities4 7l7 ,funding 7#a7 ,fund ,there is established in the ,treasury of the ,united ,states a fund1 to be known as the ,agriculture ,transformation ,acceleration ,fund1 which shall be administered by the ,director for the purposes of carrying out this section4 7#b7 ,separate budget and appropriation 7,a7 ,budget request ,the budget request for ,,arpa-,terra shall be separate from the rest of the budget request of the ,department4 7,b7 ,appropriations ,appropriations to the ,fund shall be separate and distinct from the rest of the appropriations for the ,department4 4 7b7 ,conforming amendments 7#a7 ,the first section #bbe of the ,department of ,agriculture ,reorganization ,act of #aiid 7relating to ,food ,access ,liaison7 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #fibe7 is redesignated as section #bbd;,a4 7#b7 ,section #bif7;b7 of the ,department of ,agriculture ,reorganization ,act of #aiid 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #gjad7;b77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#aa7 ,the authority of the ,secretary to establish in the ,department the ,advanced ,research ,projects ,agency-,terra under section #bbd;,b4 4