Referred to the Committee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
This bill establishes a formal partnership between the Department of Defense and Department of Agriculture to conduct joint research and development on topics affecting national security and agricultural resilience. The two departments will collaborate on areas including agricultural technology improvements, artificial intelligence applications to farming, biological sciences for disease and disaster resilience, supply chain security, wildfire prevention, and innovations that support both military readiness and rural economies. The bill requires the departments to create a memorandum of understanding establishing a competitive, merit-reviewed process that involves federal agencies, national laboratories, universities, nonprofits, and private industry, with recipients of federal grants required to provide matching funds. The legislation authorizes the use of existing unobligated funds from the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority and Department of Defense research budgets, though specific funding amounts are not specified in the bill itself. The departments must submit annual reports to Congress on their coordination efforts, research achievements, security practices, and expenditures, with the Government Accountability Office conducting effectiveness reviews at least once every five years.
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