HR4155-119

What This Bill Does

The American Agricultural Security Research Act directs USDA to recognize centers of excellence across agriculture and food-security focus areas, including aquaculture, beginning farmers, agricultural biosecurity and cybersecurity, biosystems engineering, specialty-crop automation, animal and plant biotechnologies, crop protection, digital agriculture, farm financial management, and food-quality hazards such as PFAS, microplastics, and heavy metals. It also creates competitive agriculture and food protection grants for research, education, extension, countermeasure development, teaching programs, biosafety and biosecurity facilities, equipment, capital costs, and emergency response capacity. Eligible recipients include experiment stations, state agriculture departments, colleges, universities, research foundations, federal agencies, national labs, and consortia. The authorization is $10 million per fiscal year for 2026 through 2030.

Who Benefits and How

Agricultural biosecurity researchers benefit because USDA must recognize centers of excellence and run competitive food-protection grants. Land-grant universities benefit because they can compete for research, extension, education, facility, equipment, and countermeasure funding. Veterinary medicine schools benefit because teaching programs and agricultural biosecurity capacity are eligible grant uses. Food supply operators benefit from research and emergency-response capacity aimed at chemical, biological, cybersecurity, bioterrorism, and catastrophic threats.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Secretary of Agriculture must designate centers, run competitive grants, and oversee eligible research and capital uses. Federal taxpayers fund the $10 million annual authorization for fiscal years 2026 through 2030. Grant applicants must document eligible projects, facilities, equipment, countermeasures, and emergency-response capacity. USDA research administrators must evaluate a broad portfolio from aquaculture to PFAS uptake and digital agriculture.

Key Provisions

• Directs USDA to recognize agricultural centers of excellence across biosecurity, cybersecurity, biotechnology, crop protection, digital agriculture, food quality, and related fields.
• Creates competitive grants for agriculture and food protection research, extension, education, countermeasures, facilities, equipment, and emergency response.
• Authorizes eligible entities including experiment stations, agriculture departments, universities, research foundations, federal agencies, national labs, and consortia.
• Authorizes $10 million for each fiscal year 2026 through 2030.