H.R. 7949 — Introduced in House

I 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7949 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 16, 2026Mr. Riley of New York (for himself and Mr. Baird) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology A BILL To amend the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 to provide for grants to support plant and microbial biology research with potential relevance to agriculture, food, or biotechnology, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Plant Biological Research at the National Science Foundation Act or the NSF Plant Biology Act. 2. Fundamental plant biology research (a) In general The National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 is amended by adding at the end the following new section: 27. Fundamental plant biology research (a) In general The Director may award grants on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis to institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, private sector entities, and Federal, State, local, or Tribal governments, or a consortia of such institutions, entities, or governments, to support plant and microbial biology research with potential relevance to agriculture, food, or biotechnology, including relating to the following: (1) Fundamental research regarding plant biology. (2) Tools, resources, and technology that further enable plant biology. (b) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Director $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2031 to carry out this section. . (b) Definition amendment Section 4 of the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 is amended by— (1) redesignating paragraphs (13) through (16) as paragraphs (14) through (17), respectively; and (2) by inserting after paragraph (12) the following new paragraph: (13) Nonprofit organization The term nonprofit organization means an organization described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 15 501(a) of such Code. .