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Seeds for the Future Act

Introduced: March 7, 2018 Introduced by: Pocan, Mark Democratic · Wisconsin See on congress.gov
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 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Mar 28, 2018
Referred to the Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research.
Mar 7, 2018
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Mar 7, 2018
Introduced in House
 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Seeds for the Future Act

This bill amends the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act to require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ensure that at least $50 million of USDA grant funding is used each year for competitive research grants that support the development of public cultivars.

A "cultivar" is a variety of plant that has been intentionally selected for use in cultivation because of its improved characteristics. A "public cultivar" is the commercially available uniform end product of a publicly funded breeding program that has been sufficiently tested to demonstrate improved characteristics and stable performance.

The bill also amends the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to establish a public cultivar research activities coordinator within USDA to coordinate research activities relating to the breeding of public cultivars.

What's happening now March 28, 2018

Referred to the Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research.

 Committees of jurisdiction 2
 Cosponsors 1
All 1 Democratic 1